This Girl Means Business - Issue 13

more balls than most

ISSUE

13

An Interview with

Lara Morgan

Networking DOS & DON’TS + GABRIELLE BERNSTEIN’S TOP 5 PUBLICITY TIPS // PLAN YOUR HOLIDAY + MORE!

THIS GIRL...

2 This Girl Means Business

This Girl... she’s not afraid to chase her dreams,

even if it means she has to do things which push her out of her comfort zone.

She’s so focused on her goals and sets herself targets so that she can stay on track and make the most out of each and every day. When opportunities present themselves, she dares to grab them and act on them.

This girl is relentless and she’ll keep going until she succeeds. (…with lots of breaks to relax, reflect & rejuvenate along the way!)

This Girl... 3

IN THIS ISSUE:

12 9 A Note from Carrie 10 Quote of the Month 12 Chasing Your Dreams

(& watermelons!)

By Michelle Rohr 16 5 Steps for Creating a

Publicity Plan

By Gabrielle Bernstein

4 This Girl Means Business

16 20 We Asked, You Said: What’s

the biggest lesson you’ve

learned in business?

24 Take a Break from Your Business By Alison Bradford 30 How She Did It: Alison Pinto

of Menus4Mums 40 Networking Dos & Don’ts

By Bella Rareworld

46 24 44 This Girl Loves...

By Samantha Green 46 Cover Story: An Interview

with Lara Morgan

By Carrie Green 60 What We’re Reading:

Divine Guidance 62 How to Get Paid in Full,

On Time, Every Time

By Suzanne Dibble 68 Top 10 Tips: Ten Things to

Remember on Your Journey

ISSUE #13 Quick Links: Share This Issue Subscribe / Contribute View Past issues Share Your Story

s dqwertA S Hy yY Table of Contents 5

contributors

Gahrielle Bernstein // author Featured on Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday as a next generation thought leader, Gabrielle Bernstein is making her mark. Gabrielle is the New York Times Bestselling Author of the book May Cause Miracles. Her earlier titles include Add More ~ing to Your Life – A hip guide to happiness and Spirit Junkie – A Radical Road to SelfLove and Miracles. Gabrielle is also the founder of the social networking site HerFuture.com for women to inspire, empower and connect.

Bella Rareworld // bellanetworking events We specialise in helping clients network with their target market or industry. We run -ETN- Excusive Target Networking Events™ & Training.

Alison Bradford // business coach Alison Bradford is a business coach who specialises in helping Micro Business Owners to become more productive and more profitable. Her clients are working longer and harder in their business, and she helps them figure out how to grow their business without burning themselves out. You can get her weekly Rock Your Biz Tips here.

6 This Girl Means Business

Michelle Rohr // the secret owl society Michelle is passionate about personal development and business. She is the creator of the Secret OWL Society, a project that is focused on inspiring young people to embrace the world of self-improvement and living the entrepreneurial lifestyle. When she is not working on her various businesses and projects, she enjoys walking on the beach, taking cat naps, and drinking coffee. Her favorite quote is, “Your greatest life is on the other side of your greatest fear. You must run toward what frightens you.”

Suzanne Dibble // lawyers4mumprenenurs Suzanne is a straight talking business lawyer who spent 12 years leading multi-million pound cross border deals, negotiating billion pound projects for PLCs and advising famous entrepreneurs, such as Richard Branson and Simon Woodroffe before setting up her own legal practice in 2010, which predominantly helps female small business owners. She is now on a mission to change the face of business law by making it affordable and accessible to small business owners so that they can grow and protect their business from a position of confidence.

See details about Suzanne’s free webinar series for small business owners here.

FIND OUT HOW TO BE A CONTRIBUTOR HERE

Contributors 7

MEET THE TEAM

{This Girl Means}

BUSINESS ISSUE #13

Editor-in-Chief

more balls than most

Carrie Green, UK ISSUE

13

An Interview with

Lara Morgan

style editor

Samantha Green, UK features editor

James Stephens, UK Design & Illustration

Natalie Walstein, USA

Networking DOS & DON’TS + GABRIELLE BERNSTEIN’S TOP 5 PUBLICITY TIPS // PLAN YOUR HOLIDAY + MORE!

8 This Girl Means Business

design assistant

Rebecca Brayman, USA

A Note from Carrie t’s the time of year

when people are going on holiday, but as business owners it can sometimes be difficult for us to go away!

We’re so dedicated to making sure our businesses succeed that we’re afraid to take a break. I know that in the past I’ve felt guilty at the thought of going away. But the truth is that taking a break is so important, if we don’t give ourselves time to relax and rejuvenate, we end up burning out, which is definitely not going to help our business! So, in this issue we’ve put together some top tips for how you can plan your break, so you can leave your

I

business for a week or two! Have a read on page 24.

On the cover this month is Lara Morgan, who started her first company Pacific Direct at the age of 23 and sold out 17 years later for £20 million. We went behind the scenes to discover how she did it. It’s so inspiring, have a read on page 46.

We have lots of great articles for you this month – best selling author, Gabrielle Bernstein shares her top tips for getting publicity and we also have some networking dos & don’ts for you!

I hope you enjoy this issue and remember to take a break!

- Carrie Green

Note from Carrie 9

Quote of the

Month

�

There are times when

we stop . We sit still... we listen and breezes from a whole other world begin to whisper.

- james carroll

personal DEVELOPMENT

Chasing Your Dreams (& watermelons!)

Words by

michelle rohr // the secret owl society, guam

live on the island of

Guam (if you look at a map, it’s the tiny dot in the Pacific Ocean half-way between Japan and Australia) and during this time of year we

I

12 This Girl Means Business

start seeing a lot of locally grown fruit such as mango, avocado, and watermelon. I love locally grown watermelon and I always make sure I buy one when I go grocery shopping at this time of year,

since they are only abundant for a short time. However, not so long ago they were constantly sold out whenever I went looking for some.

During this time, for some reason, I just started really craving watermelon and I would keep thinking about how I needed to find some to buy somewhere. After a couple of weeks of enduring “watermelon fever”, I was in my car on my way to my nanny job, when a truck filled with watermelons pulled right in front of me on the road! This isn’t a common sight to see on the island, and I could hardly believe it. What I’d been wanting was right in front of me...but what now?

It was a cool coincidence and I was about to let it pass and go about my day, when this thought struck me: “Michelle, you asked for watermelons, and now you got it.

Are you just going to ‘walk away’ now?” At the same time, however,

{ } “You asked for watermelons, and now you got it.

Are you just going to ‘walk away’ now?”

I was also thinking, “But I’m not the kind of person who chases after a truck of watermelons...and I’ll be late for my nanny job if I do!” Finding a way to hail down the guy driving the truck, so that I could buy some watermelons didn’t feel convenient or comfortable at all. It seemed silly.

Suddenly that truck filled with watermelons became a life metaphor to me. It dawned on me that if I wasn’t going to do anything to act on the opportunity to get what I wanted, then I would be diluting my inner drive to go after other opportunities in my life

Chasing Your Dreams (& Watermelons!) 13

“It dawned on me that if I wasn’t going to do anything to act on the opportunity to get what I wanted, then I would be diluting my inner drive to go after other opportunities in my life.”

- greater, more meaningful opportunities. True, in the grand scheme of things, watermelons aren’t a big deal, but for me this was bigger than watermelons.

This was about proving to life and myself that I go after what I want no matter what. If I can’t go the extra mile for my goal to get some

14 This Girl Means Business

watermelons, then how can I go the extra mile for goals that are even more serious and scary?

I gripped the steering wheel with determination as I followed the truck in front of me past the turn I was supposed to take to get to my nanny job. It turned out to be pretty fun to do something that wasn’t typical of me - a great way to start the day at least. Before too long, the truck and I halted at a stoplight. I stuck my head out of the window and waved my hand to get the driver to notice me and yelled, “Hey, can I buy your watermelons?!”

10 minutes later I was driving away with several huge watermelons in the passenger seat of my car, a big smile on my face, and the peace and confidence of knowing that no matter what, I would always chase after mydreams and goals... and watermelons.

•

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15

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

5 Steps for Creating a Publicity Plan

If you want to build a successful business then you have to figure out a way to raise awareness of it - the more people that know about your business, the better!

ne of the biggest ways

to really get your busi ness out into the spotlight is by getting publicity.

However, the problem is that most

O

16 This Girl Means Business

of us haven’t got a clue what to do when it comes to getting it! But someone who does know about it is Gabrielle Bernstein.

Formerly the owner of a boutique PR firm in New York City, she then went on to become a New York Times bestselling author and speaker. As the primary marketer of her current business Gabrielle has landed herself some of the most sought after publicity

placements in the world, including The Oprah Winfrey Show, CNN, The Sunday Times, The New York Times, ELLE and many more!

Gabrielle Bernstein understands the publicity game.

Now she’s helping others to master the art of PR through her DVD set, God is My Publicist which was originally recorded as a lecture in NYC. In this she shares her practical and spiritual tools for manifesting media for your message and showsyou how to create a spiritual publicity plan.

2. Know your audience

So, we asked Gabby what her top 5 tips are for creating a publicity plan, here they are…

Identify the powerful stories that your business has to tell, whether it’s a ‘miracle moment’ or a case study that had a big impact.

Keep these stories on file so that they are there for you at all times to make sure you are effusing authenticity, love and a genuine sense of service through everything that you teach.

1. Clarify your message

Be very specific about what you desire and what your brand is saying. Clarity helps intention and focuses your energy. This will help you to manifest your future story.

Find out where your audience lives – they are out there, but where?

Knowing this will help you to realise what type of media they are consuming. Also ask yourself the question, “What does my audience need from me that I can serve?”

Be aware of what you can give them that they are missing out on.

3. Become a Raconteur for Love

How to Get Paid in Full On Time, Every Time 17

5. Don’t be afraid of your competitors

4.

Love who pitching to

you’re

Be clear about where you want to be pitching and be connected to the medium that you are sharing it through. Find the places that you love to carry the message and are fun for you to pitch, and let that focus your energy. For example, if being in front of a camera makes you uncomfortable don’t pitch to television, and if you feel like you express yourself best through writing, offer yourself as a blogger.

18 This Girl Means Business

By acknowledging your competitors in a pitch, you are doing yourself a spiritual service.

You are saying that there is enough to go around, and this in turn will create abundance for you. So don’t be afraid to pitch a ‘trend’ piece with you and the others in your field – there is power in numbers so creating a well-rounded story will appeal to a print publication.

Enjoy the process!

•

This girl means business

Videos & Podcasts

To catch up on the latest video & podcast episodes, click here.

We asked...

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned in business?

20 This Girl Means Business

You said...

“After 20 years of creating and running successful businesses, by far the biggest lesson I’ve learned is to recruit help where you need it. It is so tempting to

feel you have to learn and execute every aspect of your business yourself. But it takes vision and courage to accept that there are areas you are brilliant at and others that you, your customers and your bottom line will be better served by seeking outside expertise. The investment you make in those areas will allow you to further develop your brilliant self, be happier in your business and get to your goals more quickly with your sanity intact!” - andrea saunder // life after bread health coaching, uk

“To listen to and trust my intuition. As it is always bang on and if something doesn’t

feel right then it isn’t. Regardless of what

anyone else may think or say. If it’s your

business you have to trust yourself first and foremost.” - melanie mackie // scarletta media, uk

We Asked, You Said 21

we asked, you said...

What’s the biggest

“To hustle, but not at the expense of

my health or happiness. I made very little progress in the first 6 months

of my new coaching practice, because

I rarely worked out, ate well or took time out for play and relaxing. When I started making those things priorities in my day, my business boomed!” - ashlee thurlow // ashlee thurlow coaching, usa

“That great idea you have at the

start - it evolves, so let it. Forcing yourself to stay with exactly the same plan you had when you started will stop you growing in the direction you need to go to be successful.” - gemma regalado-hawkey

22 This Girl Means Business

//

jane&philbert,

uk

“There are so many lessons I have

learned being an entrepreneur. The

biggest one I have learned is many people

will doubt you.Many people will give you their opinion (without you asking) and many people will give you advice. In the end you MUST trust your gut. Follow your instincts.

Do what is right for you and your business/life goals. Persevere.” - priya nembhard // momspumphere, usa

“Don’t put difficult tasks off - get

them out of the way first thing and the rest of the day will feel like you’ve really achieved something. Eat that frog!!” - geri conniffe // vantage financial services ltd, uk

We Asked, You Said 23

24 This Girl Means Business

personal DEVELOPMENT

Take a Break from Your Business How to leave your business, so that you can take time to relax, refresh and get reinvigorated!

Words by

carrie green

find that I spend most of

the year going at about a million miles per hour, trying to reach my goals... and I don’t think I’m the only entrepreneur that does this! I think most of us do. We’re so passionate, enthusiastic and determined to make progress and achieve amazing things that sometimes we forget to take a break. In the past I’ve come

I

up with so many excuses for why I couldn’t take a break – the time wasn’t right, I had too much going on, something might happen while I’m away and so I shouldn’t go. The excuses went on and on.

The truth was, I was terrified of stopping. Like most entrepreneurs, I live and breathe my business, so the idea of taking time off from it really made me Take a Break from Your Business 25

feel strange and guilty. Questions would flood my mind like, “Will the

business be ok if I leave? What if a great opportunity comes up while I’m away? What if something goes wrong?” I thought I was doing

my business a favour by working hard and not taking a break, I thought it meant I was dedicated!

However, what it really meant was that I was a fool, because not taking a break actually does more harm than good! After 3 years of no real break, I hit a brick wall I began to lack inspiration and motivation, coming up with new ideas seemed impossible and I began to lose interest. It was a recipe for business disaster. Finally after talking to some people about the way I was feeling, one of them asked me, “when was the last time you had a break?” when I replied, “3 years ago” they couldn’t

26 This Girl Means Business

believe it. It suddenly dawned on me that I desperately needed some time off to relax, reflect and rejuvenate!

Business coach, Alison Bradford says, “If you’re not taking a

decent amount of time as holiday from your business, you’re not only being a pretty rubbish boss to yourself, but you’re also not doing the business any favours.

No matter how much you love doing what you do, you need time to completely switch off from it, to rest and recharge. You’ll come back with a clearer perspective, new ideas and revived sense of energy to channel into your business.”

So, make sure you make time to take a break – a proper break!

Here are Alison’s top tips on how to plan your break...

How to Plan Your Break By:

ALISON BRADFORD

these together under headings such as Finance, Customer Service, Admin, Marketing, and Fulfilment.

3. Identify what still needs to happen whilst you’re away

1. Start planning early

Don’t leave it to the last minute to start planning how you’ll cover your business when you’re away, as this will lead to feeling more stressed before you go. Those last few days will always be busy before you go away so start to plan well in advance, a couple of months ideally, for what you’ll need to have in place.

2. Draft a list of all the tasks that need doing

This is a useful exercise to do whether you’re going on holiday or not. Simply write down a list of the jobs that currently need doing in your business. It helps to group

Highlight, colour code, or put a mark against all the tasks that will still need to happen whilst you’re away.

4. What can be automated? Using a different colour or

code, indicate on your list all of the tasks that you could automate/ schedule whilst you’re away e.g. social media updates, invoicing, email follow ups etc.

5. What additional resource do you need?

This should leave you now with a list of tasks that still need to happen and cannot be scheduled or automated. What resources do Take a Break from Your Business 27

you need to cover these? Do you need someone to answer your calls and respond to your emails? If you don’t have a team member already in place that you can use, look at some of the virtual PA services available now. This can also be a good time to have a sort out of things like email, and unsubscribe from any that are no longer relevant or useful to you. Look to places like E-lance.com or People Per Hour for more specialised resources or, even better, get recommendations from other business owners. You are definitely not the first business owner to go on holiday, so ask around for what services others have used.

6. Prepare for the week you return

Don’t expect to hit the ground running when you get back, and plan accordingly for this. I’d suggest keeping any appointments and meetings to a minimum for 28 This Girl Means Business

that first week you get back, and expect to come back to ‘stuff ’ that needs dealing with. Allow for this in your diary.

7. Consider your communications

Do you need to let certain people know you’ll be away beforehand?

Do you need to set up an out of office reply on any of your emails?

What about your voicemail, should this let people know you’re away?

It depends on the type of business you’re running, but don’t forget to consider your communications while you’re on holiday.

8. Enjoy your holiday!

Finally, make a conscious decision to switch off and enjoy your holiday.

If you’ve done all the planning then there’s nothing more you can do. Don’t be tempted to think you can check your emails and social media when you’re away – that’s cheating!

•

30 This Girl Means Business

How She Did It Interview by:

NAME: Alison

Pinto company: Menus4Mums LOCATION: United Kingdom

lison Pinto is the founder of Menus4 Mums, a website that offers meal plans for busy mums and links to current supermarket offers to help people save money!

The idea came to her while she was chatting to her friends in a coffee shop. Here she shares how she turned her idea into a successful business…

A

what motivated you to start your own business?

In 2008 I gave up my job to become a stay-at-home mum,

carrie green

as my daughter was finding it hard to adapt to school and I wanted to spend more time with my children. I’d always thought about running my own business, so now seemed a good time to try as my youngest child would soon be starting school. Some people find it hard to think of their business idea, but my problem was that I had too many, but none seemed quite right!

The “Eureka Moment” came when I was chatting with friends in a coffee shop and they were saying how hard it was to come up with interesting family meals. I’d always enjoyed cooking and meal planning – it makes life much less stressful when you know you’re sorted for

How She Did It: Alison Pinto of Menus4Moms 31

{ } “The ‘Eureka Moment’ came when I was chatting with friends in a coffee shop and they were saying how hard it was to come up with interesting family meals.”

dinner that night, plus it saves time and quite a bit of money!

That’s when the light bulb went off in my head that maybe busy parents might be prepared to pay for somebody to take away this burden from them. I then decided to centre the meal plans on current quality supermarket offers to help people save even more money. Somehow it just felt right, and Menus4Mums was born!

32 This Girl Means Business

how did you take it from an idea to a reality?

The first thing I did was to discuss the idea with a few people to gauge their reactions and to do some research on the internet.

A friend had recommended Business Link, so I phoned them up, and before I knew it I was booked on a series of courses about business planning, finance, and marketing. These courses were excellent and I used the knowledge gleaned to develop my business plan. Business Link also got me into networking and at one of their events somebody mentioned about a grant that was available for new start-ups. I immediately phoned up the grant provider (a local university) and, after an interview, was granted funding for a mentor and some courses. The mentor specialised in SEO, which was great as this

was a completely new area for me. I also found it invaluable to bounce ideas off him – I normally like to work in a team, so I do find it a bit isolating sometimes working for myself.

Another surprising area of help was other mums in the school playground! It turned out that a mum of one of my son’s friends

had spent 10 years working in marketing for Unilever, and she was so generous in her time and advice (and I think she enjoyed the Menus4Mums project too!).

So do ask around – you’ll be amazed at the number of people you know who could help you.

All in all, it took roughly one year to go from the idea to

How She Did It: Alison Pinto of Menus4Moms 33

“Do ask around – you’ll be amazed at the number of people you know who could help you.”

Menus4Mums being launched.

That timeframe could have been shorter, but I wanted to wait until my youngest child started work, so that I would have more time to devote to the business. how did you finance it?

I financed the start-up from my savings. The initial investment was roughly £2000, with the major cost being the website. I could have got the website developed more cheaply, but as it is my “shop front” I wanted it done right, and I’m very glad I did so. One of the brilliant

34 This Girl Means Business

things about the internet is that it has enabled many more people to start their own business on a low budget. what was the process you went through in order to get everything up and running?

After my Business Link courses, I spent time researching and developing my business plan. What quickly became clear was that there were an awful lot of strands to deal with, some of which overlapped. I therefore mapped out a timeline

of exactly what needed to be done when and how it interlinked with other decisions.

For example, I was having to give my IT developer the draft text for the Menus4Mums website before I had actually fine-tuned the product. Plus some of the issues we ran into when setting up the website altered the actual transaction process.

It felt like spinning several plates at the same time!

{ } “I mapped out a timeline of exactly what needed to be done when and how it interlinked with other decisions.”

once you’d set the business up, how did you raise awareness of it?

One thing I did underestimate was just how much marketing you have to do to get your product known.

Before setting up my business, I thought it would just be a case of paying for some ads.

But, no, it’s not that simple! I quickly realised that I had to be much more proactive, and so I contacted lots of magazines with my press release. I hit a brick wall with many, but some published articles about Menus4Mums.

The most successful was an article published in Woman & Home – we’re still getting sales from that two years later! Plus I started tweeting and posting on the Menus4Mums Facebook page, which was a new area for me as I had previously avoided

How She Did It: Alison Pinto of Menus4Moms

social media for my personal life.

Having said all that, I did get my first customer on my very first day of operating. how have you managed to grow the business?

One of the key things about Menus4Mums is that it is an easily scalable business as it’s completely online. I haven’t, therefore, actually had to employ anybody, although I do have an accountant, a web maintenance company, and a great lady I use for marketing and PR. Once your business

36 This Girl Means Business

starts to grow, it is a good idea to recognise where you add value and where it would be best to pay somebody else to do the work.

One lesson we have learnt along the way is the power of mutual collaboration and crosspromotion. For instance, we’ve teamed up with mySupermarket, the supermarket comparison site.

{ } “Once your business starts to grow, it is a good idea to recognise where you add value and where it would be best to pay somebody else to do the work.”

This has enabled our members to send their meal plan shopping lists to mySupermarket.com to find out what their shopping would cost in different supermarkets and to order their groceries at the online supermarket of their choice.

We would not have been able to offer that facility on our own, but with mySupermarket we have been able to offer our members a great new benefit at no cost to them.

tweet asking if I’d be interested in a link-up. Of course I said yes! There was a bit of mindboggling technology involved, which is way beyond my IT knowledge, but fortunately our web maintenance company dealt with that. Our customers love it! what has it taken to get to where you are today?

It has mainly been a mixture of self-belief, grit and hard work!

how did you manage to team up with mysupermarket?

have you made any mistakes along the way? if so, how did you overcome them?

The mySupermarket partnership shows the power of Twitter for small businesses.

I’d been regularly tweeting about good quality bargains in UK supermarkets when mySupermarket sent me a

I don’t think there can be any businesses that haven’t made mistakes, so it’s important not to be afraid of the making the odd one. The key thing is to learn from them! I have certainly made some marketing

How She Did It: Alison Pinto of Menus4Moms

mistakes, believing some of the sales talk you get fed. I track all our marketing, so if something works I keep doing it, but if it doesn’t then I try something else. what are your top pieces of advice to others looking to turn their idea into a successful business?

Whilst research and preparation are absolutely essential, it’s important at some point to “just do it”. Try and get your business 95% ready, get trading, and then tweak what isn’t 100%. Otherwise, you’ll never get started! what are the key things you have achieved since starting your business?

It was a huge honour to be made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts for Menus4Mums

38 This Girl Means Business

innovative contribution to family life, and I was thrilled to be named one of MumpreneurUK’s 100 mumpreneurs. However, what I love most is feedback from Menus4Mums members saying how their children are now eating so much better or that mealtimes are far less stressful. what do you think the key to building a successful business is?

Having a good product and successful marketing, so your market gets to know about your good product. what do you love most about running your business?

I love making the decisions around my business, plus I really appreciate the flexibility it gives me to work around family life.

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BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Networking DOS & DON’TS by

bella rareworld // bellanetworking events, uk

etworking can be a

N

brilliant way to meet like-minded people and potential clients and ultimately boost your business, but so often people make critical networking mistakes that can leave them feeling like networking is a total waste of time. So we asked networking

expert Bella Rareworld for her dos & don’ts when it comes to networking, so you can make sure you become a networking star!

40 This Girl Means Business

DON’T ever run out of business cards!

There is no excuse to network

without your business cards. It looks

DON’T drink too

unprofessional and demonstrates that

you did not prepare. Put a reminder

much at a networking event!

every month to place an order with

date in your smartphone for 1st of your printers.

Particularly at evening func-

tions. When you network you are advertising your business at all times

and it is no different than placing an ad in a newspaper.

DON’T spend too

DON’T feel bad if

much time with any one person!

you do not followup with everyone you meet! It’s ok.

There is always a limitation

of time at networking events. Have your exit strategies ready and make a goal to speak to as many delegates as possible to maximise time.

It’s not possible to keep in touch

with everyone you meet anyway. That being said, make sure you do actually

follow up with the people you want to develop a relationship with.

Networking Dos & Don’ts 41

NETWORKING DOS & DON’TS

DO have social questions ready.

Networking does not have to be

all about business. Actually, when you

add personal aspects into your conversations you will be remembered

DON’T leave home without a list of top 5 people/industries you want to meet!

Start

thinking

and this is a great start to building long-term relationships. In business “people buy people”.

strategically;

how you are going to expand your

network with quality contacts that will help drive quality networking results?

DO have an up-to-

DO widen your loca-

date LinkedIn profile before you leave the office!

tion by networking outside your office postcode!

Your new connections will

view your LinkedIn profile after the networking event ends to verify your business experience and your credentials.

42 This Girl Means Business

If you’re serious about network-

ing and want to expand your network, you need to consider expanding your location. The more variety of contacts you have, the better.

DO think about

DO listen more

your business image before you leave home.

than you talk!

much as we speak. When you listen

What is your business image

saying about you and your business?

At a networking event it only takes

30 sections for another delegate to make a perception of you. When you

We have two ears and one

mouth, so that we can listen twice as more you will be able to understand

how your business services can help delegates.

•

look successful you will be viewed as a successful business professional.

Networking Dos & Don’ts 43

this girl loves...

by samantha green

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3 44 This Girl Means Business

5 4 6

2. notebook from Sugar Paper LA / 1. DRESS from Karen Millen 3. pencil set from Design Darling / 4. trench coat from Burberry 5. alexa bag from Mulberry / 6. heels from Jimmy Choo

This Girl Loves... 45

COVER STORY

46 This Girl Means Business

an interview with

Lara Morgan By:

CARRIE GREEN

ara Morgan started Pacific Direct, manu facturing and distributing hotel amenities, when she was 23 and over seventeen years she built it into a global company, selling in 110 countries. She then sold her majority share for £20 million in 2008. Impressive or what?

In her book, More Balls Than Most: Juggle Your Way to Success With Proven Company Shortcuts, Lara shares the trials and tribulations of starting a company with nothing and selling it for £20 million. It’s clear that she built up Pacific Direct by being relentless

L

at selling and over the past seven issues of the magazine, she’s been sharing her top sales strategies with us (you can read them all here), but selling aside, she’s an incredible woman and mother of three, who has achieved so much and so we interviewed her to find out how managed to do it all…

You set up Pacific Direct back in 1991 as a sole trader and in 2008 you sold your majority share for £20 million – what made you decide to start the business?

In 1991, the last recession, I needed to eat. Therefore a job was Interview with Lara Morgan 47

COVER STORY

“Today so many people waste so much money on websites and business cards and glamorous, unnecessary things, without first of all checking to see if there’s a market for it, or if their prices are competitive, or if people will actually want to buy what they’re selling.” required, but I couldn’t get a job!

Then I was given an opportunity by a factory owner in China to sell the products he made and was already exporting. So I began to sell hotel amenities, basically sewing kits, shower caps, shoeshine and vanity kits to hotels – that’s how it all started. I needed an income, so back then it was just about having a product to sell and I thought I could sell those products, I liked the hotel industry and knew a bit about it and so I cracked on.

48 This Girl Means Business

What were the first steps you took to get started?

I’d never done hotel amenity sales, so the first thing I did was get the Yellow Pages out, found hotels to call and then started calling them. Today so many people waste so much money on websites and business cards and glamorous, unnecessary things, without first of all checking to see if there’s a market for it, or if their prices are competitive, or if people will actually want to buy

what they’re selling. For me I just started churning out numbers in the Yellow Pages. I really worked hard at maximising the Monday to Friday sales hours of the day. At the beginning I didn’t have a brochure to show hotels, so I used to wrap up samples and drop them off at various luxury hotels in London with my business card. I just learned so much as I went along and to some extent the customer was teaching me with feedback and I spent as much time listening as I did selling.

Were there any particularly scary moments when you were starting out that pushed you out of your comfort zone?

Yes. When I got to D in the Yellow Pages and saw The Dorchester Hotel on Park Lane

and thought, “God that scares me witless, it’s one of the most premium, 5 star hotels in London” and I really did feel that way, I was 23. I remember shaking on the steps, but I went in and the guy there was so generous with his time and taught me a lot about how purchasing worked. He asked me lots of questions, like did I think I could stock the products and have them delivered within one day and would I have a warehouse and I said yes, yes and yes, even though I had none of those things! But you have to just work it out – the fact was, he was interested in my product and I wanted to sell and the rest of it you have to make happen.

I really think you make your luck by making the difficult phone calls.

Interview with Lara Morgan 49

COVER STORY

You started with nothing and did everything – this must have presented some challenges. What was the hardest part about getting started and how did you overcome the challenges?

I am lucky in the sense that I was already a sales person by trade. There is no business operational need without an order, so I naturally focused on sales and then worked out the rest.

Time management was probably the greatest challenge, ensuring you maximise the sales hours of the day – filling the pipeline of potential, whilst learning all the skills and knowledge of a huge variety of different parts of a business service (freight, importing, accounting, packaging and on) whilst delivering the best service and being a no-one trying to break into big accounts.

50 This Girl Means Business

{ } “Don’t be knocked backwards just because somebody isn’t buying your opportunity, there are always plenty of fish in the sea.”

How did you juggle all of these things? Are there any great time management tips you can share with us?

The eternal roller coaster of most small businesses is that you sell, sell, sell, then you’ve got to deliver it and then it’s like ‘oh god there’s no pipeline’, so you have to sell some more. I realised that any task that wasn’t to do with sales, like administration, had to take place outside of

sales hours, so Saturday, Sunday, night time and morning time, when the customer was not available – that time was for admin, product development and creative work. The rest of the time was for selling and to help me to stay efficient, I actually used to set scores for myself as

to how many calls I should make every day. You have to be relentless and deal with rejection, which isn’t the end of the world – don’t be knocked backwards just because somebody isn’t buying your opportunity, there are always plenty of fish in the sea.

Interview with Lara Morgan 51

COVER STORY

“Success is the result of 17 years of relentless determination to be the best that we could be in a highly competitive global marketplace.”

What was your average day like during the early years of Pacific Direct?

Long, really very long, but enormously varied and exciting. I used to start very early either by driving to London and delivering goods around 6am to hotels, or start at my desk doing boring admin before anyone woke. The discipline was to sell every possible hour of the sales day and to leave admin and business development stuff to weekends and odd hours.

I would take a break after a 12hour day, play some squash and

52 This Girl Means Business

then be back at my desk often from 8.30pm -10.30pm or later.

How did you manage to make the company so successful?

Success is the result of 17 years of relentless determination to be the best that we could be in a highly competitive global marketplace – driven by the desire to first get ahead and then stay ahead in the race of a growing company.Continual improvement, a paranoia that everyone else was working harder and smarter and

the real trick, surrounding myself with the best people I could afford and letting them add their magic to our enterprise. The family first, common sense and fun approach we had to the outrageously high standards and targets we set managed to pull us through with a team of highly engaged, really empowered decision-makers so the business grew because of the momentum and culture of a “can do” approach founded on celebration and pride.

What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs looking to develop a successful company?

Treat your people and your customers with the utmost respect – you pay your peoples’ mortgages, but the customer pays the salary of the people you employ. Your people need to

{ } “Know from the outset what your strengths are and remember to keep doing the things you love!”

understand the commercialism of your model and how you make money. Without you embracing their joint brilliance (listen always to the customers’ needs) you will not grow as fast as you can.

Don’t waste time or money on a web design, logo, branding and all those periphery things, if you haven’t checked that you have a product or service that has a market and a demand. Also, know from the outset what your strengths are and remember to keep doing the things you love!

Interview with Lara Morgan 53

COVER STORY

what are your top tips for selling?

1. Be relentless, positive way.

in

a

2. Don’t be average – leaving a boring phone message, having a dull PowerPoint presentation, having unambitious marketing material, being average in the way you sample your products is completely unacceptable – it shows a lack of desire to succeed and be outstanding. So, intend to 54 This Girl Means Business

be the best you can be.

3. Always listen to what the customer and the market are telling you.

4. Don’t overpromise & under deliver – if you don’t know the answer to something, build your credibility by admitting that you don’t know and then get back to the customer with the right answer.

You grew Pacific Direct into a global company, selling in 110 countries – what advice can you share with others looking to go global?

Growing internationally is not nearly as complex as some make out – indeed I would say taking a share of the growing cake abroad is a much easier challenge than taking cake from a business locally.

Go and ask people who may need your product or service in other countries about what they think.

“Being average shows a lack of desire to succeed and be outstanding.”

Be humble, pack your walking shoes, and get out into new markets – you’ll be amazed at connections and opportunities that arise when you get out of your comfort zone.

How do you keep yourself motivated through challenging times?

Dale Carnegie has many brilliant sayings, but the most powerful one for motivation is, “What’s the worst thing that can happen?” who inspires you?

My Mum did a pretty good job on the juggling and determination to succeed piece.

My brother simply because we are both hideously competitive, and mostly team mini Morgan, as I want to set them an example like Interview with Lara Morgan 55

COVER STORY

{

“With a positive attitude and a bit of focus you can achieve amazing things.”

}

I tried to set my team at Pacific, where with a positive attitude and a bit of focus you can achieve amazing things.

him £126,000pa plus executive other stuff, whilst I was taking home £ 24,000 without executive other stuff.

You are the author of More Balls Than Most: Juggle your way to success with proven company shortcuts – what’s the ballsiest thing you have ever done in business?

What tips can you share for how to become more ballsy in business?

Asking for a £270,000 overdraft, unguaranteed was scary.

Buying a Czech factory from my supplier was dangerous, but ballsy might be when I hired Richard Percival from Reebok as my UK General Manager. I had to pay

56 This Girl Means Business

We all have our boundaries when it comes to confidence, but truthfully, I had to sell to eat, so it’s not difficult to gather the confidence to make the call, which is going to give you a meal.

But I think something that can really help with becoming more confident is getting an education – learn to sell.

You have also launched the website companyshortcuts.com. tell us more about this and how it can help business owners.

Companyshortcuts shares and offers some of the brilliant templates, check lists and frameworks, which my team produced, borrowed or we revised from others to accelerate both the learning potential, the quality of work and the success of the company as a whole. These documents are sorted in sectors of company development areas – so money, people and sales.

Some of the most basic templates are free to download, I do have a wish that all companies run better meetings using professionally thought through agenda’s and most important and valuable of all, action capture lists, so what gets discussed gets

done and followed through.

Additionally we have KUTA (Kick Up The Arse) my invented daily nudges to help people, through an SMS text to their phone, to keep thinking daily of the things they must be considering to keep their business ahead, on top and accelerating to success. Try it? do you have a business philosophy?

Bag loads of old fashioned values that work: Look after the pennies.

Do unto others…

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again!

But most of all employ great people to provide great products to great companies and make profit.

• • • •

Interview with Lara Morgan 57

COVER STORY

Finish these sentences... when i face a big challenge i... Take a deep

breath & keep going.

i love building my business because... I’m

passionate about delivering positive results and value from my products, which make a difference in people’s lives.

the hardest part of building my business has been... In the early

days the hardest part was the loneliness and today the hardest part is staying disciplined and focused.

my top piece of advice to entrepreneurs is...

Always stay in control of your cash.

58 This Girl Means Business

i believe... In focus. my favourite business book is... The Rainmaker. if i could go back in time to when i was 20, i would tell myself... Be

bolder, be braver, set higher targets.

the biggest lesson i have ever learned is...

It’s all about the people.

my favourite quote is...

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. my favourite business tool or resource is...

My voice.

Interview with Lara Morgan 59

what we’re reading

Divine Guidance The answers you need to make miracles

by Stephanie J. King

This is a little book full of brilliant guidance to help you along your journey.

tephanie King says, “Mir acles are a natural part

of daily life, we just don’t notice. According to your wants and needs life is trying to unfold in your best interest, but circumstances, thoughts, doubts, fears, emotions and many other things get in the way. Not all you hear, see, feel or know is beneficial. What possibilities would await if you could navigate the life you live more effectively, staying one step ahead of others and of change? What

S

>> click the cover to buy this book from amazon.

60 This Girl Means Business

if you always had a solution for the challenges you face to ease your journey? Life is not always as it seems. Underlying issues, perception, cause and effect, karma, intention and soul purpose simultaneously play out together on unseen levels. For the seemingly miraculous to happen, for life to function properly, all aspects and all facets must work in sync, including us. Life is not against you, it’s working with you, providing daily what you ask for and what you need, though you may not realise. This is always the driving factor that drives life. Deep within your psyche, within your own survival system, a higher sense of being is creeping forward, you’re part of something major going on, it’s why you’re here...

Your own soul is ascending, a new world order is birthing through, you are evolving. Divine Guidance is written to help you recognise where

“You’re part of something major going on, it’s why you’re here...” you are within your journey and life agenda, so you can harness your personal power and regain control regardless of what’s unfolding in your now. Every time you use this book you’ll get precisely what you need without exception.”

Stephanie shares really powerful messages, and anytime I need an answer or guidance I hold the book in my hands, flick to a random page and I always read a message that spurs me on! Give it a try.

•

>> buy it here.

What We’re Reading 61

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

How to Get Paid in Full On Time, Every Time by

Suzanne Dibble // Lawyers4Mumpreneurs, UK

It’s a question that is key to most small service businesses, particularly when you are starting out. ash flow is king and you really don’t want to be wasting your precious time chasing clients again and again asking them to pay your invoice – or worse, not getting paid at all.

So here are a few simple steps that you can take to make sure that you get paid in full, on time, every time.

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62 This Girl Means Business

1. Do a bit of research If you haven’t worked with the client before, then check them out. Do they come from within your network? Do they seem professional? How long have they been established? Check out their website and google them to find out whether they seem like an ‘honourable’ business person and

not one who is going to do a fast and dirty on you. Only work with clients you have a good feel about.

2. Ask for payment upfront

The most important and easiest thing that you can do to ensure that you get paid in full, on time, every time is to ask for the payment upfront. Your client has no greater motivation to pay you in full and on time when they’re in a hurry to benefit from your services.

If you are working on a retainer, ask the client to set up a direct debit, which eases the admin for both of you. If it is a big project, ask for 50% upfront and 50% on completion or phased payments, subject to certain milestones.

Clients are more likely to be willing to pay upfront if (i) they think it is a no-brainer that you will do a good job – for this you need to include lots of testimonials and case studies on your website, (ii) you offer a tangible benefit of paying upfront eg a fixed fee or a small discount (eg 5 to 10%), (iii) you offer a guarantee that if they aren’t happy, you will amend the work without further charge or offer them a full or partial refund and (iv) perhaps most importantly, they know, like and trust you – either through a network or by a free one on one meeting or phone call.

How to Get Paid in Full On Time, Every Time 63

3. Take your business seriously

Mindset is important. If you don’t take your business seriously enough or really value what you do, you may find that your clients don’t either. This is likely to lead to your clients not paying your invoices on time or at all and you not chasing them for it or even worse, just doing lots of “favours” for clients without charge at all.

4. Incorporate professionally drafted terms of business

New legislation was introduced on 16 March 2013 that aims to create an environment where paying on time is the norm and late payment is seen to be unacceptable across the business community. It is now the case that if you don’t have terms, which state otherwise, for contracts formed on or after 16 March 2013, businesses must pay your invoices within 60 days, provided it is not 64 This Girl Means Business

“Well drafted terms of business establish you in your client’s mind as a professional and set the tone for the rest of your working relationship.”

unfair to your client (whatever “unfair” means…)

But what is a far better idea is to invest in getting a good lawyer to draft you terms of business tailored to your business. Then you can require payment terms of much less than 60 days – you may think 30 days is the norm, but why not make the invoice payable on presentation?

In addition, well drafted terms of business establish you in your client’s mind as a professional and set the tone for the rest of your working

relationship meaning they are much more likely to pay on time. They also help by outlining the specific expectations and parameters of the assignment or project, so that neither party can later say that they were misunderstood in any way and reduce the scope for dispute.

Moreover, professionally drafted terms provide you with a clear basis to bring a claim against a client for non-payment should it come to that. It is going to be much messier to bring a claim for non-payment if your agreement was verbal or spread out in email correspondence.

5. Invoice timely and accurately

Invoice for the right amount when you say you are going to

invoice. If you let things slip, this sends a signal to your client that your payment is not that important.

And if you leave it 6 months or so to invoice them you may find that their finances have changed – worst case scenario, them having gone out of business meaning no payment for you.

6. Make it easy for your clients to pay

Include all the information your client could possibly need on your invoices such as your name, address, phone number, email address, project name, reference number, payment amounts, VAT number, purchase order number and your bank account details etc. Most businesses these days have access to

How to Get Paid in Full On Time, Every Time 65

internet banking and this likely to be the easiest way for businesses to pay and the fastest way for you to get your hands on the payment. Paying by cash or cheque is more effort for clients and could lead to a delay in you being paid.

7. Have a follow up process

Diarise when your payments are due and then diarise follow-ups twice a week. Design a sequence of emails to send in the event of late payment, starting with politely reminding the client of the payment terms, then reminding the client about interest and then escalating to stating that you have no alternative but to bring legal action and pointing out that under new legislation (for contracts formed on or after 16 March 2013) you can also claim against your client for your own costs of bringing the action (including reasonable legal fees). You can, and should, also pick up the phone to 66 This Girl Means Business

the client to find out if there are any problems with payment. This often embarrasses the client into paying right away… If the client still isn’t paying, you need to send them a letter before action. If that doesn’t work, you might want to look into debt collection agencies or if you are brave enough, taking your client to court.

But if you follow all of the advice in this article, it shouldn’t come to that… Good luck!

•

Disclaimer: Although the concepts in this article have global application, the information contained in the article is based on English law only and is provided for information purposes only and is not intended to amount to advice on which reliance should be placed. Suzanne disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on such information. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the above contents.

THIS MONTH’S

TOP

10 TIPS 68 This Girl Means Business

Ten Things to Remember ON YOUR JOURNEY

1.

Take time to relax.

6.

Don’t be scared to grab opportunities when they present themselves carpe diem!

2.

Take your business and yourself seriously and other people will too - you’ve got to mean business!

7.

Get out into the real world and meet your customers.

3.

Take time to make a plan of action for the year ahead - what do you want to achieve? How are you going to achieve it?

8.

Focus on what’s already working for you and do more of it.

4.

Don’t be afraid to get out there and network.

Building solid relationships in business is crucial.

9.

Get organised!

5.

You’ve just got to get on and do it! Don’t over-think things.

10.

Know your audience who are they? What are they like?

Top 10 Tips 69

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