Skills and experience rejected by an algorithm

Today I’m feeling the crushing weight of rejection And I’m reasonably confident that the rejection was delivered by an algorithm I recently decided that the time was right for me to register for a freelance job website A colleague had suggested that it would be a good way for me to smooth out the ebbs and flows of consulting Although I’ve resisted freelancers’ websites in the past, I decided that this was a good time for me to register I figure that, while I’m unlikely to pick up...

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Why I signed up to PlainLanguagePro

Like most people in business, I get a seemingly endless trail of messages from people offering to save me money, make me more money, improve my skills, create new networks, re-energise my life, sell me something I can’t live without, help me find happiness, help me work smarter, or help me find my inner core The messages sell books, workshops, seminars, think tanks, investment opportunities, revolutionary new approaches to marketing, foolproof ways to find new clients, and on and on and on...

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Give this lid some coffee!

Simple coffee promotion creates both success and environmental concerns I’ve got a little café that needs to grow It’s in the ‘burbs of Brisbane, and I need to persuade our near neighbours to buy their coffee from me rather than from someone else Letterbox dropping is the cheapest and most obvious promotion: letterboxing costs more in time and effort than in real money, and it can directly target the people I most need to reach But letterbox drops are not neutral: some are more...

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Going public about business difficulties

Small business is tough Keeping the doors open can be a challenge, and it’s one that I’ve been feeling acutely in recent weeks My tendency to frame issues through a communication lens leads me to see business difficulties in terms of the communication challenge presented When it comes to communicating business difficulties, here are some of the options: Present a ‘front’ of success, in the hope that the image of success will generate real success (this seems to be the approach that...

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Competitors and social media: Do you share or block?

I’m increasingly interested in the communication that occurs between competitors We live in an age of mass public communication, with most businesses doing everything they can to be heard loudly and frequently It’s common business practice to monitor competitors’ activities and keep track of their public communication But how does that apply in the context of social media – which could be seen as an odd combination of public communication conducted as intimate conversation between...

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Taking a risk with venue hire

  As an independent consultant, I’ve often found myself in the position of wanting to run a workshop about a topic that interests me, but not being confident of selling enough tickets to cover the cost of venue hire For most consultants, committing to a venue hire and catering package is a big risk You might need to commit to minimum numbers to secure the venue, which could set an almost impossible ticket-sales target Forget trying to earn some money, you might not even cover your...

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Make deposits in the credibility account

As a consultant, I’m conscious of the need to establish and maintain credibility I need to persuade clients that I understand my craft, know how to meet their needs, and provide a service that’s worth the fees I charge In turn, each organisation and consultant I encounter needs to establish their credibility with me I find it increasingly useful to visualise credibility as something like a bank account I hold credibility accounts with my clients and the various people I work with It’s my...

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Finding the right training venue: Flexibility is the key

I spend a lot of my time working in training and function venues Over the years, I’ve developed an extensive list of my likes and dislikes For me, flexibility is the key priority I like to be able to set up the room in a way that suits my needs Sometimes, I like to change the room as the day progresses My venue-preference list looks something like this: Rectangular table that can be arranged in either a U-shape or in groups (rectangular tables are better than round troubles when...

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Note to entrepreneurs: ‘educator’ and ‘community’ are not parallel

Parallelism is one of those delicious concepts that help to mark professional writers from amateurs It’s a writing tool that professional writers notice and hunt for, but which readers rarely see It’s part of the invisibility of good writing An editor can improve parallelism and receive almost instant praise from a client: ‘I don’t know what you did, but it reads so much better now’; ‘That’s exactly what I wanted to say, but you’ve worked your magic on it!’Parallelism is...

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