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How Do You Know Whether You Have a Viable and Solid Network?

on February 2, 2012 in Relationship Networking

 

 

 

 

When it comes to networking, it’s not at all about the number of names and addresses you have – that is only a database. Your network is defined very differently. Here’s a clever way to measure whether you have a powerful relationship network.

Ask yourself this question: “If you were arrested today for networking effectively, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”

Imagine for a moment the number of people who would be passionate to speak as your witness, to stand in line in the cold, rain or blistering heat so they could convince a jury that they know from personal experience that you are guilty – guilty of helping others achieve their dreams. Now, if the number of witnesses in your defense is small, don’t worry.

Just think of the opportunity that is in front of you! So now it’s your turn. I’ve got five exercises to help you get started to become the powerful relationship networker I know you can be.

  1. Remember back over the last year, and think of two people whom you’ve been meaning to bring together. Send each a note of introduction to the other. Better yet, splurge by offering to connect them both at a local coffee house. Stay for 20 minutes or so to make the introductions, start the conversation, and ensure that rapport and connection has been established. Then excuse yourself early and let the connection between the two you’ve introduced take on a life of its own as they begin to collaborate.
  2. Go back over the last month and recall all the times you networked. Were there promises you made to someone that you just haven’t had time to keep, or for some other reason, neglected to keep? Don’t procrastinate another minute. Make that happen today.
  3. Take inventory of your networking constituents. Discover any gaps in your network. Develop a plan that focuses on the strategies you will follow in order to address these gaps within a certain period of time.
  4. Send a thank-you note in one form or another to two people who specifically helped you get new business in the past few months. Buy a number of thank-you cards, put stamps on the blank envelopes, and stash them in a variety of places (such as the glove compartment in your car, your journal, a desk drawer, and your purse). Start the habit of sending at least two or three thank-you notes a week. It may seem like a monumental task at first, but you will soon learn to incorporate that action into your day.
  5. Consider three things you plan to buy in the next month – small or large – and see whether you can find women-owned or women-run businesses in your area to buy from. Don’t hesitate to let them know that part of your decision to do business with them is because you want to support women. Get good service somewhere? Make sure you tell ten other women about it!

Developing great relationships and a solid network takes persistence and consistency. The opportunities will be endless and the results will be profound.

Post by: Sandra Yancey, Founder & CEO of eWomenNetwork

What are some ways you ensure your network is viable and solid?

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2012 is the Year of Transformation

on February 1, 2012 in Success Institute

Have you heard about the Mayan prophecy? It states that 2012 is the year of transformation. Can you feel it?

There are three things we women entrepreneurs can do to capitalize on the energy of transformation.

  1. When things speed up we need to go inside
  2. We need to challenge our personal rules about success and the way we do business
  3. We need to think bigger, globally that is

Of course we need to take other people’s counsel- having a consultant or a coach is a great business strategy but at the end of the day we need to look for the answers within. The only way to do that is to get quiet every day. Whether that is meditating for 5 minutes or 30 minutes this is a crucial daily habit.

One of the biggest barriers to our next level success is our rules about success. We create patterns that keep us stuck at a certain level and we can’t seem to get past it.

It is time to be creative not competitive- this is a transformation opportunity.

We need to be looking at the planet as our client base- we are not limited to the US or North America- there is a whole big world out there looking for us.

If we focus on these three things in 2012- we are guaranteed to bust through and create our next big success in our businesses.

Cheryl Cran is a certified WBENC and WeConnectCanada women entrepreneur as well as a EWomen’s member. She is a successful entrepreneur with a busy consulting practice and her keynotes on leadership, technology and change are in high demand. www.cherylcran.com

Join the Best-selling author and business leader and expert, Cheryl Cran, on the eWomenNetwork Success Institute Tuesday, 02.07.12 at 1:30 pm CST as she shares 3 Ways to Fine Tune Your Business Focus for 2012. Cheryl’s strategies have been featured in Forbes magazine, Metro New York, The Globe and Mail, Readers Digest, Selling Power magazine, Builder Woman magazine and The Financial Post!

What area of your business are you going to pay attention to in the next week?

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Business Strategy Coach Tip: NO Follow Up… No Sales

on January 18, 2012 in Relationship Networking, Success Institute, Uncategorized

How many networking events, seminars, lunches and coffees have you attended and afterwards you found yourself with a bunch of business cards that you politely place inside your top desk drawer?

Here is the thing… if you do not follow up you will not grow your business the way you wish.

What is your plan when you attend a networking event?  Do you have a systematic and automated way of following up?

Here are the some things to consider:

  1. Prior to attending a networking event, clearly determine your outcome or objective.  How many people would you like to meet?  Or is there a certain person you are targeting?
  2. Make sure you have time blocked out to follow up.  If you are attending a breakfast or lunch… schedule (1) hour in the afternoon on the same day to send personal notes, emails, or follow-up calls to schedule those all important lunches or coffees. If it is an evening event… schedule time the following morning before you begin your day.
  3. Place them into you autoresponder systems… with permission so that you can systematically drip on them.  I would highly recommend you checkout a service such as Monster Follow-Up.
  4. Make the appointment and keep the appointment.  I cannot tell you how many people who have called me to have coffee and then flake because something came up which was deemed more important than a new client.  Unbelievable but true.  Be a person of integrity and honor your commitments. Another great tool for scheduling appointments is TimeTrade which helps with the automation process.
  5. Determine how you can serve them while you are at the meeting.  If it is a connection… make the introduction.  If it is a book… send them a copy.  ADD value first and then work at nurturing the relationship.

These are just some business strategy tips that you can do to really impact, improve and skyrocket your sales.

Happy networking…or better yet “To the Follow-Up!”

Join the best-selling author of “The Juggling Act – A Step by Step Guide for Balancing Your Life”, Rae Major-Wildman on the eWomenNetwork Success Institute Tuesday 01.24.12 at 1:30 pm CST as she shares The 5 Keys to Skyrocket Your Sales.

 

Join the conversation! What are some of your follow-up strategies?

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10 Ways to Optimize Your Facebook Business Page

on January 9, 2012 in Social Media

Facebook offers a huge potential to profit and grow your business. Facebook business pages are an exceptional tool to achieve a number of business building goals. Whether you’re driving traffic to your website, building your lead list or actually selling products or services on your page, the end result is a boost in profits.

Here are 10 ways that you can take full advantage of the features that Facebook offers and optimize your very own Facebook business page.

  1. Maximize the potential of the profile picture. Optimize the profile picture to not just have a picture of you and your logo. Include other features such as your tag line, services, products and website URL.
  2. Create a welcome page. A welcome page is a mini version of your website. The page should have who you are and what your business is about. Put pictures of your products and services.
  3. Get more sign-ups for your newsletter. Want more signs up for your newsletter? Your welcome page can include the sign up form for your newsletter.
  4. Use Facebook Like Gating and get more likes for your page. Create a page that says like our page and get a free gift.  Next create a second page that is revealed once the visitor likes your page. The second page can have a link to a coupon, free eBook or anything else you can imagine.
  5. Grow your community by informing visitors about your other social media sites. Want to connect with more people on your other social networking sites? On your welcome page, put icons with links to your Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Plus pages.
  6. Save time by signing up for a free HootSuite account. Don’t want to login several times a day to write on your wall? The solution – sign up for a free Hoot Suite account and schedule your posts to go out as often as you like. This way you only have to schedule time to login to Facebook to read your newsfeed.
  7. Attract visitors from the same location as you. Add a contact form application to create a tab on your page that has your business address and a map with your location.
  8. Get more exposure for your blog. Have a blog? Use the RSS Graffiti application. RSS Graffiti periodically checks the RSS feed from your blog and posts it to your Facebook wall.
  9. Broadcast your newsletter to also go out on Facebook. Many newspaper programs such as Constant Contact have a feature that allows you send out the link to your Facebook page for your newly published online newspaper.
  10. Use the 80 – 20 rule for your posts. Create 80% of your posts that revolve around free information and 20% of your posts that promote features of your business. By providing free content and information you will connect with visitors and they will keep coming back.

Post by Heather Ross

Heather Ross is a virtual assistant specializing in internet marketing. Heather works with businesses who want to grow their online marketing presence by using tools such as newsletters, Facebook welcome pages, search engine optimization, WordPress web design and ecommerce. Heather helps her clients develop marketing plans to implement their objectives, reach their target audience, increase their market share and maximize their revenue. She is a Certified Social Media Specialist and a Certified Ecommerce Specialist in 1Shopping Cart. Visit her website at www.yourmarketingassistant.com and her Facebook page at www.yourmarketingassistant.com/facebookpage.

What are some of your tips on improving your Facebook Business Page?

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Quit Searching for Happiness…

on January 6, 2012 in Motivation & Inspiration, Uncategorized

By Connie Podesta

That’s right.  Cut it out.  Too often we spend SO much time LOOKING for something to make us happy.  Make us feel BETTER.  Make us STRONGER.  Make us more WHOLE.  GuessKeynote Speaker Connie Podesta on Happiness what?  It’s not OUT THERE.  It’s right INSIDE you.  Believe it or not you were born with all the key ingredients for happiness, success, strength and wholeness.  Sometimes you’ve got to just dig down and find it.  I’ve found that for a lot of people – the trick to that is to QUIT.  Not give up, mind you, but rather to quit getting in your own way.  Quit doubting.  Quit over-analyzing.  Quit sabotaging yourself. Quit denying yourself the things that you deserve.  Quit playing old tapes of people who told you that you couldn’t, wouldn’t or shouldn’t.

As we head into a new year where people everywhere are making resolutions to quit eating too much, drinking too much, smoking too much and the other bad habits – let’s get to the heart of what will help propel you to become your best you this year.  Quit looking outside for the answers and start looking inside for all the great stuff I know is there.  We’re going to have an incredible year ahead.  We’re going to laugh a lot and learn a lot and discover so much that’s just WAITING for us to explore.

So if you’re ready to quit the bad stuff and embrace the amazing stuff – I’m right next to you all the way!  What do you say?

Connie Podesta

Motivational Speaker

www.conniepodesta.com

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January is the time to wrap up the old and start with the new

on January 6, 2012 in Chairman's Circle, Uncategorized

This goes for all your 2011 and 2012 tax, accounting and bookkeeping work as well.

Now is the time to meet with your tax accountant, if you haven’t already, to calculate your tax estimate for 2011 so you can avoid penalties and interest for not paying your tax on time.  Remember, for self-employed individuals and partners or shareholders who receive K-1 income, January 17th is the due date for your 4th and final 2011 estimated tax payment (Form 1040-ES).  In addition, good planning now will help you avoid a big tax bill surprise in April regardless of whether you are self-employed or not.

Also, be sure when finalizing your bookkeeping for 2011 that you include any business mileage driven for the year.  Remember commuting mileage from your home to your work place is not deductible business mileage unless you have a home office that is your primary place of business. I have found the easiest way to accumulate mileage information is by including deductible mileage on my calendar throughout the year.  This method serves two purposes, first, to assist in the end of year calculation (it’s easier if you keep up with it while you are thinking about it or scheduling appointments), and second, to have documented support of your mileage if audited.

The IRS standard business mileage rates for 2011 were 51 cents per mile from January 1 to June 30, 2011 and 55.5 cents per mile from July 1 to December 31, 2011 (note, these same rates have been extended for 2012).    Other mileage that is potentially deductible includes charitable miles driven, medical mileage and if you have moved 50 miles or more for a new job.   Please consult your tax advisor and/or www.irs.gov for additional mileage rates and eligibility information.

Mark your calendars now for these important 2012 Tax Deadlines!

  • Tuesday,  January 17th Final Estimated Tax Payment for 2011 due for self-employed individuals and partners or shareholders who receive K-1 income (IRS Form 1040-ES).
  • Tuesday, January 31st Form W-2s for all employees and Form 1099′s for non-corporate service providers paid $600 or more in 2011  need to be postmarked today.  And, NEW for 2011, if you own rental property and paid non-corporate service providers $600 or more in 2011, you are now responsible for filing Form 1099s (this includes contractors, plumbing repairs, landscaping, cleaning services, etc.).
  • Thursday, March 15th 2011 corporate tax returns are due.
  • Monday, April 2nd 1st Quarter 2012 payroll tax reports are due.
  • Monday, April 16th 2011 individual and partnership tax returns are due.

Finally, start now to get a good financial system in place for 2012.   If you are not already, I recommend that you start with keeping track of your finances on a monthly basis, preferably using an accounting software system such as QuickBooks or Quicken.  Once you have perfected a monthly accounting system, then add your spending plan (alternatively, your “budget” which sounds restrictive, doesn’t it?  thus my preference in using the words “spending plan”).   And, finally, review your actual results to your spending plan each month to see what you have accomplished.  This is also the time to make updates and/or corrective actions for future months, if necessary.

Also, if all this advice is overwhelming and you regularly procrastinate with your finances, you need help!   And, please don’t beat yourself up because you definitely are not alone, I see it all the time in my accounting practice.  The difference is that the people who succeed in the long run, make small steps on a regular basis to improve their financial systems and ultimately their financial situation.

So, if that means hiring an accountant, a bookkeeper or a virtual assistant to help keep you on track, then do it!  This is the year to be proactive and get ahead of the game regardless of 2011 or years prior!   And remember, there is absolutely nothing wrong in asking for help!

Best wishes for a successful and prosperous new year!

Deidra Mills Ryan, CPA
Texas CPA Firm owner & QuickBooks Proadvisor
DMR Accounting & Consulting

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Goodbye 2011! Hello 2012!

on January 5, 2012 in Chairman's Circle, Motivation & Inspiration, Uncategorized

Wait a minute… Did I forget anything?
Over the holidays, as my family gathers to celebrate, we always sit down to watch a few good movies together. This year, my mom and I watched “Pearl Harbor.” In one of the scenes, droves of planes are seen flying over Hawaii, bombing and shooting everything in sight.  People are running for their lives in all directions, not knowing if they will live or die. This vivid picture stuck in my mind.  Later, while I was walking the dog, that scene came back to me and I thought to myself,

“If bombs were falling all around me right now, is there anything I would regret?  Is there anything that I should have done this past year that I haven’t?

Immediately the thought popped into my mind, “You should have talked more on The Value of a Life.”

As a motivational and inspirational speaker I spoke in November of 2011 on how precious the gift of life is, and how every life starts with such wonder and opportunity ahead of it.  As we grow up, I believe our job is to discover just what our purpose is in life and ultimately make the personal contribution to this planet that we are destined for.

Ok… so it’s not like I haven’t put forth a full-fledged effort in trying to fulfill my own purpose and inspire others to do the same.  With that in mind, I showed the film, The Glow Project in my city because I believe whole-heartedly in the importance of living your purpose and being in GLOW!  I’m also about to launch a teleseries on The Master Plan of Achieving Your Goals specifically designed to help people determine what steps are necessary to get to where they want to be in life, and optimize their chances for success.

Yet, somehow, I am still compelled to deliver that message to a wider audience.  It’s as if I haven’t reached everyone who’s meant to hear it… The Value of a Life.

In a recent keynote, I talked about how prescription drugs were robbing our young people of the opportunities that lay ahead for them to discover what they are meant to do with there lives and do it!  But now I’m thinking,

“What about the rest of us who aren’t battling addictions, but still aren’t doing anything to move forward with our lives and make the contribution we are meant to?”

Time is precious… and it’s running out…  So I ask You,

If bombs were falling all around you right now, is there anything you would regret?
Is there anything that you should have done in 2011 that you didn’t?

If you really want to know the answer to that, I challenge you to throw that question out to the Universe, and listen for what pops into your mind immediately.

Then, start off this New Year with that thought as #1 on your “Things To Do” list.

Don’t shut the door on 2011 with important unfinished business that the Universe is bringing to your attention.
For 2012…

  • Recognize that your life is valuable, and how you spend it is important.
  • Make it a priority  to discover your purpose.
  • Begin taking the steps necessary to make Your contribution to this world.
    Start today!

It all begins with a step in the right direction.

“One foot in front of the other, one step at a time, one day at a time. The days turn to weeks and the weeks to months.  Sometimes the months even turn to years, but eventually you will get there. “ -Gail Sullivan

Gail Sullivan is the CEO and founder of BECAUSE WOMEN, a company committed to helping established businesswomen reach the next level of personal and professional success through quality conferences, workshops, forums and events.   With the help of eWomen Publishing, Gail published her first book in 2010 entitled The Yellow Brick Road: A Woman’s Journey to the Edge and Back.  Continuing this theme, Gail is launching a series: The Yellow Brick Road:  Paving your Way to Success, Brick by Brick.  Brick One is a teleseries entitled:  The Master Plan of Achieving Your Goals.  Gail is a Platinum Member of the eWomen Network Chairman’s Circle 2011 – 2012.

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Top 10 Tips for Writing a Press Release That Will Get Noticed

on January 4, 2012 in Success Institute, Uncategorized

  1. Type, never handwrite. Double space, use BIG margins, and leave lots of white space. Editors use the white space to edit.
  2. Avoid BIG letterheads. They take up space on the page and can shout, “my message is weak, but look at my credentials.”
  3. Type the press release on your stationery.
  4. Name the contact. Skip a few lines below the letterhead and list the person to call for more information. Listing a home phone (or cell phone / beeper) in addition to the business number indicates your willingness to be helpful. It is best to have the contact someone else other than the President or owner of the business.
  5. Provide release instructions. Either FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE or FOR RELEASE MONDAY JUNE 8TH. Do not leave too long a time, though, or your release will likely be buried or forgotten. If possible, leave off the date so you don’t become dated.
  6. The headline should catch their attention, snappy without giving away the whole picture.
  7. The first two words are the place where the story originates (city, state)…put it in parentheses and put three dots after.
  8. Write concisely. The first paragraph should answer the 4W’s: who, what, where, and why.
  9. The mechanics: Keep the release to one single page, if possible. If you need more than one page to complete the release put – “more” – at the bottom center of the page and be sure the pages are numbered. The succeeding pages should be “slugged” that is, tagged with an identifying headline or subject reference, for example: “ANOTHER GREAT SEMINAR – 2″.
  10. When you reach the end of your press release, use either four # signs centered in the page or – END centered in the page.

Join the 3 Time Bestselling Author and publicity expert, Jill Lublin, on the eWomenNetwork Success Institute Tuesday, 01.10.12 at 1:30 pm CST as she shares powerful strategies for getting your name from unknown to newsworthy in almost no time.

Share your thoughts! What are some tips you have for getting the media’s attention?

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How is your business navigating through this turbulent economy?

on December 21, 2011 in Success Institute, Uncategorized

Did you know only one out of six businesses started will survive to year five? There are 26 million small businesses nationwide and less than 5% of those businesses have more than $1 million in revenue. That represents a lot of risk!

90% OF BUSINESS OWNERS ARE UNAWARE OF UNTAPPED GROWTH POTENTIAL

Would you agree that the majority of business owners are in business because they want to make more money and gain financial independence? Unfortunately, however, it has been our experience that not every business owner is equipped to recognize how to boost the value of his or her company. Statistically, 90% of business owners are unaware of the untapped growth potential waiting for them in their own companies.

Here are the three mistakes you must avoid if you’re serious about taking your company to the next level:

1.    Remaining unaware of untapped growth or value creation potential.
2.    Settling for less-than-ideal results in the current economic environment.
3.    Limiting risk-taking in your leadership role.

What can you to do avoid these three additional mistakes?

1.    Get more training or information.

Sign up for seminars, workshops and conventions to stay up to date in your industry and for fresh perspectives on running your business.

2.    Create more challenge.

Set goals, aligning them with your purpose/passion. Ask yourself if your business is aligned with your mission or vision statement, and if not, what can you do to make a change in that direction.

3.    Harness more drive.

Here are three additional mistakes you must avoid if you’re serious about taking your company to the next level.

  • Not setting expectations of turnaround time and deadlines with an outsourced partner.
  • Having no real-time access to your business data.
  • Having no ownership of your business data.

Best-selling author of “Show Me The Money” and columnist for WomenEntrepreneur.com & Fox Business online, Chia-Li Chien, focuses on repositioning small businesses for optimum return on investment and future financial independence.

Join Chia-Li on the eWomenNetwork Success Institute Tuesday 12.27.11 at 1:30 pm CST as she shows you how to capture meaningful personal wealth, grow in value and position your business for future transitioning.

 

We would love to hear your thoughts! How have you navigated through this turbulent economy?

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Ushering in a NEW era: The Transformation Age

on December 14, 2011 in Success Institute, Women in Business

Are you an entrepreneur who is facing challenges in your business? You’ve probably noticed that in today’s economy, what use to work isn’t working anymore. That’s not just because of the recession.

People have changed the way they make buying decisions.

 

I recently sent a survey to my clients. I asked them to share their biggest struggle in business right now. You may be able to relate:

• “I’m not making enough money”
• “I need more customers”
• “I feel completely overwhelmed and I’ve lost focus”
• “There’s not enough time”

If you can relate to any or all of these I have some good news. I will be sharing some ways that you can overcome these problems.

The Industrial Age started in the early 1900′s with the invention of machines that created manual labor jobs for the car industry and many other industries. This mass production seemed to make life easier.

The Information Age

In 1984, The Information Age began and the power of computers was placed in most homes in America by 1995. We had instant access to millions of products and information. Remember when it was cool to surf the net and hear “you’ve got mail”.

Today, your inbox is sucking the life out of you. We’ve reached a time when there is too much clutter and too many choices. The average person see’s 5,000 ads per day. You simply can’t make a living advertising to the masses anymore. The problem is people have gotten really good at ignoring ads, but their desperate to find good stuff to solve their problems.

Ushering in a NEW era: The Transformation Age

Your job as a business owner or sales person is to be the trusted advisor, and deliver the transformation (the results) they’re looking for.

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about:

Dog owners who hire dog trainers don’t want to read reports on the different breeds of dogs (that’s information). They want their dog to stop attacking other dogs and stop destroying their furniture. It’s not the information they want … it’s the result. If you can create a system and show proof that it really works your more likely to have an endless stream of new customers and referrals.

The game-changer is that you must not only show results but you must provide an innovative solution to their problem. If not, you risk being just like everyone else. Adding no cost, high value innovations to your product or service is a must for any entrepreneur to thrive in The New Transformation Age.

As seen on ABC’s Shark Tank, April Morris is the pioneer of innovation! Join April on the eWomenNetwork Success Institute Tuesday, 12.20.11 at 1:30 pm CST as she shows you the “The Product Innovation Method” – a step-by-step strategy for turning your product or service into The Next Big Thing.

 

Join the conversation! How have you added innovations to your product or service?

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