Tag Archives: women business owners

Five Tips For (Fiscal Year End) FYE Success

on September 1, 2011 in Education, Government Contracting, Women in Business

Guest Post by Judy Bradt, Summit Insight, LLC

This may be the most important Federal FYE ever.

The late budget has skewed buying to…NOW.
These five tips can help you stay ahead of the game!

#1: Revisit Your Forecasting

  • Take one more look at your target agencies’ forecasts and bid boards. Anything new?
  • Look hard at your own forecast, and pick out the projects that best match your capabilities.
  • Identify relevant small business specialists — and call on them for updates on your hot projects.

#2: Ask for Referrals from Your Best Customers

  • Ask your best customers for introductions! It’s the least expensive — and most powerful — source of leads you have.
  • Ask for leads within their agency
  • Ask who they know in another agency who might value your expertise or products.

#3: Stay Top-of-Mind

  • When did you last check in with your best clients, partners, current and past contacts?
  • Call long-time, one-time and former government clients to remind them of your value. Offer something useful — an article, a link…
  • Ask if they’d like fresh info, or need to reorder from you.
  • Call on marginal accounts. Often the company to get the order is the last one the agency spoke with!
  • If the box of cookies or treats is worth less than $25, ask the contracting officer or the OSDBU if you can bring in some refreshments for the team
  • (True story: At fiscal year end, when I worked at the Canadian Embassy, I’d bring a batch of cookies into the Admin section.You have no IDEA how much faster my paperwork got processed.)

#4: Use Multiple Touches, Tactics, Channels

  • Use multiple tactics (PR, events, email, direct mail, web, telemarketing).
  • What channels are others not using? Have you looked into…
  • Federal News Radio? See what co-anchors Amy Morris & Tom Temin are covering, and ask them if they’d like to interview your federal client’s recent success (and your contribution…) Catch Amy on Twitter — @amorris_wfed
  • Twitter — check out http://www.blog.govtwit.com/ and discover how you can reach hundreds of influential government buyers that your competitors are overlooking!
  • Visit GSA Sales Query, even if you don’t have a schedule. How are the leaders in your GSA Schedule category, reaching THEIR clients, through ads and online?
  • Promote year-end offers to government customers through telemarketing or emails.

#5: Update & Share Your Capability Statement

  • Add in your latest contract wins & vehicles, update your contact info, product info, certifications, keywords, NAICS codes.
  • Most contracting officers and small business specialists appreciate getting your latest capability statement. Ask your best contacts if they prefer email or hardcopy or a link.
  • Ask if they’ve got a few minutes to critique your latest draft capability statement — What’s missing? What else would they like to see? Helpful to you, AND keeps you top of mind.

 

Don’t miss Judy Bradt on Success Institute September 13, 2011, 1:30pm CST to learn why A Woman’s Place is…On the Contract!

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Want to Get YourBuzz for Business?

on August 22, 2011 in Marketing, Social Media, Technology, Women & The Media

Photo-http://ht.ly/69QRW

Do you want to know what customers are saying about your business online?  Managing social media conversations can be time consuming and distracting.  There are a variety of products in the marketplace to help you manage discussions, post comments or retweet.  Our favorite is YourBuzz , a free application from American Express® OPEN, which offers a unique means of monitoring, managing and growing your online presence across social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook  with the added benefit of giving you access to your ratings and reviews on Yelp, Foursquare, Citysearch, Yahoo!Local, Bing Local and Superpages.

This app allows you to:

  • View customer reviews, ratings and online mentions in one place;
  • Respond, retweet, or create a new conversation;
  • See how you stack up against the competition; and
  • Get recommendations on action to take.

The YourBuzz application has some valuable features, including a scheduling feature so that you can pre-plan your marketing communications.  It also provides reporting with trends information, ratings by source and even ratings versus your competition.  By drilling down into the contacts area you can determine influencers based on their connections and review the geographic distribution of your network.  You also have the ability to view, edit and create profiles on these sites through YourBuzz.

If you are utilizing any combination of these social media and ratings/review platforms as part of your online marketing mix, then be sure to check out YourBuzz.  Let me know what you think!

is a valued and trusted sponsor of eWomenNetwork

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QR Codes are Worth a Scan

on July 31, 2011 in Education, Marketing, Technology, Women in Business

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.

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Let’s Get this Party Started! The Conference can begin today, if you engage!

on June 15, 2011 in Annual International Conference & Business Expo, Events, Social Media, Technology, Women & The Media, Women in Business

Through all the wonderful social media avenues, we can start making Conference connections today! Here are three things you can begin now to start connecting with others that are going to be at the Conference as well as preparing for who you want to see once you arrive.

1. Of course, I encourage you to “Like” the eWomenNetwork Facebook page. Just to be clear, if you happen to live in a city where there is a chapter, you may already be connected to that chapter’s Facebook page. I’m talking about the corporate eWomenNetwork Facebook page. I am posting new things about the Conference daily, and by “Liking” us, you will have access to the information instantaneously. Instead, you run the risk that your chapter Facebook page is not lifting the information and posting it. That keeps you out of the loop, and heaven knows we don’t want that to happen!

2. If you are a tweeter like me, I would love to connect with you on Twitter too! I usually post 2-3 times a day, so you are sure to get the latest nuggets of information! I love to pass them on as soon as I get them myself. My tweets include announcements, reminders, opportunities, and encouragement. Please make a note of my Twitter handle: @SandraYanceyeWN (don’t forget the “eWN” after my name or your message will go to someone else). You may also wish to know the corporate eWomenNetwork Twitter handle: @eWomenNetwork. Finally, if you have wonderful comments you’d like to make about the Conference, just include the hashtag #eWN2011. When you include this hashtag, your Conference comments will be posted to the Conference pages on the eWomenNetwork website. How cool is that? We will promote you to all our visitors for posting encouraging words about the Conference.

Just to be clear, if you have comments you wish to tweet that are not related to the Conference, just use the Twitter handle @eWomenNetwork (and don’t use the hashtag). That way, your non-Conference topics will be in the appropriate and perfect place!

3. Finally, you can always check out LinkedIn. The Conference is listed as an Event on LinkedIn. You can share the information with your LinkedIn Network by clicking on http://events.linkedin.com/11th-Annual-eWomenNetwork-International/pub/699912 and then clicking on the Share button to send InMail to your contacts. You can post comments on that page as well. Does your chapter have a LinkedIn Chapter Group? That is a great place to share and discuss Conference plans for your Chapter.

If you are comfortable, please go ahead and set up Facebook and Twitter on your mobile device. If the thought of this makes you twitch, no worries! You can either skip this or we can help you once you arrive at the Conference. We will have the “Be Social” booth set up prominently in the Expo Area. Lisa Larter, from Ottawa, Canada, will be our Social Media expert this year (don’t miss her breakout session). She and her team will be readily available at her booth throughout the Conference to answer your questions and get you moving and grooving in the social media world. She helped me, and there’s no turning back now. What once seemed intimidating is now like second nature!

That wraps up my highlights on how to maximize your Conference experience by getting social and starting now! Enjoy the tips … more to come next week!

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Put a little Show Business in your Business and Unleash Your Star Power!

on June 7, 2011 in Success Institute, Women & The Media, Women in Business

Guest Post by Barbara Niven

Every time you perform, speak, talk to a video camera, network or take a meeting….you want to WOW them! To do that, it’s not so much what you say, but how you say it. You can’t plan it or memorize it…you have to live it and be in the moment, so that the air crackles between you and them. That is Star Power! And I promise that you can create it every time. It’s a step-by-step technique that actors use…not to be fake…but to be our most authentic and emotional and revealing. When you do that and also plug into your passion, it’s contagious.

And sorry, it’s not all about you. It has to be all about THEM.  True stars create a real experience for their audience and viewer. They take them on a real journey. It’s a full-out magic ride.

So you can’t just be all about imparting knowledge. Get out of your head because that is going to keep you stuck and removed from your Heart. No matter what your message or product or service is that you’re talking about, you must speak from your passion and truth, and especially your Heart so that your audience takes that journey with you.

And when you do…and they do…that’s when the magic happens. That’s when you have unleashed your true Star Power.

It’s never just you doing a monologue. It’s always a dialogue so that you include who you’re talking to. Always think of it as sending it from your heart to land directly on the heart of your viewer, whether you’re speaking in front of a large group or to that one person who is on the other side of the camera lens, watching you at home. It must be your most personal and passionate communication, straight from your heart. Your truth will then travel straight to their heart and they will be moved.

And remember to have fun while you’re at it! That is the secret that makes magic with your audience. The more you play and have fun, the more your audience does too, no matter what material you’re delivering. In fact, the heavier the material, the more you have to find the opposite. Don’t play a “mood” – go against it. Dip into it for an effect, because emotion is a powerful tool, but then turn it into something else. Be unpredictable. The audience will love you for it.

Be unique – reveal yourself. Don’t try to be like anyone else, because you’re not. You are special. And you have your own quirky sense of humor, your own delicious imperfections, your own sense of timing, your own unique way of talking or walking. These differences that make you YOU are what make you compelling to watch, especially when you are fueled by your passion and sense of play.

Think about movie stars like Katherine Hepburn, Julia Roberts, Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep, Will Smith and so on. They are movie stars because they know how to connect to their truth and they are unpredictable in how they convey their message. They don’t just ask themselves “how would somebody else play this part.” Instead they integrate the words into their entire being and when they speak, it’s magic. That’s why you can’t take your eyes off them! They are compelling to watch. And each of them, if given the same script, would act it out differently. They use their own unique qualities.

You must too. Play with it and unlock yourself to all the possibilities. Don’t try to do “what you think they want.” Change it up. Do something difference each time. Shock yourself and shock the audience! They will go on the journey with you. For instance, I start out different speeches that I give in a number of different ways. For one, which is for my “ACT AS IF to Live your Dreams!” presentation, I open by running up screaming from the back of the room clutching my fake Oscar, as if my name was just called at the Academy Awards. The energy is electric and the room is full of laughter and excitement and magic before I even say my first word!

Dare to be different in everything you do. Mix it up. If you’re at a networking event, do something that doesn’t sound like everybody else. Put your real passion into your 30 second message instead of just your name, business, blah blah blah. Don’t waste your valuable time. Use some drama. Ask a question, put in some emotion and humor, stand out! You will be remembered…and your business will grow.

I wish you lots of success and fun while you’re building your business. Get out there and share your passion, your service and your product with the world. You have the power to change lives! Get excited about it. When you’re fired up, it’s contagious. That gives you charisma and STAR POWER! If you use it, people will walk out the door differently after they leave you, with a new sense of their own power and purpose. And you’ll have them as a new client. That is a beautiful 360 degree win.

Original post from Show Business 101

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Can’t Stop Thinking About … Why Staying Focused Is So Important

on May 26, 2011 in Education, Success Institute, Women in Business

Guest Post by Sherrin Ross Ingram

The ability to remain focused and not be distracted is one of the most overlooked and underdeveloped skills necessary for consistent goal achievement.  However, in a world where multitasking is said to be instrumental to success, staying focused for an extended time on any task may seem next to impossible. That’s because you are likely bombarded everyday with a tsunami of emails, phone calls, text messages, meetings, and the everyday demands you subject yourself to. Most of these are unimportant and all are taking up valuable mental energy that should be dedicated to executing the details of your daily action plan.

Not staying focused may be costing you everything you desire and deserve: achievement, success, wealth, quality relationships and your health.  Those who are focused and consistent are the ones who achieve desired results sooner than later. That’s why improving your ability to stay focused is a core success skill that you want to proactively develop.

Ask yourself these power questions:

  • Am I making significant progress or completing the most important tasks every day
  • Are my current efforts producing the results I desire sooner than later?
  • What would it mean to my career, my business, my income, and the quality of my personal time if I learned how  to stay focused on my most important tasks until they’re completed… in spite of distractions?
  • Am I truly ready to enhance my performance and accelerate achievement of my most important goals?

If you are serious about consistently getting the most important things done everyday, then join me on the eWomenNetwork Success Institute’s Tele-Session, May 31st. I’ll be revealing some of the most powerful principles and strategies available for staying focused, including:

(1) The single most important tool that will get you back on track from a mental distraction within seconds every time and how to use this tool correctly.
(2) The #1 most overlooked reason why most attempts to consistently focus fail and the strategy that will help you overcome it.
(3) The five guiding principles that exponentially enhance your ability to stay focused.
(4) The #1 myth about staying focused and how to avoid falling victim to it.
(5) How to combine the five guiding principles and power strategies to create a customized strategic plan to consistently stay focused.

Don’t waste another minute working harder and smarter without the power of focus working for you. This small investment of time and money to learn some of the most powerful strategies for staying focused and consistently getting the most important things done will reap huge rewards for you now and in the long run!

Original Post from Can’t Stop Thinking

 

 

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What is a #Hashtag?

on May 16, 2011 in Annual International Conference & Business Expo, Social Media, Women in Business

On Twitter, hashtags (#) have become a favorite tool for conference and event organizers.  They provide a way to track topics and breaking news.  As more and more incredible business owners and entrepreneurs register for the 11th Annual International Conference & Business Expo, we want to provide you with easy access to Conference updates, trends, topics and each other!  The hashtag for the 2011 eWomenNetwork International Conference is #eWN2011, and utilizing it in posts on Twitter will make your communication easy to share with other Conference attendees.

Introduce yourselves to new friends and followers by using  #eWN2011 in your tweets.  Take advantage of the opportunity to connect before you arrive in Dallas, TX.  Want to let everyone know what you are learning and who you are meeting while you are at Conference?  Be sure and include the hashtag #eWN2011 in your Tweets! We love to RT (retweet)!  Follow us on Twitter @eWomenNetwork.

Tip:  Did you know that businesses can search on hashtags that are specific to their target markets and begin conversations on Twitter?  (http://www.search.twitter.com)

This Conference will provide an unparalleled opportunity to grow and expand your business, knowledge and network.  You can follow the conversation on Twitter or on the Conference homepage at http://www.ewomennetworkconference.com.  #eWN2011 is registered at Tagal.us:  http://www.tagal.us/tag/eWN2011.  Be sure to connect with eWomenNetwork on Facebook and YouTube.  Get social @ #eWN2011!  We can’t wait to meet you!

*Hashtag photo by jeffisageek – Flickr

 

 

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Change Your Mind, Change Your Money

on May 7, 2011 in Success Institute, Women in Business

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:

  • Business
  • Investing in business resources
  • What you believe should take first place before your business responsibilities

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:

 

  • Examine and overcome limiting beliefs about business success
  • Overcome organizational stutters and stammers
  • Resolve barriers to success
  • Manage expectations to maximize personal and professional success
  • Leverage intention over impact to accelerate success
  • What’s impeding your immediate success?  Conduct your own gap analysis

Don’t miss this one if you are serious about business success!

 

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Branding: The Architecture of Success

on April 22, 2011 in Branding, Marketing, Uncategorized, Women in Business

Guest Post by Star Ladin

When you think of your brand what comes to mind? The color of your logo, the beautiful font on your letterhead, the new picture you just put on your website? These are all important elements of your brand but what about your branding? You may be thinking they are the same thing, but this couldn’t be further from the truth.  When I tell people this I usually get a blank, puzzled look followed by, “What is branding?”

Excellent question!

“Branding” is the equivalent to the architecture of a building. It is the strategy, the thinking and the plan behind what you are doing with your business. Think about it like building a brand new house from the ground up. Before you build you make critical foundational decisions like how many rooms it is going to have, how many square feet, and if it will be one or two stories. You determine the point or purpose of its existence.

Similarly, branding is the necessary foundational elements that support the outcome you desire for your business and allow it to function smoothly and feel effortless. Your branding is what keeps you in alignment with who you are and your bigger purpose as you share your gifts with the world. For your brand to attract the client you desire and share authentically what you offer and why you do what you do, you must build the foundation first. Your values, mission and passion are your branding and keep you in alignment.

Your brand is the visual you present to the world. If this was your home it would materials such as brick or stucco, color of your paint, type of front door. The logo and design that share your authentic message with the world is part of your brand, like the icing on the cake. When the face on your business is in authentic alignment your audience will feel it and respond to it.

Are your branding and your brand in alignment? Here are three exercises to get there:

1. Write Your Story

Everyone has a story. When you share it, you are sharing your branding. Your story is the foundation of what you are and how you came to this point due to the choices and tough decisions you made along the road of life. This story is full of examples that will bring to the surface your authentic self and the values you hold close and live your life by.

2. Define Your Top Five Values

Once you define your values, decisions become easy. Why? Because when you approach a the decision-making process with clarity of what your values are it becomes very black and white. If something does not align with your values it is a no. Defining your values will help you to be clear and focused on what you will and will not tolerate.

3. Define Success

When you define it you can own it. In order to achieve goals you have to set them. Ask yourself:

  • What is your bigger yes?
  • What values must be present for you to feel successful?
  • How would honoring those values impact your success?
  • What are you committed to?
  • What two or three things could you do right now that would most impact your success?
  • What two or three things are you doing that have no relevance and impact on your achieving success?
  • What are you willing to give up?

Join Star Ladin on Success Institute 4.26.11 at 1:30pm CST for “Success On Your Terms”

Original Post from Star Marketing Media.

 

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The Woodpecker’s Secret to Getting What You Want

on April 11, 2011 in Coaching Corner, Motivation & Inspiration, Women in Business

Guest Post by Premier Success Coach Kim Griffith, MA,  Parenting & Wellness Coach/Educator

Everyone seems to be teaching the secret to realizing our dreams. The main ingredients are usually:

  1. Vision work
  2. Positive thinking
  3. Taking action

But if it were that easy, wouldn’t we all have what we want?

These ingredients are great, and I use them in my coaching and personal life. But why is it there are times that amazing opportunities and unexpected collaborations open up for me with no effort, then there are other times when I am clear about my vision yet find myself struggling, pushing hard to make forward progress and getting nowhere?

As I was considering this dichotomy, I noticed a woodpecker working diligently on building his home. I’d seen him earlier in the week, but today he was about to reinforce a simple (but not so easy) lesson.

This determined woodpecker seemed to know exactly what he wanted. He was working hard, that’s for sure. But there appeared to be no urgency in his actions even though his project was taking what I thought was a long time to complete.

If he experienced any type of obstacle, I was not aware of it. He just continued on, accepting exactly where he was at every moment. I knew he wasn’t thinking “I have so much to do, and how in the world am I going to get it all done?” or “I don’t know if I can reach my goal.”

Our capacity as humans to feel emotions and question our process is unique to our species. It can come in handy at times, but it can also cause us to struggle, force, worry and control when there’s something we want but don’t have. Resistance is the opposite of acceptance. When you truly accept what is without judgment, you have no resistance. When you have no resistance, a space opens for creative solutions, and your inspired action step will appear.

You can ask yourself — on a scale from 1-10, how much energy am I spending resisting or trying to control my outcome? Acknowledging the truth, the reality of our situation, often brings up uncomfortable feelings, which is the main reason we find ourselves in denial, resisting or pretending we are somewhere else. But avoiding our feelings just creates more resistance, which pushes us further away from realizing our dreams.

Accepting where we are allows us to relax, which naturally creates a pause in our attempts to control. That’s when the magic happens; when “invisible doors” to what’s next are revealed with ease.

I’m sharing my lesson from the woodpecker with you, what I am calling The Woodpecker’s Secret to Getting What You Want:

  1. Know what you want (you may find that it is already hard-wired in you)
  2. Accept exactly where you are right now (don’t judge it, just accept it)
  3. The next door opens naturally (an inspiration, idea, phone call, person)
  4. Then you take action …

Simply continue to repeat these steps from your new vantage point. And just like the woodpecker, knowing what you want and feeling acceptance with where you are assures that what you want is coming your way.

Connect with Kim Griffith at eWomenNetwork or

The Wellness Way

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