As the future is uncertain, and the past is, well, the past, instant-gratification seeking consumers are embracing the ‘now’ with more passion than ever before. And despite this trend’s seemingly ephemeral character, it is rich in solid, applicable trend examples.
Well worth taking the time to read this gem.
another beauty from trendwatching.com
Think ‘transparency’ is an established, maturing theme? You ain’t seen nothing yet. Sure, we’ve been harping on forever about the many ways consumers can research, compare and review their way to a more powerful position, but every month brings us smart new examples of consumers and brands intent on making opinions, quality standards and prices even more transparent.
So, it’s time for a fresh look at the latest and greatest in the transparency arena*, where savvy consumers (as well as on-trend brands) can score triumph after triumph. We’ll look at how reviews are set for even more spectacular growth, how price comparison is getting much more sophisticated, and how the inner-workings of companies will be exposed in pragmatic new ways. We then end this briefing with a countertrend, OPENLY OPAQUE, that raises the bar even higher.
how good is this?… instead of the TrendWatching.com team ambushing us with yet another Big New Trend this month, they decided to make life easier for all of us, and send an overview of the trends (PDFs included) covered so far in 2009.
From LUXYOURY to ECO-FRUGAL to GENERATION G.
So here’s another chance to get ready for a no doubt turbulent remainder of 2009. View all trends here
by Jonathan Fields for ChangeThis.com
“Try this career choice standard on for size…
Will this choice allow me to:
Spend the greatest amount of time
– Absorbed in activities and relationships that fill me up
– While surrounding myself with people I cannot get enough of, and
– Earning enough to live comfortably in the world?”
If not, why not? read on…
This little gem sounds like one I could have written myself!
If you’re career/business choice cannot tick off these 3 things, then my to review your current situation to work out why not. Whilst you may not like the answers, do it anyway…
Sometimes you are forced into paying attention to cashflow, and one of those times for me is right now. Even more importantly for me is that I am the sole bread-winner, so I don’t have a choice; whether I want to curl up in bed in a foetal position or not is irrelevant! Hence why it’s been a little quiet on the blog front of late, and it may stay that way for a little while longer yet.
Whilst there are quite a few irons in the fire right now (and if they all come off at the same time then I’ll have a different issue, it’s called time management!), the cashflow I had forecast and expected has vaporised, just like that. All entrepreneurial mothers, get used to it, it does happen to all of us at one time or other.
How has this happened?
The answer is layered and never simple, but a few key learnings that have come to the surface are:
– sometimes, it is just about the timing
– sometimes it is not, and it’s the time to ascertain what not to do again
– not to only rely on others, as their sense of urgency can be a whole lot different to yours
– when you know you should be doing something, but you allow others to talk you out of it… don’t. Follow your instinct, then you can have no one else to blame if it does not work, but you won’t go down wondering either
– marry someone rich!! only joking
This will make for a fabulous case-study in the not too distant future, and will certainly provide rich fodder for a new chapter of upcoming, still in planning mode book.
Yesterday saw the almost conclusion of Mentoring Session #1. 10 hours of mentoring is included as part of the program. So over last week and this week, I’ve managed to sit down with all but two of the businesses noted in 5th June post, and got to understand where their business is at, and where they in turn are also.
A diverse lot, at all stages of development, ranging from the new concern starting out to the well established local icon owner turning over what many of them would be aspiring too.
Its very energising having these conversations. The beauty is that I can see how they can grow each of these businesses in leaps and bounds, but they have to decide that its what they want to do. That’s the key. Growing a business will often take you away from doing the stuff you may really enjoy doing ie the hands-on reason you started the business in the first place.
However it doesn’t always have to be that way. As long as we create additional cash flow to cover the costs of outsourcing, then it is all doable. And that you’re prepared to do the initial additional hard work to be ready to hand over. You can grow and have your hands-on fix as well. The proof will be in the pudding as we journey through the remaining 8 hours of mentoring…
Stay tuned for the next exciting episode…
