Every day I learn a little more about blogging. I am slowly beginning to understand how powerful it is as a communication tool and the benefits to me personally and my business are considerable. There has never been an easier way to mass communicate and to be interactive with my customers, readers of my books and the small business community in general.

I really recommend any business or individual who can diseminate a lot of information and who has something to say to get a blog. It’s easier these days than it was a year ago and if you want to read up on blogging I found the following book particularly useful to get my head around the concept before I started and even more so, maximising my blogging once it was up.

Book title - Blog Wild - How everyone can go blogging by Andy Wibbels (published by Nicholas Brealey Publishing - ISBN 1857883691).

I also make a point of asking my long suffering web development guru, Andrew Burman from Andromeda about a million questions every week. There is a link to his site here www.andromeda.com.au.

Check out other blogs before you do your own. There are vastly different styles and themes. From my perspective I love reading how other people write their blogs and what they say. I also welcome any feedback about my blog - specifically ways to make it more interesting and appealing. So take the plunge and blog on!

Thanks for reading, writing and blogging - AG.

I often wonder why people are almost afraid to pronounce that they are good at what they do but it is a phenomenon that is very real. Sometimes I think it is because we don’t always have a way of measuring or comparing what we do so how can we know if we are good at what we do?

There are lots of ways to measure this – most significantly is the amount of repeat business we get from our existing customers. If they keep coming back it is a pretty good sign that what you are doing is right. If your customers are telling their friends to use your business, likewise it is a pretty good sign that you are on the right track. If you are winning awards or industry recognition, again you are on the right track but it is important to be proud of what you are doing and to tell your staff, your suppliers, the media, your friends and family, your colleagues and anyone else you can think of.

This doesn’t mean you should stand on a street corner wearing a sandwich board saying “I am wonderful” but it does mean you should put letters of appreciation from customers in full view, if you win an award put the certificate or trophy in a place where everyone can see it and if your customers are happy, ask them to tell their friends.

I recently did a project for a company that owns a number of petrol stations. This company has a head office, where staff and suppliers go but very few customers would ever go there. They have one huge wall covered in certificates and letters from customers, showcasing the awards that the business has won, the respect that their customers hold for the business and the charities that the business supports. Whilst this is great, the business doesn’t use any of these very significant promotional tools on their customers. I believe that it is due to a sense of modesty but in the modern business world – modesty is a liability not an asset. Every petrol station that this business owns should have copies of all of these letters and awards plastered in any available space. In fact they should make a brochure outlining what they do in the community and this should be given to every customer who visits the business. It reinforces that they are not only good corporate citizens, but they are also good at what they do.

Be proud of your achievements and remember that people like to do business with people who are good at what they do.

WHAT CAN YOU DO TODAY? List five ways that you can actively promote your business by telling your customers that you are good at what you do.