What exactly is life coaching?

Is life coaching the same as therapy?

This is one of the questions I asked David Brown in one of those conversations that could have gone on for hours if we'd been in a pub with a bottle of wine!

Instead of that, I interviewed David for 20 minutes and we kept it (mostly) on track!

Some of the other questions we covered are:

• Why do people decide they need the help of a life coach?
• Do you dig into the reasons why people feel the way they do?
• What advice do you give people to deal with some of the emotions that come up?
• Do you work with people for a fixed term or is it open ended?
• Do people become dependent on you?
• Can they bail out if things get too tough to handle?
• Is there anyone you can't help?
• How do your mindful movement classes fit in with life coaching?
• Will life coaches ever be replaced by AI?

OK that last one happened after we'd stopped recording but it's a fascinating theory! It's definitely a bottle of wine discussion :)

For all the other answers, listen to David's interview here and if you'd like to get in touch for a chat, email him on david@potentialitycoaching.co.uk 

David's story, qualifications, blog posts, dates for Mindful Movement Workshops and much more are at www.potentialitycoaching.co.uk

by Ann Hawkins

Can you take a compliment?

Are you more inclined to believe criticism than praise?

This is a guest post by David Brown of Potentiality Coaching.

Savouring positive experiences is a rare thing.  Many people find it almost impossible to accept praise.  They brush it off, deflect and move on without acknowledging the role they played in the success or kind deed.

What impact do you think this is having on your confidence?  How do you imagine this affects your business?

Savour the positive

What if we were to savour the compliments?  What if we took the time to let those kind comments sink in, feel it in our bodies, allow the praise to bolster our confidence, self- belief and sense of worth?

I think the world would be a very different place.  We would be more self- assured and our health would be better.

The act of thinking positively releases feel good serotonin and oxytocin around the body.

In workhops I notice people wriggle and squirm when they receive compliments and affirmations from other participants.  It seems to touch on feelings of unworthiness and imposter syndrome. These are deep- seated mindsets that prevent us from accepting praise and enjoying life more fully.  How can we experience fulfillment in our life and work if we do not savour the moments when life is great?

Focus on the positive

This topic came up in a recent Friday check- in on the Drive Facebook Group.  It reminded me of talking to my Father who was praising me for achieving my Black belt 4^th dan in martial arts a couple of years ago.  Every word of encouragement he said was competing with my own words of “Well, it wasn’t that hard” and “anyone can do it if they put the work in”.  I feel very different now and can accept the compliment more easily. It is a work in progress.

What have you been praised for in your work life?  Are there testimonials you can read that show you that you can do excellent work?  Do you savour the spoken compliments that people make in passing, or the throw away social media positive sound bites that big you up?  We all have a stack of them.  Find them.  Recall them.

In the article quoted below, the author explains that there is scientific evidence that points to the fact that negative experiences stick in our minds like Velcro.  Positive experiences, by contrast, stick like Teflon (i.e. hardly at all).  He explains that this has an evolutionary advantage and that we are biologically predisposed towards negative bias.  I would argue that while this makes sense, the brain is in fact neutral- it will do what it is trained to do by experience and practice.  If you practice focusing on the negative and ignoring the positive, you will see more negativity.  It works the other way too- train yourself to see things in a positive light and you will see more positivity.  That includes positive things about yourself.

Take in the good

Try the process set out in this article (https://www.rickhanson.net/take-in-the-good/) by Dr. Rick Hanson that I paste directly below:

“Here’s how to take in the good – in three simple steps.

How? 

1. Look for good facts, and turn them into good experiences. 

Good facts include positive events – like the taste of good coffee or getting an unexpected compliment – and positive aspects of the world and yourself. When you notice something good, let yourself feel good about it.

Try to do this at least a half dozen times a day. There are lots of opportunities to notice good events, and you can always recognize good things about the world and yourself. Each time takes just 30 seconds or so. It’s private; no one needs to know you are taking in the good. You can do it on the fly in daily life, or at special times of reflection, like just before falling asleep (when the brain is especially receptive to new learning).

Notice any reluctance to feeling good. Such as thinking that you don’t deserve to, or that it’s selfish, vain, or even shameful to feel pleasure. Or that if you feel good, you will lower your guard and let bad things happen.

Barriers to feeling good are common and understandable – but they get in the way of you taking in the resources you need to feel better, have more strength, and have more inside to give to others. So acknowledge them to yourself, and then turn your attention back to the good news. Keep opening up to it, breathing and relaxing, letting the good facts affect you.

It’s like sitting down to a meal: don’t just look at it—taste it!

2. Really enjoy the experience. 

Most of the time, a good experience is pretty mild, and that’s fine. But try to stay with it for 20 or 30 seconds in a row – instead of getting distracted by something else.

As you can, sense that it is filling your body, becoming a rich experience. As Marc Lewis and other researchers have shown, the longer that something is held in awareness and the more emotionally stimulating it is, the more neurons that fire and thus wire together, and the stronger the trace in memory.

You are not craving or clinging to positive experiences, since that would ultimately lead to tension and disappointment. Actually, you are doing the opposite: by taking them in and filling yourself up with them, you will increasingly feel less fragile or needy inside, and less dependent on external supplies; your happiness and love will become more unconditional, based on an inner fullness rather than on whether the momentary facts in your life happen to be good ones.

3. Intend and sense that the good experience is sinking into you.

People do this in different ways. Some feel it in their body like a warm glow spreading through their chest like the warmth of a cup of hot cocoa on a cold wintry day. Others visualize things like a golden syrup sinking down inside, bringing good feelings and soothing old places of hurt, filling in old holes of loss or yearning; a child might imagine a jewel going into a treasure chest in her heart. And some might simply know conceptually, that while this good experience is held in awareness, its neurons are firing busily away, and gradually wiring together”

Business Transformation

Then, don’t forget to continue doing this process.  The more you do it, the more your internal wiring will fire to let those compliments and other positive experiences really make a difference to your perception of yourself.  And when you have a great perception of yourself, when you feel that you really do a great job of the work that you do, the impact on your business is transformative:

• You are more likely to charge the fees you are worth and do so unapologetically
• Your confidence will shine through giving your clients greater trust in you
• You will speak with more authority about your business and your field
• That self assurance will come across more effectively to clients in business and to colleagues and other business owners in networking situations
• You will enjoy your work and the journey more

Please do not underestimate the power of savouring the positive moments in your life.  Although this article was prompted by a discussion about running a business, think about the impact that this could have on your life at large- your relationships with friends, children, partners and family, how you feel about yourself, the degree to which you enjoy daily life, living with less guilt and sense of unworthiness.  How different would life look and feel from this more positive and empowering perspective?

Over to you

Does this article resonate with you?  Is this a pattern that repeats in your life? Does it feel like this negatively impacts on your business and/ or quality of life?

If you’d like to feel more confident and more free to openly accept praise for the great contribution you make, why not get in touch?

David Brown
Potentiality Coaching

by Ann Hawkins

How to use storytelling to attract customers

"Marketing is no longer about the stuff you make but about the stories you tell"

So says one of the world's great marketers, Seth Godin.

This Ask the Expert spot is in the capable hands of Rachel Extance who is answering questions on how to find the stories in our businesses, how to tell them in a way that connects with our customers and how to adapt them for different media.

This is a summary of a live Q&A.

You might be wondering:
❓What have stories got to do with business?
❓What kinds of stories can I tell?
❓ Do I need to be a good writer to use stories?
❓How do I know what stories my audience will be interested in?

Why should anyone care?

Q.  I sometimes hesitate because I'm worried my stories will be a bit cheesy or even why on earth would anyone want to listen to stuff about my life anyway?
Any tips for overcoming that?

Rachel Extance It's an objection I hear a lot 🙂 It's also not true. It's a story we tell ourselves and part of resistance. You have lots of brilliant experience and knowledge to share. You talk to other people all the time. This is no different except that you are writing it down, videoing it or talking on a podcast. Treat storytelling like talking to someone in the pub or coffee shop. What do they want to know? How can you help? Is there a great story you have heard which you would like to share with others?

What have stories got to do with business?

Every business has stories to tell. These create touch points for your customers, they make you memorable.
We all tell stories all the time. About our day, the things we’ve heard, things which have happened to us.
Humans have been telling stories since our earliest days. They create an emotional connection. While you are telling a story, your listener or reader is there with you, seeing the same things as you and empathising with your situation (or that of the person in the story). Stories help us make sense of the world around us and see how things can be relevant to us. Telling stories brings customers into your world.

Q. How do you know what's a good/right/helpful/engaging/appropriate story to tell for your business? I've seen people tell stories that show they are human but they've gone to far and made me doubt how good they are at doing the job! Also, do you have any tips for brainstorming story ideas when you don't have any? Asking for a friend.

Rachel Extance That's a great question. Storytelling isn't about baring your soul (unless you really want to).
I subscribe to the BBC mantra of Inform, Educate and Entertain. These three things will hold you in good stead. For example, a few weeks ago Instagram introduced IGTV so if you were into social media or marketing, you could tell a story telling people that this has happened. You could then have another story educating people about how to use it, tips and tricks. And then stories entertaining people with it. These could be your own IGTV stories if it's a platform that works for your business.

Stories don't have to be your own. You could tell stories about how others have done something.

Tips for brainstorming: think about the articles you have read or videos you have watched over the last couple of weeks. What stuck in your head? Is it a topic you could write about too by adding your insights.
What questions do people regularly ask you? Could you create content answering these?
Write down a list of 10 topics. Keep adding to it. Not every one will make you a story but the more you think about ideas and write them down, the more you will get used to thinking about stories.
Your business is interesting. You offer a product or service people want. Tell them about it.

What kinds of stories can I tell?

There are creation stories (the oldest of all) about how you founded your company, the problems you wanted to solve, how you built your team, designed your branding, came to be in your location.

Then there are stories about your people: you, your colleagues, people you collaborate with, and of course, your customers.

You can also tell stories about your products or services. How people can make use of them. Recipes are a form of story. You start with some ingredients, they go through a process and there is a delicious dish or sweet treat at the end.

How to... stories are useful. People want to learn about what you do and we all have plenty of knowledge to share. How to make a cake, create a flower arrangement, make a raised bed, choose colours. And then you can tell stories about the individual elements as well. Talk about the plants or fonts or colours or herbs. Tell people about their background and uses.

Do I need to be a good writer to use stories?

No. It's not about writing. It's about telling people a story and bringing them along with you. You don't need to write stories at all to make use of them. You can use pictures, record videos (nothing fancy, a piece to camera on your smartphone) or create a podcast.

Think about it as if you were talking to friends in the pub or over a coffee and what they would want to know about.

How do I know what stories my audience will be interested in?

A really good place to start is to see what people search for online. Then create stories about those topics.
Pay attention to the news. Is there a new development in your industry? Or is there something in the wider world which you could make use of.
For instance, I read a story yesterday about a woman who was encouraging girls to study science by writing Wikipedia articles about female scientists and their achievements. It's a great example of how stories can make a difference and influence people so it's one for me to share.

Q. I’m always a bit nervous of including too much personal stuff in stories in case of being judged or rather misjudged. Any advice?

Rachel If it's something you are happy to share and by sharing you will help others going through something similar, it fits with your brand and your audience, then you should be fine. If you think you're going to spend the next week or two cringing about it, then probably best not to share. There will always be critics. Ignore them.

Q. Any tips for making your story into bite sized pieces. There's no point creating a beautiful 5 minute video, 2,000word blog post or whatever unless you can break that down into small accessible and informative chunks.

Rachel When you've created a story you need to make it pay its way. You've spent time on it and you want as many people to see it as possible.
You can share it on your social media platforms several times. Vary the time of day between posting, have two or three different version of the message and also think about the image you are sharing with it.
You can pull out quotes for instance and use them to create an image using a tool like Canva.
Another way of repurposing blogs is to turn them into short videos using Lumen 5.
Break your post into bullet points to give you the message you want to convey and layer with images.
You will be able to share a story at least 5 different ways.

If you'd like to know more about business storytelling and how to reach and influence the right audience, connect with Rachel at www.extance.co.uk or on Twitter @RachelExtance 

by Ann Hawkins

7 Reasons Why I Changed My Mind About Goal Setting!

Do you struggle with goal setting?

Business owners are always being told they need to set goals but the reality is that many just go with the flow, doing what they can and hoping for the best.

Helen Lindop recently had a revelation about goal setting that has transformed her business and her life.

In this Q&A from the Drive Ask the Expert session, she explains what changed and what benefits she experienced.

What are the main advantages of goal setting?

Helen Lindop I've saved so much time. I have far fewer blind alleys now. If something isn't working I know quickly and adjust. I underestimated the mental effort of making decisions. It's much easier now because if something takes me closer to the goal I do it, if not, I don't.

Here’s me arguing with myself about the reasons I didn't used to set goals and now I do. You might relate to a lot of these!

1. I'm a one-person business, I can respond to whatever comes in anyway.

Yes, but it's going to save a lot of time and effort if I can replicate what I do, or at least parts of what I do. It'll make my life easier and be more cost effective, too. And it'll be much easier to get a team member to take it over when I'm ready.

2. I'd been trying for years and never stuck to them more than a few weeks.

Most goal setting systems seem to run for a whole year, which is far too long for me. When I found the 12 Week Year I realised this is a much better fit because it's long enough to get stuff done but not so long that I can't see the end of it.

3. I had a young family, so I frequently had to drop my plans to deal with a sick child etc. What was the point in having detailed plans?

One of the big problems I had with most goal setting programmes, is that they don't acknowledge how messy life can be. That made me not bother with them at all for many years. But I started to treat my goals as more of a compass to point me in the right direction rather than a stick to beat myself with. If you have a compass it's not a big problem to stay on track, you just look at it regularly and adjust if you wander off. And even if some days it's two steps forward and one back, at least you're going in the right direction instead of in circles!

4. Part of the reason I became my own boss was to not have to do this stuff.

I think this is often overlooked by many experts - for many of us the whole point of going self-employed was to get away from boring stuff like this! Obviously, you can't fly completely by the seat of your pants, but I think we need to at least acknowledge goal setting doesn't always sit well with an entrepreneurial streak and find a way around it, rather than go straight into the hard-core YOU MUST SET GOALS EVERY JANUARY FOR THE WHOLE YEAR approach. 😀

5. The main goal of running a business is to sell as much stuff as you can, did I really need another set of goals?

Yes, but there are many, many ways of selling as much stuff as you can and that goal is FAR too broad. The goal is about how you sell as much stuff as you can as well as building the infrastructure to do it well.

6. It was one more thing on my scarily long to do list.

I used to think setting goals was one more thing for the to do list when in fact it reduced my to do list. I was trying to do everything at once and not doing anything well. By setting a goal I was deciding what was most important I could put many items on the backburner and make progress on the things that were important right now. Some of the 'backburnered' things got crossed of the list completely. I found out that goal setting was often about saying no to stuff.

7. I was pretty jaded with the whole coaching/personal development scene, if I'm honest.

I think a lot of the personal development 'industry' isn't working very well and I could no longer filter out the useful stuff from the junk. But it is worth panning for a gold nugget or two, keeping things simple, and finding something that works for you.

Q&A 

Q. How do you stay focused?

A. Apparently, there never used to be a plural form of "priority". Choose one thing to do first and when that's done, choose the next one. Don't list every single thing you want and need to do, or try to do it all at once.

I had another breakthrough when I realised I had two types of goals 'business as usual' goals (e.g. bookkeeping - had to be done by a certain date, but wasn't strategic) and strategic, growth-based goals. The business as usual stuff tends to get done anyway because you eventually have clients or HMRC etc breathing down your neck if you don't  🤣. The strategic stuff is where I procrastinate, talk myself out of it and generally go around in circles unless I have a plan to keep me in line.

Goal setting and perfectionism

Q.  I find it difficult to set goals because the perfectionist mindset is 'what if I can't achieve it?' I am working on 'good enough' but it does mean I struggle to set goals, not knowing what I can achieve. Hope that makes sense.

A. Don't even think about perfect. Just work out one thing you want to have done in the next 3 months and write down the series of steps you need to take to get there. Add a few milestones e.g. what do you need have done by August to fit it all in by September? Then every week check the list and see what needs doing that week. Tick off when done.

By doing the things on the list you'll realise your plan isn't quite right anyway, because some things you don't know until you try them, or you need to take a morning off to get your car MOT'd etc. So adjust the list. No perfection required. :-)

I found the compass analogy helped me a lot with that. A goal guides you and keeps you going in the right direction. Rather than being something you shoot for and either hit or miss.

Managing the day to day actions

Q. How do you make your goals part of your day-to-day? What do you do to "not forget about them until you realise you've forgotten about them"? :)

A. I break my them down into tasks (some weeks it all goes wrong, but that's just life!) and put them in Asana (a project management tool) and add a due date. Every day I look at the calendar in Asana and see what needs doing. Then I check them off when they are done.

Q. Was it a case of building a new habit (checking Asana) that made the biggest difference Helen?

A. No, the goals came first. You have to start with what you're aiming at then do the software thing after. Otherwise the software just makes it worse. 😂

If you'd like to know more about goal setting or using Asana to manage tasks, Helen is happy to answer questions. Connect with her on LinkedIn or at www.HelenLindop.com

by Ann Hawkins

How to build a great network

Most small businesses find new customers by networking.

Like most things, some ways of networking work better than others!

You just pitch up and sell your stuff to anyone who'll listen, because we're all there to network right?

You only have to put yourself in the position of the person being sold to to understand why this is the least effective way to build a great network!

Ann Hawkins, a reluctant networker and founder of Drive, the Collaborative Network, answers questions and shares her tips for building a great network by combining on-line and face to face networking in a seamless process that is about collaboration and support.

Getting started

When Martyn Sibley decided that he wanted to leave his full time job and start his own business he spent three hours a night, for two years, building his on-line network. Six years later he was voted No 3 in the Power 100 list and is a major influencer in his field with frequent TV and radio appearances and paid speaking gigs at major events all over the world. (He even has an agent ... )

There is no quick way to build a solid, trust based network but there are good habits to adopt that will help to grow it consistently.

Good habits to adopt:

1. Share other people's stuff as much as your own. If you help other people, they'll help you.
2. Show up regularly, not just when you've got something to promote - show up to build relationships and to help other people to connect.
3.  Before you go to a face to face event, research and connect with the people who will be there. Get an idea of the person behind the business, their values, interests and their extended network. It makes the meeting much more meaningful.
4. When you meet someone (on-line or face to face) connect with them on Twitter & LinkedIn. Find out if they've got a FB Page and if they have, like it. In each instance, start a conversation.
5. Don't be all business. People connect with you, and are more likley to buy from you, when they share your values and interests.

Q. I have a large number of contacts but I'm rubbish at staying in touch with them. What’s a good way of keeping track of your network, in terms of keeping up with folks over time?

Ann Hawkins You can't have a meaningful relationship and understand how each person relates to the others, with more than 150 people (see Dunbar's number) so choose the most important / useful ones and work on those. If your motivation is to learn more about them, be genuinely interested in them and connect them to others it gives a different perspective and reason for developing the relationship.

A CRM is useful and many of them now will fill in social contact info, so for things like events that can be quite good. However, the relationships in a CRM are all one way and individual – from you to them. In a network, you're helping others to build relationships and that makes you a useful / valuable person to know, so others seek you out.

Two of the things that need to be present to build a great network are trust and reciprocity. It can't all be about you!

Q. What about mailing lists?

Ann Hawkins Giving people a reason to stay in touch with you and inviting them to sign up to your mailing list is the best way ever to keep in touch but its still only one way – you to them.

Never, ever, EVER add people to your list just because your connected to them on a social network. (I don’t really need to say that, do I? Judging by the number of lists I get added to by LinkedIn connections, yes, I do!)

Q. How much do you need to trust that other people’s stuff is any good before you share it? I’ve met people I really like and I want to support, but I haven’t actually experienced their service or have evidence they are any good! I can research them, but how deeply? Or is that not what is important here?

Ann Hawkins It's vitally important to only recommend things you believe in. Once you've built trust you don't want to risk losing it. I agree that we all need someone to take a chance on us when we’re starting out but I'd always do some homework first! It's generally quite easy to check people's credentials on-line. If you do promote or recommend someone ask for feedback from people who have worked with them.

Q. What proportion of your time would you put into dedicated network building, Ann? (Assuming one is an established micro business)

Ann Hawkins Face to face networking is obviously more time consuming so it's important to make the most of that time by researching and connecting with people on-line before the event. Don't wait until you get there to try and find the people you're most interested in. After the event you can actively maintain and build the relationship on-line - it can turn a very business-like connection into a fun, social one where you get a much deeper understanding of people's values and also see who is in their extended network. Once you're established, a few minutes a day on each of your chosen platforms is enough to keep building your network - but it has to be about conversations and sharing other people's content not just pushing out your own.

Where does your target market hang out?

Q. How do you identify the best network events to attend so as not to waste time and effort at events riddled with other consultants and/or advisors all trying to sell themselves? Getting away from the serial and very boring networkers who only seem to push themselves and selling, selling and selling, can be problem!

Ann Hawkins I’d never go to anything where I couldn't check out the attendance list first. (Or ones that ask everyone to introduce themselves with an elevator pitch, or those that practice "exclusions" or "competitor lock outs"!) However, there's no reason to avoid events with competitors - people will buy you on your values. It's always about how you interact with people first. Drive is built on the philosophy that collaboration will benefit more people than competition and this is proving to be true in the number of collaborations that crop up all the time and in the genuine, wonderful way new people are welcomed to the group by people in the same type of business.

Q. Going back to Martyn's 3 hours a night for 2 years building a network - how much time (how often/how long) do you recommend setting aside every week to build your network? Or maybe it's better expressed as a % of time spent on your business?

Martyn Sibley I think it comes back to strategy. Who are your customers and how are they best reached? If research shows social media is the best marketing channel, you just do as much as you can. The more time on it, the quicker you'll get there. Not to say going slow is a bad thing. That also depends on the priorities and strategy.

Ann Hawkins  If your target market is larger organisations, corporations or members of the public you won't find them at small business networking events, but you will find them on-line, in professional or special interest groups.

Twitter is especially good for interest groups and influencers. Use hashtags and Twitter searches to find the right people. You can have conversations with almost anyone on Twitter without any barriers! Once you've got some quality (it's never about quantity!) you'll find it grows exponentially. People you don't know will find you because of something someone else has said or shared. Be interesting and useful and people will refer you to their wider network.

It can be harder to make connections on LinkedIn but a good tip is to find the people you want to connect with and see if they're on Twitter. Connect with them on Twitter first and they're more likely to accept you on LinkedIn.

Share, share and share some more!

Ann Hawkins I can't stress enough how important it is to support other people in your network. If you think no-one notices that you don't share their content (where appropriate to your followers), they really do and so do the many, many lurkers that you may not even be aware of! Only turning up when you've got something to promote will get you ignored.

Don't support other people in order to get kudos or for some fake karma. Just do it because you can. Even if nothing comes of it, you'll feel good because you've helped someone.

It's also important to be a fully rounded human being, not a business automaton. Being social (not too personal!) is what encourages connections. People will be attracted by your values and interests, even if they're not an obvious prospect for your business and then they share and recommend you to their wider network.

There is no quick fix or fast track way to build a network. If you have interesting stories to tell people will connect with them, but never expect an instant hit, it just doesn't happen, especially on social channels where it's much more of a drip feed process. Networking is a constant activity, It's like so many aspects of business development, it's easy to get disheartened by networking, but if you keep going there's immense value to be gained on lots of levels.

The other thing that is sometimes overlooked is the fun you can have with on-line networking! Some people who rarely speak in a face to face situation really show their sense of humour on line - as we know from this group! When you're having fun and building trust your network will be its most valuable!

• Website:http://www.annhawkins.com
• Twitter Profile:https://twitter.com/AnnHawkins
• LinkedIn Profile:https://www.linkedin.com/in/annhawkins1/

by Ann Hawkins

Top tips for business and life!

Want some tips from people who are running a business?

Drive the Network members (our Drive Tribe) are constantly learning about running a business and how to live a good life. They love to share what they learn.

The Index Card of Power is an idea from Adam Brooks, illustrated by Anne-Marie Miller.

Big thanks to Drive Tribe Members for their words of wisdom! What's your favourite?

• Don't try to do everything in your business yourself.  This is guaranteed to stop you growing. Your business will be more effective if you delegate the tasks you're not so good at to specialists in that field (you can always learn from them so it's not 'giving up' in that area).
• Don't be afraid to ask for help (look at the amazing help and contributions the Drive team give each other all the time.  Often something that seems huge and impossible to you is really no biggy for someone else, 
• If you're thinking of making an online course or any digital product, *start* with the marketing - make sure people will be prepared to pay for your course beforeyu write and record it. Really understand what they want. Even better, run it first as a series of webinars so you can listen to questions and incorporate the answers in the course. Also, with a webinar if nobody signs up you haven't wasted much time.
• All businesses need to be dynamic. It's not enough to do what you've always done. Continuous improvement and changing with the times are the only way to guarantee success and longevity.
• It´s impossible to succeed alone. Involve people in your business.
• Listen to your clients. Listen to other people in business. Follow what's happening in your area. Don't be afraid to say, 'I don't know'. And the Drive Tribe is an amazing resource. Check out the Learning Hub.
• Quick fixes are like trying to put a band-aid on a broken leg, they often break more than they fix.
• If you can't work out what you're doing, find someone who listens properly to explain the whole thing to. You'll probably find it's the process of explaining it that provides the insight you wanted, not the person you're explaining to.
• Never underestimate the power of self care, whatever that means to you. It might be a daily or weekly break or perhaps a bigger break less frequently. It might be for your body, mind or soul. Big, small. Expensive, free. Know what works for you and you'll work a lot better.
• Know your numbers. How much do you need to invoice to make it worth getting out of bed in the morning? Never discount. If you need more money put your prices UP - you'll attract much better clients. And remember - you're not running a charity!
• Automate as much as you can, whether it's using your accounts software's repeating invoice functionality, or setting up rules to automatically file client emails in the right folder and add the task to your to do list. Just because things need to be done it doesn't mean they need to be done by you (or even by a human!)
• Make sure you have your payment terms and bank account details on your invoices. Sounds obvious, but make it as easy as possible for people to pay you!
• Value yourself! Value your time, your health and your worth.
• If you are happy to pay someone else for their services, ask yourself why you feel awkward charging people for your own!
• Don’t sit down all day! Build regular movement into your day. Walk, stretch, workout, cycle, dance, play, do classes. Your health, wellbeing, creativity, productivity and business success depend on it. Do what feels right so that it revitalises you. Listen to your intuition.
• People buy from people so spend time being interested and curious about other people even if they're not your obvious market. You never know who other people know and if they like you they'll recommend you. 
• You get what you pay for.
• From a 'big picture' perspective, move on from things that don't work for you quickly, rather than holding on for too long. That doesn't mean move on when things get difficult; but do so when you know they're not for you.
• While you can't buy time, if you know your 'worth' per hour, you can automate, delegate & outsource tasks which 'cost' you less so you concentrate on what does make a difference to you and your business.
• Be true to yourself...on every level, if something doesn't feel right, it won't be right. Identify what it is that makes you happy about the 'work' you do. As you develop your business sense check that the 'happy' factor still exists and fulfils you. If it doesn't, make changes. Do it and do it quickly, politely and efficiently.
• Don't look back at the what if's.
• Remember to pat yourself and others on the back for all the things we have achieved this week - and to not just focus on the ones we haven't!
• A desire for control can turn negative when we feel helpless. By learning new skills, feeling worthwhile and coming up with effective strategies, we can move forward with a healthy level of control.
• You really do get what you focus on. If you tell your brain that your focus is X it'll quietly steer you in that direction. The flip side is that what you don't focus on doesn't get done.
• Downloading tasks from your brain onto paper or an on-line tool will free up bandwidth for your brain to do its thing.
• Some people either don’t want to listen or just want to give their opinion no matter what.
• Learn to love selling because it’s about sharing what you offer rather than forcing people to buy something they don't want!
• If you surround yourself with and collaborate with awesome business people, then you can achieve great things!  It’s important to have a strong team - a virtual one is just as good - and a bank of experts you can call on in times of need.
• "You have to prime the pump first", which is to say don't expect the good stuff to come up straight away, at the start of your endeavour. Get used to producing unusable stuff and don’t look at early attempts and assume you’re not up to the job! Keep going and keep getting better.
• It's all about who you know... sharing, helping, supporting and working with other like-minded people.  
• Laughter and fun are just as important in your working day as anything else, sometimes more so.
• Time and space are simple elements which we need to offer ourselves to step away from our busy minds and daily missions and use to reflect on other matters.

by Ann Hawkins

An Introduction to Xero by Emma James

Emma James, aka The Number Ninja, takes us through a step by step guide to getting set up with cloud based bookkeeping system Xero.

If you have any queries for Emma, please contact her at The Number Ninja 

by Ann Hawkins

How to pitch a story to journalist

Press releases are more effective when you follow the rules!

Most businesses would like to get press coverage and, believe or or not, journalists need us to tell them what's going on.
The trick to getting your news noticed is to make it easy for the journalist!
That's why we asked award winning journalist and communications expert Rachel Extance to give us some tips - and we got a lot a more!

Rachel helps businesses to draw people in and communicate with them so that they become loyal customers, fans, and advocates.
This is the transcript of the Ask the Expert session.

What comes first?

Q. Before writing a piece is it worth making contact to see if there is interest or do you send the article in first to gauge interest?

Rachel Extance  Send an email setting out what's it's about and asking if it's of interest. Look up who is the best person to send your email to or ring up the organisation and ask them.

Q.Typically how many words should an article be?

Rachel Extance A press release should ideally fit on one side of A4. It needs to be clear to the person receiving it what it is about and why it is of interest to their readers. If you would like to write something more in depth (or you would like the publication to) then have a chat with them about the potential.

Q. Is there a format one should follow. Not layout, but structure e.g. summary, beginning, middle, end?

Rachel Extance Make it clear from the start what your story is. Are you holding an event? Have you invented something amazing? Or is it a human interest story, in which case focus on the person's story and set the scene. Put a note at the end saying 'for further information' with your contact details and any brief notes you think will be helpful like a web address where they can see your organisation or a line or two about what you do. Always include your email address and a day time contact number.

Attention grabbing headlines

Rachel Extance-Virr A headline should be short and to the point. The journalist or a sub editor will write the headline which goes on the final article. So for local interest, something like "Cambridge woman climbs Everest to raise money for Addenbrooke's",  or if you're going for something more general: "How one woman overcame her fear of heights to scale Everest"

Q. When pitching a story, are there things to avoid? What do journalists particularly dislike?

Rachel Extance Don't ring up and say: "I'm just calling to see if you got my press release".  Don't format your press release oddly or use pdf. It needs to be possible to copy and paste it. Don't use double spaces.

Avoid jargon and make sure you spell check it. I have seen press releases where the name of the town was incorrect or the person's name was written two different ways.

They will welcome a well written press release about a local event or company as long as it is of general interest to their readers. Try to follow their writing style. Include a quote and a good picture.

Q.  Is it best to put press releases in the body of an email rather than as an attachment?

Rachel Extance Put it in the body of the email and then you don't need to worry about an attachment getting lost.

Who to approach

Q. Is it worth researching different journalists before approaching them?

Rachel Extance Yes. Get to know who is the right journalist to approach. Unless it's a very small publication where one or two people write everything, they will each have a different role. On a local paper this could be looking after different geographical areas or a subject matter like education or health. On larger publications they will write on a particular topic or for a certain section. If you're not sure who is the right person to send your press release to, ring up the paper and ask who deals with the topic.

Q. Are there any tips/tricks one can use to capture a journalist's attention?

Rachel Extance It needs to be a good story. Make it grab the heartstrings or talk about something which they can see is of value to their reader. Be helpful. If you read a newspaper/magazine regularly you will spot there are columns like 'A day in the life...' or 'My morning routine' and they will need people to fill these slots. Find out who compiles the column and send them an email saying why you would be a good fit. Don't just look at the business ones. You will find ones about music tastes etc. Spot the opportunities.

#JournoRequest

Rachel Extance Most journalists are on Twitter. You can develop a relationship there. Also keep an eye on #journorequest on Twitter. This is where journalists sometimes ask for help.

Top tips for great press releases

Rachel Extance Here are my top tips:

1. Do your research. Make sure you are familiar with the publication you are pitching to.
2. Pitch to a journalist. Most journalists are on Twitter or you can ring the publication up and ask who deals with the topic or section you are interested in.
3. Keep up with the news agenda. What’s happening? Can you offer a useful point of view?
4. Look for ways to be helpful. There are often slots to fill which a journalist will welcome someone putting themselves forward for. Look for regular columns like ‘a day in the life of…’ or ‘a moment that changed me…’.
5. When you outline your story make sure you cover who, what, where, why and how. If it’s an event, don’t forget when. You’d be amazed how many people don’t put the date and time.
6. Make sure the story is clear from the start. Don’t bury it in the 3rd paragraph - or worse, the second page. (There shouldn’t be a second page.)
7. Focus on people. If you can tell a story about a person, whether that’s you or someone you have helped, this is a great way to create an emotional connection with your subject.
8. When is the deadline? Get in touch in good time. This could be two weeks in advance or for magazines it could be months. Work on Christmas really does start in the summer.
9. Include a good quality picture. If you are pitching to TV/radio outline what will lend atmosphere to the piece. No-one is interested in talking heads if it can be avoided.
10. Follow up. If you pitched about an event, whether it got coverage or not, you have a second bite by sending them pictures and a report afterwards.
11. Blog. I saw someone the other day say they got national coverage because a researcher saw their blog. It means when the journalist is checking you out, they can get an idea of what to expect from you.

If you'd like to get more help from Rachel, contact her at Rachel Extance Communications Consultant and on Twitter @RachelExtance

by Ann Hawkins

How to deliver great presentations

How do you deliver a presentation that really engages your audience?

We've all sat through those presentations where we feel trapped by a dull presenter, someone who reads their slides, too many umms and ahhs and no idea how long it's going to drag on for!

Nobody wants to be that type of presenter!

That's why we asked Drive member Jon Torrens to give us some tips on how to deliver great presentations!

Jon uses a unique combination of insights from the worlds of computer game design and stand-up comedy that enables even the most introverted to deliver presentations that enhance their professional persona and both delight and motivate their audiences.

This is a transcript of a live Q&A from the Ask the Expert session.

What's a good way to open?

Jon Torrens The first few seconds are your opportunity to grab your audience or lose them. Try hitting them with a question. No intro, no "Here's what I'm going to talk about". Find out beforehand what matters to them (pain point) and ask them directly what bothers them the most about that particular issue.

I like start with a stand-up comedy technique of saying hello and talking to individuals about minor details of the moment, such as where they're sitting. This is what I like doing, but the controversial statement is another good technique.

Something personal and unique can be good, such as a photo of yourself in a very different context, to show your true passion and humanity.

TED Talks are a brilliant resource: you can see that people generally talk about important things, with passion, and have REHEARSED it loads. The really casual-looking speakers are usually the best rehearsed.

Speed of delivery

Q. Is there a good rule of thumb when it comes to speed/words per minute etc?

Jon Torrens Recording yourself (video or audio) to get a sense of the pace works well. Good advice is 'slow down for the important bits'. In my experience, people rarely speak too slowly. Never go over your time limit; rehearse, timing each run through, then cut the material to fit.

Ann Hawkins When I did a lot of broadcasting and podcasting we worked on about 150 words per minute. It's a good place to start then you can cut or expand as you time it in rehearsal.

Jon Torrens The timing is crucial. You should know where you should be at any given point, e.g., slide 3 starts at 9 minutes and I'm at 10 minutes already - better skip a bit.

DIVIDE UP YOUR PREPARATION TIME CORRECTLY. By this I mean spend the first half creating the material and the second half rehearsing it.
Make sure you can deliver the thing without any slides. Sounds tough but it will help you only include slides that illustrate your knowledge rather than adding to it.
I thoroughly recommend trying different PowerPoint templates too! There are loads of 'em and they do a lot of work for you (and therefore save you loads of time) in terms of fonts, colours, interesting backgrounds etc.

Story telling

Jon Torrens INCLUDE A STORY. Makes a helluva difference to your content and delivery. It also makes it much more interesting and memorable for your audience.

Q. I'm listening to an audio business book and what I noticed most was the author has used stories all the way through. He doesn't tell you his view, he tells you stories about what others have done. It's a really good technique.

Eye Contact

Q. I know its important to make eye contact when speaking but what’s the secret to staying locked and focused?

Jon Torrens Eye contact and smiling is the best way to engage the audience - it convinces them of your ability and confidence even if you feel nervous and inadequate. It also tricks your own subconscious into thinking 'I'm good at this'. Being 'in the moment' can be hard when you're worrying about what's coming next, so rehearsal is your friend, as it helps you focus on your delivery and not trying to remember all your material. You should feel some fear, but you need to embrace it and turn it into excitement.

How much rehearsal?

You may have noticed that I bang on about rehearsal - it's the key stage that people skimp on or miss out entirely.

Q. Can you share some rehearsal tips e.g. is it best to just do it in a room by yourself with a timer? Find an audience?

Jon Torrens I walk around in a room with a timer on my desk. Get a trusted colleague to watch you once you've already run through it 2 or 3 times.

Scripts and notes

Jon Torrens Start with some key words for the different areas you'll cover, get that edited and sorted and THEN create the slides. Very important.
Use cue cards and have one keyword or phrase for each minute or so of speaking, in a large font so you can read it easily from a few feet away.
You should know what's coming next on the slides instead of having to using them as a prompt and NEVER EVER EVER read your slides out loud! It's the thing that annoys audiences the most! It's best if they don't have any words at all!

Panic, fear and nerves!

Q. How do you deal with the panic/fear just before standing up to speak. I know breathing techniques and rehearsal help, but anything else?

Jon Torrens I find that practising my first line works well.
Fear is a vital part of the process, feeling nervous is normal and a good sign.
Your fight-or-flight instinct will be pushing you to move, and I find speakers who move around more interesting.
Video yourself and experience the horrible realisation of all the stupid things you do such as fidgeting. Then get over it and try to stop doing them.

Q. A lady I met talked about standing as if you are Wonder Woman / Superman and then relaxing into a less formal version. That sounds like a fun way to take control of the presentation!

Jon Torrens I like to imagine myself as Tony Stark or Bruce Wayne.The idea is that you do it BEFORE you get up to speak, though.

A big finish

Jon Torrens DO NOT trail off with a "So... I think... yeah.. is that my time.. so yeah.. is that... OK, thanks."
Give them your killer closing statement, your callback to your killer OPENING statement, hit them with a call-to-action that ties it all together. Then wait, look directly at them, smile and say... "Thank you."
Give people a chance to give you a round of applause (it makes them feel good as well as you) and after that, ask if there are any questions!

Get more help from Jon on how to improve your presentations at www.jontorrens.co.uk  and follow him on Twitter @JonTorrens 

by Ann Hawkins