Mentoring success - It doesn’t always mean you stick with the business.
August 29, 2008
This is me with my mentoree, Kerrie Rahme.
I was Kerrie’s mentor on the the NSW Women in Business Mentoring Program. Kerrie graduated from the program last Wednesday 27 August- with her fellow mentorees at a special gathering at the NSW Department of State and Regional Development.
Mentoring Kerrie and in her business - Baby Hire Stuff
Kerrie and I commenced the six month mentoring program with the understanding that I would help guide and support her through the journey of being a woman running a new business and coming to terms with the multiple and complex challenges that go with that.
At the end of the program - Kerrie made the decision to stop running her business. Is this a sign of failure or success as a mentor?
Is the objective of successful mentoring to keep a person in business - or to help them realise when its time to step OUT of it or make significant changes?
Here’s what Kerrie has to say about the mentoring process - with me.
I had the great fortune of being matched with Sue Liu of Zulu Communications when I joined the 2008 Women in Business Mentoreeship Program.
I joined the program to help with my short-term baby equipment hire service, Baby Hire Stuff. I was happily going along using what I like to call “the hummingbird approach”. That is, fluttering between enjoyable tasks, following all my bright ideas and ignoring less pleasant tasks for another day. What I desperately needed was a strong rudder to guide my wandering business. Someone to get me to face some facts about my business and confront the hard stuff head-on.
Sue instantly recognised that the little that I had in the way of marketing materials were mismatched and did not communicate the essence of my business to my customers. She mentored me through commissioning a gorgeous logo, getting business cards printed, aligning my website and making sure I came up with a flyer that I could be proud of.
Sue knew when to speed me up and when to slow me down. She got me to focus on how my business was perceived in the market place, and how to manipulate that perception.
After doing the hard work with Sue it came to light that my business was not as viable as I thought it was, nor was it really what I wanted in the longer term. I am now working on another business, Burwood Olympic Park Stays. I can apply what I have learnt with Sue on my new venture. The lessons have been learned and the skills are transferable. The experience has all been so valuable and is getting me to closer each day to business success.
Ever stoic and proactive, it is obvious that she just “gets” marketing. If you don’t get it, or even if you think you do and are wondering why you are not getting results, I recommend you get Sue onboard to get serious about your business and really take it to the next level. Kerrie Rahme
Mentoring is a way to help you make those hard decisions in business.
Knowing what next steps to take in businesses is never easy. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been in business 12 months, 2 years or 12 years - the nature of your challenges change - but the challenges themselves will always be there.
Some times - you just need someone who will listen, take stock of your situation and have the experience and confidence to “tell it to you straight” or give you the support or inspiration to take some action.
Zulu Can help YOU
Business Confidante - gets your business heading in the right direction. It’s NOT coaching - Business Confidante is a unique blend of business facilitation, mentoring and consultancy designed to help the decision makers in a business gain clarity, direction and control. Click here for more information
Next Get Real event - Friday 31 October - Come and have lunch with other business owners - GET REAL, be open and honest and discuss your challenges without fear of judgement or criticism. Click here to find out more
Collection of clothes and goods for Wagga refugees
August 28, 2008
Zulu’s client Aspire Australia is collecting general goods and clothing to take down to refugee communities in Wagga Wagga, NSW.
CEO Sarah Gillis has been supporting these settlers who have arrived from war ravaged and politically unstable countries across Africa and Asia after suffering various forms of political, physical, religious or cultural persecution.
Sarah and her daughter Emily transported the first trailer load of goods to Wagga in May this year.
COLLECTING FOR SEPTEMBER TRIP NOW:
So have a look in your cupboards and see if you have any items in good condition which could be donated to help the refugee families in Wagga - either for the children, parents or household.
Contact Aspire Australia to arrange delivery (you can drop off to our North Sydney office) or collection: 02 9956 6011 or visas@aspireaustralia.com.au
Sarah is also raffling a Zulu donated quilt to help raise money to continue her support of refugees in Wagga. Find out how you can buy a raffle ticket to win the quilt.
Zulu donates quilt for Wagga refugees
August 28, 2008
Zulu has donated a quilt to client Aspire Australia who has, for the past 18 months, been assisting the refugee/humanitarian communities in Wagga Wagga, NSW.
These settlers have arrived from war ravaged and politically unstable countries across Africa and Asia after suffering various forms of political, physical, religious or cultural persecution.
Aspire Australia provides migration advice and assistance to settlers to help bring husbands and wives, children, siblings and relatives to Australia where possible.
In support of Aspire Australia’s work in this area, Zulu has donated one of the beautiful hand made quilts from the Women at New Hope for Cambodian children which will be raffled to raise funds for Aspire’s on-going workwith refugees in Australia.
Contact Aspire Australia to purchase a raffle ticket and for more information about how you can be involved in helping refugee communities. Phone: 02 9956 6011 or email visas@apireaustralia.com.au
- Aspire Australia collecting your winter woolies for Wagga
- Find out more about New Hope Quilts and how you can buy or fundraise with one
Is the pen mightier than the spear?
August 20, 2008
I don’t happen to have a sword in my office - but I do happen to have two authentic Masai spears - a male and female one - that I managed to bring back from my adventures in Africa.
The male spear is WAAAY too big to get in the shot ( ahem…). It’s a good foot taller than me. It currently protects my doorway and has a resident spider living on it ( well - until I picked it up anyway).
The female spear is delicate and intricately carved and is holding up my wall hanging from Tanzania (behind me). Must be a peace spear and not for war being female and all……………………………you must have a look when you come to my office!
ANYWAY - I digress.
Is the PEN mightier than the spear/ sword/sharp-pointy-instrument-designed-to-kill? Well - this blog is not actually about WORDS Vs WAR - it’s about the PEN.
ZULU’s FUNKY PEN
Ok - so sorry if you feel you’ve been a little misled by that introduction - but my point here is that I’ve had these funky pens now for over 6 years. The same style pen in Zulu orange and blue.
Everyone I meet in the realm of business, community and some social - receives a pen with my business card. It’s one of the most effective marketing tools I have and it’s my signature ( ahem again…..) item - part of my brand.
At times - I’ve considered getting something else to replace the Zulu pen - but nothing that I can think of:
- is appropriate, well received, very very useful and appreciated! People don’t expect to receive anything, and it IS my pleasure to be able to give something to everyone that they genuinely like and can use.
- has longevity - is very useful, practical and has a long shelf life
- is easily transportable and giveable - and it’s not too painful to give out en mass - expecially when I’m presenting to groups
- can provide great branding and is an effective marketing device
- is distinctive, cool, funky, striking and memorable
- is GREAT quality for unit price
THE POWER OF THE PEN
Story 1: Executive Impact: A few years ago I had to separately interview individual members of a Board and an Executive team. I introduced myself and gave them my pen - as I do.
I was told later by my client - that at their next combined meeting - as if synchronised - they all reached into their suit pockets and portfolios and out came their Zulu pens. Orange beams around the room! They all looked at eachother , laughed and nodded - they had all been ZULUed!!
Story 2: Pens for Nuns and Priests in Sri Lanka: On one of my post - tsunami relief trips to Trincomalee in Sri Lanka in 2005 I gave out some pens to the nuns and priests I was working with.
For me - it’s not always about trying to promote my business - it’s just that sometimes - it’s just nice to be able to give something that people will like that I have available- so the pen it is. I’ll let the picture speak for itself.
Story 3: Pen pleasure lives on: You don’t know HOW much satisfaction I get when - months or years later, I catch up with someone and they are STILL using my pen. So much of what is produced and given out - ends up in the bin or in a drawer somewhere.
About my pens they say :
- it’s the best pen as it has lasted so long - and they love using it
- it’s hard to lose because it’s bright and chunky. It can be found in their hand/manbag clutter and no-one dares to steal it
- can I have another one.
For me this means:
LOVE the Pen - I remember you - You are TOPS - You’re a great marketer and a funky human being - I must catch up with you or visit your website to find out more about you.
AND THE MORAL OF THE STORY IS: Plan - select and invest better!
STOP wasting money on buying STUFF that’s just STUFF ! Spend a bit more time putting thought and consideration into rationalising your selection and investment spend on promotional items. I promise you, the work you put into planning and selection at this end will pay off with a more consistent brand, relevance and impact for your business.
- It doesn’t have to be flashy and expensive to be effective - just THINK about what you’re choosing for your marketing before investing in it. Every marketing TOOL has a function - what’s the function of this tool?
- If you find something that works well for you - stick with it. It becomes a part of your brand.
- Marketing works in mysterious ways - that may not be abundantly obvious TODAY but will bear fruit down the track - it takes time to build your brand
- If they ever stop making these pens - I’m in trouble!
- I can get these pens for you - but you can’t have my orange.
What has worked well for you in the past with your marketing tools?
Do you need help with selecting and producing your marketing tools? Well……………. here I am - give me a call.
Something funny happened on the way to New Guinea…………
August 17, 2008
Well - it wasn’t really FUNNY -HAHA. But at the end of the day - I sure had to have a sense of humour and an easy going attitude to get me through.
On route to Lihir Island, Papua New Guinea with my client early this month - a few things happened which would certainly stop most people in their tracks.
On arrival at Sydney Airport at 6:00am - I was informed that PNG’s national carrier had changed planes ( smaller plane) and that I didn’t have a seat on it. My client Marcus was already though immigration and in the Qantas Club having the ONLY real coffee we were going to get for 5 days……………………………
I was told that only after check-in closed would I know if I had a seat on the plane. There were 5 of us standing by the check-in counter in a quiet panic.
No amount of jumping up and down and panic stricken phone calls was going to make a hill of beans of difference in this situation. Long story short - we made it on the flight - getting our boarding passes one by one ( I was last) 15 minutes before the flight was scheduled to depart.
As punishment for getting on the plane - about - 20 of us didn’t receive our luggage at the other end.
So - I had arrived on a tropical island after a very long day of travel and set for 4 more days of intensive work - “sans luggage”.
Marcus had called ahead to let the crew know that I need to have in my room ” all the things that a woman needs”. They were told to prepare for a “small” woman.
When I arrived - there were indeed - all the toiletries in the world that a woman could want - AND more……….. and a pile of small clothes ( not a small pile of clothes - a pile of small clothes) on the bed. The girls had done their best at the local market.
They had also lovingly put a fruit and cheese platter in the fridge - SO thoughtful. That’s “rockstar” service if you ask me!
YOU’RE NOT SMALL……………..
Never have three words had so much impact on me - or made me laugh so much.
The first thing Tarama ( the girl whose task it was to create my room) said was - after looking me up and down :” You’re not small - they told me you were small - you’re not small”
To which I replied : ” I would have said medium myself”
I was introduced from then on as: “This is Sue. She’s NOT small”
SO here’s how it panned out:
- the clothes very thoughtfully selected for me ( from a limited local market selection mind you) and washed and ironed - would have fit a 16 year old girl - either that or I would have looked like a hooker wearing them.
- one very thoughtful staff member bought me a t-shirt and copped an absolute ribbing from the bosses for it. ( It was very sweet - you guys are SO mean)
- I was given a new pair of steel capped work boots to save killing my new leather boots on the rocky paths. TWO sizes too big tho - so I clomped around like “olive oyl” for a few days - the steel caps doing absolutely NO good if I had have tripped over and face planted the road.
- my luggage finally arrived Sydney -via Brisbane- Via Port Moresby - Via Rabaul -to Lihir afternoon of the 3rd day. I left at the break of day on day 5. Thanks Air Nugini……………………. NOT
Thanks though to NCS for such care and “rock star” treatment. I truly had a ball up on Lihir and can’t wait to come back!
Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work
August 17, 2008
Those are wise words from our mate Aristotle.
Case in point - I am SO loving my work at the moment - I KNOW that I’m doing the best job possible and that works well for my confidence and my clients are really happy with the results!
LOVE YOUR CLIENT - LOVE THE WORK:
Obviously this is your nirvana. If you have this" Love your client- love your work" situation going - good on you for finding it! Keep investing in that relationship and striving for perfection!
- If you love your client - you will do ANYTHING to help them - even if it does mean that you MAY not be part of the solution for them at this time. Being PART of the solution also helps work those kinds of issues through and keeps your client knowing that you ARE looking for the best outcome for all parties.
Fortunately for me at the moment - the phrase "LOVE YOUR WORK" has never been truer.
It hasn’t always been the case…………….We’ve all had those time where we’ve liked the work - but not the client or LOVED the client - but hated the tasks. So what DO you do to put the pleasure back into the work??
LOVE YOUR CLIENT - HATE THE WORK:
If you love your client but you’re not enjoying the work - then sure - the results are bound to be affected. Your attitude and approach to the tasks both negative or positive surely impact directly on output and the process of trying to achieve the highest standards in your work.
- If your client loves you and values your work - and knows that the role or task is not the best for you - ideally you CAN work through it and find a solution that suits you both - whether it’s modifying the task or finding another way to achieve it.
- Chances are your client is also feeling the tension. It’s best to put the brakes on - flag the issue with your client and be very honest and up front.
LOVE THE WORK - HATE YOUR CLIENT:
At times the passion for the work can override the painful journey involved in achieving it………………..is there an easy answer? - TRICKY…………………
- Is your dislike of the client effecting your committment and ability for achieving the kinds of results that you strive for?
- How painful is the client?
- How much do you love and need the work?
- Is it worth working hard to maintain a painful client to keep the great work?
HATE YOUR CLIENT - HATE THE WORK:
BALE - life’s too short. You’ll just end up feeing bad in the end - your output will be tainted and it just aint worth the money.
Money is a renewable resource - confidence and enjoyment in each moment - is NOT. How much is this situation going to impact on your confidence and how long it will take to get your confidence back is the question.
If you have a suggestion or comment you’d like to leave - please do!
And your reward is…………… A CHICKEN!
August 17, 2008
One of the most heartwarming experiences during my recent trip with my client NCS to their flag-ship camp operation on Lihir Island in Papua New Guinea, was being an observer at their monthly staff meeting.
Gathered together were perhaps 250 local workers who were on shift at that time to, amongst other things - find out who the employee of the month award winners were…………………………
STAFF CHICKEN AWARDS
That’s right - the employees of the month win a chicken!
The staff chicken awards are a serious incentive and reward program - not a joke! Most local employees live in village environment where food and supplies have to stretch across many people. A chicken reward is JUST what the “doctor ordered”!
I’ve never seen people so proud and happy to receive a chicken, and it’s so very, very simple, appropriate, relevant, meaningful, practical AND appreciated!
Giving: Zulu regularly gives special gourmet sauce as a gift - and most people receive a funky Zulu pen - and although small and low-priced items, both have big impact and is sincerely appreciated and remembered by all those who receive it!
Receiving: I often receive movie vouchers and scratchies, and one of Zulu’s associates has given gifts of LARGE boxes of handmade, delicious gourmet chocolates for successful referrals. I LOVE IT! One gift helps me switch off and be entertained, one gift could make me rich and one gift is sure to keep me happy during my 3:00pm slump!
So what works and what doesn’t work?
- What do you give as acknowledgements, incentives and rewards to your client or staff?
- What kinds of things have you received from your clients, associates or employers?
- Does the value of the spend need to equate to or reflect the level of appreciation?
I’d love to know what you think! Leave a comment on by blog!!
PS: The chickens are frozen by the way…. not live……………………..
