Post by Kathy F. Catoe
QR codes are popping up everywhere. These strange two dimensional codes are appearing in magazines, on coupons, in television commercials and on websites. You may have even seen them at the doorway to your favorite restaurant or on business cards at the 11th Annual eWomenNetwork Conference & Business Expo. Their adoption is steadily increasing as a marketing tool. This presentation will give you some insights into this exciting new technology.
Guest Post by Sandra Yancey, Founder and CEO of eWomenNetwork
We are just 41 days away from the 11th annual eWomenNetwork Conference. In an effort to help you be fully prepared, I am sharing some ideas and tips to help you maximize your Conference experience! I want to again thank Susan Rueppel, a veteran Conference attendee, for sharing her observations with me and urging me to build upon her valuable insights. Following are three more things you can begin to do right now so that you, too, can glean all that the Conference has to offer:
These three tips will undoubtedly help you leverage your time and interactions with others in the most effective and beneficial way. I’ll be back next week with three more tips on preparing to get the most out of the eWomenNetwork Conference! I’m excited about blogging and connecting with you before you arrive in Dallas! We are sure to have a fun and productive time together!
Most small business owners focus on attracting more clients and making more money, however, they often struggle due to lack of step-by-step guidance when starting and growing their businesses. To gain some insights about how to avoid some of the Critical Mistakes Small Business Owners Make, here are tips from eWomenNetwork Premier Success Coaches Katrina Sawa and Margot Morgan:
Tips from Katrina Sawa, Premier Success Coach and owner of Jump Start Your Marketing
Tips from Margot Morgan, Premier Success Coach and Business Coach at Executive Coaching Group
Guest Post by Sherí Taber, Founder and CEO of the Peak Performance Group
What you believe about your ability to be successful and build a successful business completely determines your success. Interestingly, the beliefs you hold at a very deep level drive your thoughts and your actions. One of the greatest contributions to the failure of women-owned small businesses is their mindset.
Throughout history, women have been conditioned to accept that they are first responders to all things domestic and while they may have “permission” to play” at business, the game shouldn’t be so high that it creates a risk of financial loss or failure to attend to the needs of their family. The older you are, the more powerful the conditioning and the higher the expectations. Even women in their twenties and thirties are unlikely to have a mom-preneur role model and have been subject, at the very least, by osmosis to this mindset. Understanding what is at the root of your belief system about being a successful business owner is the key to unlocking the gates to success.
You might say, “I don’t have any limitations embracing and executing what it takes to be outrageously successful!” That’s phenomenal! However, unless you have analyzed your own belief systems about:
you might be surprised at what could be holding you back.
Historically, women have allowed their families to create the expectations and priorities they must then manage before freely focusing on the responsibilities and priorities of their businesses. Even those who might label themselves as ‘empowered with independence’ naturally feel an obligation to manage family and social business before the priorities of their enterprise.
Research shows women entrepreneurs also struggle with investing in resources such as administrative support, technology and business coaching. A recent study by Kimberly-Clark revealed that the most significant barriers to success were A) access to financial resources (65 percent), B) risk of failure (43 percent) and C) not knowing where to start (36 percent). Barriers A and B would be scalable if they invested in support that helped them know where to start, what to focus on and how to plan for success, how to prepare and position their organization to qualify for funds, if needed, and how to avert risk and prevent failure.
On May 17th, join Sheri’ Taber on Success Institute as she introduces a framework to help you avoid these barriers to success.
You’ll be empowered to:
Don’t miss this one if you are serious about business success!
Guest Post by Jessica Chapman
Well, now, if you just found your eyeglasses on the top of your head, this post is for you. Even if you didn’t lose your glasses, this post is for you.
Grandma may have been irritating when she used to say all of those little things like “All things in moderation, ” and “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” and “Everything has a place, Everything is in it’s place” after we had dug around looking for something for about an hour. Of course, she was absolutely right when she said all of those things. When we take a few minutes (moderation) and put things where they live (in its place) we then end up with a calmer environment for anything that arises (prevention).
For those of us “too busy” people with “lots of things going on”, staying organized and putting something away where it lives is the only chance at sanity we have.
There are really only three things you need to know about getting organized. Yes, that’s right, only three. Everything else is implementation.
To feel free and calm and be organized you need to:
1) Make Time.
If you’re not setting aside about 9 minutes a day to put things away and consciously think about what works for you, then all that means is you don’t value staying organized. It means you’d rather dig through your stuff and feel frustrated. The pain of not knowing where your stuff is hasn’t become great enough for you to look at the alternative of time up front creating the system.
Don’t take our word for it, go ahead and measure for yourself how much time you spend looking for looking for your glasses, or your keys, or that really important file you needed to leave the office with 15 minutes ago. We know from experience that small simple practices in less than 10 minutes a day make you breathe easier, make life easier and give you sanity. When you’re sick and tired of being sick and tired, you’ll do something about it.
2) Be Brutal.
Warning: It’s gonna get ugly here. You know when you eat a lot of food and you feel miserable? Well, when you keep buying and buying (and buying) stuff and bringing it into your space, and don’t give anything away, or donate, or sell, then your office and house become horribly overstuffed as well. Yes, a disgusting thought and it’s exactly what’s happening. You’ve got to be brutal about what you actually use and love. If it’s stuffed under a bed and you haven’t touched it in 10 years, do you really love it? Why are you keeping it? If you love it, then great, hang onto that. Although saying that, make sure you get real with yourself.
Being brutal extends to your time too. Be brutal with those 9 minutes a day to put stuff away and think about what’s working and not. Keep them for you. Turn off your phone. (Gasp! Really? Yes!) Put on some funky music and just do it. Shut your door. Tell your office assistant/spouse/kids it’s blood or death that interrupts you. To paraphrase Mr. Miyagi from The Karate Kid, “Focus Daniel-san” (insert your name where appropriate…)
3) Get Help.
We all pretend to have a big ol’ fat Superman “S” on our chests and that we can do everything. The wise person knows his or her limits and asks for guidance and help when he or she needs it. If figuring out what’s working for you and what’s not working for you on the organizing front is blocking you, ask someone to help you. We recommend you avoid asking a spouse unless you have a super awesome relationship. (Sometimes tone of voice from a spouse sets off all kinds of crazy triggers.)
Ask a friend to come and observe you. Ask someone to look over your office and tell you what patterns they see. Whomever you choose needs to be in it for you, not to espouse their latest and greatest product – this is all about you and what works for you!
We all need help with keeping to the simple axioms from Grandma these days. There are so many activities vying for our attention. Everything is shiny and distracting. Stick with some simple practices in moderation and everything gets done and you’ll even have time to enjoy life a little.
Original post from Top of the Pile brought to you by Room to Breathe Professional Organizers.
Guest Post by Gail Z. Martin, an excerpt from her book “30 Days to Social Media Success”
Whether you own your own company or operate a local franchise of a national firm, being a good neighbor is essential to creating a successful business. In the past, businesses have demonstrated their neighborliness by being prominent in the local scene. Sponsoring the town’s intramural or kids’ sports teams, underwriting local pageants, festivals and holiday celebrations, providing hometown scholarships, and encouraging employees to take visible roles in charity events have all been ways companies have shown themselves to be good neighbors.
Being neighborly also includes creating a sense of community by hosting programs that offer a chance for local people to mingle, relax and get to know each other. Some examples might include a health workshop held by a local medical practice, live music at a neighborhood coffee shop, bar or club, author readings and signings at a book store or library, or even a community day of service cleaning up a park or painting a school.
Now think about how social media could help you maximize those opportunities. Social media becomes a powerful way to leverage the PR benefit of your involvement as a sponsor before, during and after the event by creating new ways for the community to gather, communicate, interact and remember.
Before the event, use Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to generate interest in what’s coming up Get the conversation going before the event even happens. Encourage your core team of organizers, volunteers and beneficiaries to get online and talk about the event on your social media sites and on their own. Get them to link to each other’s sites/blogs and reTweet.
During the event, take photos and digital video (simplify the permission issue by making permission to be photographed part of the participation contract and the ticket agreement). Tweet and blog live. Have roving “reporters” with digital cameras and audio recorders gathering on-the-spot comments from participants, organizers and attendees. Ask everyone who signs up to blog, Tweet and invite their Facebook friends. Sign everyone up who attends as a Facebook friend and Twitter follower so you can stay in touch. Offer a prize to the person who submits the best video or digital photo collage/slideshow and then post it on all your event social media sites (encourage everyone to re-post for more viral coverage). If you need more volunteers, ask your Twitter followers to come and help out.
Make the most of local PR by contacting the reporters for your newspaper, radio and TV outlets and encouraging them to cover the event in their social media as well as in their regular column or show. If they attend the event, get plenty of photos and put them on your social media sites. Use your tags and keywords for great searchability, and be sure to do your Social Bookmarking. You might even seek out local dignitaries like the mayor or council members for photos, audio or video. Politicians will rarely decline free PR!
You can also leverage the local power of social media by rallying neighbors to help. Local animal shelters have used Twitter and Facebook to feature pets that are available for adoption, ask for volunteers and solicit donations of food or money when money gets tight.
Most people have no idea of the variety of things that go on in their community every day. Few Americans read a daily newspaper, and many formerly local news stations now only run nationally syndicated programming. When you become the conduit to connect busy people to their community, you gain stature as a leader and visibility for your business.
By featuring local events, local people and local businesses in your social media conversation, you will create a “voice” that can resonate within your community and that raises your profile in a positive way. Put your social media sites on your business card, and invite everyone you meet to friend or follow you.
At the same time that you’re cultivating your neighborhood audience, don’t automatically close the door to growing regional or national clientele. You’ll need to create a separate social media campaign to offer your products and services outside of your community, since local happenings won’t usually be a draw for long-distance clients. On the other hand, if you live in an area that is a tourist resort, a college town or a city or region that has seen an exodus of residents due to economic circumstances, you may find that for those who have left, there’s no place like home.
For example, a favorite sports bar in a college town could retain connections with alumni who leave the area through social media. Restaurants have found gold in shipping favorite comfort foods, sauces and dips to regular diners who moved away, and a Facebook or Twitter site can allow your expatriate audience to get a taste of home. If you operate a store, entertainment venue or business that sees repeat business from vacationing clients, use your social media to stay in touch all year long, keeping them updated on what’s new, and finding out what they’d like to see when they return to your business.
Using social media for “local” businesses pays off in many ways. It can build business and strengthen community ties, which can win loyal clients. By staying in touch with event participants and “alumni” who periodically return, you can improve the odds of repeat sales. And by extending your reach to clients beyond your area, you also buffer your cash flow from the ups and downs of the local economy.
Join Gail Z. Martin on Success Institute, 4.5.11 at 1:30pm CST for “I’m On Facebook, Now What?”
For more information about Gail Z. Martin and DreamSpinner Communications
Guest Post by Danelle Brown
I recently put on my Facebook page update something awesome I was witness to. I was in a great goal setting workshop a couple weekends ago. This was an all day thing mind you. You went in at 9:00 and didn’t come out until 4:00. So many great business owners in there ready to take charge of their year. I met a lot of business owners – particularly ones working with their spouses. This does not surprise me because you are all out there!
At the end of the workshop, I was walking outside with a wonderful lady I had met that day and we were talking about – of course – the fact that she worked with her husband. She was excited to read my book and it was a nice conversation. We both approached our cars to find that someone mysteriously had left a single long stemmed red rose on her car window.
One guess who it was.
Later I spoke with her on Facebook and she told me her husband left her that rose in appreciation of her working hard on their business and taking time on a Saturday to get it done.
Wow.
That is how it is done. Little things like that are so simple to implement to not only encourage one another in your business, but also to keep the spark alive. More often than not, you two are the only cheerleaders you have in the business. It is so important to maintain the balance of encourager, supporter, sounding board and even the romantic.
What small steps can you take today to show your spouse how much you support them in running your business together?
Original Post from Soulmate Proprietors
Guest Post by Terri Maxwell
Let’s start with the truth. According to the Center for Women Owned Businesses, there are 10.4 million women-owned businesses that employ nearly 12.8 million people and generate $1.9 trillion in sales. That’s astounding.
The cold hard truth, however, is that most women-owned firms are still one-person shops (10.4 million businesses employing 12.8 million people. That’s about 1.2 employees PER business.) Why is that? Most economists say that women start “lifestyle businesses” so therefore they are not interested in growth. Is that true? I don’t think so!
So, what is it preventing women business owners from aggressively growing their business so that they achieve financial independence?
I asked this question to several investors over the last two years. The response: “Most women just don’t know how to compete.”
My response: “You’ve got to be kidding.”
Their answer did nothing but fuel my desire to find the real truth. Fox Business News thinks “women ROCK as business owners” and cited these points in a 2010 article:
1) Women owned firms contribute $3 trillion annually to the U.S. economy (revenue generated plus investment expenses to grow their business). They also account for 16% of ALL jobs.
2) Women owned firms are projected to create 5 – 5½ million NEW jobs by 2018. For the record, that’s more than half of the TOTAL new small-business jobs that will be created and about one-third of the TOTAL new jobs anticipated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This includes jobs in Corporate America.
3) The Fox Business News article states that characteristics such as being customer-focused, community-focused and being servant leaders translates into women who excel in running a business, keeping employees engaged and building a loyal customer base.
The article didn’t mention that “we don’t know how to compete,” just for the record.
So, if we ROCK at business ownership…why does it feel as if we’re just getting by?
In my research, I did find three simple growth-stifling mistakes, that when you put them together explain why there are so many women-run firms who remain small and miss the $1M annual revenue mark.
1) First, we focus on doing rather than “getting it done.”
2) The second biggest mistake women business owners make is that we focus on tasks rather than business priorities.
3) The biggest mistake we make is that we focus on what’s not working rather than what IS working!
So how can we overcome these mistakes? Can you think of other issues that might keep women business owners from growing their companies to their fullest potential? Please share and leave your comments below. And join me on eWomenNetwork Success Institute, March 8, 2011, as we discuss ways to overcome these mistakes and take your business to $1 M annual revenue mark and beyond.
Original Post from Succeed On Purpose, Inc.
Guest Post by Premier Success Coach Katrina Sawa, Social Media and Online Marketing Coach
Money-Making activities are the #1 thing you should be spending time on in your day-to-day of the running of your business.
Don’t get caught up doing administrative tasks or time-sucking tasks that will never bring you customers.
Instead sprinkle in some of these quick and easy money-making activities among your big picture marketing plan and watch how more prospects come your way!
#1. Add (and send a personal message to) 25 people in Facebook or LinkedIn to your profile or fan page.
#2. Make 5 follow up phone calls to connect with people in your database, previous clients for referrals or upsells, prospects for new business and more.
#3. Email 3 people asking them if you can speak at one of their upcoming events, include creative ideas so they email you back.
#4. Write a quick, ‘how to’ blog post or article for your blog, ezine or fan page.
#5. Connect via email, facebook or phone with 2 people who you could do an article swap with you who have complimentary businesses to yours and a list.
#6. Record a video tip about your expertise or something you teach in your coaching/business along with a call to action and get it up on YouTube, linking it out to your social sites and blog too.
#7. Create a new freebie or free teleclass that will be of interest to your target audience and start promoting it for list building.
About the Author: Katrina Sawa is known as The JumpStart Your Biz Coach because she literally kicks her female entrepreneur clients into high gear when they work with her. She is one of the eWomenNetwork Premier Coaches and works with women entrepreneurs worldwide on starting, growing and marketing their businesses. You can find out more about Kat and get some Free Gifts at www.JumpstartYourMarketing.com/gifts.
Connect with Katrina Sawa at eWomenNetwork or
Guest Post by Stacy Karacostas
The longer I’ve been in business, the more I’ve realized there are major differences between entrepreneurs who are successful, and those who aren’t. So I decided to make a list of the top ten and share these important insights with you…
Or, in the words of Jim Rohn, “Rich people have big libraries;
poor people have big TV’s.”
If you want to become highly-successful, then the best thing you can do is mimic those who have already made it big—starting with these ten ideas.
What are your thoughts? Any other traits you’ve noticed? Please do share by leaving a comment below…
Original Post from The Unchained Entrepreneur
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Join Stacy Karacostas on Success Institute, March 1, 2011 at 1:30pm CST, for the “Secrets of Outsourcing Your Way to Success without All the Stress “