Gold Medal Employees
Assisting and inspiring staff to reach their full potential in a business is important to women entrepreneurs. I have always believed creating star employees requires a clear understanding of their position, consistent positive reinforcement and constructive criticism.
My parents were coaches and entrepreneurs. With the Olympics in full swing, it reminds me how similar coaching an athlete is to coaching and managing an employee. As a leader, first you must review and help employees perfect the technical skills of their position. They can’t achieve success if they are poorly trained. Secrond, they need to sense your confidence in their abilities with continued instruction and praise. Third, by utilizing constructive criticism when mistakes are made, you motivate them to perform better in the future.
Remember elite athletes constantly are working on perfecting skills necessary to achive their goals. By providing consistent training backed up with some cheerleading once in a while, you’ll create your own gold medal employees.
Client Appreciation
In today’s world, women business owners can stand out with their clients through simple acts of gratitude. Thanking customers is one of the most important things an entrepreneur can do.
How you thank them might depend on how long you have done business with them or whether they are a large or small account. I believe every client should be thanked a couple times a year – right after you have completed a sale and then again at the holidays.
A simple note of appreciation is appropriate for smaller accounts. For larger accounts, you could donate money or services to a favorite charity or cause of theirs, send them business referrals or offer a discount on your services or products.
If you know your client’s interests, you could provide them with tickets to an upcoming sporting event or a gift certificate to their favorite restaurant. No matter how you say “thank you,” your clients will remember the sentiment.
Expansion
Women TIES mission is to create a local, state and regional marketplace for women entrepreneurs in New York. The concept of regional expansion is not a new concept, but it is a vital one in today’s economic times. Expanding regionally begins by simply identifying specific cities you’d like your business to have a presence in, and then doing research on whether or not there is a market for your service or product.
Women entrepreneurs might want to research demographics based on their clientele, investigate the number and size of direct competitors in the market and consider how they would penetrate the market with advertising.
By contacting the local chamber of commerce to find out more about the business climate in a particular city is a wise idea. At the same time, learn more about their services and membership. A chamber membership might open the door to meeting new business contacts.
Also consider talking to some noncompetitive, complementary businesses in the prospective city to gain further insight and make contacts for referral purposes. Don’t be afraid to reach out and make connections before you expand into any new geographical area.
Motivational Reading
Often times I am asked by women entrepreneurs how to stay motivated when they are struggling through a tough period with their business. The first thing I always say is “You aren’t alone.” Running a business can be the most rewarding and exhausting experience. It’s not easy, that’s for sure.
I often suggest they read a chapter or passage from a motivational business book every day. Find encouragement reading excerpts about business struggles and triumphs, quick tips and hot trends. It can help you think creatively, and may spark new and exciting ideas for your business, which then motivates you.
By taking a few hours to visit a bookstore and selecting a couple new business books that seem really interesting can really help during tough periods. Read a short chapter or passage every day. You’ll find valuable inforamtion and inspiration to keep you motivated to run your business.
Standing in Power
As the carefree days of summer start winding down with glorious sunrises, warm breezes and family vacations, women entrepreneurs know they need to get back in the full swing of business. Most women love beginnings more than endings, so as this glorious time of year begins to fade, it is the perfect opportunity to set some positive plans to focus on. Here are some success strategies to inspire you.
Create a Personal Vision for Yourself: How long has it been since you took time to think about yor personal vision? We get so busy with our companies and everyday life that time rushes by. Before we know it, we are moving down the road, without knowing where we are heading. Take a some time this week to review where you stand right now in your personal and business life. Create a personal vision statement that outlines what is most important to you and details what you will focus on for the rest of the year so you can feel under control and confident.
Concentrate on the Joy Your Business Brings to You: The most exciting part of starting a business is the overwhelming joy you feel when you think about what you are creating, the rewards it will bring to you, and the benefits it will bring to your clients. After you’ve been in business awhile, the daily tasks of running a business sometimes overshadows the excitement and joy. Take some time today to remember why you started your business. Bring the excitement and enthusiasm to the forefront and feel all the wonderful feelings that come with those thoughts.
Stand in Your Power: My good friend and amazing female leader and entrepreneur, Gwen Webber-McLeod (http://www.gwmleadership.com) often says, “Stand in your Power.” The statement reminds me that as women entrepreneurs, we are unique and talented individuals. We are blessed with personal strengths and abilities that we should be proud of. We use these positive attributes as women business owners. We are strong, capable and successful in our own right. Take time today to embrace the dynamic woman that you are. Stand in your power and be proud you are doing what you want to do and living the life you want to lead.
Entrepreneurial Emotions
Of course to me, it was more. I had worked tenaciously to save the event, save the account, and make them money. While I was doing this, I created wonderful relationships with people I respected and enjoyed. Running a service business requires a lot of personal customer service and when you provide nine years to the same client, you develop a relationship that goes past basic business.
There are a lot of difference between men and women; male entrepreneurs and female entrepreneurs. Not that every woman takes losing a valued client with the emotions of losing a friend. But being female in the business world, means we do come into business at times with a softer side.
Sometimes it is okay for women entrepreneurs to run their companies with emotion. We shouldn’t be ashamed of leading with our heart, expressing honest feelings or acknowledging disappointment. Our ability to be, and act, human can benefit us in many different ways and make us stronger leaders. Emotion and entrepreneurship can go hand in hand and benefit us, our companies and our clients.
Key Vendor Relationships
For thirteen years, I have been diligent in selecting reputable vendors for my event management clients. Delivering a high quality product accompanied by stellar customer service, has always been the characteristics I have required in a vendor. In the event industry, vendors can make or break your own corporate reputation and make your job easier or harder.
It’s not only important to find quality vendors, it’s important to maintain a mutual beneficial relationship for both parties. Just like in life, business relationships change over time, misunderstandings occur, small problems lead to mistrust, becoming too comfortable in the relationship can also lead to problems. It is vital to review, renew and sometimes reject long standing vendor relationships.
Reviewing the flow of business between both companies can help you decide if key vendors are sending customers back to you. In most cases, there should be a reciprocal return for business. Business is not a one way street anymore with the marketplace becoming so crowded with competition. Expect and ask for referrals from your top three vendors. Discuss the importance and benefits of exchanging new business leads to benefit both enterprises.
Renew your business relationship with your top corporate vendors annually. Schedule lunch and discuss the benefits of doing business together. Strategize on ways to improve your relationship for the future. A verbal discussion will help strengthen your commitment to support each other.
Realize and reject vendors who don’t willingly reciprocate with referrals, do not appreciate your business connection, or whose business philosophies you do not respect any longer. There are always natural endings to relationships in both life and business. Know when it is time to move on for the sake of your company and clients.
Sales vs. Customer Service
Sales vs. customer service what is most important in making a company successful? Some women entrepreneurs excel in sales while some excel at customer service. Without sales, you won’t have customers. Without customer service, you don’t keep clients. Most women entrepreneurs understand they must concentrate on both in order to grow and sustain their companies.
At my father’s funeral two years ago, the president of his company talked about the importance of being good at both. My father, a district sales manager for a major coffee company, was described as being their company’s best customer service provider. He was instrumental in growing their company, not through sales, but by treating customers like gold.
My father was both an entrepreneur and sales manager in his business career. He taught me to excel in customer service. Here are a few of his success strategies which can be useful in anyone’s business today:
Make Sure Your Customers Know You Care: In order to grow a business, to maintain a sizable client load, and to really create a successful business, your clients need to know they are important. Your customers should know you care about them by communicating with them frequently, making sure they are happy with your product and service, and fixing any problems they have immediately. It doesn’t take a lot of effort to make your customers feel important, it takes time.
Be Warm and Friendly: In today’s automated world, personal communication and interaction is diminishing. Great customer service is not found in voice mail systems, e-mail messages, and formal documents. Great customer service is found in personal phone calls, face to face meetings, and heartfelt notes. Don’t forget people love communicating with people. Take time to visit or meet with you clients. Pick up the phone to check in with them. Send them hand written notes of appreciation. Warmth, friendliness, and attentiveness go along way in today’s world; and in creating a successful business.
Enjoy Your Job and Your Customers Will Notice: If you love your business, love your product, love being an entrepreneur, your clients will notice. Don’t underestimate the power of loving what you do.
Victory and Defeat Lessons
With the Summer Olympics about to begin, we’ll watch some athletes seize their moment in time. While others will experience the ‘agony of defeat’. There are always lessons to be learned in victory and defeat. As entrepreneurs we have suffered through loss and also enjoyed triumph. Today’s inspiration are universal lessons of both athletes and entrepreneurs.
When You Fall, Get Up and Try Again
Even the best athletes have their bad days. After years of practice, some falter on the most important day of their careers. But instead of staying down, giving up, and throwing in the towel, they stand back up, wipe off the sweat, and try again. Nothing in life works out perfectly. Sometimes all we can do is try our best and get up if we fall knowing there’s always another opportunity to try again.
Be Unique
Just like the gymnasts, each entrepreneur has a unique way of doing business. We run the gamete from flashy and colorful, to stylish and sophisticated, to routine and basic. We are multi-talented in different ways, we excel in different areas, and we perform better under different circumstances. We are unique and in being unique, we offer something no one else can duplicate. We must embrace our strengths, our differences and use them as our selling points.
Dare to Jump
Just like the pole vaulters and high divers, we jump and soar towards our own dreams. It takes guts, confidence, and a strong belief in oneself to leap into business every day. There are easier ways to have a career, just like there are less risky choices than doing a triple pike off a high diving board. But for those of us who have the burning desire to take these chances, to do more than the average person, we rejoice in the exhilaration of living out our dreams. We soar as high as we want.
The Olympics and Entrepreneurs
Saturday marks the beginning of the Olympic games in Beijing, China. For sixteen days, Americans will focus their attention on the international world as elite athletes from all over the globe complete for Olympic gold.
Central New York entrepreneurs might experience an Olympic high resonating in their souls as they witness the sacrifice, determination and accomplishment of these athletes. Entrepreneurs and athletes have many similarities; and watching these special competitors accomplish their goals in the largest sporting arena of their lives reminds business owners that hard work, training and focus can lead them to their own world changing achievements.
As the marketplace becomes more global every day, the Olympics can inspire entrepreneurs to expand their horizons and chart the waters to make more international business connections to sustain and grow their companies. By opening our minds to new international possibilities we can change our corporate future.
These Olympics can remind entrepreneurs to be mindful of their own destiny. What lies in the future depends on each individual’s capability, tenacity and far reaching aspirations. For the next sixteen days, as the Olympics unfold, we should be inspired by the athletes that grace the world stage and find inspiration in their efforts to motivate us to our own higher entrepreneurial goals.
Women TIES 