Business Brain Food

Tara Shelton has made it her business to empower people to tell the right story with their branding. Her company, Dream & Do has the motto “if you can dream it, you can become it” and down the years has helped hundreds of businesses sell themselves to their marketplace. Even if your business and your brand is well-established, you can still benefit greatly from the no-nonsense advice from Tara.

 

Read on for Tara’s top tips:

**  A logo isn’t a brand - there is so much more to it than that.

**  You don’t get a second chance at a first impression!

**  Don’t worry about offending people. Be different and go for it!

**  All successful brands define the USP.

**  Think deeply about every interaction you have with your customers and inject this into your branding.

**  Google yourself and manage your own personal brand. Make sure your headshot is always the same across all different social mediums.

**  Look at what everyone else in your market is doing… what if you did the opposite?

In this episode of Business Brain Food you will learn:

**  How branding is more than simply design

**  How branding can create an experience

**  Branding on a budget

**  When to rebrand

**  Branding success stories

**  Can you get away with cheap logo services?

Resources mentioned in this episode:

**  Book yourself in for a complimentary business assessment at http://www.maxmyprofit.com.au

**  Special offer for BBF listeners: Tara’s eBook “42 branding tips for startups”, normally 12 AUD, free giveaway if you email tara@dreamanddo.com.au and put BBF in the subject header.

**  Tara’s website: http://www.dreamanddo.com.au

**  Tara’s instagram: _dreamanddo_

**  The Business Brain Food Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/businessbrainfood

**  All previous BBF episodes & show notes can be found at http://www.businessbrainfood.com.au

**  Twitter: https://twitter.com/bfewtrell

 

Call to action:

Let’s go back to Tara’s advice from before. If you want one thing that sums up her approach to branding, read this and take note: “Look at what everyone else is doing… what if you did the opposite?”

Also, if you are enjoying these Business Brain Food podcasts, then make sure to share them via social media sites or email the links to family and friends. A lot/ of time and effort goes into producing each of these podcasts with the goal in mind of the more people we can inspire about business the better. You can help us do just that!

Until next time, have a profitable day!

Cheers,
Ben Fewtrell
(02) 9111 5000

Direct download: bbf173_branding_your_business_for_success.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm AEDT

What a pleasure it is to talk about a monumental Aussie success story. As the founder of Canva.com, Cameron Adams has flown the flag for Aussie entrepreneurs the world over by creating a collaborative online design platform that has literally changed the lives of millions.

The basic premise of Canva was to empower people who were not naturally gifted in the area of design to get creative. Canva succeeded in spades and is now worth over $1bn! As well as telling the story of their meteoric rise, Cameron gave us some brilliant insight that all entrerpreneurs could benefit from.

 

Read on for Cameron’s top tips:

**  Understand what your strength is in business. If you are an expert on product/invention then you need to make sure you have someone alongside you who is more focused on process and management.

**  Get your onboarding right. Don’t subject your employees to too many ‘sink or swim’ situations.

**  When trying to raise investment you should really focus on getting your first investor over the line. Then others will follow.

**  Get your content right. Do that and you won’t need to spend big money on conventional marketing.

**  Creating a great product is your best form of marketing.

**  When doing your marketing campaigns, always work to a KPI, i.e. "cost per new lead”

Think properly about the product you’re building. Stay faithful to your vision by not pandering to fads and investor agendas.

 

In this episode of Business Brain Food you will learn:

**  The sensational rise of Canva

**  The best uses of Canva as a design tool

**  How Cameron raised funding in the early days

**  Is there a formula for being a successful entrepreneur?

**  How Canva gathered intelligence from its customers

**  The best ‘kind’ of investor

 

Resources mentioned in this episode:

**  Book yourself in for a complimentary business assessment at http://www.maxmyprofit.com.au

**  Go to http://www.canva.com for design inspiration.

**  Cameron says that Canva is always looking to hire fresh new talent. Simply google “canva jobs” to see what’s out there at the moment.

**  The Business Brain Food Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/businessbrainfood

**  All previous BBF episodes & show notes can be found at http://www.businessbrainfood.com.au

**  Twitter: https://twitter.com/bfewtrell

 

Call to action:

Cameron’s success is based on many positive factors, but the quote that really hit home is this one: “Create a culture in your company where your workers are encouraged to be a good human and to empower others."

Also, if you are enjoying these Business Brain Food podcasts, then make sure to share them via social media sites or email the links to family and friends. A lot/ of time and effort goes into producing each of these podcasts with the goal in mind of the more people we can inspire about business the better. You can help us do just that!

Until next time, have a profitable day!

Cheers,
Ben Fewtrell
(02) 9111 5000

 

Direct download: BBF172_How_an_Aussie_built_a_US1b_company_in_6_years_with_Cameron_Adams.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm AEDT

This week we talk to someone who has used adversity in business to do things a different way. John Abbott lost six businesses during the GFC and went off to Bali with only a backpack to his name, but soon he found a winning formula in business by using giveaways.

John is an inspirational man who has worked with some truly inspirational people, such as Richard Branson, Roger Hamilton and Paul Dunn. As the founder of the Results Platform Foundation and Global Enterprise, John has truly practiced what he has preached and has the results to prove it.

 

Read on for John’s top tips on work/life balance and the power of giveaways:

**  Swift action is the best. It’s tempting to hold onto a failing business for the sake of your staff, but it might actually be better for them to make a change sooner rather than later.

**  Do not hide! Front up to people if you owe them money – then you stand a better chance of  successful negotiation.

**  In Bali, John saw “extraordinarily wealthy people” living with almost no money. Whatever you are doing in business, remember that it is possible to be happy without massive monetary wealth.

**  Giving is a good way of turning what would normally be a sales conversation into something easier.

**  If you offer real value for free and someone makes a commitment to receive it, they are more likely to commit to buying something further down the line.

**  You can offer a giveaway for a limited number of people. Think of all of the people who apply for the giveaway who don’t make it… you can then contact them and make them a special offer.

In this episode of Business Brain Food you will learn:

**  How John coped with losing everything

**  When to let go of a failing business

**  How to use giving to benefit your business and everyone

**  How to manage the demand for giveaways

**  The power of “human to human” marketing

 

Resources mentioned in this episode:

**  Book yourself in for a complimentary business assessment at http://www.maxmyprofit.com.au

**  John’s personal website: http://www.johnabbott.me

**  Further detail on John’s pioneering giving model can be found at: http://www.givingmodel.com

**  John’s book, Freedom By Design can be bought here

**  The Business Brain Food Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/businessbrainfood

 

**  All previous BBF episodes & show notes can be found at http://www.businessbrainfood.com.au

**  Twitter: https://twitter.com/bfewtrell

 

Call to action:

There is a lot you can learn from John. First, that it is possible to come back from a dire financial situation as both a person and a businessman, and second, that giving is an immensely powerful sales/marketing tool.

Also, if you are enjoying these Business Brain Food podcasts, then make sure to share them via social media sites or email the links to family and friends. A lot of time and effort goes into producing each of these podcasts with the goal in mind of the more people we can inspire about business the better. You can help us do just that!

Until next time, have a profitable day!

Cheers,
Ben Fewtrell
(02) 9111 5000

Direct download: bbf171_how_to_grow_your_business_by_giving_products_away_01.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm AEDT

Every business needs good systems. It might not seem like the most glamorous thing on the desk of an entrepreneur, but once you hear Scott Gellatly talk about systems, you’ll start to appreciate their magic!

Scott has an extensive background in large-scale IT and project management, having founded his hugely successful company, Scale My Empire. He’s built an easy-to-use framework that can help any business owner, and he’s been kind enough to share it with us on the show.

Read on for Scott’s top tips:

**  Developments in technology should be seen as an opportunity for leverage and empowerment. If you think back to olden times, a farmer who took the plunge and started to use a horse & cart would be more empowered than a farmer who stuck to what he knew and merely continued to use a hoe.

**  Technology helps you work on the business rather than work in it.

**  Think of the high divorce rate among business owners. Creating systems that take you away from the stress of the coalface can literally change your life.

**  You must give your employees a process, a platform and a way of measuring it. The right system will do this.

**  A system can allow a low-paid employee to do tasks that would previously have been done by a higher-paid employee. This directly increases your margin.

**  Business owners consistently struggle to delegate. Systems are a great opportunity to change this.

 

In this episode of Business Brain Food you will learn:

**  Why people avoid systems

**  The ‘triangle’ of systems

**  Futureproofing your business

**  Where you should start when systemising

**  How systems can help recruitment

**  What the newest technology will do for the human race

**  AI’s potential to assign work across a business

 

Resources mentioned in this episode:

**  Book yourself in for a complimentary business assessment at http://www.maxmyprofit.com.au

**  Scott’s Scale My Empire website is here

**  The Business Brain Food Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/businessbrainfood

**  All previous BBF episodes & show notes can be found at http://www.businessbrainfood.com.au

**  Twitter: https://twitter.com/bfewtrell

 

Call to action:

There is beauty and empowerment in systems! Just listen to Scott and think of what you can do to empower your business and your employees.

Also, if you are enjoying these Business Brain Food podcasts, then make sure to share them via social media sites or email the links to family and friends. A lot of time and effort goes into producing each of these podcasts with the goal in mind of the more people we can inspire about business the better. You can help us do just that!

Until next time, have a profitable day!

Cheers,
Ben Fewtrell
(02) 9111 5000

 

Direct download: BBF170_How_to_easily_systemise_your_business_with_Scott_Gellatly.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm AEDT

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