Christmas Presence...

Past Imperfect, Present Tense & Future Uncertain...

Past Imperfect - Lesson #1...

Christmas 1986 - people in authority are not always right...

A Lancaster Bomber that was due for refurbishment had been stored in a hangar at a British Aerospace Chadderton just outside Manchester in the UK. I am 75% sure that the Plane in question was Lancaster B X KB889 - originally built in Canada in 1945...

Unfortunately, the roof of the hanger in which she was stored partially collapsed following an accident during maintenance and the plane was severely damaged - I believe that tragically a worker was killed in the incident too..

Our job was to pick up the pieces and load the aircraft onto vehicles for transportation to RAF Duxford where she would undergo restoration. Working on site as a young Technical Manager, with a team of engineers and loaders; this was a big project for me...

Our on site liaison was a young "Graduate Engineer" from BAe - he was our client representative on site for the week that it would take us to complete the job. 

One of the last vehicles to be loaded would carry the engines - the Lancaster used propellers powered by Four Merlin V12 piston engines - similar to the ones used in the Spitfire...

In the hangar there were four Merlins and an assortment of other engines ranging from Jets to turbo props. We located the four Merlins and began to crate them for transport. The "Graduate Engineer" approached me and told me we had the wrong engines and should in fact be loading four small jet engines...

I suggested that these were the wrong choice - even I knew that Merlins were used to power the Lancaster; the response was...

"I suggest that you do as you are told and get the job done; I am the senior engineer, if you are not capable of following simple instructions, I will find someone who is..."

So courteously tugging my forelock I responded...

"Yes sir, certainly sir, whatever you say sir..."

I love Graduates with attitude - and still do as it happens...

So we crated four Jet engines and had them loaded for dispatch; this would be the first Jet Powered Lancaster in history...

Before the vehicles left, one of the "Proper Engineers" from RAF Duxford came to take a look and inspect the loads.

I was requested to accompany him to explain how we had restrained, packed and loaded the components. When he saw the engines, he looked at me and simply said...

"Are you sure that those engines are the right ones for a 1945 AVRO Lancaster Mr Holland...?"

"No sir I am not, however, I think you will find that your "Graduate Engineer" is..."

Didn't see the "Graduate Engineer" again but we did have to pack and load four Merlin Engines, and received a commendation from the RAF for a good job finally done..

People in authority are not always right...

 AVRO Lancaster B X KB889 is still on display at The Imperial War Museum, Duxford in the UK although unfortunately without Jet Engines... 

Present Tense - Lesson #2

Christmas 2013 - It's you, not society that makes a difference...

If you choose to look for stuff to worry about, there is plenty out there; here are a few just to get you started..

1. USA - on Christmas Day the National Debt Clock, New York will show that the USA has debts totalling around $17,500,000,000,000...

 2. World - there are around 7,131,000,000 people living on the Planet; in 2013 there are 80,000,000 more people than there were in 2012.

3.Trees - since 1980 about 245,000 square miles of the Amazon Rain Forest has been cut down; an area about the size of France...

4. Species - the WWF estimates that each year more than 10,000 species are becoming extinct, that is just over one species every hour...

5. Great Pacific Garbage Patch - due to human waste, there is an "island" made up of plastic bottles and other rubbish floating in the Pacific Ocean. No one knows its exact size but estimates vary from between 270,000 sq miles (back to France again) and 5,800,000 sq miles; approaching the size of Russia...

These statistics are a consequence of the lifestyle, society and economy we have chosen to create for ourselves - imagine if Aliens or God, depending which conspiracy theory you subscribe to, visited Earth and we had to explain how it all works...

How would we justify our collective behaviour; the wars, poverty, treatment of other species; and most of all human arrogance that we were made in the image of our creator and had the right to do all this...?

I don't know anyone who thinks that USA Debt is a good idea, or that exponential population growth is sustainable or useful. Yet these same people continue to buy Smart Phones, fly in Planes to go on holiday, drive cars and buy branded consumer goods. 

All to fuel the ridiculous global capitalist economy using credit provided from the very institutions that they will moan about over Turkey and Mince Pies in the celebration of the birth of a Christ, who assures their continued dominion over nature and enshrines their freedom to cause all that which they cannot defend.

Individually, people are great. Look to the likes of Neslon Mandela who sadly left us in 2013, look to the carers, the givers and artists who enrich the lives of others. Some of the best people in the world are those who simply work hard, get (and stay..) married, raise a family and contribute without recognition, medals or fanfare.

These individuals are the Rock Stars of society - not the Facebook Celebrities, Reality Stars or Sports Icons; here is where the salvation of humanity will be found, not in the glossy brochure, or the Kardashian lifestyle, but the passionate determination of the real people of the world...

It's you, not society that makes a difference... 

Future Uncertain - Lesson #3

Christmas 20XX - stop worrying, you don't know enough... 

I used to be a worrier. My Mom would say that I can build a mountain out of a molehill, and she was right; Mom's usually are...

Worrying is simply praying for what you don't want, it is a waste of time and effort and destroys our ability to enjoy the present. Anyway, it is not what we actually know about that we should be worried - it is what we don't know about that should worry us.

It is rarely the foreseen circumstance that gives the biggest challenge, it is the unexpected that we have to overcome; if it was expected, we could have fixed it...

So this Christmas, although the Future may be Uncertain remember it is a lot more uncertain than you think - if you believe in God and want to give him a good laugh, tell him your plans..

So relax and enjoy the festive spirit, safe in the knowledge that whatever happens for good or bad, you will be OK and life is amazing...

Stop worrying, you don't know enough...

Have a Happy Christmas and a Prosperous New Year...

PS - If there is a God, perhaps it would be best if she was a woman I think the world would be a much better place...

Brown paper packages tied up with String;

...these are a few of my favourite things....

At a recent Networking Event a friend of mine was asked the classic simple question...

So, what do you do...?

Now while there is a whole series of Blogs that I could come up with regarding how this question should be handled, (HINT ; don't tell 'em), that is not the topic of this Blog...

He said that he was in Financial Services, involved with the optimisation of investment portfolio returns, whilst reducing Taxation exposure and management of international risk profiles.

If anyone knows what that actually means - please drop me a note. The lady asking the question, one the top Interior Designers in the World, simply glazed over and said;

"Draw it for me..."

So he described graphically what he actually does - and it made so much more sense.

What he actually does is select a range of "things" and "wraps" them into a product that enables investors to maximise returns and minimise costs - he is a Wrapper...

Whilst images of Snoop Dog, Jay Z and Eminem immediately sprung to mind - and we had a laugh about teams of trained dwarfs in the cellar of Gringots Bank busy wrapping financial products - it began to make sense...

Note - don't get logical or technical with creative types - we will see the bizarre and obscure in anything you say...

He puts things into a package that is attractive and able to be understood by his clients - essentially, that is what we all do...

Clients are rarely attracted to the technical aspects of what you do, they are only interested in the Results and how attractive the proposition or "package" actually looks - they don't know what you do so the only way they can make a choice is how good you are at Packaging and Promoting your business... 

This principle works for Lawyers, Accountants and Web Designers as well as Retailers, Restaurants and Martial Artists; even works for Driving Instructors too...

Example...

When you go to the Dentist - you really don't want to know all the details of what is going to be done to you, you just want to know that;

1. You won't feel any pain...
2. You'll look great when it's finished...

When you selected your Dentist, you probably didn't check his or her credentials, speak to 10 clients to see that none had been killed, looked for a Professional Indemnity insurance claims history or even if they cleaned the equipment between procedures...

No - you were told by a friend that he / she was good and because they were wearing a white coat, and had a lot of shiny equipment in their consultation room - you thought they'd be OK.

It was the Packaging that sold you  - not the actual skills and competency of the Dentist. People buy with the Eye - they buy emotionally not logically and the better we are at Packaging our services the more attractive we will become to prospective clients.

For more on the principles check out the great book by Harry Beckwith - Selling the Invisible.

Packaging, Wrapping, and Marketing...

Remember - when you are selling an intangible service that cannot be seen or touched, you must make it visible and "real" for people so they can become more confident about buying from you. 

Here's how it's done...

1. Packaging - people love bundles...

Put a range of services together and "NAME" it - give your services a unique identity that can be marketed easily and also understood by clients. People love bundles, kits and sets; think Happy Meal, Socket Sets and Scalextric.

People don't want components, they want a pre-determined selection - because they don't actually know what they want from you, they need to be told...

Have a range of Packages so that people have a choice; the Gold, Silver or Bronze Program for example. Always have a "Bespoke" Package - so you can design a unique program for those prospects that don't fit your standard offer.

2. Wrapping - how attractive is the package...?

Presentation is everything...

Is your product or service visibly attractive, what would it look like if you were to draw a picture of it...?

Better still - show me the Video about your product so I can really understand what you do and why I should be interested. Check out the website www.fiverr.com for great offers on graphics, images and video production.

3. Marketing - don' be the best kept secret..

Here's the key...

Don't Market What you do - Market the Results of what you do...

• In other words, no one wants to hire a Lawyer - they want to win the case... 

• No one likes the Dentist - they want a tooth ache free great smile...

• No one really wants to hire an Accountant - they want to save tax, sleep at  night and comply with regulations...

• We don't want a Web Designer - we want leads and prospects..

Marketing is about promoting Outcomes and Results - no one wants to hire a Business Coach either, what they want is Results (hence the name of our company Results Rules OK - because they do...)

So many people Market what they DO and forget that's not what people WANT, so build your Packages, Wrap them well; and remember to Market the Results that people can expect to get as a consequence of what you do...


Have a great week....

With special thanks for inspiration for this Blog to;

Vanina Henry of Van Henry Interiors - LINK

Steven Cooney of NPG Wealth Management - LINK 
 
AND....

To get 2014 off to a flying start - there are two Planning Days in January 2014...

Birmingham 24th January 2014 - LINK - Early Bird Deal ends 31st December.

Luxembourg 17th January 2014 - LINK - Early Bird Deal ends 31st December.

Come along, meet the team and have an Inspiring Day with other like minded Professionals - we look forward to seeing you there...

"David is a fantastic business coach. He is very popular among the Roadio community of business owners for his illuminating insights on how to tackle day-to-day matters as well as more strategic questions. One of David's great gifts is being able to break complex business issues down into practical, actionable solutions delivered with clarity (and good humour!). He is both an excellent writer and presenter too. I recommend David highly..."  
M Ladzepko

"Dave has given our management team fabulous support over the last 18 months or so as we’ve worked together to successfully transition The Audio Suite from a large, commercial work-for-hire facility, to a bespoke Sound Design Practice. Dave’s ability to create focus and understanding, allied to his huge commercial experience and knowledge, makes him our ‘secret weapon’ as we go in to battle to win the hearts and minds of both our existing and prospective clients..!"
N Hillman

83% of Sales People make these 5 Mistakes...

Hope is not a Strategy...

For anyone that has been to University - or as my Dad called it "College" -there is a recognised pattern of dealing with Reports, Dissertations and all sorts of Project work..

It goes something like this...

At the start of Term we are given a project - 15,000 words to be written on;

"The Concept of Risk in Business..."

We have around three months to get the paper written, and submitted in a format acceptable to our educational establishment.

Now, here is where it gets interesting...

As intelligent, bright and enthusiastic students we know that we should plan the Project and arrange time for Planning, Research, Interviews, writing 1st Draft, Review and Editing with final Submission being achieved a week before the published due date...

In reality, however, we do nothing for approximately 10 weeks and then start to make scribbled notes on a Post It note - and then over the weekend that precedes the Monday submission deadline - we drink gallons of Coffee and Red Bull, stay awake for 48 hours straight and somehow pull together a Report for submission...

Sound familiar...?

This situation happened to me during my Post Grad Diploma studies. In the end, as a group, we ran out of time and simply bound together 50 pages of blank paper, with a simple title page on the front that read;

"This is a Risk..."

When the report came back, the Examiner had written;

"Yes it was - also explores the concept of Failure."

Scrolling forward...

Last week I was sat in the offices of a Global Corporation - they trade in 175 Countries and are the market leader in their sector. The Sales Director asked me what I thought I could do to help them improve their Sales - he had been given a target of 20% increase for the coming financial year...

So I asked him how the team had performed this year. He replied that there were one or two deals in the pipeline that should drop before Christmas, and if they did they would just about hit budget.

The team were stressed and working long hours in the hope that the deals would be confirmed within the next few days.

All this during the middle of the last month of the year - I knew what they had done, so I drew him a picture...

On the chart you can see a RED line which represents the Sales Target for the business - the area underneath describes the total value of predicted sales.

The GREEN line represents the activity and attention paid to the achievement of the target during the year - there are FIVE key stages that serve to sabotage achievement, and in my experience 83% of Sales People go through them...

1. Confidence - the year starts with enthusiasm, ambition and renewed energy. Time is on your side so the pace of activity can be reasonably low.

2. Valley of Death - in every business there tends to be a time of year when "clients don't buy" it could be August, May or December; it doesn't matter but if you collude with this belief your activity will drop and your result becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.

3. Wake up Call - at some point you realise that things are not as they should be and that you need to get busy. Calls are made, meetings and lunches arranged and discounts agreed with the Management in order that you can close the deals. 

4. Hope Mode - with all the activity, surely something will drop. You watch your in box, check the mail and gently follow up and every quote done in the last 5 years. However, hope is not a strategy, or at least not one that works...

5. Panic Mode - it's half way through the final month of the year and there is nothing else that can be done; so you panic and worry that you won't hit target, get fired or at least be given a roasting over results.

Of course during stages 4 & 5 you start to make statements like "it's tough out there" or "we need to be more competitive" or "the buyer doesn't like me" - none of which are true but they serve as reasonable excuses why targets haven't been hit...

Any business that gets 95% of the way through the year and has not hit target is in either Hope or Panic Mode - the target should be achieved by the end of month 10 allowing for anything unforeseen - mid December is too late...

How to fix it...?

Simple - our minds cannot cope with Long Term Plans, they need Short Term Goals to maintain momentum. To ensure that a 12 month target is achieved here's what can help...

• 90 Day Plans - what does each Quarter look like...

• Monthly Objectives - what must be achieved each month...

• Weekly Activities - how is your diary looking...?

• Daily To Do List - schedule time for the Important not just Urgent...

If you want Consistent Predictable Sales then you must have Consistent Predictable activity to achieve it - and be held accountable to the plans and commitment you have made. Not just at year end - but every week...

It's called working with a Coach - we have a range of Programs for Individuals and Teams that will ensure you hit your Targets...

There are full range of FREE Templates and Documents available on our Website to help you Plan your Results - simply click on the LINK, register your details and you can download them all...

AND....

To get 2014 off to a flying start - there are two Planning Days in January 2014...

Birmingham 24th January 2014 - LINK - Early Bird Deal ends 31st December.

Luxembourg 17th January 2014 - LINK - Early Bird Deal ends 31st December.

Come along, meet the team and have an Inspiring Day with other like minded Professionals - we look forward to seeing you there...

"David is a fantastic business coach. He is very popular among the Roadio community of business owners for his illuminating insights on how to tackle day-to-day matters as well as more strategic questions. One of David's great gifts is being able to break complex business issues down into practical, actionable solutions delivered with clarity (and good humour!). He is both an excellent writer and presenter too. I recommend David highly..."  
M Ladzepko

"Dave has given our management team fabulous support over the last 18 months or so as we’ve worked together to successfully transition The Audio Suite from a large, commercial work-for-hire facility, to a bespoke Sound Design Practice. Dave’s ability to create focus and understanding, allied to his huge commercial experience and knowledge, makes him our ‘secret weapon’ as we go in to battle to win the hearts and minds of both our existing and prospective clients..!"
N Hillman

Circle Challenge #2

Sometimes things are not what they Seem...

Here's the answer you are looking for - the Circle in Circle Challenge...

The question was - if a circle rotates within another circle, what pattern or shape would a dot on the circumference of the inner circle describe as a result of the rotation...?

The image on the left gives you the "start point"...

The Answer is below - so don't look until your are ready..

As the inner circle rotates the red dot forms the shape or pattern - as yo ucan see teh red dot imply forms a vertical movement, a single straight line within the outer circle...

What's better - Logic or Emotion...?

Emotion beats Logic - every time...

We are moved by emotion not logic - we may seek to logically justify our emotional decisions, but it is the right side of the brain (or in men the central part of the trousers...) that guides our decisions...

On Tuesday, 19th September 1989 a McDonnell Douglas DC-10 airliner with with 155 passengers and 15 crew on board, was flying from Brazzaville in the Congo to Paris at a height of 35,000ft.

UTA Flight 772 departed N'Djamena International at 13:13 local time but 46 minutes later a bomb exploded causing the plane to crash into the Sahara Desert in Niger, close to the town of Tenere; all passengers and crew perished.

The plane was brought down by a bomb that had been placed in location 13-R in the forward cargo hold within a Samsonite suitcase.
This tragedy affected the families and friends of the passengers and crew from a total of 18 different countries, and whilst compensation can never replace a loved one - as a group they decided to do something "illogical"

They decided to build a memorial in the middle of the Sahara...

The memorial would not be the "standard" marked stone or plaque - this memorial would be 200ft in Diameter, and be made from rocks and salvaged components from the aircraft. 

Each victim would be represented by the placing of a single broken mirror around the circumference of the circle and a list of all the victims would be inscribed on the starboard wing of the plane inset vertically into the sand.

The location of the memorial can be seen on Google Earth and Google Maps - the coordinates are 16°51’53”N, 11°57’13”E

The memorial is a truly inspiring symbol of respect and love for those that died, and serves as a reminder to the rest of us about the fragility of life and the value we should assign to it every day.

It is a touching and powerful reminder of the power of human spirit, engagement and the need for emotional symbolism; there was very little logic here..

Here's the Rule...

Logically - magic does not happen, love and relationships don't exist and life is simply a brief interlude that simply disrupts our journey from the womb to the tomb.

Emotionally - magic is everywhere, love and relationships become the reasons we live, life has meaning, and our dash to our ash is over all too quickly.

In business, people don't buy from us, follow us or get motivated by us through logic alone; we have to engage them emotionally. If you sell on Logic alone, you will always get price challenges - sell on value, engagement and relationship and price becomes secondary...

The biggest decisions we make; who we live with, where we live, what we eat and how we dress are all emotional decisions.

Does Marriage add up logically...?

I need to be careful here as Lynn does my proof checking for me...

When you met your partner, did you ask for a CV, and a list of testimonials from previous partners...?

Did you check on key skills like driving, cooking and child rearing...?

Was the deal to "try them for a while" and if you didn't like them you would trade each other in for a new model..? - middle aged men take note here...

Did you get some free samples..? don't answer that one....!

No - of course not...

Logically Marriage and relationships don't work - and yet they form the very fabric of our lives. Never underestimate the emotional context of your Business, Career or Vocation. 

Mind you....

I do remember being taken out for dinner by the Chairman of the company for lunch shortly after we were married - as a young Operations Manage I was very nervous.

Keith asked me "does your wife work...?"

To which I replied - "yes sir - but I did try her out before we got married..."

Remember...

The best decisions are Emotional ones and in business we need to enable our clients and team members to engage emotionally FIRST, so that they can Logically justify the decision AFTER.

• Do you have a clarity of Vision, Mission and Purpose for you and your company - is it more than a piece of paper hanging in reception...?

• Do these principles guide your every activity or is it just someting that was put in place to satisfy ISO 9000 or Investors in People Certification...? 

• Are you clear about WHY you are doing what you are doing, and is the story published for everyone to see...?

Here is a simple test that you can take to measure your levels of Emotional Engagement with your Business and Your Clients - maybe get them to fill it in for you...

Check the list and see how you score...

0 - 25 - must do better.
25 - 50 - still selling on price if you are not careful.
50 - 75 - you have a definite niche that your clients love.
75 - 100 - excellent, time to expand and spread the word.

It's time to engage the right side of the brain - or the centre of the trousers if you insist - get really engaged with your business and show clients what you can actually do for them.

Why Thomas Edison could be bad for your Wealth...

"I have not failed; I have simply found 10,000 ways that don't work..."

Thomas Edison - on inventing the light bulb...

When it comes to significant inventions, Thomas Edison is up there with the greats holding a total of 1093 Patents in the USA, along with others in the UK and Europe...

His famous quote is held out as a beacon of hope for all those who are struggling with achievement and success - in essence, encouraging them to keep going...

Never giving in and getting things wrong has been the mantra of the Personal Development business for years;

"there is no failure, only feedback..." for example...

You'll be going back on another weekend "firewalking" course that will help you deal with the "feedback", and rather than enabling you to actually achieve anything of note, allow you to keep wallowing in the comfortable swamp of under-achievement - and remember to bring your cheque book with you...

Well I have some bad news..

If you own a business, or run someone elses for them, and you make a mess of it 10,000 times, you won't be in that business for very long. The reality is that you have to get it right - not every time but at least 51% of the time...

If you want real achievement, take a look at Nikola Tesla - LINK

He was the guy that "invented" AC electric current, and could transmit it for free through the air without the need for wires and distribution networks. He was also the guy that was undermined by Edison - who told everyone that DC was best and that AC would kill them.

And - his work was further undermined by JP Morgan who withdrew funding because his work threatened to undermine the profits of General Electric. 

Tesla was a rock star - he didn't need 10,000 attempts to make a light bulb, he was an engineer who learned his craft and applied scientific principles to the quest for invention.

On Thomas Edison, Tesla famously wrote in 1931;

"If Edison had a needle to find in a haystack, he would proceed at once with the diligence of the bee to examine straw after straw until he found the object of his search... I was a sorry witness of such doings, knowing that a little theory and calculation would have saved him ninety per cent of his labour."

And here lies the challenge for those of us who not only want, but need to be successful, we cannot afford the Edison approach, we need to become a Tesla...

So how do we become more like Tesla - simple, we have to Learn before we Earn. Only in the dictionary does Earn come before Learn..

We have to invest in our knowledge and skills before we "have a go at business" and get the "feedback" - knowledge is the key...

Gifted amateur status is not good enough, our lives and businesses are not scripted by Hollywood where the lazy, drunk and useless miraculously transform into Superheroes. We live in a world where excellence still counts, where intellect and the application of principles and hard work actually make a difference.

How to build knowledge... 

1. Get to College - night school or distance learning...

2. Read Books - not 50 Shades or Harry Potter...

3. Watch Videos - check out TED; Youtube for grown ups...

4. Go to Workshops - you will always learn something...

5. Reach Out - take advice from those who can help you...

6. Research - write a book and become an expert...

7. Stop - tolerating "feedback"...

8. Start - achieving Results - because Results Rules OK...

Results = Knowledge x Application

Feedback = Hope x  Repetition

Interesting to note that while Edison had a town in New Jersey named after him, Tesla had the very foundation of electricity named after him - Magnetism is measured in SI units known as Teslas' (T) 

And there is a very cool car company named after him... LINK

And OMD released a single in 1984 called Tesla Girls... LINK

Have a great week...

The Five Delusions of Entrepreneurs...

The True Ingredients of Success....

I have been fortunate, with my wife Lynn I  have started Five Companies - from scratch. Two of them we passed over to other shareholders as they weren't playing nice, another one we closed and our currently we have two which are going really well...

All of them have been successful; they were profitable and and achieved growth. The one we closed was only because we moved continents...


In my experience there are FIVE DELUSIONS that Entrepreneurs either choose to ignore,or get surprised at when they actually happen, and it's about time they were brought into the open...

1. The Business Plan Delusion.

A Business Plan is written for one reason only - to get the Bank to say yes to a line of credit. The reason that a Business Plan needs an Executive Summary is because;

a. The Bank Manager doesn't understand Business Plans - having never run a business...
b. If he does understand he can't be bothered to read the whole document anyway...

Once you have the money you will never read it again, and even if you do, you won't achieve it because when you wrote it it was only a guess - and you had been drinking either too much alcohol or caffeine for it to make any sense anyway...

2.  Work Life Balance Delusion.

You may have left your job because you were working for an idiot - well now you are working for a complete psychopath; you are working for yourself.

There is no such thing as Work Life Balance - that is just some myth cooked up by soft centred socialists who actually believe that weekends and holidays exist in the universe that we call Entrepreneurship. 

They don't, for at least three years after starting up; if they do you're not trying hard enough. Work and Life become the same, if you are looking for balance, go and get a job.

3. The Money Delusion.

Business is hard and demanding - your friends will think you have made it because you have business cards with the title "Founder & CEO" printed on them and the fact that you have managed to lease a BMW. The fact that you can't afford the tyres for it, so have to drive a Fiesta at weekends, is not apparent to them.

Money does come - but only when you have earned it. Get used to living on Tesco Value baked beans, spaghetti hoops and soups. You will juggle credit cards, and ask for money for Christmas just so you can fill the BMW with fuel.

Do this for around two years and you have earned the right to be successful, quit too soon and you will never know what you could have achieved.

4. The Overnight Success Delusion.

95% of Start Ups do not achieve the results that were expected - forget looking to Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet for "helpful hints and tips.."

Your business will take twice as long and need three times the cash that you thought it would when you handed your fancy Business Plan to that shiny new MBA qualified Bank Manager.

When success does arrive it will be such a relief that you can actually buy a decent bottle of wine again and not resort to Meths and Brasso as cocktail ingredients - that you will probably simply cry out of gratitude to the client whose cheque turned up the day before the BMW has to go back. But to the outside world of course - it all looks easy...

5.  Promise of Work Delusion.

Before you start your new venture, or very shortly afterwards, a number of people will suggest that you call them to see what you can do together, suggest "partnerships" or even explore "alliance agreements" with you to help you get started.

These are 96.73% useless - they are false promises of hope that will build your spirits and cause you to relax, thinking that a "contract" is in the bag. It is not and was never going to be, ignore all these offers, they are just people who think that being nice means they should offer you the prospect of work. 

Worst of all it causes you to sit back and think you have made it; when in fact you need to buy some more Value Baked Beans.

It makes them feel good, but I can guarantee most will come to nothing - decide who you want your clients to be and get marketing and selling yourself shamelessly. The best clients are those you work to win.

The oldest profession in the World is not Prostitution - it's Marketing & Sales. You have to do a deal before you can provide any service - so get good at them both. Remember, it's not Prostitution; the pay and conditions aren't that good.

Is it worth it...?

Yes - but only if you stick at it and get through the tough times. I see so many people who get the Car the office and the Laptop / IPhone before they have any clients. They go to Office World and get multi packs of Post It Notes, paper, pens, paper clips and Tippex in the vain hope that these comfort toys will attract clients.

The first thing you need in your business is not a BMW Lease Car - we still have the 21 year old Laguna we started out with and I use it to go to networking events and meetings even now - its CLIENTS; get them first, then if you must, get the car. Although when you can afford it, trust me, the appeal goes.

When we started this business, I would travel alone because we couldn't afford hotel expenses and the cost of kennels for the dog - it was tough and scary, but I wouldn't change a thing.

Enjoy the Journey - to your success...