Thursday, September 30, 2004
RE: Buyers Don't Network.
Had coffee last Friday afternoon (one of the few and final balmy days in Chicago) with Dan Limbach, VP of Marketing at Siren Interactive and Fast Company Circle of Friends - Chicago fearless leader. I think Dan is near genius and adorably unassuming. The antithesis of an Alpha Male. Dan forgets this perhaps, but he once asked me to speak at a Chicago Fast Company Circle of Friends meeting not long after I launched my blog and wrote my first article for Marketingprofs.com. I declined. I don't like speaking in public. I don't consider myself an intellectual prophet (most wear me out, not unlike my high school teachers). And I don't think I have very much to say. I also wasn't a big Fast Co. fan (long before it was cool to whisper, "please re-tool Fast Co.") because of the "love-hate relationship" I was developing with Heath Row.
NO, Steve Manning. Heath Row and Seth Godin are NOT the same person. Heath has some hair.
Dan and I started talking about networking - he laughed when I told him "I know nobody." Why does everybody laugh when I say that? I CLEARLY don't know anybody. And before long our discussion drifted to a common theme:
BUYERS DON'T NETWORK.
Oh - they used to network. Back in the good ol' boy tech days (here in Chicago the days of KnockNow, First Tuesday, and i-Street events) everybody -- their mother, lover, and brother -- was out "networking." They'd hang out and hold hands and sing kumbaya, posture about their businesses and share leads.
But today if you go to an event -- Chamber of Commerce, NAWBO, Fast Company Circle of Friends, practically any business networking event -- one thing is clear. The buyers aren't there anymore. All that's left is a room full of quota-crazy salespeople stumbling over one another.
The buyers don't want to be there. They don't have to be there. Their time is increasingly valuable and they don't want to be bothered with insipid pitches. Buyers don't network. According to Michelle Miller over at Wonderbranding, women buyers particularly dislike networking.
To me, online social networking is seemingly headed the same way. Quite of few of my most influential and cherished LinkedIn network contacts have discovered "invitation block." They don't WANT anyone new in their network. A few of them take great pride in limiting access to their network. Oh you can connect with alumni and former company peers...but SPAM someone of influence with an email to ask for advice or help and they generally ignore your request or decline.
Heck - Seth himself declined an opportunity for a walk-on guest star role in re:invention's soap opera blog, As Entrepreneurs Churn. A WALK-ON ROLE THAT REQUIRED ZERO ACTION ON HIS PART. Why? Because Seth is a buyer. He doesn't have to accept. Editor's note: I discontinued re:invention's courageous foray into online editorialized product placement, i.e., our soap opera blog, not long thereafter.
So what's a good and gracious gal to do when the buyers don't come out to play anymore?
Last week, Seth declared it doesn't matter who you know anymore. Seth is ever the sage. I guess the bell has tolled for "networking up, down, and over." Just like the Alpha male, it's kinda washed up. Buyers don't network.
I mean, how many of you USE LinkedIn successfully anyway?
alright. whatever.
P.S. For those of you with more intellectual minds, don't just listen to ME. Read what guru John Dvorak over at PC Magazine has to say about it in his article, "Business Networking Systems, Dead Already?" He calls it "good in theory, laughable in practice."
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
RE: Woe to the Woman Entrepreneur Who Doesn't Have Multiple Mentors
The Stevie Awards for Women Entrepreneurs finalists were announced earlier this week. Several of my mentors are among the finalists, including Tory Johnson (Women for Hire), Leslie Grossman (Women's Leadership Exchange), and Yvonne Divita (Smart Marketing to Women Online). The awards are produced by the creators of the American Business Awards, hailed as "the business world's own Oscars" by the New York Post. Finalists were chosen from among 600 submitted nominations in 18 categories. re:invention's advisory board chairperson, Deborah House, is also a finalist for the "Mentor of The Year" category.
Got me thinking this morning about mentors. Having started my career at SBC Communications with stints at Coke and General Mills, I know the advantages and disadvantages of formal mentoring programs. As an entrepreneur, you usually need to seek out your own mentors. Woe to the woman entrepreneur who doesn't have multiple mentors. Much like you diversify your investments, you should diversify your mentor portfolio. A diversified mentor portfolio will earn you a reasonable return over a long period while limiting risk.
A short list of the types of mentors a woman entrepreneur should considering having in her portfolio:
1. Corporate mentors, to encourage you to think big.
2. Entrepreneurial mentors, to help you navigate the road to success and empathize with you when you feel small.
3. A not-for-profit mentor, to remind you to be altruistic and giving.
4. Male mentors, to offer a different perspective (shout out to author Barry Moltz and Jeffrey Nolan at SAP Ventures).
5. Women mentors, to relate on a personal level.
6. Mentors who you just genuinely like for your personal life. They make you laugh, they inspire you with their value systems, and they share ideas about shoe shopping, family, socializing, and how not to beat the heck of your kids when they tick you off. Even when you beg them to shut up, they share. Oh the pain!
7. Mentors exclusively for your professional life, who never need to know your pension for shoe shopping or addiction to all things Feng Shui.
8. Mentors who can advise you about finances and investments (note to readers: take your personal banker to lunch).
9. Mentors with a amazing personal network and sphere of influence.
10. Mentors who are reclusive and know no one (wink-wink, nod-nod).
11. An academic mentor (I fondly refer to these as "intellectual preacher-teachers" and some examples are Seth Godin, Lucian James, Jackie Huba from Customer Evangelists, John Moore from Brand Autopsy, and Linda Darragh, an Associate Professor of Entrepreneurialism at Northwestern).
12. A mentor who has failed dramatically - at least twice - to help put it all into perspective.
Recently I discovered that the Small Business Administration has a mentoring program, Women's Network for Entrepreneurial Training, which was originally set up to assist low-income and socially disadvantaged women. Sheryl Mills, the SBA's associate deputy administrator for entrepreneurial development, says the program is open to anyone, including men. The network has 87 centers around the country. To learn more, visit
www.sba.gov/womeninbusiness/wnet.html. Couldn't hurt.
kindly,
kirsten
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
RE: Margaret Heffernan - iCAST to WOMAN ICONOCLAST
Had a chance to speak with Margaret Heffernan, former President and Chief Operating Officer of iCAST and author of the new book, The Naked Truth. She called from the road in Washington, one of her many stops along her high profile speaking engagement tour. She'll be speaking at the FWE Europe "Investing in Women" event on November 18th. 
Margaret is a champion of women and believes that women are creating a new business order that places values at the heart of business. Margaret and I both agree that business is and always will be emotional.
While I plan to share my interview with Margaret in a bigger context publication, I wanted to mention one of Margaret's thoughts here with you today. "For entrepreneurs," Margaret told me, "one of the most important success skills is being able to improvise. Pity they aren't teaching 'what if' thinking and 'how to play like a kid' in business schools." 
Margaret went on to use her children as an example of "what if" improvisation; explaining how they are indefatigable, fresh, and a constant source of ideas and innovation.
Reminds me of a great quote I once read somewhere: "when adults look at a patch of dandelions, they generally see a bunch of weeds that are going to take over their yard."
Can you still play like a kid, think like a kid? John over at Brand Autopsy recently listed some GREAT CREATIVE SPACES to bring out the kid in you. Another is Let's Play Again in Los Angeles. When is the last time you just went out to play? And when is the last time you asked a child for their advice and opinion about your business? You never know what insight and inspiration you may gain from their sassy if perhaps a bit short perspective.
Margaret's new book, "The Naked Truth" has just hit the streets. Check out her chapter on the Entreprenuse.
Ed. Note: 800 CEO Blog reviewed The Naked Truth on September 30th. Read Jack's glowing review HERE.
Sunday, September 26, 2004
RE: Entrepreneurs Need Health Insurance. Send Chicken Noodle Soup.
Home in bed with a sinus infection and fever. Thank goodness I have health insurance - my doctor called in antibiotics and she is such a superstar that she dropped it by for me. She said "you always say women need to help women" and winked at me. I especially appreciated that.
According to a recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust, only 63% of small businesses provided health care coverage in 2004, down from 68% in 2001. Premiums have been rising between 15% and 25% annually. And in May, the National Federation of Independent Business reported that small business owners identified "cost and availability of insurance" as the single most important problem they face.
Both Kerry and Bush recognize that health care for entrepreneurs -- women and men -- is an important issue in this year's vote.
In Kerry's plan, small business entrepreneurs and the self-employed would be allowed to participate in the federal employee health plan, saving them 15% annually on health care costs. Small business entrepreneurs could also qualify for prescription drug reimportation and a tax credit worth 50% of their costs to insure workers. According to this weekend's NYT article, Kerry claims these initiatives could decrease small business health care costs nearly 75%.
The Bush camp proposes we allow small business entrepreneurs to join together nationwide in insurance-purchasing groups -- known as association health plans (AHPs) -- so they can vie for discounted rates as big companies do. Bush is also an advocate of tax credits for those small businesses that set up health-savings accounts for their employees and contribute to them.
Not sure whether Bush or Kerry's health insurance solution will be more effective, but it is clear that we need to radically reinvent health plans for small business entrepreneurs. In the meantime, one option for entrepreneurs is a Professional Employer Organization (PEO). PEOs group together businesses of all sizes in order to control costs and increase insurance options. It may not be a perfect solution, but PEOs can provide worker's compensation insurance, health, dental and life insurance, as well as regulatory compliance, payroll, retirement plans, and direct deposit.
For those of you interested in learning more about PEOs, a good resource is NAPEO, the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations. CLICK HERE to visit NAPEO's site. Learn more about AHPs by visiting www.AHPsNow.
Welcome your thoughts on rethinking health care for entrepreneurs, particularly entrepreneur moms with children. And if you are a re:invention client, we hope you can understand why the office will be closed on Monday. I won't be answering blackberry text messages either.
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
RE: American Business Women's Day - We've Come A Long Way, Baby - Where's The Damn Hallmark Card?
Happy American Business Women's Day! On this day in 1949, a small group of Kansas City business executives founded the American Business Women's Association (ABWA). The idea for ABWA and ABWD came from a man - Hilary Bufton - who felt women had gained considerable business skills as they filled in for men on the manufacturing lines during World War II. Today, the ABWA organization has 80,000 members and 1500 chapters across the country. Note to Sir FCFL - perhaps you ARE right, good things come out of Kansas City. Wonder if also Kansas City-based Hallmark has a card?
Not officially, no. And that disappoints me, because Hallmark's missing out on viral marketing fun on a holiday that could be of potential interest to their primary customer demographic (women!). Hey, how about an e-card, Hallmark?
The stats: 6 of 10 women 16 and older are now in the U.S. labor force. There are currently 5.1 million women-owned businesses in the 50 largest American cities generating $1.3 trillion in revenue, employing 9.5 million people, opening at twice the rate of all firms. In case you missed yesterday's Center for Women's Business Research report: the top 5 cities for women-owned businesses are:
1. Los Angeles/Long Beach
2. Chicago
3. New York
4. Houston
5. Phoenix/Mesa
Explains my desire to expand West. According to the Venture Funding for Women Entrepreneurs Report, fully 1/3 of all women-led businesses that were funded in 2003 were on the West Coast.
Oh yes - we women have made progress in sheer count, but I'm not buying the progress in measurable success and fair opportunity. Only 4% of VC money went to women last year and only 21% of all loans backed by the Small Business Administration went to women. Yippee! We've come a long way, BABY!
For morning fodder, these words from a West Coast burgeoning media mogul, whose growth is inhibited by lack of start-up capital:
What's been eating me is that my magazine is so well-received in the market, but the bottom line is that I can't find the investors that share our (me and the generation) vision. Honestly, I don't know where to go to look for female investors, liberal investors, or media investors that understand its potential. My biggest frustration during the process of capital raising: 1) They are only interested in tech and real estate deals. 2) I'm not a white male. 3) They (Investors and Angels) are an ultra conservative group. You're probably not surprised.
Where are the investors who are willing to take a chance on women with a dream outside the tech world? It's my personal mission to found such a fund - even IF it is a high risk, high return stock-market investment basis fund where women entrepreneurs fund each other. Of course we need to figure out auditing, factor for the fine line we'll tread as tradeable securities, consider the illiquidity discount factors for investors. Is it a hybrid of a hedge fund? If this is remotely amusing to you, I welcome ideas!
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
RE: News Flash! H.R. 5008 passes.
Late Tuesday, the U.S. Senate approved H.R. 5008, a bill drafted to preserve the operations of existing Women's Business Centers (WBC) currently serving women entrepreneurs in almost every state and territory. H.R. 5008 also provides a temporary extension of several programs under the "Small Business Act" and the "Small Business Investment Act of 1958."
Here at re:invention, we have talked about the financial crisis of Women's Business Development Centers before. Back in April, we posted an entry about the passing of The Women's Business Centers Sustainability Recovery Act of 2004 (S. 2267). The bill established a temporary source of funding for 53 fund-depleted Women's Business Centers, by allowing the SBA to reprogram currently appropriated funds and tap into a pool of funding normally reserved for initial grants to newly-established WBCs. I didn't think this was such a good idea back in April (I likened it to robbing the poor to pay the poor). S. 2267 passed the Senate but did not pass the House prior to the August recess.
What a loss it would have been for the entrepreneurial world and for all women everywhere had H.R. 5008 not passed. If you don't believe me, hear from another fearless female entrepreneur. Just yesterday, Evelyn Rodriquez (noteworthy entrepreneur and prolific blogger of Crossroads Dispatches fame) sent me a note with these kind words of evangelism for Women's Business Development Centers:
I learned a lot of valuable information by using their resources, talking to the director one-on-one, going to their seminars and eventually giving seminars, taking part in mentor/mentee training, etc. they offered back when I was still making the transition out of engineering (hey, they don't teach business in engineering school). It's an invaluable resource for new entrepreneurs or women that are still in jobs but looking to make the leap into entrepreneurship.
Click
HERE for a national list for Women's Business Development Centers. Quite sure there is one near you. And now, you can take comfort in knowing the doors will be open when you alight on their doorstep.
Read more about Tuesday's important H.R. 5008 vote on
Thomas - Legislative Information on the Internet.
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
RE: Seeing and Running in the Red - Women and Start-Up Cash Flow
Back in from L.A. this morning - exhausted and seeing red. Figuratively and literally. Start-up cash flow has me in a state of duress. Guess that means I am seeing and running in the red. I haven't been able to buy a new pair of shoes in so long I don't remember what it felt like to do so (I haven't paid myself a salary in a year and a half). But I am not alone -- according to a new article titled "Cash and the Woman-Owned Business," most women entrepreneurs lack start-up cash. The article written by Myra Hart (Harvard instructor and founder of Staples) is an excerpt from her new book Clearing the Hurdles. Traditionally I would refer a book link to Todd at 800 CEO Read (I'm a big fan). But Clearing the Hurdles isn't available on their site...yet!
The headline in the article? Women entrepreneurs continue to lag male entrepreneurs in building the cash reserves that it takes to stake a young venture. With lower founding investments, women are forced to turn to outside investors much earlier in their new venture's life, which disadvantages them in negotiating favorable terms. Myra identifies several factors responsible for the cash gap:
(1) Women are less often serial entrepreneurs and cannot use the cash from previous enterprise sales (Note to Debra Shatford, serial entrepreneur and CEO of Pasedena's Tri-D Systems: you are in the minority, you rockstar!)
(2) Women move up the managerial ladder more slowly and stay in lower positions longer (thus they have less saved in terms of personal funds to invest in their entreprenurial business).
(3) Women choose lower paying industries and entrepreneurial enterprises.
(4) Many women choose entrepreneurship after being out of the workforce for a while, and don't have the personal funds to launch their business in scale.
Women entrepreneurs also still lag behind male entrepreneurs in their ability to secure bank and government financing for their enterprises. In 2000, women-owned businesses claimed only 21% of the total SBA loans and only 52% had some form of bank credit.
The good news? Myra suggests that women householders who founded a business had an average income level 2.5 times that of those women who were wage earners, and their net worth was more than 6 times greater than that of those without a business. So you see Virginia, there IS a Santa Claus! If we can all just hang in there it appears it pays out in the end.
But how long can we continue seeing and running in the red?
p.s. beautiful shoe donations from benevolent strangers are welcome -- i wear a size 7.5. :)
p.p.s. Thanks to friend, Tom (Sandbox Wisdom guru), for the heads up about the article!
Friday, September 10, 2004
RE: A Prisoner's Pricing Dilemma and Good Customer Service
An excerpt from F. John Rey's About.com Management Newsletter:
jr: If good customer service is so important to a business' success, why do so few businesses have it?
db: Customer service is dependent on three things: customer-friendly policies set by the organization's executives, training offered to the staff, and the attitude of the staff about their own organization as generated by the way their company treats them. Let me elaborate on what happens if any of these are out of whack. If executives don't actually know/see how their policies get executed on the frontline, they're often shocked to discover the actual results of how the policies get carried out/enforced.
Tis true! Today's experience at Umberto Salon - Santa Monica will serve as a case study backdrop.
I arrived 1/2 hour early for my weekend "hair blow-out," my own shampoo and conditioner in hand. "I'm early, but I'd like to sit with conditioner on my hair until my stylist is ready," I suggested.
"That will be an additional $12." the manager of salon announced.
"For WHAT?" I asked. "To sit with my own conditioner on my head?"
"Yes," the salon manager said.
"How much if you rinse the conditioner off right away?" I asked.
"No additional fee." she responded.
"So you want me to pay an additional $12 to sit for 15 minutes with the conditioner on my head...even though I brought the conditioner myself?" I repeated in disbelief. "What if I sit outside?"
"That's still an additional $12." she responded.
"But no fee if you rinse it off right away? Hmm. What would Umberto say to this policy?" I asked her.
"He wrote the policy." she said. "But I can understand how it doesn't make sense."
"And yet you aren't willing to do anything about it?"
"I can't. It is the policy." she said.
A wet-head gal can't walk out (prisoner's dilemma), so I had them rinse the conditioner out and finish my hair blowout, paid for my services, and left. Left 1 dissatisfied and basically bewildered customer.
When a manager is tasked with a non-sensical policy, and unauthorized to make good customer service decisions, it is indeed hard to save a sale.
When it comes to good customer service, you can identify, value, and treat your customers individually...listen to your customers...ask questions...express helpful concern...and acknowledge and respond to complaints....
But in the end, you need to empower your front line with information and authority to adapt the policies when they make absolutely no sense.
Don't blow it.
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
RE: integrated messages can only be sent by an integrated company
Citigroup Japan may soon face an FSA penalty, but here in the U.S., Citigroup recently announced a guerilla marketing cash giveaway in Chicago, L.A., and New York for its Women & Company program, a women's financial management program launched just last year.
Street teams in the 3 cities will hand out 60,000 coin purses in high-traffic locales and events. The purses will contain small change (anything from a nickel to a dollar coin) - and a note: "Yes, we're giving money away, which is what you're doing each day that you don't plan for your financial future."
Citigroup also plans print and online ads, email newsletters, and metro sponsorships.
A great example of INTEGRATED MARKETING from "Big Boy" Citigroup. Integrated marketing powerfully enhances a company's message. Integrated marketing has typically been defined as using a creative mix of tools and processes across a variety of channels. But I believe integrated marketing demands more than taking the same message and repeating it in different ways and in different vehicles. According to an article by Esther Dyson (EDVenture Holdings Chair and CNET Editor) -- titled The Economics of Attention -- marketers must learn to think the way consumers think; in integrated modes, not channels. Integrated marketing messages can only be sent by an integrated company who understands the way customers think.
Small businesses have an advantage at truly integrated marketing since company employees generally wear multiple hats -- from sales to marketing to operations. You don't need to sacrifice integration if you are a small company.
Begin your journey by reading this great article from IMedia Connection titled Paying For Attention and then consider these good rules of thumb:
1. Know your objectives first. According to Scott Bailey, EVP at Targetbase Marketing, "historically the rules of marketing have said that 40% of how successful a marketing campaign will be is based on targeting, 40% on the offer and 20% based on the creative."
The new equation might be:
short-term sales + image relevancy + communication planning + inspirational impact = results.
2. Choose an approach that serves the whole business and positions your company around a "meaningful and empathetic ideal vision." re:invention's ideal vision = more million dollar women-led businesses.
3. Consider the connections. Your company's marketing should strive to connect everything to everything else (marketing, sales, creative, operations, PR, customers and partnerships) to create sustainable competitive advantage. Ask yourself the question, what can your best buddies, worst enemies, and partners do to extend your message? A symphony is created by connecting all the single high, low, and midscale notes.
4. Think IT, outsourcing and surprising economies of scale. A close country cousin to Rule #3. Esther Dyson herself suggests that small businesses should make greater use of suppliers and customers as potential distribution channels. You can do the same with an integrated marketing campaign. Fearlessly pass along what you can't do yourself. And use IT construct creatively to let various aspects of your story unfold at different times in different voices in different mediums. Check out Esther's BLOG. I'm a fan (wish Esther would post more voiciferously though!)
5. No surprise, remember to manage your budget. Note to those of you small business owners shaking your head: you REALLY don't need to spend like an empire to build one.
6. Same goes for success measurement. It goes without saying you must make sure you can monitor and measure results.
7. Break the rules. Surely when you see a list like this one your mind reels with your own ideas. More often than not, you can dream up a better way. By all means, play hard and toss my rules out the window. Make your own durn rules. I double dog dare ya.
P.S. For those of you who are curious, Citigroup's
Women & Company charges a $125 annual fee for unlimited telephone access to financial planners trained especially for women, web-based financial-planning software and educational materials, regional events, and discounts on services such as child care, insurance, and nanny payroll preparation.
Friday, September 03, 2004
RE: Cause and Segment Marketing That Isn't Caustic + Women's Equality Day
Yesterday was Women's Equality Day, the 84th anniversary of certification of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. You can market anything right? But try as I may I can't come up with even 1 good use I'd have for these Women's Equality Day placemats. $12.50 for a set of 50. Hmm.
Yesterday also marked the final day of the Office Depot and Women Impacting Public Policy (the nation's largest bipartisan women's business group) partnership designed to increase the number of women voters before the election.
As part of the partnership, Office Depot put voter registration forms and kiosks in 900 stores nation-wide thru Aug 26th. A smart cause marketing initiative that built relevancy and strengthened relationships with time-strapped women entrepreneurs. No push factor. Purely ease-of-access.
Remember Office Depot's 4th Annual Success Strategies for Businesswomen's Conference in Boca Raton this past February? Stevie Award winner and NAWBO Corporate Partner of the Year Office Depot champions women entrepreneurs. CLICK HERE to read their "Our Commitment to Women" page.
A good cause related marketing program is like a marriage, not a one-night stand. You can't latch loosely onto a trend and use it to gain advantage over competitors. You need to commit to a program that fits your company profile, target and personality with clear and measurable objectives.
What has your business done today to build velocity for women?
Wednesday, September 01, 2004
RE: Law & Entrepreneurship News Collaborative Blog Launches!
Professor of Law, Associate Director of the Initiative for Studies in Technology Entrepreneurship, and author of the highly regarded Venturpreneur blog, D. Gordon Smith, announced the official launch of the Law & Entrepreneurship News blog today.
Law & Entrepreneurship News is a collaborative weblog project involving Professor Gordon Smith and students at the University of Wisconsin Law School. The purpose of the project is to provide links and commentary on recent developments relating to law and entrepreneurship. They are writing and posting stories in 17 topic areas dealing with a wide range of legal issues affecting entrepreneurial ventures.
It's a great new blog resource. Click HERE to visit their new blog!
p.s. And be sure to read Professor Gordon Smith's KIND WORDS about the re:invention & Fast Company skirmish!
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