Many have come to discover the significant benefits of business awards. Benefits that can fast-track a business’s value, reputation and enable new-start or SME companies to compete with Corporate giants. Whichever way you look at it, awards offer a real and significant advantage, but only when approached correctly.

Procrastination is not new, people have been doing it for centuries – putting things off, delaying the inevitable, making excuses. Causing anxiety for themselves and others, creating avoidable problems, wasting time, energy and valuable resources. Many cite discipline as the answer, to plan better, be strict with yourself, not to be so lazy. However, procrastination is an emotion regulation issue, not a time management problem.

We all know stories of those rising from humble beginnings to achieve outstanding success and how this revolved around their uncompromising work ethic. Yet get-rich-quick schemes still promise high rates of return for a small investment, in both time and money. Creating an impression to those foolishly drawn in of wealth with little to no risk and little skill, effort or time needed.

There is a common fallacy that if we start successfully in something and it grows, that this will continue and work at scale. But there are some real issues in this belief that those in business need to consider if they are to avoid the pitfalls and make the right choice.

Despite the significant benefits, most businesses don’t invest enough time developing relationships. Instead, they focus on existing customers and those ready to buy now. The great thing is that by focusing on building relationships the whole approach can have an almost exponential effect as you start to gain opportunities from your contacts through their extended networks.

Shiny object syndrome is a phenomenon that affects many entrepreneurs and business professionals. Reflected in a tendency to get easily distracted and infatuated by new and exciting ideas, projects, or opportunities that aren’t part of the business plan. And in doing so, losing focus on current goals and priorities, to the detriment of the main business. The entrepreneurial equivalent of a small child chasing shiny objects which as soon as they get, immediately losing interest in and starting to chase the next shiny new thing.

When it comes to market share many believe that the goal should not be to gain your unfair share, but rather to gain optimum market share. A point at which there is a balance between market share, profitability and risk. The point that if you venture beyond there is insufficient additional profit and quantifiable benefits to compensate for the added risks you would expose your business to. Gaining your unfair share is not always the best venture.

Experts suggest that business owners should regularly spend 20% of their time working on their business rather than in it. The Pareto Principle supports this, suggesting that 20% of our activity generates 80% of our results. Research also confirms that not spending sufficient time working on the businesses is one of the underlying reasons for business failure.

Add the financial benefits to the other advantages award winners enjoy such as enhanced reputation, differentiation, free publicity, increased trust, a higher profile and better staff moral and the question is: Can you afford not to be adding awards to your marketing mix?

You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Yet many companies make the mistake of investing in crafting the perfect website, exhibition stand, sales email, print advert, networking event or social media campaign and then sit back and do nothing with the enquiries generated. Something we have all experienced that creates a bad first impression and is unfortunately more common than you may like to believe.

Every business has competition. Even if not directly competing there is always an alternative way to solve the problem you are solving, even if your solution is ground-breaking. Whilst competition can be unnerving, distracting and at times you may often wonder if your competitors do things simply to annoy you, if viewed in the right way competition is really good for your business.

Whilst incentives may help to acquire new customers in the short-term, you had better hope that you have a plan to engage with them to establish an on-going, positive relationship, as in the long-term there is no better incentive than a great product and amazing service.

Understanding and positively embracing the concept of failure can become a Launchpad for positive change. As John Backus, the American computer scientist responsible for the first computer programming language said, “My willingness to fail, gives me the ability to succeed.”

Success gives us ammunition for the future regardless of merit, talent, aptitude, or social networks. When something succeeds, we learn what worked — and we can do it again. And the next time, we’ll probably do it even better.

In principle you only need to market your product or service if supply consistently exceeds demand. Yet, so many businesses invest heavily in unnecessary and often costly marketing, simply on the basis that they ’have to’ because that’s what everybody does. Really?

For those that are not natural conversationalists and don’t know how to ‘work a room’, it’s tempting to see online business networks as a great substitute to face-to-face networking. After all online takes less effort, is less time consuming and you can do it at any time of day or night to suit you from the comfort of your office or home – no more social awkwardness or ever having to meet people ever again, it sounds too good to be true.

Motivated reasoning is a phenomenon studied in cognitive science and social psychology that uses emotionally biased reasoning to produce justifications or make decisions that are most desired, rather than those that accurately reflect the evidence. It’s something we experience every day.

We all need customers and some businesses need all the customers they can get. But, there will occasionally be customers that are a drain on your time, emotions and resources. Customers that disrupt your business, annoy your team and are reluctant to pay their bills – customers that deep inside you know you will never satisfy.

Tennis players know the importance of finding the sweet spot, a place on their racket where a combination of factors ensures the maximum speed of the ball for the effort expended. Yet it is surprising that few in business take the time to understand or capitalise on their company’s sweet spot.

Sometime around 350 B.C. the Greek philosopher Aristotle observed that people find it easier to remember things in threes. Over two millennia later it’s surprising how the ‘rule of three’ affects our everyday lives and businesses.