Virginia is my Executive Assistant and is a baby boomer. She has had some incredible life and business experiences and can deadlift 90 kilos. She’s got heart, passion, skill, intelligence and energy.

You’ve probably heard of the Top Five Regrets of the Dying. It’s a stunning list that was put together by Australian palliative care nurse Bronnie Ware in her book of the same name. She undertook research of patients in hospitals to identify their regrets.

Remember the phone book? It wasn’t so long ago that when we needed a service or product, we’d pick up the phone book and search for a business that could help us.

Your networks provide you with your most powerful sales source: inbound referrals. About one half of my own business comes from inbound referrals and a recent survey by Marketing Research firm USM, identified that in B2B marketing, an incredible 91% of B2B purchasers use Word of Mouth (WOM) Marketing to make a purchasing decision.

What’s your story? One of the most effective tools for building your personal brand is storytelling. The emotional connection it creates with your clients and leads is a marketing powerhouse.

Want to know the fastest, most sure-fire way to raise your profile, build your database and make more sales? Then it’s time for you to brush up on your speaking and presenting skills!

I recently traveled to Queenstown, New Zealand where there is a winery called Amisfield. I’d heard about this winery and it lived up to its reputation. It has a beautiful restaurant with incredible food, overlooking the vineyard and sitting on a beautiful lush green lawn.

It’s easy to underestimate the work involved in running a business. Cash flow and stock management can all cause sleepless nights, not to mention the need to justify your pricing to customers who are shopping around for the best quote.

I was recently working with a client who was an expert in her field of women’s leadership. She was frustrated that she’d been spending a lot of time on social media, particularly LinkedIn and Facebook, yet her social media strategy wasn’t working.

There is no doubt about it, the strategic use of LinkedIn offers small businesses and entrepreneurs an abundance of benefits. It enables you to engage with and influence your peers, clients and potential customers.

Kylie Chown Started her company and soon realised that she was far better off branding in her own name. Not only saving costs but making her easily searchable and easy to find! So it was – Kylie Chown Consulting.

Allison, a law graduate called me because she needed help to increase her persuasion in interviews. This was her last of 11 interviews that year and the pressure was on. She wasn’t sleeping, feeling anxious and emotional at times.

Earlier this month Don Meij, the CEO of Dominos, shared this image. Don and a team outside one of his company’s European branches with the caption “Enjoying Europe store visits… Claude worked for us in operations for 10 years and is now a new Franchisee”.

This is an exciting week for my family as we’re in the process of getting organised for my sister’s wedding this weekend. She’s marrying her lovely fiancé Ben. He’s a great partner-in-life for my sister and I’m really pleased to be part of their celebration.

Julia Roberts has 4 Academy Award nominations. She won best actress for Erin Brockovich and for a period was the highest paid actress in Hollywood, commanding $27 million USD per film. She got to pick and choose her roles which is a dream for any actor.

When I was little I remember trying to talk my dad into things I wanted like new shoes or a new cassette (yes I’m showing my age!) but I didn’t always go too well because mum was the boss and was in charge of those types of decisions!