Originally published on the Shirlaws Business Coaching Blog, 2007-2010.

Spark, n. a momentary flash of light, merriment expressed by a brightness, a small but noticeable trace of some quality that might become stronger. 

Welcome, to a global audience from Queensland, Australia, and welcome to what is my first foray into the business blogosphere. I’m tempted, with much energy and many ideas, to dive straight into the myriad business topics I have floating through my mind, but it’s best that I take a moment to introduce myself. I also want to set the expectation that this blog is designed to act as a spark for your business, and explain what I mean by that.

By way of introduction, I am a business coach with Shirlaws and have been since early 2006, having previously spent time working with other small and not-so-small businesses, helping owners and managers realise their plans.

If you go back far enough, you will discover I spent some time training to be a journalist. That places me in a position where I can combine my love of business with my love of writing, which explains why I’m blogging for Shirlaws Online.

For the record, I see my role as a blogger to:

• Find relevant sparks of interesting information in my life;
• Write a post that may spark some ideas or questions for you; and then
• Spark a conversation on this site and others about the issues I raise.

But what exactly is a blog?

 “A Blog without Comments is called a Website”

I recently attended the inaugural Australian Blogging Conference, and this was one of the greatest comments I heard all day, from blogger Joanne Jacobs.

You see, for me to call this a blog I need you to contribute. Otherwise, it’s just a collection of my thoughts – and that won’t spark much on its own. So if you agree with me, disagree with me, have your own story, or just want to ask me a question, there’s the facility below for you to leave a comment. However brief or meaty, I promise to comment back, and your comment will spark a discussion.

In fact, I encourage you to read the comments as well, as they may hold as much or more value for you than the article alone. Feel free to comment on a comment if you wish – your input is as important as mine.

That’s the true value of blogging. It’s not just one-way ideas anymore; I might spark the conversation, but you have the opportunity to be involved in a meaningful way and this applies whether you work with a coach, are a coach, or found us through Google. Sure, I’ll bring my own business geek flavour, but I’ll be asking more questions than I answer. That’s what a great coach does. 

So let’s throw this open: Have you ever contributed to a blog before? And if you’re going to contribute to mine, what areas of business would you like me to address?