Swindon College
PERSONAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Isla Baliszewska is a business support specialist and serial entrepreneur , having run businesses in property , publishing , asset management and IT . She now works with Smart Coaching & Training helping business leaders and their organisations flourish .
For more information contact info @ smartcoachingtraining . co . uk
or call Isla on 07828 516058
A day in the life of a serial ... ised tango-ing entrepreneur
The Innovative Day
The Pushing the Creative Boundaries day when you discover that tangoing your thoughts can elicit great strides forward .
The Start : A normal day , the usual mix of tasks , appointments , ‘ todos . Top of the list ; your monthly newsletter and the need to create good , enticing content ( of course , you already have the theme prepared in your 6 / 12 month newsletter campaign strategy )… But your mind is blank , where is the flow of fabulous words , the lovely , novel teasing ideas to entice your readers ? So you grab another coffee ( for inspiration and a bit more procrastination time ), rearrange your papers …
Some time later : You have had two enquiries from your newsletter and had several hits on your website and LinkedIn company page – and you only sent it a few hours ago . Feeling rather pleased and a teensy bit surprised you look at what you actually wrote . And this is what you learn - that you really connected with your readers and that you got what you wanted i . e . more people reading and responding to it , because you
1 . Had a really creative subject line 2 . Focused on one thing you wanted your readers to engage with 3 . Had a clear Call to Action – just the one this month to make sure people would act 4 . Enjoyed writing it .
SO … what did you do differently ? You used your Tango Thinking ! This told you that you have it within you to improvise , be powerful and expressive , absorbed in the task , and able to contextualise . Being innovative does not mean stopping and doing something new . What it means is asking yourself :
1 . How can I make what I ’ m already doing generate more action / engagement ?
2 . What are the better questions I can ask in order to get a bigger response ?
3 . What would my customers / market / readers like me to solve for them ?
4 . How can I expand my frame of reference to broaden my reach ? 5 . What is my real value to those I want to influence ?
Being innovative is finding ways to do things better , differently . It requires a bit of deconstructing what is already there , taking a different perspective and seeing the potential for variation and enhancement .
“ We cannot solve a problem by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them .” Albert Einstein
For more Tangoing tips towards a successful business get in touch with Isla .
How can Apprenticeships deliver for your business ?
Apprenticeships help businesses grow by :
• Reducing training and recruitment costs
• Increasing productivity and profitability
• Developing a skilled , motivated and qualified workforce
• Improving customer service results
• Providing financial return on investment .
Swindon College
More than 100,000 employers of all sizes and from all sectors in England currently use Apprenticeships to attract new talent , re-skill existing staff and tackle skill shortages .
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TOP PERFORMING COLLEGE IN THE SOUTH WEST FOR APPRENTICESHIPS
Source : Skills Funding Agency 2014 / 15
For further information about taking on an Apprentice please contact the Apprenticeship Team at Swindon College on :
( 01793 ) 498208 * apprenticeships @ swindon . ac . uk @ www . swindon . ac . uk
S w i n d o n C o l l e g e , N o r t h S t a r A v e n u e , S w i n d o n , W i l t s h i r e , S N 2 1 D Y
14 THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2016