Keeping Up the Energy

One of the challenges every self-employed person faces is staying positive when working alone . Fortunately, I've always been a person who enjoys learning new things - not only to accumulate new knowledge but also to learn about new and better ways to do things that will help me in my work, as well as everyday life. That's even more true now that I have started my own business, so whenever an o...

Remember The Basics

Since I bought my ERA franchise and started on my own, I've ended up in the media a number of times. There seems to have been a real focus on the recession and the various actions that individuals such as myself have taken to cope with redundancy. The media has often focussed on franchising as this is where many people turn to find a business. This coverage is getting me noticed, I'm pleased...

Getting Sociable - On Line and Off

Two weeks ago I attended a meeting organised by a networking group I joined some time ago. The presentation was about using social media, eg, blogging, LinkedIn and Twitter, to network. Well, I thought, finally someone is going to explain to me what this stuff is all about. It was an eye opener to me and I'm glad that I now at least have an understanding of what this social media is all about. ...

Don't Get Legless, Get Working!

A few days ago, I received a comment on my blog of 26 June "We're Off". The comment was from a long-standing friend whom I first met at primary school. Although he now lives in the UK, we have remained firm friends and managed to catch up a number of times over the years whenever I've been in the UK.

He too started his own business a few years ago, so he's well aware of the challenges I've...

Meeting of Minds

Last week we had our annual ERA Australasian conference which was held in Melbourne at a venue on the river - a lovely city! Added to which, the weather was good with no wind and lovely blue skies. It was an idyllic setting for a few days away from the everyday hurly-burly of running your own business.

The theme of the conference was "Sharing Success." It is no wonder then that one of the...