Is it the Right Time?
Many years ago when Lynn Steenberg, President of Sports Physical Therapy, thought about buying a business, her husband said to her, “Is this the right time?” At the time, Lynn had 3 children under the age of 5. She realized it wasn’t. Many years later when she finally felt it was the right time to buy the company, she did and has grown it into a business with 23 locations across the state.
Lynn shared with the audience that every time her and her staff have been faced with growth and expansion questions, they ask themselves the same question, “Is this the right time?” She said the answer is always in the room.
For me, the question “Is this the right time?” was the most meaningful quote from yesterday’s “Inspiring Success: The Women TIES” Retreat. Having planned educational and inspirational events for women for sixteen years, I have learned to pay attention to one or two statements that resonate with me after each program is over. Whatever strikes a chord always needs further examination.
Sage comments were entrenched in yesterday’s presentations. Each of the 150 attendees had comments that resonated with them. For some it was the need to charge more money for their services and products. For others it was to commit to one particular big action by next year. Some were inspired to start international businesses while others were reminded to take big, bold chances.
I’m not sure there are always brand new ideas to share. There are a multitude of universal business lessons. But I’ve come to realize the same ideas you’ve heard before might have new meaning for you today. What might have been an important decision five years ago might be totally irrelevant now. Decisions you move on this month probably wouldn’t have entered your mind five years ago. Life changes, business changes, we change.
Today’s blog is to remind you to ask yourself the words Lynn Steenberg has used throughout her entrepreneurial career, “Is this the right time?” You might find it is the right time to start a global business or the proper time to add staff or the correct time to make a really difficult corporate decision. If the time is right, act on it.
Being honest and upfront with ourselves about where we are today, where we want to be tomorrow, and what we hope for in the future, will guide us with all our big and small business decisions.
Turning “Friends” Into Customers
If you are like me, you turn on the computer in the morning click on the internet and check your Facebook accounts. You send Happy Birthday messages to your “friends,” you post business news, and instant message family members who are online at the same time. What did we ever do before Facebook? We must have lived in a dark hole.
I first enjoyed Facebook because I could connect with my 7 siblings who live all over the globe – London, San Francisco, Annapolis, Portland and Albany. Staying connected to them, seeing updated photos of my nieces and nephews, and hearing what they did over the weekend, made me feel like we were all living together in the same place.
Then I loved Facebook because it was a new and exciting marketing medium opening up the doors to a hundred new friends and potential customers. All of a sudden I was updating my Facebook page daily to promote events, sell services, and communicate with members. The new age of marketing, an addictive one at that, had landed on my desk.
But as a busy woman entrepreneur I continue to wonder how I can convert all my Facebook time to money. I know it helps increase my corporate brand and event attendance but how can it put bigger dollars in my bank account? How can it increase my sales revenue enough to justify the time it takes to post, check and recheck my pages?
I posed that question to Amy Palmer, The Fear-Bustin’ Sales Coach from Washington, DC, one of our Retreat presenters, and the conversation between us prompted the sales program she’ll present at the October 5th Women TIES Retreat. Amy told me, “The number one task women entrepreneurs need to do is incorporate ‘social business’ into their sales plan and turn contacts into appointments.” I know she is right so I’m eager to have Amy educate us on how to create a sales plan to convert social media marketing friends into clients.
Today’s blog is to inspire you to think about what follow-up you should be making with your Facebook friends. If you have new followers, how do you take your friendship to the next level – a sales level? Have you thought about creating a program and plan to convert the time spent on social media into dollars? Have you updated your business plan to include social media marketing sales?
I have always believed education is key to business success. No matter what we think we know, it’s simply not enough. The business community is full of people who can teach us what we need to know. Make sure you are learning enough about social media marketing so you can turn your friends into customers.
Public Speaking Advice
I 
remember it clear as yesterday – January 8, 1996 – the first time I had to stand up in front of 10 women entrepreneurs and give a speech. Although I was confident in the material I was delivering, I wasn’t confident in my presentation skills. My heart was beating fast, my palms were sweating and my stomach had butterflies. I couldn’t wait for the presentation to be over. I remember someone telling me after I accepted the speaking opportunity, “Don’t worry it gets easier speaking in public the more times you do it.” I didn’t believe them.
When Syracuse University brought the first WISE Conference to Syracuse in 2002, I was asked to be the emcee of the event due to my role as a leader in women entrepreneurship. You would have thought by then my past six years of public speaking would have made me a more confident speaker but it didn’t. This time I was addressing 400 women not 10. As I walked to the podium for the first time, I told myself I’d be fine if I spoke from my script and my heart. When I got to the podium and saw hundreds of fantastic women in the audience all I could do was relax and enjoy the experience. It must have showed because I was asked to emcee the event the following two years.
Throughout my 16 years as an entrepreneur I’ve always been a little anxious walking into major client appointments, television interviews, live radio shows, and even small committee meetings. I think it’s a natural response because we want to be viewed as confident, smart and experienced. I’ve learned over time the adrenaline rush after the meeting or interview is over is a really satisfying feeling because we’ve accomplished the task and the nerves.
At Women TIES events, I witness women who are timid about networking, introducing themselves to others and standing up to pitch their companies. Some lack confidence, some don’t have the right pitch ready, and some simply aren’t comfortable with public speaking. But as women entrepreneurs, we represent not only ourselves, but our businesses when we speak, so it’s imperative to perfect our communication skills to be successful.
Today’s blog is to encourage you to think about sharpening your personal communication skills this fall. Ask yourself these questions: Is my fear of speaking stopping me from going to networking events? Could I land some excellent marketing opportunities if I learned to be a better communicator? Would I seal more business deals if I was clearer in my delivery? Should I work on perfecting my pitch to attract more business?
If your answer is yes, I encourage you to attend the September 22nd Women TIES Syracuse event called “Secrets to Incredible Communications.” Don’t let your fear of learning about this important subject stop you from attending. I promise once you overcome the butterflies and become a confident speaker the doors will open for you in more ways than you imagine.
Recalculating
By now you are familiar with the frequent and sometimes annoying statement coming out of your GPS tracking device, “recalculating, recalculating.” If you just returned from an out-of-town Labor Day excursion, the statement might still be ringing in your ears. The GPS tracking unit helps individuals determine the precise location of where they are located and updates their movement towards an end destination.
Earlier this year Teresa Huggins, President of Leaders for Life International and one of the October 5th “Inspiring Success: The Women TIES Retreat” presenters, and I spoke about her travels and how her GPS tracking system was constantly using the word “recalculating.” She said to me, “It would be so useful as entrepreneurs to have a personal GPS tracking device that would indicate if we are heading in the right direction towards our entrepreneurial destination. The GPS system would help us determine if we needed to recalculate if we were going the wrong way. It would tell us how long it would take to reach the end. It would be a companion guiding us when we hit detours.”
As far as I know, there isn’t an entrepreneurial GPS tracking system yet. What we do have available to guide us is a combination of our intuition, statistical data, our business plan, and other entrepreneurs. Our intuition is always the best internal guide. Statistical data and a business plan presents facts and figures to lead us forward or to change course. Other entrepreneurs help by explaining the detours, valleys and exquisite views from the hilltops of success. We need them all to stay on track.
Today’s blog is to remind you today at the beginning of this “new business year,” as summer unofficially ends and the business community gets back to work, to think about whether you need to recalculate where you are heading. Have you gotten off track this summer or this year? Could your business plan guide you in a better direction if you actually found time to review it? Do you know you need to change direction? What does the combination of your intuition and statistics tell you? Is it saying recalculate?
Sometimes we know when we are lost and sometimes we don’t. The key to being a smart and successful woman entrepreneur is to know when we need to stop, gauge our position, and continue moving forward or to turn around and chart a new course. Don’t forget the value of asking other women entrepreneurs along your journey, sometimes they can be the best voice to seek direction from.
Planning for All Possibilities
As Hurricane Irene created havoc this week for government officials, home owners, travelers, and companies up and down the eastern seaboard, an important business issue surfaced. A majority of the time, people including entrepreneurs don’t operate in a “worst case scenario” mindset. We want to believe only positive situations will occur in our personal and corporate lives. To think differently, would mark us as pessimists and lead to unnecessary worry.
But planning for worst case scenarios doesn’t mean you are a pessimist. It means you recognize uncontrollable circumstances can subtly or dramatically alter small and big decisions. Planning a vacation on the eastern seaboard during Hurricane season, buying a business in a flood zone, and hosting an outside client event means you could encounter situations that need alternative plans. The simple act of trying to send a time sensitive Federal Express box this week to an Albany client needed adjustments since the Thruway was closed because of hurricane flooding. Who could have planned for that a few weeks ago?
I learned five years ago when my father passed away suddenly and I was two weeks away from managing a major client event, that I had to pay attention to worst case scenarios. I learned I needed to have future emergency “event management” plans for my clients, staff and myself. I created new communication plans and interviewed back-up staff to handle major interruptions that might occur in the future. I never imagined in a moment I might need to walk away from my business and leave it unattended. But in life, all things are possible so you have to plan for all possibilities.
Today’s post is to encourage you to take some time to think about how you would handle a major unexpected disruption in your business. If you were facing a tornado or flood, do you have backup documents and computers in another location? If a major family member passed away, who could handle responsibilities while you were away and how would you communicate your absence to customers? If you lost revenue due to major storms, do you have a timeline to recoup lost sales?
By nature we don’t want to think the worst can happen. Sometimes we barely have enough time to plan for the best case scenarios. But as we learned this week from Hurricane Irene, having, knowing and implementing a plan can save valuable time and resources and soften the blow you’ll feel from the unexpected circumstances that inevitably knock at the door.
Sharing Space: Partnership Pros and Cons
As I reminisced with an old friend about childhood memories, a part of our discussion focused on the room she shared with her sister. The story reminded me why deciding to partner with someone in business needs to be well thought out.
My friend and her sister shared a very large bedroom in the top of their house. Although both sisters shared the space, they both felt they owned 50% of the room. One sister kept her side of the room completely neat. Everything belonged in a certain place, empty water glasses were always returned to the kitchen and the bed was always made. She loved having an organized and appealing space. The other sister didn’t care too much about order. She lived freely and threw her clothes on the floor, left glasses full of rotting juice on chairs, and never folded her clothes. She loved the freedom that came with disorder. They loved each other but hated living with each other.
Over time the tidy sister got weary of the mess created on the other half of the room. Even though she wasn’t living exactly in the middle of the clutter, she could see it and it affected the way she felt. No matter how hard she tried to convince her sister to tidy the room, it didn’t work. The messy sister just couldn’t understand the big deal. Eventually the neat sister took tape and created a line down the middle of the room. She wanted to make sure if anyone came into the room, they didn’t see one big room but two separate rooms with each sister responsible for their own part. No longer could the neat sister be affiliated with something she couldn’t control. Creating the imaginary boundary helped her define her space.
Often times when business partnerships begin, the entrepreneurs start off excited to share one big room. But quite often the partnership becomes like the sister’s relationship. One partner sees and wants their room one way, and the other sees and wants it differently. The disparity eventually becomes too large and boundaries are drawn. No one can really controls the entire room because it was shared to begin with.
Today’s blog is to encourage you to consider whether or not partnerships in your business, with projects and with collaborative proposals are a wise decision. Should there be one person with ultimate authority and responsibility? Do you have a plan if there’s a problem that just can’t be fixed? How can you remove yourself from a relationship that changes?
Don’t partner with others to play it safe, to have a friend, or to take the risk out of the decisions. Ultimately,you want 100% control over the important issues that you’ll face as an entrepreneur. For good or bad, those decisions are yours to make. Don’t give away 50% of your space because you might not like what you see on the other side.
Envisioning the End
Ten years ago when my first company was in a steady growth mode, I remember a business associate suggesting I read The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It written by Michael Gerber. The first chapter highlights the essence of why most businesses fail which is the entrepreneur believes her knowledge of the technical work of the business qualifies her to run and grow a business which is simply not true. Gerber states, “Knowing the technical work of a business becomes an entrepreneur’s greatest single liability.” In essence, just because I was an experienced and successful event planner didn’t mean I could create a million dollar event planning business on my own.
The biggest lesson I learned from the book was the importance of looking 10 years into the future to envision my company and then working backward through time to plan for that vision to become a reality. How many employees would I have? How many clients did I serve? What were our annual sales? What did we excel at? The point being if you envision your company in ten years to have 10 employees located in two locations with 100 clients and annual sales of 2 million dollars, you’ll see the end result and realize to accomplish that outcome you need to work backward in time creating annual plans to accomplish that growth.
Too often entrepreneurs start their businesses without a comprehensive vision and plan. They become successful doing the technical side of the business but they aren’t entrepreneurial enough to sustain and grow the company because they never planned properly. I’m sure Oprah could have only been the best interviewer on television but she wouldn’t have achieved extreme success without envisioning and creating Harpo Productions, a production company which in 2002 had 70 employees earning over $300 million in sales. Her entrepreneurial accomplishments didn’t come only from her natural talent and technical expertise; it came from a large vision and a detailed plan.
Today’s blog is to encourage you to envision the growth of your company today. What do you want it to look like in 10 years? Give it thoughtful consideration. Realize you, and you alone, will not be able to achieve all the success you envision. It will take staff, financing, resources and a plan to get you there. Fulfilling your vision doesn’t have to be overwhelming or impossible, but it does require backing up your end vision with yearly plans and goals.
As these beautiful summer days continue to inspire us, take some peaceful time to envision your entrepreneurial dream in ten years. Dream big. Dream real. Then institute a pragmatic plan to achieve that specific vision.
Embracing Threatening Skies
It’s not too often my posts are produced from a non-business situtation. But as a week long vaction comes to an end I had some wisdom to embark on this balmy Florida morning.
Every time this week a rainstorm popped on vacationers on the beach, bikers on island bike routes, fishermen (and fisherwomen) on the pier, most figured a way to make the best of the change in weather. Sunbathers jumped in the water and swam since they were going to get wet anyways. Bikers kept on biking and fishermen kept on fishing. The dark clouds and rain showers didn’t dampen the mood, maybe the beach towels, bikes and fishing gear, but not their ability to still enjoy what they were doing.
This week’s stock market plunge which seems to continue to signal a rough economic road ahead, didn’t stop people from investing their money this week, businesses to keep selling, and entrepreneurs from stopping their annual plans. Like dark clouds, it might warn us to keep an eye to the sky but it shouldn’t make us pack up our beach towels, hang up the fishing gear and pack the bikes away just because the sky looks alittle threatening. We have to keep believing in a positive and brighter outcome.
Today’s post is to remind you that sometimes you need to improvise your plans when darkness starts encompassing your forecast. The best new ideas and best new experiences come out of threatening situtations.
If you are feeling threatened today by the state of the economy, a slower than normal business period, or by stalling sales, realize you have the ability to improvise your plans, implement new ones, and jump into a new way of thinking that could make a big difference on how you feel today and in the future.
Business Lessons from the Lacrosse Field
Great business ideas are all around us. We typically discover them in well established business publications, hear about them from national experts or witness them in super successful franchises. But sometimes we discover them in the most unlikely places.
Last week, at a major lacrosse tournament my son was playing in, I discovered some great marketing ideas.My son asked me to follow him with my Blackberry to a special vendor booth. As we approached the booth, Gait Brothers Lacrosse had a line of boys waiting to get a free t-shirt if they “liked” their company on Facebook. The frenzied lacrosse players were grabbing any electronic device they could find to “like” the company and walk away with the shirt. It was smart marketing because not only did Gait Brothers Lacrosse get a lot of Facebook fans for future promotional opportunities, they had every lacrosse player wearing a shirt, and most importantly their target market talking about them all day long.
Next to them was another vendor, a new t-shirt business run by local brothers who were all athletes. Trying to break their name into the lacrosse market, the brothers were wearing different products walking around the tournament grounds. I happened to notice they kept changing what they were wearing every hour – new shirts, new colors, and new designs. Then they started recruiting other boys to wear their products. The boys, who became walking billboards, got to keep what they were wearing if they promised to walk around and talk about the company 
It was grass roots marketing at its best.
As I left the tournament, I walked past sponsorship signs hanging on the lacrosse fields. I saw winning teams wearing championship t-shirts with corporate sponsor names on the back. A friend of my son showed me his trophy which was paid for by a local vendor as a way to market their company.
I know most women entrepreneurs aren’t trying to break into the lacrosse market but the point is, there are unique marketing opportunities all around us. It might be in the form of new social media marketing ploys like the Gait Brothers used or the fun advertising antics of KICKS. There is also event sponsorship marketing which creates brand opportunities to companies looking to get in front of a targeted audience.
Today’s blog is to inspire you to think of this lacrosse tale when it comes to your own marketing. Should you be creating clever marketing campaigns to get potential customers to “like” you? Should you be using more colorful marketing antics to get noticed? Are there events you should be sponsoring? Should you create a grass roots marketing campaign?
Remember where ever you go, there are great marketing ideas surrounding you. So keep your eyes open, take in what you see, and create some brand new marketing endeavors to get people talking about you.
The Power of 100 – Planning Tips for Women Entrepreneurs
As I adjusted my running schedule from 5 pm to 5 am to beat the heat of the day, my mind was full of business tasks that needed to be done. The cool morning air inspired me to think how I could use the rest of this hot week and the upcoming “dog days of summer” to prepare for the fall season. Although 100 degree temperatures are at our doorstep now, it won’t be long before the cool, colorful season of autumn and a ramped up new business season is here.
In July 2005 one of the first Women TIES programs we conducted was on creativity. The concept of the presentation was to inspire women entrepreneurs to create 100 new ideas for their companies when summer business was slow. We advised the attendees to leave the program, go home and take a pad of paper and a glass of lemonade and sit someplace refreshing and relaxing for the exercise. Out of the list of 100 ideas each woman entrepreneur would discover at least 5 new business concepts to implement in their company.
As I ran this morning I thought I wanted to take the 2005 exercise but put a small twist on it. I decided to use the concept of creating a list of 100 but to break the exercise down to 5 lists of 20 ideas or tasks to motivate me for the fall. I decided I wanted to make a list of 20 successes my company has achieved since January 2011, 20 failures I could improve on, 20 people I met networking but never connected with, 20 top clients to thank, and 20 goals for the remainder of the year. My new list of 100 would give me a chance to look back, refocus and move forward.
Today’s blog is to inspire you to think how you can use the dog days of summer to prepare for the rest of the business year. If the weather is too hot, your clients on vacation, the pace of business slowing down, do yourself a favor and try the exercise with me. I believe the list of successes and failures will fuel us. The people we haven’t connected with will provide a summer sales list. The goals give us a new road map to follow. Plus we’ll find time to thank our largest clients.
So when the temperature hits 100 the next few days, realize it is the perfect time to sip some lemonade, refresh your goals and supercharge yourself for an amazing fall season.
Women TIES 