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Terrie Williams
I’m a big believer in mining your files for ideas and opportunities that already exist and are in your back pocket. As I was clearing out my file cabinet last week, I came across an old EWN Newsletter featuring 20 Ways to Promote Yourself in Business by one of my all-time favorite business leaders and speakers, Terrie Williams.
I’d heard Terrie speak at an AWED (American Women’s Economic Development) Conference years ago, then again at my local networking organization not long after that. Her messages have resonated with me ever since hearing her stories at those events. The article summarizes that wisdom.
I emailed Terrie today to ask permission to share her ideas with my readers. I was hoping to hear back from her by week’s end. I got a response within 10 minutes with an emphatic “but of course!”
Thank you, Terrie, for your generosity then and now. Here’re the first 10 tips on her list of the “little things” that set us apart from the competition (slightly edited):
- Know that your reputation is valuable – and that it often reaches people before you do. Be sincere, be honest, be prepared, be professional, be thoughtful, be efficient–and delivers.
- Do what you say you’re going to do. If you can’t deliver on time (and reasons for this should only have to do with circumstances beyond your control) pick up the phone ASAP and say so. Make sure you meet the next deadline you set.
- Return all phone calls. You never know why a person may be calling.
- Treat everyone with respect and courtesy. A person’s position in life should have absolutely noting to do with how you interact with them. What goes around comes around.
- Be visible. Go to professional seminars, luncheons, receptions, dinners, any kind of gathering of folks. You have to be out there for people to notice you.
- When you meet people, be mindful. Look them in the eye, smile, be personable, have a firm handshake and actually be with the individual in that moment.
- Try to develop a knack for remembering names. People will be flattered if you can call them by name after only a brief introduction. Your recall is best when you want to remember.
- Be an active listener while you’re engaged in conversation. Politely excuse yourself if you feel yourself becoming bored or distracted.
- Create a “small talk” notebook for when you go out–anecdotes and/or questions you jot down about life or current events that are guaranteed to stimulate conversation. Be creative, even outrageous but always professional with your ideas. Ask people something about themselves. People do like to talk about their own lives and jobs.
- Be sensitive to the body language of those you come in contact with. And beware of how you come across to other people.
More coming later this week…
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Joan Cavanaugh - 75 today!
One of the first women I met when I joined EWN 20 years ago was a powerhouse business owner named Joan Cavanaugh. At the time, she owned a publishing company called W.J. Fantasy, Inc. which produced fine paper products–Advent Calendars, Games, Books, etc. illustrated by famous artists like Tomie dePaola. She was clearly a mover and shaker, and I liked her immediately. So much so that within a few months of meeting each other, she became my first recruit for my own Mastermind Group which has been operating continuously for two decades. I’ve watched Joan grow and sell W.J. Fantasy, move into voiceover work, and now teach corporate executives, women in particular, the extraordinary advantages of playing golf as a business-building tool.
You can read more about Joan’s rich history in her bio. She’s currently a client of mine, so I have a ringside seat to observe her formidable talents and vision. Joan WILL tilt the Universe with her dynamic approach to business and life. She’s writing a book, lecturing at universities and in the Boardroom teaching and modeling the advantages this sport provides for leveling the playing field.
I’ve watched Joan in action over the years. Whatever she takes on, she is 100% committed to its success. She is truly unstoppable, and anyone around her is sure to get swept up in her enthusiasm, spirit and business savvy. She works with students at the High School of Art & Design and brings them on board to help her with marketing. Joan recently hand-delivered chocolate golf balls to industry leaders with whom she’d like to network.
I knew that today was her birthday, but had never asked what number she’s celebrating. When she said “75″ I almost fell over. I love having a role model who is as enthusiastic, smart, energized and on track as Joan Cavanaugh. If you are looking for some inspiration during a dry spell, visit Joan’s site and take heart. There is no finish line as an entrepreneur. Joan is as excited about life and business today as when I met her back in the early 90′s.
Happy Birthday, Joan!
I love watching a conversion.
In the first module of my webinar series I talk about creating a vision for your business/life. I offer two methods for doing that–a vision board or a written statement. This week I had the opportunity to review visions with one of my webinar participants, Sandy Lovell.
Sandy has been very successful in her career and was in a transitional phase when she signed on for my class. I could tell from our conversations that she was holding herself back, not dreaming big enough. During this week’s Q+A session, she admitted to having begun, but not completed, the vision board assignment. I counter-offered, and Sandy said she was willing to write a vision statement instead which included outrageous, stretch goals and desires.
As we talked on the phone, I suggested a weekly massage as part of her self-care regimen in her vision. She simply laughed at the preposterousness of the idea. Although it felt too indulgent, she promised to add it to her written vision.
Sandy joined in again on the next Q+A call and immediately opened the conversation with, “You won’t believe this! I did what you said. Wrote the vision statement, and in today’s email, I received a groupon deal for a massage. I signed up. How did that happen?!”
It’s The Secret in action, the law of attraction. That you bring into your life what you think about. Writing it down and cutting and pasting pictures of your desires hastens the process and directs the universe–and your attention–towards your particular longings.
Tomorrow I leave for an envisioned vacation. I’m traveling to the Caribbean for a cruise – Holistic Holiday at Sea. Years ago my table mate at EWN told me that every six weeks she takes a week off. I made a mental note of that ambitious and luxurious goal and am beginning my own manifestation of it. I was a guest presenter at a spa in Mexico in December, now vacationing in the tropics in March. Not quite six weeks, but wonderfully in the right direction.
I’ll be out to sea for a week. No phone. No email. Nothing but the ocean, nature and R+R. I highly recommend your following my lead as often as possible.
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When I spoke for the Women’s Council of Realtors in September, I gave out three copies of my CD How I Got on the Today Show to winners of the Networking Bingo game we played.
One of the recipients, Birgit Anich, took the time to send me not only a beautifully composed thank you note, but also an attractively packaged gift of cookies. I’d met her several times at EWN events, but her generous gratitude for the CD has now made her indelibly sealed in my positive memory bank.
She wrote:
In particular I wanted to thank you and express my gratitude for your CD. I cannot stop listening to it over and over again. I have been featured a few times on local TV, newspaper, online communities. However, my goal is to get on HGTV and I know that getting on national TV is a completely different ball game and persistence. Your CD give me great ideas on how to get further prepared for this. Thank you!!!!
Want someone to remember you? Take a moment today to say ‘thanks’ in a meaningful way.
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.
On my way home from a look-see in NJ on Monday, I experienced a profound sense of joy. It was a combination of moments that added up to a burst of feeling in my body that I wanted to embrace and explore.
Here are the elements that composed that exquisite awareness:
- It was a glorious June day.
- I hit NO traffic on my round-trip to New Jersey.
- I needed to see a space for an event I’m facilitating, and it was perfect and inspiring.
- I had gotten a virus on my Mac laptop and made a convenient appointment at the Apple store Genius Bar en route to have it removed. (Sidebar – My curiosity got the better of me, and I clicked on a link to see the infamous boxer shorts and paid the price. Ugh!)
- When checking messages on my voicemail I heard one from Barbara Bigford whom I had recently blogged about and consider a rock star. Another thrill.
- That night was EWN’s Grand Networking Event which is an annual high point where I get to hang out with my entrepreneurial clients, friends and colleagues.
When I talk about success, I say that it’s being in the present moment with your desired outcomes and acknowledging that you’re there. Otherwise, it’s always about striving. Monday was a really successful day.
My friend and colleague Lynne Marino (in the bright red jacket–her signature color) recently shared an article that had inspired her–a copy of a lecture by William Deresiewicz, a Yale professor, given to a West Point plebe class last March. It was entitled Solitude and Leadership.
Lynne had just heard me tell an audience of EWN members that spending quiet time, especially in meditation, is essential to being a successful entrepreneur.
I was eager to see the connection. Lynne warned me that the download was lengthy, but worth the read. I printed out the 8 pages and found a quiet time during the recent snowstorm to sit by the fire and read it. (I include this level of detail, because I’m always curious how others find reading time in their lives.) Here are my take-aways:
- That solitude, “the ability to be alone with your thoughts…is one of the most important necessities of true leadership.”
- That these amazingly gifted students (at Yale and West Point) “had been trained to be world-class hoop jumpers…i.e. ‘excellent sheep.’”
- “My first thought is never my best thought.”
- The answers “can only be found within–without distractions, without peer pressure, in solitude.”
- And my favorite quote from the entire article: “Introspection means talking to yourself, and one of the best ways of talking to yourself is by talking to another person.”
I often don’t know what I’m truly thinking until I’m in conversation with someone else and the words come out of my mouth. Solitude is critical. I practice it twice daily in my meditation practice. It’s how I’ve created so much clarity in my life. Voicing it out loud to another seals the knowing in my mind, and it becomes part of my DNA.
Who needs solitude? You do. Are you getting as much as you need?
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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.
Sharon Leichsenring, artist extraordinaire, paints murals in people’s homes and workspaces. She doesn’t depend upon people spelling her name correctly to find her at SharonPaintsMurals.com–a wise move when you have a challenging last name to remember, pronounce and spell. Make it easy for people to find you.
Sharon and I met a few years ago through EWN – the Entrepreneurial Woman’s Network. I’ve been enjoying Sharon’s newsletters and seeing her at my Remarkable Women’s Network events since we met.
Last week Sharon attended my talk to the Working Women’s Forum in Sandy Hook, CT where I shared my top strategies for business success. One sorely overlooked tip I included was saying “thank you” as part of your sales cycle as well as everyday courtesy. While email and phone thank you’s are fine, the hand-written thank you note stands out now more than ever. Sharon added the cherry on top to my suggestion.
“One of my clients was so pleased with the mural I painted for them that they had a stamp made of the painting. As a thank you, they sent me a sheet of these precious images. I now get to decide who is ‘stamp-worthy’ when I write my thank you’s!”
Sign up to receive Sharon’s newsletters and find out more about her offerings here.
Heather Habelka told me that when she used to play with dolls, she didn’t cast them as family members like mother, father, sister and brother. Nor did she pretend that they were students and she the teacher. When she was growing up, she told me recently, her dolls were customers. “I always knew I wanted to own my own business.”
Heather has been on my radar for about a year now since we met at a networking event. I think it was Ladies Who Launch. I remembered meeting her when I saw her again at another event a month or so later. Over the year I watched and listened, noticed and became inspired.
One colleague hired her for a project after meeting her at my Remarkable Women’s Network event and was very pleased with Heather’s work. I sat in on a roundtable when Heather was speaking and heard her wisdom voiced to the participants. Recently Heather sent me a note letting me know the impact of my groups on her business.
The point is, and I want to make this very clear, marketing is NOT sending out an e-mail blast. Look at the arc of my relationship with Heather as an example of how many hits and drips it’s taken for me to make the phone call to hire Heather. This goes for being hired as well as hiring. There are few silver bullets, so much of the work of entrepreneurship is staying mentally, professionally and emotionally fit for the long run, the marathon of success.
The impetus to pick up the phone, finally, came when I received an offer from Heather in the EWN goody bag at the Grand Networking Event. It was a beautifully presented card with a well-stated message that fit my time frame and pocketbook. Marketing is not a) attending networking events, b) being a great ambassador for what you do, c) sending out mailings, d) acknowledging others and forwarding relationships, but e) all of the above; rinse and repeat.
P.S. At lunch today I sat next to Sherrie Norton, a creative designer and construction manager. I asked her if she knew early on that she had this interest in shaping space. She told me that, as a kid, when she shoveled snow or raked leaves, she always made it into a floor plan. Some lucky people, like Heather and Sherrie, were born to their businesses. And, they still have to market.
