“When everyone else is looking the same way for inspiration, look somewhere else.”

A great story and pointers to Finding fresh inspiration.

Thanks to Stil for this heads up.

“Don’t wait. Get small. Think big.” This post by Seth Godin is well worth a read.

“People with high LQ value life and invest it wisely in what really matters in the larger scheme of things. They do not ask how they can get the most from life, but how they can give their uttermost to life. Their starting point is not how they can be happy, rich and famous, but how they can be most useful …

From the St James Ethics Centre:

Ethics is about relationships
It’s about struggling to develop a well-informed conscience
It’s about being true to the idea of who we are and what we stand for
It’s about having the courage to explore difficult questions
It’s about accepting the cost

Kmart, Bi-Lo, Coles, Woolworths (supermarket, departmental)
JB Hi-Fi, Dick Smith, Harvey Norman, Bing Lee, Good Guys (electrical, whitegoods, computers)
Dymocks, Angus and Robertson (books)
JB Hi-Fi, Dick Smith, Sanity, HMV (music, movies)

Their common characteristics appear to be:

Huge open space full of racks and racks of stuff to buy. And often with actual stock stored on the floor.
Often uses “screaming at you” TV commercials and brightly coloured sales flyers printed on thin …

My friend Stil posted a rather succinct and amusing breakdown of a local politician’s flyer here. There’s a nice photo of the article in question too.

Anything that we can do well, that we enjoy doing, and that there is a demand for, is worth taking seriously as a skill to develop.

Anita Roddick; when asked what advice she would give to a young person who was planning a business career: “…don’t even say the word ‘business.’ Bury it. … Talk about a livelihood you can create for yourself, an honourable livelihood that gives you …

“There are two kinds of organisations – one kind that likes to be on the cutting edge, to do what hasn’t been done before, to embrace the new. The other kind fears that, and holds back to let someone else to go first. Betting on change is always the safest bet available.”
from The Big Moo, edited by Seth Godin

I would like to add:

The cutting edge does not necessarily …

Tired of the generic colours of your favourite computer or MP3 player? Colorware will change it for you.

An interesting niche business. This is the 21st century version of a car body customising business.

What similar niche can you identify in your industry?

“Here is an interesting thought: place an ad in the personals and see if anyone will date your company.” wrote Stefan Engeseth in ONE.

Business is personal. Think of your business as a person. Find a hour or so in your week and write a personals ad for your business. Who do you think this ad will attract? Who don’t you want to attract? Why is your business attracting …