August 2007 Edition

Approx. reading time: 3.5 mins, 688 words

www.asklilach.co.uk

Dear Reader

The new format was a hit, so you’ll find this edition equally pithy and purposeful!

The items aim to help you to be more effective - and to get to know other clients, you never know who might be useful – that's what networking is all about. If there are any particular issues you'd like to hear about simply drop us an email and we’ll do our best to oblige.

Limit when you check emails. Hundreds come flooding in each day so make a point of looking at them three or four times a day at a planned time and then responding or taking action as appropriate. It makes your time much more effective and you don't allow your incoming messages to interrupt you.

Karen Knowler is a coach - with a difference; she specialises in helping people to become healthier by eating raw food. The results she has achieved over the years are fitter, healthier people, who are the right weight for their build and are full of energy. However, if there's one thing guaranteed to drain a coach, it's having to spend their valuable time doing administration.

Karen and Lilach met online through Ecademy.com, one of the first online networking communities. The work that Lilach does for Karen includes booking holidays and travel for trips abroad, booking people on their courses, sending emails, typing up tele-conference notes, updating databases, managing the birthday file and all those little tasks that take time and dilute Karen's power to focus on her core business.

If doing what you do best and are passionate about is the way to make your business grow - that's two businesses growing healthily!

Find out more about Karen at www.therawfoodcoach.com.

Monitoring what your competitors are doing is essential for any new start-up and for businesses as they grow. If you really want to stay on top of things you need to monitor competitor activities on an ongoing basis.

Q: What sort of information should I be looking at?
A: It depends on what you want to find out, but all of these could be useful: product/service range, pricing, future plan, sales tactics, competitive advantage, marketing activities, customer portfolio, customer service level, collaborations/partnerships, and website links

Q: Where do I start to look?
A: The company website should have plenty of information to start with, what do they do that you would like to emulate? What do they do that you think you could do better? Customer feedback is another good measure of how they feel about a supplier. Use the industry keywords online and see what else you can find out.

Whatever you want to find out, ensure that it is information that will have a use and will help you improve your own business. You are then much more likely to maintain your efforts. The real value is in research that is sustainable; you can then monitor changes over time and see how the competition reacts to changes in the industry/sector.

Last month I posted a poll on Ecademy, the social business network, asking whether businesses have been forced to turn away work.  I was amazed at the huge response and the findings. Some 49% of small businesses that responded had, in fact, been forced to turn down work because they didn’t have the time or expertise to do it.  The findings were so interesting that I issued a press release – click here to read the release.

Coverage of the story also appeared on:

businesszone.co.uk
britishchambers.org.uk
startups.co.uk
accountingweb.co.uk
PowerHomeBiz.com

Summer is here - or so the rumour goes, although the weather isn't quite what we'd expect - and many people are off on holiday. If your team is running short of people, ask us to keep your business organised and ensure that things continue to function smoothly whilst your staff are away sunning themselves! 

Have a wonderful, productive and prosperous August.

All the best,