SMALL BUSINESS BLOG:

Here in the UK, we're spoilt for choice with thousands of free business books on Kindle Unlimited, available for a flat monthly fee, making it a cost-effective way to invest in yourself and your business. But how do you know which book to choose, from the thousands of...

Word-of-mouth marketing (WOMM) is where awareness of a product, service, or brand spreads through natural conversations and personal recommendations, rather than through traditional advertising methods. It's a powerful form of marketing, based on the idea that people...

A lifestyle business is a company designed to support the owner's desired way of living. It often focuses on personal fulfilment and work-life balance over growth and maximising profits. A lifestyle business puts emphasis on aligning the business with the owner's...

If you've been running a small business for longer than five minutes, you'll have heard the famous phrase: "Work On Your Business, Not In Your Business". You may even have uttered it yourself. But what does it actually mean, and how the hell are we supposed to work...

My latest book, The False EXIT (coming summer 2023) isn’t a book about selling your business. Instead, it is a book about not selling your business. It’s about keeping the golden goose, rather than killing it. In it, I’ll show you how to turn your business into a...

Throw away your to-do list... Ah, the never-ending to-do list. All the stuff you’d love to get done today (or this week/month). It’s a magical list that never seems to get any smaller, no matter how many tasks you tick off. You might start the day with 13 items on...

For many years, I’ve described myself as a “lazy entrepreneur”. Hell, the opening line of my first book was a Tim Kreider quote: “I hate being busy. I’m the laziest ambitious person I know”. But please don’t confuse my laziness with idleness or inactivity. I work hard...

"Word of mouth is NOT a marketing channel." With those words, in my first book Big Ideas... for Small Businesses, I made my opinion pretty clear on the validity of word of mouth when it comes to marketing. "Word of mouth is often code for "I don't do any marketing at...

Actual Hourly Rate As business owners, we're used to thinking in terms of hourly rates: We may bill clients by the hour, and certainly, anyone you employ will be looking to be paid for the hours they devote to you. But all time is not created equal. Sure, you may bill...

Do I really need a small business coach? If your best friend was a multi-millionaire, do you think you'd know how to make a few quid too? What if the five people you spend the most time with had run successful small businesses, do you think they could help you to run...

90 days from now...The incredible power of the 90 day plan. by John Lamerton, bestselling author of Big Ideas... for Small Businesses Get your copy of Big Ideas... for Small Businesses here Why 90 days?A 90 day plan is the Goldilocks of goal setting Every three...

The Ultimate Morning Routine guideBy John Lamerton, a.k.a. The “King of Routine”Morning routine?Yep, morning routine - something that you do on auto-pilot every single morning, immediately after waking. By deliberately noticing, improving, and then automating the...

I just can't switch off. Every now and then, I like to have a little break from business books, and the world of personal development. I'm all "learned out", and feel the need to just read some fiction, or listen to some audiobooks from people outside of the business...

The 64/4 Rule: ​We've all heard of the 80/20 principle - the notion that 80% of your results are driven by 20% of your actions. Known also as the Pareto principle, it was explained in great detail in Richard Koch's book "The 80/20 principle". 80% of your nutritional...

"How do you get shit done?" Every time I do a Q&A, or a talk, I get asked some variation of the “how do you get shit done?” question. It’s happened so many times now, that I thought I’d write a post to tell you exactly how I maximise my productivity – and I can...

Everything you desire lies one step outside of your comfort zone. I wrote in Big Ideas… for Small Businesses (https://amzn.to/2QwdQxa, page 146) about my previous battles with low self-confidence, and how one of my mentors helped me overcome this fear with a simple...

Did your “Oh Shit’o’meter” go off this morning? I was introduced to an interesting concept at one of our One Percent Club meetings last month – The “Oh Shit’o’meter”. We were talking about problem staff – how to deal with them, when and how to get rid of them, and how...

Win Bigly Summary: My 8 key Takeaways from Scott Adams' book. If you think Scott Adams is just a mere cartoonist, responsible for creating the Dilbert series of cartoons, then you’re seriously underestimating the man. I first learned of Adam’s prowess outside of...