Paralelles

Are You Glowing?

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Be careful of your thoughts as they become your words; be careful of your words as they become your actions; be careful of your actions as they become your character and define your destiny. Author Unknown; quoted by Kathy Swanson

Last night in New York, e woman network premiered their Glow Project, a documentary of 15 women whose success has been extraordinary! Remarkably these women spoke candidly about their mommy guilt, fears, success and lots more. There were many quotable quotes including another, I want to live to be very old and ALL USED UP, that got quite a laugh, but so true.

Kathy Swanson is the president of the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies! Her focus and determination to lead her life by the creed above has earned her the respect of her peers, friends and family.

What I love about this quote is that your destiny is not set in stone, you can change destiny and you can begin by changing your thoughts and words and actions. It is so important to remember that all of us can do that in our personal life and/or in our professional lives and with our business. Change the thought message that your customers perceive you by. Of course it is always easier to build that from the ground up, but reinvention is the key to success, and the important concept to take away is that you can indeed alter the thought of the public perception of your business that in turn can impact words and action and bottom line!!!

I write like it is a simple thing, yet I really do not believe it is. Large companies have been known to spend massive amounts of money on branding anytime they need to change the publics view of them, their products or their cause.

It is also about the focus and staying focused so that thoughts, words, actions and character all are in sync so that at the end of the day you achieve the destiny you dream of.

Reinvention

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Yesterday, in the United States of America, we elected the first African American president! The morning after, it seems as if his inclusiveness is making an impact already. Senator John McCain delivered a gracious concession speech and did it with style and elegance. This morning, so too did President Bush; he welcomed Presidentelect Obama to come to the White House any time, and offered that his administration would be transparent and the transition will be as seamless as possible.

This country, as diverse as it is and as large and overwhelming, came together in a mandate for Obama. So many times in our history the people of this country take it upon themselves to do what is right. We the people have many times looked to our own reinvention to move forward in a positive and hopeful manner. We did it in 1930 when we elected FDR and again in 1962 with John F. Kennedy, in 1980 with Ronald Reagan and now, in 2008, with Barack Obama. Our leaders are only, in the end, representatives of ourselves, our hopes, our dreams and our lives! We hire them via our election process to do our bidding. We are their constituents, we make the difference, we are the voice they must heed!

So WE let our voices be heard, WE want to move forward into this global community, WE want a voice that can represent us in that forum, WE realize there are shortcomings in our country, and WE want to work toward fixing them! WE are always up for the challenge, WE do have HOPE and WE can and always seek to REINVENT OURSELVES once again in the best spirit of our forefathers and mothers and those who bring inspiration to the rest of the world.

Much like any entrepreneur who always keeps their eye on staying ahead of the curve and embracing reinvention, we have as a nation taken that step, and I am sure we will be successful!

What Does the Global Future Look Like for Women-owned Business?

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

If you could build, from the ground up, the future for women business owners globally, what would it look like?

While in London this past week, I discussed the subject at length with several "thought leaders." I was there to celebrate the first anniversary of We Connect, a global organization dedicated to certifying women-owned businesses.

The stats in the UK spell opportunity everywhere for women-owned businesses! While the US enjoys a robust 5254% women-owned business, the UK is at 14%. No small wonder the governments looking to increase that number! When they increase that number, it will mean more jobs, more income and more tax base; indeed it is sound economic policy for them to support the agenda.

They have initially started a fund of 12.5 million pounds with matching corporate to get their initiative off the ground. Twenty years ago, the US passed HR 5050, a bill that, in part, provided funding for local womens business development centers to start addressing the needs of educating women business owners. The bill in the UK actually provides direct assistance to the business owner. While no government mandates of spending requirements by the UK government with women-owned business were established, there is an overall feeling of support. (Currently the US government mandates 5% spent by any an agency or private business doing business with the federal government. Although we fall short of that goal by over 1%, the mandate is there!) But should 5% be victory for women-owned business? Consider for a minute the billions of dollars the US government spends annually, and 5% is a drop in the bucket!

While at this conference, I sat in on a break-out session for the 2012 Olympics and what that actually can mean for women business owners! Ruth Brothwells business outreach for London 2012 spelled out very clear objectives, and I was most impressed. All the prime contractors were laid out, and all of the awards that have been made to date can be found on their website: www.London2012.com

I also met Dr Lizbeth Goodman of SMARTlabs. While her goals are to frame a future city that meets the needs of women on a social agenda, e.g., services for women and children, the interest in adding women-owned business to her agenda piqued her interest as well as women in leadership. Once again we know that while many countries across the globe elect and enjoy far more women leaders than the US does, what does the city of the future look like? Terri McNally of Global Capital Ltd and I were asked to address the business ownership issue for an upcoming global leadership summit that will focus on what the future of our cities looks like! The summit takes place in Abu Dabi in January 2009!

So much food for thought and so much more to be accomplished, Ladies!!! What does your ideal city for women look like? I welcome your input.

Cutting Coupons

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0800

If your business is in the business of retail, whether for resale or consumer, I believe that what I have just read from Aliza Freud is spot on! I met Aliza recently at Forbes Executive conference for women and found what she is doing really innovative and interesting! Further, I believe that you need to be on top of this asap! If you have deals for other retailers, get them out; if you have a deal for consumers, get that out too.

Aliza Freud, founder of SheSpeaks, said she was surprised by the high percent of respondents who said they would cut their spending at mass merchants like Wal-Mart and Target. Wal-Marts results have been outpacing rivals in recent months as consumers seek out its low prices.

But Freud said, People are feeling like theyre not getting the deals that they really expected to get there. She said one reason for this feeling may be the lack of coupons that these retailers distribute. Instead of relying on a retailers promise that they offer low prices, Freud said respondents indicated that they prefer shopping with coupons these days to feel as if they are getting the lowest prices possible.

We think coupons are a huge opportunity right now for retailers, Freud said.

Is there a special or coupon that you would like to get out to a larger audience? Let Paralelles help. Send us camera-ready art and we will send out for you, as a new benefit to membership. We will give you one free email blast and have special rates for members on additional blasts (call for details).

I say, make them fun, interesting and a good value for your audience!

Seeking Leadership

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0800

The financial crisis that is looming over the United States has many of us shaking our heads. I mean honestly, where is the leadership in this country? President Bush has checked out and looks like he cannot wait to go home to Crawford, Texas, and the ranch. Nancy Pelosi is third in line for the presidency, and she has created such a negative impression that we are in a vacuum of leadership.

So just what do we look for in leadership? It is not an easy question to answer, and certainly in these trying times even more sought after and more difficult to find. Why? My thoughts are these: I believe that we are at a pivotal moment, much like the people transitioning from an agrarian society to the industrial age and from the industrial age to a service age. We are at a point that I believe will only reveal itself to us in hindsight. This huge transition will not be easy, and just like in previous days, it will be painful. If you think about it, the way business was done when we tilled the land versus had engines for working the land, moving freight and moving people were very different, and the changes were difficult to accept.

What will this age be called? I dont know, but I have some ideas; most likely something around technology. Perhaps each age or society had its own meltdown of sorts as well. However, I believe we need real leadership. Leaders who know their beliefs are clear about who they are and have the emotional intelligence to know that we as a society are at this brink of CHANGE.

Dr. Annie McKee, coauthor of the book Resonant Leadership, puts it this way: The minute you become a victim, you lose leadership. Well, we have all become victims, and overcoming it will take time and the following advice from Anne:

1) Mindfulness, a state of being that is aware of ourselves and others in the world

2) Hope, yes hope , an optimism and image of a better, more feasible future

3) Compassion, real care and concern and a willingness to act on your convictions

They are three very simple thoughts, but the trick is to apply them to each situation, every nuance, and every person a leader is dealing with. Then and only then, in that application, is where great leadership begins!

Trade Up Your Networks

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Last week I was at the Forbes Executive Womens Forum in New York at the Essex House.

The overall format and selection of speakers were amazing: from Marilyn Carlson Neilson to Cathie Black of Hearst to Playboys longtime CEO Christie Hefner.

There were a couple of reoccurring themes, as well as themes that over the course of the last month have crossed my conversations. The first is trading up your networks. Like anything in life, what we already know can get stale, and we must refresh both our knowledge base and our networks.

Many of us have long been in organizations that helped us get off on the right foot, either socially in communities, with parent groups in schools or in neighborhoods, and maybe a network like the chamber for business. The Chamber of Commerce has long been the first step for many small business owners to not only get information but also make contacts. Some of us progress after that to maybe a local organization of entrepreneurs or toastmasters, etc. Along the way we meet more and more like-minded individuals from whom we can learn and who can help us advance our business interests.

However, my point here is to reiterate that all along the way we need to keep trading up! Which is not to say we dont keep up relationships in our old networks; rather, we add to them with new knowledge and new information.

One good friend of mine is great at this. Rebecca Boenigk of Neutral Posture and I were discussing her constant movement in the world of women-owned business. Her ergonomic chair business is now grossing over $25 million in annual sales. She recently joined the C200, a group of women with business over $15 million. Most are much higher than that! These women are committed to helping those in their network achieve even greater heights thru help and referrals!

I think you get what I am about here. As your business grows, so do your needs to connect with those who can, through their contacts, also help you grow your business to greater scale! Now believe me, I am not saying all it takes is to join any organization and those current members will reach out and offer contacts; just like with everything, it is about building the relationship. However, as Cathi Black mentioned, we need to go broad in our networks not deep!

So re-energize yourself and your networks and start moving across a broad spectrum .

The Slip Stream

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0800

This past week and the weeks to come can present opportunities for your business.

If you are looking to make your mark by getting your business out there via marketing and advertising, now is the time. Being conservative is good for your bottom line, but looking forward to when we come out of this economic morass is or should be on the top of your list.

No matter if youve been in business for two years or ten years or twenty , there is opportunity to keep getting the word out about your business. While at the Forbes Executive Womens Forum in New York last week, everyone agreed, keep your head up and invest in your business. This is NOT THE TIME to turn inward. Keep your long-term finances in your sights, but pay attention to what your business could become while there are others out there who might be looking inward.

As women we are wired to be more hopeful, and that characteristic should put us in good position to think innovatively. You should be looking toward the future so that all the hard work you have done pays off.

We discussed how we put ourselves in the Slip Stream; that is, moving forward at just the right forward pace to become more competitive, ahead of the pack and more innovative. To do that we should look at several pieces of our business:

a) What motivates our employees? If we can keep employees motivated with challenging work and constant learning, we can increase productivity. What does that mean? Look at your employee base and find out what motivates them. Are they Boomers, Gen X or Gen Y? (More on this topic later.)

b) Look to collaborate with other like-minded businesses. Or, perhaps to grow a new revenue stream, you must look to a partner who is doing what it is you want to do with your current model.

c) Constantly ask yourself, what is it that I dont know?! Perhaps even form an ad hoc committee of employees to get together once a week or month for coffee; ask them the same questions and for their thoughts on innovation for your business. After all, rarely is it one person generating all the ideas that moves business forward.

Finally, stay as liquid as you can, incent clients to pay you quickly with discounts for quick payments and avoid being anyones banker it can only lead to trouble. If however you are forced to invoice clients and wait on their payments, charge interest at a high enough rate to a) motivate them to pay you and b) at least make a few bucks while you are waiting!

Move forward, stay focused and enjoy the ride!

Problems Are Messages

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Were there clear messages that Lehman Chairman Richard Fuld missed? The market thinks so. The 158-year-old banking institution became the latest in a series of financial devastation to hit the US.

If the ground is shifting, what signals are you perhaps missing in your business? It is more important than ever to challenge yourself with questions as to where your business is headed. Ignoring those messages can put your business at a serious disadvantage.

Those messages can be deceiving, they could be financial, they could be in the form of clients and their ability to pay, they could be in the form of employees, and they could be in the form of legislation that is passed that affects business.

Needless to say, there is a lot to do in running a business that has nothing to do with producing the widget you make, be it a handbag, a micro chip or the services you provide.We must be diligent about all the messages our businesses are telling us.

Financially, who are your clients and where is your revenue being driven from? If 80% of your revenue is being derived from 20% of your clients, you need to diversify your client base. It is never a good idea to be exposed to any one client driving your business.

Financially, do you have the liquidity today to meet the pure cash requirements that you have, i.e., payroll, etc.?

Employees could also be having their own financial difficulties with the mortgage crisis affecting everyone, and that could affect productivity.

What legislation could be passed that could help or hinder your business? There was some talk today of two things that need to be done to help small business. Both are interesting and possibly helpful solutions. The first, a product to allow transactional business, like payroll; the second, asking banks to be somewhat lenient with credit, as small business needs liquidity to function, perhaps more than any other one piece of the pie. To freeze credit freezes the ability of business both small and large to function.

These are some of the messages that you could be listening to there are certainly others. The point: listen and be nimble!

Gaining Momentum

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Are you seeking to gain momentum for your service brand or product? If you are reading this blog, I have to assume (begs for another topic on assuming), that you are. I am reading a great book, CONVERSATION CAPITAL. At its core it is really a book about building word of mouth and how very simply that is more cost effective than any other brand of marketing medium you could choose. I am not a big fan of the typical business books because they often present an idea without the how to get there part of the equation. This book tells you the essentials and then provides real world examples with real world how this happened scenarios.

I read somewhere else recently that the reason BIG BRANDS buy so many ad dollars is that they have no other way to get to the consumer consciousness. They either do not want to take the time it takes to build by word of mouth and/or want the fast return. Therefore they spend big dollars on high impact advertising campaigns for fast returns. It was suggested that small business should in fact abandon the practice of patterning behavior after what the big guys do, because the end result might be bankruptcy for the small business. Instead, their behaviors should employ the principles of true WORD OF MOUTH, by creating the following eight techniques.

#1 Create Rituals, i.e. how and when and why a consumer does something, this could be something as simple as a checking your favorite site for weather news, etc

#2 What is your Exclusive Product Offering? Why is what you do better than the next one? Why when we are faced with so much mass production do you stand out?

#3 Over Delivery, Setting the bar high so that all clients walk away feeling like they got much more than they paid for.

#4 Relevant Sensory Oddity, what about your product gets people talking on a sensory level, i.e. sight, sound, touch, taste, or smell?

#5 ICONS, what is recognizable about your brand? A logo, another associated image? What visual be it image or person is tangible to your business?

#6 Tribalism, what FACEBOOK qualities does your site or business offer to your customers? Just who else are they buying into, who else is sharing the experience you offer?

#7 Endorsement, if your consumer connects with what you do they are likely to spread the word over and over again.

#8 Continuity, are you always delivering what you say, when you say and is it reflective of you are?

Thinking about all these components is the best way into a consumers heart and pocketbook The Paralelles challenge is to ask each of you to identify a business that meets all these deliverables and post them on T3 as business you would like to help grow by word of mouth.

I also highly recommend Sid Lees book, there is much more to learn than the 8 points I outlined.

Momentum

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Are you seeking to gain momentum for your service brand or product? If you are reading this blog, I have to assume (begs for another topic on assuming) that you are. I am reading a great book, CONVERSATIONAL CAPITAL. At its core it is really a book about building word of mouth and how very simply that is more cost-effective than any other brand of marketing medium you could choose. I am not a big fan of the typical business books because they often present an idea without the "how to get there" part of the equation. This book tells you the essentials and then provides real world examples with real world "how this happened" scenarios.

I read somewhere else recently that the reason BIG BRANDS buy so many ad dollars is that they have no other way to get to the consumer consciousness. They either do not want to take the time to build by word of mouth and/or want the fast return. Therefore they spend big dollars on high impact advertising campaigns for fast returns. It was suggested that small business should in fact abandon the practice of patterning behavior after what the big guys do, because the end result might be bankruptcy for the small business. Instead, their behaviors should employ the principles of true WORD OF MOUTH, by creating the following eight techniques.

#1 Create Rituals, i.e., how and when and why a consumer does something; this could be something as simple as a checking your favorite site for weather, news, etc.

#2 What is your Exclusive Product Offering? Why is what you do better than the next one? Why, when we are faced with so much mass production, do you stand out?

#3 Over Delivery Setting the bar high so that all clients walk away feeling like they got much more than they paid for.

#4 Relevant Sensory Oddity: What about your product gets people talking on a sensory level, i.e., sight, sound, touch, taste, or smell?

#5 Icons: What is recognizable about your brand? A logo, another associated image? What visual, be it image or person, is tangible to your business?

#6 Tribalism what FACEBOOK qualities does your site or business offer to your customers? Just who else are they buying into, and who else is sharing the experience you offer?

#7 Endorsement: If your consumer connects with what you do, they are likely to spread the word over and over again.

#8 Continuity Are you always delivering what you say, when you say, and is it reflective of who you are?

Thinking about all these components is the best way into a consumers heart and pocketbook. The Paralelles challenge is to ask each of you to identify a business that meets all these deliverables and post them on T3 as businesses you would like to help grow by word of mouth.

I also highly recommend Sid Lees book there is much more to learn than the 8 points I outlined.