Recent Posts

how to get past the gatekeeper

5 Tips To Get Past The Dobermans (I mean Gatekeepers ;)

How friggen hard can it be to get to the decision-maker?

Pretty damn annoying when you know you have a great product or service.

In fact it’s beyond infuriating; it can actually be the difference between you making a bucket load of cash or wallowing in misery.

Here’s my 5 ways to get past the Dobermans.

Read More
embracing change in business

Proof things have changed forever …

In 2015 Uber, the world’s largest taxi company owns no vehicles; Facebook, the world’s most popular media creates no content; Alibaba, the most valuable retailer holds no stock; and AirBnB, the world’s largest accommodation provider owns no real estate.Boy! Hasn’t the world changed!
Anything is now possible.

But with change comes anxiety …

Read More
anti drug marketing - graphic design fails

7 Graphic Design Fails (#6 will have you scratching your head!)

I’m the first to admit my graphic design talents are average.

In fact, I often struggle deciding whether to match my socks to my shoes or pants!

That said, I have spent 25 years working with amazing designers from around the world, and that’s at least taught me to pick a graphic design fail a mile away. Here’s seven of the best!

Read More
why podcast

Why podcast? Why the hell not!?

I was just tagged in a Facebook post (see below) by an old mate in Kylie Bartlett (thanks KB ;), and was about to leave a comment when I thought, hell, those bad boy questions are much more deserved of a blog post. Here’s what was posted on Facebook:

“Podcasts are curious items. Free ones in particular. How do they make people money? do they care about money? Why do people do them? Why do people purposely download what equates to talk radio? Savvy friends this one is for you.”

Read on for my passionate response ;0)

Read More
blogging for beginners

5 Benefits From My 14-Day Blog Challenge (And It’s Only Day 6!)

I awoke this morning feeling a little sad.

Jack, my oldest boy, turns 18 today.

Where on earth did those years go?!

He’s also on this last term break before exams. So it’s head down and bum up.

His English teacher set him the challenge of writing one practice essay a day for the 14-days of the break.

To make it easier (and more enjoyable for him) I agreed that we’d both sit down for an hour each day and write. Jack would write an essay, I’d write a blog post.

So the 14-day blog post challenge began. And, five posts in, it’s going beautifully.

Beyond spending quality (albeit silent) time with my now mature son (!), there’s been so much upside already to blogging regularly.

Read More
hodge kissing buddy - business strategies

9 Business Strategies We Can Learn From Hawthorn’s Grand Final Win (Sadly, #7 Is Rarely Done)

I got up at 4.24AM this morning.

I had to get to the MCG to get a seat to watch my beloved Aussie Rule’s team Hawthorn (Hawks) play in the Grand Final.

Whilst they’d finished on top of the Home and Away series, and had won the 2013 Grand Final, the critics had written them off.

“They can’t do it!” the majority hollered, backed up with a myriad of reasons (some plausible, others ridiculous).

Personally, whilst I love the Hawks, I too was a little nervous and started to believe the rhetoric.

Well, we won. By a record margin. Against a superstar team in the Sydney Swans.

But how was this possible?

And what can us motivated business owners learn from such an amazing victory?

Plenty.

Read More
Action Jackson - get stuff done

9 Ways To Get Stuff Done (#6 Is The Scariest)

Today I delivered my 57th keynote address for the year.

I had an audience of 150(ish) motivated business owners hungry to grow their business through some smart marketing ideas.

The particular keynote I shared went for 50-minutes – and I allowed 10-minutes for questions at the end.

Upon asking for questions, there was the usual silence, followed by the first brave individual putting up their hand.

More awkward silence as the microphone runner makes their way over.

Then comes the question.

Read More
positive thinking - how to be positive

For Those Hankering For Some Positivity

I was having a good old laugh with the kids last night watching Modern Family. It scares me how much of Phil Dunphy I see in myself (don’t tell anyone ;0) Then a news break came on. It was shocking. Literally shocking. No need for specifics, suffice to say it was bad news after bad news. As a father, I felt not only for my kids, but for the world’s population in general.

However, instead of dwelling on what is, it got me thinking about how we can protect ourselves from the negativity and make our world a slightly better place. So here’s five ideas to point you in the right direction.

Read More
helpful content

How to never run out of helpful content

I started creating truly helpful content five years ago when I launched The Small Business Big Marketing Show.

At the time, I didn’t give much though to the problem of running out of content.

Afterall, there’s was no shortage of marketing questions business owners had.

And there was no shortage of business owners using marketing to successfully grow their business.

And in fact, I still don’t give much thought to this problem.

However, and it’s a big however, many business owners considering a helpful content marketing strategy seem to have big concerns about running out of things to say.

So, if the concern is there, then let me address it.

Read More
crown paladium - public speaking

5 Must-Dos Before Speaking From Stage

It was the biggest keynote I’d delivered all year.

An audience of 550 hungry business owners in Crown’s Palladium Ballroom – one of Melbourne’s most prestigious conference venues.

They’d come to hear me share my marketing wisdom to help grow their business. And I wanted to leave them feeling inspired and motivated to do great things.

I’d arrived two-hours early to do my set-up, to ensure everything was working as it should. But, with 30-seconds to go, as the emcee introduced me, my slides weren’t projecting – the technology had failed. And I was about to as well, or was I?

Read More