Removing Business Boulders
Business inspiration and advice for women entrepreneurs and small businesses
It began as a lunch break and need for fresh air and turned into an enlightening experience. I found myself chipping away at a snow boulder blocking the path between my back porch and garage. This obstacle was going to deter our route unless someone cleared it. As I worked at moving the obstruction, my head cleared too about a problem I had been working on for weeks. Was there something therapeutic to clearing this blocked space? I think so.
There are often obstacles in our path; in both our personal life and business world. Roadblocks, barricades and detours catch us off guard and keep us from moving forward. Sometimes these situations tell us we can’t go in a particular direction and to find another way. Other times the blockages we face are simply showing us that the path we want to take is special and requires extra energy and time. If we want to travel further, we have to try harder, focus more intently and muster up enough energy to move past what is holding us back.
Facing obstacles no matter what they are or how they find us shows us how badly we want something. Last week after some 5K training for the Right to Run Race in Seneca Falls, I simply couldn’t walk. I thought it wouldn’t be possible to run two days later to stay on my program; but my will overcame my body. Sometimes this happens in business too. We try something new, develop a new service, launch and new product and as soon as we do, it’s painful. We remember that trying anything new means stretching, growth and pain. When we face particular obstacles we need to chip away at them and clear the path to keep moving forward.
Today’s post is meant to bolster your spirit if you are trying something new and facing some obstacles. It could be frustration landing new business accounts, facing a dead end with developing a new website, or irritation with hitting new revenue goals. What are you trying to accomplish that makes you feel like there is an ice and snow boulder in your way? Can you chip away at the problem to get to other side? Do you need assistance to clear the problem? Do you need to stay focused until you complete the task?
Over time the frozen boulder was going to melt and clear our path but with focus, energy and determination I moved it so I could move on. What are you going to do with the business boulder standing in your way today?
If by chance you are a runner and want to join my company Women TIES Right to Run 19K or 5K race teams on May 7, 2016, you can find out more at this link. We would love to have you join us.
Creating a Ruckus as an Entrepreneur
Business advice for women entrepreneurs and small businesses
We see the signs, hear the voices, and read it in print during election years. It is change. People crave change. Politicians win elections based on promised change. You probably will hear the word “change” today as people talk about the frozen April temperatures. Change is a living breathing entity in our lives.
In Seth Godin’s book “Tribes – We Need You to Lead Us” this statement stood out to me, “If you want to grow, you need to find customers who are willing to join you or believe in you, or donate to you or support you. The only customers willing to do that are looking for something new. The growth comes from change and light and noise.” Godin shares an example of this when Toyota introduced the concept of hybrid cars and not only kept their loyal fan base but discovered a market acceptance from others. As he puts it, “Leaders need to make a ruckus.”
Making a ruckus might be challenging for women entrepreneurs who poise themselves for simple growth over time to turn their dream into profit. Steady and slow growth is the safer style. It works for awhile until your industry demands something new, events change perception or you discover a bolder leader living inside you. “If leadership is the ability to create change your tribe believes in, the market demands change, then the market demands change leaders,” Godin announces.
If you wonder when the change will percolate in you enough to help you alter your business, I think it happens when you recognize you have a tribe of followers, allow unfiltered passion to lead the way forward and knowingly make a ruckus to change the course of your path. You might want to adapt Tom Petty’s iconic song title, “Born to Rebel,” as your new entrepreneurial motto. Remember, every woman breathes life into a business concept to change the world for the better and positively affect the lives of the consumers, and that makes us “change makers and rebel makers.”
fish escape cocept
Business inspiration for women entrepreneurs and small businesses
As I sat in a beautiful ballroom shoulder to shoulder with three of my favorite female entrepreneurs chatting as we awaited the introduction of our mutual friend and award winning female businesswoman Deb Cabral, a memory flashed back to a Mohawk Valley event when this effervescent woman entered the doors and introduced herself as a new decluttering coach. Sometimes you remember people purely by their positive energy and boy did she have it. It has been six years since that day and I can still remember the joy she eluded.
This woman’s entrepreneurial story includes a devastating injury in 2002, becoming a certified female business owner by 2010, and creating a corporation with four divisions including production of a television show now seen across the nation in 2016. As she thanked her family, friends and supporters at the podium, I started compiling a list in my mind on why she is so accomplished.
Deb was brave from the start of her business idea to its present day success during multiple expansions, entrance into new markets and emulating her female heroine Oprah by producing her own show. She also took financial risks, added staff and kept creating new products and services to keep growing her business. She never stopped. She never looked back. She only dreamed forward with insurmountable passion and determination.
It was fitting that we were in that crowded ballroom to witness her receive a Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award from New York State Women, Inc. for her accomplishments. I have been in close contact with Deb since her journey began six years ago and remain hopeful that this is still just the beginning for her and her dreams.
I hope you think about the attributes that this successful woman possessed in order to grow her company and gain national recognition. Remember to possess abundant belief in your abilities, keep pushing through barriers to climb higher ladders, ask for financial support, surround yourself with staff and supporters and be filled with abundant joy for what you do.
As March comes to an end this week, I hope you are filled with insurmountable passion and determination to spring forward to accomplish your biggest dreams this year. When you do, I hope you invite me to your award ceremony to cheer you on too.
Business inspiration and advice for women entrepreneurs and small businesses
The only words playing through my mind this morning, along with bright orange images and an orange glow around my city are the words perseverance and big bold belief. There is not a person alive, a woman entrepreneur in existence or a sports team breathing that doesn’t have to wake up every single morning with a deep sense of determination, resolve and gut level motivation to succeed in their big goals every single day. Some days we must believe in them even stronger to win.
Blessed to be living in Syracuse, New York today means recovering from palpitating heart rates, soaring spirits and deep affection for our communities’ success in the world of basketball, but more importantly the awe at how members of our teams – women and men alike – believed, played and conquered their sport when most experts considered their success impossible. The human spirit always rises above adversity if it believes it can.
So today if you are reading my blog post and you aren’t a basketball fan or a Syracuse University fan, let me share with you what you can derive from the picture I painted above to inspire you in business or life today:
* Really, truly, honestly…..anything you want in life is obtainable if you put in the hard work to accomplish your biggest goals. Your goal could be to become a million dollar business, land an interview on national television, accomplish your first marathon, or write your first best selling novel. Success takes hard work, action, focus and tenacity.
* You must also have supporters cheering you on along your journey. They don’t have to be a national audience or a dome filled with 35,000 people, or a “fandom” after-party but you need to know there are people out there willing to joyfully spread the good news about what you are doing to propel you forward. Remember you need lively fans in all aspects of life.
* When the odds say you cannot accomplish being in the Final Four NCAA Basketball tournament or overcome a horrible health diagnosis or grow a company into a national phenomena, believe you can. Have faith. Walk the walk. Work hard. Keep striving and one day just like today for Syracuse Orange Nation you will see the fruits of your labor and know that deep trust in yourself is what made it all possible.
Business Inspiration: Blue Sky Above
Business advice and inspiration for women entrepreneurs and small businesses
The blue sky is brilliant this morning as I prepare to work. I look up and bask in its peaceful view wishing the entire world could be basked in it this morning. The airwaves are filled with dark images of smoke, destruction, and pain in people’s faces in Belgium. As I glance up at the sky, I dream of peace spreading its wings over people in that city and others around the nation who are affected by violence.
A couple weeks ago when a woman entrepreneur shared her dark days trying to save her dying business, her face was saddened as she described the agony of letting her beloved staff go, communicating with vendors on why she couldn’t pay her bills and telling her daughters they had to limit personal expenses. As she spoke about the rebirth and revitalization of her company a year later, her face brightened with a positive glow.
About a month ago I received news from a member of an immediate health issue that stopped her in her tracks. Ever since having surgery and awaiting more results, she maintains a daily mindfulness of being present today and not worrying about tomorrow. I have appreciated her positivity in light of her situation. She reminds me that we only have the present moment.
The theme that lies in all three stories today is not about tragedy but about hope. The hope that tomorrow will be better than today and hope that any grey sky that clouds our life or business at any moment can transition into a brilliant blue one. There is always a better tomorrow somewhere down the road. The wisdom is in the waiting and believing in positive endings.
Today’s Wednesday Wisdom blog post is to remind you if you are going through a tough personal or business period in your life that “this too shall pass.” There is always a blue sky to look up at and gain beauty from today and tomorrow. There are women in our lives who have survived business failure, personal hardships and tragedy who are back on their feet again. We have role models, examples, and stories to learn from that can enrich our lives at any moment we need the inspiration. Seek out those personal stories with others going through similar circumstances to help you on your way to hope.
As I listened to Deepak Chopra and Oprah’s new meditation series one phrase stuck with me, “Whenever you feel burdened, replace heaviness with light.” I wish you always have a way to find lightness when you need it and to look up at the blue sky when the weight of your worries are too much to bear.
Make Every Monday a Marketing Monday
Business advice for women entrepreneurs and small businesses
It’s a bright Monday morning, the beginning of another work week as an entrepreneur and you ask yourself, “What is the first thing I should do as I open up my office?” You might automatically look at items you didn’t complete on Friday, check out your calendar to see what appointments are scheduled for the week, or peek at your social media to catch up on your friends weekend activities.
What I always do every Monday morning is to start my day planning my marketing activities for the upcoming week. Monday is now coined “Marketing Monday” in my business. It’s a philosophy I recently shared at an event for Rochester women entrepreneurs so I thought I would share the typical tasks I perform on Mondays to make it a “Marketing Monday” for my blog followers too.
* Write a blog post first thing in the morning and then post it, share it and use popular hash tags to circulate it to local, national and international followers. When you share knowledge with a blog you grow your outreach by writing more consistently and distributing it often through social media. The blog post then becomes a marketing source for your company all day long while you work on customer projects and other business duties.
* Schedule news about customers, business inspiration, educational tidbits and success strategies during the week on your social media and keep personal and family news out of your news feeds during work hours. I believe it showcases the seriousness about your business and builds your brand.
* Map out a day or two for sales calls and appointments because sales are an essential part of marketing. Book yourself for sales activity before you start your work week so you remain committed to making calls to bring in revenue.
* Embrace a “Marketing Monday Attitude” by understanding as a solo entrepreneur or small business you must be the best promoter for your company. Practice these two mantras to help you, “It is about my business, not about my ego” and “If I don’t have money to advertise, I must promote,” when you have trouble going after publicity, promotion or free marketing for your company. You must become your own best promoter if you are going to have others learn about your business and what you offer especially if you don’t have a large advertising budget.
Remember you can own the best business in the world but if no one knows about it, you can’t sustain or grow it. Embrace marketing everyday of the week – especially on Monday mornings.
NCAA Tournament Inspiration: Cheering on Both Men and Women
Inspiration from the NCAA Tournament for Women and Men
It started yesterday with infectious energy, drama, tears, and hard fought competition. I am not talking about another day in the life of an entrepreneur but rather the beginning of the NCAA Basketball Tournament. The fever is high all over the nation for this special athletic event.
Since I write my blog from Syracuse, New York, you can guess I am wearing orange and blue and ready to turn on the television at 12:15 p.m. for the men’s game and 2:30 p.m. for the women’s game. Also adorning the cover of Sports Illustrated this week was female basketball rock star Brianna Stewart who lives in North Syracuse going for her 4th consecutive NCAA tournament championship. Syracuse loves its sports especially basketball.
As the hardwood starts to beat with orange balls only 15 miles away from my home, the energy in our community is electric with both teams in the playoffs. As a woman entrepreneur, I have cheered on and promoted the women’s basketball team for three years since starting our Women’s Athletic Network for women business owners in Syracuse. The Dome is typically empty when the women play, the tickets cheaper and the parking free! I dream of the day when we have to pay the same price to watch the women’s team play as we do the men’s team. Women athletes deserve to have fans in the seats and feel the community spirit too.
Today my blog post is simply to remind you that while you are cheering on your favorite male basketball team this weekend, you turn on a girls game and watch them play too. I bet you see how dynamic and talented they are. If you need a woman’s team to watch turn on the SU Orange Women’s game or Brianna Stewart’s University of Connecticut game. They all demonstrate style, spirit and sportswomenship!
The mantra today is…..Go Orange…Go Men…..Go Women!
Social Engagement Business Lesson
Business inspiration for women entrepreneurs and small businesses
My Twitter feed was on fire after I sent a tweet about a man who cut me off at a gas station pump who proceeded to yell at me for two minutes once I got to another pump. It took all my Italian energy and female wits to stop talking back to him after 30 seconds. Many pieces of “wisdom” came through my mind during the experience the main one was “Thank God I work with women 100% of the time” or “Man, you must be a Trump supporter because you are so angry.” I typically don’t engage in social media marketing in a negative way but felt I had run into one of those angry political rally attendees on Super Tuesday.
So if you are asking where are the positive words of wisdom today Tracy besides “hold your tongue when you know someone’s crazy,” it’s about social engagement. Yesterday as the speaker of my company’s March 31st program and I redefined the copy for our program on social engagement; the term must have lodged in my mind. All I could think about was not engaging with this man socially in the parking lot.
But social engagement in business is about having a strategy behind relationship-based, content-rich marketing that promotes interaction between you and your customers to grow your business and contacts. A good marketing strategy must be clear, deliver valuable content and create calls to action that promote interaction and a continuing conversation as you nurture relationships that lead to more business and referrals.
Today’s post is to inspire you to think about ways you positively engage with others in business in person and online to drive traffic to your company. Do you have good calls to action for consumers? Are you nurturing relationships to create long lasting clients? Are your marketing efforts rich with content? What do you need to know to engage with potential customers better? If you don’t have many answers, don’t head to the nearest gas station or a Trump rally but consider joining me on March 31st.
Sometimes in life as in business you know when to engage and when you shouldn’t. I hope today you have only positive interactions with people who cross your path.
Super Tuesday Inspirational Blog Post for Women
Inspirational and business wisdom
On this Ides of March and Super Tuesday, I am grateful for growing up in a household with a mother, whose birthday is today, that brought diverse people around our Italian dinner table for conversation and fellowship. Gay artists, Roman Catholic Priests, deaf students, and African American interns shared our table. At my aunt’s house once in a while homeless men were invited to break the bread. My eyes, heart and spirit embraced all types of people at an early age. I love having a multi-cultural love for this world.
My mother also taught me to be a strong, resilient woman who would work to earn her own way in life and not depend on a man’s support. Whether I made money at the age of ten polishing silver, or sold yearbook ads in high school or paid my way through college working in food service, I created my own income. Today I celebrate 21 years as a proud woman entrepreneur who has paved her own way in her profession. We are all responsible for our own earnings and financial independence too.
What I want to share today in my blog are the lessons I learned from my 50 years of living so far to shine light on a great way to live life (and maybe even who deserves our vote this today):
* Embrace the good in other people. Embrace other religions, other ways of thinking, other skin tones, and other professions. Realize the world is a better place when it is diverse and made up of all types of people.
* Be kind and respectful to others and the world will shine back on you. Your actions speak louder than any words. Your history and reputation are indelibly intertwined. You can be a positive light shining hope and good will or deal in pessimism and doubt casting darkness.
* Work hard every day of your life to support yourself and your family. Don’t depend on anyone else to provide handouts to help you. It is up to you to make your own living in life.
Today I hope this also resonates with people voting in major states. The leader of this wonderful, country of ours needs to be someone who can embrace all people no matter their sex, religion, financial background, beliefs or views. I believe strongly a female can be a great President and display positive traits to bring more diverse people together just like my mom did. I hope Super Tuesday voters vote with their hearts.
International Visions: Business Inspiration
Business advice and inspiration for women entrepreneurs and female business owners
On four beautiful fall days in October among the bustling streets of New York City, I lived with twelve women I had never met before – five of them were from countries outside the United States. I immediately embraced the friendship of women from Iceland, Germany, New Zealand, Australia, and Malaysia. What I learned after housing, eating and running with them through the streets of the Big Apple was how captivating it was to be with women from other cultures.
As we conversed one evening over warm food, wine and candlelight talking about our shared love for running, the women started sharing their experiences of running in foreign countries. One had just returned from the Antarctica where she completed a marathon, another had run in South Africa and someone in Europe. All of a sudden living, running and doing business in New York State seemed like I existed in a small closet of the world.
When the four days came to an end, it was difficult to say goodbye to women who I might not see again although our hearts were connected forever by the experience. The biggest lesson I learned from this excursion was how International women – because they are women – are so similar because we operate with open, welcoming hearts and strong female spirits.
Yesterday as the world celebrated International Women’s Day, my memories raced back to my time in New York with these culturally diverse women. I wished more American women could be connected to more global women to create new relationships and open up new exciting horizons.
Today I encourage you to learn more about women in your industry who are from other parts of the world. Attend conferences where you can meet and network with global women, read about women’s business issues in other countries, and connect to world blogs and marketing platforms where you can meet more International women. Although our personal and business lives in America are wonderful, we can enrich them by expanding our vistas and including women from other cultures.
Although yesterday was International Women’s Day, I hope today is the first day you decide to embrace an International spirit to your business life and do something to open up new global connections.
Women TIES 