Women Grow Business

I think I’m a decent networker. I can go to an event and talk to every person in the room. I can leave with more than just a stack of business cards in hand — I can get a good idea of how I can help my new contacts and build a strong relationship.

But not everyone I want to connect with is going to be at any networking event in my neighborhood, or even in the nearest big city. There are plenty of people out there who I could create a mutually beneficial relationship with, if only I could meet them. I know I’m not the only one in this situation, either.

Luckily, “meeting” someone really can be a matter of emailing that person, as long as you do it correctly.

Get in touch for a reason

At a networking event, you meet people and then discover how you can connect beyond the standard business card exchange. It’s the exact opposite online, at least if you want to make more than the most casual of connections.

It’s important to check out a prospective contact: look at her social networking profiles, read a couple of blog posts she’s written and generally figure out not only why you want to introduce yourself, but why your new connection will want to know you.

Walk in her shoes: what can you do to help?

When you send your prospective contact an introductory email, you want to focus on what you can do with her, without sounding egotistical. There’s a balance of offering a little help and sounding like you think you’re the greatest thing since sliced bread. It’s important to be on the helpful yet humble end of that spectrum in order to get a response.

Carefully build upon that initial email

At least at first, one of the best goals you can have for networking online is to create a conversation. Simply introducing yourself isn’t enough to make sure that you stick in some people’s minds — if they’re busy, they may bang out a response to your email and forget your name by the time they’re on to the next message.

This isn’t the electronic version of cold-calling, either — or, at least, it shouldn’t be. An online introduction or conversation that comes on like a strong sales pitch tends to wind up in the spam folder.

Instead, take things slow and build a real relationship. Just because you don’t see your new contact in person doesn’t mean that you can’t have a friendship or working relationship.

We live more and more of our lives online. That doesn’t mean our connections aren’t (or can’t be) “real.” It’s up to us to make them so.

More from:

• Chris Brogan on social networking
• RSS Ray on introducing yourself online
• The Huffington Post on marketing yourself online

Image: Michael O’Donnell, Creative Commons

Guest post by Thursday Bram. Thursday offers content marketing through Hyper Modern Consulting, as well as more traditional writing services. She blogs about the shift between freelancing and business through her personal blog Thursday Bram and can be reached at www.twitter.com/thursdayb.

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I have a love for knowing what is going on in technology, whether it’s the latest Internet start-ups or the next generation gadgets. So, when I had an opportunity to go to Las Vegas for the 2010 International Consumer Electronic Show (CES) I couldn’t pass it up.

I knew going into the 4-day event that it would be a major challenge trying to juggle the daily needs of my new ventures with the morning, noon, night and pre-dawn activities around CES. With a couple of weeks of recovery now under my belt, here’s some perspective on how to make the most of time away at such events.

Pre-event prep.

My partner and I were both attending this event so we actually took time to ask ourselves how we could use this event to help our businesses and what we wanted to accomplish. It’s helpful to do your homework first.

Who will be there? Whom do you want to talk to? Why? What would make you feel like you accomplished something when it’s all said and done?

And so we lined up as much as we could before we set foot on the CES floor.

Carve out time for work.

We took advantage of various blogger lounges at CES throughout the day and also left some time between the show and dinner activities for some hard core focus back at the hotel. We also scheduled meetings with West Coast colleagues who were in town for the show and had one of our best strategy sessions to date, leveraging an Intel meeting area that they let us use. Intel is, after all, a sponsor of tomorrow!

Carve out time for fun.

I don’t get to Las Vegas very often and would be sorely disappointed if I didn’t have at least a little fun. The event happy hours and parties were fine but we did take one night for “off campus” dinner and drinks with friends – it was definitely the most memorable night for me.

Take advantage of every moment.

Founders need to strike that balance where they evangelize their businesses everywhere yet can still have a non-business conversation.

CES was great for this because it was filled with industry people who liked to talk about technology, new websites & businesses and brainstorm ideas. Whether I was talking to a company at their booth on the CES floor or mingling with people at a cocktail party, there was plenty of time to talk about Thankfulfor, get input and new ideas and even forge some potential partnerships.

Absorb it all.

Going to an event like CES is an opportunity to step outside your daily environment and find inspiration. Don’t force it – just take it all in. Talk to everyone. Ask questions. Get lost in the glow of the show. Then get lots of sleep and don’t be surprised when the next shower you take rains down a flood of ideas. Julia Cameron called it “filling the well.”

Whatever you want to call it, as an entrepreneur or business leader you need to take the occasional break and refill your well or else eventually, you may hit some pretty bad dry-spells on your day-to-day creative energy.

I’m finally feeling rested and (almost) caught up and I think my night time dreams that were filled with neon signs, flashing LED’s, 3D images and brand after brand after brand are starting to subside. It feels good to turn my focus back to my business with renewed invigoration. My well has been duly filled.

More from:

• Alexis Rodich and lessons for the emerging entrepreneur.

Guest contributor Jen Consalvo writes the Women Grow Business series on all things related to launching product (pre and post launch). She is co-founder of Shiny Heart Ventures, a new technology startup focused on building community driven products that remind people of the joys of life. For almost 14 years, Jen has led teams in a range of product areas such as digital imaging, social platforms and personalization. The majority of her career was at AOL, planning and building products used by millions of people globally. Also find Jen at jenconsalvo.com, bodysoulconnect.com and twitter.com/noreaster.

Image used with permission from, and by, photographer and blogger Jen Consalvo.

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With an incredible track record in the world of integrated communications – plus a great attitude to match – Shonali Burke knows how to grow business and strong partnerships.

And from the start, she’s been a Women Grow Business guest blogger and enthusiast. She’s demonstrated leadership and impact through a range of business communities.

To celebrate a few
She was named in PR Week’s inaugural Top 40 Under 40 List. In 2008, she was one of three recipients of the acclaimed Golden Ruler Award from the Institute of Public Relations for excellence in research and measurement. And now in addition to serving her expanding client portfolio, Shonali teaches communications as Adjunct Faculty for Johns Hopkins University’s M.A. in Communications program.

She now serves as IABC/DC Metro‘s current President. And just last week, savvy CEO Lee Odden of Top Rank Online Marketing named Shonali one of 25 Women Who Rock Social Media.

Great partnership in the works
In light of Forbes recently naming Women Grow Business in its top blogs by women for marketing and social media, she’s an apt and wonderful steward for the blog community.

As I dive into a new phase of business ownership myself, I reflect on how much I’ve learned from WGB – on tenacity and what it means to ‘do good business.’ Shonali has been one of those teachers this year for sure. It is a thrill to see the strengths of this community combine with hers as a new decade takes flight.

She takes the helm officially tomorrow.
And she is regularly out and about on Twitter (@shonali) or at her blog Waxing Unlyrical. Her community involvement is found throughout the blogosphere like her Grow Smart Biz coverage or her support for the recent BlogPotomac Unconference. So look out 2010, a new awesome partnership is underway! I can’t wait to see what’s next.

Congrats Shonali! Congrats to bloggers and readers alike! And hey, when should we take these celebrations offline?!

Founding editor of Women Grow Business, Jill Foster was named by Forbes Magazine as one of 30 women entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She teaches communications through social media tools and community engagement in the Washington, DC area. Co-founder of DC Media Makers, she’s addicted to learning digital tech and helping professional women put their most authentic self forward both online and onstage. Her work has been in conversation at The Washington Post, Guardian UK, Huffington Post, and a range online outlets.

She looks forward to talking more on Twitter or at her brand new online home, Live Your Talk.

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Professor Kathy Korman Frey at the George Washington University School of Business has kicked off the 2009-2010 HotMommas Case Study Competition.

Share your experience
It’s a unique project that takes the stories of the women and makes them teachable in a “case study” format, thus providing scalable, global access to role models and virtual mentors.

Need a refresher on Kathy’s great work?
Read this interview with Chief Hot Momma, Kathy Korman Frey, that we published a few months ago.

You have until January 31st:
If you want to nominate someone (yourself included) for the 2009-2010 competition, go to the HotMommas Facebook page or send an email with their information.

Links you may find useful/interesting:

The HotMommas Project

Nomination Form

Why Role Models Matter for Women and Girls

Hot Mommas Project Everyday Revolutionaties

Washington Post article

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Bring it on 2010!
Congrats Women Grow Business – the volunteer blogger team and readers alike – for being named last week by Forbes as one of the 20 best social media and marketing blogs by women! As the new year takes flight, this honor brings excitement for sure.

And it further strengthens our Women Grow Business commitment: to listen to you. And then discuss what you most want to talk about here as you propel your businesses forward.

WGB’s influence on the ‘Just do it’ factor
The stories and resources shared on WGB have taught me plenty during this past year, with a reminder that it takes one key decision to become an entrepreneur: asserting the decision itself…as in just do it.

There’s realizing clearly your business mission and the passion that drives it. But how does that serve a customer? You pose all types of critical questions and answered them throughout 2009 and this year too.

Folks at Women Grow Business “make the ask” head on. More questions that stand out in memory that countless WGB bloggers (and readers) address:

• Do you continually revisit your business plan?
• How do you find, recognize, listen, and relate to your customer?
• When and how do you cultivate your pipeline?
• Is your online presence engaging, current, social?
• Are you a healthy entrepreneur (as in getting rest and not taking it all so seriously?)?

And there’s more on differentiation, benchmarks, listening, engaging, and putting one’s agility to the test. But what the Women Grow Business bloggers and community taught too is before all that – there’s making the decision to go for it.

So after years of wanting to start a particular biz, I’m movin’ ahead with Live Your Talk. We’re progressing through pre-launch phases now (and the blog will be conversant soon this month!).

I can’t wait to engage more on all of it as a WGB contributor! And congrats again to you who inspired last week’s acknowledgement from Forbes.

Next Women Grow Business editor and paperwork
The Network Solutions team is wrapping up paperwork for the next editor (hint: whole lot of awesomeness is involved with this transition). And I look forward to making that introduction soon.

What’s going on with you? What ‘just do it’ decisions have you embarked upon in your business so far? How does your business plan envision the end of 2010?

Jill Foster is founding editor of Women Grow Business. Named by Forbes Magazine as one of 30 women entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter, she teaches communications through social media tools and community engagement in the Washington, DC area. Co-founder of DC Media Makers, she’s addicted to learning digital tech and helping professional women put their most authentic self forward both online and onstage. She looks forward to talking more on Twitter or at her brand new online home, Live Your Talk.

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Recently at Women Grow Business I wrote about how the social media space is becoming much like a cocktail party. With lots of voices out there, it’s getting harder to woo your prospects.

I also posed the question, how can businesses be the distinctive voice that knocks their prospects off their feet?

This is an interesting question that will remain relevant for years to come. And it’s a topic heavily on the mind of Sandy Carter and her 2.0 framework (she just published her new book: The New Language of Marketing 2.0).

We recently engaged in a great podcast conversation on this very subject.

Want to listen in or even listen in the background while you work?

I recently had this opportunity to speak with Sandy who is IBM Corporation’s Vice President of SOA and Websphere Marketing, Strategy and Channels. To help drive IBM’s thought leadership in web 2.0, Sandy developed a breakthrough framework called ANGELS:

• Analyze and ensure strong market understanding
• Nail the relevant strategy and story
• Go to market plan
• Energize the channel and community
• Leads and revenue
• Scream!! Breaking through the noise
• Sandy talks about IBM’s winning strategy for “screaming” or breaking through the noise.

What are your thoughts?

More from:
Terri Holley and more community building breakthroughs at Women Grow Business.

Guest contributor Terri Holley writes our series “Community Building Breakthroughs and Social Media.” She is the owner of Creative Blog Solutions and a social media strategist, plus a certified life/business coach. A forward-thinker and relationship-centric gal, Terri supports small businesses who understand the value of using social technologies to build deeper relationships with prospects and customers.

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We look forward to starting more conversation with you next week!

In the mean time, stay warm and let us know: what’s your main goal for Q1?

And can Women Grow Business help?

Is it locating more prospects? creating more ways to listen and engage customers? refining your development plan?

Look forward to your comments (please share!).

Image In the Midst of Snow Falling by HarpersBizarre, Creative Commons.

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For Women Grow Business, I interviewed Peter Weddle (who is “…filled with ingenious ideas” per The Washington Post). He is a serial entrepreneur with terrific expertise in recruiting and human capital issues. While we discussed a wide range of trends in recruiting and employment for 2010 and this coming decade, his primary point for smaller businesses is critical to your success:

Small businesses can no longer afford to be dilettantes in their hiring.

Image Get Smart by Chillhiro, Creative Commons

I could have jumped up and hugged him.
“Dilettante’ describes exactly so many entrepreneurs I have worked with in terms of their approach to hiring and retention.

I prefer citing ole Oxford here – Dilettante: One who interests himself in an art or science merely as a pastime and without serious aim or study. (Oxford English Dictionary)

Having critical skills and superior performers
Peter’s point was the key differentials for successful organizations in the 21st century are to have an adequate supply of critical skills and superior performers. And you cannot do that without understanding what you truly need and how to attract, develop and retain the right people. And many small businesses do not do that.

Far too many entrepreneurs do not invest the time or energy to hire effectively.
Some are ‘know it when I see it’ hiring managers, others develop minutely detailed lists called job descriptions. I’ve worked with a CEO who played psychiatrist in hiring and several who wanted to take all subjectivity out of the process. And those that thought a recruiter would solve their dilemmas and those who involved any staffer they could to make a consensus decision.

I have seen smart people ignore red flags the size of Texas. And those who did not even know there was a box that they were thinking in.

Hiring appears simple but hiring well is not easy.
To succeed, you need to define your business goals and how any position relates to them specifically first. Then you need to understand how to create a position that will attract people who can add value to your organization; where you will find those people; and, how you will attract the right people. Plus once you find the people who might contribute to your success, you need to be able to assess who will and to entice them to join you.

And don’t think the Internet is the solution.
A bad job description tweeted on Twitter to the wrong people is even worse than just a generic ad. You need to be smart about your needs and processes first and then choose the most effective ways to hire the right people.

Want to be smarter? Top Three checklist:

1. Learn (Hint: Understand what you need vs offer.)
Invest in yourself first – learn how to hire. You can do this by reading or taking courses. Or hire an advisor, someone who is skilled in hiring and process, as a cost-effective method to help you improve quickly.

Focus first on how you will define what you need. Next, look at what you offer – what challenges, development, and environment exist which will attract the right people to you?

Then learn how to find and assess people who meet your needs.

2. Plan (Hint: Think right people, timing, budget issues.)
If you anticipate hiring even 1-2 people in the next year, you need a plan. This includes your strategy for finding the right people as well as timing and budget issues.

Consider: what sources offer the right people to meet your needs, what specific skills and knowledge and abilities and aptitudes are critical to success, and how you will find and assess candidates. Add in the training you and all others in the process need on interviewing and evaluating applicants, so that you will make good choices.

You may find that using a recruiting agency is a smart investment or, if you are likely to be hiring more than a couple of people, you might want to outsource your recruiting process.

When recruiting becomes a common need, as you grow, you can consider bringing in a contract recruiter or hiring someone directly.

3. Execute (Hint: Have a cold heart toward process.)
This is where so many organizations fail. Amazingly, many of these failures are due to administratively cumbersome processes and executives who cannot make up their minds. While you may recognize both those issues as problems in other areas, beware such ‘killers’ in hiring! Don’t think that they protect you somehow from hiring risks. Look at your process with a cold heart – would you want to work for your organization?

Top talent always has great options. If your process is flawed or you execute badly, you will not be able to hire the critical skills and superior performers you need.

What hiring strategies have you applied in your business? What were the outcomes?

More from:

• Patricia Frame’s Women Grow Business series on human capital and small business;
• Recruiting Process Outsourcing;
• Improving Recruiting Effectiveness.

Guest contributor Patricia A. Frame is an experienced management consultant, speaker, and executive with expertise in human capital. Launching a new Women Grow Business series on human resources for small business, Patricia is founder of Strategies for Human Resources. She helps small to mid-size organizations achieve their goals through more effective human capital strategy and management. And she can be reached through her website SHRinsight.com, where archives for her ongoing management series can be found.

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How do you expand revenue by $12k each month?
Sometimes the most frustrating thing about being an entrepreneur is knowing exactly how much cash you need to have to expand. One would think that’s manna from heaven, knowing that if you were bringing in $4,000 more a month, you could expand your business enough to generate $12,000 more every month. The trouble is, where to get that cash from, especially if you have slow paying clients on the books or a lag time between when you make money and when you can actually spend it.

Image Learning to Grow Garden by Bob Franklin, Creative Commons.

Facing a nebulous factor
I’m sure you’ve been in the position at some point of explaining to a friend or family member that while being a small business owner may give you more freedom than they have, it also brings more stress. As happy as I am to be independent, one thing I do miss [from my salaried days] is knowing exactly how much money I’ll have on Friday. That’s so different than now and the nebulous factor of sales minus referral fees, advertising costs, and whatever is left of fees for services provided after the cost of labor/resources.

Yes it’s more money but it sure is a lot more complex.
Thankfully, there are things we can do to get more cash in a hurry. The traditional option, of course, is to check with your lender.

I started my company with cash and have never taken out a loan from any financial institution, ever. I hate credit cards and have only been to the bank in person twice since I started my business account.

And that makes me kind of like any newbie entrepreneur. I wouldn’t know the first thing about getting money for my business from a bank. So I did some research and asked around. Here’s what I found out.

One option: ask your current bank
While it’s true that, due to recent economic issues, banks aren’t exactly in a lending frenzy, there are several options available for borrowing money for your business. First, if you’re already doing business with a bank, it can’t hurt to ask them first. Especially if you have a way to secure the loan, they may not be as close-fisted as you may think.

4 factors that influence your business loan approval
Some of the things they’ll be looking at may even tip the scales in your favor. The following are items that can greatly increase the likelihood that you’ll get a loan:

• good to excellent credit
• a business that’s already working and a business plan that shows this
• experience and/or education in the field of your speciality
• existing business relationships that show a record of paying in a timely fashion

Having these things doesn’t necessarily make you a shoo-in, but it certainly will tip the scales in your favor.

What if your bank turns you away?
Think about some of the less traditional financial institutions, such as local banks and credit unions. You may also be able to borrow from your IRA or other retirement plan, or from life insurance. Be sure to investigate all the possible tax issues and have a concrete plan in place to put this money back.

Even if you can’t get a loan from any bank
-there are a couple of resources still available to you. You may be able to free up cash by getting inventory on credit. You can also contact companies like Rapid Advance if you have credit card receivables. There are also programs you may be eligible for through the Small Business Administration – even if you can’t get a loan, you may be able to utilize resources here for free that you’d have to pay up-front for elsewhere. Business.gov can also point you to other local, state, and national sources of information and assistance.

Find a business mentor
And if you’re able to get the loan process started, but are at a loss about what to do next, go to SCORE.org to find a business mentor who has been where you are, and may be able to provide some knowledge only experience can bring.

How about your experience with business loans? What financial decisions have you implemented to expand your business?

More from:

• Marissa Levin and more on raising capital (social lending options included) plus strategies for cash strapped businesses.

Guest contributor Tinu Abayomi-Paul rescues web sites from obscurity and shows business people how to generate leads and traffic from the web. Founder of Free Traffic Tips and Ask Tinu, she is widely published online as an ever effective, end-to-end website promotion specialist — on Web Pro News, Search Engine Guide, and more. Ready to engage on Twitter.com/tinu (@tinu), she’s known to say: “You can’t knock my hustle.”

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W00t!

Women Grow Business is now one year old and you’ve made it one dynamic year.

What compels you to read the blog? Have you been a guest blogger here?
Do you want to contribute or be featured? Your interest has made our 2009!…one of shared resources, grit, and success in small business.

There are career events in life that when they cross your path, they make you go “Hmm…” It’s the type of thing that when it occurs, you almost crack glass from shouting aloud: “This is way too fun!”

You know those?

For me launching Women Grow Business was one of those events.
Shashi Bellamkonda aka Network Solutions Social Media Swami called in January with momentum in his voice: “Let’s start a blog community for women entrepreneurs! Would you be editor and get it off the ground…like ASAP?!”

Launch a community blog?

with awesome biz owners?

to help women entrepreneurs?

for Network Solutions?

The career gods grinned on this grateful blogger and we hit the ground running.

What’s in a name?
And I ditched initial names since Steve Fisher’s idea resonated with precision (he’s a business and start-up wizard plus film producer). So with ‘Women Grow Business’ officially named, it was green light for launch.

Taking notice of an awesome troupe
Since this January, the blog community has been cited in the Washington Post more than once (up and comers bridging the digital divide), TechBisnow, and The Huffington Post. Five blog contributors were cited in Washingtonian’s Top 100 Tech Titans list.  From CNN to primetime local news to Forbes’ top women entrepreneurs on Twitter – achievements by the bloggers have been in conversation. And just recently, the marketing savvy Coree Silvera named us in her top 20 social media and marketing blogs by women (thank you Coree).  Award-winning CEOs and entrepreneurs have come from local and regional areas, the West Coast, London, and Canada to contribute (…with conversation starters on Twitter as far as Iran).  

To these bloggers – volunteers all – thank you for investing your time and calibre here.

2010 and next steps
After 12 months of learning from this community, I’ve realized how much I want to grow a business dream, Live Your Talk.  It’s pre-launch phase these days but heck, your early opinions are welcome anytime. 

To ensure Women Grow Business has all the attention it deserves, I’ll step aside as editor this month.  An editor search has been ongoing so we look forward to making introductions soon.

Time and your stories
Now as a new decade rises up, the value of time crystalizes. It’s striking to see how you invested effort here and to what depth stories were shared:

• asserting bold business
• emerging leadership
• managing the reluctant
• surmounting conflict
• culling resources
• putting chaos to good advantage
• starting new business no matter what the economic climate
• prizing great service
• growing with social tech
• nudging others toward entrepreneurship

And with more, you talked shop with savvy, humor, and verve.
Your fund of knowledge led many women in business to this robust archive of stories. That’s what has influenced the “just do it” decision with my next venture – to further help women recognize their business relevance and share it online and onstage.

You influenced that business dream. Saying “thanks” doesn’t fully cut it. But just to start…thanks again Women Grow Business, and Happy Birthday!

Image by Sir Twilight King, Creative Commons

Some of the Women Grow Business bloggers:
Shana Glickfield, top right; Terri Holley, just below and left; Shireen Mitchell and me.

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