Carolyn's Corner

We’ve all done it.

We’ve taken on clients and projects we don’t love in order to pay the bills.

We’ve responded to half-baked briefs for projects that are under-funded and ill-conceived.

We’ve cut our prices to win the work.

We’ve acted like a supplier instead of a partner and acquiesced to get the job done satisfactorily (but not brilliantly).

We’ve responded to a request to troubleshoot a problem at the lowest cost and in the quickest time frame possible, despite the fact that the problem has been brewing for years.

We’ve let the client’s perceived wants dictate the terms even though we can clearly see their needs require a totally ground-breaking, revolutionary approach.

It’s time to breathe. Stop. Trust. Listen.

It’s time to be honest with the client, and yourself.

It’s time to tell them you don’t pitch, you don’t compete and that you don’t cut your prices.

It’s time to tell them you’re different, that you call a spade a spade and that you can only help them if they play by your rules, not theirs.

It’s time to tell the client what they need, not pander to their wants.

It’s time to be honest, so honest that you won’t mind if you lose the job.

It’s time to show so much care and consideration for the client that you won’t take the work if you truly can’t help.

It’s time to show love, compassion and respect for your client, and yourself.

It's time to step up and behave like a true partner.

It’s time to do the work you love, work that is meaningful and on purpose and for people you love, so much that they become clients for life.

It’s time to stand up and deliver your finest work.

It's time to do work that truly makes the world a better place.

For NOW is the FUTURE for freelancers, consultants and anyone who provides a professional service. We have the power to change the world. Don’t you forget it.

It’s time to stand by the courage of your convictions.

If you want to stand by your convictions, you need to find out more about The Method*. It will change your life and your work, forever.

Email me and book a chat. You’ve got nothing to lose.

Yours in conscious marketing

*The Method is a 12-month intensive personal and business development program for just 20 experienced business owners offering a professional service. It will commence on 19/20 July and be hosted at the Sydney Hub. The cost is $550 per month and participants are interviewed before being accepted on the program.

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What Rubbish! Right On!

Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen. Ralph Waldo Emerson

On 1 May 2012, I made an irreversible decision to reinvent my business.

I decided that my business would become a vehicle to turn the marketing profession on it's head, to bring about a conscious marketing revolution and thereby contribute to the elevation of humanity.

While I was a bit vague on how I’d do that, once the decision was made, the universe conspired to connect me with all sorts of incredible people to help me crystalise my vision. 

In just 12 short months, I joined an awesome co-worker community at The Hub in Melbourne (being launched right now in Sydney). I became the Victorian Community Leader forConscious Capitalism Australia. I developed a new brandCarolyn Tate & Co. and a private advisory program that I’m already using with great success with clients. I met my business partner, Damien Churton to create The Method*, a group program that is proving to be more powerful than either of us had ever anticipated.

Every morning I give gratitude for what has transpired over the past year. And that’s why I want to share my reinvention story with you and show you how it can be done.

I’d love for you to join Damien and myself at the Hub in Sydneyon Friday 7 June. You’ll discover how to reinvent your business with some of the principles of The Method. You’ll learn more about the Conscious Capitalism movement and you’ll be taken on a tour of the Hub. And finally we’ll connect over a few drinks and nibbles at the end of the day.

As a connect subscriber and friend, the cost for the day is just $49 if you use save50 promo code. To find out more and register Click Here

If you can't make the event but would still love a chat about how to reinvent your business, please shoot me an email. I’d be happy to chat with you. Email me

If you'd simply like me to send you information on The MethodEmail me

Can’t wait to connect with you again.

Yours in conscious marketing

*The Method is a 12-month intensive business development program for just 20 mature business owners offering a professional service. It will commence on 19/20 July and be hosted at the Sydney Hub. The cost is $550 per month and participants are interviewed before being accepted on the program.

When I was tossing up about finding a boring desk job and wondering if I could ever make my business work, along came The Method to give me hope.  Sandy, professional writer and educator

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What Rubbish! Right On!

I absolutely love working with mature small business owners.

It’s because I know that your finest work is yet to come.

After a myriad of failures and successes and financial ups and downs, you finally come to a crossroad. This crossroad can creep up on you slowly as a series of niggling doubts, or it hits you with full force right between the eyes.

It appears because you’re asking yourself Is this really what I want to be doing for the rest of my working life? Am I really doing my finest work? Is my work fulfilling my purpose and is it really making a difference?

At the crossroad there’s a signpost pointing to one of three paths to take. 

Path one is Business as Usual 
(Carry on, stop whinging and just get on with it.)

Path two is Give Up
(Get a job. This business stuff is all too hard.)

Path three is Reinvention
(Take a leap of faith. Reinvent your business so that it fulfills your deepest purpose.)

Personally I’ve spent about two years on the first path, 12 brief months on the second path (just to be sure that I never, ever want to go there again) and the last glorious 12 months on the third (and final) path.

I know that many people reading this will be at a crossroad like I’ve been. If you take path one or two, the paths of least resistance, you’ll most likely find yourself back at that crossroad again and again.

If on the other hand, you take path three, the toughest but most rewarding path, just know that your finest work is yet to come and that your next act really will count not just to you but everyone you touch.

I’d love to explore that third path with you. Here’s three simple ways on how we can do it:

Attend the Sydney Workshop: Reinvent your Business with The Method (just $49 for friends, enter the special promo code of save50)

Contact me to book a private discussion about The Method*

*The Method is a 12-month intensive business development program run by myself and my business partner Damien Churton. It’s for just 20 mature business owners that offer a professional service. Participation is by application. It will be launching on 19/20 July in Sydney and the cost is $550 (+GST) per month.

When I was tossing up about finding a boring desk job and wondering if I could ever make my business work, along came The Method to give me hope.  Sandy, professional writer and educator

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What Rubbish! Right On!

Hello from San Francisco! I’m writing this blog on a very comfy leather sofa in a gorgeous café, Haus G, in the Mission District. I’m surrounded by a bevvy of groovy, global entrepreneurs all tapping away on a multitude of digital devices.

By my side is a steaming café latte and the highly recommended book, Conscious Capitalism. I’m attempting to read at least some of it in the lead up to the Conscious Capitalism conference on Friday (being streamed live if you’re keen to take a peek).

And tomorrow I’m running my first international workshop Conscious Marketing for Today’s Business at the Hub Bay Area right here in arguably, America’s best city.

Could life get any better?

Those of you that have read my report (downloadable here if you haven’t) or followed my blogs over the last two years, would know that it’s not always been like this.

Not too long ago I was ready to give up my profession for good. I’d simply had enough of the ‘smoke and mirrors’ world of marketing and I’d lost my purpose.

Since May last year I’ve been asking myself questions to help me redefine my business purpose, questions such as Why does my business exist? What contribution does my business make? Why and how is the world a better place because of my business?

Since rediscovering my purpose, the most incredible opportunities have opened up, such as being right here in SF now. 

I believe that defining your business purpose is the single most important thing you can do right now for yourself, your business and every other stakeholder group you impact.

Purpose is more important than vision, strategy, objectives, product development or any amount of spread sheeting and planning. Of course these are vital, but in reality they are simply the practical application or the manifestation of being on purpose.

Don’t just take my word for it. Read up on it. There are a number of great books covering purpose, including Conscious Capitalism by Raj Sisodia & John Mackey, It’s not what you sell, but what you stand for by Roy Spence & Haley Rushing and Start with Why by Simon Sinek.

If you’d like to have a ‘purpose conversation’ with me on my return from SF next week, please drop me a line.

If you’re keen to follow my updates from the Conscious Capitalism conference, you can follow me at my new brand, Carolyn Tate & Co. on twitter or facebook

If you're keen to learn more about The Method, a yearlong business development program commencing in Sydney on 26 July and open to just 20 experienced business owners (by qualification only) email me.

Your feedback is very important to me and I’d love to hear from you any time.

Yours in conscious marketing

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What Rubbish! Right On!

My last blog on ‘ending the pain gap’ resonated with many readers and resulted in lots of meaningful (and a few emotional) conversations with people who are clearly living with it right now.

‘The pain gap’ occurs when despite your hard work and expertise, your income reality doesn’t match where you really thought you should be after all these years of hard work.

It’s a common phenomenon that exists amongst mature professionals who’ve been selling their time and expertise for a living, such as consultants, coaches, marketers, creatives, bookkeepers, financial planners, health professionals and more.

‘The pain gap’ occurs over time because of a scattergun approach to building a business. We try lots of different things at different times to generate revenue. Most often our attempts are based on poor theory, inappropriate support and inconsistent practice.

And that’s exactly why The Method has been created, to help people experiencing ‘the pain gap’ to get out of it once and for all.The Method is for business owners committed to making big changes in their business and is powered by our unique learning methodology, the TSP Model.

To create a sustainable and profitable business you need to know what do to (Theory) and you need to practice it regularly until it becomes instinctive (Practice). Along the way there’ll be challenges in practicing the theory, which is where the support is critical (Support).

The question to be asking yourself is which part of the model do you need to be focusing on? As a general rule most of us have good knowledge (theory), and the challenge will lie in implementing what you know consistently (practice and support). The easiest way to improve is to focus on practicing ‘what works’ consistently over a 6-12 month period.

How do I know this model works? Because I’ve been following it with the help of my own business partner, Damien Churton since May last year. I’ve worked tirelessly to eliminate ‘the pain gap’; to create a sustainable business model… and it’s working.

Damien and I have partnered to create The Method, a 12-month intense business development programme aimed specifically at ‘mature’ business people offering a professional service. The Method is launching with a two-day induction course at The Hub, Melbourne on Friday 22 & Saturday 23 March. It costs just $500 per month (+GST) and is open to just 20 people with just 5 places left.

The Method is not for everyone. If you’re serious about ending 'the pain gap', we’re keen to hear from you. We’ll be conducting a rigorous interview process with you to see if there’s a fit between us both. Each conversation will deliver immediate value in the form of actionable items that will help you improve your business (these conversations will effectively be business and marketing coaching).

If you feel this program might be for you or a friend in business, we’d love to hear from you. Whether you end up joining the program or not, you’ll gain tremendous insights and value from a conversation.

If you’d like a conversation with Damien or myself please email meCarolyn@connectmarketing.com.au or phone on 0412 806 950.

Till next time!

Yours in conscious marketing

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What Rubbish! Right On!

Since my last blog, I’ve had at least ten conversations with ‘mature’ professionals who’ve been running their own business for a number of years. 

Till next time!

Yours in conscious marketing

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What Rubbish! Right On!

In the push and shove of today's fast-paced world of business, we're being told it's vital to have a compelling elevator pitch. In 30 seconds you're expected to excite someone with what you do and what you offer. You're expected to be 'pitch perfect.'

I used to teach this stuff years ago, although I had a different term for it then. I called it the ‘verbal brand’.

These days, many years later, I think it's a load of bull.

Sure I’d like to know what you do (that you’re an accountant, financial planner, graphic designer and so on), but I’m far more interested in why you do what you do, your purpose for being in business and what really gets you fired up. And sadly,why can’t be squeezed into a 30 second rehearsed elevator pitch. Why is communicated with passion, excitement and even a swear word or two. The why is authentic, imperfect, unconstrained and full of stories and shocking statistics and other stuff I never knew I needed to know.

Let me give you my own example to show you how you can craft your own purpose statement.

‘I believe that marketing is broken and it's contributed to the decay of humanity (then I tell a real life story of why it’s broken and throw in some controversial stats like the fact that last year $650 billion dollars was wasted on advertising). I believe there’s a better way and that’s why I'm leading a conscious marketing movement to change it (what I’m doing about it). By doing this I'll inspire business people to create sustainable and profitable companies that leave the world a better place for future generations (the result). 

Ultimately my son Billy, is the reason why I do what I do.  I want him to grow up in a conscious business world, where the purpose of business is to improve humanity and where wealth (not just in financial terms) is created for all, not just the elite few.

And then of course, I ask the right questions to engage in a meaningful conversation.

Your purpose statement and the ensuing conversation doesn't have to be about changing the world. It just has to be about the big why.

It’s time to ditch the elevator pitch!

Let's start having ‘purpose conversations.’ It’s all part of a more conscious approach to business and marketing.

And now here are some cool things to help you on your conscious marketing journey;

1. Have a ‘purpose conversation’ with me (free if you’re game). Book a conversation
2. Attend my Conscious Marketing Foundations Workshop in Melbourne on Friday 22 February (just $99 and only 13 spots left) More info here
3. Ask me about The Method, a yearlong business development program that I’ve created with my own awesome business coach, Damien Churton, a program designed especially for 21 experienced business owners (cost $500 pm, commencing mid March, by qualification only) Email me
4. Attend the launch of Conscious Capitalism Victoria in Melbourne on Friday 15 March (just $20) More info here
5. Read my report Conscious Marketing for Today’s Business. Email me for a copy.

Till next time!

Yours in Conscious Marketing 

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What Rubbish! Right On!

Happy 2013!

As a human race, we're on the massive tipping point of change. We’re rapidly shedding the industrial age and entering an age of transcendence. We’re becoming more conscious beings and more conscious business leaders and a new approach to business and marketing is required.

That’s why Conscious Marketing is set to revolutionise the way we market our companies starting from the inside out.

Conscious Marketing is all about operating on purpose, building engaging and compelling products and services and developing a strong people eco-system, all way before we hit the promotions trail.

The principles of Conscious Marketing move us from being Company-centric to Customer-Centric, from Negative Message to Positive Message, from Interruption Marketing to Invitation Marketing, from Mass Media to Niche Media and from Competitive to Collaborative and so much more.

If you’re keen to take a totally new approach to marketing, then I’d love to have a chat with you (phone +61 412 806 950 or email me), send you my paper on Conscious Marketing for Today’s Business (email me) or see you at my full day Conscious Marketing Foundations Workshop in Melbourne on Friday 22 February (it’s just $99). Find out more and book here.

Either way, I’d love to engage with you and help you on your Conscious Marketing journey in 2013.

Yours in Conscious Marketing 

If you’d like to find out more about my Conscious Marketing programs, book me to speak or run a workshop on Conscious Marketing, Email me or call on +61 412 806 950.

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What Rubbish! Right On!

The world of marketing and advertising is fundamentally broken and it’s contributing to the destruction of humanity.

There’s simply no escaping it. We’re bombarded with ads and promotional gimmicks from the minute we wake up to the minute we go to sleep.

In any given day we’re exposed to more than 3000 marketing messages (that’s more than 2 per minute).

Marketers and advertisers have reordered and rearranged our world to put their commercial graffiti in front of us at every opportunity. 

Our letterboxes are stuffed full with flyers and catalogues and letters from banks offering us easy credit so we can buy more stuff we don’t need (how they got my personal details I’d like to know).

The only calls we get on our landline are from the telco companies themselves trying to convert us or up-sell us (the very reason I cancelled my landline).

We’re interrupted on every street corner by tin-rattlers on commission pleading for money for a charity they know or care little about.

Our in-boxes are violated with spam every five minutes from people selling Viagra, SEO and websites and dating services for seniors (hell I’m not even 50).

Then of course there’s radio, TV, magazines, papers, billboards, sporting venues, buildings, buses, trams and airports. No space is sacred. Even our skies and green rolling hills are seen as blank canvases by marketers and advertisers.

While the media and promotional options have increased ten-fold, the quality of the message has regressed in direct proportion. It feels like we're all just shouting at each other.

There simply has to be a better way to spend 100 billion dollars a year*, particularly when 80% of it simply doesn’t work and adds zero value to our lives.

As ‘consumers’ (an odious word adopted by marketers), we're tuning out and turning off. If we do tune in, most of what we witness is hard-sell, predicated on fear, attacks the competition, talks to us like we have an IQ of 5 or promises something it simply can’t deliver.

As small business owners, we’re just as guilty as the big guys, despite our limited budgets. When we need more business we simply turn up the volume and frequency of our promotions and spray our message to as many people as possible using every low-cost tactic in the book.

In short, we’re all both the victims and the perpetrators of unconscious binge marketing and collectively we’re contributing to the decline of humanity.

There is a better way. It’s called conscious marketing.

Conscious marketing is all about working on the inside first starting with the 3 P's of purpose, product (or service) and people before even thinking about the fourth P of promotions.

Want to find out more and how to do it?

Be one of the first to read my free eReport, Conscious Marketing for Today's Business EMAIL ME

Attend my 2-hour Conscious Marketing Workshop at The Hub in Melbourne on 21 November. CLICK HERE

It's time to change the marketing paradigm and join the marketing revolution. Till next time!

Yours in Conscious Marketing 

*In 2009, 11 billion was spent on advertising alone in Australia. I’ve taken a very conservative 10x guesstimate to come up with this figure taking into account all costs associated with marketing such as ad agencies and marketing departments right down to website and printing costs (and much more).

If you’d like to find out more about my Conscious Marketingprograms, book me to speak or run a workshop on Conscious Marketing, Email me or call on +61 412 806 950.

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What Rubbish! Right On!