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Archive for the ‘Opinion’ Category

Are You Receiving Me? Life, Websites and Stuff

30 Nov

It’s funny, I often wonder why I write this website – in it’s short life it has been changed so many times, it started off as a music blog, then a place for me to vent about the world, and, now it’s like an old semi retirement home of ideas and my faltering attempts to find a business I can do in a country I do not officially live in, and, do not have a work permit for.

So, let’s find out what I have been doing shall we.

Well this week I have been a ref at an amateur Mixed Martial Arts event – My first time ever and it was great fun.

I have seemingly been working non stop on my latest website and podcast and all was going well until the theme for my website had an update. So, I updated the theme and lost all nice changes I had included and then also noticed that the main feature was no longer working.

After almost a day trying I gave up and left it a lesser site as the designers have promised an upgrade soon!

I have made contacts in a couple of countries who wish to help out with my podcast.

And today I had another meeting with the company who I seem to be offering lots of advice and ideas to,  with out getting much back at the moment! But, I know those ideas are useful because the whole company has changed to fit around them!!!!!!!

The latest from the owner is that I become the companies trainer of sales people. – Well, training is my passion so maybe this could be awesome!

So, I guess that path continues, I actually think something good could happen, If I dont pull all my hair out first.

So, the answer is I write the site for me, frankly, I purchased the MayorofSimpleton.com web address and I don’t wish to give it up.

Of course if you find you self here and enjoy it, then that’s a bonus.

 
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Oh For The Entrepreneurial Spirit

22 Nov

If I had the Entrepreneurial spirit I could be so bloody successful and wealthy.

Here’s the deal throughout my 30+ years of business life, I reckon there have been no more than 4 or 5 people who I felt were way beyond me in business and they were all entrepreneurs. Self made men and not some spoilt rich kids or university hot shots.

Most of those types have worked for me! and most of them expected something for nothing or had little in the way of imagination or real world skills.

My problem is I am business smart, I see the picture quickly or I tell you I just don’t get it and suggest you get somebody who does. My sad fact of life is that I seem to lack the will to take risks and I like to stay on the straight and narrow. What that does do though is make me a safe pair of hands for running your business.

Entrepreneurs don’t just follow the same path, they forge their own and they take risks.

However, (there is always a however) if you are not entrepreneurial and are unimaginative, or indeed if you are obviously out of your depth I will piss you off very quickly because I cannot just sit back and let your piss daddies money away.

I will be pushing you with ideas, how to do things the right way and more, believe me it works for a while, your business will fly while we work together, but, eventually we will fall out and I will walk away, it can take a few years but it happens.

I am back in that situation now, I attended a sales meeting today and was shocked at pretty well everything I saw.

The pre-meeting information sent out was terrible, it would not pass muster in any business I have worked in, cheap and nasty, with pointless features and terrible presentation. The introduction of the company to the client was a joke and the rapport building non existant, the sales process itself was awful and then he told the potential client he would get them a quote by this evening. Good, you might think except he had NO idea of what the client wanted and was willing to pick a figure out of the air a few hours after the meeting.

Also at the meeting was a ‘colleague’, sadly,  he is way out of his depth, has no usable sales skills or indeed the ability to interact with the client, I have NO idea what he was doing there. He, should be back at the office trying to finish the back log of work they were telling me about.  Still 8 weeks down the road this ‘web design’ company still has NO website, in the same time I have set up a website and a podcast and I don’t know what the hell I am doing.

Effectively, they are THE company, all other work will be done by sub contractors. The amazing thing is I know more about their industry than they seem to. They have no idea and unlike myself they seem unwilling to try to fill the gaps of their knowledge. They also have no marketing skills and no sales skills. And believe me they don’t know shit about web site design.

 

 

 

 
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The World Of Business Is A Strange Thing

15 Nov

So, We had the meeting and I never walked out and things seem to have reset, He even paid me some cash!

So, we had a good talk, he introduced me to a couple of his team members and I tried to introduce to him the idea of turning up on time or if not telling me he will be late, he took it well.

What I thought might turn into a bit of a confrontation actually turned around nicely as I gave advice to both his staff members and after they had left, I helped him prepare for a sales call the next take for which he was grateful.

I also set up our next meeting were I would do a presentation to him and one of his web designers.

On the day of that meeting he again turned up late but at least this time he did text and phone me to tell me he was delayed.

Then he spoilt it by turning up alone, I refused to do the demonstration to him alone explaining that it was for them both. He apologised and we reset for the next day. That was today, the meeting was at his place so he was on time and I gave them around an hour presentation that made them understand better what they were selling and how to maximise his oportunity.

The meeting was amazing If I say so myself, I had a great time and we had a lot to talk about and he was raving about it afterwards.

It’s good to be back on the horse.

 

 
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Curiouser and Curiouser Said Alice

08 Nov

So, I got a phone call today from the person who was supposed to be my semi-employer.

This after I have given up on him getting back to me, he still has not replied to my last three texts and had effectively disappeared from my radar, no big deal. But then the phone call comes out of the blue “can we meet tomorrow” and he goes onto say that things are going really well (which is funny because in the five weeks I have known him his company website has never been working and in that time I have set up both a website and a podcast and I don’t claim to be a web design and SEOcompany) and he thinks it would be better to make me a Director of the company, now all this is getting too similar to a previous ‘opportunity’ where again I was made a Director and than nothing happened.

I have no wish to be a Director, I only wish to make some money for us all, So, tomorrows meeting should be interesting.

It could end up with me walking out, in fact it would probably be best if I did but who knows.

 
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Strange Times, Some Good, Some Bad

02 Nov

Well, the saga of the new company seems to be over after just four weeks.

I had produced three powerpoint presentations for the guy to use to present to the business to clients and to sub-contractors. I sent him three texts over four days and never got a single reply. I am not about to phone up and chase the guy and I certainly am not going to email him the presentations.

I have just checked the company website and after four weeks this company still does not have it’s own website up. Don’t forget this is a company that is selling websites!!!!!!  These are not bespoke affairs they are done on one of those website builder programs.

I can and have set up a website in a couple of hours just to get companies on line in the past, not terribly sophisticated but definitely workable and not embarrassing.

This is embarrassing! A website company that in four weeks cannot even get it’s own website up. It would be funny if it were not so pathetic.

I don’t really care, the role would have been fun and a little bit of money would of course not go amiss but I’m not too worried about this disaster.

In the meantime I have been trying to help the guy that runs an MMA gym that my son attends, with his marketing. It’s not something he is strong on and I am happy to help, it keeps me busy.

I also was contacted by a recruitment guy in America regarding a job over here, but it was software sales, I was honest and told him I thought it was not my skill set. Never mind though I am sure things are looking up.

 
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Frustrations 2

27 Oct

So the game continues.

The company I am sort of working for continue to frustrate me.

At our last meeting the guy basically regurgitated a whole load of ideas, I had suggested in our previous meeting, as if they were his own and then kind of realised who he was talking to before sort of giving me a little bit of credit. Lordy this is going to be hard work.

The biggest hurdle we have with the business seems to be that the boss seems to think his contacts will be enough to provide lots of very well paid government conracts, even though we seen unable to get our own very simple site up and working. It’s not even a bespoke site it’s a program similar to wordpress so any halfwit can get a decent site live in a couple of hours! We as web experts cannot.

When I showed him via a simple google search that two of my hobby websites come up at the top of googles search page and his company website was not even to be seen on the firs ten pages, he did not appear too worried.

It would appear the company that offers SEO services to it’s clients don’t even know what SEO is!

So, why am I agreeing to work with them? Well, he want’s me, he told me so and the derisory amount he offered to pay me showed how much he values me (not!) as an Idea he offered me what I used to earn in two hours as a freelance as a monthly retainer! But, until something better come’s along I will use it to keep me busy and maybe get me some useful connection and of course who knows, maybe it could be a success.

My new boss does not seem to acknowledge his competitors, he did not seem to recognise the companies listed on page one of googles search and some of them looked to have their shit together a hell of a lot more than our lot. I do not know if living in a bubble will help or hinder us.

 
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Frustration

18 Oct

So, I have had my second meeting with the new company and I definitely want to work with them and he says they want to work with me. So that’s all good then isn’t it……….

Well no, you see that was a few days ago and there has been no follow up, no plan as to what is going to happen and this company that will be producing websites for others, still has not got it’s own website back up.

When I questioned the wording of the old site I was informed that it had been written by the website guy.

This is no marketing guy and his English is not very good and the written word gave a very small town feel to the site.

I am appalled that the guy that runs the company, the guy that drives the company, is not the person who seems to give a voice to the company website. I asked him to send me the wording for the new site so that I could have a look at it for him and although he agreed, almost a week later I have recieved nothing.

I am sadly not surprised by this as I firmly believe he has NO wording.When, I had my own company providing training and recruitment services, I wrote every word that went onto my website and also the map as to how each page related to the others, this was my business and I felt the website was aloud voice for us, MY VOICE.

So, It again looks as is my chance of some work is going to be a disappointment. I do hope I am wrong.

 
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I Still Feel I Can Contribute

14 Oct

It’s funny I was ready to give this site up. The reason is I have basically been semi-retired for nearly four years now.

Although I now I am interested in working again, but it’s difficult given my circumstances.

Let me explain. I have NO real qualification, I left school at 15 and went to work straight away sweeping up in a cardboard box factory, Sure, over the years I moved up various ladders (I also fell down a few snakes0 but by the time I left the UK, I had been in many roles where I was setting up and running teams, Sales, Marketing, Technical support, I have provided Business training and been given my first steps on the work ladder what I would describe as successful.

But, I am no longer in the UK, I am in Asia, and suddenly all my experience stands for nothing, I have no contacts and no record in the area. And in this part of Asia qualifications are everything.

One of the reasons these Asian countries are charging forward is that they employ highly qualified staff.

Sure, I can do the job, sure I am good at what I do (IMHO) but that means nothing over here.

So, it was quite exciting recently when my spur of the moment e-mail to a new well funded organisation over here was at least good enough to warrant them calling me.

I guess looking back that was the first step on the recruitment path, but the call came completely out of the blue and therefore I fell I did not give me best. I had hope though as the young lady on the phone said they would like to set up a meeting with me next week. Sadly, next week came and went and the next. I thought that was it, I was never going to work locally.

Then my wife met somebody who was looking for some help with marketing his company.

Luckily for me he was an American guy who also lives over here, so, we set up a meeting to see if they could use me.

It was great for me, I checked their website and form that I realised they needed help, a lot of help on the marketing side.

At our meeting it started off like a job interview and when the question of my resume’ came up, I knew I had to take control.

So, I did and I peppered him with questions, with ideas and with my thoughts on what they needed to do.

I have been in this position before, they either think you are a know it all asshole or a valuable resource that they can tap into.

You see the fact is I may have no paper qualifications but I have a mensa level IQ, a very fast mind and I am not afraid to question why things are as they are.

Well, my guy lapped it up and was ready to move forward, said he wanted me to help. Now, at this stage I took a step back, I don’t want to get sucked in to 9-5, I don;t want to be out on the road or even stuck in an office, but I do want to provide my help and ideas, So, I told him I don;t want to discuss money, I did want to help and would accept payment as and when he felt I warranted it. A risk I know, but I felt it was a fair point to allow them to show what I can do.

I felt alive, my mind had opened up again and I was writing down idea after idea.

So, let’s see how this turns out.

Stick with me

 
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Time To Reset

27 Sep

I have just returned from a fantastic weekend in Singapore at the F1 GP. A brilliantly run event in one of my favorite citys in the world.

While traveling on the fabulous, clean efficient underground system (MRT) I got to thinking about this site. This site has been reset on more than one occasion and it’s time to reset again, However this time I am going to reset without deleting all the old posts. In the past my posts have ranged from rants, to  music, to positivity. Now it’s a new chapter.

While I was pondering the site I got to thinking and I got philosophical and that’s what I’m going to do or it it? I don’t know let’s see.

 
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A Positive Outlook Is So Important

05 Sep

I was in Singapore this weekend watching the inaugural ONE FC MMA event. This was a superbly organized first event for an organisation that fully intends to be the biggest Mixed Martial Arts show in Asia. And, they could be, they certainly have a winners attitude, all their publicity is about how big they are and how muh bigger they are going to be. They believe!

One of the fighters at this event trains at the same gym as my son and I am sure that even though he is an experienced fighter who has fought internationally for many years, this was by far the biggest event he has fought in.

He lost his fight to knockout in the second round. The sad thing was that after the fight he posted on his facebook that he had given his opponent too much respect before the fight.

That says so much and it is something that matters in all areas of life.

His opponent was an ex world boxing champion and although our friend was a muay thai champion, he basically had defeated himself before the fight. He gave the other man too much respect and did not consider his own experience and skills.

Mental strength is a must have in life and certainly in business. How many times have salespeople been negatively affected by fellow team members who are maybe not really doing a job they are suitable for. If you are a negative sales person do not feel the need to bring your workmates down to your level.

You must firstly throw of the negativity as it achieves nothing, what can you gain by being negative? The answer of course is nothing.

A positive mental attitude is such a powerful tool to have that people achieve much more than the originally thought possible.

Until the day that Sir Roger Bannister broke the 4  minute mile many people had tried and failed in attempts to break it. Once he finally broke through that barrier it continued to fall on a regular basis.

When records began in 1855 the time set was some 4:28, it took 90 years before it was down to 4:01.

Once Bannister beat the record in May 1954 the imaginary line had been crossed and just one month later it was beaten again by John Landy from Australia, by 1999 the bar had been lowered all the way down to 3:43.

Once one person proves something can be done, suddenly others find it easier to believe it also possible for them to achieve.

Nobody could achieve anything if they did not believe in their ability to do it.

Whether it is business, sport or life nothing great can be achieved by people who do not believe they have the ability to succeed, who allow negative thoughts to control them.

Thomas Edison one of the inventors of the light bulb recorded many, many failed designs, he never called it a failure, each failure was actually just another step closer to his final success

Of course NOBODY likes that person who tries to turn every bad event into a positive, you have to be realistic and of this world.

But for business and sport being positive is fundamental to success.

 
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