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Gladys Edmunds
Mom to Watch
Balancing the Entrepreneurial Tightrope
SUPERSIZE Your Holiday
Sales
Making the Most of Small Business Saturday
Moms In Business Magazine • November, 2012 • PAGE 1
PAGE 2 • November, 2012 • Moms In Business Magazine
Moms In Business Magazine • November, 2012 • PAGE 3
LETTER
S
w a h S e l Richel From The President
The Holidays Are Approaching!
igns we know that it is holiday time?
1. The weather is changing – even here in Las Vegas, our mornings are cooler (OK, our afternoons are still in the high 70’s) 2. School notices are coming almost daily about ½ days, teacher training and other random times that our children will not be in school 3. I went to Kohl’s Department Store to grab a baby shower gift and the Christmas wreaths were already up!
What does that mean for your business? How are you handling the work/life balance? This can be the most stressful time of the year. For those of you that have businesses focused in the retail sector, this could be your busiest time of the year. How do you maximize this time to generate the most money? And for some of our members, this is the slowest time of the year – that can be equally stressful. How do you balance the cashflow slow down? And with all of those challenges – we get it TRIPLE because the KIDS are home – YIKES! Here is one of the best pieces of advice I ever received, it was from our NAFMIB Board Member and Organizational Specialist, Brenda Prinzavalli who gave me these tips 5 years ago and I never forgot them! 1. Set a schedule – every task has a time and place. For example, do dishes at a certain time each day so that if you work from home, you are not worrying about the dishes while talking to a client or worrying about your client while doing the dishes 2. Don’t try to multi-task during this extra busy time! For example, don’t try to put a load of clothes in the dryer while answering emails. You need focused energy during this stressful time and any slight distraction will cause more stress and get you off track 3. Remember to schedule DOWN TIME – even if for an hour a week, give yourself a break. Key things to look for this month’s edition: • • •
Our COVER MOM’s story – Gladys Edmunds. From a single mom at 15 to millionaire business owner. This story is inspirational and makes us look at our own excuses and how trivial they may be Our MOM in Business to Watch – Aleis Stokes and how she manages it all PROFILES of MOMS in Business who participated in Small Business Saturday sponsored by American Express, last year and ways for you to make sure that you are capitalizing on the special day
This is a very exciting and informative issue to help you manage it all!
ANNOUNCEMENT: My new labor of love is finally done. Juggling my private clients, coaching thousands, speaking to thousands, raising a crazy 7 year old, I completed my new book – The Million Dollar Equation – How to Build A Million Dollar Business in 3 Years or Less. The release date is Tuesday, November 13, 2012. I would appreciate your support in purchasing a copy on that date! It will be available on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com
Remember to vote on our website for your city during my Moms in Business University 20 City Tour! http://www.NAFMIB.org. I can’t wait to meet each one of your in person. This month – we remember to give thanks so I would like to thank all 10,000+ of you and wish you nothing but prosperity and happiness during this holiday season. Have a great month! PAGE 4 • November, 2012 • Moms In Business Magazine
Richelle
INSIDE
NOVEMBER
2012
20
4 LETTER
Letter From The President, Richelle Shaw The Holidays Are Approaching!
NOW 6 8 10
Moms Minutes
Important Tips and Briefs
News Updates
16
22
Why 5% Succeed Predictable Results
FEATURE 14
20
9 12
Balancing the Entrepreneurial Tightrope
Interview: Gladys E. Edmunds, Gladys Edmunds Entrepreneur Programs -- helping entrepreneurs develop multi-streams of income …
MOM TO WATCH Community Banking Emissary
24
Interview: Aleis Stokes, Vice President, Media and Public Relations of Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA). Aleis Stokes is the head of ICBA’s public relations efforts ...
STANDOUT Leap Outside Your Zone
Do you make a conscious effort of going outside your comfort zone? You should.
Women Business Leaders: How to Attract and Retain the Best Women in Leadership Leaders take notice: a crisis is brewing. Today, U.S. businesses are losing some of their very best talent ...
22
Making the Most of Small Business Saturday
24
Small Business Holiday Survival Guide
26
The Business Owner’s Top 10 Holiday Stress-Busting Tips
We have participated in Amex’s Small Business Saturday for the past two years and have had great success with the promotion.
22 14
Conducting business during the holiday season can be challenging, especially if you depend on getting a certain amount of new business every month.
Here are the signs you are businessperson stressed by the holidays ...
“My philosophy is that not only are you responsible for your life, but doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.” —Oprah Winfrey
On The Cover
Gladys Edmunds
Moms In Business Magazine • November, 2012 • PAGE 5
NOW
Moms Minutes
Mobile Apps for Business Moms Dragon Dictation is an easy-to-use voice recognition application powered by Dragon NaturallySpeaking that allows you to easily speak and instantly see your text content for everything from email messages to blog posts on your iPad™, iPhone™ or iPod touch™.
http://www.nuancemobilelife.com/apps/drag-
on-dictation Expensify helps keep track of business expenses by allowing you to record mileage and uploading receipts. Available for iPhone, Android, and Blackberry. http://help.expensify.com/mobile
Black Friday
11/23/12
According to The National Retail Federation holidays sales are expected to rise 4.1% this year during the months of November and December.
PAGE 6 • November, 2012 • Moms In Business Magazine
Moms Minutes
Did you know . . . Female-owned businesses today account for nearly $3 TRILLION in total economic impact, and their influence is expected to continue surging (Bolt Insurance).
Daylight Savings Time ends Sunday, November 4, 2012, 2:00am
Women Excel in Education Women currently earn 68% more bachelor degrees than men, and 1/3 of the MBA degrees awarded in the U.S. are to women.
Journal to Relieve
Stress
HealthyWomen.org states that writing down thoughts daily
is a way to reduce stress. Try taking a few minutes out of each day to record your daily experiences and how they make
you feel. Just taking a small moment each day to learn more about yourself will help to maintain stress levels and improve your health.
Moms In Business Magazine • November, 2012 • PAGE 7
NOW
News
BREAKING NEWS! New Book from Our President! Richelle Shaw’s newest book, The Million Dollar Equation - How to Build A Million Dollar Business in 3 Years or Less will be released on November 13, 2012. It will be available on Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.
NAFMIB Wants to Come to Meet You! Suggest a city for our 20 City Tour. fb.me/15JEiodiI
Yahoo News Announces Alliance Between National Association for Moms In Business and Credit Cares Read the article “Credit Cares, a Division of Electronic Commerce International, has Joined Forces with the National Association for Mom’s in Business to Help Support Working Moms” at http://news. yahoo.com/credit-cares-division-electronic-commerce-international-joined-forces-030629128.html
PAGE 8 • November, 2012 • Moms In Business Magazine
STANDOUT
LEAP OUTSIDE YOUR ZONE By Patricia L. Raymond
Lost my mind? Possibly. Scared? You bet. But the Tidewater Bicycle Association's monthly moonlight ride gave me the ETKids-on-bikes-taking-flight sensation... thrilling!
How about you? Do you make a conscious practice of going outside your comfort zone? You should. Harry Beckwith, deep thinker and author of Selling the Invisible, insists that to become more creative requires more than the old 'think outside the box'. No, insists Harry, rather than thinking outside the box, you should expand your box. Put more inside it with you. More thoughts, more points of view, more experiences. Expand ing your box, although out side your com fort zone, needn't be physically risky. I suggest:
1. Check out a book, listen to a CD, or rent a movie outside of your usually genres. Read, listen, or watch it through.
2. Go out to dinner weekly or monthly with your family. Open the yellow pages to the restaurant section, and flip to the
Do you make a conscious practice of going outside your comfort zone? You should. back. Have the kids randomly select from the Zs, and eat it up. Next time, try the Ys.
3. Try something physical that you aren't sure you can com plete. The moonlight ride above. The Rock N Roll Half Marathon. What's the worse that could happen (excluding death)?
4. At your next public event (church, an elevator ride, a pic nic, a play) introduce yourself to five strangers, and find out what interests them. Refer them to your friends whose interests intersect. 5. Take an art, cooking, foreign language, or wine class. 6. Travel, travel, travel.
Dare to expand your box. Go outside your comfort zone.
Dr Raymond speaks about the joy of good health at conventions for nonmedical folks like women's health meetings, and conventions of attorneys, bankers, and more. Visit her website at http://rxforsanity.com/programs/lay/ to find out how to bring Dr. Raymond's passion for living to your next meeting! Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7144992
Moms In Business Magazine • November, 2012 • PAGE 9
Why 5% Succeed
Predictable Results YOU
can consistently predict the future for your clients when you tune in to the emotions that are present. Whenever you want your client to take specific action, it’s helpful to remember that actions are behaviors that have meaning to the person taking action. How your client feels determines the action she is willing to take: emotion inspires motion. The Predictable Results chart reveals where you are on the path to successful outcomes.
Establishing Predictable Results begins with the horizontal arrow; setting Expectations. Expectations are the positive emotions and certainty your clients feel when they think about or talk about working with you to achieve their goals. They won’t be able to focus on the actions they have to take until their expectations of success are firmly established. An Internal Orientation tends to pull your clients into Frustration, Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD* ) when they think of their business challenges. In this phase, your client is overwhelmed and
tends to think that they must do every action themselves to get the results they want. Help your client maintain an External Orientation by focusing on how rewarding the experience will be for the participants to identify additional skills, ideas, and resources that can help achieve the desired business outcomes.
One of my clients was having a problem with a bank transfer so he called the bank manager and yelled at her. She immediately hung up, further irritating my client. I asked him what his expectations had been for that phone call. Had he expected a fun, engaging conversation with an informed professional who was eager to help him resolve his problem or did he expect a lack of cooperation and total frustration? (He got what he expected.) People have plenty of frustrations of their own; they don’t want to take on yours too! Show up to EVERY situation expecting the best. My clients use the Predictable Results process during high stakes, emotional conversations: •
Be AWARE of your Expectations. Set
your own expectations by imagining how the busy bank manager will feel when she’s able to quickly and efficiently resolve your situation and prevent similar errors from damaging her company’s reputation. (You take an External Orientation when you focus on the other participant’s desired outcomes.)
By Elaine Starling •
•
•
•
ANTICIPATE a Successful Outcome. Imagine the bank manager’s delight in a friendly, collaborative conversation with you when you show caring and appreciation for her situation. ACKNOWLDEGE the bank manager’s Objective for a successful conclusion to the situation. Having established that emotional connection and set her expectations for a friendly discussion, you can discuss how to best resolve the situation to everyone’s satisfaction. APPRECIATE the bank manager’s Contribution. Point out her good ideas, insights you hadn’t considered, and thank her for collaborating with you. AGREE on ACTION that will help resolve the situation. Communicate what you are doing differently as a result of your collaboration. Ask what the bank manager and staff plan to do differently too and explain how it will support other bank clients. It’s important to reinforce the bank manager’s actions by posting a video online of how well she and her team deal with challenging customer situations like yours and sending her a hand written thank you letter.
Ultimately, everything you do is designed to set expectations and build anticipation while establishing focus and moving your clients through their action plan. Delivering the desired business outcomes creates feelings of excellence, abundance and fulfillment as progress is recognized against the Expectations and Focus.
Where are you stuck? The first five people to send me an email describing your specific situation with a client will receive a free Predictable Results Critique.
Elaine Starling: President and Chief Marketing Insighter - Starling Media Services, Inc. Author of “Your Success is Social: Contribution is the New Currency,” and “Why 5% Succeed: The 5 Secret Strategies of Business Winners” with Gina Robison-Billups. Elaine is also a sought-after speaker, consultant, columnist, mentor, entrepreneur and Innovation Expert, teaches people how to double their business results with The Revenue FormulaTM. Meet Elaine at www.ElaineStarling.com and connect with her about Why 5% Succeed at www.Why5Succeed.com, Twitter: http://twitter.com/Why5Succeed, Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/why5succeed
PAGE 10 • November, 2012 • Moms In Business Magazine
STANDOUT 6 Ways To SUPERSIZE Your Holiday Sales With A Service Attitude By Barb Girson When you are talking to your customers this season, ask questions and listen to their underlying wants and needs. Show genuine interest and people will often open up and express their challenges, concerns and dilemmas. While many entrepreneurs, sales professionals, and direct sales representatives are concerned about not wanting to come across as P-U-SH-Y, there are respectful ways to make suggestions that may not have been considered.
Seizing the opportunity to ‘Supersize” orders during the holidays can pay you back handsomely with increased profits. However, if it is simply dollar signs you are seeking, your customers will smell it. The key is to provide ideas that are logical, relevant, and service minded. Demonstrate empathy and keep their satisfaction your top priority. Busy professionals and customers value efficiency. When you are able to help them save time, money, extend the value of their purchase or increase customer satisfaction by offering them a few simple recommendations, your clients will remember you. Avoid giving too many choices, or you will confuse your customer and potentially paralyze the process. For the greatest success, stick to the following super-size selling methods:
1. Cross-selling - Suggest products that are associated with what they decided to purchase and work well together.
2. Add-on selling - Lower priced convenience items can be added on to the order once the core items are selected. 3. Up-selling - Explain the benefit of increasing a purchase to a higher priced item and explain why this makes sense. 4. Multiple selling - Help your customer determine if they will want or need to raise the quantity of items purchased. During the holidays, giftgiving is a prevalent reason.
5. Purchase with Purchase - If applicable, let your customer know about any promotions that are earned by meeting a qualifying purchase. This strategy is commonly used in the cosmetics or personal care category. For example, “Purchase a skincare set and get a carrying tote for only $19.99.” Can you think a way to create a purchase with purchase in your business?
6. Set Savings - Share groups of related items that are sold at a set price. There is typically a monetary incentive offered for purchasing the set, as well as logic in why these items are grouped together. A few super-size questions to ask: • •
service
minded
Have you ever considered... [insert your suggestions]...?
Would it make sense if you...[insert your idea]...?
•
Did you realize...[insert an insight]...?
•
Would you appreciate a suggestion with that?
•
• • • •
Would it save you time if...[insert your time-saving idea]?
Did you realize that you save money if..[insert your recommendation]? Have you noticed that when you buy this you are eligible to get that?
Would you like to take advantage of our special set savings?
Super-size your sales this season by providing stellar service and making sincere suggestions. The holiday selling season brings anywhere from 25-50% of your annual sales. Put a plan in place now to get your share of the pie. It pays to ask!
Barb Girson, International Direct Selling Industry expert, trainer and coach, is a highly interactive, creative speaker and author offering professional skill development programs for workshops, leader retreats, annual conventions and teleclass sales training programs. Barb helps companies, teams & entrepreneurs ... Gain Confidence. Get Into Action. Grow Sales. To contact Barb, sign up for her next FREE sales training teleclass and get her Sales Strategies Ezine go to go to http://www.mysalestactics. com. Original Work© 2011 All Rights Reserved Edited by Robyn Brooke Article Source: com/6706095
http://EzineArticles.
Moms In Business Magazine • November, 2012 • PAGE 11
STANDOUT Women Business Leaders: How to Attract and Retain the Best Women in Leadership By Joelle Jay
PAGE 12 • November, 2012 • Moms In Business Magazine
photo © Annika Banfield
Leaders take notice: a crisis is brewing.
Today, U.S. businesses are losing some of their very best talent - educated, experienced women - in what may be the largest talent drain ever. Why? The balance of work and family, for many, is exacting too high a price.
Statistics indicate a disturbing trend that those abandoning their careers are largely high-achieving women, whose jobs tend to demand longer hours, who carry more responsibility and whose absence arguably makes the greatest impact on business. Whether they are pushed away by an unforgiving work environment or pulled away by the lure of family life, one thing is clear: for high-achieving women, life balance is becoming an increasing impossibility. Business women play a special role in addressing this issue. Because we understand the issue so intimately - whether directly through our own experiences or indirectly through the women around us-we can consciously make an effort to pave the way for a healthier approach to success that honors career and quality of life. The well-being of businesses and the women within them are at stake. What can be done to retain talented women? Many prominent solutions include company wide policy changes, such as paid parenting leave, flexible workdays, job sharing, and telecommuting. Unfortunately, many such choices are stigmatized.
While companies begin to examine their response to the issue, business women and men can take action personally - not by perpetuating all-or-nothing choices, but by using the talents that have made them successful in business to address the issue head-on. Some suggestions:
Establish mentors. The tensions of work/ life balance tend to be felt most intensely by women in their 30s, when marriage, career, and motherhood converge. These women can benefit from the experience women who have successfully navigated this particularly challenging time of life.
Hire a coach. Because this issue is so personal, one-on-one coaching with a professional can help promising women make choices that truly honor all of who they are. Use creativity. Find new ways to meet the needs of women leaders-which in many cases may simply mean asking them what they want. Beware the punishing workload. Many professions value long hours over quality work. Take a second look at the business culture and see if it really awards what’s most important.
Work against the stigma. Combat stereotypes against people who choose flex time or job sharing by making opportunities available to them and being fair with recognition.
As this issue becomes more widespread, many are calling for the increased participation on the part of companies to address the problem. Women leaders can help make that happen. In the meantime, businesswomen and men can also continue to work one by one on
an individual basis that makes change possible - if not for the entire population of women in business, at least for one at a time.
Joelle K. Jay, Ph.D. is an executive coach who strategizes with business leaders to enhance performance and maximize business results. Her book, The Inner Edge: The 10 Practices of Personal Leadership (http://joellekjay.com/theinner-edge/), reveals the leadership strategies practiced in America’s most successful and admired companies by their highest achieving leaders. Her free newsletter, The Inner Edge Quarterly, offers articles, exercises, tips, quotes, and success stories from real leaders to help you excel. Subscribe now! Click here: http://joellekjay.com/the-inneredge/the-inner-edge-quarterly/.
Article Source: http://ezinearticles. com/?Women-Business-Leaders:-Howto-Attract-and-Retain-the-Best-Womenin-Leadership&id=6262605
Moms In Business Magazine • November, 2012 • PAGE 13
Feature
Balancing the Entrepreneurial Tightrope Gladys E. Edmunds Gladys Edmunds Entrepreneur Programs I help entrepreneurs develop multi-streams of income as well as assist them with designing effective marketing and public relations programs. PAGE 14 • November, 2012 • Moms In Business Magazine
Gladys Edmunds has always known how to get what she wants! At age twelve, she desperately wanted a pair of Buster Brown shoes, but her parents could not afford to buy them for her. But that did not stop Gladys. She used her most mature voice and started calling local businesses, offering them cleaning services. Despite her young age and inexperience, she signed up clients quickly and then convinced neighbors and family members to work for her. She bought her shoes, and began her life as an entrepreneur.
Work Smart Not Hard
From the cleaning service she began as a young girl to the tour bus business she created while pregnant at age fifteen, to the multimillion-dollar travel enterprise that she runs today, Gladys Edmunds has lived a life of successes. These days she teaches the tricks of her incredible success to others in seminars and on national talk shows. But how, exactly, has she been able to do it? In There’s No Business Like Your Own Business, Edmunds shares the essential lessons she’s learned in her entrepreneurial endeavors, including her fundamental philosophy that having balance in all aspects of one’s life is crucial for achieving success. Her tried-and-true six steps to success are simple and achievable, and her personal stories are enlightening as well as inspirational. RTS: Please give your name?
GLADYS: Gladys E. Edmunds.
RTS: What is your company name, website, and how man years havde you been in business? GLADYS: Gladys Edmunds Entrepreneurial Programs, www. gladysedmunds.com, 40 years in business and still going strong. RTS: How many children?
GLADYS: I have one adult child and two grandgirls. I call them grandgirls because they have passed the kids or children stage. Both are very smart young women who are making academic decisions on the best path to take for career. One is planning on becoming a professional photographer and the other is studying to become an art therapist. Sharon, my daughter is getting use to having an empty nest and making decision on what her next move will be. RTS: What does your company do?
GLADYS: We do business development consulting, advising, and coaching for small-to–mid size businesses. I help entre-
preneurs develop multi-streams of income as well as assist them with designing effective marketing and public relations programs. RTS: Why did you go into this business career?
GLADYS: I did not choose this business career. It chose me! After having spent many years in the travel business I won several national and regional awards for entrepreneurial excellence. These awards led to national TV appearances on Good Morning America, The Today Show, The Oprah Show, and feature articles in a number of national magazines including Good Housekeeping, Essence, National Enquirer, etc., and a number of national newspapers. It also led to Viking/Penguin publishing my book There’s No Business Like Your Own Business and also led to a contract with USA Today to write a weekly column called The Entrepreneurial Tightrope, which got me started on national speaking engagements that still go on today. This also caused many small and start up entrepreneurs to seek my help and advice, thus leading to my current business; Gladys Edmunds Entrepreneurial Programs. RTS: What has been the single hardest part of being in this business/career? How did you deal with that?
GLADYS: I actually have not found any part of this business difficult. The world delivers to us exactly what our worldview is. If you look for difficulties or problems you will surely find them. And so far I have seen no difficulty with any of my businesses. RTS: What’s your greatest achievement? Or what are you most proud of personally or professionally?
GLADYS: My greatest achievement was being able to raise a child into a beautiful young woman who has become both an entrepreneur and a great mother to her beautiful daughters. It is not easy to raise children. And, when you can raise a child and educate them without incident that is something to be extremely proud of. I have received many awards and recognitions as a businesswoman. But the most important achievement is one that has no particular public award attached to it. And that’s acquiring and developing the ability, skill, fortitude, patience, etc to raise a child into becoming a well-adjusted and stable human being that becomes a benefit to society. RTS: What’s on the horizon for you and your business?
GLADYS: I am currently working on a new book and will continue to expand my relationship to small business folks. Moms In Business Magazine • November, 2012 • PAGE 15
Feature continued
RTS: How do you balance all of it? GLADYS: I write a weekly column for USA Today called The Entrepreneurial Tightrope, it focuses on balancing life and work. There is no one size fits all. Each one will have to define what is balance for him or her. A single woman with one child will find that balance means something different from her sister who may be married with three kids and running her own business.
For me balancing means that I work and I play, and I make a point to do both of those each day. I exercise daily, meditate, do yoga, and make a point to do these things as routinely as I work.
Feature creating a life that would not only give her good support but a life that she could be proud of having been a part of. That has been inspiration enough.
that would be great. Unfortunately, I see far to many woman coming to the market place and behaving exactly like the men that they have complained about.
GLADYS: That is an interesting question. If women could come to the market place and bring their gifts that only women can bring, such as intuition, the ability to self-manage well, the gift of managing people effectively and the desire to work things out in an ethical and moral way,
So I would ask each woman in the business world and/or work place to ask herself from time to time: “am I bringing who I really am to this space. Or, have I adopted the behavior of someone else.”
RTS: Final question regarding moms in business being in charge.
RTS: Where do you get the courage to change your life in the direction that you need to take, but can be difficult or unknown? Women are inherently courageous. When making life changes—since we already have inborn courage- it’s the know how, the knowledge, the skills that we need to more forward. When I want to make a move in my life I take time to study the best direction to take and I gather the skills that I need to make the shift move along more smoothly. RTS: What advice do you have for other moms in business?
GLADYS: Make sure to play as much as you work. RTS: Have I experienced gender bias?
GLADYS: I have no idea if I have experienced any kind of bias. And, the reason for this is that my focus is so concentrated on what I am doing or need to do that I don’t waste time trying to identify bias of any type, gender, race or otherwise. RTS: Who has been your greatest inspiration? GLADYS: My greatest inspiration has been my family. At the start of my career I had to make life for my infant daughter. I placed my complete attention on
PAGE 16 • November, 2012 • Moms In Business Magazine
It seems to be a rare woman who actually feels confident enough about her abilities (the ones listed above) to actually bring those abilities to the marketplace.
I still think that there are far to many women who don’t feel comfortable in being who they inherently are.
Gladys’ 5 Tips for Reinventing Your Life 1. Learn new skills every chance that you get. 2. Make certain to network and connect to the kind of people who can help to move you forward 3. Make a point to do at least one thing daily that brings you joy that has nothing to do with your professional life 4. Don’t be afraid to delegate. Delegating responsibility will allow you to have more time and decrease stress. 5. Keep in mind, maintaining optimal health and strength is paramount in running a successful business and raising a healthy family. Therefore, put your health and strength first at all times. Learn to eat well for your body, keep regular check-up appointments. In other words develop a routine that puts your health at the top of your to-do list daily
Moms In Business Magazine • November, 2012 • PAGE 17
MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF WORKING MOTHERS WITH NAFMIB AND CREDIT CARES
Open a merchant account or simply switch your existing credit card processing to Electronic Commerce International through our Credit Cares program and a percentage of your processing fees will be DONATED to The National Association of Moms in Business every month.
About Credit Cares: A division of Electronic Commerce International, Credit Cares was founded to create a way for businesses that contribute or desire to contribute to their favorite association, charity or school to do so without affecting their bottom line.
You will pay no more, and often less, than you are already paying for your credit card processing. This will contribute much needed new funds for The National Association of Moms in Business without costing you any additional money!
For more information about how your business can help Credit Cares and NAFMIB truly make a difference in the lives of working mothers visit http://www.credit-cares-about-national-association-for-moms-in-business.com or call (855) 782-2737 Monday through Friday 9AM to 5PM Pacific Time.
PAGE 18 • November, 2012 • Moms In Business Magazine
New Book from Our President, Richelle Shaw
GRAB IT AT AMAZON.COM
Book Release November 13, 2012. Watch your email for early notice. www.TheMillionDollarEquation.com Moms In Business Magazine • November, 2012 • PAGE 19
Mom to Watch
Feature
Community Banking Emissary In fact, I’m thrilled to be working with Richelle, and NAFMIB, on a very important community bank issue right now. Both our groups are calling for an extension of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s (FDIC) Transaction Account Guarantee (TAG) program, which helps small business and municipal depositors. The program will end on Dec. 31 unless Congress takes action. If it’s allowed to expire, approximately $1.4 trillion in transaction-account deposits—held by many small businesses and municipal offices— and will become uninsured overnight, and will ultimately be transferred into the large too-big-to-fail financial institutions because of their explicit government guarantee. Because the financial system remains fragile, our nearly 5,000 community bank members are concerned that allowing this depositinsurance program to expire will have negative consequences on Main Street America. The good news is that Congress has the power to extend this FDIC insurance program to keep deposits secure and in local communities. I encourage NAFMIB members who work with their local community bank to contact their member of Congress as soon as possible. Together we can extend this important program for Main Street community banks and small businesses! For more information, visit http://www.icba.org/advocacy/TAGResources.cfm.
Aleis Stokes, Vice President, Media and Public Relations Independent Community Bankers of America RTS: Please give your name and title? ALEIS: Aleis Stokes, Vice President, Media and Public Relations. RTS: What is your company name? ALEIS: Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA), Washington, D.C. office. RTS: How long have you worked for the company? ALEIS: Four years. RTS: What exactly do you do? ALEIS: As head of ICBA’s public relations efforts, I’m responsible for communicating the association’s key policy positions and the positive story of the nation's community banks to the national media. I work across all departments within ICBA to help develop key messaging and create targeted communication campaigns that elevate the reputation of community banks and help advance important agenda items, which allow them to continue to thrive in the communities they serve across the country.
PAGE 20 • November, 2012 • Moms In Business Magazine
RTS: How many children do you have? ALEIS: One, a 2-year-old son. RTS: What does a typical day look like for you? ALEIS: I’m on the drop off crew [for daycare] so my mornings can be very hectic, but also a lot of fun because that’s when my son and I have our one-on-one time—just us. While I’m busy getting ready and preparing to leave for work each morning, I make a conscious effort to slow down so I can really be present and spend quality time with my son. It’s always a treat to take a few extra minutes—even if it means getting out the door a little later than I’d hope, which happens most mornings—to sit down and eat breakfast with him, help him with a puzzle or sing his ABC’s with him. The extra time is so worth it and helps me start my day off on the right foot. I’ve learned that if I’m fully present as a mother at home, I’m equally as present when I’m at work. After dropping my son off, it’s commuting time and then work, work, work. Luckily, I really love what I do and the community banks ICBA advocates for, so that makes the work I do that much more meaningful. My day is spent speaking with reporters—connecting them with ICBA’s subject matter experts, pitching news stories, writing press releases and communications materials, collaborating with colleagues on messaging and campaign execution—the list goes on. I try to leave the office right around 5 so I can get home and have dinner with my husband and son, get some
quality playtime/outdoor time in, and then ALWAYS (as much as possible) put my son to bed. Luckily for all of us, that’s the norm. Once the little one is asleep, it’s time to clean and prep for the next day so I can do it all over again. Once that’s done, I can FINALLY relax. RTS: What is your best tip for managing it all? ALEIS: I think one of the biggest transitions for me when I became a working mother was just that—managing it all. Suddenly, I had a million number one priorities that I needed to accomplish on a daily basis, but of course, time just won’t for allow it. As many of you already know, if you try to keep up with everything, it’s easy to burn out. I think one of the best tips I can offer is to encourage women to delegate tasks and to lean on those who they know will be supportive and are perfectly capable of handling certain duties. For example, I am extremely blessed to have a loving and supporting husband who pulls more than his fair share on the home front. He understands that my work and commute can be very demanding and tries to compensate by doing the dishes, the laundry and taking on more of the caregiver role in the evening. But it wasn’t always like that, simply because I didn’t ask for help and felt like I had to do everything. We as women have a hard time delegating, especially when it comes to our homes and our children’s lives, but in the end, it may be best to do just that. You’ll be much happier if you let go of some things and let others—a spouse, significant other, friend or family member take the reins. Who knows, they may even be better at it. My husband and I some-
times joke about our new-found family dynamic. I never would have guessed that he’d be the better cook, and in all out honesty, is one of the best caregivers I have ever seen with a child. Sometimes people have a way of surprising you, and that’s a good thing. It’s life telling you that you can’t control everything. Looking back, I’m so proud of myself for delegating some of the “mother only” duties I had in my head. It’s made us a better family and a stronger one at that. RTS: What do you do differently now that you are a mom in business? ALEIS: Now that I’m a mom, it’s essential that I set realistic expectations and communicate those expectations to both my employer and my family. A prime example is my schedule for the day—what can I get done and what my day will look like. Setting realistic expectations and communicating those expectations makes for a much better work experience and family life. It also helps alleviate any guilt you have because you know where you stand with everyone and everything, and are truly giving everyone 100 percent. RTS: What advice do you have for other moms? Be grateful for what you have—the opportunity to have a meaningful career while also being blessed with a family. There are some days when I am overwhelmed by the responsibility of it all, but when I feel that way I always think about how lucky I am to have the opportunity to work for a great association like ICBA, that supports me as a working mother, and a great family who will back me up no matter what. Being grateful really helps you put things in perspective so you can move forward and do it all over again the next day with a smile on your face, even during the craziest of times.
Moms In Business Magazine • November, 2012 • PAGE 21
STANDOUT
Making the Most of Small Business Saturday Ann O’Shields, The Nest Egg I own a specialty home furnishings and accessories store in Fairfax, Virginia. We have participated in Amex’s Small Business Saturday for the past two years and have had great success with the promotion. The first year of the promotion our sales on the Saturday after Thanksgiving (Small Biz Saturday) were double what they were the year prior. Our customers were very eager to support us and were very aware of the promotion via the advertising done by American Express. The local news came by the first year as well and did a wonderful clip on shopping at small businesses. Last year we offered gifts with purchase for customers who spent $50 or more and we held drawings, giving away over $1000 in merchandise. This helped provide an additional incentive to our customers to spend more than the $25 American Express credit and most customers did just that. We take advantage of the Facebook credit offered as well and advertise our business that way too.
RTS: How many kids and ages? ANN: Two boys, ages 4 and 7.
RTS: Is your office in your home or outside? ANN: Office is outside the home, at our retail store. I do have a home office that I hope to utilize more when both boys are in school all day but right now it's too difficult to get much work down when they are home.
RTS: What is a typical day for you look like? What time your alarm goes off?
ANN: My alarm goes off in the form of one of the boys calling for my husband or myself, usually between 6:30-7:00. I know I should set an earlier alarm because there is nothing better than a half hour to myself before the kids wake up but sleep is so precious to me, that I usually opt for the extra time in bed. Once they're up it's making lunches, getting us all dressed and ready and out the door by 8:30. Luckily I have much more flexibility now than I did when we opened the business so I usually have 3 full days at the store and I'm home by 5:30. The other two days I do a combination of picking up the boys, running errands, trying to fit in a walk or yoga class and of course, work from home inbetween all of those things. PAGE 22 • November, 2012 • Moms In Business Magazine
RTS: Activities for your kids? Luckily we don't have too many outside activities yet. Both play soccer in the spring and fall. RTS: Your favorite tool?
ANN: iPad for Google calendar, Email (I have 4 accounts that I check all the time so all are easily accessible on the iPad), etc. I
From 9:15 am to 11:00 am I’m responding to PR opportunities, adding new products to my website, doing interviews, placing orders, researching new products, marketing and improving my website. I pick my son up at school at 11:15 am. We go home, I cook lunch and we eat. Then I do things like pay bills, grocery shopping, clean my house, and play with my son. I check my email & website periodically throughout the day for messages/sales that need an immediate response.
can also easily update and check our social media sites quickly using my iPad.
RTS: Are you on Facebook? Twitter? LinkedIn? Can you please provide your social media contacts? ANN: Yes! https://www.facebook.com/TheNestEgg https://twitter.com/THENESTEGG http://pinterest.com/thenestegg/ http://www.linkedin.com/pub/ann-o-shields/7/b37/37b
I cook dinner at 5 pm. My family eats dinner at 6 pm. I post on my social networks and respond to messages from 6:30 pm - 7 pm. I put my son to bed at 7 pm. From 8 pm- 11 pm I hangout with my husband while I work on large business projects like writing content for my business blog, downloading new products etc. RTS: How many kids and ages?
JAMIE: I have one child. My son is four years old.
Jamie Yahne, Glitzee Glee Hello, My name is Jamie Yahne. I am a mother who is also a small business owner. I own an online holiday dinnerware store called Glitzee Glee. You can visit my website at www. glitzeeglee.com. I participated in small business saturday last year in 2011. It was great because my business had just opened less than a month before. I got a hundred dollars in free facebook ads which resulted in over a hundred free visitors to my website. My website tracks visitors so I know I received traffic from this event.
RTS: Is your office in your home or outside? JAMIE: My office is in my home but I can work anywhere as long as I have a computer with internet excess. RTS: Activities for your kids?
JAMIE: My son goes to preschool, plays t-ball, plays flag football, takes swimming lessons and has weekly play dates with his friends. RTS: Your favorite tool?
RTS: What is a typical day for you look like? What time your alarm goes off?
JAMIE: My favorite business tool is www.mailchimp.com. You can create professional newsletters and coupons to email to your subscribers.
JAMIE: I don’t even need to set an alarm because my four year old son wakes me up at 6:30 am daily! Typically I begin my day preparing my son’s breakfast and picking out his clothes for preschool. While he is getting dressed and eating breakfast I check my business email and respond to urgent messages. I check my website for sales and customer service messages. Then I get dressed, put my makeup on, style my hair and eat breakfast. I drop him off at school at 9:00 am.
JAMIE: Here are my social media links. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Glitzee-Glee-Dinnerware-HolidayDinnerware-Table-Linens/253270724720473 http://twitter.com/GlitzeeGlee http://pinterest.com/glitzeeglee/ http://www.linkedin.com/pub/jamie-yahne/44/b34/918
RTS: Are you on Facebook? Twitter? LinkedIn? Can you please provide your social media contacts?
Moms In Business Magazine • November, 2012 • PAGE 23
STANDOUT Small Business Holiday Survival Guide
Conducting business during the holiday season can be challenging, especially if you depend on getting a certain amount of new business every month. With the exception of retail, most business slows down during this time of year. Most people are caught up in shopping, wrapping, and hosting or attending holiday parties.
How can you make the most of this "downtime" to ensure that you're ready to hit the ground running after the New Year's confetti has settled? First of all, don't abandon the quest for new business entirely. Although it may be more difficult to win new clients now, you'll
By Michelle Mizuno
certainly fail if you don't try at all. Stick to your normal methods of prospecting - cold calling, networking, online marketing, etc.
Make the "warm and fuzzy" mood of the season work for your business. We all recognize the tried and true ritual of sending annual holiday cards to existing clients to thank them for their business, but you may want to take the concept a step further. Think of how you can tie your product or service into the holiday season, even if it seems like a stretch at first. For example, an auto shop could run a holiday tune-up special, with the tagline "Will Your Car Make it Over the River and Through the Woods?" OK, don't be too hard on me! I came up with that on the spur of the moment. Instead of sending cards, why not shower your clients with a more enduring gift? Be creative! Did you know that you can have a bobblehead made of yourself and branded with your company logo? If that idea seems a little far fetched, just remember that your goal in giving client gifts are to keep your name in front of the client, show appreciation for their business, and remind them of the need for your product or service. Incorporate a subtle festivity into your daily marketing efforts. My business partner created a holiday version of our logo to use on seasonal coupons, in emails, etc. No matter how small, people appreciate the acknowledgment of this special time of year. Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for Success in the New Year!
PAGE 24 • November, 2012 • Moms In Business Magazine
Michelle Mizuno is the Vice President of Marketing for Complete Business Systems. Her experience includes media planning and buying, account management, advertising sales, and copywriting for advertising, marketing, and PR. Visit the Complete Business Systems website to learn more about company branding at http://www.CompleteBizSystems.com. Article Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?Small-BusinessHoliday-Survival-Guide&id=890485
Moms In Business University Tour Moms In Business University Tour MomsIn InBusiness BusinessUniversity Universityisislaunching launchingaa20 20 Moms city tour. tour. The The tour tour will will include include our our nationally nationally city acclaimedclass class“Marketing “MarketingWithout WithoutMoney™”, Money™”, acclaimed and also also “The “The Million Million Dollar Dollar Equation™ Equation™ and Training”,which whichisisbased basedon onthe thenew newbook bookfrom from Training”, NAFMIB President President Richelle Richelle Shaw. Shaw. NAFMIB Would you you like like to to for for the the tour tour to to come come to to your your Would city? Visit Visithttp://www.nafmib.org/ www.NAFMIB.org andand clickclick on the city? on linklink to enter your city.city. the to enter your
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MomsInInBusiness BusinessMagazine Magazine• •November, November,2012 2012• •PAGE PAGE21 25 Moms
STANDOUT
The Business Owner's Top 10 Holiday Stress-Busting Tips By Louise Abbott
Here are the signs you are businessperson stressed by the holidays:
Can't sleep: You lie awake mulling over to do lists and finances Irritability: Your easy going ways are a way of the past Unhealthy overeating of "comfort" foods: Where one helping used to be enough, you now take two or three
Feelings of overwhelm: You feel the weight of your work, immediate family and extended family Headaches, muscle pain, tiredness
1. Prepare your business for the holidays In your work, the holiday season may mean a slump or a boom depending on the nature of your business. Understand
PAGE 26 • November, 2012 • Moms In Business Magazine
the trend for your industry and adjust accordingly. You may need to hire temporary help or cut expenses. Preplanning can make this time of year easier for everyone.
2. Do only what you love regarding holiday traditions. For me it means turkey on Thanksgiving. For Christmas that means decorating a tree, sending Christmas cards and
when my children were small, preparing stockings filled with inexpensive but imaginative goodies. Everything else and I mean EVERYTHING else is negotiable in our family. Pulling off the baking of 6 different kinds of holiday cookies can be exhausting. Yes, it is fun, if that is your thing, but there may be a way to have the fun and simplify the process. Think of creative ways to do ONLY what you love that uplifts and energizes you. 3. Make a budget and stick to it creatively
This can take real discipline for those who look at the holidays as a time for lavish gifts. With careful planning and rethinking our values, we can make this happen. We get used to the high a pricey gift brings, but dealing with the financial aftermath can go on for months after the event... and long after the high is gone. You may need to train those around you that staying within a budget is a value for you and that creative gift giving is a value. Remind yourself that your love is not measured by the dollar value of a particular gift. 4. Choose your holiday activities carefully
You don’t need to attend every holiday party that comes up. Determine ahead of time which ones you will really enjoy, and decline other invitations. Time, like money, is one of your most precious commodities during the holidays. Budget it carefully as you would your hard earned dollars. 5. Rest if you are feeling tired or ill
This seems obvious, but many people just keep going in spite of long hours at work and doing for their family. This is usually a guarantee that you will get even more stressed. Take breaks when you need them.
6. Delegate
10. Remember you are only human
You really don’t have to do everything yourself. Your family, even if you have very young children can take over certain jobs. One of my fondest memories of Christmas was putting on all the unbreakable ornaments on the lower half of the tree. I was probably three and a half. There are professionals that you can hire to do little jobs that you have decided are important, but don’t have time for.
If you mess up, and things are less than perfect in your holiday world... (you overeat, overspend, lose it with grandma, buy the totally wrong gift... whatever) give yourself a break. You do not have to be Superman or Superwoman (or Super Santa) to the world.
During the holidays, we come in contact with family members that we don’t see at other times of the year. Remind yourself that they will not be anyone but who they really are. As much as you can, accept them as themselves, and if they are difficult, have strategies for taking care of yourself. Remind yourself that you can only control yourself and don’t need to be responsible for the behavior of others. If a relative crosses your boundaries in a way that diminishes you, feel free to quietly remove yourself from the situation. Never subject your minor children to abusive or inappropriate behavior from relatives.
Happy planning for a stress free holiday season, business and life!
7. Be realistic about Relatives
8. Keep up your exercise routine
It is easy to let this go as the weather grows colder, but at this time more than any other, you need the stress reducing effects that only exercise can give. Make it a priority.
Your peace of mind is priceless, especially in the holiday season. You simply can't do everything and please everyone. The holidays can be a joyous time to do what you love and do best.
Louise Abbott is a business coach and owner of Creative Resources Coaching. She teaches self employed professionals to grow their business using long and short range planning and proven marketing practices. She is the current president of the Tucson Coaches Alliance and past president of a Tucson chapter of Business Network International. You can access more articles and information at her website http://www.crcoaching. com
Article Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Business-OwnersTo p - 1 0 - H o l i d a y -S t r e s s - B u s t i n g Tips&id=862213
9. Give yourself a Gift that revives
Women, this may be a spa gift certificate; men, a round of golf? It could be a certificate for time to yourself. Wrap it and make it special. Open it on that special day. Selfish? Not really, especially if it is something that will refresh and result in more energy to give those you love.
Moms In Business Magazine • November, 2012 • PAGE 27
Get to Know Our New President by Grabbing a Free Copy of Her Book www.TheMillionDollarEquation.com
PAGE 28 • November, 2012 • Moms In Business Magazine
Bits ‘n Pieces
Founder Gina Robison-Billups Editor Design/Layout Rhonda Davis Rhonda@MIBN.org Advertising Rhonda Davis Rhonda@MIBN.org Published by NAFMIB, the National Association for Moms In Business. The Leading National Association Representing Executive, Entrepreneur and CEO Moms MIBN.org, NAFMIB.org Copyright 2012, © International Association of Working Mothers See www.MIBN.org for full copyright page All Rights Reserved
Moms In Business Magazine • November, 2012 • PAGE 29