I don't know about you but I am quickly becoming fed up of the constant doom and gloom in the papers and on the news about the state of the economy. Nearly every business event I have attended recently discusses the ‘difficulties we all face’. It’s about time we discussed moving forward and developing both ourselves and our businesses to be more robust. We should be celebrating each success we have out there in the business world and encouraging others to do the same.
This month has seen me dashing about the place helping small and medium enterprises in their quest to grow and develop and there seems to be a level of optimism and indeed many success stories out there in the UK. I am proud to say I am involved in some wonderful projects which help women to achieve their potential.
March will see us celebrating International Women’s Day (http://www.internationalwomensday.com/) A day of celebration amongst women who recognise the achievements of - you guessed it - women. I will be at many events including the annual Prowess Conference (http://www.prowess.org.uk/) which will be held this year in Blackpool. Take a look at the Women’s Day web site to find events local to you, join in and take some time to consider what you and other women have achieved over the last 12 months.
On the subject of achievement I have written an article below about rewarding achievement. I hope you find it enthuses you to try to achieve something during March or to reward someone for achieving something special.
Enjoy my newsletter and, as always, don’t forget to forward it on to other women who would like to run a successful business, just click the forward button at the bottom of the newsletter.
Best wishes all Rebecca
Top tip of the month from Rebecca
Get the message out that you are good at what you do.
If you’re like most women I meet, I bet you don’t think about telling people how good you are at what you do. You worry what others will think of you if you start shouting out how great you are; or you worry that if you say you’re great and then things go wrong, people will laugh at you. I’m not suggesting you wear a badge saying ‘I’m the best accountant that ever lived’ or ‘I’m an amazing hairdresser and you must be mad not to get me to do your hair’. But you could try something a little bit more subtle.
Have you ever thought about getting your clients to give you feedback and use that to promote yourself? I recently visited a small sandwich shop in a large city which had notes up on the wall from customers and stickers on their sandwiches saying things like ‘These cheese and ham sandwiches are Peter Mitchell’s favourite and he’s eaten a sandwich or two’. Not only did it bring a smile to my face but I knew that others had eaten there and that they had felt it was so good they would go to the effort of telling the owner.
Use testimonials on your web sites, in marketing materials, sales presentations and tenders. We all like to know that someone else has made a purchase from a firm and they were happy with it. Think how e-bay works, with feedback from customers. What would your customers say about you and would that help me decide if I want to buy from you?
So think, what do others want to know about me? How can my current customers help get the message out about how good I am? It can make all the difference when we are all watching how we spend our money, and with whom. Now ham and cheese or cheese and pickle sandwitches for lunch...
‘Understand that you need to sell you and your ideas in order to advance your career, gain more respect, and increase your success, influence and income'. Jay Abraham
Main Article from Rebecca
Ruth was like many of her friends holding down a full time job whilst bringing up two boisterous boys; life seemed to be a long, never-ending, list of jobs. On the whole Ruth was happy with her life but there never seemed to be much excitement. Her job was safe and predictable and her family were supportive of her and her work at a local employer.
After being overlooked for promotion for the second time, Ruth could no longer enjoy her job and she also knew that her skills and qualifications were not being appreciated by the partners at the firm. Unsure of what to do next, Ruth attended a women’s network event and spoke to several women who ran their own businesses. Most of them were very humble about their achievements but it was obvious to Ruth that they enjoyed their work and the flexibility they had as well as the feeling of control which self-employment brought them.
On leaving the networking seminar, Ruth contemplated what business ownership would be like and started to day-dream about being the boss for once. Ruth had achieved a fair amount at work really: moving up through the ranks, gaining her professional qualifications, and securing some good customers for the firm. The problem was she never felt rewarded for her achievements; a simple thank you wouldn’t go amiss sometimes she thought.
When I met Ruth she was several months down the line; she had developed her business idea, secured a small loan to get it started and written her business plan. In fact when I met her on a business start-up course I was running, she had already given in her notice at work and was looking at working full-time in her business very soon.
For Ruth her main desire was to be recognised for the work and effort she put in. I agree that working for yourself you can gain financial reward for your efforts and successes and sometimes customers will thank you for your work. But I explained to Ruth that she still may not get recognised for her achievements unless she let people know what she had achieved.
I recommended she look into ways she would be able to gain the positive feedback she felt she wanted for her achievements. Once her business was established Ruth could consider business awards or join networks where other business owners wanted to hear about her work and success. I also suggested she speak to friends or a coach about her targets for success and achievement and set herself rewards along the way.
Thinking of Ruth and her desire to be recognised for her achievements makes me think about what we should all be doing to celebrate successes, however big or small.
As a manager of others you should consider how you reward staff for their achievements, we don’t all want money, but knowing that others appreciate our efforts and wish to celebrate with us can be a great boost to morale and confidence. As Ruth said to me, a simple thank-you sometimes would be a start.
If you work for yourself think about how you can celebrate your achievements, it’s all part of developing you as a confident happy business woman.
Think about it, we all like to know our efforts are appreciated and worthwhile, be that staff, family or friends. Go on celebrate someone’s achievements this month, your friend’s promotion, colleague’s recent exam success, your child being able to ride a bike and you and your family still being happy and healthy.
Rebecca Recommends
This month I recommend that you find a way to celebrate your achievements with others at an International Women’s Day Event on the 8th of March. If there is nothing happening locally for you, plan a lunch-time get together with some other women, to talk about what you are doing and what you have achieved. It could become a regular thing and you will all enjoy sharing stories and learning from each other.
Rebecca's last thoughts
Next week will see the start of March, with bulbs coming into flower and lambs jumping in the fields. It seems to me like March is a good time to try something new and as nature and nurture are in the air as well, I have decided to try a new animal on our smallholding.So March sees me become ‘mum’ to three piglets - I’ll let you know how successful I am in my new role!
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Taken from 'The Have it all Business Woman' Newsletter by Rebecca Jones. Published monthly, the newsletter for women in, or starting in, business.
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Want to know how I can help you start your own business
Rebecca opened her first business at 19 and has since been a successful entrepreneur, wife and mum. Her years of experience as a woman in business and also working as a business consultant, has enabled Rebecca to develop her own coaching and business consultancy. Aimed at women starting or already running a business, who need a bit of help and support to see them flourish.
Rebecca personally coaches clients at various stages of business: start up, growth and development. She also runs workshops for women in business and women in leadership roles.
