~from a Women Grow Business blog at Boot Camp

Once upon a boot camp the young entrepreneur with the growing company and the old advisor with many entrepreneurs as clients came together to talk about building a business successfully.

Here’s what you can learn from their mistakes.

Blunder #1: Being too cheap in the early stages

Whether you are an individual or run a company, you need expert advice early to set your business up successfully. A small amount of guidance can save you time and help avoid major problems later.

Talk to a CPA, an attorney, your local economic development agency, check out the SBA, and even experts specific to your business, and learn the basics.
Don’t wait until the government is after you or you are facing your first lawsuit.
Being a business owner can be downright scary. Spend a little upfront to reduce your risks – and raise your comfort level.

Blunder #2: Not learning all you can about marketing, branding, and selling

Selling scares a lot of us. Marketing sounds so expensive and confusing. And branding seems a little too hyped to be real.

Yet every solopreneur and entrepreneur needs to know how to use each of these effectively for their own work and success.

Fortunately, the resources to learn about these aspects of promoting your business effectively are easily available. Start with some self-education. There are a lot of great tools online and even at your local library.

Once you have a basic understanding, decide what is most likely to work well for you.
Define your needs and goals. Create a plan. Develop your materials. Hire those services you need for support.

Blunder #3: Not networking

Each of them told their friends about their new businesses. But that is not enough! You need to be actively engaging your network.

Take all that you learned in marketing and branding above and start actually talking to people about your brand and your new ideas. Ask for their ideas and suggestions. As you build, you can also ask for specific contacts and then referrals.

Get out there to relevant professional meetings and events.
Ask questions.
Make connections.
Go to local business events where your target clients are likely to be and do the same.
Learn about social media and how to use it effectively. This is a great way to build and maintain your networks while also enhancing your marketing. Develop a plan so it doesn’t become a time sink, though.

Blunder #4: Not knowing your full value

One realized her clients were frequently surprised at her business acumen – somehow they expect her to only know one type of thing. And so she realized she was not effectively conveying her full value to potential clients. The other’s staff recognized before she did what a great evangelist she was and how responsive potential clients were to her ideas.

It is vital that you figure out what makes you different and what added value you offer.
Talk with friends, past mentors, and others who know you well. Ask them for the 5-6 words that describe you and see which you can weave into your branding. Research what your potential clients are seeking. Better yet, tap into your strengths and present them as solutions to issues clients face.

Blunder #5: Not learning from your mistakes

All business owners make mistakes. We’re only human, even if we have to pretend to be superhuman. We mess things up and sometimes it takes us awhile to admit that we did. Many businesses continue to make the same mistakes instead of being open to realizing them and changing their ways.

Be a business owner who can see through pride, worry, excitement and exhaustion and see what needs to be fixed, where things could be better and how you could improve.
Be proactive. The more you learn about yourself and your business, the better chance you have to succeed.

These five tips are only the top of our list of unforced errors … but they are among the most dangerous to your future success – and the most common! If you are starting out, you can avoid them. If you are just going along or rebuilding your business, take 30 minutes a day for the next six weeks and start tackling them.

Lots of links to help you with whatever you’ve been needing. We’d love your comments and ideas!

• Resources for entrepreneurs
• Taxes and benefits guidance for small business and self-employed
• “How to” guides – a long list of topics and guides
• More resources for applications and services
• Going Green: The small business greening guide
• Government information, resources, and law links for entrepreneurs

Common Free Resources

• Google Apps – email through your domain, calendars, documents
• Google Voice – can forward to multiple phones & text/email you the written message
• Mint.com – keep track of all your finances in once place
• QuickBooks Online – allow access from anywhere to anyone in your company
• TeamViewer.com – free screen-sharing software (downloadable or thru browser)
• Aviary.com – stripped down design programs with ability to access from multiple locations
• DropBox.com – online files storage syncs with multiple computers

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. She can be reached through her website SHRinsight.com, where archives for her ongoing management series can be found.

Melanie Spring is the principal and project director at Sisarina Inc. An expert networker, Melanie and Sisarina connect individuals and companies with the tools they need to market and promote their brand successfully and efficiently. Connect with her on Twitter where she’s @sisarina.

A Successful Event!

~Liz Glomb (@eglomb)

The good news is that this week was substantially less stressful than last week, so no posts more on stress relieving tips coming from me. I had a very relaxing weekend which helped prepare me for a productive week.

And what a week it was…

This week marked the first #DCTweetup that I planned from start to finish on my own. I mean, Nicole and I found the venue together, and reached out to our venue, but after that it was my baby (mostly). This week’s #DCTweetup was at Urbana Wine Bar and Restaurant. Last October I attended a Tweetup at Urbana and thought it was a fantastic venue. When Nicole found it and wanted to visit it during our venue hunt in Dupont Circle, I was very willing to oblige. I really like Urbana. The atmosphere is trendy and relaxing, and very welcoming to a large group of social media types. Unbeknownst to us, it was also Urbana’s 4th Birthday, so we ended up having more Happy Hour specials than originally anticipated!

In the end, I think that the #DCTweetup at Urbana was a success and now I can officially say, “I’m an Event Coordinator” (well I mean, I was one before, but as it was my first predominately solo planning event, I feel that I am now OFFICIALLY in the event planning club)

I’m looking forward to planning the next one! See you in August!

The contest we posted to find out about the best thing you've found via social media brought some wonderfully inspiring answers! The most common answer has been friendships - old and new.

Two of our favorite answers were the confidence Nicole found and the birth mother Jen was able to connect with. We weren't able to decide on the best between the two so we had a chat with Annie of Small Act and let her make the final decision. It was tough... but the winner is...

Both of them!!! Congrats to Nicole (@nicoleindc) & Jenn (@dateabledc) for your incredible entries!

Small Act thinks "you can't top finding your birth mother" but Nicole's was so well articulated. They will both receive a 1-year free subscription to Thrive!

Thank you to all who entered our contest. We appreciate you sharing your stories. All entrants from the contest will receive 2 months free trial of Small Act's social media software, Thrive.

Week 6? 7?

Whichever week it was, last week was a full one and our interns were really hopping.  With Teresa out of the office, there was an extra set of "things" to get done along with a much-anticipated Twirlies event to arrange.  The girls pulled everything together with great aplomb (and more than a little stress-management).  It should be noted that, though they arranged the entire 'Tinis and Toes event, none of the Sisarina girls actually received a pedicure or massage.  They were working too hard!

When it all hits the fan…

~by Liz Glomb (@eglomb)

This week brought on lots of stress for me. It wasn’t any one particular thing, it was a bunch of small and large things that decided to all pour down on my head during the same 5 day period. You know that feeling you get when you feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day to get any of your work done? Yeah, that was me. It didn’t help that stress makes it hard for me to concentrate, which results in me being more stressed, etc etc etc.   So my question to you readers is:

How do you deal with work-related stress?

If work, life, or a combination of both, have ever made you so stressed out you have a hard time operating, than you know what I’m talking about. I’ve come up with a short list of things that have worked for me in the past to help alleviate stress. Some of these things work all the time, and some work every now and then, but at some point they have all worked for me. 

1. Listen to relaxing music. Now when I say “relaxing”, that really could be anything, because everyone has different musical tastes. I tend to listen to stuff in the “Jack Johnson” or “Guster” type genre for these moments. The other key to this is to have the music playing from something other than your own computer. I find that if I have my iTunes open on my laptop I spend more time being picky then I do listening to the music. The goal is to put on some music that you find relaxing and that will essentially fill in the background.
2. Take a break every hour. When I’m stressed, and trying to work on something and I’m having a major case of writer’s block, I will get up and walk around outside for about 5 minutes. Just getting a breath of fresh air or stretching my legs helps me not feel like I’m trapped at my desk.
3. Try to go to bed an hour early. If at all possible, try to go to bed an hour earlier than you normally do. Don’t stress yourself out even more by getting less sleep. I’m a firm believer in the notion that “sleep will solve anything”. If sleep can’t solve it, than at least it will make you feel a bit more rested and clear headed than before.
4. Exercise. Go to the gym. Go on a long run. Whatever you like to do for exercise, go out and DO IT. Even if I feel like I have no time for a run, I do it, even if it’s only for 30 minutes. It doesn’t have to be a full blown gym session, but getting the endorphins pumping will help with almost anything.

College Grad: Great communication skills, event coordinating & bartending…

~by Nicole Mott (@nicolemott)

‘Tinis and Toes was my first event that I have planned from the beginning to the end and it felt great! I have come to realize that planning a full event involves taking every detail in mind. It started as just a fun name and idea that Melanie had started with but then as we brainstormed more and talked to more people it really developed into a much anticipated “girlie” event.

What exactly goes into the planning a Sisarina event?
We started by mentioning the idea at our June Twirlie event. This small group of women loved the idea of networking over martinis and pedicures, so we were sure we could convince a few more… (What we didn’t know was that all 30 spots would fill and that more than half of the ladies would come from the start to end of the event). Then the next step was to work out the details. Originally our idea was to have the event at a local bar in a back porch area, but as more details panned out, such as a masseuse and pedicures while drinking martinis—we realized it would work better to be in our own space… Well this and I knew I could put my bartending skills to the test!

Ahh, the power of Twitter…
So we had the location, date and time set while we reached out to local female businesses for sponsorship. Most of these interactions were via email with local companies, but while searching for a dessert sponsor, Lori from Zen Rabbit responded instantly to a tweet of Melanie’s offering to provide “Gratitude Cookies.” This connection via Twitter developed into an email conversation and then, sure enough Lori mailed us the Gratitude Cookies and attended our event last Wednesday, while in town for a few days.

Last minute preparations…
The week of ‘Tinis and Toes entailed finalizing martini menu and food menu as well as preparing the office and last minute details with our sponsors. We picked up food, drinks, supplies and borrowed Sex and the City to be playing in the background. There is a lot of work that goes into the events that are at Sisarina’s headquarters because we are actually the ones making the food and drinks, but it’s worth it. The office is more of an intimate and relaxed setting compared to a bar, so it creates a different socializing atmosphere.

I learned a lot of things from planning the event, ‘Tinis and Toes, from the beginning to the end—many things worked out well but there were also a fair share of aspects that I know no could have run smoother, but that’s how it goes. You live and learn. But why not live and learn while getting a pedicure and drinking a martini?

The definition of networking is “to cultivate people who can be helpful to one professionally.” The core of this is lost on most business owners and salespeople.

To cultivate means to really work at something. In order to network well, we must plan to befriend those around us.

We work with people we like, not just people we know.

How many times have you been to an event where people asked you what you did then stared over your shoulder to find someone else who might give them business? Notice how I didn’t ask if you have been, because everyone has.

Networking is a subtle art form that has been so badly misused that people cringe when they hear of a networking event. But it’s typically not the event that’s scary, it’s the people. Some people still haven’t learned how to network without selling.

Selling is the base of all scariness in networking.
 

Here are 10 tips to help you stop selling & start building relationships:

1. Be engaged.

If you’re in a conversation, don’t look for other people to talk to. Enjoy what you’re in at that moment.

2. Network with everyone.

Just because someone isn’t a good client of yours doesn’t mean they can’t be a great referral source.

3. Be a resource.

If people know that you give out great information they’re more likely to want to work with you.

4. Be a connector.

If you see people who aren’t engaging in conversation, invite them into your group. If someone says they’re looking for a certain type of person & you know someone who can help them, introduce them to that person.

5. Stop talking about what you do.

Start talking about what you like to do and connect with people on a higher level than just work.

6. Don’t force a conversation.

Some people just aren’t meant to connect. If you feel stuck in a conversation, excuse yourself to use the bathroom or to say hi to someone else.

7. Don’t judge.

Just because someone has a job you’re not interested in, it might not define them. The person might be really interesting in other parts of their life. Ask them about those things instead.

8. Listen.

Stop blathering on and start listening. You’ll probably be remembered as a great conversationalist.

9. Networking happens everywhere.

Networking events aren’t the only place to network. Find unassuming places to meet people & practice friend-making. Those types of events typically result in business relationships.

10. Be yourself.

Stop trying to be a salesperson and just have a friendly conversation. People know when you’re trying too hard.

Next time you head to an event don’t have a goal of how many business cards you’ll get.

Instead, plan to make at least one friend. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how much business you’ll get out of that.

Happy networking!

Also published at: Bring it to Fruition & Women Grow Business & referenced on Forecasting Clouds

Network, Network, Network

~by Nicole Mott (@nicolemott)

When looking for a job during my senior year of college, the advice I received over and over again was “network, network, network.” So moving back to the DC area I’ve been very lucky to have an internship in which the primary focus of my role is to set up networking events. Luckily, these “networking events” really don’t even feel like networking at all. Attending the #DCTweetup at the Science Club this past week felt like less like a networking event and more of a “non-awkward party of people meeting each other” (I hope that makes sense)!

It was my birthday on Wednesday, so I wasn’t planning on going to the #DCTweetup due to prior dinner plans but as I heard more and more hype about the ever expanding attendee list for this event, I knew I couldn’t miss it!  I compromised and made a reservation at Firefly, just a few blocks down from the event at the Science Club so I could at least be there for half of the #DCTweetup.  I’m so glad I was able to make it!  I met many people, reconnected with friends, and even had “Happy Birthday” sung to me by a group of people I had just met, while trying to slip-out to make it to my reservation (PS- Thanks for that!).

Liz and I had the best view all night. We sat at the front door checking-in guests, so when there wasn’t a line at the door, we were able to meet and talk with literally every person that walked in. As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve only been a twitter user for a month or so, so it was crazy to see how this tweet-up worked. People would give shout-outs on twitter or even request songs via twitter to our DJ… crazy! My last post was about the importance of phone etiquette while out in social settings and I can say that I learned even more about proper tweeting while talking out in public (it’s a skill I’m still developing). Tweet, Tweet and more Tweets were sent while at the party and I loved it!

It was a great #DCTweetup and definitely the largest one I have ever been to (well, I’ve only actually been to one before, so definitely the largest). I loved meeting new people and seeing a few friendly faces. How awesome to be a part of an event like this. Over 200 people signed up, but with a bunch of hard-nosed bouncers, like Liz and I at the front door, we let a few “slide” in off of the waitlist, because in my opinion the more the merrier! And that was definitely the mentality of the #DCTweet up at Science Club.

After our first big tweet-up under our belts, I’m even more excited to plan the next few events. A #DCTweetup only once a month? I’m so excited I feel like we could handle one twice a month… once a week? Well, maybe I’m getting ahead of my event coordinating skills too early on. If you didn’t make it to this tweet-up, keep checking out our event website because you missed a great night. Here’s to more tweetups, twirlies and twixers to come!

Pros & Cons of Manning the Sign-in Desk

~by Liz Glomb (@eglomb)

Week 5 of my internship with Sisarina brought one of the biggest parties and social media events I have ever been too. Sisarina and Lisa Byrne co-sponsored the Social Media Day party on April 30th at the Science Club.

There were a few pros and cons to being the “check-in” girl, but mostly just pros:

Pro #1: I got to meet everyone who walked in the door for the party, and I mean EVERYONE. We had over 150 people show up and I got to meet and great every single one of them. This was a benefit because some of these people I’ve been following on twitter for a long time and finally got to meet them in real life. I’d say a few people might’ve slipped by me because Nicole checked them in, but you can pretty much say I met everyone.

Pro #2: Getting to meet everyone means that everyone got to meet you, which led to people wanting to talk to you even if you had to sit by the door the whole time. Even though I left my chair once the entire night, I had an amazing time.

Pro #3: Everyone wanted to know what I want to do with my life and I answered them. This has led to a couple possible business ventures for myself. We’ll see what happens next.

Con #1: I never got to leave my seat so therefore I still really have NO idea what the inside of Science Club looks like. Oh well, guess I’ll go there another time to check it out.

Con #2: People had to bring me drinks because I couldn’t get them myself. Oh wait…. Shouldn’t that be considered a pro? ;-)

Con #3: I had to make over 200 nametags for everyone that signed up, and of course I still ended up missing people (sorry to those that didn’t get a name tag, I promise you’ll get one next time, I swear!)

Anyways, Social Media Day was a blast. You can check out the recap and pictures here. Enjoy the recap, I helped write it! Adios!