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How Is Your January Shaping Up? . Have you been easing yourself in gently? . Have you been non-stop go go GO! . No way is wrong. . No way is right. . The perfect way is working in a way that's right for you and your business. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. . Relax if you feel the need. . Work full steam ahead if January is your jam! . At the @welshot Photographic Academy we've been identifying what we need to do in order to work more efficiently and effectively as we grow. . At @thekiwisocial it's been all about building our Team of Experts which will bring invaluable help, support and guidance to our Members. . So, how is your January shaping up?

Continued Development . Professional or Personal - Your continued learning, whether it be self-teaching, taking a course or attending a workshop, will pay dividends in your business as well as on a personal level. . I’m a great believer of “Blending” - Work life balance doesn’t work for me - they both blend into each other, both bringing creativity, ideas, and value to the other. . And so it is with learning, whatever you learn will help you grow, develop and flourish, personally as well as in business. . “Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardour and attended to with diligence” ~ Abigail Adams. . As Benjamin Franklin also said ~ “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest” . From reading books to watching You Tube videos, from watching a Facebook LIVE to surrounding yourself with people who challenge you, who spark interest, who motivate and inspire you - it will all help you learn, grow and develop and lead you to the path that is right for you. . Spend just 10 minutes a day, on any subject that interests you and I defy you not to feel invigorated and energised. . I’d love to know what you’d like to learn in 2020 - Do you have something you’ve always wanted to learn, or maybe it’s a new skill you need to master. . Let me know in the comments below.

Making Your Money Work. . Have you ever noticed that no matter the season or time of the year, there is ALWAYS new growth in a garden. . Doesn't matter how bleak or dark the days seem - there is always room or a space for new life. . It's the same with business - there is always a chance for growth and a chance to breathe new life into something that has maybe hit a bit of a plateau. . After ten years of being in business, growing and developing the @welshot Photographic Academy we have always looked at how we could do some things a little bit differently - usually in the way we design and run our events or build new products and services for our Members. . But we've never really given ourselves a shake up when it comes to our accounts, financial systems and procedures - with a few changes that have been happening, moving to our new premises at @16trinitysquare being one of them, we thought it now would be a great opportunity to do so. . Long story short Welshot is ringing in the changes and on hand will be @mjld2000 from Gardners Accountants to help us to grow, develop and build a bigger and better environment for those who love photography. . But - That is not all... Melanie Langton Davies will now be on our panel of experts at @thekiwisocial and will be passing on her expertise to our Members - helping them to build, grow and develop their businesses. . We've been working hard on our EXPERTS - finding just the right people to bring into Kiwi that will be beneficial for you - bringing you the right tools that will help you succeed. . So proud, and excited to be working with Melanie from Gardners and we have got a feeling 2020 will be all about growth, for everyone.

Your Online Presence. . I was once told that if you get to Friday and there isn't one more person in this world that knows what you do - then you've not been working hard enough during the week in your marketing. . I've always kept that in my mind, but I flip it the other way too - I like to learn about other people and what they do, so, I make it a thing that I make a conscious effort to get to know one new person and what they do by the end of each working week. . It's really interesting and so much easier online with all the groups and the such like. . I've not only met new people but I've noticed the way I purchase products and services in such a different way to how I've ever done in the past. . This week alone I've purchased a mug from @glosterspottery - JUST because I decided they were fun to follow on Instagram. . I've been involved with 2 book swaps and one of the ladies - @nataliereadz - And while I was getting to know her I learned about what she did as a job, and now she's going to be the perfect contact for some charity work that @welshot want to do in 2020. . By bringing your business online, or at least giving yourself an online presence should be considered as more than an afterthought - it should form a basis of your 90 minute of marketing a day. . People buy people, the online, Social Media platforms have made it so much easier for that to happen.

Building Your Brand. . Building a brand from scratch is not easy - there are all sorts of questions to ask yourself. . ⚃ What should it look like? . ⚃ How should it make people feel? . ⚃ Will it attract my target audience? . These are all questions (and probably more) you will be asking yourself when you start to think about connecting with the people you are wanting to reach. . What is a "Brand" . A brand is a lot more than a logo and your name that says who you are. . Your brand is how people see you regardless of how they interact with you and your business - they will have thoughts and ideas about you, some you will be able to control, some you won't. . As a business you have a name, product, service, your colours, your fonts, the voice you use and a reputation to manage which all makes up who you are and how it will affect how you are seen (and perceived) . As we've said before - you can't build a brand without being consistent and maintaining that consistency as you build, develop and grow your business but it all begins with what that consistency is going to look like and the feelings you want people to have. . More on this subject to come... . Image credit: 📷 Me when we were busy taking photos to be used in Landing Pages / Lead Magnets on the @welshot Photographic Academy website.

Motivation In A Quote. . Let's make a promise for Today. . Let's promise to concentrate on JUST one thing. . We all have a 101 things going through our minds, things we have to do, people we have to see, goals and targets to reach, stuff we need to learn - You get the gist, you've been there right? . What would happen if we just focussed on that one thing, clearing our minds of all else and concentrating on the task at hand - I'm betting we would probably accomplish our goals a lot faster, and accomplish more in the same time, if not sooner. . I'm all for multitasking, I consider myself an expert but is it really helping me to focus on that one thing I really want to tick of my "To Do List" - especially those big ticket item bucket list sort of "To Do's" . Shall we try it - I'm going to promise myself that I'm going to spend today focusing on what I'm doing right now, not what I've got to do in the future.

What Is The Kiwi Social? . Have you got a great business idea?  Have you always thought that you'd like to turn your hobby into a business?  Have you worked in the same job for decades but you've always wondered "What if..."? . Have you got a dream, a burning desire, an overwhelming need to do something for yourself. . Do you want to Start. Your. Own. Business? . We know what that feels like - Ten Years ago Lee Iggulden (The Kiwi) joined forces with Eifion Williams to form the @welshot Photographic Academy fulfilling a lifetime dream. . Starting from scratch we had to learn HOW to build a business - Having a great idea, product or service is one thing - knowing how to deliver, market, promote, keep relevant, keep updated with the legal requirements and make money is another thing entirely. . At The Kiwi Social we realise running your own business can be a lonely affair - especially if you are working alone from your kitchen table. . Here at The Kiwi Social we are building a community to help you to bounce ideas, talk with, and learn from other like-minded people. . By working with a large range of experts in their field The Kiwi Social will bring them right to your sofa so you can learn, develop and grow your business. . The Kiwi Social community will be your office, the members will be your colleagues and the experts will be your mentors. . All in a supportive, fun, friendly, non-competitive, relaxed and informal environme.

Step Four. Continued Development. . We are always learning - No matter how much of an expert you are in your field there is always something you can learn. . The human brain wasn't designed to stagnate, it was built for continued growth and development, to learn new skills, to build on those we already have - to be inquisitive and questioning and curious. Our brain needs to be fed with ideas and knowledge. . Our businesses are the same - the rate the world is changing, from technology to the way we interact, is forever increasing meaning we continually need to keep up with our continued professional development and growth. . This year, for me, personally, I want to learn how to use my camera in a completely different way to how I have ever used it before so I'm taking advantage of our @welshot Photographic Academy Team Leaders and their knowledge and I'm making time to ensure that my learning doesn't get relegated to the back benches. . It means staying focused on the end goal - remembering the WHY I want to learn and do what I've chosen to do. It means not making excuses when I'm tired or I feel I should be doing other, more important business tasks. . Learning, Continued Professional Development IS important - if we don't keep updating our skill sets, learning something new, trying different ways of doing things we will undoubtedly get left behind. . Gone are the days of the "This is the way we've always done it" . What will be the one thing you want to learn in 2020 and what systems are you putting in place so you can accomplish your goal? . I'd love to hear all about it in the comments below.

Continued Development. . You are up and running - things are going great and work is busy but now is not the time to rest on your laurels. . Now is the time to keep learning, keep growing, keep moving ahead - Keeping up-to-date with all things personal and professional related in a stress free environment that can often be overwhelming in this busy world of business. We will make it easy for you.

Step Three. Making Your Money Work. . What do they say, look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves. . If you were to ask me in the whole of the 10 plus years of the @welshot Photographic Academy what my biggest challenge was (and still is) I would tell you this. . Money - More specifically, managing money, from budgeting to forecasting, from trying to work out what an event should be priced at to what it is going to cost, from agreements and contracts to keeping records. . Being dyscalculic it has been, I don't mind admitting, a real struggle sometimes but I've put coping mechanisms in place and I've more than got by - although I procrastinate and take an hour to do a five minute job. . An accountant (and a bookkeeper) was one of THE first tasks I realised we NEEDED to outsource - but next week we are taking it up a level. . More on that next week when we know more but I'm hoping it will bring more value and benefit, not just to Me (and Welshot) but for our Kiwi Members too. . Follow The Kiwi Social for practical, everyday actions you can take to manage your money more effectively from our experts. They are here to help you.