Michael Edwards from the Northern Affinity talks about why small businesses need to collaborate and finding safe places for them to do that. "For small business owners, you can't do business alone ... it's a very lonely world"How do you deal with a fear of failure?  What constitutes success?To find out more about the Northern Affinity head to https://thenorthernaffinity.co.uk or connect with Mike https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-edwards-thena/

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I first came across the idea of a "productised service" when I was listening to a podcast by Nick Disabato.  The principle is easy - get the advantages of a standard product mixed with a "done-for-you" personalised service.  However, while the term has been around for many years, there aren't that many people who really know what a productised service actually is - and how they can be the key to transforming your business, freeing up your time and balancing your work and home lives.  So on this episode of All Work, No Pay I go through what a productised service is, how it works and why you might want one.  

If you’re constantly firefighting, struggling to deal with never-ending change requests and tired of writing proposals and chasing clients, then membership of “All Work, No Pay” is for you.

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Sometimes great things happen.  When I was struggling, after a failed business, I discovered Kai Davis and his simple, effective advice really helped me.  Now, almost a decade later, I'm really proud to have him on the show.  We discuss how to find new clients, putting all your eggs in one basket and what goes in to a productised service.  If you are looking to grow your business, contact Kai and sign up to his newsletter - https://kaidavis.com

If you’re constantly firefighting, struggling to deal with never-ending change requests and tired of writing proposals and chasing clients, then membership of “All Work, No Pay” is for you.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theartandscienceofruby.com

This is the end of series one of All Work, No Pay. Thank you so much for listening and I hope you've enjoyed it. To end things, I've included an interview I did with Mike Winnet, YouTube star of the Contrepreneur series, where I talk him through the Profit First method. He was so impressed that he actually switched his company to using Profit First himeself! Thank you for all your support and I'll see you again in a few weeks for Series Two.

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[My wife's] business for months has been consistent and booming. The problem is that she is too busy. She has not had a single day off for over three months now and is now booking far in advance. She is keeping up, but it is taking its toll. I am concerned she is burning out.

This is a great problem to have - what we're talking about here is a problem of scaling. I speak to award winning photographer Danny Thompson about how he is scaling his photography business, including working with a videographer and opening a new studio.

You can get in contact with Danny at https://www.dannythompsonphotography.co.uk/

Get notifications about new episodes, plus useful hints and tips for running a time-rich, productive business by going to https://allworknopay.substack.com/
And if you're struggling? Fix it fast - free 15 minute consultation: https://calendly.com/clientrobot/15-minutes

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"My business is becoming my life, now I get constant anxiety and stress.

So I've been running this little business of mine for around 3 years now. Its a little mix of retail and e-commerce where customers could purchase from my place or they could make an order online.

I didn't think or feel much about it at first when I first started... But lately it's beginning to fully consume me."

An all too common problem - something that happens to most businesses as they hit certain milestones. But what's the way out of this? Surely it's possible to run a business without feeling completely overwhelmed?

Jo Butcher explains how you can refocus your business and get rid of the stuff that's causing you anxiety - leaving you with just the parts you love.

And if you want to get started right away - contact Joanne on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/joanne-butcher-virtual-assistant123 (she's fabulous and I've hired her too)

Get notifications about new episodes, plus useful hints and tips for running a time-rich, productive business by going to https://allworknopay.substack.com/
And if you're struggling? Fix it fast - free 15 minute consultation: https://calendly.com/clientrobot/15-minutes

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Get notifications about new episodes, plus useful hints and tips for running a time-rich, productive business by going to https://allworknopay.substack.com/
And if you're struggling? Fix it fast - free 15 minute consultation: https://calendly.com/clientrobot/15-minutes

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Today I'd really like some advice around how a local service business, of any kind can generate leads.
Many of these businesses are very successful from IRL marketing only, but what about digital space? I know that right now, 90% of my business is word of mouth

Getting a consistent flow of potential clients coming to you is the dream. Especially if you don't have to spend a load of time at boring networking events!

So today I speak to the incredible Michelle L Evans, marketer extraordinaire at Microsoft and one of the most knowledgable and nicest people I've ever worked with. And she tells us how she goes about bringing in leads for small service businesses that she meets - including strategies for building a community, standing out from the crowd and researching/stalking your potential clients.

Struggling with your business? Fix it fast - free 15 minute consultation: https://calendly.com/clientrobot/15-minutes

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I'm new to this world of business. I need to sort out a marketing funnel and a lead magnet and I really feel like I should have some sort of marketing plan or strategy. The problem is I go on LinkedIn and people are all like marketing strategy or lead funnel or client generation things or whatever and it's very difficult to know what any of that is.


In a break from the normal format, just in time for Christmas, I speak to Tom Balmont about his fantastic puppet marketing business. We run through why he started the business, where he's getting stuck and where he wants it to go.

I was really nervous about this episode, because we're breaking format and I'm answering the questions. But my goal is to make people go "f**k yeah, that's really good" and I think we got there in the end, as Tom had a revelation about how he needs to present his business to the world.

So if you think your business looks boring to the outside world and you want to get some humour injected into it, get in touch with Tom at https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-t-peterson-tom-balmont-puppet-marketing-puppets

A transcript of this episode will be available at https://clientrobot.com/allworknopay

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The client asked for a proposal, which I wrote up. It included the writing of strategies, deliverables, and then on-going work ... However, they came back wanting more deliverables, without strategies, and were hoping I'd be able to 'update LinkedIn etc.' for them ... I then got an email saying 'can you look at doing this work too', which a big piece of work that wasn't outlined in my proposal, or mentioned in my feedback.

I'm meeting them coffee again, however, I just don't think they see the value of having an experienced communications person, so they don't want to really spend a lot of time or money on the project.

Much as you'd like to help everyone, there will always be those people for whom you're not a good fit. Who have different values to you. Who work differently to you. Wouldn't it be great if you could weed the wrong 'uns out before you even get started?

Nathan Thomas, tech genius from Coded4 talks about how he spots red flags amongst his potential clients and the ever so simple strategy he uses to deal with them.

So if you're a good fit for working with Nathan and need some technical help with your online presence, get in touch with Coded4 at [email protected]

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