Pay It Forward
Written by:
Vicki Donlan
Article Overview: How do women achieve the success they strive for?
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Pay It Forward
Progress for women inbusiness has been slow, if not stalled, in the past couple of years. Although, we are still starting more businesses than our male counterparts, we are not moving up the corporate ladder with as much success as we had in the 90s. My solution is simple. Pay it forward. Yes, it is the title of a 2000 movie, and a concept thatprovides an opportunity to make sure that all good deeds are rewarded by paying forward the debt. But if all businesswomen took the concept to heart, and formally helped another woman in business get ahead the way someone had helped them, we would make progress. Start supporting women in business and ask each one you help to pay it forward.
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Re: Improving Cash Flow
- Hi Robert,
My advice is to cut unnecessary expenses and save as much as possible. Examine your costs on a month-to-month basis and figure out ways you can save, whether it's buying less at the grocery store, using less electricity, etc. Any little bit will help. The money saved over time will amount to quite a bit.
Regarding increasing cash flow through online marketing, this is possible and something I'm working on. At this time last year, I was bringing in only around $50 per month. Forward to today, and I'm bringing in anywhere from $400 to $700 per month. A lot of time and effort has been spent getting to that point and increasing my income over time, but the result is more than worth it.
I try to constantly improve what I'm doing and branch out into new avenues to create even more income streams.
It is possible to do, but it will take time and work on your part before you start to see the kind of extra cash that you want.
Re: What If Steve Jobs Hadn't Returned To Apple In 1997?
- Thanks for sharing with us Yinko.
Steve Jobs is definitely a visionary. Not only his products are innovative in a technological sense, but he's managed to turn a tech-company's products into a lifestyle.... a lifestyle!!
[quote:zfqoq43n]Fast Forward to today. Apple has the sexiest products in the business: iMacs, Macbooks, iPhones, iPods and more.[/quote:zfqoq43n]
I think not only tech would be different (music players and phones), but ways we can think of marketing and branding. What Steve Jobs did was of course no easy task for the smaller businesses, but he did start somewhere.
What I did not know was that Apple is worth about as much as Google.
How do you think Apple accomplish what they did? In terms of strategy wise?
If you could advice Steve on one thing, what would it be?
And the speakers for the Nov 1 event
- Inspiring speakers will share their stories of launching, living and dreaming.
Speakers include:
Kathleen Matthews: Executive Vice President Global Communications and Public Affairs, Marriott International, Inc. and former award-winning producer, reporter and news anchor who covered news in Washington, DC for 25 years
Mei Xu: Founder and creator of CHESAPEAKE BAY CANDLE and Blissliving Home
Julie Lenzer Kirk: President of Path Forward International and author of The ParentPreneur Edge: What Parenting Teaches About Building a Successful Business
Jennifer Buddin: Co-founder of "The Little Black Book for every busy woman"
Victoria Colligan: Founder of Ladies Who Launch
Frances Crespo and Nicolette Pizzitola: Ladies Who Launch Washington, DC Leaders
Educational workshops and information gathering
Invaluable exchanges, introductions, business contacts and referrals
Exclusive discounts, free consultations and access to original products and services
Lunch and spa services
An opportunity to become a "Featured Lady" on Ladies Who Launch
Valuable GIFT BAG guaranteed with pre-registration
Ladies Who Launch Nov 1 event in Washington DC
- Top 10 Reasons to Pre-Register for WASHINGTON, DC LIVE EVENT on November 1st!
A Thursday in the fall:
What could be better than an investment in yourself?
Leave your briefcases and at home. Take one day to focus on YOURSELF.
You may ask, is Ladies Who Launch LIVE for me? For those of you who tinker all day in a cubicle, may we honor you with a day to explore your feminine entrepreneurial and creative potential? For those of you who have launched a business, might a day of connecting with like-minded women be just what you need? And for those of you with wanderlust contemplating just when-oh-when you will ever get off your derriere and start that creative project you've been dreaming about - sit no more and join us - the dynamic group of fun, fabulous women at Ladies Who Launch LIVE who will share their stories on how they dumped their day job or launched on the side, harnessed their ingenious ideas, created a business, idea, or creative project....to live the life they imagined. Married, single, mother, or free-wheeling girl about town, this day is all about YOU.
Join us on November 1st, and see where it takes you.
Click here to view the invitation and register.
Here are the TOP TEN reasons why you should pre-register for The Ladies Who Launch LIVE event:
10. You are guaranteed our cool, chic gift bag with special surprises with the price of admission. Only guaranteed to first 300 pre-registration!!
9. You will be part of the welcome package that will be emailed out before the event...you can promote your business, creative idea and even offer a special discount or free consultation to generate buzz.
8. You'll get in...we have limited space and are filling up quickly.
7. You'll save $ 40...enough for lunch and drinks with a new friend that you meet at the event.
6. It is going to be at the unique Cold War Gallery - Building #70, Navy Museum, Washington Navy Yard, FREE shuttle service from two metro stations: Navy Yard (Green line) and Eastern Market (Blue and Orange line). Visitors entrance: M and 6th St. SE
5. We are serving light breakfast and lunch.
4. You will receive a free posting on Launch Pad, the Ladies Who Launch classified listings ($30 value) that is distributed to over 40,000 women. What a great way to get your product or service out there!
3. You will be eligible to be selected as a Featured Lady story on the free weekly Ladies Who Launch newsletter that is sure to gain you national exposure.
2. Our speakers will inspire, motivate and entertain you. Speakers include Kathleen Matthews: Executive Vice President Global Communications and Public Affairs, Marriott International, Inc. and former award-winning producer, reporter and news anchor who covered news in Washington, DC for 25 years, Mei Xu: Founder and creator of CHESAPEAKE BAY CANDLE and Blissliving Home, Julie Lenzer Kirk: President of Path Forward International and author of The ParentPreneur Edge: What Parenting Teaches About Building a Successful Business, Jennifer Buddin: Co-founder of "The Little Black Book for every busy woman", Victoria Colligan: Founder of Ladies Who Launch, Frances Crespo and Nicolette Pizzitola: Ladies Who Launch Washington, DC Leaders.
1. Because it is an investment in yourself...and tax-deductible.
Web Pro News' "Mom's Top 10 Reasons to Social (Web)Mark
- I belong to WebProNews, a weekly eletter which provides lots of good info.
I reproduce their whole article below on "Mom's Guide To Social Marketing" (No intent on violating copyright - if you think this is good info you too should subscribe to Web Pro News too.)
Your mother, if she did her job right, taught you everything you need to know about how to get along in the world and how to get ahead in it. When we were kids, we thought these rules were silly, but later we learned her advice was pretty valuable. In honor of Mother's Day (May 13), we've put her wisdom to work in online marketing.
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Editor's Note: Social marketing is quickly becoming an integral part of generating business online. While search is the on-ramp, social networks are the destination. And just like any social setting, your rep is important. Mom's Guide to Life, we thought, was a great Guide to Everything. Did we forget some valuable tip? Let us know in the comments section.
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Mom's Top 10 Steps To A Good Online Reputation
1. Put Your Best Foot Forward: As recently as a year ago, when things were newer, more experimental, a presence on MySpace only was fine. Not so anymore. You have to be everywhere, treating branding in the online world the way you would in the real world. Most social networks allow you to set up a profile page for free (the ones that matter most do anyway). Create your online persona (a polite one), then clone it as necessary.
2. Make Eye Contact: Just like in the real world, wallflowers don't get noticed. The wallflower is most likely an incredible resource – it's just that nobody knows her because she doesn't put herself out there. Be a participant by commenting, inviting, giving. Show up at your new neighbor's door with a gift. It always goes over well – just remember to button your blouse.
3. You Are a Reflection of Your Mother (Company): Nobody likes a poorly kept lawn except the lazy bum that lives behind it. Maintain your public face on the social networks, shine your shoes, crease your pants, embrace your OCD. It may not be your homepage, but it is a home away from home. Maintaining several of these online presences is work, but so is business.
4. Keep An Open Mind: There's an appropriate cliché for every situation – all your eggs in one basket comes to mind here – but I prefer my grandfather's chestnut: "You drove your ducks to a damn poor market." Poetic, that man was. For a long time it was search, search, search. Before that it was email, email, email. But now you need to integrate your campaign. Search is a staple, a pillar of your online campaign, but we also know that Wikipedia ranks consistently number one in the SERPs. That means you need a Wikipedia page, too. Note: YouTube also ranks well.
5. Become Necessary: Viral marketing is tricky, difficult business. But maybe it doesn't have to be. Maybe if you realign your approach to reflect what you, as an individual enjoy, instead of being a salesperson, you can find a more intuitive connection with what the public wants to see. It's often been said that a salesman sells himself more than the product. So if you want to make linkbait, think about what would cause you to bite first. If you look at your viral attempt and see more corporate talking points than linkable material, it's time for a do-over.
6. Like the People that Like You (Even If You Think They're Annoying): Barack Obama's campaign people did something brilliant, and followed up with something not so brilliant. That makes it a great case study. An Obama fan set up a MySpace page and soon attracted thousands of friends. Instead of competing with his biggest fan, Obama endorsed the site as the official MySpace campaign headquarters. That was the brilliant part. After the page "got too big" for the original operator, the campaign crew took staged a coup to wrest control of the page from their biggest fan. That was the not so brilliant part, even if politics is mean by nature.
7. Watch Your Mouth: Again with the clichés that still hold true – if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all. Steve Rubel learned the hard way that stream-of-consciousness blogging can have you saying something you wish you hadn’t. Transparency doesn't mean total access.
8. Don't Be a Fake: Who do we dislike most in civilized society (aside from the violent)? Liars, cheats, and thieves. We don't like them because we view them as betrayers. That principle applies online, too, when your network discovers you're not what you say you are. And the mob's wrath is one that is hard to endure. Ask Edelman PR about their Wal-Marting Across America campaign.
9. Mind Your Manners: Mom's favorite Bible verse still applies: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Commonly referred to as the Golden Rule on Earth, in Cyberspace, manners and etiquette are becoming increasingly more important. People are getting angry about anonymous drive-by (rude) commentary, salesy and useless comment spam (spam in general constitutes harassment in some form)…the list of ethics and etiquette violations is a long one, so it's probably best to ask yourself: Would I appreciate this if it were done to me?
10. Stay Hip. Right now, MySpace, Facebook, Wikipedia, and YouTube are essential, but they're still relatively new. Few really saw SecondLife coming as a virtual marketplace. Still yet, only the early adopters are talking about Twitter. But change online is swift, and the smart marketer keeps up with what's hot. The last thing you want to do is look outdated. Just don't sell out your core identity in the process.
While that's just ten guidelines out of many, Mom always had one rule that ruled them all: Use your head, dodo bird! This is a thinking man's game. Indeed it is. Good luck with your campaigns.
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