Having a growth mindset in small business is essential to success. We learn and improve from being comfortable about making mistakes and learning from them, embracing challenges, taking on negative feedback, not feeling threatened by the success of others and being resilient. So what exactly is a growth mindset? In the education sector, psychologist Carol Dweck’s work on fixed and growth mindsets...
Preparing your business for the EOFY (end of the financial year) is a great way to ensure you are meeting your obligations as a small business owner and you can take advantage of all the offers that may be available to you if you have planned. The end of the financial year can be an exhausting and stressful time for...
There is always room to improve your brand voice when writing for your small business. Your writing style and tone, along with your vocabulary, express your business personality, and help you connect with your customers. I was reminded of this when my daughter recently ordered an Oodie (one of those oversized, supersoft, weird hoodie–blanket hybrids that seem to be a...
There are many good and necessary reasons to rebrand your small business. However, the reason needs to be strategic. Not because you are bored with your tagline or logo, or like a particular trend! That can be a costly exercise where you risk losing recognition and any brand equity you have built. With the many changes the last year has wrought...
We are always learning in small business. There are changes in technology. Shifts in the market. Social developments. New opportunities arise, as do new threats. It’s a constantly evolving and moving situation. As small business owners we need to be committed to lifelong learning. One of the best ways is through peer learning, where we learn from and with each other....
Do you have a clear idea of your small business priorities for 2021? Or did you have an idea that then dramatically changed with the situation. There was so much turmoil last year. We went through significant change personally and professionally. As the uncertainty continues it can be difficult to know where to focus our time and effort in our...
Are you missing your casual acquaintances? It’s not just in the movies (think Legally Blonde, Coming to America) that people get social support from their hairdresser! Pre-COVID many of us who live in cities and large country towns would interact with somewhere between 5 and 16 casual acquaintances every day when were out and about. (As someone who lives on a...
Have you chosen a business focus word for 2021? Whether you are ready and rearing for the year ahead, or still reeling from 2020, a focus word can guide you in your business. It can also provide direction for your personal goals. A focus word can provide you with an anchor for all of your goals and can work both...
Here is our ultimate promotional calendar for 2021 to plan your marketing themes and dates for the year. We have all been there, when suddenly it’s Valentine’s Day and you haven’t developed a romantic special offer for your customers. Or created a social media graphic to commemorate Anzac Day. Or perhaps identified when it’s International Donut Day (Friday 4 June)...
You don't need to wait for 2020 to end – you can start 2021 now. If you find yourself saying, ‘I can’t wait for everything to go back to normal’, then stop. We have a new normal, an unknown future and an ever changing world. If you look up the definition of normal it reads: 'conforming to a standard; usual, typical,...