Back2Basics
15th September 2009, 12:55
Hello to you all.
I’ve been lurking in the shadows for a few weeks now and may I say what a helpful, relaxed and sometimes hilariously entertaining forum this is, and one to which I’ll hopefully be able to contribute.
I have put together a programme called Back2basics which assists the small business owner turn their business into something more profitable, more fun and easy to run.
The programme is about empowering people: tailored specifically for those with little or no previous business experience. Relaxed and informal, it assists them to work smarter rather than harder to attract customers, and create a business that really works for them.
I am currently still serving as a front line fire-fighter, and am following a series of events that has changed the way I look at life, people and ultimately business.
What was essentially an early midlife crisis changed the way I look at everything. A qualification in Life Coaching led me to working with a string of inspiring people: The first 7 clients I worked with all earned their living through their own business, but all were struggling personally for one reason or another. This opened my eyes to the fact that most of you are doing what you do for many different reasons, invariably personal, and largely noble.
I found that at that time I didn’t have the skills or know how to help these clients properly because their life was so completely relient on their business - A business which I simply didn’t understand. I became fascinated, and downed tools to spend 2 years learning the essence of what small businesses were all about.
I have no formal business qualifications, (which from my research seem totally out of touch with the reality of owning a small business anyway)! I have however spent hundred’s of hours studiously reading and learning with the ‘In car’ MP3 University to get a good understanding of basic business principles that seem to me, are more often than not overlooked by many owners in their desperate flurry of activity.
I don’t claim to be an expert on anything, and the Back2basics programme definitely isn’t about giving business advice. What I have done is gathered together universal strategies totally specific to small businesses to help me to help the client. By laying these strategies out on the table when the client is at a loss for what they could do, I am able to offer them options they probably never new existed to improve the way their business operates, and its ability to provide them with a great life.
Without resorting to being obscure or creative with the truth, my problem is that at the moment I have no credibility whatsoever to the business community: having a CV that contains nothing relevant to them other than good intentions.
I am now starting the process of nailing the credibility issue by piloting the programme with a risk free ‘payment only on results’ basis in the North Oxfordshire area with owners who are willing to take a leap of faith and put some trust into someone who is at the moment devoid of a track record.
I’m also looking to secure a partner who does have the inherent credibility, and who can buy into the process I’ve created to help drive this forwards and make a difference in many lives.
Any thoughts, comments, advice or observations are more than welcome... Go gentle though please :o)
Charlie
I’ve been lurking in the shadows for a few weeks now and may I say what a helpful, relaxed and sometimes hilariously entertaining forum this is, and one to which I’ll hopefully be able to contribute.
I have put together a programme called Back2basics which assists the small business owner turn their business into something more profitable, more fun and easy to run.
The programme is about empowering people: tailored specifically for those with little or no previous business experience. Relaxed and informal, it assists them to work smarter rather than harder to attract customers, and create a business that really works for them.
I am currently still serving as a front line fire-fighter, and am following a series of events that has changed the way I look at life, people and ultimately business.
What was essentially an early midlife crisis changed the way I look at everything. A qualification in Life Coaching led me to working with a string of inspiring people: The first 7 clients I worked with all earned their living through their own business, but all were struggling personally for one reason or another. This opened my eyes to the fact that most of you are doing what you do for many different reasons, invariably personal, and largely noble.
I found that at that time I didn’t have the skills or know how to help these clients properly because their life was so completely relient on their business - A business which I simply didn’t understand. I became fascinated, and downed tools to spend 2 years learning the essence of what small businesses were all about.
I have no formal business qualifications, (which from my research seem totally out of touch with the reality of owning a small business anyway)! I have however spent hundred’s of hours studiously reading and learning with the ‘In car’ MP3 University to get a good understanding of basic business principles that seem to me, are more often than not overlooked by many owners in their desperate flurry of activity.
I don’t claim to be an expert on anything, and the Back2basics programme definitely isn’t about giving business advice. What I have done is gathered together universal strategies totally specific to small businesses to help me to help the client. By laying these strategies out on the table when the client is at a loss for what they could do, I am able to offer them options they probably never new existed to improve the way their business operates, and its ability to provide them with a great life.
Without resorting to being obscure or creative with the truth, my problem is that at the moment I have no credibility whatsoever to the business community: having a CV that contains nothing relevant to them other than good intentions.
I am now starting the process of nailing the credibility issue by piloting the programme with a risk free ‘payment only on results’ basis in the North Oxfordshire area with owners who are willing to take a leap of faith and put some trust into someone who is at the moment devoid of a track record.
I’m also looking to secure a partner who does have the inherent credibility, and who can buy into the process I’ve created to help drive this forwards and make a difference in many lives.
Any thoughts, comments, advice or observations are more than welcome... Go gentle though please :o)
Charlie