Game Plan: How One Designer Rocks Viral Marketing

By Nancy Colasurdo - FOXBusiness

If there’s one group of folks who know how to work the blogosphere, it’s the fashionistas.

I learned firsthand recently that if there’s one group of folks who know how to work the blogosphere, it’s the fashionistas. Upon the death of designer Alexander McQueen, I crafted a simple blog post on Feb. 11 that said      “R.I.P. Alexander McQueen” and attached a photo of three pairs of shoes he had designed for Lady Gaga. Even now, well over a month later, that random post still brings an inordinate amount of traffic to my site.

So when fashion designer Stacy M. Igel told me about her recent experience of significantly increasing her business using vigilance in the virtual world, I sat up and listened intently. She is the founder and creative director of Boy Meets Girl, a brand that according to its Web site, “has been featured in most major fashion publications and in countless premier specialty and department stores worldwide including Bloomingdales, Saks Fifth Avenue, Fred Segal, Lisa Kline and Intuition.”

Community Lenders Can Offer Start-Ups Lift

By Emily Maltby, WSJ.com
A growing number of the nation's lenders are pursuing a speciality that could make them a promising source of funding for small-business owners and entrepreneurs who don't qualify for traditional bank loans.

Small banks, credit unions, nonprofit groups and others are seeking to join the 859 lenders that have been designated by the government as Community Development Financial Institutions.

How to Prepare for a Broadcast Interview

By Diana Pisciotta, Inc.com

An appearance on CNBC or an interview on NPR can help to make or break your company's reputation. Here's how to prepare for your big moment:

Participating in a broadcast interview conducted by a television reporter can certainly be exciting—or nerve wracking, depending on your perspective.  The presence of a camera frequently changes the dynamic between the reporter and the subject.  And it is true that there are some different factors that you need to consider before an interview with the broadcast press.

High Fliers: Top 50 Women-Led Companies

By Colleen Debaise, The Wall Street Journal 
A supply-chain management company from Edison, N.J., has been ranked the No. 1 fastest-growing women-led company in the U.S., according to an annual ranking by trade group Women Presidents' Organization.

Argent Associates Inc., which specializes in the telecommunications industry, posted $115 million in annual revenues in 2009, a jump from $9.2 million in 2007. Founder Beatriz Manetta attributes the growth spurt, noteworthy in an otherwise stagnant economy, to an increase in clients' imports from China and India that are assembled in her warehouses.

Free cash for your business

Small business grants are rare, but they do exist. Here's how to find them.
Eilene Zimmerman, CNNMoney.com contributing writer

When hunting for cash, desperate small business owners may find themselves sucked into buying books and software packages promising "Billions in Free Grants!" from Web sites with names like NeverPayItBack.com, or hiring consultants who promise to find them gads of money. All they're likely to get, though, are empty promises.

Grants are rare, but the information you need to find and apply for legitimate ones is publicly available and free. For qualifying businesses, there really are opportunities to land free money from state, county and city governments, as well as private foundations and corporations.

Sales Tips From the World's Toughest Customers

Entrepreneurs are beating down the doors to sell stuff to Corporate America. Here's how to move to the front of the line.

By Kasey Wehrum, Inc.com

Most business owners have a dream client in mind. And in many cases, the hero of that dream is a blue-chip, deep-pocketed, major corporation. As it happens, executives at big companies are forever on the lookout for new suppliers that can help their businesses run more smoothly, faster, and more efficiently. Procurement professionals spend trillions of dollars a year purchasing products and services -- many of them from small, entrepreneurial companies. Intuit alone depends on some 3,800 suppliers in an average year.

When Expenses Are Really Investments

Companies that grow during tough times know the difference.
By Sherre DeMao,  Entreprenuer.com

As a business owner, you've probably heard this from customers making cutbacks: "I can't afford the expense at this time." The domino effect has likely caused you to view everything as an expense as well. When times get tough, companies tend to curtail or cease spending. Everything that costs money is viewed as an expense.

Some business owners don't need an economic downturn to have an "expense only" mind-set. This mind-set is one of the biggest downfalls of businesses in general. If everything is viewed as an expense, then decisions are based not on a growth model but rather a survival model. Those who start a business wanting only to survive are sabotaging their ability to make sound, strategic decisions that will grow and sustain their businesses.

Foursquare Introduces New Tools for Businesses

By Nick Bilton, The NY Times
www.foursquare.com | Foursquare’s new statistics page will share information about users with business owners.
 

Foursquare, a location-based social network, plans to distribute a free analytics tool and dashboard in the coming weeks that will give business owners access to a range of information and statistics about visitors to their establishments.

Tristan Walker, director of business development at Foursquare, said that the latest features were intended to help local merchants run their stores by giving them more information about their customers.

“We’re trying to give businesses more retention with current customers and the ability to add new customers with specials,” said Mr. Walker.

Foursquare is a service that allows users to share their location with a group of friends from “checking in” to a restaurant, business or other venue when they arrive. The company encourages the businesses to recognize Foursquare users in some fashion, such as a bar awarding free drinks to their most frequent customers.

Reach out and Touch Someone: Marketing Your Product and/or Service

By Kathi Boyle, Program Director, CEED

Marketing is doing what needs to be done to have your product and/or service recognized, found, and appreciated in the market place.
Marketing is the lifeblood of your business.  Without it, there will be no sales.  As Skip Ross, the author of Say YES to your Potential says “The only activity that will ever help you succeed is the one that you do!”  This is certainly applicable in marketing.
In many ways, marketing is a trial-and-error process.  It becomes easier to predict what will work when you clearly identify your target market – the population most likely to purchase from you.  There are four basic aspects of marketing, often referred to as the “4 Ps of Marketing”: product, price, place, and promotion.  Each of these is dependent upon the target market:

Time Management: It’s Personal

By Sheila Hawkins, CEO, Third Eye Group

Time!  There never seems to be enough of it to get in all of the things we want or need to do.  One reason we never seem to have what we consider to be enough time is that time is elusive.  It’s intangible.  We can’t see or touch it, it can’t be captured or moved and it’s hard to conceptualize. 

If we can change our perception of time and develop a more tangible view of it and change our habits, we can master it.  First we must realize that since time is not a tangible thing, there really is no such thing as time management.  Time management is self management; we have to manage ourselves. 

How to Make the Most of Your NetWorks for Women Referrals

NetWorks for Women members, if you've filled out your profile, you have most likely received several business connection or referral requests from our internal referral engine lately. Most premier members are receiving ten or more referrals a week. If you are wondering what do with your referrals, we're here to help. 

Big Tax Breaks for Small Businesses

 John Spano, Esq. - Mar 2010 - LegalZoom.com

 
Many small businesses experienced a boom during the years before the financial collapse of this recession. Those healthy profits produced big tax bills. Now, with a lean economy, reclaiming some of the taxes paid in the good years is not only possible, it’s easy.

Tax Breaks for Small Business

The Kauffman Foundation that although 70% of small business owners had no plans to increase employment in 2010, 85% believe the United States is a great place to start a small business.  So while optimism is increasing that the economy is bottoming out, there are real benefits available right now that some struggling entrepreneurs may have overlooked.

10 Financial Mistakes Women Business Owners Make – And How to Avoid Them

by Leah Arnold, CFP

During an interview last week, I was asked what some of the top mistakes women in business make when they’re starting, when they’re growing, and when they’re mature. It was a great question, and it made me remember a particular class session of our Academy series in February of 2008, where we addressed some of these issues. It also reminded me how reticent female entrepreneurs can be to ask for help.
So, it made perfect sense to lay out the most prevalent mistakes (or issues) I see with my clients, and how to avoid them. If you have others you think should be here…feel free to chime in with a comment, and let us know!
 

The Mothers of Invention

By Dale Buss, Wall Street Journal, Feb 8, 2010

When these women saw a need for healthier children's fare, they decided to become entrepreneurs. And they're making their mark on the food business.

When Mary Schulman was introducing her company's new line of children's snacks, Snikiddy Baked Fries, to supermarket executives a few months ago, one of them predicted that the parmesan-garlic flavor wouldn't be popular with kids.But Ms. Schulman knew better. She already had tested it with a handpicked focus group—her young children, Sunny and Sadie. "That flavor is my kids' favorite," says Ms. Schulman. "So I wasn't worried."

Heeding maternal instincts has worked well for Ms. Schulman and a number of other women who have launched food and beverage companies in the past few years. Most of them had a common motivation: They couldn't find products that were nutritious enough for their kids—and they saw an entrepreneurial opportunity in filling the gap.

Moving Your Business to a Smaller Market

By Barbara Taylor, NY Times

I recently ran across an article in The San Francisco Chronicle titled “Big City Blues” in which the author described his struggle over whether to leave the Bay Area and move his family to a more affordable city. While I found myself nodding my head in agreement, I had to laugh at the way he put the process in terms of ending a long-term relationship.

I had a similar break-up with Seattle back in 2003. Given today’s economic climate, our move now seems prescient. Back then it was based on frustrations like a three-hour daily commute, and a growing discomfort with housing prices. Like so many business people, we were constantly running the numbers in terms of both our personal and professional goals. But we kept coming to the same conclusion: We just couldn’t make it work in a city as expensive as Seattle.

NetWorks for Women Launches Web's Only Womens Business Referral Engine

Business Referrals and Connections Delivered to Member Inboxes.

January 25, 2010

The number one complaint of women in business networking organizations is the lack of business referrals. In 2010, NetWorks for Women, a women only business networking community, launched their internal business referral engine, which matches member profiles, and automatically delivers business referrals and connections to members via email.

Our Premium members will recieve referrals from all membership levels, and our basic members will recieve matches from other basic members. If you have not completed or updated your profile, you could be missing out on strategic alliances, strong network partners, and business referrals!  Our business is building yours!

Media Friendly Online Newsrooms - Components and Best Practices

By Marcia Yudkin, Ezinearticles.com

In a 2009 survey of thousands of journalists by TEKgroup International, 43% said it was difficult to find a company's newsroom, and more than half said it was hard to find the name of the company's media contact and how to reach him or her. That's a dismal level of meeting the needs of those who are in a position to give your organization invaluable exposure and credibility.

To avoid frustrating media people who come to your site thinking they might want to highlight your company in a story, follow these eight best practices.

1. Navigation. Use obvious signage in the structure of your web site for the location of your online newsroom. By far, the best option is a major navigation link called simply "News," "Press" or "Media." Second best is offering the information the media need in the "About the Company" section of the site.

Tips From Unstoppable Women Entrepreneurs

By Barbara Mannino - FOXBusiness

Four odds-beating business owners on what it takes to become your own boss – and not just survive but prosper.

Women across the U.S. are increasingly coming into their own as business owners. Many of these gutsy innovators tackled challenges and stopped at nothing to launch their now-successful businesses. Four such entrepreneurs told FOXBusiness.com what put them in the driver's seat for good.

10 Must-Do Marketing Tips for 2010

Ivana Taylor, Open Small Business, 12/17/09

One of the most common questions I get asked is what marketing activities pack the most punch when there are so many to choose from?  If you’ve been asking yourself that same question, then you’re in luck.  I’ve pulled my most popular tips for small business owners right here:

1. Get on Your Soapbox:  A solid brand position is rooted in a passionate commitment to the customer.  What do you believe about your industry, product or service?  What possibilities are you creating for your customer?  What’s your customer’s burning issue and in what ways does your company solve it.  Get on your soapbox, speak and write passionately about it and your ideal customer will be drawn to the message.

Maximize Your Networking Potential

By Cynthia McKay
WomenEntrepreneur.com

Reviewing my reports from 10 years ago, I calculated the number of product and franchise sales I acquired as a result of networking. In fact, the number of job offers I got was astounding--and I wasn't even pursuing a new career. Networking is a fine art and should be taken seriously. Some individuals think that networking is simply a vehicle for self-promotion and a venue for selling. But the personal relationships you cultivate are much more important, and those face-to-face interactions will establish you as a friend, confidant, reference and a pillar in the community. No kidding.