Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Three-in-one
Did you know that every owner manager is three people rolled into one? Allow me to explain… Firstly you are the owner. It was your idea and your money that made it all happen in the first place. And most likely it continues to be your ideas and money that make it all happen. Secondly…
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Knowing when to stop
One of the most common pieces of business advice you will see across social media and the popular business press is this: Never, ever, give up This advice comes in many different guises such as ‘persistence pays’, ‘consistency is key’ and ‘all you have to do is get up one more time than you’re knocked…
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The fallacy of constant growth
One of the assumptions in the world of business is that growth is good whereas stagnation or retraction is bad. In reality what happens in SME’s is that some years are good and some years are average or even bad, but you nevertheless always have this pressure that you should be constantly growing. But here’s…
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Be a commuter, not a winger
One of my companies organises cycle rides from London to Paris. It’s a 300 mile journey over four days with the longest day coming in at around 90 miles. People who come on these rides prepare – or not – in different ways. They can broadly be categorised into four groups: The Professionals. These are…
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Wait a while…
Bounceback loans were launched during the Coronavirus outbreak at 9am on 4th May 2020. This was a government lending scheme whereby companies could borrow up to 25% of their turnover (subject to a £50k cap) which would be 100% guaranteed by the government. In addition there would be no interest or capital to pay in…
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Question everything
Did you hear the one about the payroll department who can only divide by 12? The following conversation took place during the Coronavirus outbreak… Business Owner: I need to decide who to furlough in June. Me: Well don’t forget you can unfurlough them mid-month so you can change your decision whenever you want. Business Owner:…
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95% of the advice you receive
Very early on in my business life an old hand shared this with me: “95% of the business advice you receive will be from the 95% of people who aren’t running a business” The metrics have changed over the past 30 years – maybe as many as 10% of people are running a business nowadays…
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Business – it will change you
A huge omission in current business literature is that it doesn’t mention anything about how it will change you – in ways you couldn’t possibly have anticipated. Sure you’ll learn more about accounts, sales and marketing and management, but the real and surprising changes will come in your personality. Here’s just a few from my…
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Is it you or your business that needs work?
Obviously because of what I do I help a lot of business owners who are struggling – and I often find it’s their thoughts that need more work than their business. If you’ve been running a business for any length of time then it’s easy to become submerged in the operational detail and lose sight…
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In the beginning
My reason for creating this site is two-fold: To educate the world that running a business is nothing like the glamorous pursuit the media makes it out to be. To use my 30+ years’ experience to invest in companies and give struggling business owners their lives back. Today’s media glamourises business like no other profession.…
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