In May 2019, ‘Burn-out’ was included in the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) as an occupational phenomenon. They are now focussing on developing guidelines on mental well-being in the workplace.

It is little wonder that burn-out is becoming so common place…

It’s a brand new year and you’ve decided that it is time to get some more hired help in your business. Perhaps it’s been a while since your last hire, or maybe this is going to be your first. Either way it’s a great step forward in being able to scale and eventually free yourself from the day-to-day.

In a recent study done in Australia, 10% of employee turnover is the result of poor hiring decisions with over two-thirds (65%) admitting that they have hired an employee who did not meet their expectations. Over a third of small business owners have lost money as a result of a bad hire.

Hiring new staff is not just about being able to have the occasionally holiday in some tropical location with your phone switched off. It is more about you as the business owner being able to focus on the highest value activities you could be doing within your business, allowing you to scale sustainably.  

‘Jack of all trades’ was thought to be coined as a term to reflect a type of individual, as opposed to just one guy, back in the 14th Century. It was originally used more as a compliment to a person who had a broad range of knowledge and skillset – thus being seen as a very handy person to have around!

Later the phrase ‘master of none’ was added, which is what we tend to be more familiar with today. Commentators from around the 16th Century wanted to imply that the person was stretching their talents too thinly.

How often do you find that January seems to disappear pretty quickly once you get back from the holidays, finally get your team back into work mode and you finally get your head around a regular routine of business again? Motivation can often need a bit of a wind up in the first few weeks! But the new year is always a brilliant time to re-assess your business structure and strategy…

There are banks in the United States who have recently re-imagined the way they do business. Capital One Bank have decided to build on what ING Direct rolled out a few years ago – increasing the number of established cafes where customers can have their banking and finance questions answered in a casual atmosphere representing something more like a digital co-working space than a bank….

There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza,

There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, a hole….

You know how it goes, Henry has to go and try and fix the hole, but doesn’t know how to.

Ok bear with me – I haven’t lost my mind with the downhill race towards Christmas. This little childhood rhyme actually tells the story of a lot of small business owners I chat with regularly.

There is a hole in their business bucket, and they are struggling to find the right resource, process or advice to know how to fix it.