COLLABORATION: What Collaboration Means to Me

, ,

I really wanted to take a bit of time to delve in to explain what collaboration means to me.

Why I feel collaboration is such an important part of what we do here at Central Business Associates, but also why it is of great importance for us all to learn how to do it, and do it well!

You really do say it a lot…!

I know, I know! I never particularly used the word ‘collaborate’ until I began planning the concept of Central Business Associates, but I found myself naturally saying the word increasingly when I was explaining my business ideas, and also came to realise that I had been ‘collaborating’ for my whole working life! It was actually one of my major strengths, so I started looking more closely at it.
My research found me suddenly seeing the word everywhere  (you know how that happens – it feels like coincidence, but it’s just your brain seeing what was always there, in a new light!), but there were varying ways that it was being perceived and understood. So I wanted to clarify to you what it means to me, and how I use it in this business, so you can understand how it might benefit you, and how you can access the relevant services for you.

Teamwork!

For me – collaboration is about teamwork – it’s about recognising you can’t do it all alone, or more to the point – you don’t have to do it all alone! If we all work together and use our strengths, we don’t have to battle away alone, and try and do the things that we are not so good at (or that we secretly really don’t enjoy doing!). It’s about give and take – for a partnership to work, everyone has to be bringing strengths to the table, or the imbalance will eventually weigh heavy on the relationship. But it’s also not about expecting something every time you give – it’s about the teamwork – knowing that if the other person or people can help you, they will.
Knowing you have a group of people who have your back is an amazing feeling, and makes you all stronger – isn’t that worth pursuing?

/by

NEWS: Bayside Business of the Month award

, ,

Bayside Business of the Month

I was delighted to receive the inaugural Bayside Business of the Month award last month from our local Member, Joan Pease!
Recognition for contributing to my community is really the icing on the cake. I love what I do. I thoroughly enjoy helping people to collaborate and grow their businesses. And I am so grateful to have found a strong, friendly, growing community to work within.

Joane Pease award July 2016

/by

What Customers Really Want

, ,

How often do you actually ASK your customers what they want?

Do you get too focused on what you like, what you want to be doing. On what you THINK customers want?

Do you carry out customer satisfaction surveys, customer care calls? These touch-points with your existing or past customers can be the lifeblood of your business, and if you are not doing them, your competitors might be….

Every customer who doesn’t return means extra Business Development for you to find new clients – imagine if they all came back, over and over again…

I’m in the midst of research for a current Customer Service Consultancy project, and came across this fantastic set of quotes.

“The customer experience is the next competitive battleground.” This really rings true. I worked in Customer Service and Sales in the UK when the competition seriously kicked off in this area. Watched many businesses struggle who were mostly price focused – highest (“Ah, but you get what you pay for…”!) or the lowest (is it automatically low quality if it’s low price?) This just wasn’t what people were motivated by any more. Customer Experience, Customer Service, Customer Care – call it what you wish. Customers began to drive change in business. They simply walked away if they weren’t treated well.

I genuinely believe that today’s consumers are heading back in this direction in their droves – they want businesses to appreciate their custom, not just ‘take the money and run’.
Are you prepared? Would your Customer Service stand up to a service-driven customer base? Maybe you believe price still wins the day. Would love to hear your thoughts.

We love helping businesses improve their Customer Service, and have many years of experience of customer care and business retention.

*Originally posted as an article on LinkedIn – and if you’ve not connected with me there yet, please do so while you’re there! Updated 2023

/by

COLLABORATION: Accelerated Serendipity: an update

, , ,

Anyone who knows me already understands my passion for collaboration.

I wrote a blog about Accelerated Serendipity on my website last year, to try to explain some of the stand-out benefits of Flexible Workspaces. If you haven’t read it yet, you can see it here – Accelerated Serendipity – showing how and why the concept of Flexible Working / Coworking works for so many of us.

One of our regular coworkers – a graphic designer, was telling me today how much she has benefited from coming into our workspace – every time she comes in, she meets a potential client, or a colleague, or a possible collaborator. Stories like this are what keep me going, confident that this is the way forward for the workforce – not only small businesses and entrepreneurs, but also employees, if given the opportunity to have a day or more nearer home – the chance to achieve a genuine work/life balance.

Central Business Associates is an ‘office of the future’, as described in an article recently from Officing Today  (an online magazine delivering the latest news, tips, trends, and insights of the flexible workspace industry, first published in 2004 – way before flexible working was ‘the new black’!) – I was delighted to be featured alongside some other great examples of collaborative hubs within Australia. Read the article here

As always, I’d love to hear others thoughts on the subject – would you like to know how you could work more flexibly, or do you manage this already in a different way?

serendipity
ˌsɛr(ə)nˈdɪpɪti/
noun
noun: serendipity; plural noun: serendipities
  1. the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.
    “a fortunate stroke of serendipity”
/by

COLLABORATION: Accelerated Serendipity…. What does it even mean?

, ,

The video below came up in my newsfeed today, showing the benefits of coworking, and I just loved the phrase ‘Accelerated Serendipity’! Plus it described my day today so accurately, that I felt compelled to share it with everyone…
I held a free coworking morning today – I’ve been holding one every couple of months, just to try to bring those people in who have either not heard of coworking, or don’t think it is something that would work for them. I tend to find that once people have tried it out, they understand how it can work for them, and can see (and feel) the benefits.

The benefits are different for everyone – for some it’s not having the distractions of home – the family pets, the dishwasher needing emptied, the washing piling up in the corner, etc etc…
For others it might be just feeling part of a social community – having other people to run ideas past, or to talk about ‘that’ TV show that was on last night, or even discuss your thoughts on the economic development of the area we live in….!

But ultimately, it needs to be of financial benefit to be coworking, or sharing an office space – otherwise why wouldn’t you just stay at home?

Well today showed me all the reasons why it works.

I had about 4 conversations with different people, which resulted in no less than 6 collaborative situations, which may result in more income for all 6 people! Not bad for a couple of hours work…
Then I did some client work, as the office was so busy I felt I had to contribute/type faster (that’s the competitive side of me!) than the other people I could hear around me.

So I did some paid work, got details of some fantastic prospective clients/collaborations, networked, and had a bit of a laugh too!

So next time you’re wondering what the fuss is all about, bring a chunk of work, your laptop, some business cards, and see if you can have some Accelerated Serendipity too! Watch the video that started the conversation, below…….

Coworking – How coworking is changing how and where we work

/by

INTERVIEW: Lorraine Tinson, Tinson IT

, , ,

Hi Lorraine – Thanks for taking time out of your busy day to talk to me!
Delighted to have you as one of our first Associate Members after your company did some amazing work designing our logo, and also creating the Central Business Associates website! I am keen to find out more about your business, and let people know what motivates you. So let’s start by asking some questions about your business –

Q1: Business Name?
LORRAINE: Tinson IT Business Solutions

Q2: Your name, and position in the business?
LORRAINE: Lorraine Tinson, Director

Q3: Describe your product or service.
LORRAINE: We’re all about websites! As an online marketing and web design agency, we focus on helping businesses with commercial clients to be found by THEIR ideal clients so that they can rapidly grow their revenue.

Q4: If you had to describe your business in 3 words, what would they be?
LORRAINE: Websites and SEO

Q5: What’s new in your business at the moment?
LORRAINE: Things move fast in the digital world, and it seems to be moving faster all the time. Website designs are big and bold. Tiles are in – think Windows 8 – which also inspires another design trend – flat. Flat is minimalistic, clean and 2 dimensional – say goodbye to drop shadows. In SEO, it’s all about content and things have been very busy with ‘Mobilegeddon’.

Q6: Why do you do what you do? What made you start, and motivates you to continue with, your business?
LORRAINE: We love helping businesses navigate the world of website design and SEO. The technical side of websites and SEO can seem like rocket science, we love working with businesses to understand what they want from their website and then develop a solution that will help them meet their goals.

Q7: Where’s your favourite local place for coffee, tea, or your favourite tipple?
LORRAINE: We are so lucky to have some really great coffee shops around, it’s hard to choose. Jimbo’s and Manly Cafe are always high on my list.

Q8: You’ve forgotten your partners/mothers/BFFs birthday – where’s your ‘go-to’ place that you can guarantee a successful purchase?
LORRAINE: Jenny McNamara Furlong @ Jmac-art, my go-to lady more and more. Jenny has some wonderful ideas, buying artwork doesn’t need to cost a fortune.

Q9: What was your main reason for signing up with Central Business Associates? What does it mean to you?
LORRAINE: There is a great sense of community in our area and there are so many small businesses, it’s great to be part of something that brings these businesses together.

Lorraine, thank you so much for chatting to me today – it’s great to find out some more about your business, and I look forward to finding ways we can collaborate and help each other out in the future!

/by