What’s Your Purpose for Being a Mompreneur?

March 7, 2011 By 3 Comments

What’s your purpose in being a mompreneur? It’s important to take a step back and remember what’s driving you to do what you do, what gives meaning to how you spend your time. With a clear sense of purpose, you’re much more likely to enjoy your work and build a business that thrives.

But do you remember what drove you to start your business?

Since you’re a mompreneur, I know it involved more than just a desire to make money. Let’s face it: running a start-up company is usually not a big money-making endeavor for the first few years. It’s easy to think that if your goal is to make money, you could more easily do that (on a consistent basis, no less) working for someone else.

Most of the mom entrepreneurs I talk with tell me it’s not about the money (although we have nothing against making lots of money). Instead, we decide to start a business based on our passion, our talents, our expertise and our purpose.

Part of my purpose as the Mom Biz Coach is to help other women solve a problem I struggled with myself: how to do work I love without compromising my commitment to my family.

Tune in to the podcast below to hear more about purpose and how it fits with and ultimately shapes successful mompreneur businesses.

 

What’s your purpose in being a mompreneur? It’s important to take a step back and remember what’s driving you to do what you do, what gives meaning to how you spend your time. With a clear sense of purpose, you’re much more likely to enjoy your work and build a business that thrives. What’s your purpose in being a mompreneur? It’s important to take a step back and remember what’s driving you to do what you do, what gives meaning to how you spend your time. With a clear sense of purpose, you’re much more likely to enjoy your work and build a business that thrives.What’s your purpose in being a mompreneur? It’s important to take a step back and remember what’s driving you to do what you do, what gives meaning to how you spend your time. With a clear sense of purpose, you’re much more likely to enjoy your work and build a business that thrives.

Listen to internet radio with Lara Galloway on Blog Talk Radio

So what’s your purpose? Please share your comments below.

Filed Under: mom entrepreneur coach, motherhood, small business, work/family balance Tagged With: , , , , ,

Mompreneur Mobility HP ProBook Giveaway!

November 8, 2010 By 50 Comments
coffee shop

Are you a mobile mompreneur?

I don’t know about you, but I tend to have a “work anywhere” policy as a mompreneur. With my three computers, cell phone, land line phone, Flip camcorder and webcam, I can be coaching clients in Calgary while sitting at my kitchen table. Or I can load up my next email campaign that blasts to England, Jamaica and all across the US when I’m using the free WiFi at the local coffee shop. And sometimes I shoot a quick video for a vlog while I’m on vacation, wherever that may be.

One of the biggest reasons I decided to quit working for IBM (and then later decided to start my own business) was because I wanted the freedom and flexibility that being a mom entrepreneur affords me. I love being able to work from home, wearing my yoga pants one day and dressing to the nines for a speaking gig the next.

I rely heavily on technology to make my business possible. Most days, I’m singing the praises of my laptop, my Skype account, and Twitter, since they truly make my “working on the fly” lifestyle a reality. And then there are those dreaded days (I’m told it’s when Mercury is in retrograde, which I don’t understand but I have learned that I suffer just the same) when my technology all fails me, leaving me nearly unable to work at all.

I recently blogged about my desire to help as many fellow mompreneurs as possible be more successful in their businesses. I think I found a slam dunk for one of you :) .

I’m thrilled to partner with HP to give away a new HP ProBook 4425s, powered by AMD!

If you could use a sleek, new notebook computer to help you handle email, surf the web and keep up with your Social Media contacts wherever you are, make sure you register to win (below)!

Click here to enter the Mompreneur Mobility HP ProBook Giveaway!

Read all about the HP ProBook here.

What about you? What technology do you rely on to make your business possible? What are you using for “mobile computing”–such as an iPhone, Blackberry, iTouch, netbook, laptop, cell phone, etc.? How do you use it? What value does this mobility bring to your business? What compromises do you make in order to be mobile? Where’s your favorite place to work?

To register to win the HP ProBook 4425s, powered by AMD, here’s all you need to do:

  • Leave a comment on the blog below answering some of the questions I asked above.
  • Fill in the sign up form below (which will also allow you to receive some tips and advice from me about how to get it all done as a mom entrepreneur).
  • Winners will be announced here on the blog on Friday, November 12th. We’ll enter all the qualified entries into Random.org to help us pick a winner.
  • That’s it!

Click here to enter the Mompreneur Mobility HP ProBook Giveaway!

I am grateful to HP for being willing to share some powerful resources with mom entrepreneurs. A big hearty thanks to HP for making this giveaway possible!

* photo courtesy jeneyepher of flickr creative commons
Filed Under: business coach, business how-tos, mom entrepreneur coach, small business, work/family balance Tagged With: , , ,

Top Mompreneur Challenges–and two winners!

November 5, 2010 By 8 Comments
hands joined

Last week, I sent out a survey asking mompreneurs what their top challenges were, how they were handling them, and what’s in the way of them solving their challenges.

The findings were not terribly surprising, but they are clear: Mom entrepreneurs need lots of help!

Every entrepreneur needs advice, resources, and help of one sort or another. Running a family while running a business presents a unique set of circumstances for mompreneurs. And it can be difficult to get the help they need due to a mindset that puts the needs of the family above all else.

I’ll share the highlights from the survey here with you, and I’ll announce the two mompreneurs who won a private business coaching session with me to help them achieve the success they deserve!

Most of the moms surveyed (44%) have been in business for 1-3 years. This is the critical start-up phase for a company when help is most needed, yet finances are limited. Many reported that the upside of running their own company is the freedom and flexibility it gives them to be there for drop-off and pick-up, as well as after school with their kids. They also love the fulfillment they get from the work they do and the clients they serve.

With regards to the tough parts of the job, their answers were fairly consistent. I asked: “What areas of your business are challenging for you?”

Here are the top three responses:

  • managing my time
  • finding more clients
  • marketing my business

These moms also say they are struggling to make enough money to justify help with their business or for childcare, and that they don’t know how to balance doing both well. And it’s not for lack of trying to solve these problems that they persist. Most moms report having tried to solve them by researching, reading and signing up for programs to address them. Many wish they could hire a mentor or a coach to help them work through their particular set of circumstances and to teach them how to do the parts of their business (and their life)  they don’t know how to successfully manage.

The biggest hindrance to getting the right support?

  • 75% I can’t afford to spend the money to get the help they need.
  • 64% say they just don’t have enough time to get help.
  • 39% report not knowing where to find the help they need.
  • and 32% say they’re just too burned out to deal with it.

I know how hard it is to focus on your needs as a mompreneur when you’re also the full-time problem-solver for your family. I was in the same boat when I started my business over five years ago, and it has been my mission to help women like myself get what they need to run successful families and businesses.

To that extent, I am thrilled to announce that, as promised, two of the 50 women who answered the survey have been chosen to receive a private, 60-minute business coaching session with me to get them the help they need.

And the winners are…

Charmin Calamaris, of www.TheMomiverse.com and

Helen Coronato, of www.TheWeekendPublicist.com

I am grateful to all the moms who took the time to answer the survey! Please know that I am working hard to find ways to help as many of you as I can, at a price you can afford. I’ll be using the findings from this survey to create the coaching offerings that you’ve said are most important to you, including one-on-one coaching, coaching groups, and short teleclasses that provide a solution to a specific issue.

I welcome your comments and requests in the comments section below.

* Photo courtesy of silentsymphony.net
How long have you run your current mompreneur business?

44% 1-3 years
23% more than 3 years
21% just launched
13% I don’t have a formal business established yet, but I hope to soon!

In what areas of your business do you feel successful?

-just starting this new direction….so need to learn new habits
-All of you what its mentioned above, especially need tweak and improvement on
website. Cashflow is a quiet struggle. But the rest is a lot of support and kids goes to
school plus household support..
-The work itself. What I actually create.
-confident about my ability to provide value

What areas of your business are challenging for you?

- getting new clients
- time delegating
- Finding clients, developing products to purchase, and not just “coaching”
- marketing, branding, social media
- Marketing, creating biz plans.

What’s your biggest question about running a business while running…

- how to balance it all
- I feel like I can’t justify childcare expenses, and sometimes feel i can only
work “part-time”
- How can I make more $
- Sometimes I feel so overwhelmed that it would be helpful to have someone look at
my schedule and help me outline a system or process for fitting everything in!
- How can I feel like I do them both well?

How have you tried to solve these questions?

-coach, reading, scheduling
-calendar/schedule
-Coach, running my own programs that address this, and reading

What is keeping you from getting your problems solve?

75% I can’t afford to spend the money to get the help

64% Don’t have enough time
39% I don’t know where to find the answers
32% I’m just burned out
If you are considering getting training, coaching and/or mentoring support to help
you succeed in your business, what type of offering appeals to you? (Please check all
that apply.)

73% One-on-one coaching/consulting or mentoring
56% Short teleclasses or teleseminars on a specific topic (marketing, list-building,
work/family balance, Social Media, product creation, branding, etc.)
40% Mompreneur retreat/bootcamp
38% Group coaching programs
36% Online community/forum where you can interact with your peers and/or a
coach

How do you prefer to learn?

79% Hands-on
69% Read
63% Watch
60% Listen

How important is it to you to have a community of your peers?

48% Extremely important
27% Very important
19% Important
6% Not very important

If you could wave your magic wand and get EXACTLY what you need and want
regarding training and coaching for mompreneurs, what would that look like?

-a group of women that really support and share their knowledge with you to avoid
the same mistakes
-help with marketing and overall business direction
-I’d like someone to help me develop products that people can purchase from me
without needing me
-I’d have someone who could show me the ropes in establishing my business and
help me create goals and be accountable for them.
-really great ideas in one place, one website to go to for all of my answers

What would you be willing to pay to get that training and support in your life?

-For the above, I would want to pay about $1000/yr for four retreats that included
room, board, meals, supplies, etc
-Not sure, I’m really bad at budgeting!
-it is hard to justify spending a lot of $$ on coaching without knowing exactly
how it would benefit me.
-Several hundred, less than $1000
-I don’t have any idea :( How long have you run your current mompreneur business?

44% 1-3 years

23% more than 3 years

21% just launched

13% I don’t have a formal business established yet, but I hope to soon!

In what areas of your business do you feel successful?

-just starting this new direction….so need to learn new habits

-All of you what its mentioned above, especially need tweak and improvement on

website. Cashflow is a quiet struggle. But the rest is a lot of support and kids goes to

school plus household support..

-The work itself. What I actually create.

-confident about my ability to provide value

What areas of your business are challenging for you?

- getting new clients

- time delegating

- Finding clients, developing products to purchase, and not just “coaching”

- marketing, branding, social media

- Marketing, creating biz plans.

What’s your biggest question about running a business while running…

- how to balance it all

- I feel like I can’t justify childcare expenses, and sometimes feel i can only

work “part-time”

- How can I make more $

- Sometimes I feel so overwhelmed that it would be helpful to have someone look at

my schedule and help me outline a system or process for fitting everything in!

- How can I feel like I do them both well?

How have you tried to solve these questions?

-coach, reading, scheduling

-calendar/schedule

-Coach, running my own programs that address this, and reading

What is keeping you from getting your problems solve?

75% I can’t afford to spend the money to get the help

64% Don’t have enough time

39% I don’t know where to find the answers

32% I’m just burned out

If you are considering getting training, coaching and/or mentoring support to help

you succeed in your business, what type of offering appeals to you? (Please check all

that apply.)

73% One-on-one coaching/consulting or mentoring

56% Short teleclasses or teleseminars on a specific topic (marketing, list-building,

work/family balance, Social Media, product creation, branding, etc.)

40% Mompreneur retreat/bootcamp

38% Group coaching programs

36% Online community/forum where you can interact with your peers and/or a

coach

How do you prefer to learn?

79% Hands-on

69% Read

63% Watch

60% Listen

How important is it to you to have a community of your peers?

48% Extremely important

27% Very important

19% Important

6% Not very important

If you could wave your magic wand and get EXACTLY what you need and want

regarding training and coaching for mompreneurs, what would that look like?

-a group of women that really support and share their knowledge with you to avoid

the same mistakes

-help with marketing and overall business direction

-I’d like someone to help me develop products that people can purchase from me

without needing me

-I’d have someone who could show me the ropes in establishing my business and

help me create goals and be accountable for them.

-really great ideas in one place, one website to go to for all of my answers

What would you be willing to pay to get that training and support in your life?

-For the above, I would want to pay about $1000/yr for four retreats that included

room, board, meals, supplies, etc

-Not sure, I’m really bad at budgeting!

-it is hard to justify spending a lot of $$ on coaching without knowing exactly

how it would benefit me.

-Several hundred, less than $1000

-I don’t have any idea :(

Filed Under: business coach, business how-tos, mom entrepreneur coach, small business, work/family balance Tagged With: , , , ,

How to Handle Your Taxes

August 19, 2010 By 3 Comments
quickbooks graphic

Hey mompreneurs: Does tax time terrify you?

Does the thought of getting everything in order for your taxes make your heart stop?

Well, you’re not alone. And it’s a good idea to solve this problem before the holidays and tax time roll around. I’m always on the lookout for good resources to support mom entrepreneurs, and I’ve found a webinar I know will benefit many work at home moms.

My colleague, Rebecca Tervo, CPA, is offering a free teleseminar to help you get your financial books in order so you know exactly where you stand when it’s time to do your taxes.

How would it feel for you to go into the end of 2010 confident and secure? You can learn how in Rebecca’s  FREE webinar, “No More QuickBooks Fear”, where she outlines exactly what you need to know in QuickBooks, including what to track for taxes. This will be a jargon-free zone! No accountant talk, no weird terms you don’t understand. Just clear, simple explanations of the different sections in QuickBooks and what they mean for your business and taxes.

Rebecca has helped me get setup with my own QuickBooks account, and I really appreciate her professionalism coupled with an easy-going nature.

Click here to register.

Why not tell a mom entrepreneur friend about this webinar?

Does tax time terrify you?

Does the thought of getting everything in order for your taxes make your heart stop?  There IS a better way!  My clients feel great when tax time rolls around because they know that their books are in order and they have a clear picture on EXACTLY what they owe and how much money they’ve made.

How would it feel for you to go into the end of 2010 confident and secure?  You can learn how in my FREE webinar, “No More QuickBooks Fear”, where I’m outlining exactly what you need to know in QuickBooks, including what to track for taxes.  This will be a jargon-free zone!  No accountant talk, no weird terms you don’t understand.  Just clear, simple explanations of the different sections in QuickBooks and what they mean for your business and taxes.

Here’s the link to get signed up:  http://members.tervofinancialfitness.com/nomoreqbfear/

See you next Wednesday!

Rebecca Tervo, CPA

Tervo Financial Fitness, LLC

email address: rebecca@tervofinancial.com

website:  www.tervofinancial.com
twitter:  www.twitter.com/rebeccatervocpa

linked in: http://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccatervocpa
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tervofinancial

Filed Under: business how-tos, small business Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Five Things You Must Do to Run a Successful Small Business

May 27, 2010 By 5 Comments
EVO Speaker Button

I’m super excited to be speaking as part of a panel at “EVO ’10: The Evolution of Women in Social Media” Conference at the end of June. Since my work as a mompreneur coach focuses on helping moms create successful businesses, I have been asked to participate in the Secrets for Small Business Success Panel.

In preparation for this, I’ve put together Five Things You Must Do to Run a Successful Small Business for you below. And if you haven’t already, please check out the EVO ’10 Conference–it’s in Park City, Utah, June 24-26. I would love to meet you there! Be sure to leave a comment below and let me know if you’re planning to attend :-)

1.  Choose a narrow target audience. This is counter-intuitive for most of us, since common sense tells us that the more people we can make our biz appeal to, the more people are likely to spend their money buying our stuff. Not true. We’re in a global, internet-related community now with gazillions of offerings to choose from. Small businesses cannot compete effectively on that scale. Be the big fish in a little pond!

2.  Get engaged with your audience. Once you narrow your target market down, you’ll be able to find your audience better, to join the groups and communities they belong to, to appear in blogs and media they consume. Be an active participant in these forums and be authentic. Over time, you’ll build relationships that increase the like/know/trust factor. We are savvy consumers now and are much more likely to buy from people with whom we have relationships than from the person with the biggest ad in the newspaper. Build strong relationships with your target audience and the business will follow!

3.  Create pain-killers, not vitamins. As you listen to your clients (by tweeting with them, reading and commenting on their blog posts, attending their networking meetings, taking polls or surveys, etc.), pay attention to what they describe as their top challenges, biggest struggles, ongoing issues, pain points. Create your business products and services to solve those pains! We’re more likely to pay for solutions to our problems than for things (like vitamins) that we know are good for us or that promise to “improve our lives.” Be the solution!

4.  Give, give, give. When faced with fierce competition, find ways to provide more value to your clients. Don’t discount your prices and reduce your rates. Doing so decreases your value. Instead, find ways to make whatever you’re offering even more valuable to your clients in a way that serves you both. You’ll stand out from the crowd and develop loyalty that will cause your clients to stick with you and tell everyone they know how great you and your offerings are!

5.  Pick a platform/niche. The key is focus. So many small business owners try to be everything to everybody, and wind up trying to piece-together a “business” that is really just a hodge-podge of skills and things they know how to do to make money. Being a business owner requires vision, strategy, planning and marketing. All of this is nearly impossible to accomplish if you’re trying to sell several different offerings to many different groups of people. Instead, opt for being THE ONE your audience looks to when they need a solution to their problems. Build your visibility, credibility and recognition as AN EXPERT on one platform (solution to a problem) first. When you dominate that and have a loyal following and full pipeline of clients, you can add another piece to the platform or expand your niche. But you must focus first, expand later!

What is one thing you believe is critical to your small business success? Or tell me how you’re applying any of the tips I gave above. And hey–did you check out EVO ’10 yet? It’s gonna be one fun tweet-up! Please leave your comments below.

Filed Under: business coach, business how-tos, small business, small business coach Tagged With: , , , , , ,

What Corporate America Taught Me About Entrepreneurship

March 30, 2010 By 6 Comments
42-16009321

Thanks to my beloved twitter, I connected with a fantastic woman named Sherri Garrity who runs a company called The Corporate Fugitive. What’s not to love about that name? Brilliant branding, eh?

Sherri, like me, escaped from Corporate America and started her own business in which she helps other entrepreneurs build their businesses while being their own bosses. She has a wonderful pay-it-forward attitude and put that to good use when she created her free “Best Small Business Advice Interview Series.” I’m honored to have had the opportunity to share my own story with her.

As some of you know, my background is in IBM, working in communications, PR, and e-business sales. Yep, that’s a pretty far cry from running a family and a business like I do now! But I learned a whole lot of best practices during my tenure at IBM that really help me as an entrepreneur. I share these, along with my observations about the difference between working for IBM and working for myself, on the 20-minute interview with Sherri.

You can download the interview for free on Sherri’s website: www.thecorporatefugitive.com.

If you worked in a large company before you became a mompreneur, what are some best practices that you learned there that continue to serve you as an entrepreneur? And what did you have to let go of when you decided to be your own boss? Please leave a comment below.

Filed Under: business coach, mom entrepreneur coach, small business, small business coach, work/family balance Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Ten Ways to Come Up With New Ideas

August 24, 2009 By 4 Comments
woman with lightbulb bright idea

You know, there are times when my brain is simply too tired or overwhelmed to produce many (if any) new ideas. There is many a day when 4pm rolls around and I realize I haven’t thought of what to make for dinner for my family of five. I open the fridge and freezer and stand there, staring, literally hoping for something to jump out at me so I don’t have to think up what to cook. My brain is so tired I can’t even remember the standard meals I cook, much less come up with anything creative, new and exciting to try.

woman with lightbulb bright ideaAnd then there are times, like now, that my brain is about to explode due to all the creativity coming out of it. I used to scratch down an idea on a piece of paper when it hit me. Then I started keeping them in my business notebook as they came to me more frequently. Now I’m creating whole spreadsheets of ideas to keep track of them, and they just keep coming.

Are you looking for something to write about for your blog, your newsletter, for an article, for a marketing piece, or for a special report, e-book or book?

Could you use some help brainstorming ideas for a new product, program or service you could offer?

Need a strategy for generating engaging topics for your podcasts, teleseminars, or workshops?

I’m happy to share with you a few methods I use for kicking my imagination and creativity into high gear. Hopefully you can find a few that will work for you, and you’ll be well on your way to developing some fresh content for your business this Fall.

Ten Ways to Come Up With New Content:

  1. Focus on the part of your business you love. Just think about the parts that make you happiest. If you love talking, is there a new venue/forum that you haven’t tried yet? How could you teach others something about this thing you love?
  2. Pick a partner and do some collaborating. You’re good at what you do; now go find somebody who complements your strengths and can help you develop your offerings in ways you couldn’t come up with on your own.
  3. Check out your email inbox. Do you notice any frequently asked questions in there? Create a special report, an e-book, or a podcast that answers those questions and make it available to your customers and prospects. They’ll be grateful you did, and it won’t take you much creativity at all to answer these questions.
  4. Create an add-on to something you already provide. Is your e-book/book selling well? Fantastic! Now create a workbook or study book that goes along with it so people can create their own path from the insights/lessons your book taught them. Doing teleseminars? Why not package your audio files with a questionnaire or worksheet and sell that as an information product?
  5. How’s your existing product funnel? Take a good look at it and decide if/where there are any gaps. Do you offer products/services for free, low, medium and high-priced? Does one offering logically lead to the next, higher-priced one? Create items that fill in these gaps.
  6. Have someone interview you (live or just recorded), asking you who your target market is and what their top challenges are. Answer these questions, and let the creative juices flow. Often times being asked questions and having to answer them in real time helps your brain think in ways that sitting at your desk all by yourself just doesn’t.
  7. Ask your coach, mentor, board of advisors, supporters to review your website and all of your offerings. What would they like to see? Ask them to tell you what’s missing.
  8. Keep a notebook handy. As ideas come to you, write them down. You will not remember them later. If you can’t get to your notebook, consider using the voice memo feature on your cellphone/smartphone, or even call your own answering machine and leave yourself a message with your bright idea. Do it IMMEDIATELY before you lose it! Great ideas seldom re-visit tired mompreneur brains.
  9. Spend some time exploring–surf the web, search on keywords that are relevant to you and your business, and see what your competitors or colleauges are doing. Can you emulate something you see? Is there a way you can make it your own, with your personality, brand and flavor?
  10. Get out of your office. Go for a walk, a hike, a bikeride, anything outdoors and in Nature. If you’ve been stuck for a while without new ideas, a change of pace and setting might be just what you need. Spend time with friends and family and turn off the “business brain” for a while. A little R&R goes a long way towards giving your mind the flexibility to generate new, different, exciting things that will benefit you, your business, and your clients.
Filed Under: business how-tos, small business, Uncategorized Tagged With: , ,

Want Your Mom Biz Question Answered?

August 6, 2009 By Leave a Comment
p28509-amazon_questionmark

p28509-amazon_questionmark

I can honestly say that I never planned on being a radio show host, but it was only a matter of time that a person who loves to talk as much as I do could avoid it.

Back in March I signed up for an account with BlogTalkRadio and clicked a button that created my own show. A day later, I produced my first episode that was (and still is) available all over the internet. I couldn’t believe how simple it was, and I had no idea how much I’d enjoy doing it.

There is no shortage of “content” for my show–in fact, I tend to create my Audio Blogs around conversations, questions and problems that come up in my coaching sessions with my mompreneur clients. They love hearing their topics addressed on the show.

Do you have a question about your business that you’d like to hear featured on my show? Are you trying to figure out how to market what you sell, or why you can’t close a sale, or why everyone seems to love what you offer but they won’t pay for it? Or are you fed up with being the “only one” who can handle things in your life or your household, and really wish you could get some help? Tired of feeling angry, guilty or tense around the kids during the day since you know you have a week’s worth of work to get done–while being the fulltime caretaker of your children?

I understand all these feelings. I’ve been in most of these situations myself. So have nearly all of the mompreneurs I work with. And sometimes you just need to know that you’re not the only one experiencing these things or feeling this way (which I assure you–you’re not!). If you have a topic you’d like to hear or know more about, either leave a comment here or email me (lara at mombizcoach dot com), and I’ll respond to you immediately. I’ll do my best to feature all questions/comments in an upcoming Audio Blog on the Mom Biz Coach Show.

Want to know if I’ve already covered something of interest to you? You can browse the mom entrepreneur podcast archives here.

Filed Under: business coach, business how-tos, mom entrepreneur coach, motherhood, podcasts, small business, small business coach, work/family balance Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

How Women Are Changing Business

July 23, 2009 By 3 Comments
business women group2

While my business coaching is aimed at supporting mom entrepreneurs, I came across this very inspiring article in Time Magazine recently that illustrates a trend I’m happy to see in the corporate world.

business women group2Women are different than men, and it turns out we do business differently than men. Well, I’m certain that the subset of women known as mompreneurs and WAHMs (work-at-home-moms) have an even more pronounced difference in their approach to business.  (I know, I know, you’re laughing with me right now thinking about the last time you were on a business call while hoisting a naked toddler on your hip with one arm and cleaning up the accident she had on the kitchen floor with the other…. Yep, that’s a different way of doing business, alright!)

Read the article below and enjoy. It’s always interesting to me when large companies start emulating some of the results-oriented business strategies of entrepreneurs.

Reposted article from time Time Magazine, May 2009

The New Work Order

Women Will Rule Business

Work-life balance. In most corporate circles, it’s the sort of phrase that gives hard-charging managers the hives, bringing to mind yoga-infused, candlelit meditation sessions and — more frustratingly — rows of empty office cubicles.

So, what if we renamed work-life balance? Let’s call it something more masculine and appealing, something like … um … Make More Money. That might lift heads off desks. A few people might show up at a meeting to discuss that new phenomenon driving the bottom line: Women, and the way we want to work, are extremely good for business.

Let’s start with the female management style. It turns out it’s not soft; it’s lucrative. The workplace-research group Catalyst studied 353 Fortune 500 companies and found that those with the most women in senior management had a higher return on equities — by more than a third.

Are the women themselves making the difference? Or are these smart firms that make smart moves, like promoting women? There is growing evidence that in today’s marketplace the female management style is not only distinctly different but also essential. Studies from Cambridge University and the University of Pittsburgh suggest that women manage more cautiously than men do. They focus on the long term. Men thrive on risk, especially when surrounded by other men. Wouldn’t the economic crisis have unfolded a bit differently if Lehman Brothers had had a few more women on board?

Women are also less competitive, in a good way. They’re consensus builders, conciliators and collaborators, and they employ what is called a transformational leadership style — heavily engaged, motivational, extremely well suited for the emerging, less hierarchical workplace. Indeed, when the Chartered Management Institute in the U.K. looked ahead to 2018, it saw a work world that will be more fluid and more virtual, where the demand for female management skills will be stronger than ever. Women, CMI predicts, will move rapidly up the chain of command, and their emotional-intelligence skills may become ever more essential.

That trend will accelerate with the looming talent shortage. The Employment Policy Foundation estimated that within the next decade there would be a 6 million – person gap between the number of college graduates and the number of college-educated workers needed to cover job growth. And who receives the majority of college and advanced degrees? Women. They also control 83% of all consumer purchases, including consumer electronics, health care and cars. Forward-looking companies understand they need women to figure out how to market to women.

All that — the female management style, education levels, purchasing clout — is already being used, by pioneering women and insightful companies, to create a female-friendly working environment, in which the focus is on results, not on time spent in the office chair. On efficiency, not schmoozing. On getting the job done, however that happens best — in a three-day week, at night after the kids go to bed, from Starbucks.

And here’s the real kicker. When a company gives employees freedom, it doesn’t just feel good or get shiny, happy workers — productivity goes up. Ask firms like Capitol One, which runs a company without walls or mandatory office time. Or Best Buy, which implemented a system called ROWE — results-only work environment — and found that productivity, in some cases, shot up 40%. Flexibility is no longer a favor to be handed out like candy at a children’s birthday party; it’s a compelling business strategy.

So we need to get rid of the nutty-crunchy moral component of the work-life balance and make a business case for it. It’s easy to do. In fact, a decade from now, companies will understand that hiring lots of women, and letting them work the way they want, will help them Make More Money.

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What about you? In what ways are you doing business “differently” from the way you did it in Corporate America? Or how is your strategy getting things done in unconventional ways? What are the benefits of being a WAHM when it comes to creating success in your business? Please share your story by leaving a coment, and help inspire all of us mompreneurs who sometimes get stuck on the setbacks that juggling work and motherhood can bring.

Filed Under: business coach, business how-tos, leadership, motherhood, reasons to work, small business, small business coach Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

5 Myths That Can Kill Your Marketing Copy

July 13, 2009 By 1 Comment
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Guest post by Susan Gunelius from Entrepreneur.com

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In my book, Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps, I teach small and mid-size business owners who can’t afford to hire professional copywriters how to write effective copy that will bring the results from their marketing efforts that they want and need. However, just as there are steps you must take to write great copy, there are also mistakes you can make that can destroy your marketing messages and reduce your ROI to a fraction of what it could have been. Whatever you do, don’t believe the five myths described below.

1. Consumers care about me and my business
No, they don’t. They care about what’s in it for them if they pull out their wallets and hand over their hard-earned money to buy your product or service. They don’t care that you’ve been a member of the local Chamber of Commerce for 20 years, and they don’t care how cute your kids are (so leave them out of your commercials, please). Consumers care about having their needs and wants fulfilled. The goal of copywriting is to convince consumers that the product or service you’re selling will meet their needs and desires, even if you have to create perceived needs and desires for them. In other words, your copy must focus on the benefits consumers will receive if they buy your product or service. It’s great that your business has operated from the same location for 10 years, but for the most part, consumers only truly care about what your business can do for them and how your business can make their lives easier or better. Those are the messages your copy should focus on in order to drive results.

2. I can use the same copy everywhere
No, you shouldn’t. Your copy should change depending on the medium where you’re using it. For example, if you’re writing copy for an outdoor billboard that consumers are likely to have only seconds to view while driving 65 miles per hour on a busy highway during rush hour, your message must be short and to the point with no room for confusion. However, if you’re writing copy for a direct-mail piece that will be sent to customers who have requested to receive information about your business, your copy should be far more detailed with messages that explain, answer questions, and create a sense of urgency to boost response rates.

3. I can use the same copy for everyone
No, that’s not a good idea. Different audiences will respond to different messages depending on their demographics, behaviors, experiences and so on. For example, if you’re writing copy for a direct-mail piece that will be sent to prior customers, your messages should be very different from those that would appear in a mailing to prospects. One audience is already very familiar with your products and services, while the other has no prior experience to draw from. Clearly, the messages to both audiences must be different to achieve the maximum response rates possible.

4. I need to sound smart in my copy
Not always. The language and tone of your copy should speak directly to the people who are likely to see it. For example, if you’re writing copy for teenagers, your copy should be quite different from copy targeted at senior citizens. Consider McDonald’s, which goes so far as to change references to its brand name depending on the audience. Turn on MTV and you’re sure to see a McDonald’s commercial referencing the fast food chain as “Mickey D’s”. It’s also important to omit jargon unless your copy is intended for an audience that will understand and expect it. For example, a business-to-business ad might be an appropriate place for jargon. Again, it always depends on the target audience that you ultimately want to respond to your marketing message.

5. It’s easy to write copy
Never. Writing marketing copy is like no other form of writing. It defies many of the rules you may have learned in English class, and it relies more on subtle persuasion, psychology, creativity and an understanding of your specific business and consumers than any other type of writing. Not all writers are good copywriters, and not all copywriters are good writers. If you decide to write your own copy, study the craft prior to putting pen to paper. And if you decide to hire a copywriter to help you, remember that not all copywriters are the same. Only invest in a copywriter who has experience and takes the time to understand your business and your customers.

Susan Gunelius is president and CEO of KeySplash Creative Inc., a full service marketing communications provider and branding consultancy, and owner of WomenOnBusiness.com, one of the leading blog communities for business women. Susan is a marketing, branding, social media and copywriting expert with nearly 20 years of experience in the field. Her clients include small and large businesses around the globe. She is the author of several marketing, branding and social media books, including Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps published by Entrepreneur Press.


Filed Under: business coach, business how-tos, marketing, mom entrepreneur coach, small business, small business coach Tagged With: , , , , ,
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