International opportunities

With the worlds economies moving at such a fast pace; its important to recognise international opportunities when they present themselves.

If you have failed to notice the news recently (where have you been?), things in the financial and therefore Business world continue to re-invent themselves 24/7.

Consequently the media are constantly broadcasting and printing doom and gloom on a global scale and even our own shadow chancellor has been warning us of a possible run on our beloved pound.With all of this negativity it is easy to understand why so many individuals and businesses alike are sticking their respective heads in the sand in order to avoid the storm of uncertainty which is surrounding us. Realisation that the comfort blanket that so many people and Organisations have thrown over themselves during the last 15 years of growth; has now been removed and are now accordingly feeling the chill of uncertainty.

But should we?

We have now been given a situation in which to reinvent ourselves and seek out new opportunities. We do not have to think locally, regionally or even nationally anymore. We can operate, seek out opportunities and trade across all borders, well near enough all; because of the continued acceleration and affordability to communicate globally.

Expansion into International trade over the last 10 years has been expedient for UK based Organisations. David Hood, Head of UKTI Nottingham and Derby Chamber explained that the benefits (of International trade) are generally greater and relationships can last for some time. Establishing key accounts can often yield more than they do in the U.K; even though the market is further away.

Now is the time to step out of our comfort zones and look to new horizons. So why not start by picking up the phone 0115 9418242 and talking to me or Brendan about our International Entrepreneur Programme. It could be the gateway to a whole new world of opportunities.

Entrepreneurial challenges: 26 minutes and counting

26 minutes- that's how long you've got with me. Get on with it

The guy facing me couldn't have been any blunter. On one level I understood his impatience. He was a busy, successful entrepreneur. On another level I wondered why I'd shown up.

I'd done my homework about him and shown up with an agreed list of questions. You know that Im always open to learning from people more successful than me. But at that point I had to keep my nerve and think how I could make the best use of the time.

So I said again that I wanted to learn how he'd created his success.. At which point he pushed a large book across his desk and said "You can learn everything from my book."

I did persist and I did get my 26 minutes but you know what, the lessons I learned from that particular entrepreneur were probably not the ones that he wanted me to learn.

You see that if someone had taken the trouble to cross the Atlantic and chosen me from a list of dozens of entrepreneurs, I know that I'd have taken the trouble to allocate them proper time and meet them with a different attitude.

Not just because I love to talk about being an entrepreneur, but because I know I couldn't ever get better PR. We're taught aren't we that if we do well you may not hear about it from clients. But if you screw up then it's likely 15 people will tell all their friends about your mistakes.

Confidentiality dictates I can't pass on his name but he certainly isn't on my list of people to mention in my new book Formula for Success featuring some of the people I met on my trip to LA. And I definitely won't be recommending him as a go to guy for people I lead on the Entrepreneurial Business programme to LA.

Somewhere down the line, he will lose out on business he might have done if he'd showed commonsense and some courtesy to me.

Sharon