Taking your conversations from casual to powerful. Taking that entrepreneurial leap can be terrifying. The most valuable tool you have whether you’re just starting out, or you’ve been playing the game for years, is the relationships you build with others – Your Connections. For the past few weeks I’ve been sharing with you relationship-building strategies that can put … [Read more...]
Are Professional Women’s Networks Passe?
What do you accomplish when you put a group of professional women together in a room? a valid question and now a controversial topic of discussion. Professional women's networks have recently come under fire for perpetuating the ideology that women need to be "fixed" in order to be successful in the workplace. These professional groups were for the most part originally … [Read more...]
Building a Network of Contacts
Post by Jane K. Stimmler, contributing Women On Business writer There are two key components in making strategic connections with contacts who are important to your future – and research and experience has shown that women often lose out in both categories. The first is building relationships within your company. These alliances with colleagues, bosses, clients, consultants … [Read more...]
What’s Your Story?
We all have unique stories to tell about our careers and our businesses. I did a presentation last week on self-promotion in Boston to the Downtown Women’s Club and heard many great stories from the attendees and I was reminded again how truly wonderful all our stories are. Each story reveals something personal about us. What is the story behind starting our business? Where … [Read more...]
Using Savvy to Link with Key People
Post by Jane K. Stimmler, contributing Women On Business writer Last week I talked about the importance of political savvy. One big component in being savvy is to understand the roles of the key people who make and influence decisions in your company or organization. This is a practice that can also be applied to your clients. When you have a project or idea to move … [Read more...]
Networking to Land Contracts
Work is love made visible. - Kahlil Gibran As I get more experienced in my work, I'm seeing the value of dominating a "niche" service. What is niche? Niche is what you do absolutely the best. For example, there may be 100 restaurants in a 5-square block area in New York City, but there's only one, original and best falafel place. What are you the best at? What is … [Read more...]
Networking: It’s About Giving
What is the real purpose of networking for business? Traditionally, it has always been about meeting people in order to acquaint them with your business, and hopefully, to solicit their support to build your business, or better yet, to get an immediate referral! The traditional goal has always been more about quantity than quality. How many people can I meet at one event? How … [Read more...]
8 Steps to Setting up a Web Presence for under $150
One of the ads in my Facebook feed said that 16 of the 30 companies in the current Dow Jones were started in a recession. Ladies, let's get to work! And don't let the lack of funds deter you! I detail below 8 steps to setting up your own web presence for low to no budget. There is no reason for you to delay on getting your website up. Just get started! Just do it! If it's a … [Read more...]
Offer Others an All-Access Pass
Post by Frances Cole Jones, contributing Women On Business writer Few things are as off-putting as asking someone to exchange information with you, only to have them give you their office’s main number, and their assistant’s extension. Similarly, if and when you are asked for your information, it’s important to be generous. I’m not suggesting you hand over your home telephone … [Read more...]
Word of Mouth Marketing
I have always maintained that the best way to market is by word of mouth. Communicating with your network is the most powerful and important marketing vehicle you've got. I was so pleased to read Seth Godin's blog last week, because he validated this marketing approach and labeled it, the secret of new marketing. In his blog, Seth states: Find ten people. Ten people who … [Read more...]