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I’m truly thrilled to announce that I’ve been invited to speak at the TEDx event in Stamford on Saturday, April 28. There are only 100 tickets available for this worthy program. Here’s a link for tickets which will go on sale this coming Monday. If you’ve ever watched a TED video, you know what an honor it is to be asked to deliver a talk through this organization.
You’re probably thinking, what does this subject line have to do with entrepreneurship? But, the essence of this question arose yesterday when I received an email from one of my webinar participants inquiring why I’d combined my two groups in one private Facebook page. That is, the ones who’ve been in the program for 5 sessions with the newer students who are only up to Session 2.
In 1997, while attending my first ever NSA annual meeting in California, I attended a workshop where the speaker talked about his career development in terms I’d never heard. He knew that he was using high level language and explained, unapologetically, that his job as a motivational (and I use that term thoughtfully) speaker was “to keep the Toastmasters running after the caravan.”
That image became seared in my mind. Here were the paid professionals holding forth and allowing us newbies to press our faces up to the glass, to mix metaphors, and see what being a pro looked like. It felt aspirational. These NSA’ers had what I wanted, and by joining them and attending their meetings, I was going to learn what they knew.
It had me breathless in anticipation and effort to keep up with and master the arenas they were all playing in. I loved that I got to rub shoulders, listen in and ask questions of the pros. I’d much rather play in a tennis game with someone better than I am than someone not as good. Don’t we all want to up our game?
So it is with intention that I combined the two groups who are participating in my webinar. One group has had four more sessions than the other, are deeply engaged in comparing notes, sharing successes, products and resources with each other. It may be a stretch for those who are newer, but my objective is that it become an invitation as well as a temptation to grow and join the conversation.
I’m thrilled to report that my first free webinar last week attracted over 50 participants and that every space available for my upcoming program sold.
In my own business and the businesses of my colleagues, and what I see in the world at large, we must keep trying out different offerings and seeing what works.
We’re throwing spaghetti against the wall to see what sticks. Boiling that water. Dropping in the pasta. Tossing it at the wall. Noticing what happens, then rinsing and repeating. This is the new normal.
When money was more plentiful, there were resources to try everything. But now, everyone is more conservative, so businesses are out there looking for the sweet spot for their audience.
Groupon is an example. A woman in the business-building course I took last spring offered her services at a fraction of their cost using that method. She got dozens of takers to try out her feng shui talents. Whether or not they ‘stuck’ as real clients at full fee was yet to be seen.
My son told me that Bonobos, a retail clothing site he loves, offers deals on twitter for limited time periods.
My sponsors for last week’s lunch talk experimented in their contract with me so that the risk was divided up amongst all of us. It paid off, and we all walked away satisfied. This is an era of experimentation, re-creation and re-defining success.
I’m still offering 1:1 coaching, Mastermind Groups, my Remarkable Women’s Network events and speaking engagements. Using the metaphor of the slot machine, these are coming up with two dollar signs and a cherry. The results of my first webinar offer created the ding-ding-ding jackpot I’d been striving for. I’ll continue to have the other pieces of my business model, but my attention will be on expanding the webinar classes in the near future.
“I suck at advertising,” was one of Drew Lamm’s opening lines last night to the group of assembled women. I could tell this was going to be a special event by the energy outside her purple front door. Women were pulling their cars onto Drew’s quaint, narrow street in the village of Rowayton and bustling up the purple stairs into her home. I overheard excited chatter among classmates seeing each other again after having shared intimate thoughts they’d written under the gentle, constructive guidance of their teacher Drew.
My thought after experiencing this special night was that she advertises extremely well. Word of mouth had filled the room. There is no finer testimonial than bodies filling seats, worthy readings and hearty applause. I’m not even in the market for a writing class and I wanted to sign up!
It was a grown up recital, much like those old piano class days, of students demonstrating their talents for the assembled masses. Drew gave an admittedly extemporaneous opening modeling her belief that when you’re in the company of creative women and the space is safe, the muses will inform you as they certainly did Drew. She spoke eloquently from the heart about the sacredness of the practice she preaches. One by one, her disciples read their drafts to us, smiling at the unexpected laughter they engendered, touched by the applause when they completed their reading.
“You’re hearing rough,” Drew explained, but it hardly felt so. These were wonderfully tender, meaningful and well-crafted essays and poems by a disparate group of women.The topics ranged from collecting lightning bugs to breastfeeding to cursing matriarchs to what to be buried in (naked on satin sheets was the request). Drew had promised a break during the readings, but read the mood of the room and kept the pace going. We were enthralled. An intermission would have disrupted the flow.
Drew made a gentle pitch at the end of the program for her upcoming workshops offered this summer. Based on the obvious success, support and affection that happens in this kind of environment, I don’t think she’ll have any trouble filling her sessions. For more information, visit her website.
Her house is eclectic and she invited us to visit her particularly magical bathroom located behind the star/beaded curtains. I was intrigued and captured a few images. The one above is the mirror in that room. There are many inspiring quotes hanging framed on the walls there. This was my favorite. It’s hard to read, so here’s the translation: There are two things in the world–life and death. ‘Art’ is life. ‘Not Art’ is death. ~Stuart Davis
I had the privilege of speaking for the Litchfield County Women’s Network last Wednesday night, one of those pouring rainy nights we seem to have had so many of lately. I was a tad grumpy coming in after a long drive, but the mood of the room and the warmth of the members soon parted the clouds in my brain.
Although her business is graphic design, President Chana Monahan is a Toastmasters-trained powerhouse, leading her network through dinner and the best self-introductory ice-breaker I’ve seen. As part of each woman’s 60-second ‘hello,’ we were asked to identify a significant historic moment from our childhood in addition to announcing who we were and what we did in our businesses. I heard everything from the arrival of the Beatles to Kennedy’s assassination to the invention and acquisition of Cabbage Patch Kids. The mood was light, congenial and more revealing than any sound bites on self-proclaimed business acumen. My recalling the world-changing invention of Ford’s Model T got some interesting looks. (I used to be the youngest in the room–What happened?)
After dinner I gave my talk on having A Million Dollar Presence on a Zero Dollar Budget, which I subtitle, How I Got on the Today Show. It was followed by a lively Q+A and discussion. During my book signing I met many of the women, packed up and drove home in more rain.
Not two days later I received a personal, handwritten note from Chana thanking me for my contribution to her group. My talk was pro bono – I do one per quarter – so Chana was expressing her deep appreciation for my time. Enclosed was a $100 Shell gas gift card. What a brilliant gift! In this day and age, if you drive a car, the escalating cost of fueling it has become a major consideration. This was the perfect gesture and will be gratefully used, with Chana and LCBW in mind, when I fill my tank (at least once!).
I had the distinct honor and privilege of dining with esteemed members of Moffly Media as well as my co-panelists for the upcoming 4th Annual Women in Business event at Dolce in Norwalk. The theme is Entrepreneurship. I met Michele Ross of Letarte Swimwear, Kendra Farn of PGaryn Productions, Demi Ferraris of Vineyard Vines and Marit Price who will moderate the event. (I’m feeling very brunette…)
Kathy McShane, who heads up Ladies Who Launch in SW Connecticut is already a valued colleague. She was there and will be on the panel as well. What a great time we had! The purpose of getting together was to review the questions we’ll be asked as panelists, but we were having so much fun getting to know each other–and the table was rectangular, not round–which was less conducive to group conversation, so we bonded royally and promised to email our moderator with questions and comments.
I said to my table-mates, it felt like a rehearsal dinner for a wedding. The big event is coming, and now we know each other and will look forward to being together again.
I tell you this insider information to share that this is typical of how it is in business. Circumstances aren’t always as you expect or desire them to be, so you go with what is. The Marketing Director from Moffly made the wise call to allow the relationships among us to take seed and blossom.
If you want to see the gorgeous flowering of this garden, please join me on Tuesday, May 24 from 5:30-8:30pm. I heard that they’ve already sold more advance tickets than in any of the previous years, so please order soon. I wouldn’t want you to miss it.
Over 600 women attended the Hearts of Hope Women’s Benefit event that Linda Hunt (second from right) invited me to last week. The model for the Bridgeport Rescue Mission fund-raiser is to inspire women to become table hostesses and allow them to fill the room with friends and family members. Talking to other women during the cocktail hour, I sensed the excitement about this organization. The actual expense of the dinner is underwritten by sponsors. There is no cost to attend, which is wise. Why charge $25 when, after being awed by the words of a rehabilitated homeless woman, our hearts and pocketbooks opened wide.
Attendance soared from 150 in the first year of the event (2008) to 300 last year and over 600 in 2011. The formula is working.
Linda’s invitation to me came with the generous offer to bring a friend (see my post from last week). I even extended the offer to my readership and had the privilege of meeting a cyber-friend, Drew Lamm, in the flesh when she took me up on the offer to attend.
The evening flowed smoothly and well, especially considering the number of meals to serve, plates to clear, speakers to hear and money to be collected. My hat’s off to the Bridgeport Rescue Mission for their professionalism and respect for the audience’s time and resources. I felt that my attendance was of great value and that my donation would be appreciated.
The guest speaker, Elisa Morgan, drove home that point in her excellent talk which focused on a biblical quote, “She did what she could.” No ‘shoulds’ or ‘musts.’
I was inspired to be among so many women who were there to make a contribution as well as bear witness to how this organization has helped so many women in Fairfield County. I loved getting to sit next to Linda and have a more intimate conversation than a typical networking event would allow. And I relished having the abundance of time to be with my invited friend, Leigh, and my new acquaintance Drew. It was a winning evening all around.
During the final session of my winter Mastermind Group, I had participants close their eyes as I read three visualizations. We then debriefed each woman’s to establish a Life Purpose statement. Here’s what happened with Harriette Trevino, co-owner of Bull’s Head Printers in Monroe, CT.
At the start of our last meeting together, Harriette–high on the success of an event she’d hosted the night before–announced to everyone that she was “fully activated.” Like every other member of the Mastermind Group, Harriette had experienced the profound change that occurs when a group of like-minded individuals work together towards committed goals. For Harriette, it was a deep shift in her perspective on the job ahead. She was willing to do whatever it takes to be successful–meeting prospects in her new location, listening to and serving their needs with enthusiasm.
When it was Harriette’s turn to share the thoughts and images she envisioned, the Life Purpose statement that emerged was this: “I am the gentle breeze that lifts and inspires.”
The next day I received an email message from Harriette oozing with joy. After sleeping on her Life Purpose statement for one night, she got a note from a colleague thanking her for the event she’d hosted:
On a side note, your follow-up email below is no less masterfully written than was your MCing last night’s event. Not only were your remarks upbeat and the intros smooth as silk, but you lifted up everyone else who spoke as well. So big kudos to you for a super well done job.
Nice when you get an affirmation like that so quickly.
Although I’d never heard the expression, “open the kimono” before, I got its meaning the second my coaching buddy spoke those words during our conversation a few years ago. He was about to reveal a bit of closely-guarded information, and I was being alerted to that fact.
There was a lot of kimono opening at the NSA-CT event on Monday night where I served on a panel of four speakers who were sharing business models as well as career triumphs and tribulations.
I was in good company. My fellow panelists are my esteemed colleagues, and the audience was filled with other speakers for whom I have the highest regard. Jeffrey Scott, the current president of NSA-CT did an exceptional job as moderator.
Each of us had four minutes to introduce ourselves and speak briefly about how our businesses operated. I was completely candid sharing my income stream opportunities and where most of my income originates (coaching, not speaking, btw).
The evening was then turned over to the audience for Q + A. Jeffrey ably kept the pace upbeat and brisk and inserted provocative questions if there was a lull. For instance, he asked us each to share a memorable failure in the speaking business. One panelist described in excruciating detail (excruciating for him; enlightening for us) a situation he went into where he wasn’t 100% prepared and the discomfort that ensued. My memorable disaster was marketing my services to college art department chairs. Besides the fact that they most likely had no hiring power, my message at the time: You can make money selling your art! was probably not in alignment with their mission. I never found out because only one of the 30 I marketed to even responded…negatively.
The upside of that failure was that the head of the mentor program, where I was doing all of this preparatory work to reach my market, got to know me very well and witness my dedication and skills in marketing. She was impressed enough with these qualities that when an opportunity arose for her to recommend a speaker with those skills, I was her first choice. It resulted in my speaking for Staples stores all across the country for the next two years.
Another panelist spoke of her relationship with speakers bureaus and the less than positive taste it left after her experience with someone other than herself serving as go-between with the client. You could be years in the industry and have to suffer many hardships and learning curves to gain that one nugget of truthful experience.
The tenor of the evening was congenial and open. There was invigorating networking at the break and afterward, a telltale sign of a successful program. When the speaker and/or content aren’t filling the bill, crowds disperse post-haste. I highly recommend this format to every association that is open enough to offer its seasoned practitioners the platform to share best and worst practices with their peers. With a competent facilitator like Jeffrey, it’s a win-win event.
I’m honored and thrilled to be the EWN keynote speaker next Wednesday at the Norwalk Inn. I’ve been a member of the organization for 20 years. This is my first time ever speaking at a lunch event. Today, with so many things shut down due to snow, is the perfect day–a week in advance–to get everything in order. I can let it marinate over the next several days before going live.
My topic, a good one for the month of January, is It’s 2011: Do You Know Where Your Goals Are? Like I do for most projects I undertake, I created a mind-map for what I want to accomplish today. This visual allows me to see the multiple areas I need to spend time on, then designate the minutes or hours on my calendar for each item. My handwriting has become less legible, so here is the bulleted list seen in the spokes below:
- Finalize script- decide on illustrations
- Practice one hour
- Create packing list
- Figure out staffing for book sales
- Create handout
Here’s the take-away for anyone attending next week–You will participate in an exercise to identify a life or business-changing opportunity and create the accountability to take one step towards that vision.
I dare you to attend!
And I invite you to share this posting so others can take the dare too.
