Today is your 8th birthday! Can't believe how quickly you are growing up. You basically got Lego and money - your favourite presents. You're saving money to buy more Lego!

Last night you went to bed very excited about your birthday. At 10:30pm we found you sat outside the bathroom wide awake. I asked you what was wrong and you replied 'nothing'. So I asked you why you were up. To which you looked a little confused and asked 'isn't it morning?' you'd slept two hours and thought it was a full nights sleep. Needless to say you're mum and I thought this was very funny and very cute.

Happy birthday son - I pray this is a fab year for you!

The year was 1986, and I had just been caught dealing in drugs. I was thirteen. It was my first small business that I can really remember. I discovered that drug dealing is actually quite profitable, but also somewhat risky. The drugs I sold were small pills that I got from the doctor to help me control my childhood asthma. There wasn’t a sudden outbreak of asthma in my school at the time but there was a demand for these pills as I discovered that they had an interesting side effect on me - they made you fart. To my 13 year old friends (the male ones of course), this was brilliant. They wanted some. I had the product, and they were willing to pay. So I sold them, for 20p each or 3 for 50p. It was going great, I got the pills on prescription so they were free and I took in the money. I didn’t think about supply issues further down the line (I just figured that the doctor would keep supplying them if I came up with enough excuses). Then one day a teacher caught me. The small business was over. It was a short career being a drug dealer. The really great thing though, was that it sparked something in me about business. I was hooked. So what’s your story?

As I write this, I am sat in a field, smelling the fresh cut grass, enjoying the view over the river and loving the English sunshine. It is one of those perfect days that we occasionally get in the UK where the weather is fantastic, not too hot, not too cold. The thing is, it is still before 5, and I have been here for 30 minutes already. Oh, and it is Friday. In theory, I should be at the office, sat at my desk, working hard. That is what I expect of my staff, and it is what I expect of myself. Whenever you see a business man on TV, he has a suit and tie and is either in his office or on his way to visit someone in an office. That was my life for a long time. I love the office as well, I really do. We have a great place to work and have worked hard to provide a good working environment for all of us. There aren't many workplaces that can boast of having their own gym and thermal spa suite with 5 saunas and a steam bath at the office, but we can. More and more, though, I am of the opinion that the "sit-at-a-desk" model of business needs to change, especially for the entrepreneurs driving the business forward. There are a number of reasons why I think this:

Rest

If you are like me at all, you cannot stop working. Even when you are sat at home watching a movie, you have the laptop on your knee and you are doing something from checking emails to writing quotes. Business, life and work all seem to merge together, and I think that is OK if you love what you are doing and have a passion for it. But we all need to rest. Sitting in the park today, listening to a Podcast (albeit about business) has been really restful. I managed a 10 minute snooze too and feel loads better.

Space to think

This is perhaps the most important reason for me. When I am in the office, I am constantly interrupted by the phone, email and staff. There is a to do list that is constantly nagging at me (and it always gets bigger, never smaller). Yet when I step out of that environment, the interruptions stop and I have time to think. It is brilliant. I can think about things, brainstorm, mindmap, write, draw and all the other amazing things that you can do when you escape your desk. And too be honest, I have always had the best business ideas when I have gone out on my bike, for a stroll through the park or some time out in the quiet corner of a coffee shop. Try it, taking with you nothing but a notebook and pen (analogue kind) and a book to read. Sit in the park for a few hours, head to the beach, get on your bike or go sit in Starbucks. You'll soon discover all kinds of answers or ideas that you wouldn't ordinarily have until you escape the desk.

People Step Up

It is easy in our office to ask me a question. It is an open office, and we deliberately set it up that way but it is probably the main reason I get interrupted. The thing is, when I am not there I don't get a whole bunch of calls from the office, maybe one or two, but not lots. It is not as easy to get me on the phone so people think through their problems for themselves. It is magic, they step up and solve the problem or answer the question that they would have otherwise asked me. I think the team becomes more productive and they are better for it.

[caution]It is easy to think "I should be back at the office". You feel guilty or out of control, both of which are things that you should deal with.  There is no need for either.[/caution]

Make it a priority

I am speaking more to me here than anyone else. As I sit here, I realise that it has been a while since I have done this. Work has been busy, really busy recently - so I have been constantly responding to things. Maybe that was right? Maybe that was a season? But it has been too long. I had to fight hard to get out early today, I didn't leave until 4. I should have escaped at lunch. A good rule for me that I try and follow is this: 50% office time, 50% working some where else time. I definitely don't always achieve that balance, it is a tall order but for me it is a desirable one at this stage of my business life. Wherever you are at, try and escape your "desk" at least one afternoon a week, even you are self employed and don't have a team working for you. You can forward your calls to an answering service and pick up messages later. I wish I had started doing this much sooner, I can tell you. So have a go, see what happens. I am pretty sure that you'll be better at what you do because of it.

Read Time: 2 mins I am sat in Zizzi at the moment, watching life go by and enjoying my lunch. It is one of the rare, but massively enjoyable moments. The sun is shining, and all is right with the world. Well, mine at least. I am sat here watching a master at work too. This guy, one of the waiters, seems to undertand that he is doing more than just taking food orders. He is the main link, the main connection the customer will have to this restaurant today. He seems to know that the one thing he can't control is the food but that he can control everything else about the customer's dining expereince. [bulb]My top tip to restaurant owner: empower your waiting staff to make the dinning experience amazing[/bulb] When I worked as a waiter, I was a student. Like many of my colleagues, I was young and inexperienced with life. I just thought I needed to get the food order and clear the plates. Now I realise that a waiter is much more than that. They are responsible for the sales and marketing of the restaurant was well as customer services and account management. The guy I am watching at Zizzi's knows this. A family came in, and he spoke to the kids in a way that engaged them. As a parent, I can tell you - this would be bring me back time and time again! If my kids enjoy the experience, I will enjoy it. He made the mum laugh and the kids feel special. He is a pro. Whatever Zizzi is paying this guy, they should add more to keep him. There aren't that many waiters I can say that about if I am honest. He does stand out. I reckon that he must get higher tips too. There is no doubt in my mind that this guy has realised that making people's dining experience extraordinary has an impact on his financial bottom line. Great customer service always does. I'd love for my customer service guys to come and sit and watch this guy, they could learn a lot from him.  

I am convinced that doing the basics of your business exceptionally well will have a bigger impact on your business than looking for the latest thing, fad or clever idea. So often, we look for the latest thing at the expense of what is really needful for us. A few weeks ago we were down visiting family for a few days, and I needed to get a few things done - so I popped into Windsor for a quiet day's work. I often will pop into the nearest town to do some work, I love the space that it brings and on this particular day, the sun was shinning - so I felt even better.

The Basics for a Coffee Shop

My ingredients for these quiet work days (or space days): a coffee shop of some kind with comfortable chairs, wi-fi (free is better), a power outlet that I can use to charge stuff and a feel-good ambience. Optional extras that make it even better: a great view, healthy food and not too much noise. I am not actually too bothered about the prices if I get the above. I'll even pay extra if I get the optional extras. I am also not bothered about the latest fad way to drink another hot beverage. So, here I am in Windsor, looking for something that can meet these fairly straight forward requirements of mine

Starbucks Windsor...Yikes!

Like most people, I tend to be a creature of habit, so I stick with what I know: Starbucks. There is a great Starbucks in Liverpool that I regularly frequent so I stick with what I know and using Google Places on the iPhone, I find the nearest Starbucks. I didn't spend more than 30 seconds in Starbucks Windsor as it definitely did not meet my requirments of ambience and low noise. It was awful. So I spend the next 30 minutes walking around Windsor looking for a place. 30 minutes! In my head, I should have found a place in 3 minutes. So why did it take 30 minutes?

Tell customers about how you meet the fundamentals

I am looking for the Wi-Fi stickers in the window. I can't be bothered to keep going in and asking, so I look for the simple sign that I have come to love and recognise. Yet not one of the cafe's that I came across had a Wi-Fi sticker in the window, that's what I spent 30 minutes looking for. I want Wi-Fi, it is fundamental for me. I imagine that it is fundamental for most people using this type of service. It is a business basic - and nobody in Windsor were announcing that they had Wi-Fi. Why not? This is one of the basics that I am talking about. If you don't offer Wi-Fi then you are nuts (unless you are doing a very niche shop that prohibits outside connection, in which case - tell me you do that and don't leave me guessing and thinking you are nuts). However, if you are offering Wi-Fi, then why in the world aren't you making it easy for me - the customer - to see that you are offering this service? Don't worry about reading the marketing manuals just yet - focus instead on marketing the stuff that you do do, the stuff that I expect. Make it easy for me to see. A sticker in the window will do that. After 30 minutes of searching, I think to myself that perhaps these folk in Windsor think the stickers in the window are sooo last year. Perhaps it is now a given that Wi-Fi is offered, so no sticker required? So, having had enough of walking around - I pop into the next coffee shop that I am walking past. It is a small, independent coffee shop that is trying to compete with the big boys.

Make sure your team know about how you meet the fundamentals

I ask, "Do you have Wi-Fi here?" to one of the rather bored looking Baristas. "Yes," comes the reply. "Great" I say, thinking to myself that they should put a sticker in the piggin window then, but I keep my helpful thoughts to myself. I sit down. The shop looks OK, and I grab a small seat in the window - good ambience. I order a smoothie. Things are looking up. There's no power outlet though. This is a minor frustration for me. I do have a full charge on my laptop so hopefully it will last. Hopefully. I don't know the exact cost of putting a power outlet near the table - but I am not convinced that it is a lot. It is a simple thing that if you do well, will keep people coming back time and time again. Repeat business is essential, especially if you are a small independent competing with the big boys. The shop did have a drink that I'd never heard of though. I didn't try it. The Barista comes to me - smoothie in hand. "Sorry sir, we don't have Wi-Fi I've just been told". Oh come on! You're kidding me, right? Fortunately, I have got the new HotSpot service on my iPhone but there is minimal battery left. Of course, I can't charge it as there is no outlet. I am now frustrated. As I finish my Smoothie, another couple enter and ask if there is Wi-Fi. You know what, if two people in the space of ten minutes come in and ask the same question - I would take that as a trend! I would do something about it. I won't even begin to tell you about the toilets.

What happens when you don't meet basic expectations

The result of all of this - I left. I didn't order any more drinks. I won't go back, and it is a shame - as this could have been a great independent coffee shop. But it won't survive because I imagine that the repeat business is weak (if you have low or weak repeat customers, you can probably bet that you are not doing well in meeting the basic expectations of customers). The thing here is, with our businesses there are certain things that our customers expect. These expectations will raise every year as the industry grows and develops. [bulb]Meeting the basic expectations of customers is the minimum we should be doing as small business entrepreneurs. Meeting them with style should be our aim. Once you have met them with style, then you can move on.[/bulb]

2 Key signs that you are not meeting basic expectations:

[list type="negative"] [li]Low level of repeat customers for your industry. I don't know what the stats are for coffee shops - how many of the customers go back and buy another drink, or how many even go back another day. I am gonna bet that this independent coffee shop though had low repeat customers relative to industry standards. If customers are not coming back - you are not doing the basics well enough.[/li] [li]I noticed people coming into the coffee shop and asking the exact same question that I had been asking about Wi-Fi.If there is a trend emerging in the questions from your customers, you can bet that you are not doing the basics well, or you are not communicating well enough as you customers are unsure.[/li] [/list]

What can you do to be sure?

Simply ask your customers. I emailed a bunch of our customers recently and asked them in a really open and honest way for some feedback. What they sent back to me was immense and really helpful. When asked in the right way - people will tell you what they think and will go out of their way to help you. What we cannot afford to do, though, is to assume that you are doing well. That is a big mistake. It would have been easy for me to assume that we are doing well as the company is successful. We get a lot of repeat customers and I monitor customer service enquiries to spot trends. But actually, just that simple email which took me about an hour to put together has highlighted so many simple areas that we can improve -- all key, basic areas -- and it will have an extraordinary impact on the business. I am totally glad that I did it.

The Bottom Line

I felt sorry for that coffee shop as I left. I want to support the small independents, I really do. But they had forgotten a really important business lesson - that sales and marketing these days is all about keeping your current customers. If you give your customers a great experience, they will tell their friends through all kinds of channels from Facebook to the phone and this will grow your business. If you give your customers a bad experience, they never come back and you have to start all over again. I would have stayed in that place all day if it had offered my this kind of experience, and I would have spent a lot me than I did. I may have even gone onto Google Places or Yelp and written a good review. Now, though, I am wondering whether to write a bad review - all over a basic feature such as wi-fi. It is the little things that we've come to expect that can make or break your business.

A few months ago, I was sent a book called How Companies Win: Profiting from Demand-Driven Business Models No Matter What Business You're In by Rick Kash, David Calhoun by the guys over at VaynerMedia. They asked me to read the book and write a blog post reviewing it, so here it is guys: my review of How Companies Win: Profiting from Demand-Driven Business Models No Matter What Business You're In. Boy, is this book a read! You have to be determined to get through this one that is for sure. Overall, I really enjoyed the book - but it is does load the thinking part of your brain. You can't quickly speed read this bad boy so it took me a little longer to work through than normal.

The most disappointing thing about this book

The reason for this is the way the book is written, and this is the most disappointing thing about the book. The message is good, and gave me some great ideas but it has been written in "academic language". Let me show you what I mean: [blockquote]"The goal of demand profit pool analysis is to develop an empirical understanding of the distinct decision criteria that different groups of people use to select a product or service—and then to quantify the pools of common demand to determine their size, growth potential, and profitability."[/blockquote] Sounds all very academic to me - and this appeals to some, mainly those that run large corporations that feel the need to talk like this or professors at Harvard. Me, on the other hand, I like talk to be plain, simple and practical. The other "issue" I have with the book are that it feels like it is written for people that run companies that have a few million dollars to spend on market research. I love all their stories and examples - but they are about McDonalds and Budweiser. You have to work hard to understand how this applies to your small business, and how you put into place some of their ideas without spending a few million on their research services.

The things that were great about this book:

OK, that is the moan over. Aside from these few points, the book really is enjoyable. You'll see some great reviews on Amazon, and with good reason too. It has some great ideas and questions that have really challenged me to think about my business in a different way. Here are some of the key ideas/takeaways from the book: [list type="plus"] [li]There is a shift from a supply-side economy (one where we look at the supply side of things: making supply quicker, cheaper and easier with low prices for example) to a demand-driven economy where we don't just look at how we distribute stuff, we look at building great connections with our customers and involve them as much as we can - our "businesses are based on what customers want, rather than what the suppliers already had". This is especially important and the business world finds "themselves in a period of hyper competition driven by flat demand and significant increases in lower-cost supply" - so the way you win, is to focus on demand, not supply now.[/li] [li]Some good direct questions out of the book: Who are my most profitable customers? Identify the top 10 percent heaviest spenders in your market. What do these customers have in common? What is it that drives their decisions? What is the demand they are really trying to satisfy? What is their unsatisfied current, latent, and emerging demand? How do I differentiate my products and services so I better satisfy the demand of those most profitable customers? Precisely which of your customer targets creates the most net profit for your business? What is the action plan so I can align the people inside of my company to satisfy the demand for all of our customers outside of my company?[/li] [li]Demand Gaps: "they are the distance between what your customer wants and what it gets from you or your competitors" These are areas that you can really exploit for maximum impact.[/li] [li]Pricing: "The foundation of any successful pricing strategy is to price to demand, not to markets". I have long held true that a business strategy that relies on low pricing has no real longevity, especially in this technological age. There is always someone else that can undercut you and there will be nothing that you can do about it.[/li] [li]This is the statement that struck me more than any other in the book: "A 1 percent price increase has a 50 percent greater impact on operating income than does a 1 percent decrease in variable cost. More remarkably, that same 1 percent price increase has a 215 percent greater impact on operating profit than a 1 percent volume increase in sales." I put this statement out on Twitter when I read the book (one of the really cool features of the Kindle) and asked if anyone had experience of this. Most comments coming back talked about the truth of this, at least an academic truth that can be bourne out on paper. I am personally still working it through on our companies to find it out for myself. What it does highlight it that actually finding a way to increase your prices by pricing for demand has a greater impact on your business than just cutting costs.[/li] [/list]

In Summary

Would I recommend the book for a small business owner to read? Yes, I would. A lot of it my not really apply but you can still get some good stuff out of it. I can see why the guys at Vayner Media send it out - it focuses on the customer which is what Gary's book, The Thank You Economy is all about (I am half way through it and will review it soon). Be prepared to battle your way through in places, but take notes as you will get some good ideas.

Ratings:

Value for the small business guy: I got some good value out of this, but it wasn't written for me - it was written for the guys at Apple or any other large corporation that has a large research budget, so you have to work hard to extract some of the value. Ease of read: Didn't like the language, felt I was at university again. This made is harder for me to read. Practical insights you can use: Got quite a few actually (even though you have to mine some of them), especially about pricing and finding different areas of demand, and marketing to them. I am still implementing these ideas, so time will tell if they actually work for me. Impact of key ideas on your business: I am of a strong belief that actually the key ideas from this book will have a huge impact on the small business, especially as you stop focusing in on price and look more towards delivering something that the client actually wants. In my experience, there are big profits in doing that. Use of stories for key ideas: I like stories that I can hook ideas on, it makes it easier to see how it applies to me. I enjoyed the use of stories in the book - it is just a shame that they examples were pretty much all mega large corporations like Budweiser and McDonalds. My Overall rating:   Amazon.co.uk Rating (at time of blog publish) (2 reviews) Amazon.com Rating (at time of blog publish) (11 reviews)   Amazon Link (affiliate): How Companies Win

Email is where most of your time can be spent these days, especially for the small business entrepreneur. I've noticed more and more with our team that they spend a lot of time writing emails. It is part of our DNA now. So an important skill is understanding how to write better business emails. In fact - learning how to write email is a fundamental skill that should be taught to everyone, not just those that write business email (that is my opinion at least). So, given that I get some awful email everyday from people - I wrote the following memo to my team regarding writing company emails (a good chunk of the principles, I got from David Rock's book: Quiet Leadership ): [note] Dear Team A few thing have struck me recently at the office, one of which is the use of email. We spend a lot of time writing and responding to email, so I wanted to give some clear guidelines to the use of email now. Personally, I have found these principles cut out a lot of unnecessary back-and-forth emails and misunderstandings. Please absorb, inwardly digest and use accordingly. Thanks. [list type="ordered"] [li]BRIEF. If an email takes up more than one screen then I don’t send it. Instead, email an agenda and schedule a phone call. This saves a lot of time as people don’t read long emails, and if they do the response is often long and not very productive. If sending long technical information or quotes, send them as a well presented PDF document, not lot’s of text.[/li] [li]CLEAR. Make it easy to see your central point at a glance, in one screen (clear use of Subject Line, or Headlines in the body text). Emails work best if they are about one point. I appreciate that this is not always easy, so where you do need to make multiple points that can’t be sent over different emails or a PDF document, use clear headlines.[/li] [li]THINK. Never send an email that could emotionally affect another person unless it is pure positive feedback. Emails are only to be used to share data and information, and to schedule live conversations. Don’t email anything that might bring about an emotional response in either the sender or the receiver, this is about anything personal, any type of feedback (I appreciate that it can sometimes be helpful to write the email to get it off your chest, but then save it in drafts and delete it a week later). We think that by emailing we won’t have to deal with emotionally charged issues, when in fact the opposite is the case. Emotional issues must be discussed by phone; email should be used only to book a time for a call. If you accidently break rule number three, phone the person immediately, apologise, and discuss the issue by phone.[/li] [li]CONFIRM. When you talk with a client on the phone and agree new facts or information during that phone call, confirm this agreement in a subsequent email to them as near to the end of that telephone conversation as is possible. Things that are agreed in conversation that aren’t written down and sent to them often become grey areas that aren’t helpful and can come back to bite us in the proverbial wotsit.[/li] [/list] Let me know if anything is unclear – but also let me know how you get on with them Matt. [/note]

Injecting your company personality

The rules above can, if left unchecked, create dry and boring email. Often this is OK, but I think email should contain something of your company culture in them, they should contain a large part of your personality. For example, when you send an email to customer services, you usually get a dry and boring email: [note] Hi Thanks for contacting us. You email has been received and we will contact you shortly. Your support ticket ID is: 123456789 [/note] Sure, this meets most of the above rules, but it doesn't get across anything else about your company culture (unless you work at a really boring company that is not really that interested in helping folk). Here is our copy of the same email: [note] Hi Customer First Name, Thanks for contacting our rather lovely team here at Support.JerseyBeautyCompany.co.uk. This is just a quick email to let you know that we have received your support questions and will be in touch very soon.We are using a new support system that we happen to think is pretty great, well I guess we would but hope you do too!  You can follow progress online and even add additional comments at: http://www.customers-direct-ticket-url.com or you can just reply to our emails.  The great bit is that they are magically contained in one convenient place so never got lost, forgotten, deleted or misplaced. Your support question has been allocated a unique number that you can use to keep a track of things. Keep a copy of this ID so if you ever need to get in contact, we can track you down quicker than a quick thing. Your unique number is: #123456789 We keep track so you don’t have to so here's a copy of the support question you sent to us. If you need to update or amend your question, simply reply to this email with the updates or go to the web link (http://www.customers-direct-ticket-url.com) and make the updates online. -------------------------------------------------------------- Copy of Customer's Support Request -------------------------------------------------------------- We strive for perfection and never rest on our laurels so keep an eye an our support website from time to time (http://support.jerseybeautycompany.co.uk) where we are making regular changes and updating new FAQ’s as they arise. There is also the community support and feedback forum which has just launched http://feedback.jerseybeautycompany.co.uk and may help you find what you are looking for.Thanks for getting in touch and now relax, we will be in touch with a full response soon. The Support Team, here at JerseyBeautyCompany PS: You may find that you question has already been answered on our support forum, if you haven't done so already - have a look. It is full of fab information - check it out at www.oursupportforum.com [/note] As you can see, the feel of the email is light and fun, which is how we want it to be. This is not dry - but it does relate to the rules above, and it contains some of our company personality (and it meets our values of fun but also delivering WOW customer service).

Getting the Balance Right

There is a fine balance between the rules and injecting your company personality in to emails. You should have fun if it is part of your values (and it really should be) without being flipant or not considering the emotional response of the reader of the email. From my experience, though, most people use email in a really bad way - and yet so much more could be done with it if we break out of our default usage patterns. I know that I find it easy to reply with just one line and nothing else, but I am now trying to stop that an inject a little more "humaness" into each email, without breaking the rules above. Have fun with this one, look at some of the emails you wrote recently and see if they violated the above rules, or are they really dry? Rude even? Writing better emails gets much better engagement and connection with folks and this is only ever a good thing!

I am trying to login to Virgin Media at the moment to set up a Direct Debit that I thought had already been set up. I can't remember my password, because Virgin have such a set of bizzarre rules for creating one: it must be between 6-10 character, contain only letters and numbers and it has to start with a letter. Oh, and you can't use the word "virgin" in your password either. Why oh why did they do this? Who do they think is going to break into my Virgin Media account with a password that doesn't meet these conditions? I wonder how many people click the "I can't remember my password" link on this website because of these very constrictive rules. I feel like I am at prep school. I don't need these rules for a password Virgin Media, your system is broken and you should change it and give me the benefit of the doubt that I can come up with a password that I will remember by rules that I already have. [bulb]This, as always, leads me to ask a question about the services that my companies offer: what "rules" do I enforce on my customers that make absolutely no sense to them whatsoever? Is there something that I am doing that is causing an avoidable frustration for my customers?[/bulb] PS: Other crazy things on the Virgin Media site that I have found which cause avoidable frustrations: [list type="cancel"] [li]The "back" link they put on the page doesn't go to my previous page, but a page I wasn't actually on.[/li] [li]You can only use letters when setting up a direct debit, which is not useful for joint accounts that have a "&" symbol in them[/li] [li]you have to click a box saying that you are the ONLY person authorised to set up a direct debit -- again, not true in the case of a joint account, but you still have to click this to proceed.[/li] [li]I have to re-enter my account details and desire to have only e-billing: all information the shop clerk took when I signed up for the account. This is really, really frustrating. It reminds me of those phone lines where you are asked to key in your account number before speaking to a human being for the human being only to ask you for your account number as soon as they talk to you...grrrr[/li] [/list] OK...that's enough of beating up Virgin Media (for now at least). The key point in all of this, though, is avoidable frustrations: get rid of them ASAP.

Like most men at Christmas, I had started to realise that I had put on a few pounds. Well, it was more than a few pounds truth be told. Finally, at Christmas I was truthful with myself about my health, weight and fitness. Typically, I come to this same place every couple of years it seems. I would do something about my weight and then would let it slowly creep back to default and the weight would come back over time. And to get my weight down, I would do the same thing as everyone else: cut out fat and exercise more. Only this time it wasn't really working for me. Then I stumbled across this book on Amazon's Kindle website and purchased it on an impulse. It was the first book that I had seen about the issues of weight and health that had been written specifically for men and that is the main reason I purchased it. So I read it and was stunned by what he had written, so much so that I handed the book over to the person that I trust most when it comes to all things food and health - my wife. And guess what? She loved it. I knew if Sharon loved it, it had to be good. So I started to put in to practice the principles. I had rapid weight loss at first and this has slowed a little now. I am still loosing weight, just not at the same rate. The key facts for me: [list type="plus"] [li]I have lost around 10 kilos since Jan. This is about 1st 8lb (or 22lbs). This is a 10% reduction in weight for me. I have about 3 more kilos to loose I think, although I am not really monitoring it now. I figure my body will balance out at some point[/li] [li]I feel healthier, a lot healthier. This is a biggie as for me I haven't increased my level of exercise at all from the cycling to work that I was doing[/li] [li]The author, Dr. John Briffa, talks COMMON SENSE! This is important for someone like me to not only understand what is being said but to actually buy-in to his ideas[/li] [li]I had a specific medical question so I emailed the author and got a really quick, personal response back...loved that![/li] [/list] Here is an extract from my Kindle notes that cover the main points of the book and I'll add comments where I think appropriate:

Waist Disposal at a Glance

[list type="check"] [li]Body weight and the body mass index do not reflect body composition, and are therefore limited in their usefulness. Estimations of body fatness and waist circumference are much more relevant measurements in terms of assessing health and fat-loss progress.[/li] [li]Whether a food is fattening or not depends not just on the calories it contains, but on the form those calories take, as well as how good the food is at sating the appetite. Forget about counting calories (was really chuffed about this point), and concentrate instead on eating a diet rich in foods that counter the accumulation of fat in the body, and at the same time quell the appetite most effectively. (Basically, this means eating protein and lots of it - which is no problem as I love meat!) [/li] [li]The chief fat-storage hormone in the body is insulin, which is secreted most plentifully in response to carbohydrate (sugars and starches). The most fattening foods are therefore those that cause most disruption to blood-sugar and insulin levels. These include foods with added sugar, as well as starchy foods such as bread, potato, rice, pasta, noodles, crackers and breakfast cereals. Eat as little of these foods as possible.(This hasn't been too hard for me, although I do still have the odd slice of bread and few spuds every now and then)[/li] [li]Fat is not inherently fattening, and certain fats (e.g. omega-3 fats) have distinct health benefits. Fats to avoid include refined vegetable oils (in excess) and industrially-produced processed fats such as 'trans' fat (in any amount). Otherwise, eat fat freely.(Does chocolate count? I wish!)[/li] [li]Protein has superior appetite-sating properties to carbohydrate, and causes less insulin secretion too. As such, a protein-rich diet can therefore assist fat loss. Protein is also essential for the maintenance and growth of muscle tissue, which is important for improved body composition. Protein (e.g. meat, fish and eggs) should be eaten freely. [/li] [li]Vegetables (other than the potato) are, on the whole, nutritious foods that tend not to cause much disruption to sugar and insulin. They, generally speaking, should be eaten freely. [/li] [li]Eat enough (in terms of volume) and frequently enough to satisfy your appetite fully. In particular, ensure that you do not let your appetite run out of control. This may require healthy snacking (e.g. nuts) between meals, especially between lunch and dinner. At the same time, ensure you eat only when you are truly hungry (not when bored or in need of distraction). Eat 'mindfully' – focus on what you eat, savour food, and chew it thoroughly. (I must remember to slow down when I eat still that is for sure. I find that hard)[/li] [li]Make water your prime fluid, and keep a supply of this close to you (e.g. a bottle of water on your desk). Coffee, tea and herb/fruit teas are generally healthy options too.[/li] [li]Incorporate brisk walking into your daily schedule as much as possible, even in short bursts. In addition, engage in resistance exercise (such as the 12-minute exercise routine outlined in Chapter 10) regularly.[/li] [/list]

So what have I done?

I have cut out a lot of carbs. I still eat some, but in tiny amounts compared to what I used to do. I have found now that if I have too many, I don't cope well with the extra sugar in my system and don't feel great - so I have a good incentive to keep the carbs out and as a result my blood sugar levels are much better. Now I eat more protein with salads and (some) veg. Food is still tasty. For breakfast though, I still have a slice of toast - but only one and I have it with eggs and ham. Love breakfast time! I drink only water and teas, with the occasional beer and glass of wine. Sorry to all you Coke Shareholders as the shares have fallen in value since I stopped drinking it! I have also cut out the fruit juice I used to drink but still have the occasional smoothie. I wrote an article on how I drink more water on the 1530 Habit website: click here to read it I have treats every other day as I love treats! I snack mainly on nuts. In the evening I love throwing some nuts into a blender with natural yoghurt. I add flake almonds, sometimes a little fruit and a small amount of honey (sorry Dr John!). Love that. I have yet to increase my exercise, but will start walking more and cycling as the weather picks up.

The end result

For me, there has been a quantum shift in what I eat and I am really enjoying my new healthier food choice (and so is my wife with the new leaner and slimmer me) and wouldn't go back to the old me at all really. My recommendation is buy the book, it will challenge your thinking (especially about fat and exercise!) and give you some good common sense. You can also read Dr John's blog at http://www.drbriffa.com. I like his stuff because he doesn't just take things on face value but looks at the facts, the studies and the common sense side of things. Read his article on sun cream and you will see what I mean! This book is a keeper, and definitely a 5 start rating. You can buy the book at Amazon by clicking here or for Kindle by clicking here (affiliate links).

I have been doing some research for my book, the one I am writing on how to set up and run a small business. I wanted to find a definition for a small business but it turns out that this is not a simple thing to find out! UK law, the banking association and the EU all have different definitions which, of course, is different to the definitions offered by the US Small Business Administration. Let me show you what I mean: Head on over to sections 382 and 465 of the Companies Act (2006) give us an accounting definition: a small business has a turnover of less than £6.5m, a balance sheet value less than £3.26m and less than 50 staff. Break these rules and you head into being a medium sized company. The British Bankers Association tells us, though, that our turnover has to be under a £1m to be a small business customer and the European Commission breaks the small business up into two sections: a micro enterprise and small enterprise. The Micro enterprise has a turnover and balance sheet under €2m with less than 10 staff and a Small enterprise has a turnover and balance sheet value under €10m and less than 50 staff (this is at least close to the definition from the Companies Act). In the US they have a different idea altogether and have thought it through a little more and have decided that what might be classed as a small business in one sector wouldn't be a small business in another sector. So they have common size standards in each industry - for example, a small business in retail and service sectors is a turnover under $7m but if you are in wholesale, you are a small business if you have under 100 employees. This classification makes more sense but makes it more complicated to define and understand. Dan, one of my business partners defines a small business as anything with a turnover of under £3m. He admits, though, that he just plucked the figures out of the air. Still, given the complete lack of cohesion in definitions from the so-called Powers That Be, it could be just as valid. So, how do we sort through the nightmare and come up with some idea of what a small business is? For me, it is more about mindset and less about the figures. I have companies that the EU would call a micro enterprise. I have companies that the bank wouldn't call a small business and neither would the SBA, but the UK Companies Act would. I love being a small business owner, so I own and run small businesses. The US, EU and UK governments and banks may or may not agree with me but too be honest, I am not that bothered if they do or don’t. I am a small business owner. And being a small business owner is a good thing. A very very good thing.