Small Business – Where Do You Get Your Inspiration?

Where do you get your inspiration for running a small business?

For me, one of the places is my garden.

During the summer, I love sitting on my swing seat, watching the clouds drift across the sky or simply enjoying the blue sky overhead. That’s something of a rarity at times!

I’m not sitting there deliberately trying to think of business ideas. Quite the opposite. I’m switching off, enjoying being outside and letting my mind wander.

Yet it’s surprising how often a thought pops into my head.

Sometimes it’s an idea for a blog. Other times, something I’ve experienced suddenly makes me think about a client conversation, a system I’m using or a different way of approaching something in Focus Guru.

And occasionally, it’s the other way around. Something I’ve learnt through running my business makes me look at an everyday situation differently.

Which got me wondering.

Where does inspiration actually come from?

You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know

One of the things I’ve learnt from running my own business is that you don’t know what you don’t know.

That might sound obvious, but how can you look for an answer when you don’t even know there’s a question worth asking?

It’s one of the reasons I enjoy conversations with other people.

Whether I’m talking to a client, attending a networking meeting, having a conversation with my coach or simply chatting with friends and family, there’s always the possibility of learning something new.

Sometimes someone shares an experience that makes me think about my own situation differently.

Other times, they ask a question I hadn’t considered, reminding me that seeking help can introduce ideas and perspectives I might otherwise have missed.

And occasionally, a conversation takes a completely unexpected direction and leaves me with an idea that has absolutely nothing to do with what we were originally discussing.

We all have different experiences, knowledge and ways of approaching things, and we don’t always interpret things in the same way.

And I find it fascinating how a conversation about one thing can lead to thoughts about something entirely different.

What Has Formula 1 Got to Do With Business?

Conversations aren’t the only things that get me thinking.

Sometimes it’s something I’m watching on television.

I’ve enjoyed Formula 1 for years, and there’s a quote from Ross Brawn that’s always stayed with me:

“Luck is preparation waiting for an opportunity.”

It’s an interesting thought, isn’t it?

How often do we describe something as lucky without considering everything that happened beforehand?

And then there’s the teamwork.

An F1 pit stop might take just 2.3 seconds, but behind those few seconds are hours of preparation, practice and people working together.

Formula 1 teams and equipment in the busy Monaco Grand Prix pit lane, showing the teamwork behind motor racing. — Behind the scenes at the Monaco Grand Prix in 2012. There’s a lot more to Formula 1 than what happens on the track!

Of course, things don’t always go according to plan.

Strategies fail, mistakes happen and occasionally teammates even collide with each other!

What interests me is how teams respond. The honesty, vulnerability, ownership and conversations that help them move forward.

Well, mostly!

I don’t watch Formula 1 looking for business inspiration. I watch it because I enjoy it.

But every now and then, something makes me think about how people work together, communicate or approach a problem.

And those thoughts sometimes find their way into Focus Guru.

Sometimes You Just Need to Look at Things Differently

Back to my swing seat.

As much as I love sitting on it, occasionally it needs cleaning.

And depending on how long it’s been since I last tackled the job, that can seem like quite a task.

The same goes for cleaning the patio.

Wooden garden swing seat on a stone patio before cleaning, showing an everyday task that inspired a different way of thinking. — Sometimes a job that looks enormous becomes much easier when you tackle it a little at a time.

When I look at the whole job, it’s easy to think about how much there is to do.

But I’ve realised that I approach these jobs in exactly the same way I approach larger projects in my business.

I break them down into smaller, manageable chunks.

Rather than thinking about cleaning the entire patio, I concentrate on one section.

Rather than tackling the whole swing seat, I focus on one part at a time.

Eventually, all those smaller sections add up to a completed job.

It’s something I regularly use when working with clients, but it took cleaning the swing seat and patio to make me realise just how naturally I’d started using the same approach in my personal life.

I hadn’t consciously decided to apply a business technique to cleaning the garden. It was simply how I’d approached the job, without stopping to wonder whether there was a right or wrong way to tackle it.

Which made me wonder how many other things I’ve picked up in one part of my life and carried into another without even noticing.

From a Passing Thought to a Blog

When an idea for a blog pops into my head, I tend to write it down immediately.

Usually, it’s nothing more than a heading. Just enough to capture the thought before it disappears.

At the moment, I’ve got 23 of those headings waiting for me to spend some time thinking about them.

During the summer, that thinking often happens on my swing seat in the garden.

Now that winter’s approaching, I suspect it’ll be in front of the wood fire instead.

Some of those headings will eventually become blogs. Others might take me in a completely different direction once I start exploring them.

And that’s part of what I enjoy.

I don’t always know where a thought is going to lead.

So, Where Do You Get Your Inspiration?

When I started thinking about where my inspiration comes from, I hadn’t realised quite how many different answers I’d come up with.

Some of them might seem like rather strange places to find inspiration for running a small business.

But perhaps that’s the interesting thing about inspiration.

You don’t always know where it’s going to come from, or even recognise it when it arrives.

Which has left me wondering…

Where do you get your inspiration? And has it ever come from somewhere that completely surprised you?

Swimming in a pool, in a lake, in the sea – is it all the same?

I can swim.

That sounds like a fairly straightforward statement, doesn’t it?

But recently, after a sea swim in Cornwall and Scilly, I started thinking about whether being able to swim actually means the same thing everywhere.

Because swimming in a pool, swimming in a lake and swimming in the sea all require the same basic ability.

You need to be able to swim.

But that doesn’t make them the same experience.

And, as it turns out, there are quite a few similarities between that and adapting in business.

Same Skill, Different Environment

In a swimming pool, there’s a certain amount of security.

You generally know how deep it is. You can see the edge. The water temperature is reasonably predictable. There are usually lifeguards around. There aren’t waves, currents, weeds or jellyfish to contend with.

You can concentrate on swimming.

Move that same swimmer into a lake and things change.

Lake surrounded by mountains showing a different swimming environment — The ability to swim might be the same, but the environment around you changes.

The bottom might suddenly disappear beneath you. There may be weeds brushing against your legs. The water temperature can be very different. You need to be more aware of where you are and what’s around you.

Then there’s the sea.

Sea swimming in Cornwall and adapting in business — The same swimming skills, but a very different environment.

Now you can add waves, currents, changing conditions and whatever else happens to be sharing the water with you.

I haven’t suddenly forgotten how to swim.

The basic skill is exactly the same.

But the environment changes what I need from that skill.

Ability Isn’t Always Enough

That got me thinking about business.

We often look at something we’ve done before and think:

I know how to do this.

And we probably do.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean we can approach it in exactly the same way this time.

A task for one client might technically be the same as a task for another, but the circumstances around it can be completely different.

One client might give you everything you need upfront. Another might need you to ask questions and gather information as you go.

One project might have plenty of time around it. Another might have a tighter deadline.

Sometimes you have clear boundaries and know exactly where you’re going.

Sometimes you’re metaphorically swimming through seaweed wondering what just touched your leg.

The skill hasn’t changed.

The environment has.

Sometimes You Need More Concentration

There was something else I noticed about swimming in different environments.

In a pool, I can switch off a bit.

I don’t have to think about every single thing I’m doing because the environment is controlled and familiar.

In open water, I can’t do that to the same extent.

I need to pay attention.

Where am I?

What’s the water doing?

How am I feeling?

Do I need to change what I’m doing?

And I think there’s a business lesson in that too.

Just because something is familiar doesn’t mean it will always require the same amount of concentration, time or energy.

There are days when a task I’ve done hundreds of times feels easy.

There are other days when exactly the same task requires much more from me.

And there are projects where the task itself isn’t particularly difficult, but everything surrounding it makes it more complicated.

That doesn’t mean I’ve suddenly become less capable.

It means I’m swimming in different water.

Adapting in Business: What Do You Need for This Particular Swim?

I think this is something we can forget when we’re running a business.

We judge ourselves by whether we can do something rather than looking at the conditions we’re trying to do it in.

Perhaps the better question isn’t:

Can I do this?

Perhaps it’s:

What do I need to be able to do this here?

Do I need more time?

More information?

Someone else’s expertise?

A different way of working?

Or simply fewer distractions so I can concentrate?

Being able to swim doesn’t mean every swim is the same.

And being capable of doing something in your business doesn’t mean you have to be able to do it in every situation, under every set of circumstances, in exactly the same way.

Sometimes you just need to recognise what sort of water you’re in.

Celebrate Your Wins

When did we stop celebrating the small stuff?

As children, we celebrate everything.

A child manages to put their socks on by themselves for the first time and we’re delighted. It doesn’t even matter if the socks are backwards. They did it!

Somewhere between childhood and adulthood, that changes.

We start deciding that achievements have to be a certain size before they count.

It’s only a small thing.

That’s just my job.

I should have done that anyway.

But why shouldn’t it count?

Big Wins, Small Wins

I celebrate wins.

That doesn’t mean I’m opening a bottle of champagne every time somebody pays an invoice. We’d have a problem if I did!

Celebrating can be as simple as messaging somebody to say, “I’ve done it!” It might be a happy dance, writing something down, wandering around the garden or having a cuddle with Leo.

And yes, if it’s a really big win, there might be champagne.

The size of the celebration doesn’t matter.

What matters is actually recognising that something went well.

Because a win doesn’t have one definition.

It changes depending on the person, the client, the business situation, your emotions and what’s happening in the rest of your life.

What Are You Not Celebrating?

Think about some of the things that happen in an ordinary working week.

Someone asks you for a 1:1.

A potential customer gives you buying signals.

Someone engages with something you’ve posted on social media.

A client recommends you.

A networking contact recommends you.

A customer pays you.

None of those necessarily mean you’ve won a new client there and then.

But they’re still wins.

That little notification telling you somebody has paid an invoice can give you a lovely hit of dopamine. Why shouldn’t you enjoy it?

And that conversation that didn’t result in a sale today might lead somewhere next week, next month or six months from now.

One of the difficulties when you’re self-employed is that sometimes you’re celebrating these things on your own. Someone who is employed might not understand why you’re excited because somebody has asked for a 1:1.

But you know what it could mean.

Celebrate it.

Sometimes the Win Is Headspace

Some of my wins probably sound even less exciting from the outside.

Getting my blogs scheduled ahead.

Reaching inbox zero.

Discovering a process that saves me time.

Finding a better way of doing something so I don’t have to keep remembering it.

They’re wins because they clear headspace.

An unfinished task doesn’t necessarily disappear when you stop actively thinking about it. It can sit there, loitering somewhere in your subconscious, waiting to remind you that you still haven’t done it.

Getting it finished, scheduled or into a process means I don’t have to carry it around in my head anymore.

Finding ways of planning for what you actually need can be an achievement in itself.

That’s worth celebrating.

Losing Something Can Be a Win Too

One of the things on my original list of wins was:

Sacking a client.

That might sound like an odd thing to celebrate.

But my business had changed. My target client had changed. The people I wanted to work with had changed.

That particular client no longer fitted.

Ending that relationship wasn’t a sign that my business was failing. It was part of growing my business, niching down and relieving some of the pressure I was putting on myself trying to meet client expectations that no longer fitted where I was going.

“Sometimes enough really is enough, and recognising that can be a win in itself.”

On the other side of that, winning a new client is absolutely something I’ll celebrate.

Yes, there’s the money.

And hopefully they’re somebody I’m really excited to work with.

But there’s something else I think we sometimes overlook:

They chose me.

Out of all the people they could have worked with, they decided that I was the person they wanted.

That’s worth a happy dance.

Your Wins Don’t Have to Be Business Wins

Business and life aren’t two completely separate boxes for me.

Business contacts become friends. Friends support businesses. Sometimes I can support a friend or colleague with something that helps them get a grant or move something forward.

That’s a win too.

And I’ve had a very recent reminder that celebrating what went well doesn’t mean pretending everything else was wonderful.

I’ve just come back from Sicily.

Three trips I really wanted to do were cancelled for reasons completely outside my control.

Was I disappointed?

Yes.

Properly disappointed about two of them.

I’m not going to pretend otherwise just so I can put a positive spin on it.

But that doesn’t cancel out the good bits either.

I Walked on Mount Etna!

Mount Etna smoking above vineyards in Sicily — A reminder that Mount Etna is very much an active volcano.

Volcanic landscape and trees on Mount Etna in Sicily — The landscape on Mount Etna – very different from anything I normally walk through!

That is definitely going on my wins list.

I walked around Mount Etna, including some narrow paths around the crater edges that pushed me well outside my comfort zone.

It was high.

Some of those paths were narrower than I would have liked.

And I did it.

The physical achievement was part of the win, but so was the experience itself.

The views were incredible.

View across the volcanic slopes and mountains from Mount Etna — And then there were the views. Wow.

It’s something I’ll probably never do again, which makes me even more pleased that I did it when I had the opportunity.

There were other lovely moments too.

The architecture. The scenery. Sitting colouring in the apartment garden, listening to the sounds around me with no technology.

Those things don’t make the cancelled trips less disappointing.

Both things can be true.

I can be disappointed about the things that didn’t happen and celebrate the things that did.

What If You Don’t Think You Have Any Wins?

This is where I want you to change the scale.

If you’re thinking, “That’s all very well, Rachael, but I haven’t done anything worth celebrating,” look back.

Where were you a year ago?

Three years ago?

Five years ago?

What’s different now?

Sometimes it’s only when you look backwards that you realise those realistic dreams and ambitions you were working towards have actually started to happen.

What have you learned? What have you changed? What have you got through?

And if you’re at a really low ebb, make the scale smaller still.

I’ve worked with people who didn’t think they’d achieved anything.

Then they started looking at what they’d actually done.

They got up.

They had a wash.

They cleaned their teeth.

They got dressed.

They had a conversation.

When life is difficult, those things can be achievements.

We happily celebrate the child who puts their socks on by themselves for the first time, even if they’re backwards.

Perhaps, as adults, we need to give ourselves permission to do the same.

Your win doesn’t need to impress anybody else.

It doesn’t have to make money.

It doesn’t have to be enormous.

And you certainly don’t need champagne every time.

Although sometimes…

Champagne is entirely appropriate. 🥂

The Hidden Cost of Saying Yes

It’s OK to Say No

Saying no has never come naturally to me.

Like many business owners, I wanted to help everyone.

Every opportunity sounded exciting.

Every client enquiry felt like something I should make work.

Every invitation deserved a yes.

For years I thought saying yes made me helpful.

What I didn’t realise was that every yes was quietly creating a no somewhere else.

Every Yes Has a Hidden Cost

It’s easy to think of “no” as negative.

We worry we’ll disappoint people.

Miss opportunities.

Damage relationships.

Lose business.

But every decision works both ways.

When you say yes to one thing, you’re automatically saying no to something else.

Maybe you’re saying no to an evening with your family.

No to walking the dog before it gets too hot.

No to taking a proper lunch break.

No to finishing work at a sensible time.

No to simply having the energy you need tomorrow.

We all work differently, and protecting your time isn’t about doing less—it’s about choosing what works best for you. That’s exactly what I explored in Your Time, Your Way, No Squirrels

The question isn’t whether you’ll say no.

It’s what you’re choosing to say no to.

Leo walks away from a tennis ball in the garden, illustrating that not every opportunity needs to be accepted. — Just because something is offered doesn’t mean you have to take it.

Looking Back

When I look back over the past few years, some of the best decisions I’ve made started with saying no.

I’ve turned down clients who weren’t the right fit.

I’ve ended working relationships that no longer served either of us.

I’ve stopped doing Christmas markets.

I no longer answer messages late into the evening just because my phone happens to be nearby.

None of those decisions felt comfortable at the time.

Every one created space for something better.

Sometimes the hardest part isn’t deciding to say no—it’s recognising that enough is enough. That’s something I’ve written about before, because noticing when you’ve reached your limit is often the first step towards making better decisions.

Ask Yourself One Simple Question

Instead of asking:

“Can I say yes?”

Try asking yourself:

What am I saying no to if I accept this?
Is that trade-off worth it?

Sometimes the answer will be yes.

Sometimes it won’t.

Neither answer is wrong.

There isn’t always a single right answer. Often the better question is whether the choice is right for you, which is something I discussed in Is There a Right and a Wrong Way?

What’s important is making the choice consciously.

The Opportunities You Never See

One thing I’ve noticed is that we often focus on the opportunities we might lose by saying no.

We rarely notice the opportunities we create.

The hour you protected becomes time to finish a project.

The client you declined leaves space for one who’s a much better fit.

The same applies to how freely we give our time and expertise. Helping people is important, but so is recognising when constantly giving stops being helpful—for you or for them. I explored that balance in When Is Sharing Not Caring?

The weekend you kept free gives you the energy to enjoy Monday again.

Those opportunities are quieter.

But they’re often the ones that matter most.

Before Your Next Yes…

The next time you’re about to agree to something, pause for a moment.

Not because saying yes is bad.

Because every yes has a price.

Ask yourself:

What will this yes require me to say no to?

If you’re happy with that answer, say yes with confidence.

If you’re not…

It’s perfectly OK to say no.

When the Door is Locked

Some changes happen so gradually that you don’t notice them.

Others arrive with a very obvious clunk.

Recently, one of those happened in our house.

Leo, our rescue dog who has taught me more than a few business lessons over the years, wandered over.

Except this time…

The door was locked.

That was new.

The First Response: Keep Trying

Leo didn’t immediately understand what had changed.

He nudged the door.

Looked around.

Whined.

Tried again.

Surely if he just pushed a little harder, the door would open like it always had.

It didn’t.

Watching him made me smile, but it also made me think about business.

How often do we do exactly the same thing?

A client changes direction.

A networking opportunity disappears.

An enquiry doesn’t turn into work.

A marketing strategy that once worked suddenly doesn’t.

And instead of accepting what’s changed, we keep pushing on the same locked door.

Frustration Comes Before Acceptance

It’s completely natural.

We invest time, energy and emotion into opportunities.

When they stop working, our first instinct is often frustration.

We wonder what we’re doing wrong.

We push harder.

We knock louder.

We try one more email.

One more post.

One more conversation.

All because we’re hoping the door will suddenly unlock again.

The Moment of Realisation

Eventually Leo stopped.

He realised the door wasn’t going to open.

Nothing he did was going to change that.

It wasn’t about trying harder.

The situation itself had changed.

Once he accepted that, something interesting happened.

He simply wandered off, settled down and went to sleep.

Problem solved.

Review. Refine. Monitor.

That simple moment reminded me of something I try to apply in my own business.

When something isn’t working, I don’t want to keep throwing time and energy at it indefinitely.

Instead, I try to:

Review what’s changed.
Refine my approach if needed.
Monitor the results before deciding what to do next.

Sometimes the answer is persistence.

Sometimes the answer is improvement.

And sometimes…

The answer is recognising that the door really is locked.

Not Every Door Needs Opening

One of the hardest lessons in business is accepting that not every opportunity is meant to stay open forever.

Clients leave.

Projects end.

Strategies become outdated.

Markets change.

None of those things automatically mean we’ve failed.

Often they simply mean it’s time to stop standing outside one locked door and notice the others that are already open.

Leo figured that out surprisingly quickly.

Once he accepted the situation, he stopped wasting energy trying to change something he couldn’t control.

There are days when I think we could all learn a little from that.

Ready to make your business work your way?

If this article has sparked an idea, highlighted a challenge, or simply made you stop and think, let’s have a chat. I offer a free, no-obligation discovery call where we can explore what’s working well, what’s getting in your way, and whether I can help you save time and create systems that fit the way you work.

👉 Book your free discovery call here: https://tidycal.com/3zd5zj1/blog-discovery-call-clone20250506083047

If Time Is Money, How Do You Get Family to See Time as a Gift?

As business owners, we’re often told that time is money.

Every networking event, client meeting, invoice, blog, or admin task has a value attached to it. We become very aware of what an hour of our working day is worth.

But then something interesting happens.

The people closest to us don’t always see our time in the same way.

They don’t mean to. They’re not being selfish. They’re simply looking at life through a different lens.

The Invisible Cost of “Just an Hour”

One conversation with my mum really made me stop and think.

She asked how much I would charge for an hour of gardening.

It’s a fair question.

If I spend an hour gardening, that’s an hour I’m choosing not to spend earning money.

But then she followed it with something that completely changed my thinking.

She wasn’t really asking about gardening.

She was asking about time as a gift.

Because when you work for yourself, giving someone your time is often far more valuable than buying them something.

A Different Kind of Present

Last year my mum gave me an hour of her time by helping with the garden.

To anyone else it might have looked like simple weeding or tidying up.

To me, it meant I could spend an hour doing something else.

That wasn’t just help.

It was a gift.

This year she’s done the same again.

Dad has done something similar too, giving up time to help to mow the lawn.

Neither of them wrapped their gift.

There wasn’t a ribbon.

No gift tag.

No receipt.

But they probably saved me more money than many physical presents ever could.

Gifts Don’t Have to Be Bought

It also made me think about birthdays and Christmas.

In 2024 we agreed not to exchange birthday or Christmas cards.

Instead, we donated the money we would have spent to charity.

No cards.

No guilt.

Just knowing the money would hopefully do more good elsewhere.

This Christmas we also agreed there would be no physical gifts.

At first glance that might sound a little sad.

Actually, it feels incredibly freeing.

Nobody has to wander around the shops desperately trying to find something someone doesn’t really need.

Nobody has to pretend they were surprised.

Nobody ends up with another ornament, mug or box of chocolates simply because that’s what people buy.

Instead, we’ve quietly acknowledged that helping each other throughout the year often means more.

The Gift That Lasts Longer

When somebody gives you an item, eventually it wears out.

It breaks.

It gets replaced.

It gets donated.

But when someone gives you their time, something different happens.

Maybe they’ve:

helped you decorate
looked after the dog
cooked you a meal
mowed your lawn
driven you to an appointment
listened when you’ve had a difficult day

You often remember those moments far longer than you remember who bought you socks three Christmases ago.

Time says something far more powerful than money ever can.

It says:

“You were worth spending my life on today.”

It’s Not About Keeping Score

I’m certainly not suggesting every family should stop buying presents.

For many people, giving physical gifts brings enormous joy.

This isn’t about replacing one tradition with another.

It’s about recognising that there are different ways to show love and appreciation.

Sometimes the most thoughtful gift isn’t something you can hold.

It’s an afternoon.

A morning.

An hour.

Or even just twenty minutes when somebody knows you really need them.

A Different Way to Think About Giving

As self-employed people, we naturally understand the value of time because we trade it every day.

Perhaps the challenge is helping our families understand that value too.

Not so they stop asking us for help.

Not so they feel guilty.

But so they realise that when they choose to give us their own time instead, they’re often giving us something even more precious than money.

Because if time really is money…

Then perhaps the greatest gift someone can give isn’t found in a shop at all.

It’s choosing to spend some of their limited time helping someone they love.

And that’s a gift whose value is almost impossible to measure.

Ready to make your business work your way?

👉 Book your free discovery call here: https://tidycal.com/3zd5zj1/blog-discovery-call-clone20250506083047

How Do Your Customers Know It Truly Came From You?

As business owners, we spend a lot of time trying to stand out.

We work on our branding.

We choose colours.

We create logos.

We build websites.

We design business cards.

But sometimes the thing that makes us most recognisable isn’t any of those things.

It’s consistency.

How do your customers know it came from you? Often it’s the consistency of your actions, communication and personality rather than your logo alone.

It’s the small details that become unmistakably yours.

The Christmas Card Test

A few years ago, I received a Christmas card that immediately made me smile.

Not because of who had signed it.

Not because of what it said.

But because I knew exactly who it was from before I even opened it.

The colours were distinctive.

The style was familiar.

It looked like them.

Their personality had become part of their branding.

That moment stuck with me because it demonstrated something powerful.

The strongest brands don’t need to announce themselves.

People recognise them instinctively. Just as everyone interprets the same thing differently, people also notice and remember different aspects of a brand.

Recognition Comes From Repetition

This is often how your customers know it came from you, even when your name isn’t immediately visible.

Most people assume branding is about creating something unique.

In reality, branding is often about being consistently you.

The colours you use.

The language you choose.

The way you communicate.

The quality people expect.

The experience clients receive.

Over time, those things create familiarity.

And familiarity creates trust. Much like the idea that connection doesn’t mean communication every day, recognition is often built through consistent experiences rather than constant interaction.

When people repeatedly experience the same values, standards and personality, they begin to recognise your work without needing to see your name attached to it.

The Unfinished Projects We Remember

Another thing that prompted this reflection was looking at some unfinished colouring projects from last year.

They’d been put aside months ago.

Yet the moment I saw them again, I immediately remembered where I’d left off and what I wanted them to become.

Some ideas stay with us because they genuinely matter.

The same is true for businesses.

People remember the things that consistently leave an impression.

Not necessarily the loudest things.

Not necessarily the most expensive things.

The things that feel authentic.

What Makes You Recognisable?

Recognisable branded greeting card amongst plain envelopes showing how customers identify a business through consistency — The strongest brands are often recognised before a name, logo, or website is ever seen.

When considering how your customers know it came from you, think beyond visual branding and focus on the experience people associate with you.

Think about the businesses and people you remember most.

Often it isn’t their logo.

It’s something deeper.

For some people, it’s their humour.

For others, it’s their generosity.

For others, it’s their reliability.

For me, when I think of people in my own network, certain traits immediately spring to mind.

When I think of Sheena, I think of glittery stars.

When I think of Abbie, I think of free gifts.

When I think of Smile, I think of extra care and attention.

When I think of Bearskills, I think of practical grounding and resilience.

When I think of Matt Richardson, I think of his commitment to making an impact.

And when I think of Jody, I immediately picture her Advent Calendar.

Each of those things has become part of how I recognise them.

Not because they forced it.

Because they’ve shown up consistently enough that the connection happened naturally.

Your Brand Is More Than Your Logo

Many business owners spend a huge amount of energy trying to perfect their visual branding.

That’s important.

But visual branding is only one piece of the puzzle.

Your real brand is the experience people have when they interact with you.

It’s how quickly you respond.

How clearly you communicate.

How reliable you are.

How you solve problems.

How people feel after they’ve worked with you.

Those are often the things clients remember longest.

Can People Spot You Without Seeing Your Name?

Here’s a useful question to consider:

If somebody removed your logo, your business name and your website address, would people still recognise your work?

Would they recognise your tone of voice?

Your values?

Your personality?

Your approach?

If the answer is yes, you’re building something far stronger than a visual identity.

You’re building recognition.

And recognition is often what turns casual followers into loyal customers.

Final Thoughts

Understanding how your customers know it came from you can help shape a brand that feels authentic, memorable and trustworthy.

The businesses that stay in people’s minds rarely do so because they have the cleverest logo or the most polished graphics.

They stay in people’s minds because they’re consistently themselves.

Their values show through.

Their personality shows through.

Their approach shows through.

So rather than asking whether your branding is perfect, perhaps ask a different question:

If someone received something from me today, would they instantly know it came from me?

Because when the answer becomes yes, your brand is doing exactly what it should.

That’s often the moment you know your customers know it came from you, even before they see your name attached to it.

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I’m a Dyslexic Enabler, Not a Copywriter

Every so often somebody describes me as a copywriter.

And whilst I understand why, it never quite feels right.

Because copy writing isn’t really what I do.

I’m a dyslexic enabler.

That may sound like a strange job title, but it’s probably closer to the truth.

The Assumption People Make

People often see the end result.

A blog.

A newsletter.

A podcast description.

A set of social media captions.

A polished piece of content.

And they naturally assume the writing is the main skill being sold.

But for me, the writing is often just the final stage.

The real value comes much earlier.

Helping Ideas Escape

One of the biggest challenges many business owners face isn’t writing.

It’s getting their knowledge out of their head in the first place.

They know their subject inside out.

They can explain it brilliantly in conversation.

They can answer questions with ease.

But when they sit in front of a blank screen, everything grinds to a halt.

That’s where I often come in.

Not because I’m the world’s greatest writer.

But because I’m good at helping people organise their thoughts.

Turning conversations into content.

Turning expertise into something other people can understand.

Turning a collection of ideas into a finished piece of work.

My Dyslexia Has Shaped How I Work

As somebody who is dyslexic, I’ve never approached communication in a traditional way.

I’ve spent years finding methods, systems and tools that help me organise information.

Because of that, I often spot something important.

Many people don’t actually need somebody to write for them.

They need somebody to help them untangle what they’re trying to say.

Once the structure is there, the words often become much easier.

The Difference Between Information and Communication

Handwritten notebook page showing brainstorming notes for a blog about being a dyslexic enabler rather than a copywriter — The first draft doesn’t start on a screen. It starts with ideas, conversations and scribbled notes that eventually become something useful.

Knowing something and communicating it are two very different skills.

A business owner may have decades of experience.

A coach may have transformed hundreds of lives.

An accountant may understand regulations inside out.

A podcast host may have incredible conversations.

But expertise doesn’t automatically become content.

Somewhere in the middle, it needs translating.

That’s the part I enjoy.

Being Yourself Matters

One of the reasons I don’t see myself as a traditional copywriter is that I rarely want clients to sound like me.

I want them to sound like themselves.

The goal isn’t to create content in my voice.

It’s to help their voice come through more clearly.

That’s why I spend so much time listening.

Listening to how people speak.

Listening to the stories they tell.

Listening to the phrases they naturally use.

The content becomes stronger because it’s theirs, not mine.

Knowing Your Limits

There’s another lesson hidden in this too.

Being good at something doesn’t mean you need to do everything.

Some people are brilliant presenters.

Some are fantastic speakers.

Some are amazing at generating ideas.

Some love writing.

Others don’t.

And that’s perfectly fine.

The goal isn’t to master every skill yourself.

The goal is to understand where your strengths are and find support for the things that aren’t.

Final Thoughts

I’m not offended when somebody calls me a copywriter.

I understand why they do.

After all, blogs, newsletters, podcast descriptions and captions are things I create regularly.

But the real value often starts much earlier.

Helping people organise their thinking.

Helping ideas leave notebooks and conversations.

Helping expertise become something useful to somebody else.

So if you ask me what I do, you’ll probably never hear me describe myself as a copywriter.

You’ll hear me describe myself as a dyslexic enabler.

And honestly, that feels much closer to the truth.

Ready to make your business work your way?

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Everyone Interprets the Same Thing Differently

You’re standing by the hotel pool.

The sun is shining.

The loungers are lined up neatly.

And scattered across them are towels.

Somebody has been up early.

Very early.

The interesting thing isn’t that the towels are there.

It’s how differently people interpret what they mean.

One person sees a towel and thinks:

“That’s fine. They’ve saved their seat.”

Another person looks at exactly the same towel and thinks:

“That’s not saving a seat. That’s claiming one.”

Same towel.

Same sunbed.

Same situation.

Completely different interpretation.

Everyone interprets the same thing differently, and that simple reality affects far more business conversations than we realise.

And it got me thinking about how often this happens in business.

We Rarely See Things Exactly As They Are

The reason everyone interprets the same thing differently is that we all view situations through our own experiences, beliefs and expectations.

Most of us assume we’re looking at facts.

In reality, we’re often looking at facts through our own experiences, values and beliefs.

What seems obvious to one person can look completely different to somebody else.

The towel on the sunbed isn’t really the issue.

The interpretation is.

One person sees planning.

Another sees selfishness.

One sees organisation.

Another sees unfairness.

Neither person is necessarily looking at a different situation.

They’re simply viewing it through a different lens.

Business Is Full of Towels on Sunbeds

Business owners encounter this every day.

You send a short email because you’re busy.

One person reads it as efficient.

Another reads it as abrupt.

You delay replying because you’re gathering information.

One person sees professionalism.

Another sees poor communication.

You decline an opportunity because your diary is already full.

One person sees strong boundaries.

Another sees a lack of interest.

The action is the same.

The interpretation changes.

Why Misunderstandings Happen

When everyone interprets the same thing differently, misunderstandings become almost inevitable unless we stop to check our assumptions.

Most disagreements don’t start because somebody deliberately set out to cause a problem.

They start because people make assumptions.

We fill in gaps.

We attach meaning.

We tell ourselves stories about what something means.

Often without checking whether our interpretation is correct.

The more experience we have, the more likely we are to do it.

Because our brains like shortcuts.

They help us make quick decisions.

But they can also lead us to completely the wrong conclusion.

The Danger of Assuming Everyone Thinks Like You

One of the biggest mistakes business owners make is assuming everybody interprets situations the same way they do.

They don’t.

Your clients won’t.

Your suppliers won’t.

Your team won’t.

Your networking contacts won’t.

Your family certainly won’t.

What feels perfectly clear in your head may not be clear to anyone else.

And what feels completely obvious to somebody else may never have crossed your mind.

That’s why good communication matters so much.

Not because it guarantees everyone will agree.

But because it reduces the chance of misunderstanding.

Curiosity Beats Assumption

When something frustrates us, it’s tempting to decide what it means.

The better option is often to ask.

To be curious.

To gather more information before jumping to conclusions.

The person who placed the towel on the sunbed may have perfectly reasonable reasons for doing so.

Or they may not.

But until we know, we’re only guessing.

The same applies in business.

Before assuming somebody is ignoring you, ask.

Before assuming somebody isn’t interested, ask.

Before assuming somebody is difficult, ask.

Questions usually provide better answers than assumptions.

Final Thoughts

Understanding that everyone interprets the same thing differently has helped me become more curious and less certain when communication feels unclear.

The longer I run a business, the more I realise that many disagreements aren’t caused by bad intentions.

They’re caused by different interpretations.

Two people can witness exactly the same event and walk away with completely different conclusions.

The towel is still just a towel.

The situation is still the same.

What changes is the meaning we attach to it.

So the next time you find yourself feeling certain about what somebody meant, pause for a moment.

And ask yourself:

“Am I reacting to what happened, or to my interpretation of what happened?”

Because those aren’t always the same thing.

After all, everyone interprets the same thing differently, even when they’re looking at exactly the same facts. 🐿️

Ready to make your business work your way?

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Is There a Right and a Wrong Way?

Is There a Right and a Wrong Way in Business? Finding What Works for You

As business owners, we spend a lot of time wondering whether there is a right and a wrong way in business.

The right way to market.

The right way to network.

The right way to manage our time.

The right way to train our teams.

The right way to grow our business.

But what if the question isn’t whether something is right or wrong?

What if the better question is whether it works for you?

Is there a right and a wrong way in business? Sometimes there is, but far more often the answer depends on the person, the situation, and the outcome they are trying to achieve.

Learning This Lesson the Hard Way

For a long time, I assumed there was a correct way to do almost everything.

If somebody else was successful, surely I should copy what they were doing.

If an expert recommended a system, surely I should follow it.

If everyone else seemed to be doing something one way, surely that was the right way.

The trouble is that life isn’t that simple.

People are different.

Businesses are different.

Circumstances are different.

What works brilliantly for one person may be completely unsuitable for somebody else.

I’ve seen this in my own life too. I tend to learn by throwing myself into something and figuring it out as I go. Tom often prefers to research first and understand the options before making a decision. Neither approach is automatically right or wrong — they’re simply different. The same applies in business. What matters isn’t whether someone else’s system works for them; it’s whether it works for you.

Different notebooks, pens and planning tools showing that people work in different ways — The best system isn’t the one everyone else uses. It’s the one that works for you.

The Dog Training Example

I’ve seen this with Leo.

Ask ten dog trainers how to solve a problem and you may receive ten different answers.

Some approaches suit one dog perfectly.

Others don’t.

Some methods fit the owner’s lifestyle.

Others don’t.

The goal isn’t to prove one trainer right and another wrong.

The goal is to find an approach that works for the dog and the owner standing in front of them.

Business is often exactly the same.

Advice Isn’t One-Size-Fits-All

This is where the question “is there a right and a wrong way in business?” becomes particularly relevant, because different approaches can produce equally successful results.

Business advice can be incredibly valuable.

But it should never replace thinking.

Someone might tell you to post on social media every day.

Someone else may recommend weekly content.

Another person may suggest avoiding social media altogether.

Who’s right?

Potentially all of them.

Potentially none of them.

The answer depends on your goals, your capacity, your audience and your priorities.

The Cost of Chasing the Perfect Method

Many business owners become stuck because they’re searching for certainty.

They spend months researching.

Comparing.

Learning.

Planning.

Waiting until they’re confident they’ve found the perfect approach.

But there often isn’t a perfect approach.

There is only the next sensible step.

Sometimes progress comes from trying something, learning from it, and adjusting as you go.

Different Doesn’t Mean Wrong

Understanding that there isn’t always a right and a wrong way in business can remove a huge amount of pressure and uncertainty.

One of the most useful lessons I’ve learned is that different and wrong are not the same thing.

Someone may organise their diary differently.

Run meetings differently.

Market differently.

Network differently.

Train differently.

Lead differently.

That doesn’t automatically make them wrong.

It simply means they’ve found an approach that works for them.

Consider Advice Carefully

Advice is precious.

Experience is valuable.

Learning from others can save enormous amounts of time and frustration.

But advice should be considered, not blindly followed.

Ask yourself:

Does this suit my situation?
Does this align with my values?
Does this fit my goals?
Do I have the capacity to do this well?
Will this genuinely help me move forwards?

If the answer is yes, great.

If not, it’s perfectly acceptable to take a different path.

Final Thoughts

When asking whether there is a right and a wrong way in business, it helps to separate ethical principles from personal preferences and working styles.

There are certainly wrong ways to do some things.

Dishonesty is wrong.

Treating people badly is wrong.

Breaking promises is wrong.

But beyond those fundamentals, many business decisions aren’t about right and wrong at all.

They’re about fit.

The best systems, processes and habits are often the ones that work consistently for you.

So before asking whether something is the right way, ask a different question:

“Is this the right way for me?”

Because that’s often the answer that matters most.

The most successful business owners often stop asking whether there is a right and a wrong way in business and start asking whether their chosen approach genuinely works for them.

Ready to make your business work your way?

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