Words of Wisdom from Reality Check Author Guy Kawasaki
Don’t go it alone. Venture capitalist Guy Kawasaki says this of entrepreneurs, “Generally, entrepreneurs, especially first-time ones, think that the idea is the hard part and implementation is the easy part. Generally, that’s exactly backwards, and SCORE can help them implement their brilliant ideas.”Ask SCORE online.
Quick Resource List
1.Find out the best ways to finance your business.
2. Download the comprehensive guide to growth financing.
3. Check out blog posts by financial guru, Jean Chatzky.
4. Take a quick online financial workshop.
5. To set up your accounting system and your finance plan, ask a SCORE mentor.
Read Kawasaki’s exclusive tips to a good pitch. Then, meet a mentor in your community who knows the local economic and lending environment.
Christine Banning, SCORE
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February 17, 2010
SCORE Honors Maryanne Weiss
Maryanne Weiss is a business mentor with SCORE and chair of the Phoenix SCORE chapter. She was recently name “Woman of the Year” by the Women’s Financial Group of the National Bank of Arizona. She has also been given the Carnation Award for Community Service and was made an honorary lifetime citizen of Orange County, California.
In her professional life, Weiss is a licensed general contractor. She was a partner at DIXCO, an award winning construction company in Los Angeles, CA. She then founded Gustare Limited, a business consulting firm in Phoenix, AZ where she is the company president. Weiss is also an adjunct lecturer at Arizona State University. Her specialities in business are real estate, mortgage financing, marketing, and strategic planning. In her spare time, Weiss is also very active in the community. She is an dvisory board member with the Arizona State Board of Business and was also a guest blogger with the SCORE Women’s Success Blog.
SCORE would like to congratulate Maryanne Weiss on her many achievements and than her for her dedication to supporting entrepreneurship.
SCORE Association, SCORE
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February 15, 2010
Avoid Public Speech Mistakes and Re-build Trust with an Audience
Healing by Wolf Soul, Creative Commons
It’s almost Valentine’s Day and images are everywhere reminding us to care.
In that spirit, have you ever seen a public speaker who came across like they just didn’t care?
I did recently at a conference. And their indifference was like receiving toothpicks for Valentines - it was technically still a gift of function but without making the recipient (or audience) feel special in the process!
At that recent event, the speaker – a business owner in a room full of business owners – said when advancing their slides:
“Oh this set of slides is meant for a different talk. I guess I forgot to change these.” At that point, another conference’s logo (not the logo representing our event) glared on the overhead screen. Without apology, the speaker continued.
This experience was a lost opportunity for audience and speaker alike. Every public speech is a chance to give value, forge trust, and build brand credibility with the audience.
Steps to recover trust that this speaker could’ve taken:
1. Show ownership and a solution quickly
A simple apology gains tons of ground! In this case, the correct slides could’ve been made available later via email or Slideshare. Neither occurred.
2. Offer a gift
Extend a discount on services or sneak peek on upcoming product launches. That’s not to suggest giving ‘away the farm’ just because of a presentation error. But it’s a tangible way to show value for that particular audience.
3. Welcome honest feedback
Convey value for the audience’s opinion and insight even if it means eating humble pie, with this statement as example: “Thanks for your time today and hanging in there when I messed up. I’m committed to improving value so I hope you’ll relay feedback on the event evaluation.”
4. Invite ongoing conversation after the event
The speaker-audience experience is a relational dynamic with all sorts of potential for leads, partnerships, and even community. The speaker could’ve shown their interest by offering to engage post-event through LinkedIn, Twitter, or other networks.
What do you think? Have you been in a similar situation? How else could this presenter have shown they valued the audience after the slide mistake?
Jill Foster, SCORE Guest Blogger
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February 12, 2010
How-To Collection Tips
Getting paid in business can make the difference in being profitable or, in some cases, being put out of business. Receivables need to be managed and are always a struggle as no one likes asking for money. Here are some tips to get customers to pay.
- Offer a discount to customers who pay within 10 days 1% or 2%
- Ask customers to pay a portion of the invoice when service is rendered or an order is placed
- Personally make calls to customers who owe money
- Delegate a person within the company to make calls
- Send out friendly reminders
- Offer incentives or rotate stock if inventory is sitting
- Credit card payments should be encouraged. It is known that customers will purchase more if a credit card can be used. Know that credit card fees can be negotiated. Contact more than one company to compare rates.
- If you have to hire a collection agency always negotiate the fees it can run as high as a third.
Good Luck and please share things that have worked in collecting money in your business.
Julie Brander, New Haven SCORE
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February 11, 2010
Get Your Finances In Order
Do you know it all? Especially, when it comes to finance the answers is most often–no. Make this the month you decide to surround yourself with a support system to bring you financial know-how.
1. Get a CPA. Even if you only meet twice a year, once for tax planning and once to do your taxes–you gain knowledge, get good advice and your taxes are prepared properly. That is a whole lot of value for a reasonable investment.
2. Put in place a standardized, financial record-keeping system. At its most basic level, really know what’s flowing in and out of the business. Pay your bills on time easily. And, track collections and collect payments. Quickbooks is a popular accounting software and the one used by many accountants, so you may want to pick a system your accountant uses. It makes it easier to transfer data and get your chart of accounts set up.
3. Learn more about finance. Get a basic understanding of key financial decisions for your business. Learn what different accounting reports tell you and why it matters. Most of all get a handle on the relationship between sales, expenses, cash flow and net profit.
This is where SCORE can really help. SCORE mentors both the corporate execs. and entrepreneurs have a good understanding of cash flow, business finances and how to plan systems to make it easier to succeed. Visit for articles, templates, tips cash flow/cash reserve visit Accelerate Your Cash.
You can meet with a SCORE mentor in your community face-to-face to have the conversation that helps provide know-how in business finance. Find SCORE near you.
Online you can Ask SCORE questions about finance and cash flow that can help answer a burning question and give you some perspective that can aid you in managing cash flow.
Christine Banning, SCORE
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February 10, 2010
Taking Online Marketing To Another Level
Recently I asked in one of my previous blogs “What sets you apart from your competitors?” What have you done for them to easily locate you, your company, your product or services?’ I even provided some easy online marketing rules to live by using your website. Now I want to expound on online marketing.
To set yourself apart from your competitors you “must” have a BRANDED website. A BRANDED website not only focuses on your company’s name but it also Speaks Volumes For You in several ways. Everytime online content about your company is displayed it should be BRANDED content. Your BRANDED content should be the same content that is being displayed in your collateral materials. Pay close attention to your website’s keywords (aka Search Engine Optimatization-SEO) does it fully tell us about your company?
If you are a Bookkeeper for Non-Profit Organizations and a potential client began looking for you are they able to find you? They would if you display the proper BRANDED conent for your company’s website. With the proper content eventually your company will be placed high within the website rankings, offering you a “high” probability of being contacted about your company, its product or services. If you are on a tight budget, take the time to frequently submit your url to several of the free search engines. (more…)
February 9, 2010
Joyce Bone: Mompreneur to Successful CEO
Successful serial entrepreneur, Joyce Bone, provides success secrets, exclusively for SCORE!
Joyce Bone is a wife, mom and successful entrepreneur. She co-founded EarthCare, which grew from zero to $50 million in 18 months. She then took the company public on NASDAQ, ultimately reaching $125 million in annual revenues.
Joyce has managed over 350 employees and has executed dozens of mergers and acquisitions. She eventually left her company and started a real estate investment firm. She now owns a business consulting and coaching firm that works with small to mid-size companies. In another venture, Millionaire Moms, she also helps women entrepreneurs find ways to manage the demands of family life and the business world.
Check out her success tips, exclusively for SCORE!
Jacalyn Barnes, SCORE
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February 8, 2010
Tips to Develop Your Public Speaking Ability
Conversation by Rishi Menon, Creative Commons
Fellow business owners and I met a few weeks ago to celebrate 2010. And social media came up – Twitter, Facebook, Posterous and other platforms. We kept reveling in how easy it is to ‘just be human’ when conversing online and agreed it helps build trust with customers.
Then someone said, “I wish I was more myself when speaking in public onstage as I am when on the Web.” This resonated with many of us and we all paused to let his comment sink in.
Then the challenge to ourselves became: how can we better assert our development as public speakers? Some ideas:
1. Observe your voice in relaxed environments when an audience doesn’t exist. Social media tools used in certain ways can be great for this. Consider creating unpublished content to improve speaking skill. Use a smart phone’s audio or video device and regularly record two or three minutes of just talking to yourself (or to a willing peer). Then often review these recordings. If you want to make these informal casts public and online (like on Posterous) great! But going online isn’t the end game with these informal casts. It’s to help you recognize (and emulate) your voice when it’s relaxed and fearless.
2. Seek accountability partners and chances to speak in public. Whether it’s through Ignite events, Toastmasters, or a small group of your trusted colleagues – commit to giving public speeches on a regular basis and receiving critique (this is separate from demos or client pitches, etc).
3. Include public speaking in your marketing strategy and developmental goals. I suggest committing to quantity here i.e., “Present five speeches in Q1.” Designate early in the year the conferences and meetups you/your team would like to present at to help pre-plan topic proposals. Here’s a diverse and per-month conference list from Susan Mernit that includes a collection of conferences dedicated to women in business – including the Women’s Leadership Forum, Blogher, NAWBO Women’s Business Conference plus those in entrepreneurship, social technology and her interests in social cause marketing. Warning! It’s 80+ conferences that haven’t been updated yet on this post to 2010. BUT all citations link directly to conference sites that will have respective event updates as they are published (with great upcoming events announced at SCORE regularly too).
How we present ourselves in conversation–online and off–is critical. The level of authenticity and skill we bring to both environments hugely influences how others respond to us (and the brand we represent).
It’s fascinating and I can’t wait to talk more about it through February with SCORE’s blog readers! How about you? What has helped develop your public speaking ability?
Jill Foster, SCORE Guest Blogger
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February 5, 2010
The New Rules of Doing Business for Women Entrepreneurs
The summit will help women entrepreneurs thrive in the new economy with real advice, biz coaching and networking opportunities. More info and register today.
Join us at the American Express OPEN Women’s Business Summit.
Date: Wednesday, February 17 – Thursday, February 18, 2010
Place: JW Marriott Houston, Houston, Texas
NEW! Pre-Conference Workshop, Wednesday, February 17, 10:00am – 1:30pm
Give Me 5% Special Training Program: Navigating the Federal Market Place
Learn how to navigate the federal market place from women who have succeeded in Federal Contracting.
This multi-track summit offers:
- Critical advice for growth in today’s changing economy
- One-on-one small business counseling from SCORE professionals
- New business ideas for opportunity-rich markets like government contracting
- Tips on leveraging social media to grow your bottom line
- Contacts with an inspiring community of successful women business owners
- Inspiration and expert advice from the Make Mine a Million $ Business Competition
- Speakers and resources from our partnering women’s organizations
- This multi-track Summit offers:
Don’t miss this special opportunity! Register today.
Christine Banning, SCORE
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February 3, 2010
Create Great Charts in Less Time, Free
Ever needed to create a flow chart, diagram, floor plans or technical drawings but didn’t want to pay hundreds of dollars for new software? Well, there are plenty of free resources available. Here are a few that you might want to try out.
Lovely Charts
Free, online diagram software. Registration required.
Lucid Charts
Free, online diagram software. Collaboration tools available. Registration required.
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Gliffy
Online diagram software. Unlimited free trail with no registration required.
Breeze Tree
Free, downloadable flow chart templates in Excel. Download and customize.
What free tools do you use and love to create quick charts? Share with us. Leave a comment below.
Jacalyn Barnes, SCORE
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February 1, 2010
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