Accepting and Benefiting from Business Goodbyes
Business Advice for Women Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners
As I spoke with a woman entrepreneur during our annual membership discussion on how her business was the past year she said, “I’ve learned after being in business ten years that saying goodbye to projects I had hoped would make my company more successful but didn’t work out or saying goodbye to longtime customers is actually easier than it used to be.” I asked her to explain why and she said, “Because as soon as you say goodbye to something that isn’t working, you open up space for something new to enter – whether that’s an exciting new client or a original innovative project that sparks new energy.”
When people start their companies and it’s difficult to land accounts or support a new service, it’s difficult to make a decision to say goodbye and move forward. But as this entrepreneur discovered sometimes accepting an end to a business relationship, product or way of thinking is more beneficial for an entrepreneur.
After two decades of being a woman business owner this is what I’ve learned about business goodbyes:
* Not everyone remains a client forever so accept this truth before you begin any sales effort or marketing campaign. Sometimes it isn’t what a business has to offer that makes the customer change their mind about remaining a loyal client; sometimes the customer realizes a business doesn’t offers what they need anymore. Entrepreneurs should always be striving to maintain and service the right clients their companies can help most.
* Before a customer says goodbye, make sure you have communicated clearly with them about how you could aid them more in the future. If you have an inkling a client is not happy with what you offer or their involvement in your business declines, make the gesture to reach out to schedule time to talk. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Entrepreneurs need to be the proactive communicators with their client base. It is our responsibility to stay in touch, not our customers.
* If you have done a consistent job in sales, you should have a pipeline of potential new customers ready to sign for new business. An entrepreneur should never be content with the current client load she has, she needs to always be prospecting, selling and signing new customers so when one customer leaves, a new one can replace them. Make sure you are not counting too much on your current client base for all your revenue. You must prospect and bring in new business as often as you can.
What I know for sure is saying “Hello” is so much better than saying “Good bye,” so make sure you are welcoming more new clients than saying farewell to old ones.
The Collaborative Business Mindset
The house was stirring with activity as seven businesses set-up for a special fall event. For three hours 75 women visited the event which featured 10 women entrepreneurs displaying, selling and promoting products. The invitation to the party went out through social media marketing. The woman who coordinated the function hit a home run – a well promoted and nicely planned event to draw sales to her company and that of 9 other women. The lesson from last night’s function was the power of a collaborative business mindset, the influence of social media marketing and the benefit of hosting events.
This year more than ever before, I’ve witnessed women who have shred a competitive mindset to embrace a collaborative spirit. Gone are the days when women feel intimidated to be in the same room as a competitor. Now women understand they possess a unique style, niche and sales approach to attract the right customers. We have learned the pie is big enough.
I was pleasantly surprised when several women made a point to introduce themselves to me. They knew I was attending the event from my Facebook reservation. Gone are the days when we go to a function not knowing who is coming. Social media marketing helps us look through the front door of a party before we actually get there. We know who will be there and can set networking goals to meet specific guests.
Business owners should remember events are an innovative way to pull new customers to you or draw past clients back into the fold. By creating an attractive setting, an appealing reason and exciting opportunities to attend an event, women can get new customers or familiar patrons through the door. It’s a warmer sales approach then cold calls.
Today’s post is to encourage you to think about planning more corporate events, collaborating with other business owners on joint programs, and using the power of social media marketing to promote your functions.
If you are starting to plan for 2014, add quarterly events to your line-up and start communicating with like-minded businesses or industry competitors about collaboration. Take a look now at ways other entrepreneurs are using Facebook to promote events and invite a bigger network. Don’t forget events can be a joyful and meaningful way to increase your sales all year long.
Start Your Day with a Tweet
Business advice for women entrepreneurs and small business owners
I started my day as I always do with a fresh brewed cup of coffee and Good Morning America so I could catch up on news before heading to work. The best part of watching any television show on a daily basis whether it’s a talk show, news station or reality show is the feeling that develops over time that makes you feel like you’re part of their family.
The feeling of family doesn’t just come from the viewer making a specific television show a regular part of their day, it also occurs when television stars reach out to their audience by inviting them to follow and converse with them through social media like Twitter and Instagram. Now fans have a way of staying in touch with celebrities 24/7 if they have the interest.
When the devastating Connecticut school shooting occurred a year ago, my son’s school district, West Genesee, had an employee who grew up in Sandy Hook. The school wanted to support this employee’s hometown and its community. Students were encouraged to wear Sandy Hook’s school colors – green and white – the next day and gather in the gym for a photo. With their hands shaped in the form of hearts, a photo was taken of the West Genesee students and sent to Sandy Hook High School. When I saw the photo on social media, because I follow the Superintendent of my son’s school who uses social media frequently, I tweeted the photo to national news celebrities.
The photo was picked up by Katie Couric and distributed on her Twitter feed. The tweet was retweeted by many people. All of a sudden West Genesee was getting more well-deserved attention for their sweet intentions due to a simple tweet and connection to a celebrity. When famous people engage their audience to communicate with them, they in essence allow others to become part of their “family.”
Today’s post is to remind you of the power of social media and the opportunity you have 24/7 to communicate, share and distribute useful, powerful words and images to people in the news that can use the information to help you and others. Everyone behind the glass screens in our living rooms or on our desks is approachable in today’s social media world. If you haven’t already thought about national figures you should be connected with in order to receive or send communication to, maybe today is the day to spend extra time on Twitter and follow some of your favorites – especially those in your entrepreneurial industry.
Remember the news anchors, celebrities and story collectors want to hear from you. They are inviting the public to become part of their family so make sure you are doing your part by sharing pertinent information and useful stories with local, regional and national news personalities. You might just find one dawn that you look through a glass screen to see your name or information staring right back at you and that definitely would be the start of a “Good Morning.”
Business Advice: Rely On Your Long Term Vision
Business advice for women entrepreneurs and small business owners
Yesterday I found myself sitting on the edge of Onondaga Lake in the middle of the day in the middle of a busy work week staring out with blurred vision across the shimmering lake on a beautifully warm fall day with only the ducks to keep me company. Believe me, ducks aren’t my normal business day companions.
I wasn’t basking lakeside to escape my heavy entrepreneurial work load or miss an important business event but because I had no ability to work. Due to an unexpected, temporary eye condition, I lost my close-up vision and with that came an inability to write, type, read, text or post anything. What is a woman entrepreneur to do?
Without technology to rule my day, I turned to the only thing I thought I could do to continue working , I loaded my bike on my car, drove to Long Branch Park, biked to a quiet place where I could glance out over the tranquil waters and envision long range plans for my company. What struck me basking in this calm environment was the fact; I don’t give myself enough time to contemplate long term visions for my business. I don’t think most entrepreneurs do either.
Business owners are compelled every day to accomplish what is on their to-do list for the week, impulsively following a daily routine, not taking a breath or moment to just ponder what we should be envisioning for our personal and corporate future. I can tell you for a fact when you don’t have any short term vision; you must focus only on what you see in the distance.
After an hour of staring across the lake, I got back on my bike with 5 exciting, new ideas to start working on as soon as my short range vision returned. Without the loss of my close-up vision yesterday, I would have never discovered the awesome ideas I have stirring in my mind this morning.
I hope you give yourself the gift of sight in the next week by “losing” your short term vision. Walk away from all technology, pretend you don’ have access to anything other than your thoughts and envision 5 long range plans for your business. It is only when we lose sight of what’s closest to us that we find focus.
3 Event Planning Tips for The Busy Upcoming Event Season
Business advice for women entrepreneurs and small business owners
I have been event planning since I was 7 years old when I did a muscular dystrophy carnival in my garage! My first couple professional positions out of college were working as an events planner for two colleges where I gained a breadth of experience in all facets of event management, promotion and publicity.
In 1995, I decided to take the plunge, trust my instincts and work expertise and become an entrepreneur by starting my own event planning company. In essence I possess close to 40 years experience executing, managing and promoting events. With the busy event season coming up with holiday parties to plan and corporate events to create in the new year and I wanted to share 3 brief top event planning tips to get you started on your way.
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Use Events as a PR Tool for your Company:
There are a lot of ways to market or promote your company. Events are a fun way to do that. All PR efforts either take time, money or a combination of both. Events can be fun, time consuming and beneficial especially if you have a mission for the event. If you don’t want to do an event on your own, consider creating an event with another company or two to share expenses, marketing outreach and work. There are a lot of complementary businesses that can benefit from hosting and cross promoting events. I suggest you think about what type of events you want to plan by December or into 2014. If you are planning a small event, you might only need 1-2 months to plan and host the event; but if you are planning a larger event, I suggest you give yourself 3-6 months to plan and promote it depending on the size and scope of the event.
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Create Event Planning Timelines
There are different types of event planners – I’m not the kind who can come in a room and say “purple taffeta needs to go on that wall and bring in some swans while you are at it to make the setting just perfect”. I have always been known for my exceptional organizational and logistics skills along with my event marketing expertise. So my favorite event planning tool is a detailed event timeline.
Create a timeline to help you be organized. List any details about the event and type it up with dates so you in essence create a detailed “to do list” which can be revised as the planning progresses.
Most importantly an event timeline takes the stress of all the details out of your mind and puts them someplace where you have access to them – making the event much more manageable and dropping your stress level.
You could Google search event timelines on line or take a wedding timeline for example and use the format to create your own event timeline.
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Create Events with this key thing in mind
When planning events, I believe you should always start by thinking about what your guests will feel like when they leave it. Envision what your guests will say, what they saw, what they experienced – and then plan your event backward from that perspective.
Try to use the 5 senses to create a memorable event: what will taste good, what music will they hear, what will the room look like, what will they touch or receive, and what is the overall feeling the event makes? If you can think about the 5 senses, you’ll have a good start to creating a memorable and comfortable event. Remember, you want to make sure your guests leave happy, ready to spread the news about your company to others and to return as a customer in one way or another.
Become a Business Trendsetter
Business advice for women entrepreneurs and business owners
Do you remember a time when the only place you could find news was on television or in the newspaper? Can you think back to an era when smoking cigarettes was a normal part of society? How about when ski resorts only had downhill skiers schussing down the slopes not snow boarders doing a ‘backside 180′? If you were good at predicting trends fifteen years ago, you might have been the one to invent the concept of receiving news on a computer or phone, or started smoking cessation classes for people trying to kick the habit or invented the brightest and coolest snowboarding equipment.
How much revenue did entrepreneurs who thought outside of the box earn predicting and watching new trends and then creating and incorporating innovative concepts into their businesses? Forecasting a trend might not be easy, but how much do we really know about spotting or even starting one? It isn’t a subject taught in school, generally discussed at business seminars or part of an entrepreneur’s business plan. Yet the potential for forecasting and capitalizing on a future trend then placing your company at the right place at the right time, can put your name on the map, designate you as an expert and increase your revenue substantially.
As entrepreneurs we need to stay on top of trends like understanding baby boomers are getting older and need more senior services, or knowing Generation X spends money on the latest electronic gadgets or how working mothers, who make up a majority of the work force, are spending money buying home cooked, prepared meals for their families. There are golden opportunities to create, package and market our services and products differently if we understand trends.
If you don’t know how to spot new trends in your industry, you could hire a market research company to help. There are also online trend setting blogs and even companies like Trend Watching, where you subscribe to their online service to read about trends in your industry.
Today’s blog post is to remind you that we have to always be thinking to the future. Nothing stays the same for too long. We need to stay ahead of the curve in order to capitalize on tomorrow and to ‘backside 180’ into a better financial corporate future.
Columbus Day Creativity for Women Entrepreneurs
Business Advice for Women Entrepreneurs and Small Business
It’s Columbus Day 2013 and the business world is a little quiet today. Government agencies are closed, children are off of school, parents take vacation days to enjoy a long weekend, and even the entrepreneurial world slows down because others are not working. So what’s a woman entrepreneur to do?
If you are struggling to find energy and focus today and the to-do-list on your desk is just not motivating you enough because no one else is working, why not try a creative exercise today which might jumpstart some new innovative products or services for your company in the near future?
This creative lesson was taught to me five years ago at one of our Women TIES programs. The speaker challenged women entrepreneurs in the audience to take half a day to create 100 ideas for their business. It was an exercise I found extremely helpful. The only hard part about the challenge was trying to get past idea #40. At that magic number, I started running out of ordinary business concepts. I had to really press on and ended up discovering some brilliant, zany and yet plausible ideas which were dreamt up between the 70th and 100th idea. It is amazing how the brain can be tested to produce results.
A few ideas to get you started thinking out of the box:
* Could your product be produced in a different way or on unique material? For example taking a regular paper invitation and making it edible?
* Could you produce your own YouTube business series to promote more hits to your blog?
* Should you send your product to QVC and take a chance to sell large?
* Should you start putting your best business advice into a book to sell?
So I challenge you on this Columbus Day to try this entrepreneurial exercise. Muster up all your creative energy. Walk away from your computer with a pad of paper and pen and only your thoughts to inspire you. I guarantee by the end of the day you’ll review the list and discover one or two really cool or very smart ideas to implement in your business.
I hope this creative exercise produces new revenue in the next year so on Columbus Day 2014 you are joining fellow vacationers on a well deserved holiday with some extra money in your bank account. Here’s to creativity today!
Hot Luncheon Business Tips
Business advice for small businesses and women entrepreneurs
Sitting across the table from me during lunch was an amazing woman who is a principal of a major Occupational, Health and Safety company with 4 branches and millions of dollars in contracts. I’ve always been fascinated by women who run extremely successful companies hoping their wisdom will rub off on me and motivate me to higher goals.
Our luncheon conversation lasted an hour but what an hour it was! As I hung on every detail of their latest client portfolio which includes ESPN, a movie set in Hollywood and some recognizable government buildings, I envisioned my company having the same clientele one day! I was thrilled listening to how they land bigger contracts, solicit for new clients and hired a 40th employee, I knew I would have to share the advice I picked up over the hot Italian lunch with others. Her advice made me dig deeper and push farther for my own company’s future. I hope it does the same for you.
* Her company was tired of having old leads – the business cards left in tradeshow bowls, names given at business luncheons and casual acquaintances – not turn into customers. So the company hired a sales person to follow-up on all their “warm” leads and it turned into a handful of very financial rewarding new contracts. If they never made the follow-up calls, they would not have landed the new business. Tip: If you aren’t following up on warm leads because you don’t have the time or staff, consider hiring a temporary sales person just to handle this duty. It will pay tenfold more in contracts then you’ll pay the staff person making the calls.
* Once a month, plan a strategic sales trip where you schedule business appointments from day to night in regions you already have existing customers. Ask for a 15 minute appointment to get in the door. Share your company’s information with the leader of the company you are prospecting. Typically my friend’s 15 minute appointments turned into one hour appointments and landed her a new client. Tip: Be more strategic by scheduling a day a month to be on the road, making new client appointments and walking away with new customers.
* Take a risk to grow your company now and stop waiting to make the move. This woman has decided that in the next ten years she will work day and night to secure a strong financial income for herself and her company knowing after that time period she can walk away from the business tired but with enough money to retire and live really well. Tip: If you are starting to reach the middle or end of your entrepreneurial career, make sure you are doing all you can to utilize every piece of energy you have to push beyond your limits now in order to reap financial rewards in the future to live on.
My final piece of advice is to make sure you find time to have lunch with business owners who are more accomplished than you are and take in their valuable tips and wisdom over a hot lunch. They mirror what you still want to do with your company and make you realize there is still plenty of time to achieve more success!
Rooftop Visions: Seeing Your Business Future
Advice for Women Entrepreneurs and Small Business
As I stood on top of the big, beautiful newly designed building staring out – and actually above – Lake Ontario, the sentiments of the woman who had spoken minutes ago stirred in me. She stated in her dedication speech the vision she had for the building five years prior as she stood on the rooftop of another campus building with New York State Senator Wright. She shared her dream of creating a new science and technology building at SUNY Oswego to support the need for more STEM degrees. The woman was President Deborah Stanley, a woman I’ve respected since I took her challenging business law class in 1984.
The day was spectacular for so many reasons but mostly because of the lessons that spoke to me as I watched a woman discuss a vision she had five years ago and then experienced sitting in that dream with 200 other people applauding the vision, work and financial obligations that occurred to make the magnificent new building a reality.
As I glanced at the lake’s horizon from the rooftop of this new dream building during one of the tours, I realized the importance of having a vision in order to take yourself or your company to the next level. We owe it to ourselves and our future to stand on top of our existing enterprise and glance out at the future. We must envision what we want to build to ever move in the next best direction. Just like the quote in the movie The Field of Dreams, “If you build it, he will come,” women need to see what they want to build and trust in following the vision, because the success will follow.
Today’s post is meant to inspire you to find a place this week where you can stand tall on top a mountain, hill or rooftop or next to a vast lake or river and envision what you want to create for your company in the next five years. Realize it will take financing, hard work and support to accomplish, but it can’t even begin to manifest if you don’t create the vision to build it first.
I’m so proud to be inspired by daring, intelligent, visionary women like President Deborah Stanley who make me want to do better in my own entrepreneurial life. I plan on sitting on top of my own rooftop soon to envision the next creative services for my company. I hope you do the same.
7 Habits of A Successful Woman Entrepreneur
Business Advice for Women Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners
A month ago, I was asked by the Syracuse Centerstate CEO to share 7 habits I believed made me a highly successful person. Always with a business focus in mind, I shared my top 7 professional success strategies with an audience of 100 hoping it would inspire someone else in the crowd. I was an honor to be asked and to thought of so favorably. I thought today’s blog post would be different than my normal writing style. Today I am sharing my 7 habits of success hoping it inspires a larger demographic of business people.
1. “Have and Live by a Personal Business Mission Statement” – I don’t think I would be on this panel today if it wasn’t because I live by a very strong personal business mission. I think every entrepreneur or professional should have one. My mission is to help women entrepreneurs increase their revenue opportunities by expanding their local, state and regional marketplace in New York State because women still earn less than men. I’ve been inspired to help women become more financially successful over the past 19 years because women still earn 72 cents on every dollar a man earns. Through my expertise in PR, event planning and publicity, I recognized I was able to promote women entrepreneurs extensively online, at 40 events per year and through social media marketing to help brand their names and increase their opportunities for sales. Having this strong and vibrant message has propelled me forward the past 8 years with my second company Women TIES.
2. “To Be Innovative” – I think entrepreneurs are more successful if they are creating new ways of doing something within their industry. In my case, I created a new company that had a mission of doing something no other business I knew was doing. I wanted to create a “local, state and regional marketplace” for women entrepreneurs in New York State so they would do business with each other. I believe very strongly in the buying and selling power of women. Similar to the Chamber’s philosophy, we can individually and collectively grow stronger if we work with others not only in our local area but regionally and state-wide. We need to erase the geographic barriers between us and our economic neighbors around the state. It is very easy to get on the road and travel to open up one;s marketplace in another geographic region. I encourage you and other business owners to continue to think outside of the box as you begin or continue your entrepreneurial journey. Create something new. Definitely be innovative in your thoughts and actions.
3. “Embrace Education”- I am proud to be on this panel with the President of SUNY Oswego Deborah Stanley who was also my college law professor at Oswego State. Education has always been a focus of my life after graduating from SUNY Oswego as a business major. I have taken post graduate classes to succeed professionally. And currently by producing 40 educational events a year for women to learn vital business information, I educate myself constantly. I believe all individuals – but especially entrepreneurs – should always be learning. It is the key to current and future achievement.
4. “5 Times Sales” Rule. These are one of those habits I have adapted after listening to a couple smart women entrepreneurs. I use to give up on a potential client or new member if they didn’t respond to my first or second sales call. But now I don’t give up the sales pursuit until after I’ve made the fifth call. Once I implemented this habit 3 years ago, I retained more members and secured new ones. I learned it’s not that someone didn’t want to take my call or commit to what I was selling, it was because they were too busy to take the phone call or call me back. I pick up the phone more often now and know that “yes” is going to come in around the 5th effort. I hope this inspires you to not give up so easy on sales calls too and to make sales calls an important part of your business day!
5. “Publicity Begets Publicity”. Being in front of you today is due to the publicity I’ve gained and a reputation I’ve earned as an expert within my industry. If you recognize me from the “Ask the Entrepreneurs” column that I contributed to for 11 years at the Post Standard, or the national blog post contributions I made for 2 years on a national advice blog, or seen me on Financial Fitness or Bridge Street it’s because I embraced exposure in the media to market myself and my company through as many speaking engagements, written opportunities and public appearances as possible.
If you are a solo entrepreneur, you are your business so you need to be seen and heard to help market your company. What I found is once you start the publicity ball rolling, it keeps rolling. Don’t assume you’ll be seen as egotistical in pitching yourself for writing or speaking gigs, if you have something valuable to share, you are doing someone else a favor by speaking or writing. So start going after more publicity for yourself and your company today.
6. “Seek Advisors 10 Years Older Than Yourself” I have always looked up to women 10 to 20 years older than I was. I am enthralled with what they have learned and the wisdom they can share with me. When I started Women TIES –which had such a big, unique mission – I asked 10 women who were older and more experienced to be a part of an advisory board to help steer my company in the right direction especially in the beginning years. The great thing about women is they love helping other women. The advice I gained from these women, and continue to get from them today has helped me make very wise decisions that have made my business more successful. I know when men are lost they don’t like stopping to ask for directions but women do. It’s the same in business. I see women seeking out female peers more often. I believe the women who have advised me have made a large contribution in my professional life. So I suggest if you don’t have any advisors yet, to reach out and ask someone older and wiser than you for advice periodically.
7. My final habit is to “Fail Forward.” My favorite quote has always been, “If you don’t try, you can’t fail. And if you fail, get right back up and try again.” I was known as a tenacious child early in life and it has served me well throughout my personal and professional life. No one likes failing. I personally hate it but what I’ve learned the past 19 years as an entrepreneur is sometimes you need to try to succeed at something more than just one time if it’s important. If I get nervous at times about stepping up or out, I just stop and look around at other entrepreneurs and tell myself, “If they can do, I certainly can do it!” And then I ask myself “What happens if I do fail? “ If I can live with the answer to that question, then the gamble is definitely worth taking.
So I’ll leave you with the thought that I hope you don’t let any level of failure keep you down too long and that you try more often than you would like – especially if there is something really important you want to achieve in business.
Women TIES 