In this episode I discuss why I'm putting Excellence Expected on a hiatus. For more information, read "Why I Stopped Podcasting & 5 Lessons I Learned Along The Way". Don't forget, the more you expect from yourself, the more you WILL excel!

In this episode I discuss why I'm putting Excellence Expected on a hiatus. For more information, read "Why I Stopped Podcasting & 5 Lessons I Learned Along The Way". Don't forget, the more you expect from yourself, the more you WILL excel!

Most of us live our lives with a solo economic dependency, meaning that we have only one main source of income. If we aren’t putting in the hours at our jobs or businesses, then no income is being generated. This main source of income is an active income; we need to be there, producing and getting results to make any money. Wouldn’t it be great to have a passive income stream, whereby we could make money without putting in the long hours? Luckily, there are no more ways in which to...

Most of us live our lives with a solo economic dependency, meaning that we have only one main source of income. If we aren’t putting in the hours at our jobs or businesses, then no income is being generated. This main source of income is an active income; we need to be there, producing and getting results to make any money. Wouldn’t it be great to have a passive income stream, whereby we could make money without putting in the long hours? Luckily, there are no more ways in which to...

Differentiating your business from a whole host of competitors can be tough and most of us fall back on what we think we should say when asked how our company differs from the rest. ‘We offer a professional service to the highest standards of quality.’ But your competitors say that too! ‘Our prices offer fantastic value.’ Well, unfortunately the prices of your main rivals do as well. What is the real and valuable difference between your business and any other in the same crowded marketplace?...

Differentiating your business from a whole host of competitors can be tough and most of us fall back on what we think we should say when asked how our company differs from the rest. ‘We offer a professional service to the highest standards of quality.’ But your competitors say that too! ‘Our prices offer fantastic value.’ Well, unfortunately the prices of your main rivals do as well. What is the real and valuable difference between your business and any other in the same crowded marketplace?...

Content marketing has become hugely important to small businesses but it can be difficult to create engaging content on a regular basis. Some find it difficult to write blog posts, others find it hard to create imagery and sometimes we don’t even know what to create content about. Not only that, but there are some businesses and industries that are more conducive to content creation than others. How can we get started with effective content marketing so that it has a tangible effect on our...

Content marketing has become hugely important to small businesses but it can be difficult to create engaging content on a regular basis. Some find it difficult to write blog posts, others find it hard to create imagery and sometimes we don’t even know what to create content about. Not only that, but there are some businesses and industries that are more conducive to content creation than others. How can we get started with effective content marketing so that it has a tangible effect on our...

The development of social media has made it so easy for all of us to connect and to spread the word about ourselves, our projects and our businesses. Twitter, Facebook and Instagram have changed the way we do business and it seems like there’s a new platform coming along almost every week! With all the excitement and accessibility of social media, it’s easy to forget the power that more traditional media holds as a means of growing your business. Our guest on this episode of the number one...

The development of social media has made it so easy for all of us to connect and to spread the word about ourselves, our projects and our businesses. Twitter, Facebook and Instagram have changed the way we do business and it seems like there’s a new platform coming along almost every week! With all the excitement and accessibility of social media, it’s easy to forget the power that more traditional media holds as a means of growing your business. Our guest on this episode of the number one...

We all love a good story, don’t we? Whether you enjoy watching movies or the evening news, listening to podcasts or the latest office gossip, stories are everywhere around us, even in business. The very best brands in the world tell us stories through their marketing, design and branding. Lots of small business owners think that storytelling is something that is only for the big boys, but our guest on this episode of Excellence Expected is going to explain why telling the story of your...

We all love a good story, don’t we? Whether you enjoy watching movies or the evening news, listening to podcasts or the latest office gossip, stories are everywhere around us, even in business. The very best brands in the world tell us stories through their marketing, design and branding. Lots of small business owners think that storytelling is something that is only for the big boys, but our guest on this episode of Excellence Expected is going to explain why telling the story of your...

How many of your ‘friends’ on Facebook do you speak to regularly? If you’re like most people, it’s probably not a great deal. If you’re a small business owner, how much of your business comes through social media? Again, if you’re being honest, it’s probably not that much. That’s not to say that social media isn’t a great tool for publicizing your business and interacting with people, but there needs to be more to a relationship than simply clicking ‘Accept’. Let’s flip that around the...

How many of your ‘friends’ on Facebook do you speak to regularly? If you’re like most people, it’s probably not a great deal. If you’re a small business owner, how much of your business comes through social media? Again, if you’re being honest, it’s probably not that much. That’s not to say that social media isn’t a great tool for publicizing your business and interacting with people, but there needs to be more to a relationship than simply clicking ‘Accept’. Let’s flip that around the...

The decision to rebrand can arrive for a number of different reasons. Perhaps your business has merged with another and you want to project a new image to reflect that. It may be the case that your branding has become dated and an update is required. Or it may even be that you are pivoting your business and changing your entire focus and, as such, need a new brand to signal your new direction. Whatever the reason behind a rebrand, we all want to get it right as the memory of rebranding...

The decision to rebrand can arrive for a number of different reasons. Perhaps your business has merged with another and you want to project a new image to reflect that. It may be the case that your branding has become dated and an update is required. Or it may even be that you are pivoting your business and changing your entire focus and, as such, need a new brand to signal your new direction. Whatever the reason behind a rebrand, we all want to get it right as the memory of rebranding...

Pivoting is something that we hear a lot about in business, especially in the startup space. Facebook began life as Facemash, Instagram grew out of Burbn and YouTube started out as a video dating site. All of these famous names started out moving in one direction and changed course for a variety of reasons. It’s all to do with inertia. A large, traditional company takes time to change course by even the slightest degree, but a small business or startup can dramatically change direction very...

Pivoting is something that we hear a lot about in business, especially in the startup space. Facebook began life as Facemash, Instagram grew out of Burbn and YouTube started out as a video dating site. All of these famous names started out moving in one direction and changed course for a variety of reasons. It’s all to do with inertia. A large, traditional company takes time to change course by even the slightest degree, but a small business or startup can dramatically change direction very...

There are so many ways in which you can market your business these days but one of the most important, and most overlooked, is video marketing. One of the issues that most of us have with the idea of starting a video marketing campaign is that we don’t like to appear on camera. Another is that we don’t have anything interesting to say. With us on this episode of Excellence Expected is Mary Jo Cranmore, who is going to let us know that that is nonsense! Everyone who runs their own small...

There are so many ways in which you can market your business these days but one of the most important, and most overlooked, is video marketing. One of the issues that most of us have with the idea of starting a video marketing campaign is that we don’t like to appear on camera. Another is that we don’t have anything interesting to say. With us on this episode of Excellence Expected is Mary Jo Cranmore, who is going to let us know that that is nonsense! Everyone who runs their own small...

Social media has changed the way many of us interact, do business and, to a degree, live our lives. Networks such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are fantastic for marketing yourself and your business and newer platforms like Periscope and Blab are opening up new channels to reach potential customers. It’s all well and good using social media to promote your business, but are you using it in the most effective way? How many companies have you seen you seem to have forgotten that it’s...

Social media has changed the way many of us interact, do business and, to a degree, live our lives. Networks such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are fantastic for marketing yourself and your business and newer platforms like Periscope and Blab are opening up new channels to reach potential customers. It’s all well and good using social media to promote your business, but are you using it in the most effective way? How many companies have you seen you seem to have forgotten that it’s...

Getting customers to your website can be a difficult task. There are so many business out there vying for the attention of consumers and these days there are so many ways in which people can find solutions to their problems. But gaining traffic is only half the battle. Unless you can successfully convert those prospects, your business won’t experience optimal growth. A conversion can be different things to different businesses in different situations. It doesn't necessarily have to be a...