Why you should write a business book
What’s the main thing you are selling in your business? It’s your expertise.
If you’re employed, this is what is of most value to your employer, with often that expertise built up through years and years of experience. If you’re self-employed and running your own business, your confidence in your level of expertise is probably the reason you felt empowered to break free and set up on your own or with a group of other like-minded people.
You may link selling your expertise to selling a product or service that is the embodiment of that expertise: bookkeeping, tax advice, SEO, websites, graphic design, social media, health and beauty products, fitness instructor; the list is endless.
Alternatively, it could be that your expertise IS the service, pure and simple. For example, if you’re a business coach, you are selling your knowledge and your business experience. You want to pass on to other business owners and start-ups the best ways to run and develop a successful business.
In every case, your motivation will be to help others, to earn a living from your hard-earned expertise, to keep learning and updating your own knowledge, and ultimately to be THE expert in your field.
Being THE expert or at least AN expert in your field – that is a goal that everyone can get a buzz from. But it only really works as a goal if other people can see and recognise that you’re an expert.
And that’s where writing a business book comes in.
There are a growing number of ways in which you can be seen to be an expert: being a speaker at networking events, exhibitions and conferences; creating YouTube or Facebook videos; posting on social media; writing articles in newspapers, magazines and industry journals; writing a book.
Writing a business book
This is at the end of the list because it is the ultimate expression of your expertise. We’re talking about a minimum of 35,000 words, with a sweet-spot of about 50,000 words, spread across probably about a dozen chapters, with each one covering a key aspect of your expertise.
How you go about starting to write a book can feel like a daunting prospect. If you'd like some help with how to get started, take a look at this blog: Write about What?
And what your book then gives you is also covered here: A business book: Your Most Powerful Marketing Tool.
So, time to get started on that book…
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Privacy Policy
This is the privacy notice of Lexicon Marketing.
Our main trading address is 69 Woodholm Road, Sheffield S11 9HS
Lexicon Marketing is not registered for VAT.
We respect your privacy and are determined to protect your personal data. The purpose of this privacy notice is to inform you as to how we look after your personal data when you visit our website, regardless of where you visit it from. We’ll also tell you about your privacy rights and how the data protection law protects you.
What is the purpose of this privacy notice?
This privacy notice aims to give you information on how we collect and process your personal data through your use of this website, including any data you may provide through this website when you sign up to our newsletter, purchase a product or service or take part in a competition. This website is not intended for children and we do not knowingly collect data relating to children.
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Data controller
Mark Beaumont-Thomas is the controller and responsible for your personal data (collectively referred to as Lexicon Marketing, "we", "us" or "our" in this privacy notice). Our contact details are:
Lexicon Marketing, 69 Woodholm Road, Sheffield S11 9HS
mark@lexiconmarketing.co.uk
07891 653182
For all data matters contact our Data Controller on the above details.
Third-party links outside of our control
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The personal data we collect about you
Personal data, or personal information, means any information about an individual from which that person can be identified. You can find out more about personal data from the Information Commissioners Office.
We may collect, use, store and transfer different kinds of personal data about you which we have grouped together follows:
Identity Data includes First Name, Last Name, Username, Title.
Contact Data includes Billing Address, Delivery Address, Email Address, Telephone Numbers
We also collect, use and share aggregated datasuch as statistical or demographic data for any purpose. Aggregated data may be derived from your personal data but is not considered personal data in law as this data does not directly or indirectly reveal your identity. For example, we may aggregate your usage data to calculate the percentage of users accessing a specific website feature. However, if we combine or connect aggregated data with your personal data so that it can directly or indirectly identify you, we treat the combined data as personal data which will be used in accordance with this privacy notice.
We do not collect any Special Categories of Personal Data about you (this includes details about your race or ethnicity, religious or philosophical beliefs, sex life, sexual orientation, political opinions, trade union membership, information about your health and genetic and biometric data). Nor do we collect any information about criminal convictions and offences.
If you fail to provide personal data
Where we need to collect your personal data by law, or under the terms of a contract we have with you and you fail to provide that data when requested, we may not be able to perform the contract we have or are trying to enter into with you (for example, to provide you with goods or services). In this case, we may have to cancel a product or service you have with us but we will notify you if this is the case at the time.
How we collect your personal data
We use different methods to collect data from and about you including through:
You may give us your identity, contact and financial data by filling in forms or by corresponding with us by post, phone, email or otherwise. This includes personal data you provide when you
Apply for our products or services
Create an account on our website
Subscribe to our service or publications
Request marketing information to be sent to you
HOW WE USE YOUR PERSONAL DATA
We will only use your personal data when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we will use your personal data in the following circumstances:
Performance of Contract - this means processing your data where it is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party or to take steps at your request before entering into such a contract.
Legitimate Interest - this means the interest of our business in conducting and managing our business to enable us to give you the best service/product and the most secure experience. We make sure we consider and balance any potential impact on you (both positive and negative) and your rights before we process your personal data for our legitimate interests. We do not use your personal data for activities where our interests are overridden by the impact on you (unless we have your consent or are otherwise required or permitted to by law). You can obtain further information about how we assess our legitimate interests against any potential impact on you in respect of specific activities by contacting us.
Comply with a legal or regulatory obligation - this means processing your personal data where it is necessary for compliance with a legal or regulatory obligation that we are subject to.
Generally, we do not rely on consent as a legal basis for processing your personal data other than in relation to sending third party direct marketing communications to you via email or text message. You have the right to withdraw consent to marketing at any time by contacting us via the contact details in the data control section near the top of this document.
Purposes for which we will use your personal data
We have set out below a description of all the ways we plan to use your personal data, with the legal bases we rely on to do so.
Note that we may process your personal data for more than one lawful ground depending on the specific purpose for which we are using your data. Please contact us if you need details about the specific legal ground we are relying on to process your personal data where more than one ground has been set out below.
Purpose/Activity
1: To register you as a new customer
2: Performance of a contract with you
These details are collected on the lawful ground of the legitimate interest of conducting business with you.
Marketing
We strive to provide you with choices regarding certain personal data uses, particularly around marketing and advertising.
We have established the following personal data control mechanisms:
Promotional offers from us
We may use your Identity, Contact, Technical, Usage and Profile Data to form a view on what we think you may want or need, or what may be of interest to you. This is how we decide which products, services and offers may be relevant for you.
You will receive marketing communications from us if you have requested information from us or purchased goods or services from us or if you provided us with your details when you entered a competition or registered for a promotion and, in each case, you have not opted out of receiving that marketing.
Third-party marketing
We will not share your personal data with any company outside of Lexicon Marketing.
Opting out
You can ask us to stop sending you marketing messages at any time. Where you opt out of receiving these marketing messages, this will not apply to personal data provided to us as a result of a product/service purchase, warranty registration, product or service experience or other transactions.
Cookies
You can set your browser to refuse all or some browser cookies, or to alert you when websites set or access cookies. If you disable or refuse cookies, please note that some parts of this website may become inaccessible or not function properly. For more information about the cookies we use, please see our Cookie Policy.
Change of purpose
We will only use your personal data for the purposes for which we collected it, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose. If you wish to get an explanation as to how the processing for the new purpose is compatible with the original purpose, please contact us. If we need to use your personal data for an unrelated purpose, we will notify you and we will explain the legal basis which allows us to do so.
Please note that we may process your personal data without your knowledge or consent, in compliance with the above rules, where this is required or permitted by law.
Data security
We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed. In addition, we limit access to your personal data to those employees, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a business need to know. They will only process your personal data on our instructions and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality.
We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected personal data breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a breach where we are legally required to do so.
Data retention
We will only retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.
To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.
By law we have to keep basic information about our customers for six years after they cease being customers for tax] purposes.]
In some circumstances you can ask us to delete your data: see Your legal rights below for further information.
In some circumstances, we may anonymise your personal data (so that it can no longer be associated with you) for research or statistical purposes in which case we may use this information indefinitely without further notice to you.
Your legal rights
Unless subject to an exemption under the data protection laws, you have the following rights with respect to your personal data:
The right to request a copy of the personal data which we hold about you;
The right to request that we correct any personal data if it is found to be inaccurate or out of date;
The right to request your personal data is erased where it is no longer necessary to retain such data;
The right to withdraw your consent to the processing at any time, where consent was the lawful basis for processing your data;
The right to request that we provide you with your personal data and where possible, to transmit that data directly to another data controller, (known as the right to data portability), where applicable 9i.e. where our processing is based on consent or is necessary for the performance of our contract with you or where we process your data by automated means);
The right, where there is a dispute in relation to the accuracy or processing of your personal data, to request a restriction is placed on further processing;
The right to object to our processing of personal data, where applicable i.e. where processing is based on our legitimate interests (or in performance of a task in the public interest/exercise of official authority); direct marketing or processing for the purposes of scientific/historical research and statistics).
If you wish to exercise any of the rights set out above, please contact us using the contact details under the Data Controller section near the top of this document.
No fee required – with some exceptions
You will not have to pay a fee to access your personal data (or to exercise any of the other rights). However, we may charge a reasonable admin fee if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive. Alternatively, we may refuse to comply with your request in these circumstances.
What we may need from you
We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal data (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that personal data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. We may also contact you to ask you for further information in relation to your request to speed up our response.
Time limit to respond
We try to respond to all legitimate requests within one month. Occasionally it may take us longer than a month if your request is particularly complex or you have made a number of requests. In this case, we will notify you and keep you updated.
Changes to this notice and your duty to inform us of changes
This version was last updated on 02/11/2021.
Please keep us informed if your personal data changes during your relationship with us. It is important that the personal data we hold about you is accurate and current.
Queries, requests or concerns
To exercise all relevant rights, queries or complaints in relation to this policy or any other data protection matter between you and us, please in the first instance contact our Data Protection Officer on the above details.
If this does not resolve your complaint to your satisfaction, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioners Office on 03031231113 or via email https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/email/ or at the Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF, England, UK.
Cookie Policy
Information about our use of cookies
Our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of our website. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our website and also allows us to improve our site. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.
A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers that we store on your browser or the hard drive of your computer if you agree. Cookies contain information that is transferred to your computer's hard drive.
We use the following cookies:
- Strictly necessary cookies. These are cookies that are required for the operation of our website. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into secure areas of our website, use a shopping cart or make use of e-billing services.
- Analytical/performance cookies. They allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around our website when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works, for example, by ensuring that users are finding what they are looking for easily.
- Functionality cookies. These are used to recognise you when you return to our website. This enables us to personalise our content for you, greet you by name and remember your preferences (for example, your choice of language or region).
- Targeting cookies. These cookies record your visit to our website, the pages you have visited and the links you have followed. We will use this information to make our website and the advertising displayed on it more relevant to your interests. We may also share this information with third parties for this purpose.
Please note that third parties (including, for example, advertising networks and providers of external services like web traffic analysis services) may also use cookies, over which we have no control. These cookies are likely to be analytical/performance cookies or targeting cookies.
You block cookies by activating the setting on your browser that allows you to refuse the setting of all or some cookies. However, if you use your browser settings to block all cookies (including essential cookies) you may not be able to access all or parts of our site.