Meet Michelle McCullough, new Managing Director for Startup Princess

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

 

Touchpoint coming to you – learn from amazing women entrepreneurs from your home or office!

As you know this week is Touchpoint in Salt Lake City.  We’ve had women fly in from all across the country, but even more of you are asking: How can I be a part of it from where I am?

You asked, we answered!  We’re going to provide a Live Stream of the event today.  You can watch today or next week, but don’t miss it.

Hear:

Ishita Gupta – on being fearless in business!

Tiffany Peterson – on your #1 business skill!

Heather Ledeboer – on Cinderella as your CEO!

Anita Campbell – on Bootstrapping Your Business!

Carley Knobloch – on Killer Video Marketing for your Business!

And more!

Women in the room paid $259 to get what we’re offering you for $19.95.  And the best news is you can watch it now, or access it later.

Register here to receive the URL and password: https://startupprincess.infusionsoft.com/cart/?product_id=32

Startup Princess Giveaway – Touchpoint Conference Ticket!

We’re excited to kick off early bird registration for Touchpoint- our 5th Annual Conference for Women Entrepreneurs!

The conference will be Sept 15-16 in Salt Lake City, Utah and will feature top industry experts in media, fashion, sales, marketing, finance, and more! You won’t want to miss out on the incredible networking and fun, including the Sparkle & Shine Spa Party!  Check out the speakers, and see the  full agenda and details here.

To share our enthusiasm for the event we’re going to giveaway a ticket this week. The deadline will be July 16th, midnight.

Prize:

2 day conference pass to Touchpoint valued at $199 (Early Bird Price).

Entry Requirements:

Answer the following question on this post. Which session are you most looking forward to at Touchpoint?

Tweet the following:

RT @startupprincess #Touchpoint Early Bird Registration is now available http://bit.ly/b4AnE3

RT @startupprincess GIVEAWAY! Win a Ticket to #Touchpoint Conf for Women Entrepreneurs http://bit.ly/nZ76Lq

I’m excited about @startupprincess #Touchpoint Conf for Women Entrepreneurs http://bit.ly/b4AnE3

Optional Entries:

Here’s some additional ways to enter that are completely optional and will earn you one extra entry for each item. Leave a separate comment on this post for each completed optional entry.

Like Startup Princess on Facebook

Follow Startup Princess on Twitter

Vote for Now I Can Organization to Win $10,000 to help children with neuromuscular challenges.

 

Winners will be selected randomly through http://random.org. No purchase necessary to enter. Giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. ET Saturday, July 16. This giveaway is available to U.S. residents only.

A Belated Invitation to Spring Clean – Your Life

Summer is here, but it’s never too late to spring clean…your life. Just as our spaces accumulate clutter over time so do the nooks and crannies of lives.  I dare say that if it’s important to occasionally de-junk your garage and clear out your closets and drawers that it would be well worth doing the same for your life. Here are a few suggestions to get your started.

1. Clear the cobwebs from you head. Throw out the negative, self-defeating, fear-driven dialogue and open the windows of your mind to fresh ideas and a bright perspective. Are you struggling with self-esteem, challenged in your marriage or in your role as a mother or entrepreneur?  Change your thoughts. We create our reality from the inside out so as you seek to fill your mind with the positive and uplifting, you will begin to attract all that is good into your life.

2. Toss out habits, behaviors, and activities that are dirtying and cluttering your days. Life is too short to spend our precious time on the trivial and unfulfilling.  So what needs to go? Do you need to reduce screen time (e.g. phone, computer, and TV) so you can spend more time on self-care or with your family? Do you need to make clearer boundaries and say “no” to some of the lesser important activities that aren’t consistent with what your truly value? As you align your schedule with your highest priorities, you will find yourself accomplishing more, stressing less and finding fulfillment in your days.

3. Polish tarnished relationships. The essence of a happy life is found in healthy, loving relationships. When we are struggling with a friend or loved one, clearing the air with honest, open communication is the first step to rebuilding trust.  Apologizing and forgiving past hurts can be like healing balm to a gaping wound. Better yet, look for opportunities to sincerely praise and serve those who are difficult to get along with. Praise and service will change behavior faster than anything negative or punitive.

4. Sort out your finances. Money trouble is without question one of the leading causes of stress and anxiety in our lives.  Rather than taking a reactive approach to your finances, be proactive and create a working budget. Make sure it is realistic and allows enough flexibility so you can stick to it. As a part of your budget, create a plan of action around paying off debt and be sure to invest. Building wealth doesn’t require a big income so much as requires discipline and consistency.

Make spring cleaning your life a part of your regular routine. As you do, balance and success will come to you with ease. You only have one life to live. Live it well!

This post was written by Tara McCausland, Success Coach. Tara has been in the business of teaching, training, and coaching for nearly 6 years.  Tara is a natural teacher and motivator. She helps her clients find the balance, prosperity and fulfillment they are seeking by being their accountability expert, trusted sounding board, and their biggest fan throughout the coaching process. Check out her free download ’4 Tips to make T.I.M.E. Work for You’.

 

Happy 5th Birthday StartupPrincess.com! Celebrations & Reflections

(Fair warning, this is a very long post!) Wow. I can hardly believe it’s been 5 years since I wrote the very first post on StartupPrincess.com (then startupprincess.wordpress.com) it was a seriously boring template, but I was beyond grateful to enter the world of blogging for FREE (almost, had the little hosting bill and godaddy fee). WordPress is great! Where else can you set up shop and bootstrap your way from there? I didn’t even have our logo (that came 6 months later). Discovering how to launch a business/blog with little risk and low investment was a dream come true, especially considering that at the time I was pitching for $1M in funding for a retail concept and was hitting brick wall after brick wall. When I started this site I questioned, “How am I going to facilitate a networking organization/blog when I’m also trying to start another company and be the mother of a newborn and two other young children?” and the answer came, “One day at a time…” and that’s exactly what it has been. (As you might have guessed that retail business never fully launched… and thank goodness, this is the perfect place to be as a mom who chooses to be at home and create an income stream).

At the time I didn’t hardly know what a blog was, what the potential could be, and where I was headed. All I knew is that I felt beyond inspired to write, to share my own experiences as a Startup Princess by my own right and to reach out to mentors I admired and ask them to teach us what they had learned. Within seconds of deciding I’d dedicate this blog to women in startups the name came to me from  heaven and I knew there was a master plan to it all, I felt it from the top of my head to my toes. I purchased the domain name with tears streaming down my face and God showed me that in time women all over the world would be connected through this very site. I trusted and I put one foot in front of the other. I was naive but it was a perfect launch.

My core belief system about how businesses best succeed still remains the same as it was 5 years ago, “Ask and Ye Shall Receive”. Whenever I didn’t know what to do next I asked in prayer (and often brainstormed with fellow startups and mentors) and waited for a door to open — it always did. I envisioned retreats, conferences, generous sponsors, fancy speakers, teleseminars, and giving inspiring messages to women- all of which have happened, but I never envisioned in a million years that I would have the blessing and great fortune to make friends who would share their hearts, dreams, fears, and successes with me- this I treasure the very most. I also never considered that I would be requested as a keynote speaker, a cover girl, a TV guest, or magazine contributor which has all been humbling, exciting and stretching nor did I envision Twitter! (and oh how I love that our icon is on the homepage and recommended in the business category for new twitter users!)

Startup Princess initially was about my desire to give women entrepreneurs a chance to connect with each other and learn together and that wish has been granted over and over again. It is incredibly rewarding for me to hear of collaborations that evolved from women who met each other at a Startup Princess event or because women attended one of our events they were inspired to create their own or expand their business in some way. I love to share about Startup Princesses and what they are doing and how they are contributing.

When I started Startup Princess I was the voice, I wrote all of the posts, conducted the interviews, answered the emails and managed the events then in 2007 a call came from the Small Business Development Center in Orem where they offered an assistant at no cost to help me move things forward to help us organize events and conferences. We started our first Utah County chapter and it became such a powerful network and support for women. There was a real need then, there weren’t women networking events readily available, it felt great to provide that service. We eventually expanded to other chapters and at one time had 4 running by 2010. We quickly realized we weren’t really equipped to manage all of the chapters and make it profitable so we scaled back and decided retreats, smaller events, and our annual conference every September is where we want to focus. We are so grateful so many other online, local and national networks for women in business have popped up over the last few years and are providing excellent ways for women to connect. This week I read Derek Sivers book “Anything You Want” (launching soon on Amazon) where he says that he wouldn’t have continued with CD Baby if all Independent Musicians sold their own music on their own sites…he was there to serve them because there was a need and if the need ever ended so would he. That’s a little of how I feel about why we no longer have chapters for Startup Princess.

Our team over the years has evolved and changed too. At first it was just me and it was hard, so hard. Then Laurie joined me (from the Small Biz Dev Center grant) to help expand with events, a true miracle, the ultimate organizer! Then Leslie Smoot joined us, a woman gifted in business and continually offering excellent feedback and support, she contributed for 18 months and then left to launch her own cooking business- she maintains equity. When Leslie knew it was time for a change she told me a new partner was being prepared and oh how right she was! When she mentioned it I saw Michelle McCullough‘s face in my head and I offered her a position to support us with our 2nd Touchpoint in 2008 and she’s been heavily involved ever since in helping us to expand, launch different programs, run events, retreats, and above all helped me to stay sane, enjoy the journey of it all, and honors our partnership. Crystal Miller also deserves a big shoutout for being our site manager for more than a year and went above and beyond to make this site fresh and new. Sarah Ward was also remarkable as an event planner and supportive assistant. In 2010 Shannon Baker accepted a position to work with me closely for a month and offered tremendous insight. The talented and lovely Sarah Bray gets a huge thank you because when I wanted to expand in 2008 with a revamped site she believed in what we could become and sponsored our redesign which I fully acknowledge as being a major breakthrough for us plus becoming a kindred spirit in the process. Rebecca Servoss has been very involved in our website, graphic design, and branding efforts and feels like a part of our team even though she’s officially a freelancer for us because she cares so much and always turns out excellent work.

Our community has been essential to our success and has given us so much love over the years. Many many thanks to those who have attended and sponsored our events, read posts here, and never stopped believing in the good we were aiming to do- in no particular order… here’s several people I’d love to mention publicly:  Christopher Liechty and the Bank of American Fork marketing team for believing in us and our mission, Janet Thaeler (who on more than one occasion saved this site from crashing due to plugins and taught me many basic wordpress skills), Sarah Jane for being the one I love to brag about the most and for always sharing the good news, Quinn Curtis a true Startup Princess- continually wowing me with her entrepreneurial talent, ambition and sisterhood,  Jason Alba the first to ever call me “Startup Princess” and offer great insight, remains one of my favorite business wizards, Wendy Piersall who truly deserves to be called eMom forever- in the early days it was she who defined what a great blog post meant, how to do it with grace and get paid for it too, Danielle LaPorte for being both an honest mentor, contributor and friend since the beginning and for coming to SLC for Touchpoint last year, Heather Allard who has been a loyal contributor for years (can’t wait to meet in person!), Holly Buchanan, who was one of the first Fairy Godmothers and was there as a mentor and friend early on, Barbara Jones who took time to brainstorm over the years and has always been so generous, Nancy Cadjan who confirmed StartupPrincess was a winning business concept and helped me so much in the start, Jack Hadley for being so darn supportive of me and the entrepreneurial scene, Cary Snowden for doing the SunTweet event and sharing opportunities, Jeremy Hanks for giving me more than my fair share of free biz advice and being a huge advocate of our work, Jeanette Bennett for being the first magazine to do a feature on Startup Princess which launched a whole series of media opportunities, Brock Blake and Alex Lawrence for not laughing at me when I tell them I will be an Angel Investor, Seth Jenks who offered meaningful advice countless times and showed up to serve when I needed him, Nate Bagley who accepted a brief stint here as site manager and helped me to create more systems, Heather Madder who knows my heart, continually invites me to live fully engaged and embrace my mission, Tiffany Peterson who helped me to achieve my most rewarding financial breakthroughs this year, my best friend Deborah Gardner who always cheers me on and lovingly smacked me upside the head when I needed my priorities adjusted, Natalie Goddard who has shown me an enlightened way to give and receive, Pam Baumeister who granted wishes for me and so many more women as editor of Wasatch Woman and has remained a dear friend, Rachael Herrscher who told me when I started in business to “choose the path of least resistance” which echoed in my head for months until I chose StartupPrincess as ‘the business’, Jyl Pattee (along with Rachael) who continually push what I thought was possible in online media and events and has offered appreciated advice, Garret J White for showing mercy and coached me through failure privately so I could win publicly, Kim Flynn for offering excellent coaching and inviting me to play bigger than ever, Gabrielle Blair for saying yes to our retreat and making a huge difference for many influencers there- and inspiring me ever since, and to ALL of our Startup Princess Chapter Presidents and teams who believed, gave it a go and loved participating, and all of the Fairy Godmothers who ever shared a post, spoke at an event, and gave their best selves to help our community, my **family** for believing in what I create and give me the space to do it, Paul Allen for inviting me to share my story through a blog in the first place and Seth Godin who wrote a little post in 2006 and dramatically shifted my world, granted my wish to speak in SLC in 2010, overwhelms me by his generous heart, and continues to walk the talk.

What’s next for Startup Princess? Honestly my answer isn’t any more clear than it was 5 years ago, we’re still evolving! We know more now than we did- the blogosphere is evolving too, so is social media and business educational/networking events…so I will continue to show up to serve women entrepreneurs- challenging them to “Make a Wish, Make it Happen!“, Ask God for inspiration and put one foot in front of the other. I have plans in the next few years to offer grants, scholarships, mentor-based investments as an “Angel”. Exciting plans ahead!!

The biggest news that I’m going to announce is that today, 5 years after being a Startup Princess I’m graduating…and I’m going to fully embrace my role as a bonafide Fairy Godmother in Business, to completely OWN it. Previously I gathered the mentors/Fairy Godmothers and sat at their feet (and sometimes hiding behind their greatness), facilitated the events, spoke occasionally, wrote randomly, but never completely allowed myself the full opportunity to lead …now I am. No apologies. My confidence has grown tenfold in business this year. I know how to win, I know how to switch things up if they aren’t going well and I know how to make money, serious money which now opens doors for others. Business isn’t charity and a Startup Princess needs to know how to take care of herself financially, her family too if needed. I can now more confidently than ever coach women through that process with passion and I love it. I embrace the opportunity to serve in a new way, a bigger, bolder way than ever before because I am accepting who I am and who I am becoming.  To paraphrase Marianne Williamson, when we show up powerfully we allow others to do the same…let it begin!

Make a Wish, Make it Happen!

Kelly King Anderson, Fairy Godmother and Founder

StartupPrincess.com

 

Startup Princess and Bank of American Fork offer 10 Scholarships for Touchpoint

Touchpoint, the Startup Princess Annual Conference for Women Entrepreneurs with presenting sponsor, Bank of American Fork is pleased to offer 10 Scholarships this year for those in need. NOTE: Scholarships are for the event ONLY, no travel, lodging or food outside of the lunch provided at the conference.

Women who have strong business ideas and challenging financial circumstances will be considered and are encouraged to apply. Deadline for application is Sept 18th.

To apply, please email Kelly <at> startupprincess.com with 1 paragraph of why you’d like to attend and why you feel that you deserve a scholarship.  ”Scholarship Application” in the subject heading. Thank you.

Many thanks to Bank of American Fork for making these scholarships possible!

Video Marketing Competition: Deadline Sept 5th

If you haven’t already heard the great news, we’re hosting our 2nd annual video marketing competition at the Startup Princess Touchpoint conference. There’s amazing prizes this year for the 5 Finalists including tickets to Touchpoint and exclusive tickets to the Speakers/Sponsors dinner. The winner will get additional prizes including a ticket to Blissdom and a Kodak video camera. To see the full list of prizes and rules for entry please click here. Note that the deadline for submissions is September 5th!

A few posts that may help in your video marketing efforts:

How to Win a Video Contest link: http://contests.about.com/od/winningcontests/ht/winvideocontest.htm

Sarah J Bray (one of our Fairy Godmothers) recently wrote about what she’s learned on how to improve her professional videos: http://sarahjbray.com/2010/08/14-video-skills-ive-learned-in-the-past-60-days/

Mitch Joel’s post: Online Video can Kill Your Credibility: http://www.twistimage.com/blog/archives/online-video-can-kill-your-credibility/

Make a Wish, Make it Happen!

If you have any questions regarding the contest leave a comment or tweet me @startupprincess

On and Offline Strategies for Building Successful Relationships

Relationships are everything in life and business. Think about the past month, how many times did a relationship lead to a sale, an introduction, or an opportunity? Ivin Misner of Business Networking International (BNI) is often quoted to have said, “Givers Gain”  Corporate Alliance, a Utah-based networking organization has a key phrase I love, “People do Business with people they know, like & trust” and remind their members, “At the root of every business transaction is a relationship”. So true!!

Here’s some tips for how to succeed in building successful relationships on and offline.

Be Friendly & Sincere. Ask about Their Needs. Share Resources. Introduce them to Key Influencers, Resources, Look for ways to Help.

Keep in Touch via online resources such as Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin, email, texting, and phone.

#1 Question to ask of yourself & others: What do you need next?

Have a clear intention. Listen & respond with possible solutions, connections, etc. Offer your best every time. Do what you say you’re going to do right away. If you don’t know how to help say, “I don’t know anyone, but I’ll be on the lookout for you.”

When someone reaches out to you, thank them. Hand written notes leave a great impression. Send holiday cards. Birthday wishes. Get to know what’s important to them. Give them little gifts. Send them links to articles they might like, etc.

ATTEND EVENTS. Connect after the event for lunch if possible or follow up with a phone call.

Join an organization! Startup Princess Chambers of Commerce, Networking Groups, BNI, etc.

Seth Godin recommends that we be active in at least 1 online community. My favorites are Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin. Update daily. ALWAYS reply to people who reach out you with a request or need. Use Hootsuite.com to manage your online communities.

Get to know your consumers, and where they hang out online. Go there. Get active in conversation. Always looking for ways to SERVE by offering helpful comments, ideas, etc. don’t ever ‘pitch’ in a comment unless you’ve built and established a relationship.

Seek to get to know the high influencers in your industry. Watch for ways you can help or support them. Comment on their blog, updates, etc. Get on the phone and get to know each other better! Offer them something, introduction, take them to lunch, or offer a free ad on your site, free ticket to an event, etc. Support and cheer them on.

Identify your Key Connections 10-20 people who you want to keep in touch with on a regular basis. Check in with them and see what’s going on,  how you can help, etc. Don’t keep ‘score’ on how many times you’ve helped them, etc.

In the end, you’ll have amazing relationships for a lifetime, not just for ‘business’. Some of my very best friends were met online and at events. Enjoy the opportunities ahead!

-Kelly King Anderson, Founder of Startup Princess

Want to connect with me? I’d love to. Tweet me @startupprincess

Press Release: Startup Princess Announces 4th Touchpoint Event For Women Entrepreneurs

For Immediate Release

Startup Princess Announces 4^th Touchpoint Event For Women Entrepreneurs

International Networking Community Event Sept. 23-24 in South Jordan, Utah

Salt Lake City – July 28 – Startup Princess, an international networking community focused on providing connection, coaching and resources for women entrepreneurs, has scheduled its 4^th annual Touchpoint event for Sept. 23 and 24, 2010 at Noah’s in South Jordan, Utah.  Touchpoint fosters collaboration for women who seek fruitful networking and insights into starting and growing a successful business.

“Touchpoint brings women together from all backgrounds that help each other find their way to success,” said Kelly King Anderson, Startup Princess founder, business coach and one of the top 30 women entrepreneurs Forbes Magazine recommends following on Twitter.  “These women inspire each other and know the opportunities that this event has to offer.  We look forward to learning from this year’s speakers and from each other as we all strive to build better businesses.”

Pre-Conference Schedule

The pre-conference festivities begin at 4 p.m. Sept. 23 with a 2-hour “Image & Media Workshop” presented by Anderson and celebrity makeup artist Tara Starling, followed by a networking party for speakers, attendees and sponsors from 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Conference Schedule

In addition to Anderson, other keynote speakers during the Sept. 24 conference include:

• Danielle Laporte, inspirational speaker, business strategist and creator of WhiteHotTruth.com.  Laporte’s new digital book, “The Fire Starter Session,” helps entrepreneurs “rock their career according to their truest strengths.” From social media to social responsibility, branding to creativity, Laporte is known for her philosophical and candid take on doing meaningful work. She is the lead author of the Amazon bestseller, Style Statement: Live By Your Own Design, and has been featured in Elle, Vogue Australia, Body + Soul, The National Post, Entertainment Tonight, and The Huffington Post.

• Vickie Walker, owner of d’lish Confections and a non-profit venture called Circle the Wagons. Walker’s’ husband Jeff was killed, and her 16-year old son, AJ, was critically injured, during the Trolley Square shooting rampage on February 12, 2007, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Wanting to give back to the community, she formed a cause-related candy company called “D’Lish” that allows her to provide funds for “Circle the Wagons,” which in part provides a 96-Hour Survival Guide to victims of violent crime.  Walker received the 2009 Humanitarian Award from the Salt Lake Police Department and has become a frequent speaker on finding the courage to move forward.

-more-

Breakout sessions outlining the various paths to success in business and finding balance in life include:

• Growing a Business While Raising a Family, presented by Saren Eyre of Power of Moms,
• Core Business Principles, presented by Kim Flynn of Tutoring Connection,
• How to Increase Online Sales, by Jana Francis of Baby Steals, Sarah Jane Wright of Sara Jane Studios
• Life Balancing Tract: A Story of Courage with RaNelle Wallace
• How to Find and Secure Sponsors for Blogs, Events and More, with Jyl Pattee, Mom It Forward
• Branding Your Business, with Rebecca Servoss, Persnickety Graphic Design and
• How Shirley J Changed their Branding to Grow Their Business, a Case Study by Becky Olsen

There will also be a media panel featuring several public relations and business professionals, including LaPorte, Kim Christofferson of DIY Dish and Cheryl Snapp Conner of Snapp ConnerPR.

Video Marketing Competition

For the second consecutive year, the event will also give visitors a chance to participate in a Video Marketing Competition.  It is an opportunity for women to show off their talents, earn exposure for their venture and win prizes including free admission.  The deadline to enter this competition is August 15, with five finalists being announced on August 31.

Exhibitor and sponsorship opportunities are available for this event at http://startupprincess.com/touchpoint/sponsor.html

About Startup Princess:

Kelly King Anderson launched Startup Princess in 2006 with the hope of creating an ideal network for women entrepreneurs, providing them with connections, coaching and resources to help grow their businesses. This organization has inspired thousands of women locally, nationally and internationally, with success stories reaching as far as Pakistan and London.

For complete information concerning the event go to http://startupprincess.com/touchpoint.  For details about registration or sponsorship, please visit the same site or contact Michelle McCullough at 801.592.1101 or michelle@startupprincess.com.

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Maximize Your Travel Experiences by Connecting with People in Your Industry via Social Media

This week I have the absolute pleasure of a work/vacation ‘down under’ in Australia and New Zealand. Since I’m an uber-connector, the first thing I wanted to do when the trip became a reality wasn’t to cuddle koalas (although that’s #2) was to meet lots of wonderful entrepreneurial women.

Thanks to Twitter, I’ve connected with about a dozen fabulous women and have some fun meetups planned during my trip. The easiest way for me to find the type of women I want to connect with who share my goals/intentions is to do a search via Twittergrader and search first for city and then scan the list for who looks like an interesting match for you based on bios/profiles and then simply send them a “@” message to get their attention and say something like this: @____ I’ll be in Auckland 3/26-27 and organizing a tweetup for women in biz, would love to connect, pls DM if interested. This is such a simple, easy tool for us to reach out to new people we’d like to connect with and just consider the possibilities for business and new friendships!

Now, one thing I’d definitely remind you that if you’re going to approach complete strangers and invite them to meet with you, always meet in a public place during daylight hours is best and meet in small groups if possible. Also, I’d recommend that you have a good look at your Twitter profile and link before you send out requests because no doubt people will be checking out your sanity and background before they accept your invite (at least I always do!!)

Enjoy meeting new people IRL (in real life) in foreign cities when you have the chance, your trip will certainly be more rewarding if you do. Connect with me on Twitter, I’d love to meet up on your next trip to Utah, I’m @startupprincess

Kelly King Anderson is the Founder and Managing Director of Startup Princess. She loves to connect, say hello!

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