Archive for Inspiration!

Recession proof your business!

Oct 23 | by | Inspiration!, Marketing Strategy, Training/Workshops
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What do we currently know?

We know that we are in a recession and businesses start to tighten up on a few things. Marketing and Training are the first things to go out of the window, would you agree?

These are two things we don’t think we need to keep on top of while money is tight and other things rise on our “To Do Lists”, like the work!

Recently attended a seminar and the Council spokes person mentioned that companies who do not Market their companies or Train their staff when in a recession can potentially go under.

At Koogar, I’m keeping up to date with training on Digital Marketing as I will be flying to Amsterdam tomorrow night. I’m attending the iStrategy Conference which is about Global Digital Marketing and how to monetize it.

iStrategy is an inspirational, two-day, digital media conference for senior executives who believe that the success of their business requires a sound digital strategy. More about the event

Knowledge isnt power, its what you do with the knowledge!

I have wanted to attend this for a while and I believe I’ll come back with lots of new knowledge and ideas that I will share with you once I’m back and have digested it all.

So, one thing to help keep your company going through these tough times is to train yourself as well as staff members so you and  they can handle enquires, customers, and products in the right way showing your company in the right light!

What could you learn today?

 

Whats your Purple Cow?

Aug 25 | by | Book Review, Inspiration!
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I have finished this remarkable book called “Purple Cow” by Seth Godin and I wanted to share it with you…

I first heard of it on Redshift Radio as one of the presenters who comes on once a month reviews books and he shared the story about the “Sneezer’s” which I now refer to all the time. I wanted to know more about this book so I preceded to visit my local library to see if they had it for loan , and they did.

It’s taken me a month to read the book I read it slowly to make sure I took in the books message and answered some of the questions he puts to you. The book is written by Seth Godin and you can find him on Facebook and many other places. his website is: http://www.sethgodin.com/sg/

I have taken a few things from this book.

  1. Be Remarkable!
  2. Otaku
  3. Risk
  4. Sneezers

Be remarkable; is the books theme. It wants you to take a look at your company and don’t be standard or just very good… It wants you to be remarkable and helps you understand how you can do it and why your should do it.

Otaku; is a japanese word for obsession, and everyone has one but they will all be different. I suppose I have one for “black & white” and “cats”. If you can find out if your audience has one for your product you need to move towards them getting them wanting more.

Risk; If you don’t try you’ll never know! Which is one thing my Mum said to me all the time while growing up. By taking a risk you open up opportunities for you, your company and your products/services.

Sneezers; Find out who these people are and make sure they tell everyone about you and what you can do for them. They are the high end word of mouth referrals, better than Networking by far! These are people who are wanting to share you and your product with people to show how you helped them.

I’m also working out what I sneeze about too. Is this something I want to promote? Do I believe in it that much to tell other people about it?

Fantastic book!, which I do and will carry on recommending or should I say “Sneezing” about and will read again in the future. This is one to buy and keep on my shelf…

If you have read it let me know what you thought and which golden nuggets you have taken away from it and if you know what your purple cow is?

Dr.Ivan Misners thoughts on Marketing… (Interview)

Jun 15 | by | Inspiration!, Marketing Strategy, Marketing Tips
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On Monday this week I got a fantastic opportunity to interview the founder and chairman of BNI (Business Network International), Dr.Ivan Misner.

He is called the “Father of Modern Networking,” Dr. Misner is one of the world’s leading experts in business networking and referral marketing.

Why?

The reason for the interview was to find out how successful business men and women like Dr.Ivan Misner promote themselves and what they think of Marketing.

I get asked questions everyday about Marketing. For example; What should I do? It is expensive, there’s no point…, I’m not sure what to do…, What do you think I should do to promote the company?… The answer will be different for every business and business owner.

A lot of business owner struggle with marketing not realising that is a necessary activity for all businesses. So, I want to help them in a different way.

How?

I thought the best way to help my clients and other business owners to understand about Marketing is by interviewing people who have been there and done it. I will be interviewing different people in different ways and sharing their thoughts with you.

Where?

This interview took place via Skype, between Liverpool (UK) and California (USA).

You can listen to the the interview below or you can view a transcript of the Interview here in PDF form. The transcript has a few links that Dr.Ivan Misner suggested you took a look at.

It’s not what you know, or who you know, it’s how well you know each other that really counts…

Koogar interviews Dr.Ivan Misner about Marketing by koogarsox

Lets us know what you think and feel free to ask questions!

 

Koogar interviews Dr.Ivan Misner

Jun 14 | by | Inspiration!, Marketing Strategy, Marketing Tips
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Yesterday Koogar interviewed Dr.Ivan Misner to find out what he thinks about Marketing.

At the beginning of 2011, Koogar took a look at the new years marketing plan. One thing I took from last year (2010) and previous years in business is that there are a lot of people in business who are unsure of what marketing is and are also scared to put themselves out there, even though they are in business to make money.

I regularly attend Marketing Seminars to see what others are up to and how they go about promoting themselves as times are changing, marketing is changing and its happening quickly.

I decided to ask people who have been there and done it… I decided at the beginning of 2011 that I’m going to interview a range of successful business owners and ask them “what their take is on Marketing“, to see if they could give us an insight into what has helped them build their empire(s), and also see if they can give us some hints and tips along the way.

The first person I have interviewed is Dr.Ivan Misner who is the founder and chairman of BNI (Business Network International). BNI is the largest networking organisation in the world that help business owners come together and refer each other for business every week. Koogar has been a member in BNI Alpha in Liverpool for over 3 years and thought there was no better place to start.

The interview has been recorded and will be uploaded for you to listen to and will also be transcribed giving you some of the websites and links Dr.Ivan Misner has recommended we take a look at.

If you not currently in BNI and are looking for a new marketing stream for your business, I can obviously recommend it.

Share your stories about BNI and how it has helped you and keep an eye on our website for the full interview.

Social Media for Artists

Jun 12 | by | Inspiration!, Training/Workshops
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Last Friday was spent in the company of Liverpool based Artists.

From Photographers, to Jewellery Makers and Painters. Even Digital Visual Artists attended the workshop. The reason why they attended was because they wanted to learn more about selling their work, bring more awareness to what they do and understand which platform they should be on.

Dot Art LogoIt was a pleasure to train these Artists for Dot Art. It took me back to when I was in College; life drawing, learning about photography, etching, soldering in metal workshop and Art History.

Love it and every now and again during the workshop I wished I was back in college; getting my hands covered in paint, or glue from making something for a week long brief from our tutors…

Being creative in business is for everyone, not just for artists or designers. As creatives and business owners we need to work out how to do things differently compared to other companies and competitors within our industries.

At Koogar HQ we are creating all the time; for ourselves and our clients, which is actually one of Koogars mission statements.

Koogar will be creatively producing:

  • Products
  • For our clients
  • People

Delivering this workshop ticked this box. We have 4 mission statements and whatever we do we make sure 3 out of 4 are ticked! By having these statements helps us be the best we can be for ourselves and the people we work with.

I have a personal project which I am one step closer to with the help from Lucy (owner of Dot Art). When the project starts it will be photographed and filmed along the way.

I would like to thank Dot Art for giving us the opportunity to work with their Artists and help them sell their Art in the latest way using technology and Social Media. It has inspired me to be even more creative, take more time over work and think about what we are putting out there for our clients.

When was the last time you were creative in business?

Crash Overide, Acid Burn, Cereal Killer and Koogar

Mar 12 | by | Inspiration!
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At the age of 12 I asked my Mum if I could have a computer and lucky me got one! I got an Apple Mac on my birthday which I had to share. I still have today, (probably a collectors item now).

I was one of the best students in my Information Technology class during school. I loved it and wanted more! I also attended an after school Roller Disco at the Youth Club down the road from our house which turned into a hobby when I bought my first pair of Blades at 16. They went everywhere with me.

Inspiration comes from different places for everyone.

“If you mess with the best, you die like the rest!”

In 1995 a film called “Hackers” came out with Jonny Lee Miller and Angelina Jolie. By the time I finished watching this film I wanted to be a Hacker. The story, the computers, the sound track, the style of clothes, the graphics, the blades; Actually everything in this film intrigued me into wanting to know more. Could I have a job that encompassed all of these things?

Crash Overide, Acid Burn, Cereal Killer and Koogar are all handles. Whats yours?

Over the last 3 months Koogar has been working with Business Advisor’s from ICON Business Solutions who help busy business owners take their life back and working with my Coach Robertson Fox for nearly two years who help individuals breath. Due to the nature of our work, I’m online all the time and can work at any time at all. When you run your own company its hard to switch off.

For the past three weeks I have been working on the Koogar mission and vision, not just for 2011 but for the life time of Koogar. What do we want from the company? What do we want to achieve for the company and for our clients? These are the types of questions we have been asked to answer.

Going back to the reason WHY you started doing what you do is a great way of getting your mojo back, getting inspired and getting your vision. Watching this film again has just inspired me to be the best I can be with my work!

Understanding what you want from life or your business helps you get there that little bit faster.

What film inspires you?

A week of Inspiration!

Nov 22 | by | Inspiration!
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What a week I had last week. I attended a few different seminars and learned a lot.

  • Koogar spoke at Train2000 for a group of women in Liverpool
  • Attended Gill Fielding’s Wealth Creation seminar in Manchester

The main event I attended was the North West Global Entrepreneurs Week for Women down at Cranage Hall in Cheshire.

It was a day filled with great and inspirational speakers, stalls and treats for people to buy for Christmas, networking opportunities and 10 different workshops ranging from Social Media to Confident Conflict.

We all had chance to stop for some lunch in the hotels restaurant which was amazing and then we were back it to, learning more and being even more inspired.

I’m all for these days which help you understand your business a little more, it backs up thoughts and fears you have while running a business and also lets you know there are other people out there feeling the same way as you.

Running a business is one of the hardest things I have done as I have to be good at my job as well as deliver it, do the admin, accounts, telephone people and the list goes on. I have learned over the years that you cannot do this all by yourself and you need to have a team around you to help with the things you either don’t want to do or cant do.

Great day all round and would recommend to any lady starting out in business or already running an established business to go along as everyone would take something away from the day!

Wealth from Marketing Event – London

Oct 31 | by | Inspiration!, Marketing Strategy
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The Koogar team attended the Wealth from Marketing seminar this weekend in London which was put on by ThinkBig.

Before we actually got there we were asked by 5 different people “Why are you going to a marketing seminar when you do marketing?”

The answer to this question is “because marketing is an on going element to all businesses, we have to keep up with an ever changing world . Most importantly we love to learn new things about our industry which again is ever changing.

Nothing ever stays the same, things always move and if Koogar doesn’t move with it, then we will be left behind and we want to be in the forefront!”

This question relates to one of our other blog posts about Health and Wellness: Keep Learning. Whatever business your in, your industry has changed in some way. Even if you went to a seminar or attended a workshop and heard one new way of doing things then its worth it! Every business and business owner wants to be the best that they can be and this is the way to do it!

What we are taking away from this weekend is:

  1. Delegate!
  2. Create a meaningful marketing plan
  3. Anything is possible if you take action
  4. Learning and education is how you keep your company fresh and up-to-date

The reason we attended this event is because I recently read a book I bought from Oxfam called Guerrilla Marketing Excellence written by Jay Conrad Levinson and its the best marketing book I have read to date. When we saw that Jay was speaking in London we took up the opportunity straight away!

We left London with a pad full of notes and new ideas, not just for Koogar but also for our clients too and all we are going to do is TAKE ACTION! When was the last time you attended a seminar or workshop that is relevant to your industry?

2010 Year of Health & Wellbeing: Keep learning

Oct 25 | by | Inspiration!
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Keep learning…

by attending seminars, workshops and talks from people in the same industry as you as well as those involved in completely different ones. By attending such events you’ll increase your knowledge and keep on top of changes within your industry. However, you don’t just have to attend talks focused on your industry, it can be fun and worthwhile attending a talk on a subject you know nothing about or would like to know more on- a subject completely unrelated to your business.

We love to learn and attend seminars, workshops and talks whenever possible. Most of our learning is centred around business development and marketing- areas we are involved with.

However, we do occasionally attend talks on subjects that sound interesting and exciting such as how to network and reading people’s mannerisms. So, the likelihood is that you’ll probably see us at a variety of talks and workshops as they are great opportunities to learn new things and increase your confidence too.

It’s always good to try and learn something new each day, if this is something you’d like to do too then check out our weekly Marketing Tips.

Remember, learning new things will make you more confident and confidence can only help your businesses wellbeing.

http://www.2010healthandwellbeing.org.uk/index.php

2010 Year of Health & Wellbeing: Take notice of your business

Oct 6 | by | Inspiration!
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Take notice…

                                 of your business and everything involved within it. By taking notice of your products, services, business and marketing plans you’ll be better able to evaluate your business when the time arises, whenever that may be; hopefully once a year at least.

It may seem insignificant, but if you regularly check to see how a product is selling or how successful an email campaign is and so on then you can make sound judgements throughout the year and make the changes when they count, rather than deciding your marketing for a product isn’t the right move a year after it started. Taking notice of your business will help to develop it and save you money.

We regularly check our marketing and new services to see whether they’re working. Not only that, but we also hold regular meetings to discuss how we can improve our services, brand and the business itself. It is through these meetings that we actually come up with and then proceed with a lot of our ideas, which is why we always have something new going on.

If we never took the time to look at the smaller details of our business we would never have the time, energy or resources to proceed with the big ideas.

Taking notice of your products, services and business will help you evaluate what really matters, improving your business wellbeing.

 http://www.2010healthandwellbeing.org.uk/index.php

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