Thanksgiving Business Message: Service to Others
Business advice for women entrepreneurs and small businesses
When I was twelve years old, I sat across a long table from “Herby” the poor, homeless man who was invited to our traditional Italian and American feast by my generous aunt. The table was full of familiar faces of grandparents, parents, cousins and siblings. I somehow was the one who was seated directly across from Herby. I remember being surprised someone could eat with so few teeth.
It’s interesting how certain images get lodged in one’s mind. I’ve enjoyed 50 Thanksgivings throughout my life and 5 of them stand out vividly in my mind with this one being one of them. Was it because I was shocked being so young and never seeing a homeless man before? Was it the way he looked or acted? What it how he ate his food? What I know now to be the truth is I remember that Thanksgiving because of the generosity of my family to invite someone into their homes who didn’t have a family.
I have prided myself on being a gracious person since I can remember always trying to the best of my ability to care for others. I believe the success I have been fortunate to experience as a 20 year woman entrepreneur is because I have cared deeply for the women who have associated themselves with my company.
It’s no wonder I also fell in love with the Jesuit mission of “service to others” when I started my event planning career in my early twenties at Le Moyne College. I was fortunate to work with Jesuit priests, to hear them speak and to foster their philosophy. When my oldest son decided to attend another Jesuit school for college, the wonderful Boston College, my heart sang as the admission counselor said to us, “We want our students to graduate one day to light the world aflame with service to others.”
This “Thanksgiving” business blog post is to remind you as Thanksgiving arrives, to not only be thankful for the gifts you have been given, but to share your time, talent and treasures with others. Whether that service is to a loved one in need of medical attention, to the underprivileged of the community, or to valued customers and treasured friends; we must try to live a life that always gives positively from the heart.
This year, I remain thankful to the multitude of women entrepreneurs who attended our events this year or have been a member for one year or ten years; and also for people who read my inspirational weekly newsletter or who live out our mission of buying as often as they can from women entrepreneurs. They will grace my prayers this year as I celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with the ones I love…… and hopefully a few unexpected guests to remind me what service is truly all about.
Stepping into a New Business Dream
Business and Entrepreneurial Advice for Women Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses
As I sat with legs crossed with twenty other people listening to the vibrations of unique musical instruments and a special yoga instructor for the next two hours, I realized I was sitting in the midst of another woman entrepreneur’s dream. A dream she manifested into a larger business that would satisfy needs of health focused individuals in the Jamesville community.
The walls were a smoothing hue of sea foam green, bamboo floors and a colorful thin mat supported my feet and dim lights created the calming atmosphere. I turned to the woman beside me and said, “I’ve been practicing yoga for years by myself in front of my television but never in public. I hope I don’t fall over and create chaos.” She smiled kindly with a glint of understanding in her eye.
As the peacefulness of the exquisite session grew in me as the movement, music and words flowed through me, I thought of the my member Mary Riposo of Infinite Light Yoga Center at her front desk with her beautiful blue eyes and warm smile greeting her clients. Mary told me a few years ago she was creating this “dream” and expanding from renting space to perform massage in other people’s businesses to owning her own large studio. I wanted to “walk” into her dream and support her this past weekend. I am so glad I did.
The hardest part in business is making the decision to re-create your company in the midst of its existence to a larger more meaningful existence or to change it because it isn’t working the way it should anymore. Growing or altering one’s business starts with the fruits of desire, the energy of risk and the willingness to fail. It’s about knowing you must move forward or you risk becoming irrelevant. As someone stated recently, “If you aren’t always evolving as an entrepreneur, you simply aren’t giving yourself enough credit and you’re missing out on a greater potential for success.”
Today’s post is to remind you that you must always – in small ways or big bold ways – be evolving your business. It starts with you. Take an inventory of how you feel about your current business status, income, client numbers and workload now. What ranking would you give it from 1-10 with 10 being “perfect.” Write down a list of 3 ideas you have had stirring in your mind for the past year that you haven’t acted on and then list why. Do you have a dream you are trying to step inside of but are too afraid to do it? Find help to move forward.
By stepping into the business of another women’s successful enterprise, we can truly see, feel and witness what another woman’s hard work and dream looks like. By doing so, we leave inspired to the core to do the same for ourselves. “Namaste.”
Event Marketing Advice
Business Advice for Women Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses
Sitting across the table was a woman who wished an event she recently canceled did not have to be postponed due to low attendance. I felt her pain as I reminisced about the first event I produced for my new company ten years ago. I was confident the event would be sold out! When that did not happen, I remember doubting my decision in creating the event, and also in starting my new company. It rocked me to my core.
What I learned from that disappointing experience and shared with this wonderful woman entrepreneur, was the sentiment that sometimes when we fail, we must get up and try again; and we must market harder. In most cases with events, it takes more marketing efforts than one imagines to gain the attention of prospective attendees in a world full of a hundred options for our time, money and attention.
Today’s post is a simple reminder to entrepreneurs that successful events take enormous amounts of marketing, promotion and advertising to a specific audience to get seats filled. One marketing blast, one social media marketing mention and only one invitation is not enough to garner reservations. You can have the best event in the world planned, but if no one knows about it, no one will be there to experience it. You must become addicted to marketing, sending out more notices than you feel comfortable with, until you have the numbers you want.
Here are 3 of my favorite marketing strategies to help you next time your event attendance numbers are not what you desire:
* Collaborative Marking Partners or Sponsors – Sometimes getting more people to attend an event involves asking collaborative business partners or sponsors, within the same market, to agree to market your event in exchange for promotion. You want to ask partners or sponsors who have the same market niche you are interested in attracting. Know what you can give that does not cost you money but gives equal promotional value to a collaborative partner or sponsor. Ex: Their corporate name on your website, their marketing materials at your event, or a display table for their products are nice collaborative marketing suggestions.
* Add a Large Giveaway – Consider adding a major giveaway item as a gift to attract new attendees. Make sure the giveaway is something you can easily afford or have in stock and then re-brand and re-market the event with the large giveaway leading the headlines. Ex: Consider giving away an ultimate package of your products and services valued at a high price. I recently added a $2,500 Marketing Package to one lucky winner for an upcoming event. The marketing package doesn’t cost me money and it is attracting a lot of new reservations.
* Market on Social Media – Make sure your event is posted and shared on social media so your friends and their friends learn about the event. Ask some of your high powered friends to share the event with their social media marketing friends and offer to do the same for them in the future. Viral marketing is a great way to reach a new audience to fill seats at any event.
Remember, just when you think you have done enough marketing for an event, do more. It always helps the final results.
In Search of Business Wisdom
Business advice for women entrepreneurs and small businesses
As I walked along the steel blue ocean waters and dark brown sand in Kennebunkport, Maine this weekend, I felt wisdom envelope me as I contemplated my life, business and future. Wisdom arrives in unexpected times in unexpected places. It can come walking alone down a scenic ocean path, listening to the words of a war veteran or reading a simple story to a three year old niece.
Wisdom has been described as the ability to make sensible decisions and judgments based on personal knowledge and experience or a sphere of activity that has been
gained through experience or an opinion that almost everyone seems to share or express. Wisdom is acumen, perception and prudence wrapped into one.
I’ve gained wisdom about cooking the best Italian food from my mother, wisdom on throwing the perfect football spiral from my dad, the wisdom to be kind and gracious from my grandmothers and even the wisdom to be occasionally feisty from my grandfathers.But the wisdom that rests most with me is the wisdom I’ve gained from other women traveling down the same path I’ve been traveling professionally the past 2 decades of my life.
I think wisdom is brewed up in simple conversations about struggle and success, moments of soul wrenching decisions involving risk and reward, and sharing stories of triumphs and glory. I believe wisdom is always around us waiting to be plucked out of the air when we need it. It is bountiful. We just need to stop sometimes to find it.
I know for most women entrepreneurs we crave wisdom from other women who are doing what we are doing, who are more successful than we are or who have learned valuable lessons we want to discover. What I know to be true is women entrepreneurs love sharing their wisdom for the good of their sister businesswomen because I’ve witnessed it in the acceptance of women who speak at my events, who write to me about solutions to problems and who guide me in my own business decisions. Women love to help other women. It is that simple.
Today’s blog post is meant to remind you that if you are ever searching for wisdom to any business problem, you don’t have to look very far. You can find it
in nature, in readings, in programs and most especially by talking to or listeningto other women entrepreneurs. Take time today to realize where you gain the most insight in your life. Is it through religion, reading, listening, exercising, walking outside or picking up the phone to talk to someone special?
Wisdom is all around you whenever you need it. You just have to look.
Century Old Business Wisdom for Women Entrepreneurs
Business advice for women entrepreneurs and small business owners
One more glorious late fall day inspired me to go outside during my lunch hour to sit underneath one of the seven 100 year old maple trees in my yard so I could experience the blissful warm day that would be ending soon. As I sat there, the last remnants of once green spring leaves dropped down around me. I felt like I was in a snow globe minus the white precipitation. Time stood still and I was mesmerized by the beauty of the moment.
I am someone who has always loved the color green – like the fresh buds of saplings in April, the color of my childhood house, the water color off Sanibel Island and the color of a fresh dollar bill. Green represents positive energy in my mind – the kind I want around me all the time. Sitting under the tree with once green leaves, now in brown hues, falling reminded me my favorite season had come to an end and a transition was once again underway.
Periodically I sit at the desk I’ve used for 19 years as a woman entrepreneur and experience the same feeling. New becomes old, then old becomes new again, and a hundred transitions occur in the seasons of entrepreneurial life. What is new fuels our energy and becomes our priority. What is old lingers on awaiting dismissal or reworking. One is future focused and one dwells in the past. But in business as in life, we realize something old has a much value as something new, it just allows us a different perspective.
My grandmother’s words of wisdom reside in my heart alongside the joyful laughter of my sons when they were young. Our worlds will always be a combination of what is old and what is new and so it is in business. We couldn’t possibly be where we are today if it wasn’t for our past. We would have had no future path if we didn’t start our business journey someplace. When the forks in the road appeared along the way, we paused to consider the options. Many of us took the road less traveled ready to experience high risk for high reward and the embraced the anticipation of uncertainty.
Today’s blog post is meant for you to stop for a short period of time to recall your past, to reminisce over your journey, to recognize where you stand today and to envision where you still want to go. You can review your personal or business life. Ask yourself, what still matters the most? What am I willing to do to remain happy or become more satisfied? Do I believe the best is yet to come – and if so what is it that’s coming? I hope you’ll envision 3 goals that instantly pop up in your mind right now and investigate their current and future worth in pursuing.
Sometimes we need time to stand still long enough – perhaps under a beautiful old maple tree on a warm fall day – to catch a glimpse of time moving slowly so we can focus on what we have left to do that matters the most to us.
Vote for Women Today
Business inspiration for women entrepreneurs
This morning as I listened to last night’s Monday Night Football national anthem performed by Chris Botti, I was incredibly moved by the quiet sincerity of the song. It was the perfect music to remind me that no matter how busy I am today, I’m going to vote. Living in this wonderful nation is a gift, just like music is.
It wasn’t long ago when African Americans and women couldn’t vote; so today I vote not because it is my right but also because I want to honor the people who fought so hard to make it possible for me to vote. For centuries, everyday citizens pushed to make a difference in our country, to fight for what they believed in which eventually allowed us to have a multitude of opportunities. We should never take for granted the passion, fortitude and actions of our forefathers and foremothers for giving us what we have today.
I remember voting for the first time as a freshman at SUNY Oswego right after I turned 18 years old. I remember placing my vote as a Republican because I was a “business major” and I felt the Republican Party stood for what I was learning and the difference I wanted to make in the world. A decade after that vote, I decided I was going to vote based on how I felt about the candidates after listening to them debate.
Today as a woman who wants to see the world with more equality for women – especially pay equality – my party has changed to “women.” I vote for women no matter what party they represent because I believe women will achieve ultimate equality when we have equal representation in government. I ask my husband and my sons – who can vote now – to consider voting for women if they don’t know anyone on the ballot. “Why not, I tell them? Why not help me make a difference in the world by electing more women to government?” I’m never sure if they will, but I hope they will.
Today I encourage you to do three things – to vote no matter how busy you are or how unimportant your local or state races appear, to vote for women if you don’t know anyone else on the ballot, and to rejoice in the freedoms you have as an American citizen. Don’t forget you count and your vote counts.
If you’d like to be moved by the beautiful music of last night, just click here and listen with your whole heart, mind and voting spirit.
Entrepreneurial Wisdom: Being Moved By Video
Business advice for women entrepreneurs
On the radio this morning, I listened to two rock station disc jockeys talk about a young woman who end her life because she did not want to suffer from brain cancer any longer. When I arrived home my Facebook news feed also had women sharing the story and personal video about Brittany Maynard. It was powerful, moving, thought provoking and heart wrenching. What an amazing woman, what an amazing message.
After my father passed away, I remember rummaging through old black and white films of him from my childhood. I wanted to see him “alive” again. Those old films had images but not sound. One Christmas as a gift to my family, I converted them into a digital format. It was wonderful to see my father in action again and to share the visual with people who loved him..
As technology keeps changing, women entrepreneurs must embrace and use it to deliver powerful messages to their customers and the marketplace. We cannot rely only on photos or copy to express what we want shared; we must use video. If you witnessed Brittany’s video today, you realize the power behind video.
A few months ago, a woman entrepreneur – Elin Barton of White Knight Productions – shared her knowledge on using video to promote a business. I decided to include her advice in this post to inspire you to use video more often in your entrepreneurial marketing.
* Digital Social Media is important today because 23 million people have and use smartphones and people check their phones 150 times a day on average! 68% of people sleep with their phones near their bed. So getting the attention of consumers today means using digital media and part of that is using video to engage more viewers.
* Video is important in today’s marketing world because a 1 minute video = 1.8 million words and keeps someone engaged for 2.4 minutes (which is long compared to the 6 seconds someone spends when viewing a website if you don’t capture their attention immediately). It engages more emotional responses and more buying.
* Short, planned, educational, videos about your business used within social media as posts not only gets you in front of your audience but captures their attention and engages them in a memorable, shareable way that can exponentially grow your reach and your business.
* Google owns YouTube so the more video you can have on YouTube the more it will help with Google SEO.
* When crafting a video, always bullet point or script out your message and strategy. You want a clear road map on what you will convey in a very short period of time.
* Make sure you ask yourself, “What is my intention with this video? How do I want someone to react when they see it? Do I want them to be called into action and if so how? Do I just want to convey a mission?” It’s important to know your intention before producing the piece.
I am grateful for Brittany’s message today for so many reasons.
Creating a “Live” Event to Celebrate Your Business
Business Advice for Women Entrepreneurs
How can an “aha moment” turn into an event idea? It happens when someone says something that turns something you have been doing for years into a “live” event concept.
I was fortunate to be in Saratoga producing an event with Saratoga Springs Mayor Joanne Yepsen and 60 women businesswomen when the Mayor asked the audience how many of them had read my weekly “Wednesday Wisdom” that morning and liked it. The air was full of hands. The visual of the moment attached itself to the words I hear so often, “Tracy, I love your Wednesday Wisdom. I never miss reading it even if I have to tuck it in a folder and read it a few days later.”
As women entrepreneurs, I know you agree with me when I say; sometimes we don’t know the true affect our business has on others unless they tell us.
At that moment I decided to celebrate the popularity of the Wednesday Wisdom readings, the women who read it, my 50th Birthday and a chance to bring women together for an uplifting, celebratory event, so I created “Wednesday Wisdom Live” to be held in Syracuse on November 20th. This event features 6 positive women entrepreneurs who will share 10 minutes of their own “wisdom” on different business topics. There will also be a holiday mini-marketplace for sales since I love when women are making money.
The room will be beautiful flowers, music, joy and celebration for all the women who have made my entrepreneurial life’s purpose so meaningful. $5 from the event ticket will go to support a group of needy women affiliated with Northside Ministries in Syracuse so we can take them to a holiday concert called “Christmas at the Palace Featuring the DeSantis Orchestra.” Isn’t life best when you give to others – especially other women who might not have what you have?
I encourage my blog post readers today to think about a significant brand of your business and turn it into a “live event” where you customers, vendors, staff and friends can experience the meaning with you. Use your company’s anniversary or big milestone to set the stage and date for the event. Stick with a consistent theme and produce a fun, motivational and inspirational program for your guests. Add a philanthropic component to it so the event is extra special.
I hope New York State women entrepreneurs will join me during my “live” event to celebrate their success too. I am filled with gratitude to the hundreds of the brilliant, amazing, and inspiring women entrepreneurs who grace my presence every year. Life is a gift. The women who have believed in Women TIES are a gift to me. Realize your customers are a gift to you too and throw a “live” event.
“It’s Time” – Entrepreneurial Wisdom for Women
Business and Entrepreneurial Advice for Women Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners
As I sat in the beautiful mansion cradled in the valley of the Berkshire Mountains, known as one of the best energy vortexes in the world; the message that bubbled up in me after listening to my client’s instructions was “It’s Time.” We had just completed an exercise to find a short meaningful statement to keep at our desks or hang on our wall to move us forward in business. Everyone hand a different statement but I loved mine for a number of reasons.
As my 50th birthday approaches next week on November 7th, the 10th anniversary of Women TIES arrives on March 3rd and the 20th anniversary of Five Star Events and the birth of my entrepreneurial life are celebrated on August 8th, the thought of time has been forefront in my mind. It’s not realizing how much time has passed but rather the amount of time I feel I have left to accomplish more.
It’s a known fact women entrepreneurs are less likely to take risks compared to men. It could be because we are filled with a combination of wisdom, intuition and contemplation. Often as a milestone approaches we analyze whether we have taken the appropriate risks, adventures and opportunities to make us fulfilled; and to search for the spark of life still resonating within us to strive for more success. I don’t know many people who stop to think about their lives and decide “I’m good. I’m all set. I’m done achieving.”
Perhaps we need to be more childlike in our approach to risk. Children are great experimenters; they aren’t attached to the outcome of anything they do. They enjoy the experience. Maybe we need to let go of the outcomes too and focus on what we still want to do in business. Maybe it’s time to stop thinking, and start doing something special that rests in our heart.
Today’s post is meant to have you contemplate how you feel about what you have accomplished so far in your entrepreneurial life. Do you keep growing because you keep taking risks? Are you making more money now because you are willing to push forward with new ideas and investments? Is there more you know you want to do – and if so, do you have a vision and plan? Perhaps you should give yourself some “time” to contemplate your deepest desires. Maybe you will even find a personal statement to use as a motivator to lead you to larger goals.
Bottom line, there is always enough time. There truly is. For me, I know “It’s Time” to start setting some loftier goals. Maybe you’d like to walk alongside me in the same journey?
The Importance of Business Communications
Business Advice for Women Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners
As I prepared a presentation for a class of freshman Oswego students on business communications, I had to look up the definition. Having always been asked to speak about entrepreneurship, female entrepreneurial issues or my own business success strategies, I wasn’t exactly sure what “business communications” was.
I was surprised to discover it was simply communication in a business context encompassing topics such as marketing, brand management, reputation management and even event management. It also includes public relations, advertising and interpersonal communication. I immediately labeled myself an expert in business communications having used all these avenues for 20 years to succeed as a woman entrepreneur.
But the professor didn’t want me to describe these topics in detail, instead she asked me to inspire my audience of 19 year olds with my personal business communications tips to help them succeed in college and as young graduates. Here’s what I shared:
* Be clear, honest, forthcoming and professional in all communication forms, at all times.
* Remember how you act, what you say and how you carry yourself are the biggest ways you communicate information about yourself to others. “Be aware. Be PR aware always.”
* Document conversations and agreements with others so you have proof of what you and another party have agreed upon in case an unforeseen circumstance arises. As my favorite boss once said to me, “Document the World” because it will protect you.
* Keep learning about Business Communications because it can help you professionally.
* Embrace and love Communications. If you own your own business someday, you will be the major communicator of your enterprise and brand image.
I strongly believe if you are a great communicator, you can be more successful in business and entrepreneurship. If you feel like you need more information in this subject, remember you can always further your own education on the topic too. Learning is not just for 19 year olds.
Women TIES 