RE:INVENTION, a Chicago Marketing and PR firm - specializing in B2B marketing - HELPS COMPANIES MARKET THEIR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES TO WOMEN. Welcome to our blog. Explore our toolbox and learn how women-targeted marketing and PR can boost your sales and profits. Visit re:invention's corporate website at: www.reinventioninc.com.
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RE:INVENTION'S SHOE OF THE WEEK™ ...TATTERED OLD SHOES (SIGNALLING THE LOOMING GLOBAL DEPRESSION).
SMART WOMAN QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"We encourage all our fellow men and woman to buy at least two stocks to help with the global economic crisis. We want everyone to step up and help in any way that they can. This is a huge crisis we face, but together we can make a difference. Do not just sit by and watch."
-- Jackie Christie, Fashion Guru/Founder of film production company, Infinite Love Productions.
RE:INVENTION'S "VENTURE FUNDING FOR WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS" REPORT
Many appreciations to Scott Kiekbusch (A Fresh Design), Tony J. (CrashShop), Dan T. (Core12), Peter D., and Ann K. for their work sprucing up this BLOG. 4 good men & 1 great woman.
We began this blog with appreciations, a Whole Foods Market tradition. We thank our mentors, our business partners, our clients, and our readers. Thank you for giving re:invention wings.
CLOUDS
re:invention writes about...
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
RE: Microsoft Surface - and Women.
After five l-o-n-g years of development, introducing... Microsoft Surface - sure to be a hit with the ladies (especially working women with kids!)...
A 30-inch digital table top display screen that can be placed anywhere you like. No keyboard, no mouse, touch-sensitive, intuitive, and "family style" (responsive to multiple users at a time). The surface simply comes to life for exploring, learning, sharing, buying and creating. The first Surface units will hit streets this Winter in distribution partnership with Sheraton, T-Mobile, and more.
Color me giddy, tech girl geek that I am. Imagine being in NYC and wanting to visit a museum with your kids. Duck inside a Starbucks, use Surface to map directions and buy tickets while your kids eat a muffin and watch a kids' movie promo ad on the screen. And the in-home e-learning implications (if the price ever dips below $10K a pop to mass market affordable) could be huge! Of course, little kids have a tendency to spill things and "teeth" on the edges of coffee tables so Microsoft will need to do some major product form problem solving...
RE: The Business of Superheroes. As a child, I was a fan of the animated television series, SuperFriends. In one of my favorite episodes, a villain tried to steal Superman's strength and Wonder Woman rescued him. Women superheroes have as much power as male superheroes (there are simply fewer of them).
"By the power of my magic lasso, I command you to return Superman's powers," Wonder Woman said to the villain. "It's working. Thank heavens!" exclaimed Superman. In the end, Wonder Woman and Superman defeated the villain together, strengthened their super powers, and continued in their mutual Justice League mission to save the world...
On SuperFriends, justice always prevailed. In real life there are no superheroes. Human strength has limits. We're breakable. Sadly, there are many real life villains. When they wear the right costume, it can be difficult to tell the difference between villain and good man.
Editor's Post Script Note: Want to know the power of SEOs and Blogs? Google: there are no superheroes. Out of 2 million returned results, this post ranks #1.
RE: Entrepreneurs and Exercise. Apparently entrepreneurs exercise more than leadership, common sense judgment, patience, and foresight. They exercise their MUSCLES! According to the OPEN from American Express Small Business Monitor...
Fifty-nine percent of small business owners report exercising several times a week with nearly one-quarter exercising every day. Nearly three in ten business owners with companies over $1 million in revenues say they exercise EVERY DAY.
Note to Nike: ten percent of all female business owners even report that they "come up with their best ideas while exercising" -- five times more than men. (10% vs. 2%).
The world desperately needs more women media spokespersons and women in academia are ripe for the task. According to the Global Media Monitoring Project (2005) and the White House Project....
Women make up only 21 percent of all people featured in the news.
Women represent only 14 percent of all company spokespersons and 17 percent of all experts quoted in the news.
Women are twice as likely as men to be portrayed as victims in the news.
Women represent a mere 14 percent of all Sunday morning political talk show guest appearances.
It's up to women to change the way women are portrayed in business and the media (both traditional and alternative media). If not YOU, then WHO?
Links to the tools I shared can be found on the left hand navigation bar of this blog.
Speaking doesn't come easy to me. The women in the room always give me inspiration.
The Power 150 Index is a ranking of the top marketing blogs globally. Automated with daily updates, the index uses a multimetric algorithm based on the sum of four unique sources: Google PageRank, Bloglines Subscribers, Technorati Ranking, and Todd Points.
Microsoft, Cisco, AT&T and the Women's Business Enterprise National Council have partnered together to create www.biztechconnect.com, a free Web resource to help women and minority entrepreneurs use the Internet and other technology to help grow their businesses. Site registrants get access to technical training "modules" such as marketing and advertising, customer relationship management, financial management, communications and mobility, free online business applications, and tools and services.
Although there are low numbers of women in IT or running IT related businesses, studies have shown that women business owners tend to be forward-thinking when it comes to technology. According to the Center for Women's Business Research, women business owners are more likely than male business owners to embrace technology as part of their business strategy and more likely to have a website with transaction capability. Case in point: 83 percent of all National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) members have a website!
In spite of that fact, a 2004 study by the Urban Institute suggested that if women and minorities took greater advantage of technology, it could boost the U.S. economy by $200 billion a year.
SITE EVALUATION
Check out the front page! One woman being admired by four hot (diverse!) young men. NOW THAT'S THE WAY IT SHOULD BE! LOL!
User interface, once you get beyond the home page, is kinda clunky. Women expect and prefer intuitive design.
The user manual is pretty nifty!
Really decent and informative content.
Every single stock photo features a woman in a corporate conservative suit. Seriously, where did they get these images? From the 1980s? How many entrepreneurs wear blue suits and white button down shirts? Not one photo of a young student woman entrepreneur. No photos of senior women.
Best site content by far is the industry expert videos, in partnership with SBTV.
No two way communication. They are telling, not asking. They could allow women to share and build community.
The site is begging for SEO/SEM improvements. No site title tags, no meta key words, no meta description tags, even home page copy doesn't talk much about women and minorities.
RE: Women's Professional Organizations 101: Braveheart Global Community.
At RE:INVENTION, we often feature women's professional organizations in an effort to connect women entrepreneurs with local support communities and educate busy corporate executives who are considering sponsorship opportunities.
Today we feature BraveHeart Global Community.
Organization Overview: Braveheart Global Community, formed this month, is a members-only club designed to motivate women entrepreneurs "like nothing before." Braveheart already boasts 100 members ("purposeful women looking for the chance to thrive in confidence and thereby create prosperity"). The organization's stated mission is to inspire women to discover their inner values, assist them in creating professional prosperity, and create a community of visionary leaders who contribute to global prosperity. The organization's growth goal? 1,000 members in the next 90 days.
Buzzwords: Women entrepreneurs, purpose, prosperity
For Friday fun, a personal blog! I recently went back to my natural haircolor (brunette). Although I've often scoffed at the idea, it's a woman's right to change her mind. Finally found the right motivation for re:invention. Goodbye Barbie, hello Wonder Woman. Brunette feels better the second time around.
Kirsten, Circa 1990 (Michigan State grad photo)
Kirsten, Circa 2006 (Professional headshot)
Kirsten, May 10, 2007 (Taken with camera phone)
There's a story brewing in my mind...B-to-B-to-B in business (brunette to blonde to brunette). Are you out there harboring your own story about a hair color change and the powerful impact it had on your confidence or your business image? Dare you to share your personal story of transformation in blog comments.
I have repeatedly heard from the leaders of Women's Business Centers (WBC) around the country that they are experiencing problems receiving their grants from the Small Business Administration (SBA), and I request that you immediately undertake an investigation into this matter.
For a number of years, the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship has received complaints from WBCs about the process of applying and receiving grants from the SBA's Office of Women's Business Ownership. According to their stories, the process is unnecessarily lengthy and arduous. Information is repeatedly requested from WBCs and then lost. There have been cases where the same information is requested 10 or even 12 times. In addition, the process lacks clear guidelines and transparency. A WBC may believe that they supplied all necessary information, only to be told months later that they must supply additional documentation. As a result of these and other shortcomings, the grants are often disbursed months or even years after the quarter in which the expenses were incurred. Since most WBCs rely on SBA funding as a major source of funding, this delayed reimbursement can be disastrous, especially for new or small WBCs.
It is simply unacceptable that WBCs continue to struggle to receive funding from the SBA. Therefore, I request that you undertake a full and complete investigation to determine the extent of any problems with the grant disbursal process and make recommendations on how to improve it.
If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact Karen Radermacher on my staff at 202-224-5175. Thank you for your attention to these matters.
Sincerely, John Kerry
Now if Kerry would just write the letter about the failure of the government to meet the 5% procurement goal....
We've mentioned it before here at RE:INVENTION Marketing. Create new news and deliver groundbreaking research, and you can land yourself in media's lap. Another secret to success? Make the common uncommon. So says John Moore (blogger, brilliant author, man who stepped into Kirsten Osolind's shoes as Whole Foods Market's National Marketing Director when she left to pursue her entrepreneurial dream).
TODAY'S BITE SIZE SAMPLE CASE STUDY Today's case study features Kelly Styring, principal consultant at research firm InsightFarm Inc. Styring and her husband live on a small farm in Newberg, Oregon. In 2006, Styring interviewed 100 women, ages 18 to 64, in shopping malls from Portland to Dallas, cataloguing the content of their purses. She discovered 30 amusing and remakable "purse categories" and wrote a comprehensive report about her findings, "In Your Purse: Archeology of the American Handbag."
Then Styring....
Tied her findings to national statistics and trends.
Super smart services biz marketing, Styring. Harry Beckwith (Selling the Invisible) would be proud! You go girl! Now all you need to do is launch the Styring blog.
RE: "Most Entrepreneurs Are Liars!" Chirps Wayne Hogue.
Most entrerpreneurs are liars! So chirps Wayne Hogue, full-time instructor of management at Louisiana State University (LSU) and director of the internship program for LSU's College of Business:
"Most new businesses fail...The literature, both academic and popular writing, is littered with a multitude of reasons for the high failure rate...The experts may actually be over-analyzing the phenomenon, the answer actually is simple: most entrepreneurs are liars. While it cannot explain all failures, a large percentage of business failures can be blamed on entrepreneurs lying ... not to their bankers or CPAs or anybody ... but to themselves."
Piqued our interest today. Wasn't it just yesterday that Seth Godin called ALL MARKETERS LIARS? Jiminy Cricket! We are just taking it on the chin (or maybe the nose). So we surfed the Net a bit to make ourselves feel better...
First, we stumbled upon Penelope Trunk, Boston Globe columnist and editor of the Brazen Careerist Blog, who has a very different perspective. Back in 2004, she wrote a great blog post titled, "Improve Your Performance By Lying To Yourself." Then we encountered Professor John Maeda, MIT Media Lab Associate Director and editor of Maeda Simplicity Blog. Maeda once wrote: "by lying to yourself, you are often able to innovate. You trick yourself into believing you are headed somewhere wonderful... a careful cocktail of lying and honesty seems to be a good apertif when approaching a creative task. Start from the lie, and find your way back to honesty. Pinocchio had it right."
Just goes to show you that there is more than one way to look at things. Perhaps the answer isn't as black and white as it seems. Shades of THE SECRET. Phew! We feel a little less bad about ourselves. Happy too, because we were able to share a little "link love" along the way...
And as for that chirping noise that crickets make? It's a signalling call to attract females. No lie.
Shout out to Denise Farris of Farris Law Firm LLC, Stilwell, Kansas, who was named 2007 Women in Business Champion of the Year for the district. The firm specializes in general business law, commercial construction and equine law in Missouri and Kansas.
Farris is a founding member of the Kansas City Council of Women Business Owners and worked with the local chapter of the National Association of Women in Construction and the Kansas Women’s Business Center on legalities and certification procedures for minority and women enterprises. She is the public policy chairwoman for the Kansas City chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners and a national partner for Women Impacting Public Policy.
Way to go, Denise. Congratulations on your achievements!
Read our archives of tips from women entrepreneurs & executives. NOMINATE a 10 Tips Expert! Leverage their credibility! Click on the 10 Tips Badge above to learn more.
Microsoft, Cisco, AT&T and the Women's Business Enterprise National Council have partnered together to create 
