FrontLine Results Radio  

‘Managing the finances is the job that most business owners like least. It takes them outside their comfort zone. They feel frustrated and even angry that they don’t have the necessary skills to address all the financial issues arising in their business.’ So says my guest Judith Astles. Following an impressive corporate career with such companies as SAGA and Zurich Insurance, she has now turned her attention to setting up the management-reporting framework for a number of small businesses and has helped save a company from insolvency by producing a financial plan that matched their marketing plan and conviction that the business was viable. Show notes, links and additional resources can be found at the Show Blog (after the show) http://frontline-results.com/radio

Large companies, with seemingly bottomless pockets, regularly hand out promotional gifts at exhibitions and trade shows. Small businesses have to dig deep into their tiny marketing budgets to afford those mouse mats, notepads and pens. Both hope to get their money back through increased orders.... but will they? This is just one of the questions I’ll be asking my guest. Fiona Rhodes is from MPM2, a Chichester-based company who supply promotional products and advise on brand identity. Find out more by joining us on the show which is just in time before you order those Christmas cards and Diaries! Show notes, links and additional resources can be found at the Show Blog (after the show) http://frontline-results.com/radio

Web 2.0 and the social networks have transformed the way small businesses reach out to a far wider audience than by using traditional marketing methods alone. But it’s all too easy to fail to connect on a personal level. Graham Jones is an Internet Psychologist who has been teaching companies how to make more money by connecting with people and he specialises in understanding how they behave in the online world. Whether you just have a website at the moment, or you’ve fully embraced social networking with all its bells & whistles, join us to find out how you can make your online presence more interesting to prospective customers. It promises to be an enlightening show! Show notes, links and additional resources can be found at the Show Blog (after the show) http://frontline-results.com/radio

With Identity Theft becoming a far too common occurrence – both online & offline – it’s high time for us all to take action and stop the thieves in their tracks. Regular listeners to FrontLine Results Radio will have already met my guest Debbie Mahler from M.I.C.E. Technology, Training and Education. In this show I’ll be asking Debbie to advise us how we can prevent identity theft from happening, how we can recognise if it already has, and what steps to take to get it sorted out quickly. Also, with more of us conducting business online, I believe we have a duty of care to protect our customers, and hope to glean some tips about how we can do this. Show notes, links and additional resources can be found at the Show Blog (after the show) http://frontline-results.com/radio

As Albert Einstein once said “You cannot solve a problem from the same consciousness that created it. You must learn to see the world anew.” Business owners everywhere are constantly on the lookout for ways to beat their competitors and to come up with the next big idea to boost their profits. One of the challenges of working mainly alone is being able to step back from the daily routine and take time to think creatively. My guest for today’s show is Paul Sloane, a recognised expert on innovation, lateral thinking and leadership. Paul is the author of 17 books on lateral puzzles, creative problem-solving and lateral leadership and is described in The Independent as the ‘King of Lateral Thinking Puzzles’! I’m going to ask Paul to share some strategies especially for us owners of very small businesses. Show notes, links and additional resources can be found at the Show Blog (after the show) http://frontline-results.com/radio

With so many emails arriving in peoples’ Inboxes, it’s getting harder to find ways of marketing effectively with this low-cost tool. Quite apart from fighting through spam filters and staying out of junk folders – the next battle is actually getting your message opened, and read! This week’s guest is Robin Houghton, director of Eggbox Marketing Ltd, an online marketing consultancy based in Lewes, East Sussex, UK. With several years’ experience in permission email marketing, I’ll be asking Robin to talk though the latest regulations we need to be aware of and to let us in on some of her professional secrets. Show notes, links and additional resources can be found at the Show Blog (after the show) http://www.frontline-results.com/radio