Are You Ready To Start A Business? 7 Questions You Must Ask Yourself
October 28, 2011
|
“Entrepreneurship is a very hot topic these days.” We invited Amy Abrams, Co-author of The Big Enough Company: Creating a Business that Works for You to write the following article:
Entrepreneurship is a very hot topic these days. There are numerous TV shows that feature successful entrepreneurs, articles profiling stories about hot start-ups and countless websites that offer business advice. Some people arrive at business ownership full of gusto, feeling that they are on the verge of fulfilling a life long dream. Others act in response to the lack of prospects in the current job market. While some entrepreneurs find that their businesses have started quite accidentally. Regardless of what brings these folks to entrepreneurship, each must ask themselves the same questions before they take the plunge. And, if you aspire to be a business owner, you do too! After all, creating a viable business takes more than just a good idea. Want to know if you have what it takes? Take the quiz below to find out if you’re ready to start a business!
1. Does your idea solve a problem? One of the first things to consider when you think about your business is to really define the problem that your business is solving. The problem needs to be something real that people are experiencing and therefore desire a solution for it. For example, if your business idea is to open a coffee shop, you need to be sure that you give your customer a reason to buy coffee from your shop. Perhaps it is because of your location and you make it convenient (solution) for people to buy from you. Or you have the best coffee (solution) in town. Or maybe your baristas know every customer’s specific drink and that customer service makes people feel special (solution). 2. Is there a market for your offering? Once you have figured out the problem that you are solving, you need to determine the size and location 3. Do you have the right industry expertise for this business? Sometimes we have an incredible business idea but no experience in that industry or market. That doesn’t mean you have to rule it out, but you do need to compensate for it because having an understanding of your future businesses industries trends, best practices and contacts is critical. One way is to get the training you need by going to school, working for a business in that industry, or getting an internship. Another option is to fill in the gap by finding a partner, mentor, advisor or employee. 4. Do you know where you add the most value? In addition to your exciting business idea, you bring a valuable set of skills and talents to the table. It is imperative to understand what you are good at and how that will contribute to the business. Let’s say your business idea is to develop a website with study guides for high school students and you have a lot of experience as an academic tutor. When you consider the business, what will be your job description? Will you be developing the curriculum? Will you be managing all of your employees or the technical aspects? Will you be developing business partnerships? At the start of your business, your role may encompass all of these jobs but in time, you want to be sure to create a role for yourself that adds the most value to the company and that brings you satisfaction. 5. Do you know what you want to get from your business? One of the most exciting aspects of entrepreneurship is that you get to work on your own terms. You get to create a business that is not only a reflection of who you are you but that supports your needs and values. Maybe entrepreneurship is appealing because you want autonomy over your time or to choose the clients you work with. Or perhaps you want to pursue interests outside of work. If that is the case, you want to make sure that you create your business with this motivation in mind. Think about why you want to start this business and what you want the business to provide for you. 6. Are you well capitalized? Starting a business takes money. The amount of money really depends on the type of business that you are starting. Most importantly, you need to take into account that in addition to start up capital, you need operating capital for the first 6 months to a year for the business AND you need money to support yourself for the first 6 months to a year. Be realistic and err on the conservative side with your estimates. Unfortunately, many cool new businesses fail because they are under-capitalized. So, do your research and start saving! 7. Are you connected? Starting a business is an incredibly exciting and rewarding experience. It can also be scary, lonely, and overwhelming. It is very important to connect to other entrepreneurs through various communities and industry groups. Your peers will be incredibly valuable because they can provide support, industry trends, business best practices, resources and new business leads. Without them you will not only be isolated but you will also reinvent the wheel often. Think about how you can find “your people” so you do not have to go at entrepreneurship alone.
© 2011 Amy Abrams, co-author of The Big Enough Company: Creating a Business that Works for You Amy Abrams is an entrepreneur, speaker and co-author of The Big Enough Company: Creating a Business that Works for You (September 2011, Portfolio/Penguin). She is the co-founder of In Good Company Workplaces, a business community center and co-working space in New York City. Amy is also the co-founder of Artists & Fleas, a weekly marketplace for artists, designers and vintage collectors in Brooklyn. She lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband and two daughters. For more information, please visit http://bigenoughcompany.com, and follow the authors on Facebook and Twitter |
How I Lost 15K, got Flipped Off, Fat…and Happy
October 25, 2011
Another great article from Fairy Godmother Heather Madder. If you want to learn more of Heather’s secrets on running a successful business and be a connected mom, check out her audio series.
For a long time I searched for happiness in perfection. I was looking for heaven, hoping that I’d find it in some distant day ahead of me. I wanted to be “good.” Actually, I wanted to be “good enough.” I wanted to be smart enough, pretty enough, a good enough mom, and a good enough church member.
And none of it happened. I was never good enough. Year after year, I “tried” and damn, I tried hard. I gave it everything I had. I got up early to exercise, meditate, pray, feed my kids healthy food, read scriptures to them and off to school. Then when they were away, I’d organize my house, buy the groceries, and make money being a “good” coach. I’d work my little bootie off until my “night shift” started when the kids came home from school. Then I’d get the kids to practice, get a healthy dinner, get their chores done, get the scriptures read, get the teeth brushed, get the nightly reading in….and finally get myself into bed just seconds before crashing to the floor.
I was a Grade A, number one, class act…self abuser living with the belief that WHEN I accomplished it all… THEN I’d be good enough.
And I never was. I was organized, but unhappy. I was thin, but controlling. I was “spiritual” (yeah whatever) and down on myself and others around me. I was running a race that I could never, ever, ever win.
I was the one who had set up the game…and every single day I failed.
Then one day, I saw the madness of it and it stopped me in my tracks. “Wait…just…one minute!” I screamed in my tired mind. “I have set up a game that cannot even…be… won!”
My conclusion: EPIC FAILURE.
I wasn’t the failure, the game was the failure. I’d never be good enough someday. I was never ever going to get to a point where I’d be happy and content. I was addicted to the future, addicted to an imaginary results that would never come to me. And I was missing L_I_F_E in the meantime. I was going to be good enough right now, or I was never going to be. Ever. If a game can never be won, it just should not be played.
So, I trashed it and set up a whole new system…and that’s when my whole life changed.
I began to live and live on purpose in the pursuit of freedom. Outwardly, my life probably looked somewhat the same, I mean I still did most of the same things I had done before. I still prayed, meditated, exercised (mostly) and parented my children, but inwardly, the game had been completely re-structured to a scenario that I WON every single day.
I called it: HAPPY FROM HERE.
Essentially, I fell in love with the present moment. I married my mind to reality. I loved reality, I’d make out with reality if that were possible, and I chose be happy with WHATEVER EXISTED in my LIFE at the TIME that it showed up….
When I gained three pounds the week before I was to film a marketing funnel…That was REALITY. Since I had chosen to love reality, I was happy because I gained the weight, believing that it was better for me and my body to be at 140 instead of 137. Did I work to change it? Well yes, but happily, only after I fell in love with it first.
When a $15,000 contract fell through…That was REALITY. So I was happy that they didn’t sign and I looked for reasons why it was better for them, and better for me that the agreement didn’t take place. And I found them!
When my son came home and said he couldn’t play in the soccer game because he missed an assignment in class…That was REALITY. I was happy for him to have that experience and happy that I didn’t have to sit in 100 degree weather for an hour and went home to watch television with a tall glass of parkling lime water.
When I was texting in the movie theater and a woman yelled at me from 10 feet away and flipped me off when I walked past her…That was REALITY. So I was happy to be in that amazing exchange with her. I was delighted by it and had I not been due back at work, I would have grabbed my flip cam and interviewed her after the show to ask about what the experience was like for her, as I genuinely wanted to know.
HAPPY from HERE became my little secret…and it worked for me like magic. It unravelled the madness in my mind that life should be different than it was at the moment or that I should be somewhere else other than HERE. It never meant that I didn’t take action to create the things that I wanted. But it did mean that I WAS FREE as I was creating them.
Because HERE was good enough…and anything more was just a bonus.
And I was good enough.
And I LIFE was one happy, magical moment after another…and that has been the best game I’ve ever played.
Heather Madder is a professional speaker, writer, and former-talkshow host turned business coach. She is the successful owner of HeatherMadder.com. In her own words, “The mission of my organization is to empower humanity to awaken to love, peace, joy, power, abundance, and freedom by offering educational and hands-on tools in the form of books, audio CD’s, articles, and live presentations.” Connect with Heather on twitter @heathermadder
What do you want to see on StartupPrincess.com?
October 22, 2011
Hello Startup Princesses!
We’re making plans for content for 2012 and setting our editorial calendar. We’ll also be selecting Fairy Godmothers to help us with articles and events based on the topics you care the most about.
Leave a comment below and share with us your top two topics. Choose from the list below or share some of your own!
Marketing/Advertising
Social Media
Sales
Manufacturing & Product Development
Graphic Design/Branding
Product Placement/Distribution
Legal
Accounting
Inspiration/Life Balance
Human Resources/Hiring Staff
Online Strategies
Operations, Processes and Systems
Research and Development
Creating Information Products
Thanks for sharing! We look forward to another great year with you!
Why I Traded “Making it Big”…for Making it Now
October 18, 2011
Startup Princess Fairy Godmother Heather Madder shares some amazing tips about giving up what you THINK you want for what you really want!
“Making it big” was killing my peace and when I opened my eyes, it turned out to be a useless endeavor.
If you are so focused on getting somewhere else, you are completely lost to where you are right now. You are stuck in a concept, a false story of a future that doesn’t even exist anywhere, except in your own dreamed up thought world.
For years I had plans to “make it big.” I wanted to write the next bestselling book, hit the biggest stages and start a talk show just like Oprah. I mean what up and coming speaker doesn’t want that. We were a dime a dozen, and our wisdom was worth about the same price.
I became a slave to accomplishments–the next big sale, the next big product launch, the next new coaching program. Because in those things, I saw “myself.” I saw the lady that I wanted to be and she was someone else other than who I was.
She was thinner, richer, and more important than the current version. She was happier, lovelier, and more people knew who she was. I wanted to be her because she was a better version of me. And she didn’t exist anywhere except in a pretend stage in my mind.
I gave her up in search of liberty.
If I couldn’t be “her” now, I wouldn’t be her EVER.
I replaced “Making it Big” with “Making it NOW.
It’s my own little magical secret to paradise.
In this happy place, “I” have disappeared. The “I” that needed something for itself through a BIG career. It has become replaced with love for others and a desire for new experience. I want to learn that’s why I “teach.” I want people to be free, that’s why I “coach.” I want to grow, that’s why I “create.” I want to “love” that’s why I welcome people into my life. Those are the reasons for the movement in the thing that most people call a “job,” which for me has become a straight path to enlightenment.
Deleting my ego and it’s addiction to the future has been the fastest way to freedom.
No one needs to know who I am.
I know myself and I love that person and that is how I found freedom. I don’t need people to know me, congratulate me, compliment me, or even be grateful for me, in order for me to feel good about what I do.
Feeling good RIGHT NOW is all I have…there is no other place but here.
When I have JOY in what I am doing right now, I am complete and the payoffs for my work are INSTANTLY DELIVERABLE. There is no future pay off in them, because the dividends are taken home today. The future has become like a lost world for me and I have no desire to find it, because there are no better riches there for me than the ones I have already obtained.
That doesn’t mean that I don’t keep accomplishing more, meeting more people and making more money because all of that has happened for me. It is easier now. It almost comes faster now, unexpectedly and with total gratitude.
Today, I have no career plans to “make it big” someday. I wake up in the morning and the first moment I am aware of myself, I open my heart and my mind and seek Divine Will. When I get out of bed, I have One Objective–follow the Inner Voice. The Inner Voice leads only to the highest good. Some days it says to create videos. Somedays it says clean the kitchen (not very often on that one Today it said to call a colleague and within five seconds of the message being given, her line was ringing. She was struggling in her marriage. I coached her by asking certain questions about how to be free, even if her husband didn’t change. Questions she did not expect to hear. Questions I did not expect to ask. But they came to me and I asked them and she hung up happy.
I hung up happy, too. She committed to try my new coaching program and thought she might promote it to her entire student base. I didn’t expect that. I didn’t plan it–there is no way that I would have ever planned it because I thought she wouldn’t be a candidate for it. Divine Will knew otherwise. Divine Will said “call her.” I called her. Divine Will is like that, giving and giving and giving everything to me that I need to succeed today, and far beyond it.
I still make plans, yes. Some of you meticulous types are probably going to leave a comment that says “Failing to plan is planning to fail Just to be sure, I do set goals and objectives and task lists (Divine Will even dictates the planning hours.)…but I don’t attach expectation to them. Even as I set the plans, I know they will turn out differently. I know they will be better. I know they will lead me to LEARN more than I could have ever imagined or set forth on my own agenda. I know that all will be provided for me. I know that today, this very moment, I can be successful in who I am and love that place wholeheartedly.
Tonight, Divine Will said it was time to write this article. I am on a house boat with my family and some friends at Lake Powell. Instead of our indoor cabin (with a sign that says Clothing Optional at the door, which made us laugh my husband and I opted for a bed under the stars on the highest deck of the boat. I laid my head on his chest with his arm around my shoulders and we watched the sky until he fell asleep.
As I stared at the heavens, I felt so small and so huge at the same time.
Like God could swoop me right up with a giant cupped hand, take me home, and I’d disappear into nothing and end up with everything.
It was so beautiful. It was just like my life.
Heather Madder is a professional speaker, writer, and former-talkshow host turned business coach. She is the successful owner of HeatherMadder.com. In her own words, “The mission of my organization is to empower humanity to awaken to love, peace, joy, power, abundance, and freedom by offering educational and hands-on tools in the form of books, audio CD’s, articles, and live presentations.” Connect with Heather on twitter @heathermadder
CARTIER INTERNATIONAL ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF 2011 CARTIER WOMEN’S INITIATIVE AWARDS
October 17, 2011
|
Summer Rayne Oakes & Benita Singh of Source4 Style win the Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards for North America at ceremony at the Women’s Forum in Deauville, France. North America Laureates announced! Benita Singh and Summer Rayne Oakes, Source4Style, United States, are the 2011 Laureates for North America of the Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards. Source4Style, is helping change the way designers design products, making it less time consuming and easier to find ethical and environmentally-friendly materials. Source4style connects brands and fashion designers to a network of global suppliers through an online community and platform that sources sustainable, ecological materials. Learn more about their project, Source4style. About the Awards Created in 2006 by Cartier and the Women’s Forum for the Economy and Society, in partnership with INSEAD business school and McKinsey & Co., the Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards is an annual international business plan competition for women entrepreneurs. Every year, six Laureates receive US$20,000, coaching support for a full year, access to international networks and media visibility and an exclusive trophy designed by Cartier. Watch the 2011 Awards Ceremony.
|
Learn from Amazing Women Entrepreneurs From Your Own Home or Office
October 17, 2011
Our 5th Annual Touchpoint was our best year yet and we didn’t want you to miss out. SO we recorded the whole thing and we’re making it available to you. Tickets for the event were $259! But we’re letting you view a full day’s worth of conference speakers (over 8 hours worth of content) & activities for only $19.95!
Hear:
Ishita Gupta from FearlessStories.com – on being fearless in business!
Tiffany Peterson from TheLighthousePrinciples.com – on your #1 business skill!
Heather Ledeboer from Mom4Life.com – on Cinderella as your CEO!
Anita Campbell from SmallBizTrends.com– on Bootstrapping Your Business!
Carley Knobloch from Digitwirl.com – on Killer Video Marketing for your Business!
Plus you can hear the discussion groups and other great tips from the event!
Register here to receive the URL and password:
The #2 Question I’ve Been Asked While Working With Women Entrepreneurs
October 14, 2011
The number 1 question I get asked all the time is, “Michelle, How do I find more clients?” We’ll talk about that another time in an upcoming marketing series.
What I really want to talk about is the second question I get asked the most:
“How do I have a thriving business without sacrificing my personal life?”
I used to answer ,”If you find out, let me know!” and I was supposed to be the expert!?
Do you ever feel overwhelmed? Unfulfilled? Out of balance? At the end of your day do you wonder where all that time went? Have a list of to-dos that seems to get longer instead of shorter? Have you tried to “balance” your life, but easily slip back into old routines?
You aren’t alone! I’ve been coaching small business owners through Startup Princess for the last 3 years. I discovered that when there is a problem at the office, there’s usually a personal problem as well. Especially for women. They’re trying to balance growing a business and raising a family or have a satisfying personal life and wondering, “What’s the secret? Other people seem to have it all, why can’t I?”
Then it happened to me. In January of 2010 I was running 3 businesses, heavily involved in my church service, and I had just had my second child. I was trying to balance having a toddler and a newborn, maintain a happy marriage, keep my businesses afloat and still have time for service and myself. I kept looking around at other successful women entrepreneurs who seemed to have it all together and I went in search of what they had. Frankly, things got worse. Then through trial and error and honestly trying every life balance and time management program on the planet, I still felt like something was missing. I realized life balance is a MYTH (gasp!) and I decided I needed to create a program that did a better job of focusing on my most important roles and responsibilities.
After tears and inspiration, I created the Life Priority System. When I share this with clients and friends they love me for it and I’m dying to share it with you, my Startup Princess friends. I’ve created an event to help you manage your life’s work. You’ll also learn how to get your loved ones on board with your dreams! Whether you’re a full-time parent, a full-time entrepreneur, a full-time employee or some mix of the above, my system is designed to help you to bring greater meaning to the things most important to you.
I share these secrets with my coaching and business clients for hundreds of dollars, but in this introductory workshop, I’m sharing my best stuff for $25. It’s NOT introductory in content. It’s introductory in price and offering to you. And really, what is your life worth? How much would you spend to learn tools that can bring you happiness and fulfillment?
In addition to rich content, you’ll receive the Life Balance Myth Workshop workbook, and additional conference materials. I want you to have the tools you need to be successful when you leave so I’m pulling out all the stops and putting my best stuff in the materials.
BONUS #1 – I’m hosting a “pre-party” with Stand Up Speed Networking. It’s been a while since we’ve had an event in Utah County, so I thought it would be fun for all of us to catch up! Register for the event and get the Networking add on for FREE!
BONUS #2 – The first 30 people who register by Monday, October 17th will receive a 10 page Joy Journal starter kit (both in print and in digital format).
FINALLY, if you enter code: startup you’ll get 20% off. Since all of this was inspired by Startup Princesses across the country, I want you to get a deal!
AND, if you’re not completely satisfied with the content and tools I share, I’ll give you your money back, no questions asked. Simply see me or one of my event staff members at the end of the event and we’ll refund your money.
Reserve your spot and register today!
Event Details: Thursday, October 20th, 2011 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM (Will be available for out of towners the coming weeks.)
Tahitian Noni Visitors Center – Provo, UT – Outrigger Conference Room (No, there will not be a network marketing presentation. They offer affordable meeting space available for community events and I like their location!)
Michelle McCullough is the Managing Director for Startup Princess. Michelle is speaker, strategist, success coach, and serial entrepreneur. Before Startup Princess, Michelle has spent the last 12 years working in marketing and advertising. She’s worked in all aspects of the industry from production to creative and sales to management. On top of her full-time jobs, Michelle has cultivated her love for entrepreneurship by running a successful business, Doodads, a promotional products company. Michelle and her husband are the parents of two children ages 3 and 1, and live in Utah. Follow Michelle success tips in her personal site speakmichelle.com
4 Simple Tips for Getting Started TODAY with Video Marketing
October 13, 2011
1. Keep it short. Good introductory marketing videos are short and to the point. When you’re dealing with prospects that are in the initial stages of learning about you and your business, they want to make quick investments of time to see if it’s worth MORE of their time to learn more. Good marketing videos are between 30 seconds – 3 minutes in length. You can make subsequent videos longer after they know that they like you and want to learn more, but keep your intro short. But still provide value. No one wants to hear just all about you. The best way to sell yourself and get people interested in what you offer is to provide valuable tips and advice so people want more from you.
2. Make it Interesting. Show your personality. Smile. Watch your voice inflection and vary it. Pique their interest and keep their attention. If you’ve got the access and skills, use music, and use titles on the screen.
3. Have a clear call to action. The biggest mistake we see in video is that people take all this time to put a video together making their business look good (and they do), but they don’t tell people what to do next.
Here are some suggestions:
GOOD: Send people to your website.
BETTER: Send people to an opt-in page where they provide you with their email address to get MORE great content from you.
GOOD: Have them call into your place of business.
BETTER: Have them call in with a special code to get a specific discount.
GOOD: Have them check out another video of yours to learn more.
BETTER: Have them sign up for a series of videos (again, with their email) that provide value and help establish you as the premier company or as an expert in your industry.
4. Tiffany Walke Peterson taught me a universal principle that certainly applies here: Perfect is great, done is better. Get out there and get started with something. Don’t wait until you have better equipment. Don’t wait until you’ve lost 10 pounds. Don’t wait until you have your new product/logo/website. Use what you have and get started. Your loyal following will love to watch you grow through this process and they’ll also start getting information from you NOW instead of “someday”. Do you want an increased interest in your business now or “someday”?
One last bonus tip. If you don’t know how to get started, start here: get out your calendar. Schedule one hour of time to put thoughts on paper about the content, scripting, and general ideas about the tone and purpose of your video. Schedule another hour 2 or 3 days later to shoot your video (so you can let your ideas stew). Again, schedule 1 hour just to get you started. Remember that we can create things in the time that we allow ourselves and in the space that we allow ourselves to create. If you’re waiting around for a great idea, it might come, but if you set yourself up to create by scheduling it in and making it happen, you’re really setting yourself up for success.
Good luck and happy filming!
What tips do you have for video success? Have a great video you want to share? Link to it below, we’d love to see what you are up to!
Michelle McCullough is the Managing Director for Startup Princess. Michelle is speaker, strategist, success coach, and serial entrepreneur. Before Startup Princess, Michelle has spent the last 12 years working in marketing and advertising. She’s worked in all aspects of the industry from production to creative and sales to management. On top of her full-time jobs, Michelle has cultivated her love for entrepreneurship by running a successful business, Doodads, a promotional products company. Michelle and her husband are the parents of two children ages 3 and 1, and live in Utah. Follow Michelle success tips in her personal site speakmichelle.com
Meet Michelle McCullough, new Managing Director for Startup Princess
October 11, 2011
Startup Princess is excited to announce that Michelle McCullough is the new Managing Director for Startup Princess. Kelly will still be active in our community, run #startupchats (every Wednesday from Noon to 1 Mtn on Twitter) & be part of the direction and strategy for Startup Princess with Michelle. Michelle will assume a larger role than her current position as Business Development Director, which she has been since 2008. She’ll continue to manage partnerships, sponsorships, affiliates and events in addition to her new responsibilities.
In addition to Startup Princess, Michelle is the owner of Doodads Promotional Products and is a speaker and business strategist. Please welcome her to her new role and connect! Enjoy her interview.
Professional Background: I’ve spent the last 14 years in marketing, advertising and sales working in all aspects of the industry. I’ve worked for advertising agencies, a television station, started a newspaper and worked in sales for a large corporation. I love balancing traditional and emerging tools to share a message. I also started Doodads Promotional Products when I was 19. It’s still a growing, viable company and it’s just one way I fuel my entrepreneurial spirit. I speak for corporations and organizations about marketing, advertising, sponsorships, and public relations (and love to give a motivational speech here are there). I love helping entrepreneurs fulfill their business dreams and help them take their businesses to the next level, whatever that is for them. I’ve been with Startup Princess since 2008 as the Business Development Director managing Startup Princess partnerships, sponsorships, affiliates, and events.
What you wanted to be when you grew up: A lawyer
What you are: Speaker, Strategist, Success Coach, Serial Entrepreneur
Brief Summary of your Start Up: I’m a speaker, business strategist, personal success coach and a serial entrepreneur. 
I may have come into Startup Princess when it was 2 years in, but I still consider it as one of “my” companies.
Company Website: http://www.startupprincess.com
Personal Website: http://www.speakmichelle.com
What inspired you: When I was in High School and College I was on the debate team. It was something that I loved and I excelled. I was always disappointed that there wasn’t a professional debate team like there was professional baseball or hockey. I told myself I’d be a professional speaker someday. My favorite thing to do is speak to audiences large or small. I’ve also LOVED marketing since I took my first marketing class in High School. Everything that I do today is virtually throwing speaking and advertising in a blender and out comes Startup Princess!
How did you fund your businesses? Bootstrapping
Do you have a Fairy Godmother? Lots of amazing people have mentored me along the way. But my most recent coach and dear friend Tiffany Peterson has been really instrumental in helping me develop since I met her 1 year ago this week through Startup Princess!
Do you belong to any Business Organization or Networking Groups? Startup Princess, BNI, Chamber of Commerce, The Hub
Current Business Challenge? Growing at a comfortable speed.
What are you doing about it? I’m remembering that raising my family is more important that growing a business. Though I certainly believe they can co-exist, I’m very careful to ensure that my family doesn’t feel like they are being sacrificed in order to be successful in the business world. That doesn’t mean that I always do this well, but setting my priorities and shifting them from my family to my businesses (and vice versa) takes a lot of planning, and day-to-day intuition.
Favorite motivational quote: Oh boy. So many are swimming in my head. I’ll share this one for now: “That which we persist in doing becomes easier to do. Not that the nature of the thing itself has changed, but our ability to do has increased.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
Family? Married to my best friend, Aaron. We have two high-energy and highly-adorable toddlers ages 3 and 1.
How do you balance family and business? Like I said above, balancing family and business is an “act”. I don’t believe life balance exists. I believe we have to have a system of figuring out our priorities and know when to shift one into the first position and when to shift another back. I have a system I use called the Life Priority System. It’s a role based system that focuses on the things I want to be rather than the things I have to do. It’s why I created the Life Balance Myth Workshop. I’ve spent years of research and talked to a number of professionals trying to find the secret. Now that I’ve found what works for me and other women I work with, I’m trying to share it with the world!
Favorite book? The Success Principles, by Jack Canfield
What do you do to relax? Read a good book (fiction and non-fiction), scrapbook, watch an 80’s movie, spend time with my family and friends.
What do you want to change most about your world? I want people to be kinder and happier. I want my kids to grow up being nice and treated the same in return. I truly believe in the philosophy “Givers gain”, and wish more people believed in that as well. I think the world, especially the business world, would be a lot better off if we all tried to give a little more and take a little less.
What are you most proud of? Running 3 businesses AND raising a family.
What advice would you like to offer other Start Up Princesses? Grow at your own pace. Stop comparing yourself to others or thinking that someone else has the “secret” to running a business and having a thriving personal life. They are all trying to figure it out, too. As I have coached women entrepreneurs over the last 3 years, I’ve found that more often than not, problems in business are because they are struggling to find balance. They are often working too much, working too little or spending their time on the wrong activities that should be trashed or delegated. My advice is to do what’s best for you and your business in your current stage in life regardless of what your competitors or friends are doing.
Favorite Magic Wand (tool/resource)? The 2 G’s: God and Google (Kim Flynn planted that in my head and now I couldn’t possibly think of any other favorite resource.) I rely on both daily.
I’m excited for this new chapter with Startup Princess and look forward to many great opportunities ahead. If we haven’t met already, I hope to meet you at a live event someday! Until then, let’s connect virtually. Follow me on twitter @speakmichelle, find me on facebook here and at my personal website http://www.speakmichelle.com
Cash in Now on Fourth Quarter Sales – By Making Your Holiday Gift Product Irresistible to the Media
October 6, 2011
by Fairy Godmother, Margie Zable Fisher
A couple of years ago, one of my clients was featured in the December “O List” of Oprah Magazine – the publication’s Holiday Gift Guide. That one placement led to hundreds of thousands of dollars of sales. While that is obviously a “home run” in the product publicity world, one thing is for sure: Holiday Gift Guide placements lead to sales.
What are Holiday Gift Guides?
They’re those product roundups you see everywhere in the media during fourth quarter, with recommendations for great gifts to buy.
If you sell products, and fourth quarter sales are important to you, this information is critical:
Top magazines accept product submissions for fourth quarter Holiday Gift Guides during the summer. Once their summer deadlines have been reached, they are no longer open to product Gift Guide submissions.
After getting thousands of product publicity placements, I can share with you five ways to make your product irresistible to the media for fourth quarter Holiday Gift Guides:
- Offer something new. Even if you have no new products this year, you can create something new, by bundling several products together as a gift pack or offering a travel size option. And if you do have something brand new, lead with that product. The media always wants to feature the newest thing.
- Provide something colorful. Check out top magazine Gift Guides and you’ll find they are all consistent in one way – they’re colorful. Art Directors have lots of input on Gift Guide choices, so give ‘em what they want. If your product itself isn’t colorful, use colorful packaging, or photos with colorful props.
- Help others. Some Gift Guide editors require that items included offer a percentage back to a charity. Others ask that you offer readers an exclusive discount on your products. Provide these, and you’ll be ahead of the pack that doesn’t want to provide these offers.
- Consider changing your price point. Most Gift Guides are broken down by category: Under $10, Under $25, Under $50 and Under $100. So if you have a product that is $10.99, lowering it to $9.99 makes it available for pitching in the Under $10 category, which generally increases the chances of media coverage (the media is always looking for great, really inexpensive products).
- Provide great photography. One of the biggest mistakes I see with product companies is offering so-so photos of products. The media usually sees a photo of the product before the actual product, and a great photo can make the difference between interest and no interest.
For more information on how you can pitch the media (or have us do it) in an affordable way, please visit http://www.zfpr.com/holidaygiftguidepitchingsecrets.htm.
Copyright 2011 Margie Zable Fisher All rights reserved
Margie Zable Fisher, president of Zable Fisher Public Relations, is the leader in small business product P.R.
