When will government learn to support UK entrepreneurs effectively?

Strategy boards, knowledge transfer networks, development agencies, innovation centres, sector skills councils, workforce management schemes – the list goes on and on.

When will the government learn that all these “initiatives” will never work? Is it because they’re wrong to try to help? No. Is it because the people that work in them are not dedicated? Definitely not!

The failure of these organisations is solely based on their inability to appoint and fund commercial companies who have a proven track record in the business world (their hands are tied). Unfortunately, government programmes focus on “outputs” (statistics to make THEM look good), not profit – and the last time I looked my business survives and grows on the latter.

One of the only areas working well under this situation is university research access, but all too often UK tech inventors don’t need a bunch of students to test or seek out functionality – they need professional marketing, financial and HR assistance to get their ground-breaking products out there.

In the past year I have met with 17 government sponsored organisations. In each case my clients could, and would, offer exceptional value to the enhancement of UK competitiveness, but the answer was always the same, “Sorry we cannot be seen to part fund or appoint commercial organisations to help as other, like businesses, could call foul play.”

What a ridiculous notion. Government should be over-the-moon that successful companies have a desire and vision on how they can help – and at a highly reduced cost. But I suppose that when they can’t even decide on a stable brand name for their initiatives there’s little hope for anything changing fast.

Could we chase the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on this? Oh, sorry I mean BERR, no actually they have just changed their name again to BIS (The Dept. for Business Innovation & Skills).

I rest my case.

Is this How Twitter Could Make Money Out of Us?

Here’s 10 revenue ideas for Twitter without relinquishing their “no advertising” promise. All these concepts would reduce “noise” and allow us business users to focus on the groups of people we want to engage with.

1. Charge a penny per tweet (but under 21’s continue to tweet for free).
2. Colour code users (e.g. by age/business/interests etc.) with filters to exclude categories. Charge a small fee per exclusion selected.
3. Analyse total user topics & activity types each month and sell reports on demographics and trends.
4. Rent user data on opted-in individuals.
5. Publish a quarterly e-book on the best tweets.
6. Utilise the four branding pillars for Twitter products – what we watch, what we wear, what we listen to and what we play. This could further extend offerings across Facebook and YouTube as well.
7. Provide a paid for monitoring service for top brands like Sony, Samsung, Microsoft, Apple, etc.
8. Allow users to pay for and review more details on other users before “following” to ensure they are appropriate (e.g. $10 for 7 days on a maximum of 100 people viewed).
9. Offer a premium account for businesses.
10. Sell virtual coffee and addiction counselling (ok, just joking!).

Have I missed any?

Avatar (the Film)

The most incredible (and expensive!) computer game ever written that you actually cannot play.
What was Cameron thinking?

The 12 days of Christmas Can Improve your Business!

The Christmas break is a great time to reflect on your business. You should be through the stress of final deliveries for customers, no phones to answer and no staff asking for advice or guidance. This is prime thinking time, and it doesn’t have to consume your precious days off either, just park stuff and let your subconscious do the analysis.

So here’s my 12 days of Christmas plan. Maybe it will helpful to you as a guideline.

Day 1 – I relax, relax and relax some more. Chill down, clear 2009 out of my head and enjoy time with my friends and family. A cluttered mind doesn’t think straight.

Day 2 – I have already ordered and received my two business books and novel from Amazon. I will enjoy reading them over the next two weeks and let them challenge me. (Well, maybe not the sword fighting and magic wizard stuff!)

Day 3 – Each day I note and take away a few points I can realistically action in the New Year or use to develop new ideas for my clients.

Day 4 – I review 2009. What could I have done better? Where were my successes? What was a total waste of my time? Only takes me an hour and I write it all down.

Day 5 – I start to organise my ideas into categories. (1) Increasing customer value (2) Technologies and process that can make me more efficient (3) Marketing ideas for generating new business over the next year.

Day 6 – I clear out and/or archive inactive client paperwork from my PC and filing cabinets.

Day 7 – I chill out – its New Year’s Eve!

Day 8 – I totally chill out! I’m exhausted from the previous night.

Day 9 – Clear out day. Remove unnecessary contacts on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and MSOutlook, etc.

Day 10 – I chill out and detoxify myself for all the Christmas excess.

Day 11 – I finish my books, pick-up dry cleaning, buy my Moleskine for the year (they’re on sale!) and ease myself back into work mentality.

Day 12 – I’m invigorated and ready for 2010’s business challenges. I start to contact all my clients and prospects and begin to implement some of those new ideas. I love Toothbone again.

Wishing you all a great Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Try to Smile this Week!

I don’t think there is anything worse than a grumpy marketing professional.

I see my job as keeping my clients invigorated about their businesses. If I continually bring pessimism and bad ideas I don’t deserve the work. So…try something new this week, be dangerous and crack a joke or two. You’ll be surprised at how many positive responses you actually get.

AND OVER DELIVER! If you’re a true creative you’ll have no problem generating plenty of ideas. Sometimes the wacky, off the cuff concepts are the ones that work. Keep in mind your client’s business though, inappropriate or crude ideas will never go down well.

This week, remember that Christmas is coming – keep a smile on your face, not your heart on your sleeve.

Social Networking – effective when “on & offline” work together.

When I speak with start-up entrepreneurs and at business groups I am always amazed that so many intelligent business people hold onto the illusion that, “If I build it, they will come.”

Don’t get me wrong here… the occasional lead can be generated by an excellent tweet or someone’s random search on Google, but I think (deep down) most of us realise these are happy, but infrequent events.

And that’s why I don’t believe that online social networking is a new way of promoting your goods/services – it’s just the old way facilitated by new technology.

If you are unprepared to share your knowledge, help people out and put your own ideas “out there” then you’re just wasting your own time. Selling has always been about reassuring people that you are the best course for resolving some, or all, of their business challenges.

So here’s the Top 11 from my perspective:

1. Focus hard on “who” you want to network with and “why”.
2. Establish where these people gather and get in there.
3. Be prepared to talk on the phone and meet too.
4. But don’t be scared to work globally and virtually either.
5. Remember, a purchase order is not a piece of paper – it’s a transfer of trust.
6. Be ready with additional information when asked, e.g. PDF brochures, testimonials, case studies, etc.
7. Have a LinkedIn or Plaxo account (or both) and use them.
8. Honour your followers, friends and recipients, i.e. succinct, useful information.
9. Keep “fun” networking (i.e. friends) and “business” networking separate wherever possible.
10. Look for complementary contacts where you can help one another generate sales or improve mutual propositions.
11. Be consistent.

All sounds like basic common sense doesn’t it? But I continually shock myself at how bad I am at actually doing it.

Animal types of Social Networking – The Results!

Here it is, thanks for all the input.

And the winner is (ta ta ta boom!) Terry Hall at Job Spot for her contribution “hummingbird”.

You can see her full description on her blog this week here

Feel free to blog this list on, tweet it, Facebook it or get it into the ether any way you see fit. I’ll wiki all of it too, so edit as you wish.

The idea is to get people using the animal descriptions to reflect their current moods/purposes or demonstrate their personality – for example sblatchley(bee). How ubiquitous can we make this if we all use our networks?

Generics and repeats have been omitted. Definitions have been made concise.

1. Owls – good sources for advice and wisdom.
2. Parrots – only pass on links or repeat what others say.
3. Rabbits – only purpose is to promote sex online.
4. Foxes – networkers with a hidden agenda.
5. Vultures – fly in for the kill when a mistake has been made.
6. Meercats – self-appointed police, they report abuse & online dangers.
7. Puppy Dogs – desperate for any kind of friends or online connections.
8. Hyenas – only in it for the laugh.
9. Wolves – we all know what they do – find them and report them.
10. Gorillas – those who indulge in cyber-bullying.
11. Elephants – individuals who remember where everything is online.
12. Tigers – always up for a fight or debate.
13. Bees – very communal, labours for others with a desire to share benefit.
14. Lynx – an individual who connects everything.
15. Panthers – (no definition given).
16. Otters – Swims in conversation. Jumps ashore. Observes. Jumps in again for more (the runner-up answer in the competition).
17. Hummingbirds – known for their quiet energy – natural pollinators, vibrant and resourceful whilst spending adequate time at each flower they visit.
18. Butterflies – start out as ugly caterpillars on legs and transform into a creature of graceful flight.
19. Aardvarks (no definition given).
20. Cheetahs – fast, targeted and agile, observes surroundings and then chases prey.
21. Sloths – hangs around, watching and eats leaves. They move slowly.
22. Octopus – puts tentacles around people they like, black inks the ones they don’t.
23. Flies – buzz in, talk crap and vomit on people.
24. Fleas – professional networkers looking for business people to bleed.
25. Kitty cats – social network on their terms, watch and playfully engage, then go back to sleep again. Occasionally engage in fights.
26. Pythons – want to gorge themselves on business, then disappear for weeks and reappear when hungry again.

What type of Social Networking animal are you?

Just a bit of fun for this instalment – all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. (Sorry… is that Jackism or is it being Jackist?)

I have listed eleven possible SN characters this month based on animals. Please add more or feel free to amend the descriptions. I will not censor contributions (but will edit offensive language or inappropriate suggestions).

I’ll repost a consolidated list in November. And whoever my wife thinks has made the best contribution will get a FREE bottle of Champagne from us, anywhere in the world, so Americans don’t bottle out!

Do I have high hopes? Of course I do! Let’s make the list definitive, if it doesn’t achieve a Wiki entry I’ll be really disappointed. It’s up to us… Please distribute the link across your social networks.

1. Owls – good sources for advise and wisdom
2. Parrots – only pass on links or repeat what others say
3. Rabbits – only purpose is to offer sex online
4. Foxes – networkers with a hidden agenda
5. Vultures – prey on the vulnerable through scams and cons
6. Meercats – self-appointed police, report abuse & online dangers
7. Puppy Dogs – desperate for any kind of friends or online connections
8. Hyenas – only in it for the laugh
9. Gorillas – those who indulge in cyber-bullying
10. Elephants – individuals who remember where everything is online
11. Tigers – always up for a fight or debate

Please respond with your ideas through this blog so I can keep it all together. It would be a difficult to track everything through LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, etc.

Thanks and have fun!

Is Twitter just disintegrating into tinyURL’s?

You know what? I think it’s pretty easy to simply surf around the web for something mildly interesting and tweet it. There’s no risk, it doesn’t challenge anybody, nor does it impart a piece of wisdom or useful advice. It’s cowardly…

I have several “followers” now trying to offer me mobile phones, competitions and, of course, sex. This is not marketing – it’s a crude sales approach with little creativity or intelligence.

Where’s the cutting edge promotion, the seeding, the minor offence to get dialogues going?

Social Networking is best used when we can express our feelings in a non-confrontational format. We can say what we think without face to face reprisal or threat. A twitter question should lead with a challenge, and then the links will start flowing.

Here are a few as examples (I’ll tweet them today)

Want to lower the abortion rate? “Contraception”. Tweet me your top 3 links.

Should bankers pay higher tax on bonuses? Where’s government petitions? Send.

Which coffee chains are not Free Trade? Let me know? Let’s distribute.

This type of tweet engages relevant people – readers can investigative the question and inform their network. It increases personal knowledge, shares it and produces some social good.

And as for the marketing angle? Wait, wait and then wait some more. Get the dialogues going and the promotion opportunities will come.

I’m licking my tooth in expectation.

Businesses – Can you afford to miss these numbers?

If you’re in business and think you can ignore the stuff I’m discussing then please watch this youTube video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8