I’ve just had the pleasure of meeting the BBC Apprentice winner from the first series, Mr Tim Campbell at a special Black Pearl dinner hosted by my good friend, Tanya Rennick. He was the speaker for the evening and he was very kind in sharing his business challenges he had to face and the ideas he implemented to overcame it. I really thought that the stories he shared was really powerful!

Here is a picture of Tim and I at the Black Pearl dinner:

I am always intrigued and curious about people who are determined and driven towards success and I decided that I had to interview him. Luckily, we got on really well and it was quite easy in getting him to agree for a quick interview with me. In short, we talked about his secret of success in life and business as well as several tips that you can use to make all your dreams come true.

Watch the video interview here:

I would love to hear your feedback. Feel free to comment below.

Best Wishes,

Ambar Hamid

Have An Amazing Holiday! See you in 2012!

Ambar Hamid

Mind you, the company didn’t seem to have much future a few years ago and they were facing intense competition from big players in their industry sector.

But boy…how things have changed for the company now!

Also, You probably must’ve heard that Apple has been voted recently as one of the most powerful brands in the world today! People are going ‘crazy’ with Apple’s products.

But, the question that I want to ask you is this…

How did it all happen and why? How did Apple turned things around?

OK, I am sure we all can agree that the Ipods have changed the way we listen to music and how music is distributed to the masses. As a result, many music retail moguls have either gone bankrupt or have had no choice but to change their business model to survive. Selling music via the retail networks does not work now. Everything is all about ‘Download’.

I remember back in 2005 when I was in a meeting with a very influential music aggregator company and one of the Directors predicted that ‘everything’ will be on the mobile phone. Music, Data etc. Two years later (2007), the Iphone was launched and as we know it, the rest was history!

It is also interesting to see big competitors failing to compete successfully with the Ipad. Players like Samsung, HTC, Blackberry and LG have all released their own version of tablet computers. However, the Ipad still controls close to 70% market share in the tablet computer industry.

In short, Apple products are great products that people want….and more people want it more when there is more ‘Social Proof’. It is like a viral effect on steroids!

You have probably  seen one of the Apple product launches. The late Steve Jobs and his colleagues would usually start with their exciting presentation and every Apple enthusiasts would listen to their every word. Once it was all over, you would hear people talking about it everywhere – on Google, Twitter, Youtube, Facebook, TV Broadcasters, Newspapers etc. It would be like a pent up demand. People want Apple products! – and thats Ladies and Gentlemen is Social Proof!

I bought the new Iphone 4S because of Social Proof. I even recorded a video when I was on my morning run earlier and that’s another social proof!

The picture quality on the IPhone is great too. Here are some picture samples taken from the Iphone 4S….(and another Social Proof! )

Question?

How can you create Social Proof to work in your business? How can you get your clients and customers feel excited and talk about your products and services? Discuss…

In brief, her presentation key points were;

• 750 Million users worldwide and growing!
• New companies exist and flourishing due to social networking – Zynga Game Network
• Cityville had 100 Million user signups in the first 43 days! – Power of Social Gaming
• Companies like Amazon and Groupon use Facebook to create effective branding and sales
• The royal family launched an app for people to share their experiences during Prince William Royal Wedding. It has helped improve the public ‘likeability’ towards the Royal Family.
• Facebook Fan page should be used by businesses everywhere and benefit from Facebook userbase profiling.
• Improved Facebook advertising through social recommendation: Potential customers are 4 times more likely to purchase with 100% product recall.
• In Gail’s words on the new Facebook Advertising, “Word of mouth at scale like you’ve never heard before!”

You can watch her keynote presentation here:

Let me know what you think..

Ambar Hamid

PS: If you are a company and you are looking to increase customer base through strategic partnership with Facebook Ads then please do not hesitate to contact me to see how you can improve your business significantly within the next few days and the coming weeks!

It clearly shows in the video that the majority of the new billionaires of the world today are involved in these TWO primary sectors:

1) Internet

2) Hedge Funds / Investments

Perhaps you might want to change your business plan a little? After all, reinvention is key to success in business!

Let me know what you think..

Ambar.

During one of the breaks, I was nudged by a Dutch delegate. He wasn’t familiar to me but he was very friendly. He then described how he met me and how he had enjoyed my speech at a business conference in The Netherlands recently. He was quite animated and very much in the ‘zone’.

I asked him if it was okay if I could record a video testimonial with him describing what he had told me earlier. He said OK and I recorded the quick video. You can watch the short video here

I was pretty much certain that I would not be able to capture the moment if I didn’t have my video camera or my smartphone with me. If you run a business and you go to meetings or events, you would never know who you are going to meet. It could be an old business partner, potential client or a happy customer…. If they have something important to say about your business and it can help grow your business, you can use your smartphone to record that moment. I wouldn’t be able to record the testimonial above if I didn’t bring one.. Always take it with you..Just in case.

All the best,

Ambar.

Shortly after I recorded the video above..I had decided to do a short test based on a new strategy that I had learned from the Facebook team.

The new Facebook campaign was created from May 17th to May 22nd – a 6 day test campaign. I had separated the campaign into 3 different Adgroups, all with different key groups/interests.

The Result?…

Total impression received was just above 1.3 Million which means that the ad was seen by 1.3 Million ‘eyeballs’.

Total CTR was .021% which brought 282 clicks to the site.

Total expenditure: 200.68 Pounds.

So was this a successful and profitable campaign?

This was a major improvement from the previous campaign that I did on Facebook and despite it being a test campaign, it brought in 2 new sales worth 1,000 Pounds. So it was definitely a worthwhile test!!

..and how does it compare with Adwords?

I must admit that Facebook Ads are far easier to manage than Adwords. It is also less technical and requires less know how. You can also receive a lot of impressions in a short period of time.

However, the cost for of CPC advertising for the same keywords in this dummy campaign were far cheaper in Adwords!

But can Facebook Ads convert into real business?

YES…and I will continue to test. Feel free to subscribe to my mailing list for more updates on future progress.

I look forward to hearing your feedback too..

Best Wishes,

Ambar Hamid

Deadlines give us the ability to plan ahead of time to focus and organise. It will allow us to know whether you are on track to the completion of your tasks. Big organisations use “Gant charts” and other methodologies to help each employees involved in the project know the timelines that they need to spend on each tasks. If an hour is given to complete the task, then the individual must ensure that he focuses in completing it within the given time. Construction and engineering companies are very well aware of this and they always ensure that they have deadlines so they can also plan for any unexpected eventualities! It will save everyone time, effort and money!

Start giving yourself deadlines for everything that you do. Give yourself a realistic timeline to achieve it and take loads of action to keep you on the right track. You’ll get the job done eventually. Remember slow progress is better than no progress!!

All the best!

Ambar.

I must admit that I was quite excited when I heard through a friend (who happens to be organiser this event) that he’ll be bringing in 3 of the worlds most aspiring businessmen at the next National Achievers Congress!! They are…

• Sir Richard Branson
• Lord Alan Sugar
• Anthony Robbins

The event will happen on the 2nd-4th July 2011 in London. All of my readers and subscribers will get a chance to attend the event of the decade! (4,000 people have registered their seats so far!). You can register your seat here : National Achievers Congress

Just comment your queries on this blog and I’ll be happy to assist you.

Hope to see you there.

Ambar Hamid

We cannot attract the things we want by doing nothing. We certainly cannot keep the things we have for very long if we don’t take enough effort to keep them. We must continue to strive for the best and consistently do whatever it takes to get there. Being lazy won’t help get you there. So how do we solve the problem?

Here’s how I do it!

Step 1.

Look at your written goals and dreamboard. Ask yourself why did you want it in the first place? Why is it so important to you? Why do you really need to achieve it? What would happen to you emotionally and financially if you don’t achieve it? Will other people be affected if you don’t get it? Will you let them down?

Step 2.

Write those reasons down. Always be honest with yourself.

Step 3.

Give yourself a timeline to achieve each tasks and goals. Write the reasons next to each goal - I must achieve this goal because ……..

Step 4.

Everytime when you fall behind, look back at what you’ve written. If your reasons are strong, you will soon realise that you need to do something now. Not tomorrow but NOW! Otherwise, go back to Step 1 and review.

Good luck!

Ambar Hamid.