Your Business Quest

What are those tasks on your to-do list that makes your heart sink? You know, the ones that seem to ‘always’ need to be done. But do you always need to be the one to do them? Could some of those ‘hard’ tasks be done more efficiently by creating or using a system? That’s why I want to bring you the Queen of Systems, Amy Mitchell – as she is all about using her systems superpower to help you to get...

Us ‘big people’ can think that we know best. But in fact, it’s often the ‘little folks’ who have got it more figured out than us.   I’ve seriously been super impressed at how Kaiyas & Aaron have been so resilient in the past couple of weeks.  For little Zakariya, it’s fair to say life is just ‘normal’ for him … milk; nappy changes; naps; play & repeat!   So I thought I’d sha...

‘I feel like I’m in grief’ , is a phrase I’ve heard a few business owners say over the past week.  Initially those words felt mega strong to me & filled me with sadness. But then they truly landed & made me realise that no wonder, some may be feeling like that at the moment. I’m sure like me, the goals you set at the start of the year or 90 days ago, didn’t really take into account wh...

Uncertainty … is pretty much certain in some areas of your life & business at the moment, right? But it’s what we do, feel & think during these times that’s going to make a difference. So what can me & you do? In this week’s podcast episode, I share some practical tools that I’m sure can help you. This includes protecting your mindset; being careful of what you’re focusing upon & b...

Remember that TV show, ‘This Is Your Life’ where they flip through the big red book & present to you important people from your past? Well last week, I had what felt like one of those moments & it rocked! I was speaking at an event & as a total surprise there were 6 people who ended up being there from my past. So in amongst the many hugs & catch ups, they each took me on a tr...

I’d walk from the crowded tube station at Bank on a Monday morning & stop of at the local Starbucks. Then armed with my steaming hot latte & a smile on my face, I’d get in the glass lift to whizz me up to the 6th floor whilst seeing St Paul’s Cathedral appear. Oh how I still miss that view! I was ready to take on the week ahead & see what fun it would bring. This feeling would las...

Want the good news? There’s so many ways to grow your business! Want the bad news? There’s so many ways to grow your business! Yep ... it can be a real catch-22! Because for some business owners, it means they maybe thinking there’s only ‘one’ way. But if that way doesn’t pan out the way they expected, they can end up feeling stuck, lost & really down!  For others, too many choices can le...

Not last week but the week before, I felt like I had a million of things on multiple plates and I wasn’t being very productive. And it turns out that it was all down to me having all my to-do items & lists swirling around in my head, strewn across post-it notes & in multiple notebooks. Even when I wasn’t in ‘work mode’, I still had that niggling feeling like I had loads to do & couldn’...

‘Can I give you some feedback?’ , were the words that flowed out of my mouth to Shareen, as I was driving her home after we’d just had a fun dinner with some of my school friends. Her face said it all & then she responded with …. ‘Osmaan … you are not my HR Manager!’ Whenever I hear the word ‘feedback’, I automatically think back to that moment many years ago when we’d just started dating.&nbs...

Questions can have the power to rock your whole world! Just like the question my old boss Jenny asked me, that set of a tidal wave & lead me to be doing what I’m doing now in business.  It’s what I spend most of my days doing with clients …. asking questions. I’m sure you’re always asking yourself lots of questions too … probably in your head, right? But not all question are helpful.&nbsp...

Feeling stuck is never fun. In fact, it’s pretty damn frustrating because it’s like you’re in limbo land. Not moving forward … not totally moving backwards … just not moving anywhere! But feeling stuck isn’t always doom & gloom or when it seems like everything is going wrong.   At times that could in fact be the case & will need sorted asap, to get things back to a positive state...

Last week I climbed up Conic Hill, which is just a short drive away from Glasgow. In reality, it’s a tiny hill but in my head it was like I was about to trek up Everest. Especially considering even climbing up the stairs in my house was challenging at the start of last year, after my trampoline accident & knee surgery. After my friend David suggested we go, I started to quickly go down the pat...

What’s something you do hundreds ... if not thousands of times a day? Make decisions! Sometimes they are tiny ones & other times they may be massive life changing ones ... but they all require something.  Your energy, time & sanity.  One of the cool things about being a business owners is that the decisions around what you do ... are down to YOU!  But what I find often happe...

My life was all packed up & the hire car was filled to the brim. And I was ready for the long drive down to Brighton where I was about to start my new job & career back in 2005.   My new bonsai tree was safely sitting in the front passenger seat with the seat belt wrapped around it … well you can’t be too careful … especially with me as the driver.   And next to it was my trusted...

Happy New Year & New Decade, I’m sure like me you’re a bit lost at what day of the week it even is, after all the festive fun. I truly hope you had a great one! 2020 … is now here & I’ve got a feeling that it’s going to be an epic one for you. But it’s really all down to you, how you show up & what you do. To help you make 2020 a year that you’re truly proud of, I wanted to share...

Guess what’s coming just around the corner? Apart from Santa clambering down your chimney! All the people, e-mails, social media posts asking ….. ‘What’s your goals for 2020?’ ‘What New Year’s Resolutions are you going to set?’ ‘Have you started planning for the new year?’ Is that a bad thing?  No … well apart from the New Year’s Resolutions ones because who really sets & achieved them in...

He’s here!! Little Zakariya joined the Sharif family just over 2 weeks ago & he’s already growing up so quickly! In between the fun times of cuddles; countless nappy changes & a few sleepless nights, we’ve managed to watch some TV. Including binging on season 1 of The Crown & getting sucked into watching I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here. But it wasn’t wasted time, because I found 7...

There’s 148,000,000 websites that pop up when you type in ‘To be wealthy’ in good old Google. Compare that to 803,000,000 results for ‘ Don’t want to be poor’ . What does that tell you? Many more people focus on the negative instead of the positive! That’s truly scary because your mind is just like a search engine. So what are you asking your internal Google, Alexa or Siri? Be honest, when yo...

Technology … I absolutely love it! I’m like a kid in a sweetie shop when I walk inside an Apple Store. Remember the days of dial up internet … or even no internet!! How did we ever live & seriously how did businesses operate without technology?   But you know something, gadgets & new shiny things can also get in our way & negatively impact our business. You heard me right … s...

My heart would start to race whilst tucking into my Weetabix every Monday morning, in the Marks & Spencer staff canteen. Because I knew that I’d soon be stuck in a long commercial meeting with all the store management team. Why did I hate it so much? Because the meeting was focused upon sales figures & numbers. And I’d stare at the massive spreadsheet in front of me trying to make sen...

Resistance. Yeah it can feel like a pain in the rear end & that it’s slowing you down. But be thankful when it shows up for you, because it really can be a good thing. The thing is, it wants and needs your attention. If you just ignore it, guess what will end up happening … it won’t just be that tiny whisper or nagging feeling anymore, it’ll show up shouting & screaming in different ways....

Scrolling …. scrolling …. scrolling & more scrolling! Jumping from Facebook to Instagram to LinkedIn … to Whatsapp … back to Facebook to Instagram again to Snapchat …then you find yourself on  YouTube. .. ‘ Oh what a cute & funny cat’! How much is that 'lost' time really costing you? It’s not just social media (& I’ve got nothing against it – as I do love it in many ways) but we’r...

Remember Goldilocks … her bed was too hard, her porridge was too hot & then her chair was too high. Then her bed was too soft, her porridge was too cold & her chair too small. After that, she got it spot on! Was she just being really fussy & high maintenance or was it good for her to get it just right? I see this happening all the time with business owner, when they set goals. They can...

‘If I HAVE more ____, then I can DO more _____ & then BE more _____’ Ever said or felt that? You know … ‘If I have more sales, then I can do more marketing & then be more successful.’ ‘If I have more time, then I can do more ‘stuff’ & then be a better & happier business owners’ 'If I have less fat, then I can be less tired & then be more full of life' But what would happen if y...

When I started my business, I spent weeks sitting in Starbucks in Canary Wharf working on a 30+ page business plan. I felt like I was really ‘working’ but in reality, I was wasting time. Because a lot of what I was plugging into my business plan, was just guess work & had no substance behind it. And fast forward over 12 years later, my business journey has not reflected that business plan...