Dear Mike,

Just wanted to thank you for organising a great Hive event on Tuesday night.  I wasn’t aware of the company or speaker before the speech but really learned a lot about an area I didn’t even know existed previously, and gained some interesting perspectives that I can apply to my own industry.  Plus, as always, I met a bunch of interesting people.

I used to organise an entrepreneurs club at UQ, so know it can be a thankless task (!), but just wanted to say thanks for your and the team’s efforts organising The Hive throughout the year.  I always enjoy attending and look forward to 2011.  Congratulations on a job well done.

Regards,

Jordan W Birchall

–

Tuckeria Pty Ltd

Trading as Tuckeria Fresh Mexican

w – www.tuckeria.com

e – (removed for privacy)

m – (removed for privacy)

a – Shop 13, 421 Brunswick St

Fortitude Valley QLD 4006

Plug: If you haven’t tried Tuckeria Fresh Mexican in Brisbane you must it’s amazing!

My reply email:

Mate, thanks so much for this. I truly appreciate you taking the time out of your day to send this through.

We run The Hive out of love for what we do, because we’re passionate about entrepreneurship and the crazy life that that brings. Needless to say, sometimes it’s the last thing I feel like doing on a Tuesday night, yet we keep pumping them out to maintain the community.

It’s little gestures like your email that inspire us to do it all again next year with another great bunch of people.

The Hive wouldn’t exist without the people who come along like yourself to learn, share & link up with like-minded entrepreneurs. So let me turn it around and say THANK YOU to you for your continued support and participation in this great community!

Have a brilliant Monday!

Cheers,

P.S. Do you mind if I use your email in a blog post?

Mike Boyd

e: (removed for privacy)

w: www.mikeboyd.com.au

p: (removed for privacy)

t: twitter.com/mikeboyd

Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won’t, so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can’t.

Sent from my iPad

Remember, we all think it but rarely ever say it – stop what you’re doing right now and pick up the phone or send a thank you note to someone who’s made a difference in you’re life or business recently – it’ll make their day (and probably yours too!).

In the spirit of Jordan’s email, I’d like to take this opportunity to extend his thank you to Nick McIntosh and Walter Haas who have helped me deliver The Hive Brisbane events for another year – you guys rock and there’s no way I could do it without you! Thank you.

Simple and effective.

- Lily Bollinger

- Courtesy of: SIKESessions and @SuziDafnis of the Australian Businesswomen’s Network

Everything that we do and think, directly or indirectly, affects the people around us. The reactions of the people in our lives in turn affect others they come in contact with. Every choice or decision we make can cause a ripple in our lives and to the lives of the people we deal with on a day-to-day basis. In every situation, it is the reaction that we choose that can spell the difference between the pains and sufferings of our past and the happiness of our future.

As such, we should never take for granted our thoughts and actions because the impact that we have in the world is greater than we could ever imagine. Whatever choice or decision we make has far-reaching consequences to us and to the people in our lives.

We can use the ripple effect to make a positive difference in our lives and the lives of people around us. Each of our thoughts or action can be like a ripple continuously growing in size, moving toward and outward, reaching out and connecting to as many people as possible. Then our ripple becomes like a wave that keeps growing in strength and beginning to impact everyone in its path.

Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Cory Aquino have one thing in common: all of them offer their life as a shining example of what can happen when a very ordinary person decides to do something out of the ordinary. They serve as positive role models reaching out to as many people as possible and inspiring them to change their lives for the better. The ripples of non-violence and hope started by Mahatma Gandhi in India strongly influenced the “people power’’ led by Cory Aquino in the Philippines, as well as, the non-violent campaign of Nelson Mandela in South Africa.

Each one of us is different and unique. Each one can make a difference. The ripple effect can be a belief, a way of thinking or an attitude we can adopt to make an impact in our lives and on those of other people. It is a belief that we can transform ourselves not only through our actions but also through our relationship with others.

What ripples are you creating in your everyday business dealings that personalise the experience, add value and build real relationships? Never underestimate the power of one little ripple!

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If we haven’t met before, I’d love to meet you! You can find out a little bit about me here and get in contact with me here. Are you on Twitter? You can follow me here: @mikeboyd

If customers believe they can get a discount from you, it’s because they think they can go elsewhere and get the same thing cheaper. If they can in fact get the same thing cheaper elsewhere, then you are in a marketplace with lots of competitors offering similar products or services, all competing on price. So you are in a poor negotiating position. It’s a losing battle.

Instead, build your business around those goods and services at which you excel in relation to the competition. Better still, focus on your uniqueness, providing goods and services that nobody else can. Customers will then have nowhere else to go and your negotiating strength increases dramatically.

To do this requires an understanding of your competitors and your market positioning. It means that you need to choose your customers carefully, selecting those people who want what you can uniquely offer.

So be prepared to say No when people ask for a discount. Only the wrong kind of customers will walk away, which is good because you can never build a thriving business around them. The right kind of customers – the ones who recognise how special you are – will pay the price. These are the kind of customers to build your creative enterprise around.

We were fortunate enough to enjoy fantastic audience participation on the day and the discussion was very lively!

I re-enforced the importance of engaging in a value-adding manner and avoiding spam communication at all costs.

The group was a diverse bunch of creative individuals from a range of backgrounds and cities right around Queensland, that all shared some very similar personality traits. Drive, passion, an open mind and the dissatisfaction of working for other people were to name only a few. Not only did the group gel very quickly but some of us (including myself) felt as though we’d finally found where we belonged. We found more “weird” people like ourselves who simply aren’t satisfied coasting through life and accepting what comes at us. We were determined, ambitious and passionate to make a difference not only in our personal and financial lives but to also give back to our community and leave a positive imprint in our wake.

Edgeware‘s motto (below) helped shape the feeling of the week and influenced the design of our one-page business plans:

• MAKE MONEY
• HAVE FUN
• CHANGE THE WORLD

(The photo above was featured in the Sunshine Coast Daily Newspaper today with an accompanying article about Upload)

Upload camp was an experience that I will never forget as it has reignited the great spark I once had towards my businesses, networking and personal life. I can’t remember the last time I was this busy and I’m loving every minute of it! Getting right in and getting my hands dirty on a number of different projects and SMASHING my 2009 Goals! The inspiration we all received from this experience and the solid friendships that were formed will no doubt last a lifetime; and who know’s, maybe I’ve just met a future business partner, client or mentor?

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If we haven’t met before, I’d love to meet you! You can find out a little bit about me here and get in contact with me here. Are you on Twitter? You can follow me here:

[Interbrand Top Performing European Retail Brands, 2008]

I was reading an article in Ad Age about how, increasingly, the people who handle the brand inside organization are being considered for top jobs.

Brand matters. It contributes significantly to the company’s value. Lived and owned rather than an afterthought – a deliberate, two-way conversation between a company and the marketplace – a brand is a powerful asset.

Especially in an increasingly crowded competitive environment. A brand that does well by its customers earns a positive reputation. It in turn translates into positive cash flow. There is a correlation.

How do we measure it? Is there a way to make it truly apparent? Start with what happens when the brand is not a valued asset inside the organization.

• the vision, mission and value statements read like those of just about any other company and nobody can possibly see how they come alive, how people live them;
• every business is a silo. It develops products or services in a vacuum, and articulates what the company does differently. There is no central core to vet new products and services against;
• the marketplace is quite confused about what it is that you deliver. There is no brand promise to fulfill, to rally around, to make decisions by;
• there is no compelling reason why or unifying idea behind why a business is in business;
• a line item that contains activities around branding is the first to be cut into oblivion, and with it potentially the company. Did I mention that there are so many choices today?

You know that these symptoms tend to seep outside the confines of the organization. We’re in a connected marketplace. When we buy anything at all, we sign up to join a story. The story could be that of using the cheapest toothpaste or most convenient store, but make no mistake – we make decisions and trade offs based on brand stories and experiences all the time.

I like the idea of exercising, but I do not like gyms – they are noisy, crowded, sometimes hardly clean and expensive. My return on effort is not there. And I do not like paying annual fees on top of monthly fees with no guarantee that I will be able to use the equipment I want, when I want it. Recently I started taking Pilates classes.

The place where I go offers the right kind of environment for me. The largest crowd you’d ever have is 5 people so the instructors have plenty of opportunity to help everyone. You book a machine online ahead of time, the hours are flexible, and the fee is flat per month – you go as many times as you can/want. The brand experience is: personable, flexible, convenient, and fun. Oh, and the reason why you’d go? It promises to make you fit, I am already seeing the results.

Do you have a brand matters story? Today at Fast Company I discuss how cost cutting choices are cutting brands short.

Now you know what to look out for and have your example in mind. How do you calculate brand value?

According to Interbrand, it is at the intersection of brand strength analysis and the role of brand analysis. You take the benchmark of your brand’s ability to secure ongoing customer demand (loyalty, repurchase/reconsideration, retention) and reference that to the measure of how the brand influences customer demand.

To calculate the value, Interbrand uses financial forecasting – branded revenues minus operating costs, taxes and capital to get to intangible earnings. To separate the role of branding from things such as R&D and management expertise, they use an analytical framework. In B2B, the brand is usually one purchase driver among many. This is expressed as a percentage.

The assessment of brand strength determines the specific risk of the brand. The net present value of the forecast brand earnings discounted by the time value of money and the risk that the forecast earnings will materialize. Interbrand refers to a wide array of primary and secondary sources that are applicable to each brand. These include amongst others; Datamonitor, ACNielsen, Gartner, Hall & Partners, etc. in addition to a network of brand valuation experts. More in the report.

If this sounds fairly complicated, go back to how hard it is to explain to the organization that people do not want to buy your products or services because your brand experience and reputation are poor.

“When the value of a brand is recognized by its owner, the brand strategy becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

Source: Conversation Agent.com

Let’s take a moment to better equip ourselves with some NECESSARY TOOLS to benefit our daily lives.

What is a Service Encounter?
Ok, this one is easy. Essentially a service encounter is any time you encounter or experience service. Seems too easy right? I know. Let’s delve a litter deeper… “Service is otherwise known as any activity or benefit that one party can offer to another that is essentially intangible and does not result in the ownership of anything.”

Some basic assumptions:

• There are a number of unique characteristics that separate service from tangible goods.
• These service characteristics pose issues that are not faced by everyday goods marketers
• Goods marketing strategies are not adequate in dealing with those issues.

Thus, services are:

• Intangible – Non-physical activity or benefit from one person to another.
• Variable – No two staff members will deliver service the same way, even when scripted.
• Synchronous in delivery and consumption – Production, delivery & consumption of service all happen at the same time, they are very difficult to separate.
• Perishable – Services cannot be stored. Accurate demand forecasts for service (e.g. sales staff around Christmas) are necessary for correct management of supply. Self-service options like an automatic car wash can to help meet demand.

Services cannot be seen, touched or tasted

As you can see it is difficult to separate the service from the person who performs the act. The service provider’s role is therefore very important, as the production and delivery of customer service is consumed by the customer simultaneously. That is to say, no two service deliveries will ever be the same despite numerous efforts to practice and polish the delivery.

This goes to show that adequate preparation and highly skilled service staff, will easily separate the boys from the men of a particular industry.

What do you think? Do you agree? Did I miss anything? Leave me a comment about your experience with everyday service.

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If we haven’t met before, I’d love to meet you! You can find out a little bit about me here and get in contact with me here. Are you on Twitter? You can follow me here: @mikeboyd

Wow! Or, Oh my god! Are the usual reactions people express when they stumble across this amazing resource for the first time. Yes, I am talking about the Thirty Day Challenge (30DC)…

Well what is the 30DC?

“The Thirty Day Challenge is about making your first $1 online. For a full 30 days we are going to be showing you exactly how to start your own Internet business and generate your first income online without spending a dime.

That’s right, this is going to cost zip, diddly, nothing, nada, ziltch. The entire training program is free, and you won’t have to spend a thing to get your business started and begin making money. No credit card required.”

OK OK, sounds pretty cool right? That’s what I thought when I found it a couple of weeks ago… AND IT IS! I’ve always been the skeptic of online promises, promotions, instant millionaire stories etc etc like I’m sure most of you have as well. But I have checked this out thoroughly and all I can say is – I’m in love!

This is THE MOST AMAZING tool to get a start and some experience in online marketing. The leveraging capacity of this is simply endless. It is a step by step guided walk through of how to make your first $1, $10 or a $1000 online.

What’s the catch? Well there isn’t one. However, there are no overnight success stories, no scams, just a guide to show you how to get more out than what you put in – in the long run.

• This WILL take effort.
• This WILL take long term commitment.
• This WILL provide you with extremely valuable internet marketing information for FREE

Guys & Gals, in my humble opinion this is definitely worth a look. Maybe it’s not for you – but it is for me. I will be undertaking the 30DC for the first time this year and hope to go on to much bigger and better things. This is EXACTLY the tool I have been searching for, all of the other similar services to the 30DC out there cost $1000′s every month… I will continue to update this blog with my progress and challenges along the way, so if I don’t see you over at the 30DC, you can tag along with me here.

‘Millionaires’ – Ed Dale and Dan Raine are the creators of the 30DC and the ‘Immediate Edge‘ and hope to spread some of their simple yet very effective marketing knowledge with us all. Truly an opportunity not to be missed! Below I have put together a short video giving you an inside preview of the 30DC, and a look at the new flock browser that I mentioned in an earlier post. I have used a new program called ‘Screenflow‘ for Mac to create it – bare with me, I’m a beginner!

Check out the 30 Day Challenge! – I promise you won’t be disappointed!

a. Find out what your customers want above all else and promise that
b. Under Promise, over deliver
c. Include promise on all correspondence
d. Be ready to correct or refund if the case arises

2. Define your Unique Selling Point (USP)

a. Ask yourself what sets us apart from the rest?
b. Keep it short, simple and to the point.
c. Become more unique to have greater impact

3. Get testimonials

a. Use them to ensure the new customer that it’s OK to say yes
b. Ensure it includes the product or service and the benefit.

4. Offers

a. Look for low cost products with high perceived value
b. Give them a time frame
c. Make it useful or memorable

5. Follow Up

a. Don’t get disheartened, a NO may come back to be a YES later
b. Believe in your product and its benefits
c. Maintain the relationship regardless of the outcome
d. Ask for referrals