Women Grow Business

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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She saw an opportunity and asked a powerful question “What if I…?”

Janet Carter was once enrolled in a Right to Work program and as she shares in our podcast – she didn’t have an ideal experience. She decided to assert her disadvantage and become an entrepreneur. And now she’s helping others with disabilities.

We recently met at Blogpotomac; I’m grateful Janet taught me more about her experience and how she started her business, confronting unique obstacles in the process.

Please listen in to our 3 minute conversation.

More from:

• Janet’s company on Twitter or reach out to her via email: abccleaningservices1 (at) gmail (dot) com.
• Ongoing conversations from Blogpotomac on Twitter.

Image by Donna Grayson, Creative Commons.

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Entrepreneur Magazine has listed The Startup Princess as a top resource for women entrepreneurs. And she’s been voted by her home state as one of 30 Women to Watch.

She’s that cool.

Kelly King Anderson aka Fairy Godmother of helping business-owner dreams come true … founded Startup Princess a while ago to convene like-minded women entrepreneurs as she was getting a business idea off the ground. Yet so much success emerged from Startup Princess itself, that she committed to building that instead, putting aside the original idea that first motivated Startup Princess to launch.

I randomly turned around last week at the Blogworld Expo. When Kelly mentioned “Hi, I’m Startup Princess on Twitter” – I almost jumped out of my skin from glee. It was the first time to meet her face to face.

-and a pleasure to get her entrepreneur magic apart of the SmallBizCool series.

So from Blogworld’s floor, here’s Kelly for SmallBizCool!

More from:

• The full (and so cool) video series SmallBizCool at Women Grow Business;
• Michael Dougherty catches some great SmallBizCool conversation and meets up with Chris Brogan (oh the humor!) from Blogworld.

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Transporting back to last week, Las Vegas, early a.m. pacific time:
It’s the opening keynote address for the Blogworld Expo and first time many attendees were convened in the same room. We enter a large meeting hall where rows and rows of chairs are filling up and projected up front is one huge phrase on screen:

How dare you not be awesome?!

That bold question was the most effective ‘mental caffeine’.

It’s a question posed by the hip, wise, and awesome entrepreneur Laura Fitton aka @Pistachio on Twitter. She’s a Twitter champ and founder of OneForty.com and Pistachio Consulting.

And she gets more cool — enough to talk shop for the SmallBizCool series!

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It just seems inevitable that something cool will happen when hearing the phrase: “Jill meet Jill!”
And at last week’s Blogworld Expo, that’s exactly what happened when being introduced to another ‘Jill’ (yet she spells her name with a cool, artistic spelling that she chose when she was six years old). I met entrepreneur (or rather mompreneur) Jyl Johnson Pattee through Beth Harte just recently – thanks Beth!

Jyl founded Mom It Forward and shares at least two reasons why her business is cool, as in SmallBizCool! Think weekly Twitter parties and more…

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It was fantastic meeting Nelly Yusupova, CTO of Webgrrls Internationals ( and founder of DigitalWoman).

She’s shares on her cool projects (with a keen insight on what she’s surmounted to be of stronger service to her clients).

Welcome to another segment of SmallBizCool(!), straight from Blogworld last weekend.

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In meeting Mari Smith at last weekend’s Blogworld Expo, I felt delighted and also a bit like a hobbit standing next to Gandolph (I think she’s at least 6′ tall!). Fast Company calls Mari “the Pied Piper of the Online World.” And she’s president of the International Social Media Association.

She’s known for launching major profitable success for numerous businesses, especially through Facebook and Twitter relationship building. So it was a flat out pleasure learning why her biz is cool for the SmallBizCool video series!

Thanks Mari for talking shop with Women Grow Business!

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How cool is Janet Fouts?

Well she co-founded ONTHERAIL and is former director of the dynamic organization San Francisco Women on the Web.
She’s a forward, resourceful thinker in the social media space – savvy and with a distinct humor to boot. She’s also founded the Social Media Coaching Center and at Blogworld Expo last weekend, she was perfectly clear on why her biz is cool.

…with a SmartBizCool conversation from Blogworld’s floor to prove it!

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Blogworld’s opening keynote speaker Laura Fitton aka @pistachio on Twitter said in the middle of her address “And Becky McCray is awesome!”

Cool -and- awesome
Becky, founder of Small Biz Survival and numerous businesses, presented at last weekend’s Blogworld Expo on how small business makes big impact. In between morning bagels and networking, Becky shared a memorable “and cool moment” with SmallBizCool and Women Grow Business.

Join us! … straight from the Blogworld floor:

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The orange flower on Debba’s lapel gives just a hint of her coolness as an entrepreneur.

She’s hip, smart, and starts strong, resourceful forums for women communities (and their businesses too). She’s Debba Haupert, founder of Girlfriendology, an online community dedicated to supporting and engaging friendships by women.

For this #SmallBizCool segment, Debba tells exactly while Girlfriendology is so hip (and introduces a new initiative she launched dedicated to women entrepreneurs).

And Debba rawks.

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