I have decided that once we finish Edition 10, we shall start a new series. What would you like to see? I am writing this for you!

This week I shall show you videos that I have watched live on Ustream. I shall not write about them, I really want to see your input and opinions through comments!

Free TV : Ustream

Free live streaming by Ustream

I hope you liked them, do not forget to comment!
Thank you,
Shane

Hello!

Did you enjoy the week? I did, this week has been amazing for the future of Success Circuit… it will be very juicy with the contest and some interviews that will astound you!

Success Circuit’s Posts

Monday Attitude

Tuesday What can I Watch? Edition 6

Wednesday Beat the Recession!

Thursday What is Going On?

Friday It’s not an if or when. It’s a how and how fast.

Saturday Interview with Roland Millward

Favourite Posts

Monday InfectedByBugs.Com – What are you spending?

Tuesday SuccessFool.Com – The Intimate Mind Succeeds, The Multitasking Mind Cannot

Wednesday Blog.StealthMode.Com – The Terrorists Have Won

Thursday ZERGmoney.Com – I Did Not Type this Blog Post! Imposter?

Friday ChefPatrick.Com – Recycled Content

Saturday RetireAt21.Com – Finding Your First Advertisers For Your Blog

Sunday ProBlogger.Com – 7 Reasons not to have Empty Ad Spots on your Blog

Lets hope next week is as good!

Good luck everyone,
Shane

Today we have another interesting interview for you all! If you read the comments here often, you will probably have seen Roland around. He is a very loyal commenter, unlike most people I like to know who is reading my blog. So I asked him about who he is, very quickly I realised that he has some qualities that people look for in role models. Please give a warm welcome to Roland Millward!

Firstly, could you please give us an overview about yourself?

I am now in my early fifties (where did the time go?), married with a grown up daughter. I live in Wiltshire though I was born in Derbyshire and still have a great love for Chesterfield Football Club where I used to go every Saturday with my grandfather when they played at home. Although it is now a long journey I still try and get to several matches a year.

How, and why, did you begin your career as a Mortgage Broker?

I am one of those people that has always yearned to have their own business. I left school with little in the way of qualifications mainly because I hated school so much. I do though however love to learn new things which may make my previous statement seem contradictory. School does not always teach in the right way to suit the needs of each child and it is a lesson businesses can learn that each customer is an individual.

I started working in a department store and eventually got into management. Still longing to be my own boss I took a career change and started a driving school which was quite successful but after a while it becomes rather bring.

I decided to enter financial services after selling the driving school business and became employed as a mortgage consultant working within an estate agents. This is where I learned the ins and outs of the mortgage business.

Of course becoming my own boss was never far from my mind and so as soon as it was prudent set up my own brokerage and have never looked back.

Who, or what, is your inspiration in life and business?

With regard to ‘who’ in your question I prefer to take the ‘best bits’ of people and copy those things that would work for me. I don’t think you should try and copy someone in every aspect but rather be yourself and apply good principles to your life. Richard Branson for instance with his branding image works fine for large businesses but not necessarily small ones. His attention though to customer service is something to be considered and also the way he manages his businesses by giving his managers more control and making work ‘fun’ for his staff.

How do you keep yourself motivated?

That is a good question. Every day I think to myself “What can I achieve today? What can i do better?” I also make sure that i never stop learning. Just because you have done something for many years does not mean you know everything. I find helpful to to build up a network of like minded people that I can bounce ideas off and enjoy a some business banter. This I find helps when you get those days of weeks when maybe thing are not going that well.

What were your goals when you started? Have you achieved them yet? If so, how did you manage this?

My goal has really been to build a solid business that would keep me in a comfortable lifestyle with the freedom to make choices that too much growth would not allow and never to have to work for anyone else again.

Yes, I have achieved this. the business has been built up by providing clients with the best advice possible and service to match. It has taken time to make sure that attention to every detail in the business has been right for the customer. I now have a very loyal customer base who come back time and time again, plus they recommend their friends and family which saves a fortune on advertising!

At any point have you thought yourself or your career as a “failure” or had any major problems? If so how did you manage to get through this and what did you learn?

I have never regarded anything as a failure. With problems I always try and learn from them and make sure that wherever possible contingency plans are in place. A few years ago my office was destroyed in a huge fire and that was certainly a problem at the time. It took many 14 hour days to get over that! It is always best to move on as possible and not look back. I read in a magazine many years ago this statement, “Never look back because that is the way to the lunatic asylum!”

You are very interested in Social Networking, why is this? What results have you seen from this so far?

This is early days yet but I am finding that Twitter certainly looks promising and is helping me create a network of followers that I could potentially do business with both getting new customers and in becoming one to them.

Have you any advice to give to those currently in the position you were in when you first started your career?

Go for your dream! Make sure that is realistic and that you have the skills to do it. Learn the skills and get the knowledge. Research your market and make sure you plan your business well. Get advice and listen to as many people in business as possible. Don’t be put off by doubters and negative types but do be realistic. If you want to sell artificial legs for hamsters and vets tell you that there isn’t a market they may have a point.

Your blog is about business, what made you make this?

I have always loved business and talking about business and writing a blog just seems a great way to help others.

What plans do you have for the future?

I want to make sure that my business thrives in this economic downturn. Mortgage brokers have been particularly affected and so it takes more effort to make things work. It is a challenge but one that will make the business stronger if it is met.

I recomend you to follow Roland on twitter, read his blog and read his guest posts that will be appearing here on Success Circuit hopefully every week!

Thank you for reading, and thank you to Roland for such an interesting interview.

Shane

This quotation is very powerful to me. I was talking to a friend of mine, John Diaz, on MSN last night. I met him on a forum many years ago. Can I trust him? I believe so. You are probably asking why I am telling you this? John has been through a lot since we met, we both have really, but he always said that he would help me grow famous.. you know how teenagers dream of being rich and famous!

He told me last night how much I amaze him, not for being rich (because I am not) but for doing something. This really motivated me, however it was not this that motivated me the most. The title of this post is what made me really open my eyes.

“It’s not an if or when. It’s a how and how fast.”

John Diaz

He said this after he told me that he is going to be a millionaire. Now, I would be very overjoyed (and amazed!) if he makes it that far in the short time frame he told me (4 months) but anybody with determination like that, if they stick to it, will always be successful. Even if he only earns 200% of what he currently earns, surely the dedication has paid off.

Dedication is key to being successful in anything that you do. We have discussed success before and will be discussed often, this is Success Circuit after all!

Now, I would like you to have another think about the quotation and discuss it with myself and everybody else through commenting. What does it mean? How could it be used? Does it motivate you? It motivates me, that’s for sure. When Cited Success Edition 2 is released, it shall defintely contain this quotation!

Thank you for reading,

Shane

Hello everybody,

I have had many people been asking me lately what I have planned for Success Circuit. I believe it is now time to share a little bit of this with you. Hold on tight, this is going to be a long ride!!

The Contest

The big secret is no longer a secret! We are currently in the planning stages of this, so all I can tell you at the current time is that there is going to be a contest. I am trying to get many sponsors, so if you have anything at all to offer then contact me! The more people that sponsor, the more people that will participate. Remember, all sponsors will get a link but the quicker you are in contacting me, the higher you will be on the list and that means there is a higher chance of more visitors than people lower on the list.

Please let us know, by commenting, how you would like to contest to run. One idea is to run a points system where you get posting comments, posts to your own blog, guest posts, subscribing to rss or twitter. Another, simpler, idea is to run contests such as the ones mentioned but rather than use points, run them seperatly and have many winners. The second idea is currently my favourite, what do you think?

Also we need a name for it!

Theme Customisation

You have probably noticed some of this by now. The best example so far is the slideshow on the front page which I think really makes the website look better, what do you think? I must say right now, all credit for the slideshow must go to Shannon Lilly as all I did was incoperate his slideshow into this theme. Another update we have made this week is the comments now have gravatars which seem to make the comments a little less boring, as they should never be boring! I have many more little updates planned, so if there is any downtime because of errors then don’t worry, it will always be back. If you have any ideas for how I could improve this blog, tell me!

How Can I Help?

Here is a quick list of ways you can help Success Circuit to grow.

1. Subscribe to our RSS feed (you can even use FireFox to do this!) If you use email, you get a free ebook.
2. Twitter about Success Circuit! A good way would be to follow me and re-tweet some of my tweets.
3. Comment on any post. Sure I would love you to be a loyal commenter but you probably do not have the time, so I appreciate any comment you give.
4. Sponsor a prize to the contest, to do this you will need to contact me.
5. Write a guest post, this is another thing you will need to contact me about.
6. Get reviewed! If you contact me I can review you, it costs $30 per review but I have been known to write them for free.

So thats about it for today. Please do not forget to sponsor a prize! Anything is accepted: a tiny bit of money, a phone call, website theme; we are accepting anything!Another thing you could help with is guest posting, subscribing and commenting. Please do not forget! Also, if you have a blog or website, tell me about it. I might like it so much that you get a free review (worth $30).

Thank you,

Shane Hudson

In this post, Roland from In Business shares some valuable advice about the recession.

Recession! Recession! Recession!
How many times a day do you hear that word? I wish I got paid £1 a time! I could make a great living that way! From the way that the media were reporting this anyone would believe that no one was buying anything or able to borrow any money at all!

The fact of the matter is however very different. People are spending and some are borrowing. Yes, it is more difficult but if we were to follow every word that the media puts out we would all think that there is no point in living.

The truth is that for entrepreneurs great opportunities are there for the taking. Every business that closes down used to have customers. Those customers now need to buy their goods and services from someone else. Every shop and office that becomes empty is now available at a lower rent or price to buy. If you need a car, computer, office equipment or just about anything else you can buy it at knock-down prices from businesses who are panicking over their survival.

I have recently heard from many successful business people that they actually started their businesses in the last recession. The very reasons above helped them get their fledgling business off the ground.

How can an entrepreneur make sure that their business survives when others will not? After all many well known companies have closed and many more have serious problems. The answer is not so difficult although the application of the answer may be for some.

1. Offer value.
   Do not try and be the same as other businesses. Be better not cheaper.  Look at what you can do to give your customers good service and good products. Add value by such things as faster delivery, longer warranties, a better environment in your store, or a clearer better designed website for online customers.
2. Cash Flow
   Cash is king! Without cash your business is dead. Make sure that you forecast your cash properly. If you issue invoices make sure that you chase up outstanding payments regularly and take appropriate action on late payers.
3. Control Costs
   Keep a careful eye on costs and avoid wasting money. However do not cut costs across the board. Each cost cutting exercise must not in any way impact negatively on your income. A retailer could reduce the sales staff and strangely enough the sales of the store could go down because the customers are no longer receiving good service. I have seen this done and the management thought they had made a good decision because the sales had gone down so it was a good job that they reduced the staff levels!
4. Look after your clients
   An Indian restaurant in my town has recently won a local business of the year award primarily because of the way that they look after their customers. Their secret is that they know every birthday and special anniversary of their customers. They send cards and special invitations to meals on these dates, they have even invited clients to their family weddings in India! If they have not seen a client after a certain amount of time then out in the post goes a special voucher for a meal. Keep in touch with clients and they will not only come back but will recommend others. Do not constantly try to sell them things. A newsletter that keeps them up to date will work wonders. I have found this very effective in my business as a mortgage broker.
5. Speed of Action
   The most successful people have proven to be the ones who action their ideas the
   fastest. That does not mean rushing into something without thought as that could be costly. However once you are aware of a change that needs to be made then do it fast. For instance you may be reading this and think, “I could do with a database of my customers so that I can keep in contact with them” So what are you waiting for? Put it into action today, yes NOW! That may mean doing it yourself or sending an email or making a phone call to someone to do it. But above all else do it!
6. Be Positive
   Do not reflect a negative attitude in your business. If people ask you how business is going, then tell them that your plans and actions are working to keep your business strong and growing. Tell them that you see a great future for your business. This will in still confidence in them to use your services and buy from you. This is not dishonesty as dishonesty in business will get you nowhere in the long term but will be a true reflection of how you see your business.

Can you beat the recession? Yes you can! Listen to advice from reliable sources and learn from others that are successful and have been through these times before.

Roland Millward is a mortgage broker based in Trowbridge, Wiltshire. He blogs about business at In Business which is one blog you should check regulary! One post that I really like is Power of the Pause.

This week I have been watching many live shows on UStream.tv which have resulted in meeting some amazing people and even coming up with the concept of the first Success Circuit contest (which I shall speak about later this week). I recommend watching some of the videos there! This week, however, I would like to cover a website community called Club E Network, which is the place for entrepreneurs to connect! The Club E Network is a provider of amazing resources, such as videos. I am going to share a few with you, the rest you can find on their website.

Absence of Greed & Fear. RISE Austin #7
Philip Berber, founder of Cybercorp & A Glimmer of Hope, talks about selling Cybercorp for $488M two weeks before the bubble burst & what ‘special’ investment banker stepped in to guide him. Philip also touches on his transition from running a fast based for-profit dot.com to a humanitarian aid project in Glimmer. CLUB E original. Come hear Philip & other captivating entrepreneurial stories at RISE Austin

Rebranding your baby & turning down giants – Segment 2
iV gets silly with Shelley Foster as she talks about rebranding her babygags because a retailer (a little co. called the GAP) wanting to carry it was concerned about market confusion. Learn how she handled it and started babygags on $25k & living off her day job. AND see if you think Shelley is silly herself after turning down Walmart. CLUB E “Original Programming.”

As you can see, all of their videos are inspirational and motivational… so go and watch more of them! Also, did you realise that the in second video you watched Ingrid Vanderveldt? You probably did not even notice!
Thank you,
Shane

What is attitude?

Well, correct me if I am wrong but I believe that attitude is the way somebody treats their life and that of the people around them. This may seem to be something that only refers to hormonal teenagers. This is not true, I am going to show you why.

As I have shown you before, social networking is an incredible force at the moment where a lot of details are available. This means that everybody that you follow or are friends with, depending on what network you use, can see how you act. Normally this would be fine, everyone has mood swings at some point. But when people that may be your clients or that you have to potential to be in business with then just one step out of line and, in severe cases, your life could be damaged immensely.

I have been looking for real examples to show you. Firstly, this is not quite what I mean but it shows how social networking effects jobs, take a look at this BBC headline: Facebook’ lost policeman top job. Here is another one: Ottawa employees fired because of Facebook. Another article from the same site really shows the attitude of some facebook users: Experiment proves 2 out of 5 Facebook users will lose the job. Need I go on? Next time you are networking, just think about what it might do to your career. This is especially true if you purposely network with those that you work with, which is very common with the online industries.

Other than the attitude that people have, the way they use language is also very important. On MSN and through email to our friends we all use internet slang such as “lol” or “rofl” but some people also use this when contacting their business contacts. Even I have been known to do this. So, is it something that we should not do? Or does it not matter? 

If you have any stories about this, please share with us! This was a short post because I really want you to have a big input into the discussion.

Thank you,

Shane