There is no reason that negativity is a drain. Most people will surely avoid negative people if as much as possible and will reduce their contact with them to an absolute minimum. But it can also be a downward spiral. So what would do if you’re suffering from an excess of negativity that’s maybe even leading you into depression?
1. Be grateful more often Gratitude is a powerful weapon against negativity. It’s pretty much it’s opposite and once you learn to be grateful more often then you’ll find that your negativity struggles to cope with your new found gratitude. At first, just say “thank you” more often. Ideally out loud but at least in your head. And if find necessary things to be grateful for – the air you’re breathing, the clothes you’re wearing, anything! If possible, keep a gratitude journal and write down at least three things that have happened during the day that you’re grateful for. This will help put your mind in the right place to sleep.
2. Get more exercise Exercise releases endorphin into your body. These are a natural “feel good” mechanism that acts faster, better and safer than any drug (prescription or otherwise), and they are generated when you exercise. Exercise doesn’t have to mean going to the gym or pool or even jogging. It can be as simple as leaving the car at home for short journeys or parking a bit further away from the store entrance. Or you could deliberately go out for a walk! That works nicely so long as the weather isn’t too inclement.
3. Eat healthily Comfort food is often anything but comforting. It may be something you eat that gives you a quick sugar high, but that’s soon followed by the negative side of eating food that’s not exactly healthy. Cut down on excess sugar. Gradually cut down on the caffeine (it’s not a good idea to remove caffeine from your diet in one swoop). Make slightly healthier choices when you eat – even if that means reading the labels. A good rule is not to eat things where you don’t understand several of the ingredients and wouldn’t add them if you were making the recipe at home. So if you don’t keep high fructose corn syrup, or it’s artificial partner aspartame in your kitchen, don’t buy products with them in.
4. Hypnotize yourself Negativity isn’t something you’ve chosen to do. It’s something your subconscious mind has developed as a protection mechanism for you. And – just as you can’t tell your nails to stop growing – it’s not easy to remove negativity or depression at a conscious level. Hypnosis works by working with your subconscious mind to subtly change your behavior and reduce the negativity in your life. It’s easy – all you do is listen to a hypnosis recording (easier and more flexible than visiting a hypnotist) and let it work its magic.
Relying on word of mouth alone isn’t going to help scale your business.
So, what can you do?
It’s simple – you can build authority content.
You know what you can deliver to your clients. You’ve spent years building your expertise and you’ve got a great body of work. But you’re not showing it off in your content.
By creating authority content, you’re showing the world that you’re a reliable expert in your field.
Here’s how to do it.
There’s a lot of useful info in that content that you’re sharing now, but you have to add sizzle.
Your big stories add sizzle.
The proof points give you extra seasoning. But, what are proof points?
Let me give you a quick example: if you worked with a client and helped them get great results, talk about that success.
Talk about what you did for them and how you got the results.
Break it down into individual client cases.
The key is to season your content with proof points to build your authority.
Now, don’t forget about the big three.
When you think about authority, there are 3 things you need to hit.
You need to make it:
1. Quantifiable – “I helped John 3x sales.”
2. Logical – “By doing XYZ she was able to sell in a whole new market.”
3. Emotional – “John was ecstatic that he had enough revenue to take a vacation with his family.”
These techniques can help you use your own stories and achievements to inject authority into your content.
That’s what gets you more traffic and leads in the long run.
I am very excited to be an industry guest judge on the Hot House Program Presentation night on 16th April 2019.
Project background:
The Hot House Project was developed in response to Launch Vic’s funding opportunity announced in February 2018 that was targeted specifically at Local Government to support people with a business start-up idea.
Melton City Council was successful in securing funding and embarked on an engagement campaign targeting key cultural groups, aspiring entrepreneurs, and communities managed by land developers within the municipality who have identified a gap in the market, have an idea that could improve an existing service or product, or may have had a stroke of brilliance and think it can be commercialised.
The response to the Hot House Project was very strong with a wide variety of people showing interest. Over 120 people registered their interest in the project and from that there were over 64 ideas presented across the two warm-up events.
The final outcome was 2 program streams of specialised MasterClasses for participants to explore and develop their business idea further.
There will be 21 short business pitches taking place.
Program participants have been working weekly on refining their business pitch and have been advised to focus on the following although they are not required to present on all.
What is in a good pitch deck:
1. Elevator Pitch
2. The problem
3. Your solution
4. Market size
5. Business mode ($)
6. Marketing
7. Traction
8. Competitors
9. Team
10. The ask
Presentations will be 5 minutes all up (including Q&A).
Participants can present in any way they see fit eg, with or without slides.
Their presentation is all about them telling their business story.
Following the pitch there will be 2 minutes for Q&A.
Q&A will predominately take place via a website called menitmeter, which enables everyone to join in the interaction of giving feedback.
The judging panel and the audience will be asked to rate each business pitch on 3 questions. At the end of each pitch the mentimeter collects the data in real time for presenter feedback. The judging panel will be asked to give their verbal feedback based on these questions and anything further you wish to convey.
Stephanie Frasco shares a recently received email from Justin Timberlake which includes a few different interactive elements. Stephanie writes:
Once upon a time I worked for a small company called Atlantic Records. It was a very exciting time in my career, especially as a start struck girl from LA. I worked on some pretty amazing new media (now called social media) projects with major artists, like Diddy and James Blunt. And what I loved about my job was that I worked with some of the most innovative people in the biz. In the music industry, no idea was stupid and no far-fetched idea was “too out there.” We had the talent and built the technology to create some pretty spectacular interactive ads, games and promotions.
And thanks again for the mentoring session today. You opened my eyes to new possibilities that make so much sense. For the first time since starting this new business journey, I can see how everything will marry together beautifully and quite simply. I can’t thank you enough. I’ve been floundering around about how to put it all together and you’ve shown me the way. So … have I said thank you?! …. Susan Morrow, Rewards At Work May 8, 2013
Testimonial – A Fare With Nature @ Prom Rd Farm, Wilsons Promontory
Business with a view
Rhonda Bland went from being a computer novice to successfully blogging about her unique Wilsons Promontory B&B thanks largely to the Small Business Mentoring Service.
Rhonda worked as a Forests Commission secretary and bursar at Hastings High School before marrying and expanding a dairy farm enterprise over a 25 year period. Her four children now run a dairy farm each with their father. “Too young to retire”, Rhonda incorporated a B&B into a house she had built on a 162 hectare (400 acre) slice of the 514 hectare (1270 acre) dairy farm she now lives on.
A Fare With Nature @ Prom Road Farm opened in Easter 2012. The business is situated 1.6km from main road to take advantage of brilliant 300 degree views over Corner Inlet, Wilsons Promontory, Waratah Bay and the hills of South Gippsland.
While Rhonda loved the idea of entertaining guests while gardening and growing fresh fruit and vegetables for them, she had only a slight idea how to build a website. This led to mild panic about how she was to create the online presence crucial for any modern business.
Fare With Nature is uniquely placed in a delightfully private location. It has two levels of accommodation that can be self contained or B&B. Almost a hectare of gardens offer guests seasonal fresh vegetables, berries and fruit from a huge orchard in a farm-like setting.
Rhonda makes preserves for guests and fills their rooms with fresh flowers and seasonal fresh fruit. Visitors also have the opportunity to watch a dairy farm in action as the property is part of Rhonda’s eldest daughter’s farm.
The business had a lot going for it but Rhonda did not have the skills to promote it online. “I had a fair idea of what was involved with building websites, but was not confident in going it alone as I don’t understand the ‘lingo’ associated with IT work,” she says.
After deciding she needed help, Rhonda discovered SBMS at a Leongatha work shop run by South Gippsland Shire and was matched with mentor Madalen Ross.
“Because of information gleaned from workshops attended, it seemed a good idea to go with WordPress which my mentor was familiar with,” Rhonda said.
SBMS is a non-government non-profit organisation of volunteer expert mentors who give their time and experience to help small business. It is supported by Small Business Victoria, which refers clients to it.Madalen has run several businesses, Image Identity, Your Executive Secretarial Services and more recently Indulgence Afloat. She has extensive experience in small business, marketing and office administration.
Rhonda met Madalen six times over two months and they have maintained phone and email contact. Madalen also travelled to Rhonda and stayed overnight. “The hospitality was sensational,” she says. “We basically worked all Saturday afternoon and evening and then Sunday morning.”
Rhonda wanted to set up a website for her new business but had no idea what to do. “She knew very little about getting around the computer and no idea about what was involved with getting a website up and running,” Madalen says.
“I supported her with basic training in getting around the laptop and emails, set up her hosting, domain registration, setting up her website, and teaching her how to use WordPress.
“We also had sessions on how best to use social media for her business, online and offline marketing strategies, and On-Page/Off-Page Search Engine Optimisation”
Madalen also helped Rhonda work out how much she could take on as a sole operator and how to manage her work load.
As it is still early days, it is too soon to say if profitability has improved. But Madalen says Rhonda’s computer skills have greatly improved and positioned her well to make the most of the internet.
“There is most definitely an improved understanding of the internet, improved computer skills and a greater awareness of skills required to maintain a website, social media and SEO techniques to help her business grow the business in the future,” Madalen says.A Fare With Nature @ Prom Road Farm is now well placed to make the most of its position and special features.
The property’s ground floor is wheelchair accessible with a guest living room/kitchenette and two adjoining bedrooms, both with ensuites. The first floor also has a guest living room/kitchenette and three bedrooms.
“I am catering for the tourist trade, be they families, couples with pets, the disabled, or individuals,” Rhonda says. If rules limiting B&B guests to six are changed she may also explore the corporate market.
Rhonda says the new site has opened her business to local, interstate and overseas trade. “The website is designed for your PC, mobile phone and iPad, so again, business is accessible both locally and overseas,” she says. Rhonda says Madalen “most definitely” helped to improve her management skills. She is also “much more conversant” with IT language and learning to understand WordPress and her website, “which has to be a bonus for the business”.
This has left Rhonda confident that she has the tools to succeed in a competitive market. “I am extremely satisfied with the advice my mentor … has given me,” she says.
Madalen says Rhonda has come a long way. “Whereas at first she was very stressed and knew very little about web development, I think she is more comfortable adding content to her blog when she’s not working in her fabulous gardens,” she says.
“When you consider her day starts at about 4.30am, I think she’s marvellous to fit in the time!” Without Madalen’s help, Rhonda says she would be “in big trouble and perhaps a little overwrought at going it alone”.
“I would have gone elsewhere for advice, which probably would not have been as helpful and I really need to operate my own website and understand it,” she says. “It would probably have cost more money which I could ill afford.
Rhonda Bland A Fare With Nature @ Prom Road Farm 718 Promontory Rd, Foster, Vic. 3960 Tel. 0438 407 022
Small Business Mentoring Service Inc Suite 1, 12 Maroondah Hwy Ringwood VIC 3134
It was a very exciting time in my career, especially as a start struck girl from LA. I worked on some pretty amazing new media (now called social media) projects with major artists, like Diddy and James Blunt. And what I loved about my job was that I worked with some of the most innovative people in the biz. In the music industry, no idea was stupid and no far-fetched idea was “too out there.” We had the talent and built the technology to create some pretty spectacular interactive ads, games and promotions.
