Women Grow Business

Examining Austin

Last month I spent several days in Austin, Texas, for SxSWi (South by Southwest Interactive festival). This year, I went with an examining eye, looking for how women would represent.

Knowing many women who were attending and presenting, I knew it wouldn’t disappoint, but …

… what I didn’t expect was to walk away with a new goal:  to spend more time seeking out women I can learn from and find more mentors.

Women Women Everywhere

I’ve attended a fair number of tech conferences through the years and I remember on more than one occasion, feeling a bit lonely and sometimes, dare I say it, a little out of place.

At an O’Reilly Etech event a few years back, I recall getting my lunch and sitting down at the one lunch table that had an open seat. About six or seven men were around the table. Not one attempted to make eye contact or say hello. I attempted to make conversation but there wasn’t much interest.

The next day I went and had lunch by myself in a nearby park – not very much like me at all. However, at SXSWi, from day one, I saw women (that I knew!) everywhere – in lines, panels, restaurants, throwing their own social mixers. While men still make up the majority, it was encouraging.

Smashing the Glass Ceiling

During one of the days of back to back sessions, I decided to stop into a talk titled Smashing the Glass Ceiling (you can read my coverage of it here). When I first saw the title, I was hesitant about going. Sometimes I worry when I see “women’s panels,” as if women can’t talk about the same issues as men in a gender-mixed session.

That worry quickly passed – the panel was great and reminded me that it is still critically important for women to carve out the time to learn from each other. The women of this panel carefully guided a room full of mostly women (and a few men) to talk about challenges and solutions.

The bottom line: many women don’t feel the confidence they need to expertly leverage the changing business landscape.

In a world of real-time tweets, non-stop conferences and highly connected social graphs, having a real gameplan and getting over fear of failure is necessary for success.

A Tribute to Women

While in Austin, a most inspiring friend and colleague invited me to a luncheon at a local office building. I didn’t know what to expect, but it ended up being a highlight of the entire week. There were probably 60+ women there to honor a few special women who have really done some amazing work.

It was a quiet, intimate environment with room to spread out, talk and get to know each other. Everyone there had someone who had personally invited them, so we knew we were all connected in some way.

The women we were honoring that day included creative raconteur of “Other Than That” Cathy Brooks, Altimeter Group’s Charlene Li, CNN’s Jennifer Martin, Read Write Web’s Jolie O’Dell, Facebook’s Randi Zuckerberg, Comcast’s Shauna Causey, Porter Novelli’s Stephanie Agresta and PGi’s Jackie Yeaney.

One particular moment that stood out was when Jennifer Martin was asked to say a few words about herself and instead, went on and on about all the other women who really deserve the credit.

Isn’t it so like so many women to divert attention away from themselves to honor someone else?

I learned a few things that day.

First, it felt amazing to be surrounded by so many accomplished women. With so many men in our industry, it was inspiring and liberating to spend time talking with other women about their challenges and successes.

Second, my ego and defenses took a rest. I often feel I’m fighting to prove myself. But in this environment, I felt comfortable letting down my guard and opening up to all of the knowledge that surrounded me.

Upon Return

Since I’ve been home, I’ve been keeping an eye out for more local women I should spend time with and learn from.

Serendipitously, I recently met a woman whom I would guess to be in her 60′s. We met in a completely social context and little did I realize this woman was a total pioneer, starting her own tech company in the early 90′s and exiting for a hefty sum just before the bubble burst.

When everyone in the world told her that a soccer mom couldn’t build a tech company, she said “just watch me.”

Sadly, I imagine a grey-haired woman wearing artsy earrings gets dismissed quite often by the tech or business world. But this is a woman I want to get to know better. This is a woman I can learn from.

These are my notes to myself since SxSWi:

• Remember to spend time with successful women whom I can learn from. Pick their brains – ask them how they do it.
• Remember to honor other women who are doing great work. Take time to celebrate together.
• Don’t pass up opportunities to get to know my female colleagues more personally and discuss my own goals and dreams.
• Look for mentors. I just saw that Kathy Korman Frey is starting a workshop on women and mentorship – what an opportunity.
• I never want to be dismissed, so don’t dismiss others. You never know what someone has to offer.

More from:

• Melanie Spring on creating a sisterhood of women business owners
• Top women’s networking groups in the DC area from Jill Foster
• The entrepreneurial mindset, from our sister blog, What’s Next, Gen Y?

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I’m a checklist person.

For some reason, the thought of a blank notebook page is like a fresh start on life – a new opportunity to get it all down, and get it all done. I get to my desk in the morning, create a list, feel organized and look forward to checking each item off.

Given the big, never-ending goals and tasks for my business, this small, compartmentalized action is just enough to remind me that things are happening and I am making progress, even if it sometimes feels like a tiny drop in a vast sea.

So, when my partner and I started our online business last year, we created a checklist: setting up our LLC, getting tax ID numbers, launching a website, etc.

However, in all of our excitement, there were things we did not do. Like find a comprehensive list of all county and state forms that had to be filed and fees to be paid.

I was so focused on the fact that we worked from anywhere, had no employees and our audience was global, that I never considered myself a local business directly accountable to a city, county or state. Unfortunately, the government did.

Around the end of January I began to focus on taxes because I had a nagging feeling there were business issues I wasn’t aware of. To ensure I got off on the right foot, I found an accountant who focuses on small businesses and sent him everything.

Soon enough, emails came pouring in. Did you submit your Schedule K-1? Did you send out your 1099-Misc forms? What is your state account number?

My façade of organization came crumbling down.

In short order I became familiar with the local IRS office and City Hall where I bounced back and forth between floors filling out forms, getting permits, paying fees. Despite being about a year late with some of these things, my taxes were done in time and I’m happy to report we’re in good standing.

However, never has it become more fully apparent to me the number of hoops one has to jump through to start a business that doesn’t even have real walls. And I know more hoops still loom out there somewhere. No matter how well prepared we try to be, there will be surprises. But my goal is to minimize them as much as possible.

My mantra must be, “I don’t know what I don’t know – but someone else does.”

For example, I know from other startups I’ve worked with that there are many other considerations once you take funding or sell your company. The structure of your company may make sense now, but it might need to change as your company evolves. This is an area where continual learning is critical.

The stakes are too high not to ask questions (of experienced people) at every stage.

If you are considering starting a business, save yourself a lot of stress down the road and ask a lot of questions up front.

Use resources like the Arlington Economic Development site – this is specific to my town, but you’ll find similar sites for your own area. And here’s a very quick checklist of the types of things you’ll need to look into – you may have more or fewer items based on your type of business and location:

• Zoning: even if you work from home, just you and a laptop, you may need a home occupancy permit. It’s easy, but you have to go apply in person. You need this in order to get your business license. There was no fee.
• File articles of incorporation with the state: this is where we set up our LLC and got an EIN. Annual fee.
• Register Your Trade Name: I did this at the city hall in Arlington. It was a small fee.
• Get your Business License: I also did this at the city hall. You’ll pay a tax based on the type of business it is and gross receipts (which you estimate as a new business – some types of businesses just pay a flat fee). Your tax will be adjusted the next year based on actual gross receipts. This must be renewed annually by March 1st.
• Review the list of state and local taxes that you may be required to pay. Some of them have to be paid monthly or quarterly.
• Talk to an accountant: if you think April 15 is the only tax date you need to be aware of, you’re probably wrong. There are various forms and taxes due at different times of the year once you have your own business. It’s worth learning about and getting organized in advance.

I have some close friends who had a business for several years. They were unbelievably talented at what they did, but never bothered to dig into these tasks.

When they finally visited an accountant who really understood their business, they learned they owed over $50K in back taxes.

That is a serious hole to dig your way out of as a small business – one that will keep you up at night. Today they are out of that debt, doing great and are religious about paying their quarterly taxes.

In the big picture of your business, this may seem like a small but sharp nail hiding in the corner that you try to ignore as long as possible. But the more you learn, understand and prepare, the less stress it will be, leaving you more time and energy to focus on your core business.

More from:

• 15 small business tax deductions from Grow Smart Business
• Regular contributor Lori Saitz reminisces on how building one business led to launching another

Image © Jen Consalvo, used with permission.

Guest contributor Jen Consalvo 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.

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Remember the saying, “offense sells tickets and defense wins games championships?”

We yell, scream, hug strangers and plain go crazy for a touchdown, home run, slam dunk or goal. It’s what we come to see, what we pay money for and what gets our hearts pounding.

But lately I’ve been thinking, what about the defense? Aren’t these plays equally important? What would happen if the defense didn’t play?

Does anyone specifically come to see the sack, catch, block or save?

The offense of business

In the offense of business, we congratulate each other for getting a new client, landing the account or closing the deal. We networked, followed-up, went to lunch, had meetings, sent emails, made phone calls, did more follow-up and eventually got the brass ring.

We were playing offense, attacking, going for the score. Regretfully the defense is often underutilized, overlooked and ignored.

Let’s consider the defense of business.

Website and online profiles.

You and your business have to be searchable on the Internet. A website provides clients a sense of legitimacy about your business, and according to research from eMarketer (login required), 70% of consumers trust brand websites. Long gone are the days of “letting our fingers do the walking.”

Business cards.

A good business card has your name, your business’ name, with correct and complete (email, website, profile URLs, land line and mobile numbers) contact information.

Creativity is nice; however, this is not the time to use every color in the box of 64. And don’t forget to use the back of the card, its wasted space, therefore wasted money.

Say it loud and say it proud.

Can you convey your passion, products and services in the time it takes to cross the street? Can you tell me what your business does in 15 seconds or less? Can your family and friends tell others what you do in order to generate referral business?

Hardware and software.

Now is the time to upgrade from your 199X desktop to a laptop or notebook from this century. You want to get the latest operating system to offer more functionality and the new hard drive will provide more memory. Further, if you need some information from your computer, it will be with you.

If you do not have the resources at this time, do not make the investment… use what you have until you can get what you want.

Infrastructure.

These are the uninteresting, tedious things we must do to manage a successful enterprise: register with our city or county for a business license, keep track of every single solitary receipt. If you’re working from home, some local governments require a zoning permit, and protect yourself via an umbrella insurance or LLC.

Often entrepreneurs are so busy doing business, they forget to manage and maintain their businesses.

These few defensive steps go a long way to making your offensive work more productive and more fun.

More from:

• Small Biz Survival on managing your business “or it will manage you”
• Extremely useful information from Business.gov on business licenses and permits
• Jen Consalvo on 3 lessons from the unsigned contract

Image: Creative Commons, Bernie Zimmerman

Shannon Mouton is the social media and mobile marketing manager for an online higher education institution. She is passionate about utilizing social media for the greater good, information sharing and networking. Shannon has nearly 20 years of community building, outreach and relationship marketing experience. She is the owner of The Mouton Group, a real estate investment firm, and a principal at Topaz Consulting, a public relations and marketing consulting enterprise. She serves on the board of directors for the In Series and a regular volunteer at Calvary Women’s Services. Her blog, Shannon Sez So, examines life, its joys, pains and idiosyncrasies. Shannon is also a contributor to Gridiron Gals, as a die-hard fan of the Washington Redskins. Contact her on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook.

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How do you affect – and effect – your success?

I’ve read a variety of articles and books lately and noticed some recurring themes that really struck a chord with me. They have to do with vision, intention and attention and how they affect our success.

As we’re still in the early part of 2010, it seems timely to spend a bit of energy on these three important concepts.

Vision

“Your vision of where or who you want to be is the greatest asset you have.” Paul Arden

Do you have a vision of yourself in your mind? How detailed is it?

There have been times in my life where I lost this vision or didn’t take the time to think about it. Those times stand out in my mind, because I swirled around like a leaf in the wind with no direction.

It may have been ok when I was younger and still figuring things out, but as a self-employed business owner, not having a vision can be downright detrimental. Even as I write this, I think about my own answer and start to refine it, again.

I do this often, so that my view is clear, my intentions unwavering and my focus is pointed at the right tasks each day.

I recently reworked my home-office and put a few books on a small shelf above my computer. One of the covers I see each day is a little white book with black and silver writing on it called “It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want to Be: The world’s best-selling book by Paul Arden.”

I love this book because it’s a constant reminder that it all comes back to your vision. Arden reminds us to develop a “complete disregard for where your abilities end,” which helps to open up your realm of possibility as you create your personal vision.

Intention

More often referred to as goals in business books, an intention is a very clear statement or picture of what you want to achieve.

I have intentions around my businesses, hobbies and interests, relationships and even my health; because no matter what it is, I want to set the direction and plant the seed – not wait for things to randomly happen.

My intentions tend to be future-oriented. Entrepreneur Malika Chopra believes so much in intention that she founded Intent.com where people can share and support each other’s intentions.

Attention

If creating a personal vision is like designing a garden and making specific intentions like planting the seeds, then attention could be seen as the daily tending – the watering, weeding, etc.

In other words, it’s placing your attention on your intentions to help them come to fruition and be the best they can be.

Unlike my intentions which are more future-oriented, my attention must be in the present – right now.

Deepak Chopra once wrote, “One-pointed intention means holding your attention to the intended outcome with such unbending purpose that you absolutely refuse to allow obstacles to consume and dissipate the focused quality of your attention. There is a total and complete exclusion of all obstacles from your consciousness.”

I find that by holding my attention steady, and staying in alignment with my intentions and vision, the “flow” comes more naturally and obstacles are more easily transformed.

To illustrate my point, in addition to Thankfulfor, I also have a vision around some personal, creative pursuits. Here is one I’ll share about around my photography ventures.

• My vision is to always be growing and creating: publishing books, speaking, having shows etc around Photography & Creativity and having an audience of appreciators – people who enjoy what I create.
• One of my current intentions is to publish my first ebook on photography in February and sell thousands of copies (aim high!).
• My attention is on the details – the day to day tasks to help me get the book out there, connect with the right audience, build an email list, etc.

Where should my attention be today?

Each morning I look at my various intentions and then take some quiet time to ask myself, where should my attention be today? I then make a very detailed list which provides me guidance for the day. This practice has been vital in keeping me on track and avoiding distractions.

Have you set a clear vision for yourself? Do you have strong intentions that clarify where you focus your daily attention?

If not, there’s no time like the present.

Image © Jen Consalvo, used with permission

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.

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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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Building community pre-monetization
We launched our product in September of 2009 and while we of course had a variety of monetization ideas in mind, we decided to begin building our audience and fine-tuning the site before testing out various concepts.

Cash-flow positive: the unexpected
So imagine our surprise when less than two months later a large publisher (perfect for our demographic) reached out to us asking to work on a collaborative project that would have immediately made us cash-flow positive. Now, my partner and I both have a lot of experience working with large companies and know how these things can go. But after a few weeks of back and forth on terms, we got the green light to start.

It was an exciting moment.
Not only were we happy about the financial terms and all the potential future possibilities, but -

- we were also thrilled to have such immediate validation of our business. There may even have been a little jumping up and down. What there wasn’t…was a written contract.

Of course we knew not having this deal inked was a risk.

But we had emails and calls and excitement all around – they even asked us to accelerate to get the project done asap. We started quickly. They promptly backed out.

Lessons learned:

1. It’s not personal when large companies shift priorities.
After a morning of heavy emotion, a 2 mile run on the treadmill and some general sulking, I realized I could sit there and let this situation drag me down into a swirling vortex of negativity and doom for our business, or I could use it as motivation to figure out bigger and better possibilities. I went with the latter. After all, they loved our idea but as we all know, priorities at large companies can shift like the wind and it’s not a reflection on us. To be honest, I’m proud of how quickly we were able to mobilize and respond.

2. Balance the cost of protecting yourself with the potential loss you would have if your potential partner backs out.
Knowing how priorities change, I should have known better and at least had them sign a simple contract. It may not have changed the outcome but at least it might have forced them to think about the deal a bit more carefully before giving us the green light.

That said, I know first hand how difficult this can be – the last thing we want as a small startup is a lot of back and forth with lawyers. I say this because having worked at AOL for over a decade, I know that legal departments can do a number with those red lines and startups don’t have the cash to burn on legal fees. In the end, you need to balance the cost of protecting yourself with the potential loss you would have if your partner backs out.

3. Learn to bounce.
The success of your business is dependent upon your ability to bounce back from adversity and learn from it. It was a major disappointment but there will be other companies and other deals. And along with those, there will likely be other disappointments. But that’s the risk and cost of doing business and you can’t let it stop you.

So, we continue into the season of gratitude
…growing our audience and while I wish our project would have happened, I’m also thankful to that publisher for helping us see additional possibilities for our business, learning early lessons and about our own resilience as entrepreneurs.

Would I do business with them if they asked in the future? Absolutely. With a contract.

More from:

• Jen Consalvo and her Women Grow Business series on all things product launch (pre, during, post);
• Francie Dalton and her retrospect: What I Wish I’d Known When My Business Launched.

Image I’ve Contracted an Agreement by JK5854, Creative Commons

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.

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Recently my partner was out of town and mostly out of pocket due to a personal matter. At the same time, my body decided to go on strike. With illness keeping me isolated in the nest (my name for my live/work space) I spent a lot of time motivating myself to keep things moving forward (Image Solitude by Aleera, Creative Commons).

November and December are a huge opportunity for us
-especially given that our product is all about gratitude and these are considered to be the gratitude months. So my goal was to launch a content area full of information about ways to give back including a Gratitude Challenge to introduce the concept to a broader range of people and help get the word out about Thankfulfor. With my body partially on strike and my head feeling thoroughly stuffed, I worked hard each day to get out of bed, make a focused list of what needed to be done and work diligently to get items crossed off. By the end of each day, some were done, others were not.

Remarkably, the world did not come crashing down, our product was still running and those undone list items were still there, ready for me to take on the next day.

Between the sneezes and coughs, I realized a few important things during this time.

1. Many people are perfectly comfortable starting a business on their own.
Yet I much prefer having a partner. We are there for each other to bounce ideas off of and to keep each other in check, sane, and motivated. Life is full of unknowns and sometimes there are personal emergencies we can’t prepare for. Working alone, I realized how much I enjoy having a partner and it was nice knowing I could take care of the important things while he was indisposed (even if I had to do them a bit more slowly than usual).

2. Look truthfully at your perception regarding time and priorities.
When you launch, it’s easy to get in a mode where everything feels urgent and the days feel like they’re moving at the speed of light – thousands of things to do and not enough hours to do them. Take a step back. How much of that is real versus invented by our own need to create an illusion of forward movement? We can fool ourselves into thinking that all the things we do are necessary to keep the ship moving, but in reality, many of those things can wait.

It all comes back to prioritization.

3. Being on your own is the surest way to shine a light on your strengths and weaknesses. My solo-down-time allowed me to really see what areas I need to develop. Of course I already had a general sense about what those things were, but I’ve now become keenly aware (when there’s no one to ask or hand it over to) and have incorporated some of those things into goals to improve upon.

4. Asking for help is OK.
Many of us feel a responsibility to work hard and long trying to do everything ourselves. I’ve been known to write a little HTML now and then but launching webpages complete with CSS, following standards, etc is not my strength. After working on our holiday site for a week or more and having little energy left to figure out how to finalize and launch it, I reached out to someone who could.

The money was worth the savings in time, energy and stress.

5. Staying healthy is THE most important thing you can do.
My personal health standards are fairly high, so when I finally came out of denial about being sick, I felt absolutely defeated. Alas, it happens to the best of us. The trick is to quickly figure out what you need to do (move appointments, ask for help, etc) so you can rest, take care of yourself and get back on your feet more quickly.

Ultimately, I knew I needed this break. The past few months have been extremely busy and loaded with travel, interviews and conferences. And with more travel and events coming with the holidays, health is of utmost importance. And while it was later than I anticipated (remember flexibility is our friend) I did get our holiday site launched last week including the Thankfulfor Gratitude Challenge.

What about you?

When you have rolled out new products or services, what did you realize helped you stay most grounded, organized, and effective?

And with that, be well.

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.

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So you launched your product.
You’re a modern woman who understands the need for creating feedback mechanisms so people can reach you. You set up Twitter, a Facebook Fanpage, your blog, email address and even forums for discussion. But here’s the rub. Now you’re launched, trying to work on marketing, engage new partners, work on future product requirements, answer press inquiries and the feedback is pouring in from your new users.

What do you do?

First, let me remind you that you signed up for some late nights the second you learned to spell entrepreneur.

That’s the bad news. The good news is, people are using your product and are now an “extended” part of your team! Learn to utilize them. I happen to be in the thick of this right now, so I’d like to share some thoughts from my personal experience.

5 tips to harness what’s out there:

1. Carve out the time.
Ensure a certain amount of time each day is dedicated to reading and responding to direct feedback, like emails coming in, Tweets to your account, etc. Always respond to your earliest users. Even short responses go a long way by acknowledging their feedback.

2. Set up auto-alerts to receive via email.
Set up a few Google Alerts so you know when bloggers, journalists and others are talking about you or your product. In the first two weeks of launch, I was amazed by alerts showing me mentions for Thankfulfor from the most random corners of the Internet.

3. Search across related social networks to find relevant conversations.
Utilize tools that inform you of online conversations that may directly mention your product or be related in some way. Twitter and Facebook are easy to search, but don’t forget to visit niche communities as well.

Since my product focuses on gratitude, I’ve been more active in communities like Intent.com, Beliefnet and even eHow, which has many articles about gratitude written by members of it’s extended network.

As your business expands, you may want to try tools like Radian6 to see how they can help you.

4. Proactively respond.
Wherever you find activity (reviews, mentions), make sure you proactively respond in comments or email whether the initial mention was positive or negative. I find people are usually thrilled that you noticed and if they did write something negative, are quick to apologize or explain. I always thank them for their honest feedback, assure them we are taking all of their comments into account as we update the product in the future and let them know that we’re still learning about how people want to use the product.

Recently someone said some pretty negative things (publicly) directly targeted at me and while I was tempted to fight back, I decided it would only hurt the brand I am trying to create as well as my own personal reputation.

I responded kindly, thanking him for his feedback and he actually came back with some positive words.

5. Highlight people who have written about your product.
We have a blog where we can write about industry news, team thoughts and more – it’s the perfect place for us to highlight and thank people who have taken the time to feature our product in some way. By doing that, we’ve created deeper relationships and sometimes hear from those people who now think of us when something happens in our industry.

Thoughts for dealing with the challenges

Regarding time
Doing all of the things above can become a major time-suck. But aren’t we doing this entire endeavor so we can control our own schedules? That means it’s up to YOU to have the discipline to turn it off when you need to. I check my feedback sources about 3-5 times per day depending on traffic levels. I carve out additional time each week to participate in various communities and search for feedback. When the day comes that it prevents me from doing everything else I need to do, I will re-evaluate the methods and/or determine if I need to pay for a service or intern to help.

Ego
The anonymity of the web encourages some people to hide behind made-up names and throw stones more harshly than they ever would in person. Don’t let them get to you!

(Image Frustration by Reuben, Creative Commons)

Take all of the feedback, strip out the unnecessary aka personal BS that may be lurking within the comments and bring back anything constructive you can find.

Grow a thick skin because the more successful you get, the more you’ll need it.

Gratitude & allowing
Many people may want to get involved and that can be difficult to deal with too. Be gracious toward your champions and treat them well. Figure out how they can help if they offer! People honestly want to help us and usually it’s our own fears or issues that prevent us from allowing that to happen.

You want these people to become, as Chris Guillebeau says, your own small army.

Figure out how they can help and how to show them your appreciation. I’m still working on this myself so I’ll let you know how that goes!

Re-prioritize as needed (do this on a regular basis)
Trust me, it can be very frustrating to come up with an agreed upon plan today only to completely change it tomorrow. However, cherish the fact that you are small, nimble and can be responsive. My partner and I have a list of features we want to have implemented but only have one developer. When we noticed two weeks ago that a new group of people had come to Thankfulfor and their posts weren’t working we had our developer drop everything to address it.

Those people were all from Japan and our product wasn’t displaying the Han characters. It was a fairly quick fix and because we were responsive, we enabled an entirely new group of people to use our product and share it with friends. We may not understand what they are writing each day but we’re thrilled that they are part of our growing community. Never did we imagine that so many of our early users would be from other countries, but that’s today’s reality, and it means we need to address their needs even if it requires us to shift our plans.

There is no magic bullet.
And before you run out to hire a service, make sure you roll up your sleeves and jump in the real-time feedback stream at least for a little while.

There is nothing like direct interaction with your customers. You need to see it, hear it and be thankful that someone cares enough about what you’ve created to offer something back.

How about you? What’s been your experience in recognizing and engaging with feedback from your customer communities?

More from:
Jen Consalvo and her Women Grow Business series on all things product launch.

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.

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I am in the process of launching a new product.
I’m not new to this, in fact, I’ve been fortunate to be a part of many product launches over the years. But this is the first time I’m launching a product without a large company behind me. No one told me what to build, how to build it, 13 ways to change it, how to monetize it, how to promote it, how we can’t promote it and 27 other things that we must do, cannot do, other people should do, etc, etc.

And wow, is it exciting!

Despite all my experience, there’s a thrill and a fear that is hard to explain. Instead, I’m going to share a few thoughts on how to stay focused and what to expect during the frenzy of launch time.

#1) Set goals as soon as possible so your team has something to strive for.
We started development on our project, Thankfulfor, in late July and even though we weren’t sure if we could do it, we decided we wanted it to be ready to demo at a local event in DC on August 27th. This gave us a hard date to work towards, forcing us to make difficult choices. Going back to our 37signals approach we cut out the “nice to haves” and just focused on the “must haves”.

In almost any product launch, you reach a point where you have to make tough decisions and either slip your date to get more features in, degrade your quality to cut corners or defer some features until later. We decided on the latter.

#2) Visualize your end goal.
We envisioned everything we wanted ourselves and our users to be able to do once we opened up to the public i.e.:

What was an acceptable beta experience?

What elements would we need to keep the buzz going?

How would visitors stay engaged with us and vice versa?

Where could they go with questions or for help?

Asking these types of questions helped us prioritize the “must haves” list and our communication vehicle needs. While our developer continued to write code, my partner and I quickly created email addresses, put the finishing touches on the blog, designed our Twitter page, made sure our analytics were in place, FAQ’s and more.

#3) Daily checkpoints help keep everyone on the same page.
When you’re counting down to a big milestone, you need a lot of team communication and checkpoints to make quick decisions. Fortunately, our bootstrapping team is much smaller than the 20-50+ person teams I used to work with, but checkpoints are just as important. As we got closer to the big day, our communications became much more frequent until finally we had to make the big decision – go or no go?!

#4) #Thankfulfor….flexibility!

(Image Magic of Elegance by Khalid Almasoud)

As much I had planned and desired to fully launch Thankfulfor at the event, at the last minute we decided we would still demo, but wouldn’t fully launch to the world. We had a few bugs and critical pieces to finish up and test, so instead, we password-protected the site, demoed the real thing, but put up a page connected to our email list where any visitors could sign up for our launch announcement. That way we could stay in touch with all the people who wanted to use the product after they met us at the event.

The demo was a success.

We made it interactive, had fun, talked to a ton of people who were genuinely interested in our product and were able to garner some press and buzz that we may not have been able to get otherwise. Most importantly, we received useful early feedback that will help us shape the product in the future.

Delaying the launch by a couple of weeks was frustrating but ultimately the best thing for everyone, specifically those wonderful people who are going to be our first visitors.

As I said when starting my story on this post, launching is a process and it’s most fun when you stay fluid and flexible instead of latching on to a specific vision which can be filled with emotion. As I write this, I know that in a several hours we will have another go/no go decision to make and by this evening, Thankfulfor could be live. Or it may take another day or more and the champagne will just have to wait.

Think we’ve popped the cork on the champagne yet? Check the link and see!

More from:
Jen Consalvo and her series launch at WomenGrowBusiness on bold entrepreneurship.

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.

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Is there something you’ve been wanting to do?
…like start a business or change your focus? Recently, I was at a cocktail party talking with a woman about her job. She seemed genuinely upset about how her life was going and wanted to change direction but seemed stymied about making any changes. We then talked about my new ventures – quitting my job, launching a new company with two products in the works, trying to consult and doing photography on the side all while writing a book.

“But how?” she asked. My answer – I just did. I got tired of waiting around for the life I wanted to just show up and announce itself.

Assert the moment vs wait
My biggest point to her was that there will never be an invitation or a perfect moment. No one is going to invite you to start in on your dreams – so invite yourself. My “invitation” was that I didn’t like how my company was run anymore and wanted to create an organization I believed in.

I used my savings, downsized my living space and feel confident that if I need more funds to do the projects I love, I’ll find them.

The truth is that we all have abilities that can help others and make the short term cash we need. All of my skills in product strategy, product marketing, photography, writing and more are valuable and I love doing them – why not make them work for me under my own terms?

I went on to explain that it’s early yet
And there’s no guarantee that all of my financial goals and expectations will come to fruition. But so far, there are a few things I’ve learned by being bold – things that make me know, in that deepest way of knowing, that I’m on the right track.

Benefits I’ve enjoyed from acting bold:

On conquering fears (result: a new work identity)
I conquered a major fear – one that is difficult to explain to anyone who has not felt in some part, defined by their work. I had been at AOL for almost 13 years and as a friend once said – that’s like 50 years in Internet time. I essentially grew up there and received more of an education about product development, community management and working with teams then I ever could have imagined. Leaving was terrifying – who would I be? Would I become less important or forgotten about?

And how would I answer that most prevalent question “What do you do”?

While there may have been some moments of uncertainty, I now feel confident and secure about my identity and value as an individual, and that confidence is here to stay.

On designing your life (result: my dream mobile office)
For years I had dreamed and talked about figuring out a way to live more of a nomadic lifestyle – with the freedom to work from anywhere. Suddenly, I realized that with my laptop, iPhone and trusty backpack, I was a self-sufficient mobile office! In the last few months I’ve worked from my home in the DC area, Maine, Chicago, Milwaukee, San Francisco, New York and even Taipei. I’ve worked on trains, buses, airport floors, coffee shops, hotel lobbies and friends’ tables.

Most glorious to me, I often work outside.

Strange as it may sound, it’s quite possible that years went by when the only real daylight my body experienced was the brief walk between buildings on the AOL campus. It is amazing how good it feels to work outside. I know that I am productive, responsible and creative no matter where I am working and will work hard to ensure this freedom lasts.

On growing (result: my self-promotion and social skills improved)
While there are opportunities for personal growth while working at big companies, being on my own has pushed me to grow in new ways and offered opportunities for growth in some very unexpected ones – and this is just the start! My social skills have improved, confidence and self-promotion included. Creatively, I’ve been able to stretch and surprise myself with things I didn’t know were in me (I can cook!). Most importantly, I know my enthusiasm for self-growth has deepened and I do not fear failure. Failures will happen, but they are part of the journey and since I write my own annual review now, I vow to give myself a gold star for every failure moving forward – because failures mean I’ve tried, reached, extended myself and learned. Bravo.

On living in the now (result: I finally chose to be an entrepreneur)
I know that I’m no longer putting off ’till tomorrow what I can do today. All my life I’ve talked about living a life less ordinary and being an entrepreneur. But it was always a future dream. But there is no future – there is only now, and I finally learned that lesson. The words sound trite, but when you finally understand it, feel it and know it in your gut, waiting is no longer an option.

On being a witness (result: my environment motivates my decision)
The deep knowing I mentioned previously is echoed and reinforced everyday. When I am open to it, synchronicity appears – not just in little ways, but in giant, loud, billboard screaming ways. Now that I think about it, that might be the most fun of all! Witnessing the world around you as it organizes and rallies to propel you to where you want to be.

So, as my friend and I chatted at this party, my basic message to her was this – be bold.

There are no rules to how you have to live and if you can just let go of the messages and fears that have been deeply programmed into our psyches telling us to fear change and that we need our “steady” jobs with half-walls, formica desks and 9-5 schedules, titles and annual reviews, we’ll finally know that those dusty dreams in the attics of our minds are not only possible, but highly plausible and we are doing the world a disservice when we ignore them.

Boldness has genius, power, and magic
About two-three months ago, I found myself in the midst of a highly creative phase (which happens quite a bit more these days) and an idea struck me. I have a book in me – many in fact, but one that is meant for now. And not only would I start writing it asap, but I would announce it on my blog along with a photo contest inviting others to be a part of it. After I announced it, doubt flooded my mind – can I really do that? What will people think? Will people say bad things? Will anyone buy it? Who am I to make such a bold announcement?

And that’s when I remembered.
For almost 13 years I kept a Goethe quote with me that resonated but apparently took it’s time to penetrate. “Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.”

As complete strangers sent me emails and entered my contest, I witnessed the magic. As photographers I deeply admired and felt were out of my league offered to help, I felt the power. Now I show up everyday and put the work in – and remain hopeful that some greater force will infuse a bit of genius in there as well.

As I mentioned, it’s early yet. Who am I to say follow your bliss?
Who am I to give advice about designing your own life? Honestly, I’m just someone who dug deep and remembered Goethe. I also trust myself – shouldn’t we all? If you are happy in your current environment, great! If not, dust off your hidden dreams and bring them out into the bold light where they belong.

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 Taipei 101 and Kite, by guest blogger Jen Consalvo, used with permission)

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