A selection of articles by Jane Heaton and trusted partners

These business support articles are aimed primarily at the needs of small businesses. If you'd like to be sure of seeing all new articles as they are published, use the link on the left to sign up for the Free Newsletter!

Are you in the right niche?

Are you doing the work you love with people you enjoy doing it with, in a way that suits you and your personality? “Are you in the right niche?” helps you look at what you are doing and spot if a degree of realignment is necessary to get you on track. Read more...

Finding the right niche

We can often think our marketing isn’t working when actually the root of our problem lies in the fact that we’re not truly comfortable with either what we are doing, who we are doing it for, or how we are doing it. This article gives you three simple exercises to help you find the right niche. Read more...

Feeling lonely? 35 quick and easy ways to stay motivated

Running your own business can be exciting, challenging and rewarding. It can also be tough and sometimes feel like you’re trying to build the Hoover Dam single handed. In “Do you ever feel lonely running your own business? 35 quick and easy ways to stay motivated”, Jane pulls on her own experiences and those of other small business owners and self employed people to bring you a range of tips and techniques to help keep you in good shape. Read more...

Four steps to a marketing plan that really works

We are all familiar with the proverb “He who fails to plan, plans to fail”. “How to get the results you want from your marketing. Four steps to a marketing plan that really works” details, in simple language, the four essential areas that you must work on to build a successful, sustainable business. Read more...

How to ensure success when the going gets tough ... 6 steps to stay buoyant in difficult times

When we're bombarded with tales of doom and gloom, it's all too easy to despair and start to believe that we too are going to hit rocky times .... and then we're on a slippery slope .... a self-fulfilling prophecy that will have us shutting up shop in no time. Yet it really doesn't have to be like that. Because in our hearts we know that our business success rests more on our own self-confidence, learning, and agility in the market place than the rise and fall of share prices or lending rates. Read more ...

Enjoy your way to success ... How reviewing what you enjoy can help your business planning

Sitting down to review and assess our business performance is not always that enticing. We don't always think of it as "fun" or a really pleasurable way to spend our time. This article gives you a simple exercise to get the juices flowing and dig out some golden nuggets that just might make all the difference to your business going forward.  Read more ...

All change - love it or loathe it!

Change is all around us. We're living through times where there is no longer a job for life and businesses need to innovate and re-invent themselves regularly to stay ahead of the competition. In this article, motivational hypnotherapist Nicola Menage gives eight ways to overcome our fears and deal comfortably and effectively with change.   Read more ...

A marketing strategy and plan? Why bother?

We may find it too hard. We may not really understand what it is. We may not understand how life could be so much easier if only we got stuck in and did the necessary work to create a simple marketing strategy and plan. If you identify with any of the five areas of concern discussed here, then taking time to work on your business instead of just in it will pay dividends.   Read more ...