Mindset

Ever feel like you're wading through treacle? That no matter how upbeat and positive you are, there are always times when everything just feels like hard work. It's easy to become overwhelmed, exhausted and discouraged. Sometimes it feels like progress is painfully slow. 

Some one happened to mention the moon landing the other day, being very specific about the date when it happened. It sparked a thought that might help you too. 

On 19th July 1969 no-one had ever landed on the moon. It just se…

Ever feel some things are just too big to deal with?

You know it’s important but it just feels too big to tackle? Sometimes it’s something like redecorating – you know it needs doing but can’t face all the upheaval. Or you’ve got a new phone and know it’s got all kinds of clever functions but there’s never a good time to learn what to do. Climate change is a whole other level of daunting. What can one person do that’s ever going to make any difference?

Whatever the daunting challenge you’re f…

Are you thinking about putting up your prices?

Charging the right price is part of running a successful business. You’re in it to make money. Yet so many business owners hesitate to charge realistic prices or to increase their prices. Here are a few tips to help you feel more confident. 

Relax. You’re sensible

First things first. You’re sensible. You’re realistic.

So you’re unlikely to massively hike your prices in one fell swoop. The very fact you’re reading this means you like to consider …

You're rubbish!

We all have days when it feels like we're just not living up to our own expectations. That inner voice tells us we're not good enough. 

We think others are doing better than us. We tell ourselves off and put ourselves down:

We're rubbish at social media. We can't do technology. We're not efficient enough, we haven't finished everything.

Others have more fans on social media. They're selling more, taking more bookings. They're more successful than you. 

Really? 

You're a…

Would you like visitors to recommend your business? To write positive reviews about it? To really spread the word about what you do? 

If you do a good job, there's a strong chance people will tell others. They may even do so on social media, potentially informing hundreds or even thousands more people. 

But there's only a chance they'll do that. it's likely, but not guaranteed. 

What if you could increase the chance? To make it more likely that people will remember you and actively want to te…

There are a lot of dandelions in my garden. Some still in bloom, most now carrying the 'clocks' we used to blow as children to tell the time. Do children still do that or are digital devices just too enticing? 

Some people would see my dandelions and think I'm a very lazy gardener. Others might spot the bees in the nearby field and realise I'm thinking more about them than the state of my lawn...

Whatever your view, I think we can agree that in the UK most people see dandelions as plentiful wi…

Humans can be very cynical. Or if not really cynical, certainly cautious.

Offer something that people really want and too often the response is ‘that sounds too good to be true’.

You’re spent ages choosing the perfect photo, agonised over your pricing, refreshed your website, pondered the right social media messages and considered every word you use. You’ve done everything right and offer an amazing service.

And then the frustrating response to all this is ‘that sounds too good to be true’.

You can learn how to do social media. You can learn how to make your website better. You can learn how to take better photos. 

We talk about needing to get more direct bookings. We talk about needing more off-peak business. We talk about visitors, how we feel, what we're doing. 

But we don't talk about prices or making money. I've rarely seen anything that helps tourism and hospitality businesses think about the prices they charge, how to increase their profits, how to make more money, or even…

Do you ever look at what others are doing and feel left behind? 

Perhaps you see other business owners with more bookings or imagine they're generating more income. Or maybe they have more followers on facebook or a more popular instagram account. 

You might see others being more confident in their business, or socially, or see the way they just take on new challenges and seem to leap forward in all kinds of other ways. 

Perhaps you're a little fearful about trying new technology or asking pe…