Workshop lead by Ben Kinnaird Twitter:@BenKinnaird an Event speaker for Fastershire (Twitter: @Fastershire) plus Jack McCaughtrie (Twitter: @Jack_Mac100)
In the newly opened Skylon Court I found this workshop via Hereford Business Solutions Centre. This location is sleek, spacious and provides places to rent for office use.
Here is an overview of the key points discussed as well as my own notes from the exercises we did. Notably this was a 2 hour free workshop on Friday 27th May 2016 12-2pm.
Key Points:
- Cultivate an “elevator pitch“ meaning a short soundbite that accurately and effectively describes what your business is. The term derives from the scenario where one is in a lift with someone whereby you only have 30 seconds to inform and impress someone about your work. It should only be a few sentences around 30 sec – a couple minutes to utter.
Application:
I brought my Hello Kitty A4 notepad and gave a scribble of my thoughts. We were advised to keep the following in mind in order to fully assess all the components of our business/work and then streamline it into a en elevator pitch.
- Assess everything you do in company/work.
- Explain how your company/work benefits people.
- What would people like about what you do?
I jotted down these answers:
1- I write and sell multi-genre fiction and non-fiction books for young adults with a creative, caring and sharing perspective.
2- Help people feel less alone and feel connected and inspired through literature.
3- People like my honesty, creativity and enthusiasm.
They also suggested creating an alternative pitch if you customer based is mixed e.g. age/country/gender.
- It was suggested to have the Company’s Marketing account emails under Gmail as it can be linked to Adwords and Mailchimp accounts and as it’s a Google ‘product/service’ it ranks better with SEO (Search Engine Optimization.)
- They also stressed the importance of having a LinkedIn account.
Tips about building/maintaining your website(s).
Include a page that fully explains 1) What you do? 2) How you help people? 3) How to contact you?
They mentioned “Google Search Console” which helps determine how your website works i.e. keywords used to find your site. (I had never heard of this Google tool before so that was useful to discover.)
There was an activity where the websites of a couple attendees were put on the screen so they could get feedback on where their sites may require tweaking to improve it’s SEO and tips of that nature.
It does not apply to my line of work but Herefordshire businesses would be advised to be have a Google Business page i.e. so when a search enquiry is Googled such as “Hereford cafe” you see those search entries of a business with ratings and link on Google Map presented first.
Final notes:
- All company/business LOGO/PHOTOS/VIDEOS be kept in a x1 folder on computer
- Cyber security tip, share info on two mediums. E.g. if hiring a web designer to change site and they require login send username on email and password on another platform e.g. mobile text! (Excellent tip!)
- Attendees also emailed the presentation slides too!
So all in all I was pleased with what I’ve learnt at the workshop and it’s all very relevant and accessible to use for my creative business as an author. Lunch was also provided and it was scrumptious. A relaxed, informative and very helpful workshop that i would recommend for others to attend.
Photos of this workshop taken by Local Photographer Sally Corrick found here.
Please do visit the Twitter sites of the Workshop speakers at the start of the article and I would very much encourage people to look out for upcoming events/workshops provided by Hereford Business Solution Centre because they have speakers covering a range of topics from a variety of company’s all across the Midlands. Hereford Business Solutions Centre is run by the team responsible for the highly successful Wolverhampton Business Solutions Centre, based at the University of Wolverhampton Science Park.
Catherine Vaughan's World 