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Debbie Crichton's Aha Moment at Remarkable Women's Network - Photo by Suzanne Sheridan
One of the enticements I offered attendees of the Remarkable Women’s Network event I hosted last week was publicity. I said that I would blog about one participant’s new idea for her business in 2012.
Debbie Crichton's Art Bags Designs
It wasn’t an easy choice, but Debbie Crichton, founder of Art Bags, had an ‘aha’ experience that took the prize. She plans to incorporate video how-to’s in her business model this year.
Ridgefield Guild of Artists Summer Camp Participant
In addition to creating marvelous, collectible pocketbooks, Debbie has been active in her community as well by offering Project Runway-style activities for girls attending the Ridgefield (CT) Guild of Artists summer camp . She has taught them how to paint shoes, stencil t-shirts and craft other stylish accessories. Not only is Debbie having a blast learning and teaching these skills, but she also sees it as a means for building girls’ self-esteem in the process.
Debbie has the confidence to tackle any craft and make it fun and accessible, but wasn’t clear how to make that side of her talent marketable. During one of the mini-mastermind sessions, Pat McGrath–another attendee– made a suggestion that hit Debbie like a lightning bolt, in a good way. “Why don’t you make videos?”
That started the wheels turning for Debbie who sees infinite possibilities using that medium to reach a wider market for her talent. She envisions putting together kits based on the craft projects she teaches via youtube or other online video channels.
I love watching the exchange of information at these events. I watch the women meeting each other at the beginning of the night with smiles and handshakes. By the time the evening is over, bonds have been forged, no one wants to leave, and warm hugs are exchanged along with business cards and promises to get together again.
I love what I do!
At last night’s mastermind group, during the first round of sharing successes, photographer Katie Settel took her turn with pride and delight. Her goal had been to photograph Beyonce’s new baby. We all supported the dream she had laid out in session 1 (this was our 5th) and have witnessed her transformation as Katie developed her marketing materials in that pursuit.
At our third session, Katie arrived with an elegantly designed package of her photographs, which demonstrate her talent, plus her freshly written cover letter…and a huge smile. She had put together an exquisite pitch package which she sent to Beyonce’s agent in NYC. Even getting that far was a win. Katie also designed the concept of a photo shoot with purpose (i.e. not winning a million dollar contract from People, say) which she proposed as a differentiator from all the other photographers in pursuit of that opportunity.
The baby has been born. I haven’t found any photos on the internet yet (correct me if I’m wrong), but as Katie put it last night when giving her report, “I didn’t get the shot, but I gave it a shot.”
While not everyone would claim not getting the sought after opportunity as a success, I surely do. How many people scheme and dream and don’t even take the first step in the direction of their own success? Katie moved several paces in that direction by not only following through on her own vision, but also by ratcheting up her skills, materials and courage level by giving it a go.
Success is the journey toward a worthy goal, so chalk up miles of advancement for Katie’s career.
My marketing director took me out to lunch yesterday for a planning session.
How cool does that sound?
I’ve been working with this woman-owned company for over a year now. They specialize in helping other women-owned businesses get the word out about their enterprise via social media, events, web development and other campaigns. I attribute her expertise with my growing revenues.
This was our second annual working lunch meeting, her treat. After a delicious soup and salad at Bloodroot (I got to pick the venue), she handed me an agenda with 10 items which she then reviewed point by point.
Each agenda item was something that we had talked about during the course of the year. I was amazed that she had captured them all and was helping me to re-visit them individually. Whenever I hear a great idea, I shoot it off to her via email. Taking them one by one a few weeks or months after the original inspiration affords me the opportunity to reconsider them in the stark light of day versus the excitement of the moment.
During our one hour meeting we covered everything we’ll be sure to do in 2012: promote my webinars, Remarkable Women’s Network events, launch my new website, build my lists, send direct mail campaigns and sponsor another client appreciation event–a highlight of 2011.
Would I have done these things on my own? Not likely.
The benefit to having a paid professional is participating in a best practice experience like this. Every business owner would benefit from an annual review, but how many actually take the time to sit down and make a plan?
I’m grateful to my marketing company for modeling this practice and helping me grow my business by partnering with her.
I’ve been a fan of Susan Keane Baker since we first met at an NSA-NY Chapter meeting in NYC at least 15 years ago. Class acts have a way of being class acts from the get-go. Susan’s brand experience is excellence, depth and connection and she’s delivered that consistently in our friendship and professional relationship since day one.
It was from Susan that I learned how important the personal touch is. She’s been sending out a print newsletter for over a decade. She mails several thousand at a time and hand writes a message to each recipient. Who does that anymore?!
Every newsletter I receive from Susan is packed with valuable content on her subject: improving the patient/health care practitioner relationship. Of course, substitute the word “client” for patient and “service provider” for health care practitioner and her advice resonates loud and clear.
Each time I open one of Susan’s mailings, and they come quarterly, I think to myself, will there be a message in this one? Is it really possible for her to do this repeatedly?
I was not surprised then, but ever delighted, when I opened up her most recently mailed newsletter and found not “Happy Fall!” or “Hope to see you soon!” but a truly personal, hand-written note acknowledging my new webinar launch. That’s the Susan experience.
What’s your brand experience, and when was the last time your client/patient/customer had a taste of it?
There was a sign posted in the lobby of my building this summer advertising “Yoga by the Pool at 8:30am Saturday mornings.” I took note of it and thought, “I’d like to go, but I have a standing activity at that time on Saturday mornings.” Two weeks later, I passed the sign again. Now it read “Yoga by the Pool – 10:00am Saturday mornings.” I still couldn’t attend, but smiled at the persistence this yoga instructor was demonstrating. S/he’s a smart marketer. She tested her offering, and when it didn’t produce the results she was looking for, re-tested. In other words, she didn’t give up.
I don’t have to tell you that it’s tough out there. I, too, am putting out offers, then tweaking to see what will work best for my clientele. Today I’m starting a new Mastermind Group with more flexible scheduling for participants than in the past. Now, participants can opt in to eight sessions that work for their calendars, not a pre-determined six dates posted at exactly the same time and day of the week. In today’s lifestyle, it’s a challenge for people to commit their time in that way.
On Wednesday, October 26 I’m giving my first webinar. It’s complimentary (click this link to receive the details) and will introduce my first ever webinar series starting in November. It’s called The Soul Proprietor’s Formula for Growing (or Starting) Your Business. The free webinar will not be recorded, but each weekly session of the full program will be so you can download it and listen at your leisure.
This webinar came out of the goal-setting process and great persistence. I used every tool in my toolkit to get this up and running. There are many moving parts, and I’m especially grateful to my accountability partner, Sandy Weiner, who helped me out on the persistence part of this. I’m thrilled with the program, but definitely wanted to quit along the way. Who doesn’t?!
Erica Tannen, of the e-list – An Excruciatingly Opinionated Guide to the Connecticut Shoreline (boy, does that tag line tell you what it does!), and I had a brainstorming, goal-setting lunch in New Haven back in February. We determined we’d like to pool our resources for an event which is now scheduled for Monday, October 24th at the Saybrook Inn. Talk about persistence! We’ve been exchanging emails, looking at venues (well, Erica has anyway), and coming up with a topic and a format that would be inviting. We nailed it!
Please join me at noon on the 24th for lunch and a talk. Click this link for details. We’re already near capacity, so are thrilled that this clicked for our target market. I hope you can come.
It’s all about trial and error, goal-setting and persistence. I often quote Rosabeth Moss Kanter who says:
My personal law of management, if not life, is that everything looks like a disaster in the middle.
The winners are those who never give up. What do you need to get back in the ring for today?
My son Rob first told me about Warby Parker a couple of years ago when I admired his cool eyeglass frames. What I remembered was that they cost under $100 including the lenses. Unheard of!
I also remembered that it was a by-appointment-only shop in NYC, so that was a deterrent. I was still functioning fine with a few pairs of glasses on a prescription that needed renewing. Once in the optometrist’s chair and told my eyes had worsened, I looked at the bright side of finding new frames–especially at Warby Parker’s inexpensive showroom.
Long story short, I made a visit this month only to find out that they don’t handle progressive lenses. Those of us who need our glasses to perform multiple functions without the embarrassing, tell-tale line of bi-focals won’t benefit from this company’s cookie-cutter approach to filling prescriptions.
I ordered a pair of frames anyway (at a slight discount) and decided to handle the lens-filling locally. Finding a nice pair of frames for $80 (my cost without any lenses) is a challenge anywhere, even at discounted places like Costco.
When the package of frames arrived, there was a cool enclosure that made me smile. Here’s how it reads:
WARBY PARKER
eyewear
Get ready–starting today you’ll be getting a steady stream of compliments on your new Warby Parker glasses. We want you to love your glasses as much as we do. If you have any questions about them, or about Warby Parker, or life in general, please don’t hesitate to call us at (888) 492-7297 or write us at help@warbyparker.com.
FOR EVERY PAIR OF GLASSES YOU PURCHASE, A PAIR IS DONATED TO SOMEONE IN NEED.
I promise to show you an image of me in my new glasses once I get them back from my optometrist’s in-house shop. And I’m grateful to know that for any questions I have from now on, Warby Parker will be there for me.
I’ve got three great offerings coming up this fall, and I’m really excited to share them here first.
My final Remarkable Women’s Network event for 2011 is Wednesday, October 5 from 5:30-7:30pm at Troy Fine Art in Southport, CT. The focus that evening is Come As You’ll Be. At past goal-setting retreats I’ve run, this themed party concept was the Saturday night highlight of the weekend. Guests are asked to dress, speak and think five years out.
What success would you love to live into for Fall, 2016? Dress up as the best-selling author, award-winning designer, fabulously wealthy business owner, etc. The paparazzi will be on hand to capture the moment. You’ll meet 30 other remarkably successful women and find out how they achieved their goals. I promise, it will be the most fun you’ve had in months.
I’m also rolling out a new concept in Mastermind Groups at a special lunch event on Friday, October 14 in the Club Room at 597 Westport Avenue, Norwalk. You’ll not only meet two dozen other women who want to grow their businesses, but you’ll have the opportunity to get feedback, motivation and inspired accountability.
What do I mean by inspired accountability? When I hear a woman business owner commit to taking a huge step forward on her own behalf, I get inspired. When I hear a dozen women stake their claim and set a date by which they will research, call, announce or commit to the next growth adventure in their businesses, I’m blown away. That’s what October 14th will be about. Stay tuned for the details via my newsletter, but save the date for my kick-off lunch event.
My third offer coming up this fall is a brand new webinar series on how to become a Soul Proprietor. I’m really excited to be making my own offer after studying with a group all summer on the best way to create and present a program like this. I’ll be starting with a free webinar in a month so you can try out the medium and see if you like it. What I love about this opportunity is that over the years I’ve heard from so many of you outside the tri-state area–like the Pacific Northwest, Singapore and Moldavia. I’d love to get YOU on the line for these sessions. Watch for the details!
I hope I’ll see you this fall at my Remarkable Women’s Network event Wednesday, October 5, my Mastermind Groups lunch launch on Friday, October 14 and/or on my upcoming late October free webinar class.
It’ll really feel like the school year has started when I attend the EWN Luncheon tomorrow featuring Fabienne Fredrickson. Fabienne is an excellent speaker and role model for walking your talk. She is one of the most successful people I know.
I hear tomorrow’s event is a sell-out which makes it very exciting. The energy of over 100 women entrepreneurs is intoxicating to me. And the new location–Dolce Norwalk–makes it even more attractive.
I hired Fabienne as my coach in 2004 and credit her with helping me get my coaching business flourishing. She’s no longer coaching 1:1 and instead runs huge events in California with hundreds of attendees. I am in awe of what she’s accomplished and admire her drive.
She provides quite a different map than this Soul Proprietor. I find it endlessly fascinating to watch a master at work and look forward to learning something new.
A colleague of mine who’d studied journalism taught me a quote she’d learned in her school days. Their mantra was, “Notice what you notice.” In fact, I call my bi-weekly newsletter The Noticer. This hit home for me yesterday in three quick observations.
Yesterday I had lunch with a client of mine who is in the home care business. We were walking in the center of Fairfield, CT, by a small park where a camp group had assembled. My client spotted someone pushing a wheelchair. “I wonder why he’s wearing [surgical] gloves. There’s no need for that.” I looked over and saw what she was referring to, but would never have even looked twice. But, that’s her business, and she took note.
After lunch I drove to a new salon in Bethel for a haircut. It’s housed in a large, old Victorian house on the second floor. The first floor is devoted to a restaurant. Although there is signage for the salon–I knew I was in the right place– all of the signs in the parking area said “Parking for Restaurant Only” which made me question whether it was permissible to park in the lot.
Not wanting to be towed, I drove to another lot across the street. The sense that I got was that the restaurant may not be welcoming to the beauty salon clients walking through their premises. This was all split second stuff, but I was conscious of whether I was entering the right door or not. It set up a negative experience. That was quickly dismantled by the gracious hostess and the salon owner’s apology. “As a business owner,” I offered, “you need signage for your new clientele letting them know the score.” That’s the kind of thing I notice: what will be useful for a business owner to enhance the client experience and comfort level.
The reason I was trying a new salon was that the owner had attended a speaking event where I was featured. We’d had a delightful conversation afterwards, and he said he’d love to cut my hair. “I took a good look at you when you were speaking and noticed that you could use a different cut.”
What are you noticing? This is what makes you who you are.
An unexpected package arrived at my door today…from a floral company. The return label revealed nothing about the sender. For a few glorious minutes I wracked my brain for who might be sending me a bouquet.
My birthday is next week (July 4 for anyone who wants to take note), so this would have been a little early to acknowledge that day. I have just came back from a wonderful family celebration in California, so might be on the sending end of flowers, but definitely not receiving for the gratitude I was feeling for my kids and siblings and nieces and nephews.
I tore open the cardboard-zippered carton and took in a deep breath of appreciation for nature’s ever-present gifts–a beautiful arrangement of sunflowers and complementary blossoms–tucked neatly into a glass vase with two packets of flower fertilizer enclosed. The neatly attached message solved the mystery. “Dear Jane, Thank you for continuing to refer women in your network to me.”
My marketing consultant, Heather Habelka of Red Poppy Marketing, had generously and thoughtfully acknowledged a recent referral I’d sent her with this beautiful surprise package. It’s another example of how well she does things. I was thrilled with her gift.
