Is It Time To Get Off Your Fat Ass?
July 4, 2008
When you’re running a business, it’s all too easy to spend too much time sitting on your butt. And you can become so wrapped in what you’re doing that you don’t notice how huge that ass is becoming.
In a recent post, I mentioned that I stopped taking my PTSD medication and began drinking wine each evening instead. Wine is extremely fattening and because I was drinking it I began to exercise less and less. And over the last three years or so I gained around 2 stone (28lbs).
Now I drank a lot of wine - probably between half and a whole bottle each evening, so I deserved to gain more weight. But luckily I eat pretty healthily.
Last week, I started a vigorous exercise program and lost about 8lbs in one week. But I had to do a lot of exercise to achieve this. And rapid weight loss through exercise isn’t for everyone - especially if you’ve led a fairly sedentary life. But I would recommend exercise and developing more healthy eating habits as opposed to fad diets and pills.
Do you spend too much time in your business to exercise? Has your ass grown so huge that you’re practically stuck to the chair?
You’ll perform far better in your business if you’re feeling healthy, so you might want to check out the following tips.
1) Don’t weigh yourself constantly - you’ll only become disheartened. Go by how well your clothes fit instead. This week I can pull my favourite jeans up to knee level. If I can get them to thigh level by next week, I’m making great progress.
2) Choose an exercise routine that’s convenient to you and doesn’t involve a lot of travelling. If you work from home and the nearest gym is 30 minutes away, try walking or cycling instead. If that’s not an option, run up and down the stairs, or dance with the vacuum cleaner. You might feel a fool but nobody is watching you, so what the hell.
2) Walking is just as good as any other form of exercise. This makes up a huge part of my routine and the area I live in is a great place to walk, so long as you dodge the cow shit and keep your mouth closed so you don’t swallow a dozen flies.
If you’re going to do a huge amount of walking, remember that it’s just as important to warm up and down and stretch, just the same as if you were doing any other exercise - especially if your thirtieth birthday is just a vague memory. I forgot about this the first couple of times and struggled to walk up the stairs afterwards.
3) Weights are great for giving your body excellent shape and definition. Trouble is, unless you live near a gym, or have a huge amount of space in your home, it may not be possible to use weights on a regular basis.
But pilates is something you can do at home that will give you an excellent shape and improve your posture. I use the Winsor Pilates
4) Don’t depress yourself by reading magazines and web pages on celebs who have dropped ten stones in a week. Remember, they have personal trainers, dieticians, liposuction, airbrushing, drugs and lots of toilet roll to eat.
5) It really is all about maths. You need to burn off around 3500 calories to lose one pound. If you reduce the number of calories you eat by 1000 a day (the maximum recommended by the gurus), you’ll lose 2lbs a week. And if you do 9 hours moderate exercise per week (around 400 calories per hour depending on the exercise and how fat you are to begin with) that’s another pound of weight loss.
6) Don’t listen to the “experts” who tell you not to eat certain foods after the middle of the day etc. It doesn’t make a whole heap of difference what time of day you eat. And not being able to sleep because you’re absolutely ravenous is far worse than worrying that you’ve burned off 100 calories less that day.
7) Don’t be suckered into buying fat melting diet pills. If you’re not sure what you should be eating, get some expert help.
Now, I could blog about what exercise I’ve done each day and persuade those of you with equally huge butts to follow me. But I’m scared that you’ll injure yourself and sue me.
Are you suffering from ass spread as a result of running your own business? Did stress cause you to overeat, or overdrink, or is lack of exercise and a more sedentary lifestyle to blame? Have you managed to get back into your favourite jeans yourself, or do you still struggle? Please share in the comments section.
Value - Is It Possible To Give Too Much?
July 1, 2008
Many customers buy things that give more value, as opposed to things that are the lowest price. For example, they’d prefer to buy a widget that costs £200 and lasts five years than one that costs £100 and lasts for one year.
And those are the type of customers we all want to attract, because we know we don’t have to compete on price to attract them. And when the customer does want to replace that product, we hope they’ll automatically think of us. Trouble is, that doesn’t always happen - even if your name is stamped clearly on that product.
The other day, the sole of one of my walking boots fell off completely. Luckily, I was only about a mile away from home. The following day, I was due to do a thirteen mile hike in the mountains and I would have been more than a bit pissed off if it had happened then.
Now, I don’t use walking boots every day but when I do use them, they get a fair bit of hammer. So I was pleased when I worked out that those Berghaus boots had lasted me for almost 13 years. I got them in the sale and probably paid something like £50 ($100) for them. So that was pretty good value - less than £4 ($8) per year.
I needed to replace the boots and the obvious choice would be to go for another pair of Berghaus ones - but I didn’t. And because I’m interested in what makes customers buy, I’ve been thinking about why I didn’t buy another pair of the same brand and what would have encouraged me to do so.
And I came up with the following reasons why I opted for a different brand:
1) It was an unexpected purchase - I didn’t know the other boots were going to break, so I hadn’t budgeted for a new pair. I got the new boots in the sale for £45 ($90) and a new pair of Berghaus boots were £85 ($170)
2) It put me in a potentially unsafe situation. I make sure I buy decent boots because my safety is important when I’m up a 3000 ft mountain. The boots had shown no sign that the sole was about to fall off completely and I’d rather they’d only lasted five years and showed some sign of wear before falling apart completely.
So what could a company like Berghaus do to encourage customers to buy from them the next time? They obviously have a long lasting hard wearing product.
I was thinking maybe they could have:
1) A guarantee that doesn’t last as long as the product - 5 years would be pretty impressive and a policy where you’d get a small discount on your boots if you returned the old ones when the guarantee was up.
2) Some kind of warning system built into the boot that kicks in after they’ve had so much wear, so the walker knows when to replace them.
Incidentally, the boots I chose to replace the old ones just aren’t as comfortable as the Berghaus ones, so I’ll probably go back to using Berghaus really soon. I’ll just replace them a lot earlier than I did the last ones.
Have you ever been in a similar situation - eg. You’ve not bought the same product even though it served you well? Why did you make that choice?
Do you have any ideas on what Berghaus could do to make customers come back to them? If you already have a business, or you’re considering starting one, can you think of ways you could persuade the customer to come back to you after the initial purchase?
Do You Run Your Business Like A Bank?
June 24, 2008
Don’t you just love banks? At the best of times, they’ll fail to help you out with the most basic of problems. And they’ll put everything right by trying to sell you a heap of crapola that you don’t even need. Brilliant aren’t they? At least they can show you how not to run a business. I had a bit of fun with my bank at the weekend.
My Bank Had Some Great News For Me
I call my telephone banking service because I need to transfer some money from one account to another. It’s a Saturday - I need to book a flight and there’s only a handful of seats left.
This should have been straightforward but the customer services assistant tells me she can only transfer money from the account that I need to put money into. I’m still trying to work out how she can take money out of an account that is virtually empty, but her English isn’t great so I don’t bother to ask. She tells me I should use Internet banking - but I can’t. The PIN machine they sent me doesn’t work.
Then she says, “Mrs Lawson, I’ve got some great news for you.” So I’m thinking great - she’s managed to do it after all. More fool me - it soon becomes apparent that this enthusiastic customer services girl is reading from a script. And she can still do bugger all for me, but she’s hoping to sell me some home insurance anyway. I wonder how many people accidentally hang up on her, as I did?
Banks Can Predict The Future
So, I have 30 minutes to get to the bank before it closes to transfer the cash myself. And they do it, by pressing one button. I am happy - my bank is good after all. They don’t even try to sell me anything - probably because they are about to close.
I get home and the flight is still available. This is great, then the bank declines the transaction.
So I call the customer services department again. I explain the situation and that I’m in a real hurry to book this flight before it sells out. The assistant puts me on hold for a while, then she tells me that the bank didn’t turn down the transaction. It’s probably the seller, she tells me - many merchants don’t accept Visa. Now call me dumb, or at least my bank obviously thinks I am but I don’t recall the last time I bought something from a seller who didn’t accept Visa.
“But,” the customer services assistant says, “I bet that if you try again now, your purchase will go through.” But she didn’t want me to try it quite straight away. First, she would be really grateful if I could complete an automated customer satisfaction survey. I guess she missed the bit about me being in a hurry to book the flight.
But a great miracle happens. As soon as I get off the phone - the transaction goes through. I wonder how she knew that was going to happen, when the bank didn’t even stop the transaction?
This is probably one of the funnier experiences I’ve had with banks. Others have ranged from not so funny to downright appalling.
We Can Learn A Lot From Banks
When you can’t help a customer to get what they want, it’s great if you can provide an alternative solution. But not helping them, then trying to sell them something they don’t even need, can be plain annoying.
If we screw up it’s best to own up and not try to blame another company.
After your company has inconvenienced a customer several times in one day, it’s probably not the best time to ask them to take a customer satisfaction survey - especially when it’s on their phone bill.
Have you got any great bank stories? Do you love or hate your bank? What have you learned from banks, or other similar businesses that has helped you improve your business?
From PTSD To Success - Is It Possible?
June 23, 2008
I know that many people who have PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) read this blog. But can you really go on to suffer PTSD and achieve success? After all, if you’ve read much about PTSD, you’ll probably have heard that if you haven’t recovered within the first year, your life will never return to normal.
Hearing this can be terrifying. But it’s important to know that even though you may not recover completely, your life can be a whole lot better than it is now. And you can be successful in whatever you choose to do.
I personally have a long way to go to reach something that I would define as a successful life. But I suppose that getting to where I am now, from where I was at when I first began to suffer from PTSD is a success in itself.
If you’re suffering from PTSD and you’d like to go freelance, or start a business, let me share a few things I’ve learned over the past 14 years, 6 months and 11 days that may be of some help to you.
1. Running a business is tough. And coping with PTSD at the same time can make it even harder. If you’re unable to get help and support from family and friends, do make sure you get help elsewhere. I know it’s difficult to ask for help when you’ve already been rejected by those around you, but ask your GP and he may be able to arrange for you to attend counselling sessions, or group therapy.
2. If you’re in any type of abusive relationship - whether it be with a partner, family member or even a so called friend, break it off and simply don’t see that person. Bullies are experts at taking advantage ot those who are vulnerable and this type of relationship will be detrimental to both your health and your business success.
3. In some ways, starting a business can initially seem quite simple if you have PTSD. If you’ve suffered for any length of time, you’ll probably be used to experiencing avoidance - immersing yourself in a hobby, interest, or work completely, to avoid dealing with the pain. This can seem great when you first start a business, as it makes it easy to concentrate on your business 24/7.
But, the trouble is, it’s also easy to ignore the fact that you’re doing this and to actually believe you’re cured, when you’re not. And this can cause problems later on in your business.
4. If you’re on any medication, don’t stop taking it when you go freelance, or start a business - even if you think you don’t need it anymore, as mentioned in point 3. I did just that and when I began to experience additional stresses and triggers, I developed a habit of using alcohol and painkillers to numb the pain instead. And I’m guessing that I don’t need to tell you how dangerous that can be. It’s amazingly easy to forget how long it is since you took your last pain killers, especially if you’ve been drinking.
I was surprised that it happened to me. For many years I barely ever used alcohol to cope with PTSD, so I didn’t think it would be a problem in the future.
5. Do seek out people who will help and support you - even if they really don’t understand. Business can be really stressful at times and if you’re already suffering from PTSD, sometimes the additional stress can become overwhelming. For example, I was going through a really busy and stressful time in my business about 3 years ago, as well as a lot of stress in my personal life. Then one day, I had an appointment with the bank and they told me they were freezing my account (long story) and I wouldn’t be able to take a single penny out.
My reaction was to totally freeze. I could barely speak, I couldn’t move, I couldn’t even remember where I’d parked my car. Luckily, I had someone I could call to come and get me and help me to sort things out. When things like that happen, you don’t necessarily need someone who understands what is wrong - but it’s useful to have someone who’ll help you, without needing to understand.
6. No matter how many times you fall down, keep trying. It’s easy to give up and believe you’ll never be able to make it because you have PTSD - especially when you suffer huge setbacks. This happened to a friend of mine. He had a hugely successful business and he spent almost every waking hour working (as mentioned in point 3). Then one day, two things triggered him to become terribly ill again - neither of them were work related. He was extremely poorly for several months and in that time, his business went down the pan - he lost everything.
I wish he’d started up again but he decided to go and work for someone else, as he was concerned that the same thing would happen again. It’s a shame, as he has what it takes to build a great business.
7. Every time you do have a setback in your business, tell yourself you’ll never be as far back as you were when you first became ill. When you first begin to suffer from PTSD, you’ll probably be at your worst and you’re unlikely to have a lot of confidence. But every little success you have in that business will help build your confidence back up again. And even if you become quite ill again, the chances are, you’ll never wind up back at square one.
8. Don’t isolate yourself. If your business is going to involve working from home all the time, do try to make an effort to get out and see people. And think twice before moving to another part of the country or world alone to start a business, if you’re suffering from PTSD - especially in the early days. I did exactly that - moved to the other end of the country (I didn’t intend to live alone, but that’s another long story) and it was fatal. Although I didn’t have a lot of support from people around me when I first became ill - at least I still saw people sometimes. But when I moved, I was completely isolated.
If you suffer from PTSD and you’re thinking about working for yourself, I hope this advice has helped a little. In terms of coping and recovering, I’ve probably made some of the biggest cock ups in the book. I’m still nowhere near where I want to be and I still do suffer many symptoms of PTSD. But I’m much further on than I was all those years ago, so just think what you could do.
