The Business Growth Blog by Rob Cuesta

Are you standing on the shoulders of giants?

It was Isaac Newton who famously declared that he was "standing on the shoulders of giants", referring to the fact that all his knowledge was a development of ideas that other, greater, people had developed before him.

In that sense, it has a role to play in your positioning as an expert--however I think of it in a very different sense when it comes to running and growing your coaching, consulting or training business.

Are you a Journeyman, a Guru, or...

The coaching and consulting industry have traditionally been built on two ways of getting clients. And I think BOTH of those models are broken.

How Big is Your Business Card?

Success as a coach, consultant, trainer, or indeed in any profession where you are selling your knowledge, experience and advice, comes from your ability to position yourself at the top of your field.

One of the key ways to do this is by writing. 

Even though society as a whole seems to be leaving the book behind, when it comes to choosing our "experts" we still hold authors in awe. So one of the key things I encourage all my clients to do is to write a book; a physical book, not an ebook.

It doesn't have to be War and Peace.

I see a role for two kinds of books in building your business. I call them your "Expert Manifestos" (or should that be Manifestoes? anyway, I digress!)

UBC11: The new new economy

Unless you've been under a rock for the last few years, you've no doubt heard that we live in the "new economy" and that unless we adapt our marketing to it, we're doomed. Which of course is true.

The only problem is, no-one seems too specific about what exactly this new economy is.

UBC10: What makes a product into a Five-Star Experience?

Well, it's after the end of January and I only managed to make 9 posts, but I'm going to keep going with the Ultimate Blogging Challenge, and get to 31 by the end of February instead :)

About 13 years ago I bought a coffee maker. It was an espresso machine - you know the ones, just like you see in Starbucks, lots of steam coming out, lots of noise (mostly from you banging the old coffee grounds out of the holder).

Most importantly for me, though, it was a machine from a "real" coffee maker brand: the people who make the coffee machines in Italian restaurants.

Well, my espresso machine has finally been retired, and last week I bought a Nespresso machine. It's made by Magimix, the blender people. Not a name I'd associate with fine coffee.

And yet...

And yet...

And yet... I feel so much better about the Nespresso purchase than when I bought the old machine.

And it's not just about the fact it makes excellent coffee (and anyone who spends much time around me knows I *LOVE* my coffee).

It's about the whole experience of opening up the box.

When I bought my old espresso maker, it was about £140 ($210), and that was 13 years ago, so maybe it would be a £200/$300 coffee machine by today's standards.

The Nespresso was £110/$175.

It's a cheaper machine. So I had lower expectations...