Watch this in full-screen, sit back, and think about our busy existence on this big, beautiful, round lump of rock that we share.
Thanks to Iestyn for sharing this.
Month: February 2013
Crowd funding experiment: How to sell consulting work without being slimy
No more slimy sales consultants
Whilst I’m focussing most of my time on The Brightoneers and a couple of new ventures, I thought it would be fun to launch a little experiment using crowd funding, not least because we have a Brightoneers event on crowd funding coming up next week.
My goal with this project is to bring more integrity into the world of business by helping change the world of selling away from manipulation and persuasion, using empathy instead. This is drawing on my experience heading up business development in my previous company.
If you provide consulting services and would like to learn how to sell more effectively without turning into a slime-ball then this is for you.
Here’s a rosy-cheeked video of me (the heating was up too high when I filmed it!) as an introduction. You can see all of the project details on indiegogo. Feel free to back it or pass it on to anyone you know who works as a consultant. As I said, it’s a bit of an experiment and I don’t know if it’ll meet its target but I wanted to learn more about crowd funding and there’s no better way than to try it out. Thanks!
How to sell consulting projects without being slimy from Tom Nixon on Vimeo.
Three free Brightoneers events and other updates from me
I’ve been very quiet on this blog lately, but there’s been loads going on so here’s an update from me.
The Brightoneers
The community of people working together to build a pioneering new economy in Brighton launched with a bang in January. 100 people came to the first event and we have the next three events lined up. All of them are free to attend and open to all. Just register using the links below.
12 Feb: Alternative currencies and smartcard pilot. Led by Good Money, we’ll be working together on moving towards a pilot of a smartcard system in Brighton that helps the local economy.
19 Feb: How can we use crowd funding to build a better economy? We have speakers covering the use of crowd funding for equity, rewards and lending, then time to break into groups to start making stuff happen.
5 March: The first Brightoneers film night: Shift Change – an awesome film about the power and potential of employee ownership – check out the trailer. I’m planning on making this a monthly event screening documentaries that will inspire us into action.
WorldBlu
I’ve been working as an ambassador for WorldBlu, speaking about democratic business at a number of events (like this) and talking to some awesome companies about them joining the movement. The WorldBlu List of Most Democratic Workplaces 2013 will be announced in April. I’m very excited to see Brighton growing as a hub of certified democratic workplaces following on from my previous company, NixonMcInnes being one of the first WorldBlu-certified companies in Europe. There’s also WorldBlu Live coming up in May in Denver. Get along to this if you can. My involvement in WorldBlu is now winding down and I’ll be focussing more on work locally here in Brighton. There may just about be time to get your organisation assessed by WorldBlu for this year’s WorldBlu List. If you’re interested, drop me a line and I’ll put you in touch with the right people.
Business development help for consulting companies
Having spent 10 years building a consulting company myself, I’m keen to share my experience in marketing and selling consulting work with other consulting companies in Brighton. If you’re a freelance consultant or running a small consulting company and would like to bring in more business, I might be able to help. I’m also launching a little project around this over the next few days. If you’d like to be kept in the loop then please get in touch.
And the rest of life
I’m mid-way through an 8-week course on Mindfulness and meditation with Mindfulness Sussex. I’m loving the combination of ancient wisdom dating back 2500 years backed by modern scientific studies that have shown many benefits to mind and body.
It’s the Brighton Half Marathon this Sunday. I’ve been gradually getting back to pre-travelling levels of fitness. I still have a long way to go and a horrible bout of ‘man flu‘ set me back these past couple of weeks, but the Half is a bit of a milestone anyway.
OK that’s about it. If we’re overdue to catch up for a chat then give me a shout.
