Monday, January 31, 2005
RE: Women and Super Bowl Advertising. Do You Plan To Tune In or Out?
Those in the blogging world are probably aware that Brand Autopsy, one of my favorite general marketing blogs, was recently noted in the NYT and in the San Francisco Chronicle. Both columnists referenced Brand Autopsy's 2004 post begging a dotcom company named GoDaddy to forgo Super Bowl advertising.
Appears Brand Autopsy failed to convince GoDaddy.com not to advertise. GoDaddy is plowing full steam ahead. Having myself been a Dotcom Super Bowl advertiser (the Muhammad Ali - shadowboxing ala George Plimpton "Me-We" - Super Bowl ad during my days at WebMD), I know the incredible impact Super Bowl advertising has on web traffic. Even though critics thought our ad was disturbing and annoying, the resulting traffic spikes (a record 497K unique visitors) nearly crashed our server as did our follow up live chat with Ali for National Parkinson's Awareness Week. Even though critics hated the ad, we ranked #2 in ad recall, second only to FedEx. Based on male viewer recall, our ad ranked #1. I call that money well spent.
Also of note in the San Francisco Chronicle article is Mary Lou Quinlan, CEO of NYC-based Just Ask A Woman, a company that specializes in helping corporations better target women consumers.
...That, plus the offensive ads last year, said Mary Lou Quinlan, CEO of Just Ask a Woman, a women's marketing company in New York, has women paying particular attention to advertising on this year's game.
"Women love to laugh and can be bawdy among themselves, but TV is public and this is a family event,'' she said. "Recently, it seems that humor in the Super Bowl commercials went from funny to stupid to flushable. At this point, women say 'enough.' These sponsors have hundreds of millions of dollars resting on marketing this game, and women are watching and waiting with wallets in hand, so the caution is warranted.''
What say you? As a woman small business owner, are you paying
PARTICULAR ATTENTION to advertising on this year's
Super Bowl Game? Are you tuning in...or tuning out? Invite you to share your thoughts.
RE: Now We Women Need To Wrassle With An Entrepreneurial Ceiling?
Brent Dees, financial planner for small business owners, says women business owners often encounter an "entrepreneurial ceiling" where they are working more and making less. As if the Glass Ceiling wasn't bad enough. As noted in the Charlotte Business News article, Brent uses a proprietary system called "Focus Four" to help his clients frame their vision.
Upon google searching for "Focus Four," I found this Management Strengths and Weaknesses Questionnaire for Entrepreneurs (sadly, it is not on Brent's site). The test takes but a few seconds. Based on your responses, it suggests tips to improve your outlook.
I suppose that's sorta nifty. Feel free to take the TEST. The lesson here: remember to search engine optimize your key messages before launching media relations.
Saturday, January 29, 2005
RE: Extinguishing An Online Flame
This week, Ben McConnell of Creating Customer Evangelists fame, relayed a interesting story about his new vet in the Customer Evangelists e-newsletter. Ben had received glowing endorsements about his vet from neighbors. Upon a quick GOOGLE search, he stumbled across very critical negative reviews about his vet on CraigsList. Ben posed the question: what is a good company to do about negative word of mouth?
Online bashing, bad reviews, rumor mongers, copycat websites, and stealth websites are challenges for any company achieving a measure of success. Remember the Target, Inc. stealth website selling marijuana? Negative online publicity can range from sophisticated to juvenile and immature. 
Bad publicity isn't always a bad thing for a brand. You can often market the negative. But the fact is, "character capital" and reputation can be a company's most valuable intangible assets. Turning a blind eye to negative publicity and failure to monitor your company's online reputation could impact your bottom line.
Some smart steps companies can take to extinguish negative online publicity:
1. ACKNOWLEDGE RESPONSIBILITY RESPONSIBILY
If your company has done wrong or had an issue, acknowledge the issue/wrong, take responsibility, and provide an overview of what you are doing to address it. Respond on the site where the negative publicity occurred if possible and if warranted, on your company website.
2. GO TO THE MATTRESSES - BUT DON'T GO ALONE
If the online criticism is unfounded/false/incorrect, utilize your network FIRST. Solicit help from loyal customers and advisory boards - asking them to post personal positive feedback, articulate your key messages, or provide enthusiastic endorsements to counter the negative claim. Ask them to question the person who made the unfounded online claims and solicit more specific detail from the negative evangelist. You'll be better prepared to answer on behalf of your company.
3. TRY PAID SEARCH
Paid search (paid inclusion, pay-per-click) can work to counter negative publicity. You can articulate your key messages to your target audience, showcase customer endorsements, and push down the negative comments.
4. DO GOOD AND BE GOOD
Continue to offer good customer service and good quality products. Over time, loyal and satisfied customers will help douse the online flames and evangelize truth over fiction.
5. LITIGATE AS A LAST RESORT
As a last resort (and we mean a LAST RESORT), companies can pursue litigation, contacting site owners directly or spam checking/reverse link look-ups. I respectfully submit, for the most part, the blogosphere should be defacto attorney-proofed. Why sue a blogger if you know they don't have any money?
Interested in keeping tabs on your online company reputation? A few tools that can serve as work-around-the-clock watchdog, even while you sleep:
- eWatch (brought to you by the good folks at PR Newswire) immediately tracks your online media coverage, monitoring portals and public discussion areas.
- Webclipping.com provides watch reports from 20,000 Web based publications, 63,000 Usenet news groups, 1.5 Billion Web pages, and 90 real-time streaming newswires.
- Google News Alerts send outbound emails to you when your company and products appear on someone else's web page.
- Technorati and Pubsub are additional online sources that help you monitor a mention of your company or product.
Welcome you to add your comments, ideas and stories - click on "kind thoughts" below!
Friday, January 28, 2005
RE: Selling to Giants.
Earlier this week, we outlined a few characteristics of women-led million dollar businesses, according to the Center for Women's Business Research. Among the list: women-led million dollar businesses are more likely to have a customer set that includes corporations and government contracts at the local, state and federal level.
A re:invention reader emailed me and asked, "Kirsten, how does a small company sell to big business giants?"
The first secret is to project yourself as a company that is here to stay, a company that can be relied upon. You also need to arm yourself with the right resources. Begin with our "Winning Big Biz Contracts For Smart Women" resource listings on the left hand navigation bar of this site.
Then consider registering for the "Winning Big Clients, Even if You Aren't A Big Company" live audio conference on February 15. The conference, hosted by Jill Konrath (www.sellingtobigcompanies.com), will share strategies that will help you increase your success rate in penetrating major accounts. Register HERE.
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
RE: Million Dollar Baby.
There are 300,000 million dollar babies (women-owned small businesses in the U.S. that gross $1 million or more annually). Admittedly this represents only 3% of all women-owned businesses (a seemingly small percentage). And male entrepreneurs are nearly 3 times as likely as women entrepreneurs to build million dollar businesses. But hey - there are still 300,000. 
According to Myra Hart, Chair of the Center for Women's Business Research, the vast majority of these $1 million dollar plus women-led firms achieved that level of success in less than 5 years of operation.
This information is gleaned from today's press release from the Women's Leadership Exchange - along with this bit of news for women:
A new funding and mentoring program for businesses, Make Mine a $Million Business, will help women-owned businesses with at least $300,000 in revenues become $1 million-plus enterprises. Today only three percent of the more than 10 million businesses owned by women in the U.S. gross $1 million or more annually.
The pilot program, a collaboration among Count-Me-In for Women's Economic Independence, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to increasing women's access to credit and capital; the Women's Leadership Exchange (WLE), that conducts educational and networking conferences for women business owners; and OPEN: The Small Business Network from American Express -- is part of a national effort in which 15 business owners will be selected to receive loans up to $45,000, business advice, coaching, and mentoring to grow their enterprises. The winners will receive OPEN from American Express Make Mine a $Million Business Awards.
Interested women business owners who would like to break the million-dollar barrier can learn more about the award criteria and apply by logging on to www.count-me-in.org.
Are you looking to build a million dollar business? At re:invention, we believe there are 3 reasons why women aren't building more million dollar businesses: they are under-funded, under-resourced, and lacking a strong marketing and visibility strategy.
Women aiming to build million-dollar businesses need a toolbox stocked with money, meaningful mentoring, and marketing. And dress for success (i.e., "emulate the same characteristics and profile and you are half way there"). Women-owned million dollar businesses are...
1. More likely to use formal advisors such as accountants (40.7% vs. 28.9%), lawyers (15.7% vs. 6.6%), and boards of directors (13.3% vs. 4.6%), and less likely to use informal financial advisors such as family or friends.
2. More likely to belong to formal business organizations (81.3% vs. 60.5%);
3. Less likely to be in the service sector (26.9% vs. 51.0%) and more likely to be in wholesale trade (17.0% vs. 3.8%), construction (13.4% vs. 3.3%), and manufacturing (12.3 vs. 4.8%);
4. More likely to have a customer set that includes corporations, other businesses and government contracts at the local, state and federal level;
5. Nearly 2.5 times as likely as other women-owned businesses to be certified as a woman-owned business.
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
RE: Women and Necessity Entrepreneurship. Au contraire, Dr. Summers.
I'd be remiss if I failed to mention that the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor is out this week, produced in partnership with London Business School and Babson College (headed by Dr. Willam Bygrave, a man who once quipped "entrepreneurs seeking investment for their business should first ask MALE relatives for help").
The report headline: women are less likely than men to start businesses regardless of the level of per capita income in their countries. In no country are there more women who are active entrepreneurs than men, although there is wide variation between countries. In 2004, France, Greece, Hong Kong, and Spain all show a large gender division in entrepreneurial activity, while in Ecuador, Finland, Hungary, Japan, Peru, South Africa, and the United States, participation rates are statistically identical.
Women are significantly less likely to be entrepreneurs in middle income countries. The stats by country income:
- In middle income countries, men are 75% more likely than women to be active entrepreneurs
- In low income countries, men are 41% more likely than women to be active entrepreneurs
- In high income countries, men are 33% more likely than women to be active entrepreneurs
The study authors suggest that women in low income countries become entrepreneurs out of necessity, while high income country women pursue opportunities. "Necessity entrepreneurship" - as in, "they had no better place to work." In the case of "necessity entrepreneurship," there seems to be less gender distinction than in "opportunity entrepreneurship."
Kinda brings new meaning to this re:invention post: She Started Her Business With One Chicken.
What is most surprising....more female entrepreneurship is found in low income countries that traditionally have higher birth rates (although birth rates have declined world wide, they remain high in poor countries). If one subscribed to Harvard President Dr. Summers' hypothesis, one might suspect that the increased presence of children and child care responsibilities would reduce a woman's ability to be in the workforce or launch a new business enterprise. Guess his hypothesis is wrong.
Friday, January 21, 2005
RE: It's All Right There in Grey and White
Oh how the Harvard President's comment attributing achievement by gender to biology has sparked public water cooler and cocktail hour controversy. Last night the story popped up again at an office party for Zorch (a fabulous woman-led firm). 
News this morning? A new research study reveals that men and women do really think differently. Men think more with the grey matter in their brains, and women think more with the white matter in their brains. READ MORE.
Grey Matter - where the processing of the brain is done, akin to the CPU in a computer.
White Matter - the channels of communication, akin to the printed circuit board that connects the CPUS to various other parts of the computer.
What's more interesting:
IQ has been linked with the grey matter. And strangely enough, research also suggests that
women's brain structure contains proportionately more grey matter than men's brains and men's brain structure contains proportionately more white matter.
So.
Women's brains contain more grey brain matter than white matter but they think more with the white matter (and sadly, the white matter has less to do with IQ).
Men's brains contain more white brain matter but they think more with the grey matter.
Go figure.
Not so relevant to women entrepreneurs. But nevertheless, intriguing. Clearly I should have paid more attention to my high school Biology Books instead of my winsome Biology teacher. Guess I didn't realize it would ever really matter.
Thursday, January 20, 2005
RE: A Grocery Store With A Really Great Express Lane!
Grab your shopping list and head to Albertsons, gals. Gotta love a company with 6 women on their board of directors (approximately 55% of their total board). Albertsons tops Corporate Women Directors International's list of the world's largest companies with the most women board of directors. Albertsons' CEO, Larry Johnston, made women BOD a priority when he took the company helm in 2001.
A quick glance at Albertson's savvy six:
Teresa Beck - Retired President, American Stores Company
Beth Pritchard - Former President, Bath and Body Works
Bonnie Hill - President, B. Hill Enterprises, LLC (the former SVP of the L.A. Times, she also sits on the boards of Home Depot, Yum Brands, and Hershey's)
Betty Rivera - Cabinet Secretary of the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Dept. of the State of New Mexico
Pam Bailey - CEO and President, Advanced Medical Technology Association
Kathi Seifert - Former Executive Vice President Global Personal Care, Kimberly-Clark
Yeah, you may say. But does this translate into ROI? Well. One can never be 100% sure (the chicken? or the egg? scenario). However, Larry Johnston ranks #6 on Supermarket News' Power 50 People List. Albertsons ranks 4th among all grocery retailers in terms of sales. And according to Morningstar, although Albertsons stock has turned in rather poor results compared to its peers over the past 10 years, it has done somewhat better over the past five.
Now if we can only get companies to add more women entrepreneurs to their boards....
If you listen carefully, you can hear a low groan emanating from the paunch bellies of a few middle-aged men deep in the Heartland...
"...Who wants to tell dirty jokes over drinks before a board meeting if there's a woman in the room?" pipes Warren Batts, former chairman and CEO at Tupperware Corp., who has sat on numerous corporate boards over the past three decades. "Suddenly nobody will tell a joke. We straighten up our ties and act dignified."
Oh bless your heart, Warren, go ahead and tell those jokes. We all
welcome the chance to learn more about your character and values...
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
RE: Blonde Babes To Highlight Office Depot Women's Conference. Register Now.
Office Depot has announced their keynote presenters for the fifth annual Success Strategies for Businesswomen Conference. Dr. Maya Angelou will open the conference, Barbara Walters will speak on Day 2, and Kathy Ireland, Chief Designer and CEO of Kathy Ireland Worldwide (KIWW) will close the event. 
Office Depot's Success Strategies for Businesswomen Conference, emceed by Alexis Herman (former U.S. Secretary of Labor), will be held February 27-March 1, 2005 at the Boca Resort & Club in Boca Raton, Florida. The Conference is open to the public, but limited to the first 1,000 registrants. You can register online at http://www.officedepotsuccess.com or by calling 1-888-475-3344. The cost to attend the three-day conference is $554.
Other notable women scheduled to speak:
- Anne M. Mulcahy, Chairman and CEO, Xerox Corporation
- Nely Galan, Creator and Executive Producer of Fox's hit reality series "The Swan"
- Debbi Fields, Former Chairman and Founder of Mrs. Fields Cookies
- Barbara Corcoran, Chairman of the Corcoran Group and author of the incisive book, "Use What You've Got"
- Josephine Chaus, CEO, Bernard Chaus, Inc.
- Myra M. Hart, Professor of Entrepreneurship, Harvard Business School and former founder of Staples.
Interesting insight - other than Maya and Alexis, the roster of women speakers at this event skews heavily blonde. Take a look at the EVENT HOME PAGE. One might say, "blonde babes will heavy highlight this conference."
I think it was Pamela Anderson who once quipped, "It is great to be a blonde. With low expectations, it's very easy to surprise people." Seems smart blondes are here to stay.
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
RE: What The Heck Is Happening Over There At Harvard?
Harvard University President, Dr. Lawrence Summers (a wunderkind economist who served as Bill Clinton's treasury secretary and once headed the World Bank), has declared men outperform women in maths and sciences because of biological difference and discrimination is no longer a barrier for female academics. His remarks sparked a bit of an uproar at a private National Bureau of Economic Research conference last week.
Dr Summers offered three explanations for the shortage of women in senior posts in science and engineering, starting with their reluctance to work long hours because of child-care responsibilities. He went on to argue that boys outperform girls on high school science and maths scores because of genetic difference. As an example, he shared a story about giving his daughter two trucks. She treated them like dolls, and named them mummy and daddy trucks, he said....
During Dr Summers's presidency, the proportion of tenured jobs offered to women has fallen from 36% to 13%. Last year, only 4 of 32 tenured job openings were offered to women. READ MORE.
This is not the first time that Dr. Summers has provoked controversy. Back in 1991, he suggested the people in Africa should eat pollution. During his first few years as Harvard's President, he ferociously waged battle with Harvard's Afro-American Studies department.
As for Harvard...BusinessWeek reported on the school's Bad Boy Behavior towards women MBA students in 1998. A 1989 Harvard Business Review article once notably proferred this hypothesis: "the cost of employing women in management is greater than the cost of employing men" - sparking the 1990s "mommy track" debate. Harvard - a university where a professor was sanctioned for falsifying research about the psychological effects of race and sex discrimination. Harvard - a university where professors the likes of Dr. Harvey Mansfield have suggested that Harvard's academic standards have declined as a result of aggressive affirmative action admissions policies (i.e., Dr. Mansfield believed grade inflation was the scandalous result of admitting "too many minority students").
Eek. Double eek. What the heck is happening over there at Harvard? And why is no reporter truly on top of this? This goes beyond Summers's statements last week. Seems Harvard has one heck of a "white guy as supremacist" history. Thank goodness I attended Duke!
Monday, January 17, 2005
RE: Rolling Census Data. Because Who Has Ten Years To Wait?
Gracing the pages of this morning's USA Today: "Joan Naymark, director of research and planning for Target, says the retail chain uses Census numbers to shape merchandising and marketing decisions and pick locations for new stores."
According to the article, a new Census Bureau rolling survey (The American Community Survey) will now be conducted with 250,000 large city households across the country on a monthly basis. They are calling it the "Stealth Census" and predict it will offer substantially more accurate and timely data than the 10-year census.
Because really, who has 10 years to wait for new census stats? The average lifetime of a computer is just 3 years. The average life of a small business website is 21 months. You have but 7 seconds to make a good first impression. And only half of all small businesses survive to
Year Four of Operations.
In addition to evaluating prospective new site locations, small businesses can innovatively use census data to:
1. Analyze new business opportunities and potential investments
2. Develop a business plan or apply for a business loan
3. Plan and execute business to business or consumer marketing tactics
4. Monitor and gather competitive information about sales and business activity for specific industries - and calculate market share
5. Locate potential distributors or resellers
6. Design sales territories and set quotas
Need another example of smart predictive uses for census data? The "
Initiative for A Competitive Inner City" recently announced findings from their analysis of census data -- demonstrating that inner city neighborhoods have eight times more spending power than their surrounding neighborhoods and that a surprising 38% of inner-city households are moderate to middle income households. Seems the "Initiative for A Competitive Inner City" has conducted this census analysis before. Here is an eeriely similar
announcement from 1999.
How do you use Census data for your small business? Educate re:invention readers by adding your comment!
Monday, January 10, 2005
RE: Women Bloggers. The Best Business Blogging Babes Aren't Afraid to Be Emotional.
Oh! Aren't women emotional? HERE'S TO EMOTIONAL WOMEN!
Taking time off from blogging this week since I am knee-deep in client projects. In the meantime, I'll suggest some alternative women-authored business blogs. Below is a short list (check out the left navigation bar of this site for additional blog resources). You'll be surprised how much these wonderful women bloggers share about their personal lives, even on "business blogs." I believe that's what good business blogging is all about: sharing your authentic and honest opinion along with sound strategy and business resources, revealing your personal truth and quirks, bar-none-baring what's real. Remember The Trojan Horse for Women? I received over 40 heartfelt emails from women as far away as Eastern Europe as a result of that blog entry.
The best bloggers - and the very best women entrepreneurs - don't have to hide under an "ultra-professional cloak." That is SOOOO 1980s. The true successes in this world aren't afraid to show a little skin (i.e., a little character). Can you imagine someone telling Donald Trump, Jack Welch, Bill Gates, Michael Dell, or Richard Branson to shape up and be a little bit more conservative, toned down, and polished? Nah. I didn't think so.
Try these bountiful women bloggers on for size this week:
Evelyn Rodriguez - Crossroads Dispatches
Halley Suitt - Halley's Comment
Jory DesJardins - Pause
Yvonne DiVita - Lipsticking
B.L. Ochman - What's Next?
K.O. note to Michael Pollock at Small Business Branding Blog: this gets you halfway there for your 2005 Top 10 Blogging Babes report!
Grr...I am woman, hear me roar! Happy reading! I'll be back next Monday.
RE: A Personal Blog Thank You.
"The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing... not healing, not curing... that is a friend who cares."
- Henri Nouwen (Dutch Christian writer 1932 - 1996)
Thank you to my friends - you know who you are - for being there tonite.
K.O. post-script: And thank you, Anu, for your moving comment, "as women we only need someone to be there, we can handle everything on our own but we just want someone's presence, so that we know someone is there for us, no matter what we do and what state of mind we are in..."
Friday, January 07, 2005
RE: Office Depot + NASCAR = TRUE LOVE?
Chuck Rubin, a former partner at Accenture, has made some changes in his first year as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Office Depot. He's reverted back to the old tagline "Taking Care of Business;" ala the old Bachman-Turner Overdrive song title. He's also ended Office Depot's sponsorship of the Olympics and signed on as a NASCAR sponsor. The NASCAR sponsorship includes Category exclusivity in NASCAR's NEXTEL Cup, NASCAR Busch and NASCAR Craftsman Truck series; national and regional NASCAR-themed customer promotions (both national and regional); NASCAR-themed television, print and radio advertising; NASCAR displays in Office Depot's 900+ stores throughout the United States; and advertising during NASCAR race telecasts on NBC, FOX and TNT and in a variety of national sports media.
80% of Office Depot's customers are small business owners; 60% are women small business owners. Office Depot is, after all, known and revered by women for its annual "Success Strategies for Women" business conference. Although approximately 40% of NASCAR fans are female, and NASCAR is the second most popular sport among women...a gal can't help but be a bit curious about this NASCAR decision. Let's look a little further at the NASCAR demographic stats.
According to NASCAR:
- Fans are 60% male and 40% female.
- Approximately 32% of fans are in the 18-34 year old category, 26% are 35-44, and 43% are 45 and older.
- 29% of fans earn $30-50,000 per year, 22% earn $50-75,000, 12 % earn $75-100,000, and 8% earn $100,000 or more.
- 38% of NASCAR fans live in the South, 24% in the Midwest, 20% live in the Northeast, and 19% live in the West.
- Currently only 8.6% of NASCAR fans are Hispanic, 9.1% are African American.
Compare the above stats to these small business stats from the Center For Women's Business Research:
- 4 of the top 10 fastest growing states for women-led businesses are Kentucky, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Arkansas.
- Atlanta is the 10th largest metro area for 50% or more women-owned businesses.
- 5 of the top 10 fastest growing metro areas for 50% or more women-owned business are in the South or Southeast (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Greensboro, Nashville, Miami).
- While business ownership among women is growing at 20%, the number of businesses owned by minority women grew by nearly 55% in 2004. Most of the minority women-led business growth is occurring in the service sector (60%).
Finally there is this fact, leaked in a recent press release on Hispanic PRWire: Office Depot has also agreed to support an upcoming NASCAR diversity initiative. NASCAR "is the fastest-growing sport among African-Americans and Hispanics, according to independent research."
Aha. Looks like it could be a very smart move indeed for Office Depot AND NASCAR. Wonder if this Accenture article on co-branding that touts Nascar dated January 2003 was Chuck's inspiration?
Wednesday, January 05, 2005
RE: Forcing Branches.
Haven't written in a few days as I have been busy writing speeches for a client press conference and preparing a major partnership announcement news release and trade show event with PhatNoise, Kenwood, and Cirrus. Tonite, working from my sofa with a bird's eye view of Chicago coated with fresh-fallen snow, I am pensive and unbottled creative. I'm not sure how I stumbled my way here. Into the empty void of January.
Yesterday, while I was quietly waiting to meet with a new client in their lobby, I casually took notice of their leftover Christmas decorations. They had artfully assembled silver painted tree branches in large water-filled glass vases; decking the branches with red and silver balls, glowing white lights, and tinsel. As I studied the arrangement, I noticed something quite curious and unexpected. Barely discernible at first glance, and in spite of the silver paint and artificial appearance, there were delicate, tiny green leaves sprouting - almost as if accidentally - across the branches. Brave new buds were breaking through the silver paint.
Where there shouldn't be life, there it lingered like soft breath on the branches.
Such is the art of forcing branches. My green-thumb, self-sufficient mother once taught me how to do this. You select the youngest branches on a tree with the biggest buds, cut the branches on a slant with pruning shears, bring them indoors, and plunge them into cold water. Success in forcing branches depends on the plant type, dormancy stage and how close to their normal flowering time they are forced. It works best when done 6 weeks or so after the onset of cold weather.
My client's Christmas arrangement clearly was comprised of resilient branches.
The poignant lesson for women entrepreneurs? Belief. Fortitude. Miracles. Life persists and you can often accomplish something even if it appears it won't or can't bear fruit. Even the slightest action or quirk of fate can yield unplanned, unmeditated, and unintended success or results. Your unfailing belief...your carefully cultivated actions...your forcing branches...can will or force new life. A second coming. Or serendipity.
In an article titled, "Lucky or Smart" in this month's edition of Inc. Magazine, Bo Peabody of Village Ventures gives a nod to a similar topic, which he calls "creating business luck." The article lifts from Bo's new book of the same name. Admittedly, Bo is reworking Thomas Jefferson's writings. Jefferson once wrote: "I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have." An excerpt from Bo Peabody's article:
Business luck can be created...you can create a company that gets lucky more often than the average company. Indeed, there is a pseudo-scientific formula for creating business luck. The key element is this: Lucky things happen to entrepreneurs who start fundamentally innovative, morally compelling, and philosophically positive companies...Serendipity -- the faculty of making fortuitous discoveries by chance -- causes lots of unexpected things to happen to a company. Some of these unexpected things are good. Some are bad. But because no one planned for the good things to happen, they appear as luck. In other words, the best way to ensure that lucky things happen is to make sure that a lot of things happen.
"Creating your own business luck" is in essence, forcing branches.
It's a simple concept, really. We must never forget that in life or in business, we can learn the art of forcing branches. When you are most starved for Spring, pull out your pruning shears. When all else fails, force your own branches. It will affirm new hope that this winter, too, will come to an end.
Monday, January 03, 2005
RE: THE 2005 NUDGE FOR WISE WOMEN - Help Inspire Other Women Entrepreneurs.
THE 2005 NUDGE FOR WISE WOMEN.
Whether you are a new entrepreneur, seasoned business owner, or standing bravely on the edge of a new horizon contemplating a new biz launch...you are an important part of the women entrepreneurs' community. We applaud and support your efforts!
The value of "community?" There is strength in numbers. You aren't alone. Your voice can serve as inspiration to others. We invite all women entrepreneurs to post their personal business pledge for 2005 here on re:invention's blog. 
Your words will be an invaluable resource to others - and you, too, can find comfort and counsel from those women who have been there before.
Is your pledge to mentor/"sister" other women entrepreneurs? To increase employee payroll? To add staff? To surpass a new revenue hurdle? To launch a new product idea? To secure a business loan or grant? So...what's stopping you? Think of this as a little nudge from re:invention, inc. Experts say the act of writing down your goals can kick-start your Reticular Activation System (RAS) and make goal achievement much more likely. The Internet makes for pretty indelible ink.
To post your personal pledge, simply click on the "comments" button below and add your message. Feel free to pass along the invitation.
In Sisterhood. Wishing you everything good in 2005...
Sunday, January 02, 2005
RE: A Loud New Year Yodel from re:invention, inc. We Don't Care If We Get Polyps.
At re:invention, we firmly believe in the power of change and fresh starts. So although we hope you and your family experienced a generous handful of happiness during December holidays, we are especially earnest to wish you a Happy New Year.
May 2005 bring you good fortune, bounty, and new beginnings. Dream. Dance (like no one's watching). Dare (to be different). Do (what you never thought possible)...
We wish you everything good!
Kindly,
Kirsten
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