From Armchair to Action

Fear is the greatest inhibitor....hear more on Sue Stockdale interview

I talk about this and lots more in my latest interview on KMUN radio. Listen to a taster here or the full interview listen to the podcast here (30 minutes)

What do TV presenters and polar explorers have in common?

You might think this is an odd question to pose, but after my meeting today with Nici Marx, who is a very interesting and savvy TV presenter, I was able to think of several answers. 

Nici has extensive experience as a news anchor and reporter in both national and international radio and television, which made her voice and face familiar around the world.  She has been in the hot seat of news and current affairs, whilst anchoring programmes for Sky News, BBC World Television and CNN International.

Cheerfulness in Adversity
She has an impressive CV including breaking the stories of the Gulf War, the Thatcher resignation, the fall of the  Berlin Wall, the Bosnia crisis, the Hong Kong handover, and the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.   So the ability to remain cheerful in adversity comes to mind - a key characteristic of polar adventurers too!  

Focus
Nici also talked about the requirement to have focus - because as you might imagine, when presented with a guest and a one page summary of who they are and what the story is, and a limited time to interview them, if you did not have that focus, it could end up being a meaningless exercise and of little interest to the viewer.  I recognised this from my own experience of the Arctic, when its minus forty degrees, and you are exhausted and all you want to do is sleep, you still need to keep focused to think, where are the matches, how do I warm up my feet, is the tent secure etc. and without that ability, you would be dead.

Survival Instinct
When all around is turning to .......how do you survive?  I found in the Arctic I applied the aforementioned focus to thinking in bite sized chunks.   What should I do to keep going for another 5 minutes?  And then for another 5 minutes?  And then for another hour?  The challenges are relentless with wind, extreme cold and exhaustion threatening you.   Imagine what its like in a studio. Breaking news, information changing constantly, someone shouting in your earpiece as you are speaking...and you have to survive because the cameras are rolling.  I learned to just keep going in bite sized chunks and before you know what is happening you have got through the day or the programme.

You can imagine also what an interesting conversation it was between two people who are highly skilled in asking effective questions - neither of us was let off the hook!

Facilitating Connections

One of the most fun parts of my job is making connections and we had a recent great example of this.

We have just included Dr Julie Bradshaw on our role models section of the website. She holds 17 world records for long distance swimming amongst other things! When she browsed the other role models, she realised that Anita Corbin, our award-winning photographer role model, had photographed her in a feature about her achievements for the Sunday Times Magazine when she was 15 years old!

I asked Anita if she remembered Julie - and of course she did - who could forget a rather determined 15 year old record breaking swimmer?  Anita also said that she was the tender age of 21 at the time....so probably no surprise why she remembered another talented young woman....

And now years later they have been back in touch with one another as a result of our role models section.  This is an example of how I love facilitating connections between people. It underpins our philisophy of "Givers Gain" that runs through all the events we organise.  It costs nothing to link people up and provides a sense of satisfaction. So go on, facilitate a connection today....

Wise women and Wise Pack

Wise Women
Just back from Chicago where I attended the Women President's Organisation annual facilitator training event.  What I love about attending this meeting is the amount of enthusiasm that you experience from being in a room with 50 other dynamic business women. Everyone is so willing to support and help each other, that you can't fail to become motivated and enthusiastic.  Mind you heaven help any presenter that doesn't quite come up to the mark - it won't be long until they find this out!

If you are struggling with the economic downturn, or thinking that you are the only person who has your issues, try to seek out positive people, who have a can-do attitude.   It will help you get revitalised and realise that you are not alone.

Wise Pack

One of the facilitators, Myrna Marofsky was telling me about her latest business, Wise Pack. These are fab travel backpacks that have been designed by women for women.  The company was started by Myrna and her business partner Karen Stinson.  As owners of a successful consulting business for over 20 years, they traveled thousands of miles around the world and knew what it is like to stand in long security lines AND meet with clients all in one long day.

As those miles began to wear on their bodies and souls, they searched for ways to make the long travel days easier. Typical of women-on-the-go, when there was no solution, they created one. Then they consulted with other women travelers, and tested the bag for two years to make sure they added features that met the needs of these women. And so was born the WisePack™.  Now, as Grandmothers-on-the-go they are non-stop users of the WisePack™ adding to their uses, nappy bag, carrier of toy trucks and cars, and "sensible" shoes for long journeys. The uses for this bag never stop. I will be ordering one before my next travel for sure!

Running an internet business

Yesterday we ran another trial networking event in Bath in conjunction with the University of Bath.  This time our speaker was Rachel Morgan-Trimmer, founder of SugarCat Publishing who amongst other things, run the UK's biggest career break website

When Rachel and Jane first set up SugarCat Publishing, they were quoted £14,000 to build a website, and £500 a month for search engine optimisation. Not having a spare several thousand pounds knocking around, they decided to do it all themselves. Rachel used her editorial background to do the site content, and Jane taught herself web development so she could code it all. Their websites are more accessible than UsabilityNet, easier to use than Microsoft, and they get more press coverage than national PR agencies, all on a shoestring budget!

Listen to Rachel talking about her business on this podcast   (mp3 format)

Seven Steps to Business Success interview

I was recently interviewed by Matthew  Roberts who runs a website featuring inspiring people and so the podcast is attached.  You can learn more about how I created the Seven Steps to Success model and how to apply it to your own situation.

Listen to the Sue Stockdale podcast (mp3)

Tips from the Queen of Networking

Last night I attended one of Carole Stone's regular Monday evening "salons" - and had a great time too!
Carole is highly regarded as the "Queen of Networking" and has over 30,000 contacts on her database.  Just as some might accrue pens from conferences, Carole gathers contacts, but not in that sort of manner where one feels marketed to once she has your business card. No, Carole is a traditional networker, genuinely interested in you, remembers your name and introduces you to others.  It's like going to a great restaurant and marvelling at how wonderful the service and food is - Carole has created the art of good networking.

With a little trepidation I arrived, only to be met with a smile and encouraged to take the plunge and start chatting to one or two people in the throng.  Whilst its a relatively small flat in Covent Garden, its like an Aladdin's Cave of interesting people.  You don't know who to speak to next because there is such a rich diversity of knowledge and experience in the room. It seemed to me that there were at least fifty people there, and there's no hope for you if you like a little personal space.  Perhaps its the rubbing shoulders that does it - it certainly means you see the whites of other peoples eyes. 

I was having a conversation with a man with a distinguished miltary background and he mentioned a quote from Charles Handy - the legendary thinker and specialist in organisational behaviour and management.  We considered it and carried on talking.  The next moment we were joined by a grey haired gentleman and his wife.  I introduced myself and so did he - it WAS Charles Handy!  Such is Carole Stone's ability to attract people from all walks of life to her salons.....

Of course, follow up is a vital part of networking - and as one might expect by 8am this morning a lovely message from Carole was waiting in my inbox to be read.  It raised the networking bar to a new level for me  and gave me hope that networking can be fun when the right environment is created and people are genuinely interested to be there. 

Variety is the spice of life

The last few weeks have taken me to some interesting places and put me in touch with several new contacts who have inspired as well as educated me.

Belfast - Michelle Mone was also a fellow speaker at a businesswomen's conference, and it was interesting to hear the latest instalment in her business journey.  Michelle featured in my last book and one of her tips was to keep your feet on the ground, not matter how successful you get and her presentation reflected this.

                                                                                 

Ireland - The IrishBusinessWomen.com conference was really a lot of fun - lovely people, great speakers and the "craic".   I collected loads of commitment cards from the audience (they are cards I use to encourage people to write down an action they will take as a result of what they heard me talk about) so it will be good to follow up with those people in due course and learn what they have done...(or maybe not?) 

Have a look at the photos!

Jenny Bristow, Celebrity Chef, Internationally acclaimed author and TV personality spoke about how her business has developed from her desire to fit in work with family and to do what she loves. She runs a number of enterprises from a beautiful farm near Cullybackey, in County Antrim, where she lives with her husband and their three children. One of her finest moments she recalled was when her book went to no1 in the best seller list putting Delia Smith's book into no 2 place!

Cruise to Iceland - Amongst the lecturers was Roger Lovegrove, former RSPB Director for Wales and an inspiring person who couldn't help but get you fascinated to learn more about the birds and wildlife that we were seeing.  A fantastic role model for nature and with loads of knowledge on the subject.  Made me think about those teachers at school that made a subject come alive.....

 

(A chilly morning in Iceland)

All of this variety brought home to me the amazing ways in which people earn their living and do what they love at the same time.  So make sure you "do what you love and love what you do"!

The business of running a business

Today I attended our monthly Mission Possible Network meeting, where I interviewed three successful women entrepreneurs;
Rhona Jack, Blue Click PR
Paula Stockton, Simply Icons
Charlotte Faulkenau, Segais Hair and Beauty

It was fascinating to hear them talk about some of the ups and downs of running a business. They all talked about how important technology is, not only to keep track of customers, but also to use as a sales channel.  One example Charlotte gave was talking about another hair salon that has the capability to send text messages to their customers.  When the new special edition pink GHDs were launched last year they sent a text message to their customers telling them when they would be available. As a result of that text they had sold all their stock before the product was even on the shelves!

Another lesson they had all learned was not to be afraid to make mistakes.   Rhona said that sometimes people are so afraid that they will do something wrong, that they do nothing.  The only way to learn is to do, and to remind yourself that everyone makes mistakes.  The challenge is not to make the same mistake twice!

It was also heartening to observe how the business relationships have been developing between members over the last few months, and I know that business has been done between many of them.  Next month we move to a new venue and the network has a new coordinator.  It is exciting for me to hand over the reins to someone else and I am also a little sad that I will not be attending.However, I am putting into practice another piece of good advice that was mentioned today - learn to delegate!

Women, women, women

All good things come in threes and this week its been women, women, women!

1. First, I was invited to the first South East Women Investors Forum. The purpose is to bring together a group of investors and intermediaries to exchange ideas and experiences on business angel investing and to consider investment proposals brought forward by members.   What was prominent in the discussions is that more education is required in the highs and lows of being an angel investor.  Seems like a good idea for a book eh!

2. I have managed to get Gail Goodman, CEO of my most favourite business service, Constant Contact to be a role model for our website.  She had some really interesting things to say and the interview will be up on the site very soon, to add to our growing collection of inspiring role models.

3. I heard about the best website for busy women and one that I will be signing up for this weekend. 1click2cook.com is a site that helps you think about what to cook, gives you the recipes and also provides a shopping list for you! Wow! just the best ever site as far as I am concerned.  It even sends you a weekly email so you don't even have to think about it and all for 25p per week - can you believe it!    What I like is that you provide information about your eating preferences, size of family, budget etc. and its does all the hard work so I am going to have an easy time of it at the supermarket this weekend, armed with my printed shopping list.  Why did no-one think of this before?