Jargon and rainbows...

Now that my book is out in the world, it’s time to bring this weekly report to a close.

I’ve enjoyed sharing my experiences with you,
and I’ll be back from time to time when I have
something special to report.

But before that, here’s my last weekly progress report:

Sales have slowed down a bit on Amazon, but are continuing. I know I need to keep promoting the book and to that end I make sure there’s at least one post about it each week on LinkedIn and Facebook.

My old posts also continue to circulate and I’m still getting lovely comments - often from people I haven’t heard from in years!

I have a radio interview and a podcast lined up, and am exploring one or two more.

I’ve signed up for a Hackathon with the local university’s business students, and am asking them to come up with a marketing plan to reach an even wider audience.

There has been the odd day when my Amazon dashboard has shown no new sales, and I’ve been a bit downhearted.

When that happens I remind myself that every little helps - so I sign up for more networking, write a new post or send a couple of emails.

I’ve set myself an initial target of selling 500 books.

To do that, I need to stay focused and committed. So I’m taking (at least) one action every working day, Monday to Friday, to promote the book.

I know there will be good weeks and quiet ones. But as they say, it’s the tortoise that always wins the race!

Remember, if you know someone just starting out in business, or you want to take stock of your own, you can buy my book here.

If you’ve already bought my book, I hope you’re finding it helpful.

Please consider leaving an Amazon review.

They really do help to boost visibility and credibility, and hence sales.

Jargon: love it or hate it?

When I was in corporate life, we used to play a game called Buzzword bingo.

Maybe you know it too?

It involves spotting all the catchphrases or ‘buzzwords’ your colleagues use.

It was particularly popular during ‘strategy meetings’ - those sessions where leaders used to talk about future plans.

We’d be listening for phrases such as ‘win / win’, ‘level playing field’ and ‘own goal’.

Then there were the industry specific acronyms, such as GMP, TPR and IRM.

We were so busy listening for these words, it’s hardly surprising we rarely absorbed the underlying message.

Now that I’m a coach, I pride myself on being jargon-free.

I keep things simple - because that way there is less scope for confusion and misunderstanding.

And I enjoy using a bit of humour too.

So when I saw a post sharing the acronyms above, I couldn’t resist sharing them with you.

They stand for:

BYOD — bring your own devices: describes a situation where you are expected to bring your own equipment.

FIRE — financial independence, retire early: a way of life that involves working hard and saving as much money as possible during your 20s and 30s in order to be able to retire when you are in your 40s.

HENRY — high earner not rich yet; refers to a person with an income of between £73,000 and £184,000.

JAM — just about managing; used to describe people who have just enough money to survive but no more than that.

WOOPIES — well-off older people.

YUCCIE — young urban creative; someone who wants to be creative and free-spirited but also wealthy.