Sir Richard Branson on how to overcome a fear of public speaking

For someone who has made an art of the brazen, headline-grabbing media stunt, it may surprise you to learn that Sir Richard Branson has a genuine fear of public speaking.

The British entrepreneur has no problems flying around the world in a balloon, but put him in front of an audience and he struggles.

Thankfully, Branson has deployed several techniques to cope with this so his audience – whether they be investors, the media or the public at large – is none the wiser.

Here, he explains how he faced and overcame his fear.

New entrepreneurs often find that meetings are their fear-laden burdens. It’s understandable – after spending weeks or months trying to get in front of a potential client or business partner, it’s natural to feel a little anxious.

So how do you prepare yourself for a big meeting? Here are six handy tips to help you on your way.

If you don’t like fronting advertising or media awareness campaigns, it’s possible to do some of your marketing using online marketing.

Indeed, the medium is booming. Take this US business, for example, which has sold millions of children’s toys despite not spending a cent on advertising, other than this YouTube effort.

Fancy doing the same? This interesting piece explains why creating compelling video content is easier than you might think.

Here’s a rather provocative question – will SEO exist in 2015? Here’s a pretty good argument to make you doubt its long-term viability.

Home-based businesses run by mothers will, thankfully, definitely still be around in 2015. Here is a useful list of six grants that Australian mumpreneurs can take advantage of.

Finally, as if to prove that all big launches start off small, here are the three start-ups behind Apple’s foray into mapping.