Hello again….what’s up?

Figured I needed to revisit my wordpress.com blog – have been self-hosted now at http://smartwomanguides.com for some time now, but I miss this community so I am dropping by to say hey!

HEY!!

If you’re digging Twitter, come visit at http://twitter.com/smartwoman

If you’re the Linked in type, let’s connect at http://linkedin.com/in/smartwoman

And, if you want to be friends, join me on Facebook  at http://facebook.com/vickiflaugher

Life is good and I hope you are well. Let’s talk!

Vicki Flaugher, CEO SmartWoman Guides
p.s. Have you checked out SmartWoman radio? Listen here: http://budurl.com/radioshow

SmartWoman Guides Weekly Newsletter Launching This Week!

Please note: I actively post to my self hosted blog at SmartWomanGuides.com and no longer regularly post on the wordpress.com site. Please come on over and visit (remember to update your bookmarks!)
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This Thursday, July 24th, will be the official launch of the new SmartWoman’s Weekly Newsletter. I will be including, all in one easy to find place, a weekly summary of all the previous week’s blog posts, hot topics, news, interviews, and more. I am even lining up some guest authors too, so there will be exclusive content in these newsletters that won’t be on the daily blog.

I also plan to pre-announce all new products and events to my membership community first, so newsletter members will get the first heads up on tele-seminars, contests, and live interview sessions. I want to do all I can to make this as exclusive as I can, as I feel it’s important that you have a place to go where you get the extra juicy stuff. Note: I am currently working on a Web Traffic 101 course that will be very affordable and helpful to those of you trying to really make your business’ website create an enduring revenue stream.

As a special thank you, I am offering an inspirational quote eBook via email download as a gift for signing up for the newsletter. This eBook is filled with beautiful original photography (by myself and other women artists I know) and dozens and dozens of quotes from my favorite women (and women friendly men) throughout history and contemporary times. These quotes were hand selected by me personally and are intended to encourage you, embolden you, and lift you up as you live your passionate life. I sincerely believe you will love them.

To sign up, please come to SmartWomanGuides.com Newsletter Launch Once you sign up, you should receive an email from SmartWoman Publishing that contains your download link. Contact me if you run into any problems receiving your email, ok?

The newsletter membership is free and your privacy will be respected always. And, let me take this opportunity to say that I appreciate that you have come to visit and look forward to getting to know you better.

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

Friendly Reminder: Free Teleseminar Wednesday June 25th on Turning Your Passion Into Cash

Just a reminder of the free teleseminar call on Wednesday, June 25th, with Lynn Pierce, founder of the Women’s Business Empowerment Summit.

Call topic: Turning Your Passion Into Cash
Call date: June 25th, Wednesday
Call time: 5:00 PM PST
Call duration: 60 minutes

Sign up for the free seminar call:
SmartWoman Guides with Lynn Pierce Teleseminar Signup

Sign up for the free scholarship giveaway (deadline midnight CST June 25th):
Free Scholarship Contest

For more information about the seminar:
Women’s Business Empowerment Summit
(Be sure to return back here to actually sign up, though, or you will pay a whole lot more!)

For exclusive discounted tuition, sign up here:
Women’s Business Empowerment Summit Signup

Together, we are stronger!
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

Come on over to the live site at http://smartwomanguides.com 
This wordpress blog is no longer the latest, greatest happenings with
the SmartWoman Women Entrepreneur audience. Update your bookmarks
and come on over!

“Turn Your Passion Into Cash” FREE 60-minute Teleseminar for Female Entrepreneurs!

Lynn Pierce, creator of the Women’s Business Empowerment Summit, has agreed to a SmartWoman Guides exclusive 60 minute tele-seminar event on Wednesday, June 25th at 5:00 PM PST.

Lynn will be discussing how she created the Women’s Business Empowerment Summit and what the theme and focus will be for this year’s event. She’ll be telling us about her 7 step approach to turning your passion and expertise into cash. She’ll be giving us her unique perspective about effective product creation, and share with us some very convincing statistics about why women fail and succeed in business.

There is no enrollment fee for this teleseminar. The only cost to you, beyond your time investment, is the personal phone fees you normally would pay when you call long distance. All you have to do is sign up below and then show up on the phone line at 5:00 PM PST on Wednesday, June 25th.


To sign up now, go to http://tinyurl.com/5co9us
(SmartWomanGuides.com has moved to a self-hosted site–you can get all the details there).

For more information about the event, go to

Women’s Business Empowerment Summit Info

(Be sure to return back here to actually sign up, though, or you will pay a whole lot more!)

To sign up for this event at the discounted rate of $497
Women’s Business Empowerment Summit Signup

To enjoy a series of free interviews with the Summit faculty members, sign up here:
Pre-Summit Sessions

 

4 Women to Win Free 3-day Scholarships to Women’s Business Empowerment Summit!

Lynn Pierce, creator of the Women’s Business Empowerment Summit, has generously provided SmartWomanGuides.com free scholarships to attend this awesome event.

To sign up for your chance of receiving one of these scholarships, fill out the form below no later than June 25th. Winner will be announced June 27th.

To sign up for the contest, go to SmartWomanGuides.com Contest Page 

Winner will be notified via email, so please provide the email address that you check regularly.*

The winners (4) will be picked based on the answer to the question “What inspires you to be an entrepreneur?”

Keep your answer to 50 words or less. Show your personality and fire. Speak to your passion and show us what makes you tick. Don’t be shy. Speak from your heart and share why you really do what you do.

To sign up for the contest, go to SmartWomanGuides.com Contest Page 

Deadline to enter is midnight CST June 25th. Winner will be announced June 27th. Don’t delay in signing up!

BREAKING NEWS! Win a 3-day entrepreneur conference ticket! Announcement scheduled for Friday June 13th!

PLEASE NOTE: You will need to go to the self-hosted version of SmartWomanGuides to sign up. I didn’t want this great opportunity to be lost to the wordpress.com audience, so I am also posting it here.

Kiss those superstitions about Friday the 13th being unlucky goodbye! Friday may be the luckiest day in your month!

Today I received final confirmation that I have been gifted several free scholarships (value $1497 each) for an upcoming 3-day Female Empowerment and Education Conference. I will be giving these scholarships away and also unveiling an amazing SmartWoman exclusive offer to receive deeply discounted tuition if you buy at our website.

Why did this website receive these great gifts? Apparently our community is getting noticed! SmartWoman Guides is one of only 5 female entrepreneur support sites that are being gifted these scholarships. We are being recognized as a source of inspiration and support for women and the conference creator want our community to be rewarded for what we do. How cool is that, right?

The countdown has begun. Mark this site and return to us on Friday at 10 AM CST. The full details will be launched at that time. We have to confirm the winners by July 1st, so this will be a whirlwind. It won’t be hard and some very deserving and wonderful women will be going for 3 days of education, networking, and fun.

In the meantime, I want you to gather together your best, most passionate and thoughtful response to the following question (hint: it’s how the winners will get picked…)

The entry question: What inspires you to be an entrepreneur?

Okay, be sure to come back on Friday and get the full details. I can’t wait! 🙂

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher,  the original SmartWoman

Please come on over to SmartWoman’s NEW home!

June 4th: I have moved my wordpress.com blog to a self-hosted domain provider. This specific blog address (https://smartwomanguides.wordpress.com) will no longer be updated.

*******PLEASE NOTE: The new location is www.smartwomanguides.com.*********

Please update your bookmarks and links and come on over and visit! You will find the same (and more) free articles, resources, inspiration, and support for female entrepreneurs as before! We’re waiting. 🙂

SmartWoman Guides is Moving! Time to update your RSS Feeds and Bookmarks!

Tonight, in the dead of night, hopefully while you are all safe and warm in your beds, I will be transferring my blog here at wordpress to a self-hosted domain provider.

When the dust all settles, you will only have to type in http://smartwomanguides.com to get to the proper website. When you wake up in the morning, all should be well.

PLEASE NOTE: If you have RSS fed or bookmarked my site here at wordpress directly  (https://smartwomanguides.wordpress.com) you will have to update your feeds and bookmarks. After this evening’s update, the wordpress address will be managed for a week or so longer in an effort to give my loyal readers a chance to update. I will have the new, proper address listed there for you to find me again.

I am sorry for any inconvenience this move causes you.  I reasoned that it was better to do it now, as a new blogger with a smaller audience, than to attempt it later when hundreds were visiting each day.

This move will provide me with more options to present paid resources to you, something wordpress.com does not particularly encourage.This added freedom should add value to your experience. I will still be personally reviewing any products so you don’t have to tolerate hyped up internet marketing scams on this site. I promise that I will only offer resources that are in line with the purpose and integrity of this community.

Another benefit is that I can add many useful flash and java plug-ins. Not only will these add interest to the site and be fun to look at but they will also increase the ease of navigation within the site. Easier and better! Anytime I can do easier and better, I take it.

I have enjoyed my experience here at wordpress and feel their contribution is invaluable. However, it’s time for make a change, so I am doing so.

Contact me if you should have any questions. Thank you for being my reader up until now and I invite you to join me at http://smartwomanguides.com as our future continues to blossom.

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

To Know Your Audience, Know Yourself

Technical demographic analysis and statistics can be pretty dry stuff. They can be quite helpful, but frankly, are not where you need to start to know how to market your products and services. You just need to know your audience and here’s what I recommend. 

I say, let’s start from common sense. Let’s start with YOU.

I am a firm believer in doing what you know. So, if you are a mom and you want to market children’s toys, you’ve got a pretty good basis of knowledge, don’t you? You have kids, you know what your kids like, and you can talk to the other moms you know to get info about their childrens’ preferences. You can be pretty confident that your experience carries across the market.

Following the same logic, you know how you buy too, right?  You know which ads catch your attention and which ones turn you off. You know what price points are deal makers or deal breakers. You know what time of the year or month you go shopping. You know how you prefer to be treated by the sales help in the stores. You are a knowledge powerhouse when it comes to your kids!

What else are you an expert about? Fashion, food, bill paying, education, marriage, raising a family, to name some likely choices, but the list goes on.  My point is that you have so much knowledge already in your life experience that you can begin to formulate some rather precise ideas about a market. I’m not suggesting that you isolate yourself from others’ opinions, but rather that you honor your own.

Do you use the resident expert within you or do you dismiss it as every day life stuff that has little significance? Do you have amazing excellence at your fingertips that you disregard as “I’m just being me” filler material? If you do, cut it out! Your ideas, creativity, and point of view are what make you unique, while at the same time giving you access to market demographics. You have full access to yourself and you need to plug in and go for it. 

Make a list today of all the things you are good at, that you know about. Don’t edit or critique, just let the thoughts flow. I believe you will discover a treasure trove of information to use for your business. Be willing to look at yourself from the outside and you will have your own marketing survey right under your nose. Report back what revelations you experience—we want to know!

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the orginal SmartWoman

 

SmartWoman Goal List for June

Sometimes you have to make your commitments out loud, to an audience of supportive people, to make their outcome real. My goal with today’s post is to review our first month together and make my commitments to you for the upcoming month.

In our first month, over 1300 people have visited SmartWoman Guides!  I had my first interview and also had the pleasure of interviewing Chris Brown about being a female entrepreneur. I’d like to double our number of visitors in June, so would you help me spread the word? It would be much appreciated. The more, the merrier, right?

For June, I already have two exclusive interviews scheduled with some heavy weight entrepreneurs (I’m keeping their names a surprise until reveal day!). My goal is at least 4 interviews this month. If you know someone who would be inspiring to our audience, and/or if you’d like to be presented here, please contact me.

At this point, our community here has been visited by women in the United States, Russia, Korea, Japan, the UK, Taiwan, Canada, Australia, Austria, and Germany. My goal is to facilitate an international community so I wholeheartedly welcome the women around the world who have joined us here. Thank you for visiting.

For June, I’d like to add 10 more countries. I intend to add an international post weekly and am looking for female ambassadors from every country who could report to us on her country’s progress in supporting the goals of women entrepreneurs. Is that you? If so, please contact me.

In May, I provided the 50 Female Resource Sites listing, the Emerging Woman Entrepreneur’s Top 10 Questions to Ask (and Answer) Workbook, and a free Your Internet Cash Machine book sampler from Joe Vitale and Jillian Coleman Wheeler.

In June, I will provide more free resources and training, at least one write-up per week. I will also be adding more free articles, at least 3 per week and I will continue to recommend great websites every week. Please contact me with the specific types of help you need, as it’s important to me to give you what you need the most.

In June, I will begin releasing a weekly newsletter. It will include special bonuses and product reviews that give you a deeper look at the resources available to you as a female entrepreneur.

I am developing a Web Traffic 101 Study Course, a beginner’s guide to creating web traffic and I’ll be adding free monthly teleseminars so you get the chance to talk with me live with your questions and issues. I will announce the first teleseminar date later this week.

Thank you to all of you who have made me feel so welcome. As always, I am available if you need me.

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

p.s. Watch for an upcoming Female Entrepreneur Makeover contest as well…do you know anyone who could use that? If so, keep your eyes peeled for the details!

How Does Your “About Me” Page Look?

As a new blogger, it seems I learn about 5 new things a day. If it’s not technical programming lessons, it’s user interfacing, or copywriting blunders to be corrected. It never seems to end.

The most surprising thing I’ve learned in my first month of blogging is the importance of my “About Me” page.

My “About Me” page was the most visited page on my entire blog. Second only to my 50 Female Entrepreneur Resource Sites (which was picked up for huge distribution by many sites), more people went to check out who I am than visited anywhere else. These visitors had to deliberately click on this page, too–it’s not like they were directed to it automatically by going to my home page. And, they did click–up to 1000% more than other pages! I am guessing, if you also monitor which pages people visit the most (and you should be tracking that), you would find a similar trend.

Why is this? Because people care about the human being running the show! And, that’s not surprising really, if we think about it a minute. I want to know the owner of the businesses I deal with. I find it important to get to know my neighbors. I am interested in other people’s points of view. And, the more I get to know someone, the more I want to know them.

So, what does this mean to us as female entrepreneurs? As women, sometimes we tend to hide or imagine that no one really wants to know our story. As marketers of our businesses, we have to understand that story is what people want in order to buy. Rapport and trust are the cornerstones of client loyalty. Clients need it in order to make a connection and move forward in their relationship with us.  If we are sincere in wanting to provide the best service in the best way, we are obliged to provide that honest story.

So, I want you to go right now and look at your “About Me” page. Does your “About Me” page demonstrate your personality? Is it easy to find on your home page? Does it provide a way for people to contact you? Does it give people a sense of who you are and what you stand for? Or, is it just another pitch about your business and products? Do you even know how many people visit it? If not, why not?

These are questions worth answering today. The more we take the opportunity to let people into our perspective, the better off our lives and our businesses will be. I urge you to take the time to work on your “About Me” page so you can enjoy the trust and rapport and results you deserve.

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

 

 

 

Listen in to SmartWoman’s First Interview!

I am thrilled to announce that I have had my first interview! WOW! How exciting and flattering! 🙂

Listen in as Chris Brown of BrandandMarket.com asks me about being a female entrepreneur, about what led me to blogging, and what it took to get me here. Special thanks to Chris for inviting me to do this! Be sure to visit her site often–she has a lot of wisdom to offer.

Listen in to SmartWoman’s First Interview!

Today I have been focused on my goals for June. Keep an eye out for many cool new things. And, thanks for dropping by. Be sure to tell your friends about us here!

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

 

Recommended Site: EvanCarmichael.com

Sometimes I run across a website that literally takes my breath away. It is so well done, with such good information, that I just am impressed to the point of being speechless.

I found such a site at EvanCarmichael.com

EvanCarmichael.com offers motivation and strategies for entrepreneurs in an easy to navigate format. I firmly believe that you could start and run a business soley with the information you gain from Evan’s site. Ok, maybe you should keep reading SmartWoman Guides, but I think you get my point. It’s amazing!

You’ll find famous entrepreneurs throughout history profiled, more than anywhere else on the web. Modern, current day entrepreneurs and small business owners are there too, like Oprah, Donald Trump, and Sir Richard Branson. I would be shocked if you didn’t find something (many things) to inspire you.

You’ll find articles, forums, expert authors, business resources, and so much more. I got word today that you’ll be seeing SmartWoman herself (yes, ME, can you believe it?) as an expert author very soon.

This site gets thousands of people visiting every day, so it would serve you to go visit and get involved (and add your own website link) to one of their forums. You deserve to be on the same page as Oprah, don’t you? Of course you do!

Here’s more about Evan in case you want to know who you’re dealing with. If you scroll down to the bottom of his “About Me” page, you can see him doing a mean salsa too! I love entrepreneurs that enjoy Life,  don’t you?

So, if you want high quality information, and tons of it, about being successful as an entrepreneur and small business owner, go visit EvanCarmichael.com today…now.:-)

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

p.s. There are specific forums for women entrepreneurs too. Enjoy!

 

Get Your Free Internet Marketing Book Sampler: SmartWoman Parties with Joe Vitale!

NOTE: For those of you with limited time and no desire for the back story, you can go straight to the sign up page by clicking here: Your Internet Cash Machine Book Sampler

Don’t be in such a hurry that you cheat yourself out of the free bonuses info though–read below! It won’t take long and it will be worth it! 🙂

For those of you with a minute or two on your hands:

Even though he’s a mega-star of metaphysics now, Joe Vitale, one of the stars of The Secretis one of my original marketing gurus from way back. He’s a really interesting guy and I got to go to his birthday party late last year. The picture above captured the moment (that’s me in the middle!)

He and Jillian Coleman Wheeler co-authored a book about using the internet to build a business, called Your Internet Cash Machine: The Insiders Guide to Making Big Money, Fast!

I worked with Jillian on the book release and can say unequivocally that it is full of great stuff–very practical and relevant, not empty hype and pushy tactics. And, it’s usable on several different business models.

During the book launch marketing process, I helped Jillian create a sampler taken directly from Your Internet Cash Machine and have convinced her to let me offer it here to my readers.

The sampler has enough good ideas in it that you should be able to benefit just reading that alone; that’s how we designed it to be–a true sample of the work, not just teaser material.  You will need to provide your email when you request the sampler so the link can be sent to you directly.

To sign up for your copy of the Your Internet Cash Machine book sampler, click below:
Your Internet Cash Machine Book Sampler

I have also secured permission from Jillian to allow you to visit the purchase bonus page that was originally used for the launch. There you will find literally thousands of dollars of related stuff that you will get to download for free by providing your email and Amazon receipt number.

Here’s how to claim the purchase bonuses:

1. Purchase the book at Amazon or your preferred book seller.
2. Next, go to the bonus website and enter your name and receipt  #.
3. Enjoy your bounty and claim your bonuses!

I signed up for the bonuses and enjoyed them. I can say first hand that I did not get spammed with useless stuff once I did. But, you will have to decide for yourself the tolerance you have for communication with new businesses and their information.

All the bonuses include a good description, so you can opt-in to some and not others (which I confess, I also did–not all of them appealed to me). I have not had any problem later opting-out of various emails too. A very good experience overall.

So, have fun! At least get the Sampler–it’s a good read.

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

p.s. Darn, that’s a good looking launch page, if I say so myself! 🙂

 

 

 

Hearing and Responding to Market Feedback

As a professional entrepreneur, it’s important to hear what your market is telling you. Even if it hurts your feelings, or is an unexpected reaction, or you don’t quite understand it, you have to listen and respond as appropriate. Your audience knows what they want and you must respect that.

For the last week or so, I added an opt-in gift report for female entrepreneurs. Many clicked on the link to see it yet very few downloaded it. Several women who did have told me they enjoyed it very much, but I feel disappointed that so many didn’t even try it. 

For the record, I believe in a zero tolerance SPAM policy. I do not share, sell, or rent my contacts. I am a die hard advocate for permission-only based marketing. I do not want you to feel anything other than confidence, joy and anticipation when you visit this community.

So, why did my report not get downloaded?

• It could be a matter of trust–perhaps I have not built enough trust yet with my audience for them to believe I would not mishandle their personal information.
• It could be a matter of value–perhaps the perceived value of the offered gift was not sufficient to compensate my audience for what they felt were giving.
• It could be a matter of relevance–perhaps what I was writing wasn’t pertinent to those visiting.
• It could be….something else that I have not identified.

Truth is, I don’t know for sure. But, I know I need to do something to fix it. And, I would highly recommend that, if you have a product, service, or offer that hasn’t worked out like you’d hoped, that you take a moment to adapt to what your market is telling you and fix it as well.

To be successful as an entrepreneur, you have to be willing to ask the tough questions. Even as painful as it might be to see something you created fail, you have to be willing to respond to the feedback you receive. You are doing yourself and your clients a great disservice if you don’t.

In the spirit of building trust and providing value, I have made my report available without having to provide your name and email, in case that was a contributing factor. Simply click on the link below to read the report.

The Emerging Woman Entrepreneurs Top 10 Questions to Ask (and Answer) Today 

I hope you enjoy it. I intended it to be useful. I sincerely hope it adds value to your experience, but you’ll have to decide that for yourself. I am open to hearing all feedback. Let me know what you think so I can grow, ok? I’d be grateful for your help.

Thank you for visiting here. I could not do what I do without you.

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

p.s. If any of the readers here went to the report page and decided not to sign up, I’d be delighted to know why. You can email me privately or post here. It’s important to me that I provide trust, value, and relevance here. Your feedback is welcomed and encouraged.

 

Killer, The Mighty Donut Hunter: A Story of Passion, Focus and Determination

I learned many lessons about Life from my beloved little dog, Killer. A constant companion and devoted friend for over 20 years, when he passed last year, I struggled. It has taken some time for the heartache to finally fade back to be replaced by fonder memories of walks in the woods, the perpetually amusing antics, and “The Little Man’s” joyful “Hollywood smile”. I thought it appropriate on Memorial Day to share one of my favorite memories.

Killer loved chocolate covered donuts. I mean, LOVED. He would do nearly anything for them. Yes, sadly, some dogs (about 10%) die from eating chocolate but Killer was not one of them. He would run around like a pre-school youngster on a sugar buzz high when he ate them, but that was about the worst of it. He could not get enough of those yummy things.

Now, Killer was a dog of distinctly discerning taste. He didn’t prefer just any old chocolate donut, no. Those waxy little minis that your mother put in your lunchbox would not do. His donuts of choice were Entemman’s and they were full sized and deluxe. Only the best would satisfy Killer. He wouldn’t eat any other kind.

One night, a showdown was brewing between Killer and my human companion, Kevin. There was only one donut left in the box. Kevin loved chocolate donuts too and knew how Killer felt about them. We both treat our pets like people, but actual people still get priority, so, politically speaking, that last donut was Kevin’s. The battle of wills was on.

As Kevin claimed the last donut, Killer became single mindedly transfixed. He would not–could not–take his eyes off that donut. Kevin started playfully egging Killer on a bit, making a real show of it, humming, saying “Oooh, MMMM, this looks so good”. The good-hearted teasing only amplified Killer’s resolve. He intended to get some of that donut.

Killer tried everything. He flashed his award winning smile. He sat and stayed at attention with perfect, well-behaved precison. He did each of his trained tricks one after another, hoping for a reward. He gave it his all. He resorted to relentlessly following Kevin around, his little doggie mind working as fast as it could on a strategy. 

Finally, as Kevin plopped onto the sofa to enjoy his snack, Killer launched his plan. He scurried up Kevin’s outstretched body from the floor when Kevin’s feet touched the ground, making a full speed beeline for his goal. Kevin was so surprised (and hysterically laughing) that he could barely recover. He instinctively reacted by pulling his arms (and the hand that held the tasty morsel) over his head at the edge of the sofa, where that chocolate prize now hung inches from the floor.

Killer immediately hopped off Kevin and dove for his heart’s desire, now enticingly available to him at his 12″ height. Victory was within reach! Kevin realized his treat was in true peril and snatched it back to safety just as Killer was reaching up to take a bite.

This all happened within just a few seconds, and we were in tears from laughter. Moral of the story: Kevin was so impressed with Killer’s, well, doggedness, that he gave that scruffy little canine a full half of the last donut. Killer was officially dubbed “The Mighty Donut Hunter” that day and we got a story that still makes us laugh. And, most importantly, I witnessed a real life, real time demonstration of passion, focus, and determination.

So, I ask you. As an entrepreneur, what drives your passion and determination? What are you willing to give your complete, focused attention to? What is YOUR chocolate donut?…

 

God speed and love to all who have gone before.
Together, we are stronger.

Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

How to Recover From Mistakes in Your Business

Life happens. The perfectly planned project goes off schedule. The beautifully programmed webpage crashes. The long-awaited new product launch is scrapped. I am sure you have your stories about the times when…well, Life happened.

But, when you are the one who made a mistake, who caused the blow-up, it can feel a thousand times worse. How can you deal with the shame, horror, and expletive deletives that rise up? Here are some suggestions:

1.  Take a deep breath. Walk away from your computer, or out of your office, and simply breathe deeply. Even emergency situations which require immediate response benefit from you being sharp minded. Get some oxygen to your brain cells so you can focus. It will also help you relax and get your bearings.

2.  Assess the situation honestly. Distinguish between real damage to your business and perceived damage to your ego. It feels embarassing to make mistakes but they are often less damaging in reality than they appear through our self-critical eyes. Truly urgent issues demand immediate care. But, if you want to crawl under a chair because your vendor thinks you’re a fool, that’s probably not real damage. Learn to recognize the difference.

3.  Get help. Different perspectives and opinions can assist you. Sometimes, when you are stressed, you won’t see solutions that are right in front of your nose. Even if you just talk to a friend or surf the web to a knowledge forum, you’re better off not going through it alone. Reach past your shame and ask for help and support.

4.  Take considered action. It’s important to be responsive. The thing you don’t want to be is reactive (commonly associated with dynamite-not so good). If your mistake caused upset to someone important to your business, it can be helpful to allow for some cooling off time. You don’t want to give the wrong impression of your position or feelings. Handle client complaints promptly and manage the follow-up consistently. Use your calm judgement in deciding when something needs to be done, not your anger or disappointment in yourself.

5.  Learn from your mistake. It’s important to evaluate what happened, how it happened, and why. The time to do this is after the crisis has passed, though, not while you are in the middle of it. And, then, you can work to not make the same mistake again. Special note to hardworking females: If you made a mistake because you are tired or burned out–that is real damage. Do not dismiss it as “one of those things” that can’t be helped. Take some real time off and recover. You are serving no one by not being fully functional.

6.  Say you are sorry. If you spoke rudely, or caused others to work overtime, or let someone down, say you’re sorry. Even if the person you wronged is a challenging ego maniac that baited you, own up to your own mistakes. There is no honor in anything else. Then, be more careful in the future. That said, you don’t need to apologize for things truly beyond your control. You aren’t responsible for the weather or other people’s reactions. You are responsible for your own actions.  Be aware of that distinction.

7.  Laugh at yourself! Your sense of humor is your best defense. All of us are human and we make mistakes. Your hope, faith, and compassion (and the effort you’ve spent generating goodwill with others) will help smooth over the consequences of most mistakes. I am also a firm believer in the therapuetic value of ice cream, chocolate, and kisses from a loved one. You might want to try it. 🙂

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

SmartWoman Interview:Chris Brown of BrandandMarket.com

Listen to SmartWoman Vicki Flaugher interviewing Chris Brown, the owner of Marketing Resources and Results, Inc. and one of the top female bloggers in the marketing and branding arena at BrandandMarket.com.

Interview Audio:  smartwoman_chrisbrown

To listen to the audio now, left click to play. To save the file, right click and select “Save Target” to save the file. (This is a 9+ minute interview.)

 

I asked Chris to discuss her entrepreneur journey and her view of both the advantages and challenges of female entrepreneurs in the marketplace. She offers insights about the power of networking, the need for a leadership mindset, and gives suggestions other women can implement to achieve even greater success. I  found her to be thoughtful and inspiring.  

Interview Audio:  smartwoman_chrisbrown

To listen to the audio now, left click to play. To save the file, right click and select “Save Target” to save the file. (This is a 9+ minute interview.)

Please go check out Chris’ website. She is a remarkable resource and a devoted advocate for female entrepreneurs.

 

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

 

Free Report: Top 10 Questions to Ask (And Answer) Today

 As a gift for my readers, I have prepared a free report. Enjoy!

To download your free copy of Emerging Woman Entrepreneur’s Top 10 Questions to Ask (And Answer) Today, click on the link below:

The Emerging Woman Entrepreneurs Top 10 Questions to Ask (and Answer) Today

This report is filled with questions that are designed to get you thinking about and acting with a passionate mindset so you can grow your heartfelt business. 

We’ll cover topics such as

• Your Self Motivation: Why Do You Do What You Do?

• Your Passion: What Gets You Out of Bed in the Morning?

• First Impressions: Would I Hire You If I Saw You at The Grocery Store?

• Lifelong Relationships: Are You the “Love ‘em and Leave ‘em” Type?

• Ask and Listen: Is Your Ego Willing to Take a Backseat?

• Consistency is King: Can You Finish What You Start?

• Your Dream Team: Are You Willing To Share Power?

• Birds of a Feather: Do You Love Your Clients?

• The Dark Night: How Do You Deal With Disappointment?

• Celebrating Your Victories: What Is Fun to You?

To download your free copy of Emerging Woman Entrepreneur’s Top 10 Questions to Ask (And Answer) Today, click on the link below:

The Emerging Woman Entrepreneurs Top 10 Questions to Ask (and Answer) Today

Together, we are stronger.

Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

 

 

 

 

 

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Recommended Site: Divapreneur.org

I was invited by one of the SmartWoman readers to join a great website for female entrepreneurs and wanted to be sure you all knew about it. The website is Divapreneur.org

You need to be referred by a member, so when you sign up, you should tell them that Vicki Flaugher sent you. You can email me for a private invite  if you’d prefer a direct link. I’ll be happy to get it to you.

Divapreneur is free to sign up and it’s specifically designed to let you promo your business, network with other great women and, in general, find encouraging solidarity as we all ban together toward business success. I signed up tonight and I have already received several warm welcomes. How fun!

Divapreneur is not a stuffy, cubicle dweller’s heaven. Far from it! The website is pink and feminine with multiple organized community groups and lots of female entrepreneur focused marketing. The graphics are fun and sassy. And, it’s easy to connect with other women who can help you.

You can create and customize your own webpage that links to other social networking media and you can start a blog there too. Cool, right? It’s very well done and a seamless presentation.

Divapreneur is the lovechild of Elaine Biss and her journey is an interesting and inspiring one. I can’t wait to get to know her better. Her specific mission is to help women become a success doing what they are passionate about. Elaine, you are officially an honorary SmartWoman. Bravo!

So, go check out Divapreneur.org and take advantage of this amazing network of women. Tell them Vicki Flaugher sent you. Maybe I can talk Elaine into an interview so you can hear how she developed her brilliant idea…Elaine? 🙂

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

 

The Value of Relationships: Why I Quit the “Convincing” Business

If you are like me, you are passionate about what you do and you like to have others into it too. For me, I am quite an advocate. I like talking about investing, entrepreneurship, passive income, internet marketing, empowerment, female power, organic living…you name it. If it’s something I believe in, and it’s changed my life in a positive way, I like to spread the word.

But, this approach isn’t the way to go when you are working to acquire new business. Although it’s important to communicate the benefits of your products and services, if you’re having to convince the client, to push, to manipulate with fancy sales technique, you don’t have the sale. And, you probably don’t want it even if you do finally “win” it. Here’s why:

The people you have to convince are the hardest to sell, the most expensive to service, and are the most likely to want a refund. You’ll work your tail off for them and then they won’t refer you to their friends. Or, worst still, they will refer their friends. Since the old adage “Birds of a feather flock together” often rings true, their friends are going to be like them– a pain in your balance sheet! Convincing just doesn’t pay and it isn’t the way business is done anymore.

Advertising and marketing have changed a lot in the last decade. People’s buying behavior has changed too. They concentrate on relationships even more and they don’t buy things that they don’t already know. When was the last time you bought a book or went to a movie with little idea of what you’d be getting? It was a long time ago for me. More to the point, when was the last time you paid more for a product because you knew and trusted the vendor? I did that yesterday, was happy to do it, and I would do it again today.

It’s not that I don’t buy new inventive products. When I do, it’s because I was educated about them first. The business owner took the time to be in the market, teaching me what their product was and what it does and how it works. Even though their idea was brand new, when I finally bought, my relationship with them was not.

I’m not saying I am immune to great sales technique. None of us are. I tend to study it and admire it. But it’s not why I buy. I don’t buy because some slick salesperson knew the right “close”. Sales technique shouldn’t get in your way, but the quality of the product and the relationship drives the sale, not the sales technique.

So, what does this mean to you? Get yourself out in the market ahead of your sales pitch! Give people ample opportunity to know you and learn about your product. Educate, communicate, give people a way to learn about you prior to even contacting you (your website’s a great tool for this). Get involved in your community so your reputation preceeds you. And protect and enrich that reputation with great service and honest dealings.

If you do these things, people will come to you and they will be great clients. When you approach them, they will already know you and will be glad to see you. They’ll be a raving fan that insist their friends should deal with only you. They will buy more often, in larger amounts, and be a breeze to service. They might even become your friend. They will already be convinced from the start because they had the opportunity to be convinced by the person whose opinion they respect the most–themselves.

When you finally embrace the power of the relationship, you’ll be out of the convincing business too.

Wanted: Fiery Woman to Cause a Stir on My Blog

Yep, that’s right. I am seeking a fiery woman to speak her mind on my blog. A woman other less enlightened people would call uppity, or strong minded, or maybe even downright stubborn. If this is YOU, dear sister, then know that you are invited and truly welcome here.

You see,  I tend to be a modulator, a moderator, a peacemaker/keeper. Been one all my life, actually. I have sometimes behaved in slightly anti-social ways–being a self-employed entrepreneur is slightly anti-societal–but I can also be observed following rules, mediating…some would say leading a bit of a boring life. I like who I am, but it doesn’t always start a good discussion.

So,  I decided to embrace my true self, admit my “can’t we all just get along?” attitude and find someone else besides me that could do a better job at stirring things up. I know you are out there.

I’m not looking for vulgarity but rather passion of thought. You can write about just about anything women care about. Some suggestions might be sexism, discrimination, ageism, marriage, divorce, society’s beauty standard, the battle of the sexes….it’s wide open.  I need it to be radical and thought provoking so others will flock  to our great community here and engage. I’d even consider using a male author with the right approach. Controversy is encouraged.

So, is that fiery woman you? If it is, contact me.  I will set you up as a guest author on my site and you can have your way with the topic of your choice.

And, thanks, in advance. I am grateful for those who speak out and stand up.  I admire you.

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher,  the original SmartWoman

Qassia: Better than Squidoo and Wikipedia

Qassia is this great encyclopedic website where you can post “intel” for free and get backlinks to your website, advertising credit, and advertising revenue. It’s in private beta-version now so you can only join through invitation so here’s the link
Qassia Private Invitation Link

You add info–not just egghead stuff, but normal stuff–and you get points for it. You get points for posting intel (if it’s original & never published, you get the most). You get points for reviewing and rating other people’s intel. You get points for referrals.

Unlike Wikipedia, your stuff won’t get edited but the users rate it. You can write in any voice or style you want. It can be something as simple as the great neighborhood bars in Soho to a thesis on evolution. Whatever floats your boat!

The points are rewarded in “Qassia dollars” that determine your ranking on their pages. More networth, more visibility. They are also tossing around the idea that you might get to spend your virtual dollars on other stuff, but that’s not decided yet.

Also, they will pay you 100%  of the revenue from the Adsense ads that people click through while they are on your intel page. So, if you have good stuff that people like reading (and more of it), the likelihood of people clicking on relevant ads goes up. That could mean cha-ching in your bank account!

I have added 16 articles about search engine optimization and internet marketing. If nothing else, go read my articles. If the site looks interesting to you, sign up. Why not, right?

Qassia’s goal is to bloom into a vast intelligence engine, with content that real people, like you and me, create. The community does not encourage pitching, so don’t do it–you will be smacked down for that, but I have had many people visit my blog and email me from the articles I’ve posted.

If you provide real value and service, you will be rewarded. Here’s the link again:
Qassia Private Invitation Link

See what you think!

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

p.s. If you sign up, BE SURE to validate your account through the confirmation email you will receive, otherwise you won’t be properly signed up.

SmartWoman Manifesto

I sometimes get teased for my moniker, but I like it, so I use it. I wrote a manifesto some years ago to sum up my view. I felt I should republish it here to renew the message.

(The picture to the side is by Joyce Roe Flaugher, the original Mom of the original SmartWoman. Isn’t that cool?)

SmartWoman Manifesto

“A Smart Woman uses her entire toolbox of experiences, talents, feelings, logic, intuition, education, and yes, even her mistakes, to live her life authentically engaged. She takes the time to care for herself, evaluate what she really thinks and feels, and acts and reacts from a place of patient love, energized compassion, and balanced accountability. Choices are opportunities and she welcomes them. Opportunity leads to her future and she faces that future with a ready and willing heart and a nimble and open mind.

A Smart Woman respects others’ points of view while still making her own choices. She gives generously to others while nurturing herself. She knows the value of boundaries and is skillful in using them to build stronger relationships. She speaks up when she needs to and she knows how and when to supportively listen as she keeps her vision of peace and tolerance in sight. She knows when to walk away, wishing luck and best wishes to those who are on another path. She knows and values her true worth.

Adaptable, caring, capable, and clever, a Smart Woman embraces life and triumphantly whoops and hollers her way to joy. She claims her power and her divine birthright, as each of us do, in a myriad of infinitely beautiful and unique ways, creating a fulfilling life as a Smart Woman. She’s not out to prove anything to anybody. She is here to learn, live, love, laugh, and contribute.

I believe we all have a lot to share, to communicate, to witness, and to celebrate. I would feel honored and thrilled to know you are by my side. So, what do you think? Are you ready to explore? I hope so, because today, I am making firm plans and those plans include you. I am a Smart Woman with firm plans. Are you?”

Side note: If you google “smart woman” you see there are lots of others who are in solidarity. I have tried logging on to enough websites where the username “smartwoman” is already taken, so I must be on to something… 🙂

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the  original SmartWoman

p.s. I promised in my weekend post to solidify “what I call what I do”. Here’s my first draft: “I empower female entrepreneurs by providing services and products that help facilitate their success.”

Not sure it’s a keeper, but what about you? What do you call what you do?  Do share!

Do You Like To Watch? Cow vs. Conn

Do you like to watch? I do! 🙂

If you want to watch over the shoulder of two great marketers who make money online from blogging, here’s your chance.

Monday May 19th launches a cool blog contest between John Cow and Garry Conn and you can take part in it for free.

It’s a great promotional stunt and the proceeds for the winner (at least on John Cow’s side–not sure about Garry Conn) have been pledged to charity. These two guys probably drink beer together as friends, so I can’t tell you they are mortal enemies competing. Truth is, they might be, but I can’t say. Does it really matter? Personally I signed up for both of their information so I could learn from both teams.

It costs you nothing to watch over their shoulders as they launch new blogs and build them into revenue streams. You can emulate what they do for your blog and enjoy the fruits for yourself. They are also offering free prizes (lots of cool software, promo sponsor spots, etc.) for you helping them promote it.

If you have an interest in doing this, go for it.  I am! I think it will be fun. We can discuss the things we learn here as they go along.

Just in case you are not ready to pick sides yet, here are both of their websites. Both are offering phenomenal classroom training for free showing you what they are doing. Enjoy!

John Cow’s website: http://www.johncow.com/competition

Garry Conn’s website: http://www.garryconn.com/cowpetition

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

p.s. YES, I am trying to get SmartWoman more exposure by posting this contest info. I firmly believe more women need to learn about our community here, so I am not ashamed. It seems a harmless thing to promote a contest that I am participating in if it means more women come visit here. Are you ok with that? I hope so. If not, let me know and I will delete this post. This is your community and your opinion and vote counts.

 

I Dare You to Google Yourself!

Are you curious about what the Internet thinks of you? If so, Google yourself!

We are all focused on satisfying our clients, developing products and services, and all the other administrative, sales, and marketing activities that go with running a business. It’s not always so easy to take a step out of our bubbles and see how others see us. But, it’s crucial.

As women, some of us are a bit shy about our image. We don’t necessarily want to be in the spotlight. And,  we tend to shy away from our missteps. We’d rather hide under a rock than objectively examine our mistakes. But, I would ask you to consider this:

If you get a glimpse of you and your business from the outside, you will learn things about how and why you get new sales (or not) and also how you can contribute even more. And, it’s kinda fun!

So, this weekend, as a professional curiousity, go Google yourself–your personal name, your business name, your website name, maybe your executives’ names. If you have extra time, type in the words that describe the service you provide and see what comes up. It can be a real eye opener.

All I am asking you to do is to see what you see. It’s about awareness, not shame or judgement. See it all. Be ok with it. You can and will change what you don’t like but you have to see it first

Notice what blurps come up with your web page descriptions–would YOU click on it to buy what you’re selling? How many pages are you on? Who is there along with you? What are your competitors doing that you could learn from?

Notice who mentions you. If you don’t know them, you should.  Business is all about relationships and you could build some new ones with people who are already mentioning you. 

Don’t neglect to notice where you are doing a great job also. This is an exercise in finding the good too, not just the not-so-good. You are bound to be doing things right and it can be very satisfying to become aware of that. It’s important to celebrate when you find gold. (Victory dances are encouraged.)

So, until next time, have fun and report back what you discover!

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

p.s. I  discovered that a link to SmartWoman is now available in Russian–how cool is that? 🙂

 

 

 

My Boyfriend Doesn’t Get Me

Today my sweetheart asked me what I call what I do now. Some might say I am a serial entrepreneur. Some might say I can’t make up my mind. It is true that I have been through many morphing versions of entrepreneurship and frankly, my sweetheart’s confused. (He’s one of my best referral sources, so it’s smart for me to keep him up to date.)

I had to think for a bit and I responded that I provide goods and services to empower female entrepreneurs. He then mentioned that I still do some business development consulting, he mentioned the other websites I intend to develop, he mentioned the authors I help launch books for, and well…he’s still confused.  I admit I am an enigma.

After some discussion, I told him more generally that I a niche marketer. He then promptly asked me what was the going rate for “niches”, how many people wanted a niche marketed to them,  and are we going to have to store the overflow niche inventory in the garage. I think he was kidding…

My point is that it pays to take a moment to really contemplate your work. How would you describe what you do? Does it sound, out loud, like you intend in your head? Could you give what they call an “elevator pitch” in under a minute that would attract your client to you? If not, when do you intend to pull that together?

Myself, I am taking the weekend to think it through and work toward accurately verbalizing what I do. I will share it with you on Monday. Maybe you could join me and take some breathing time to really analyze your role and share it here with us.

By the way, my boyfriend does really get me and he agreed to let me poke fun at him. And, that jovial conversation today on our walk served a good purpose. It helped me to focus. That is always a good thing.

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

Repurposing SmartWoman Articles

A few years ago, when I first launched smartwomanguides.com, it was a community website for women 35-55 worldwide. It’s focus was not entrepreneurism, although it reached out to the same group as this blog.

I had the great fortune to receive many articles, submitted by women all over the world, about a variety of topics that women our age care about, ranging from Aging to Health to Spirituality to Work and more.  Some were comedic, some informational, some enlightening, but all heartfelt and real. It was a bountiful, beautiful embarassment of riches.

Since I have converted that URL to this blog, you may notice that, if you google “smartwoman guides”, that there are articles that no longer link to the right place. Bummer.

And, on top of that, I have received requests from people who knew the old site, asking where the information moved to. So, I decided to spend a work day repurposing those articles so everyone who visits here can also read them.

To see the Library, click on on the Tab “Article Archive” above or click here. You can also see the articles that are ready to go on the left sidebar.

Please read them and enjoy them as you desire, and by all means, go visit the people who wrote them that have a presence on the web. (I am working as quickly as I can to add them all, so if they are not all there yet, just know that there are about 30 of them and I am posting them as fast as I can.)

Not a day goes by that I am not impressed by the calibre of women who live on this magnificent Earth and I am grateful that I get to commune with them–I am a better woman for it.

Thank you for being one of those women. Go check out the writings of your sisters!

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

50 Female Entrepreneur Resource Sites

I have hit the motherlode! Yes, I am a google freak, but this is just the beginning. I am sincere when I tell you my goal is to unify the field for women entrepreners. We deserve to have great information, easily accessible. We deserve to be united. We deserve the best of the best. I am starting to make a dent in that goal… 🙂

I have added descriptions, some of my own assessment, and others from the websites themselves, to help you choose which ones are most applicable to you. I personally have visited and investigated these and feel comfortable recommending that you should too. (The quotation mark are placed to show I took, in fair use, the descriptions from the sites themselves, not to signify anything else.)

Check out all these blogs/sites/articles, and the massive amount of business, marketing, advertising, and entreprener guidance they have to offer. It’s like gold! (Be sure to mark this entry to return to it…it’s going to take some time…)

1. http://jenniferkushell.wordpress.com/   From the website: “Your Success Network – is focused on creating the #1 online universe that arms emerging adults across the globe with the most trusted tools and resources needed to achieve success in their lives and careers”
2. http://www.escapefromcubiclenation.com/ From Pam, the owner’s, bio: “Pamela Slim is a seasoned coach and writer who helps frustrated employees in corporate jobs break out and start their own business.”
3. http://investinwomen.wordpress.com/  Per Leah Oviedo, the owner: “On this blog I will post stories and organizations that will empower women to live successful lifes…by linking with quality websites that Empower Women and with Business Services by Women for other entrepreneurs.”
4. http://bettersalesprofessional.com/  Sales and marketing tips for entrepreneurs. This site owner, Barbara, is “A sales veteran…(with) a proven, 25+ year track record of selling into enterprise level and small-mid market accounts”
5. http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/ Seth Godin is one of my uber heros–great stuff–he is a world class bestselling author, and champion of permission based marketing. Many books, founder of Squidoo, MBA in business, and very straight talking. I have a professional crush on him.
6. http://theunknownentrepreneur.wordpress.com/  I just like how honest and raw this man is about his entrepreneurial journey–I find it inspiring. From his about page: “Why do we lose so many Entrepreneurs? The Simple answer is because we all either forget or just do not appreciate what risks Entrepreneurs take in trying to make their “Dreams a Reality”. “
7. http://www.wowowow.com/ An amazing, star studded, power grouping of women having conversations about life and the modern women. Candice Bergen, Whoopi Goldburg, Leslie Stahl, Peggy Noonan, Marlo Thomas, Lily Tomlin, and others discuss politics, business, sexism and more.
8. http://leighhouse.typepad.com/advergirl/ The author says “I am a 30-something brand strategist located deep in the delightful Mid-west. After I help clients tell clear, compelling brand stories at work, I log on to Advergirl to be part of the conversation shaping our industry and our economy.”  IMO, this women IS the industry. It’s great stuff.
9. http://www.b2bemailmarketing.com/ From the About page: “BeRelevant!, founded on February 8, 2005, is a weblog that covers email marketing best practices. Each and every one of the articles, tools and resources that are featured on BeRelevant! have been carefully selected based on their value and uniqueness.”
10. http://www.blogwriteforceos.com/blogwrite/ From Debbie’s bio: “Debbie Weil is a corporate & CEO blogging and social media consultant, sought-after speaker and author” She is a responsive, intelligent entrepreneur that is full of wonderful advice on how to turn your blog into business.
11. http://www.brandeo.com/ From the website: “Brandeo is a weblog dedicated to keeping you up-to-date on marketing ideas, trends, strategies and solutions to make your job easier and to help you get better marketing results.”
12. http://brandandmarket.com/  From her website: “Branding & Marketing is written by Chris Brown for business professionals who want to learn more about marketing and branding strategies and tactics.” Chris has been very responsive to me and I look forward to working with her empowering women.
13. http://www.ck-blog.com/ Under her FAQ page, CK says “I cover a wide range of marketing topics including strategy, social media and socially responsible marketing. I work to communicate best practices through a range of examples that include the really smart and the really not-so-smart. While most every post is focused on marketing, no day is ever the same.”
14. http://overtonecomm.blogspot.com/ Social media, branding, and reputation marketing. Fresh voice, lots of info on how communication can help (and hurt) you.
15. http://www.conversationagent.com/ Top ranked marketing blog with Valeria Maltoni, focusing on how modern businesses and entrepreneurs can shape the conversation they have with their clients. Branding, social media, and the importance of story. High powered stuff!
16. http://ringblog.typepad.com/corporatepr/ From the website: “…commentary on the theory and practice of public relations and organizational communications from Elizabeth Albrycht.” Elizabeth has amazing credentials and the blog is easier to read than that description implies…theory is good when you are shown applications and that’s what Elizabeth does.
17. http://customersrock.wordpress.com/ Why Becky blogs: “.. Everyday, both as a businesswoman and as a consumer, I have thoughts and ideas as I walk through the customer experiences of services and products.  I want to share those thoughts and ideas so more companies can learn how to take on this “customers rock!” attitude for themselves.”
18. http://bloombergmarketing.blogs.com/bloomberg_marketing/ “An approach to marketing that’s fun, bold, and savvy, but always strategically aligned with your brand’s objective” Social media focus with Toby Bloomberg.
19. http://www.womensnet.net/ Grants and funding resources for women entrepreneurs. Also includes a business and social networking blog to meet like-minded women and get your questions answered.
20. http://www.hiyaahpower.com/ The website’s stated mission: “Hiyaah Power …was created to serve as an online conduit of information for women. Information includes the following topics:  professional development (for profit and non-profit), holistic counseling and healing resources, and news on leading edge organizations that expand a woman’s empowerment base. 
21. http://wendy.kinesisinc.com/ Says Wendy Maynard: “I am the co-owner of… a creative firm specializing in marketing, branding, graphic design, and website development…I have so many ideas floating around in my head about both offline and online marketing strategies, that I wanted to share them. Thus, this blog (Kinetic Ideas) was born.”
22. http://getgood.typepad.com/  About Susan Getgood, the author: “A results-oriented strategic marketer, Susan knows how to build brands using technology, policy and good old fashioned high-quality products. In 2004, she founded GetGood Strategic Marketing Inc. to help bring blogs into the mix as an indispensable marketing tool.”
23. http://www.entrepreneurs-journey.com/tag/michael-cheney/ I love Michael…he’s so enthusiastic,, and Yaros has much to say. “Down to earth advice for bloggers and internet marketers”
24. http://midlifecrisisqueen.com/ An often humorous look at the mid-life crisis journey, interwoven with psychological insights and advice. Fun and indepth posts about a wide range of female interest topics. A fiesty 50-year old counselor with an attitude. I like her!
25. http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/startherup/archives/138518.asp  “A blog for women in Startups – what they do, what they face and why it’s different than men. Told through the eyes of Alyssa Royse, who is running a venture-backed startup of her own.
26. http://www.nafe.com/?service=vpage/1474 National Association for Female Executives, founded in 1972 and committed to the advancement of women in the workplace.
27. http://www.score.org/women_resources.html  LOADS of female entrepreneur resource links at this location. Per the website, “SCORE “Counselors to America’s Small Business” is a nonprofit association dedicated to educating entrepreneurs and the formation, growth and success of small business nationwide. SCORE is a resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).”
28. http://avirtualbiz.wordpress.com/  Terri Brooks, a female entrepreneur and professional virtual assistant, talks about life and work and “provides remote administrative, financial and creative support to busy professionals.” Very heartfelt, inspiring, and encouraging site for women entrepreneurs.  
29. http://www.copywritingmaven.com/ By Roberta Rosenberg, “The Copywriting Maven”,  whose blog “shares tips, techniques, reviews and cranky commentary”. Fun and very informative reading.
30. http://www.womensventurefund.org/ Mission Statement: The Women’s Venture Fund is a non-profit organization that helps women of diverse backgrounds establish thriving businesses in urban communities.  WVF offers training, small business loans, and a network of business advisors to help women reach their business goals. 
31. http://cloud9design.wordpress.com/2008/01/16/woman-owned-business-resources/ Journal by a work at home Mom who makes eco friendly clothing–this particular link is a listing of many female focused entrepreneur sites.
32. http://www.internationalentrepreneurship.com/Women%20Entrepreneurs.asp?pid=3 International Entrepreneurship’s resource links for women entrepreneurs worldwide. Very helpful stuff for those in the US as well as all around the world.
33. http://www.womeninpower.com/home.asp  “An online community for entrepreneurial woman to connect and create.” It’s creator, Erica Combs, is the Vice President of Golden Mastermind Seminars, Inc. and an internationally recognized speaker, author and trainer.
34. http://www.womenpower-radio.com/  Internet radio station with programs hosted by Raven Blair Davis.  Raven is a recognized speaker, coach and trainer. Her mission is to assist women over 40 in discovering and pursuing their true passion and dreams, despite their age and any perceived limitations.
35. http://www.womenpartner.com/ Women Consortium website–great info, but it may be a little slow loading…be patient.
36. http://www.womensvoicesforchange.org/ Women’s Voices for Change is a news, commentary and opinion website that celebrates women’s health, beauty, wisdom and vibrancy. We’re here to remind the world how vital, versatile and powerful women over 40 are.
37. http://www.guide2womenleaders.com/ This site is dedicated to the women who have ruled since the beginning of times – or as long as the sources date back
38. http://psdblog.worldbank.org/psdblog/2008/01/attention-frien.html World Bank site that focuses on private development and a market approach to development thinking. This links to the Doing Business project.
39. http://debnyberg.blogspot.com/ A place for women in business to be made aware of business opportunities as well as new products and events effecting online business development.
40. http://drwright.blogspot.com/ A blog written by Dr. Letitia S. Wright, D.C. – host of the Wright Place TV Show, Co-Author of the Power of Mentorship for the Woman Entrepreneur and the Producer of the Power of Mentorship Movie.
41. http://empowerwomennow.com/news-women-entrepreneurs/  The Entrepreneur and Small Business Owner’s Internet Branding Line-up with Ponn M Sambra.
42. http://inspired.entrepreneur.com/ One of the man cool blogs sponsored by Entrepreneur magazine.
43. http://www.getentrepreneurial.com/ A small business blog dedicated to providing business advice and resources to our community of aspiring entrepreneurs.
44. http://www.julielenzerkirk.com/index.nhtml  Julie Lenzer Kirk harnesses her experience as a successful and award-winning IT entrepreneur to assist others in realizing their dream of entrepreneurship and taking their already-established entrepreneurial companies to the next level.
45. http://mindpetals.com/blog/2006/11/20-hot-resources-for-women-entrepreneurs/ Mind Petals  put together a great list of resources for women entrepreneurs. “Women entrepreneurs are doing big things in the world of entrepreneurship, helping to shape the new direction of technology, innovation, and startups.”
46. http://elizabethpottsweinstein.com/ You’ll find essays on being a working mom, tips about opening your own business, time management strategies, book and product reviews, and updates on Elizabeth Poss Weinstein’s business & life.
47. http://realwomen.wordpress.com/ The REAL Women site is an online community for Rising Entrepreneurs And Like-minded women whether practising or aspiring to run their own business.
48. http://www.weblogmv.com/ A Professional & Personal Development Blog for Entrepreneurial Women – Creating a Space for Success in Your World!
49. http://www.blogher.com/ The community for women who blog. BlogHer’s mission is to create opportunities for women who blog to pursue exposure, education, community and economic empowerment. 
50. http://icanhascheezburger.com/ (This site is to renew your humor—the creator of this blog just got a national publishing deal with a $300,000 advance to write about how he made this blog into the success it is today…he makes tens of thousands each month….and it’s hysterical! Check it out and have a laugh on a brilliant idea!)

When you explore and post to these, as you see fit, tell them SmartWoman sent you. Please be sure to post your feedback about the sites here too. 

Let’s connect with others who are working for the same goals we are!

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

Goals are Overrated

I am a little bit of a list maker. Not totally obsessive, but bad enough. And, I have made lots of lists that include my goals for my entrepreneur adventure and business success. Not a darned one of them got accomplished by being on that list.

Now, please don’t get me wrong. I watched The Secret(and loved it) and I have dozens of Brian Tracy books and tapes (like Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time), and I believe in focus. But a goal cannot stand on its own. You must take action and it must be the right action to achieve what you desire. See if you relate to any of these downsides to goals:

Sometimes the act of distilling down a proper goal drains the energy off it. You feel like you’ve accomplished so much because you’ve spent so much mental energy capturing it with the perfect wording and description. By being so exacting you’ve taken away the excitement of the journey and it feels too clinical to do, so, well, you don’t.

Sometimes you make it so small it should be a to-do item not a goal, or you make it so big that it should be on a miracles list. Something so small seems hardly worth any effort and the enormous goal seems overwhelming and unachievable. Either way, it still does not get done.

I’m going to go off the beaten path now–one of the other downsides of goals (and rigidly seeking them) is you leave no room for the wonder and mystery of the Universe to do Its stuff. If you had all the answers and had found the definitive, perfect way to achieve satisfaction, success, and progress, you would be doing it, right? Why write that down at all?

Truth is, most of us aren’t completely sure. We think we know the best way, we have done our best to figure it out, but ultimately, we hope so, not know so. If we don’t open our hearts and minds to the unknown and trust that the very best options are there for us to discover, how will we ever know so? The Universe wants to cooperate with us–let’s give Her some room to speak to us!

Next time you decide you need to write out your goals, be honest with yourself. Look at what you hope to gain, not just the thing itself. In the same way a middle aged man may want a Ferrari (when he really wants to feel young again, not own a new car), so too we much ask for the truest end. Take the time to investigate what would make you happy and move you forward and ask for that thing directly. Sure, make lists that lead you there, but never forget that the journey is part of the fun. Flexibility is a blessing.

And, when you’re done with your list, add “this or something better for the greatest good of all”. Then, TAKE ACTION! Get moving and you will achieve. Let the journey, not the process of preparing for the journey, be your joy.

Until next time, remember–together, we are stronger!
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

 

Get Organized

It’s easy for Life to push against a woman entrepreneur’s work agenda. You have kids, chores, errands, TV, etc. You also have something that I can inertia. It’s easy to stay still if you are already still. The opposite of that is that it’s also easy to keep moving if you are already moving.

So, how do you start moving? You begin small. The smallest step you can take. Don’t berate yourself that it’s not enough. Just pick a small task and complete it. Set a schedule, and if you can make the small task an important one, even better. But either way, do a small thing. And, even if you go off schedule, get that one thing done before you get into bed that night.

Flow develops when you move consistently. Flow makes work easy. For me, you get extra points if the small task you choose to complete is also fun. Keep focused on why you are an entrepreneur to begin with. If you wanted a slave-master boss, you’d be in the corporate world, right? 🙂

Micheal Cheney, a wonderful internet marketer, says you should choose your task with your F.E.E.T. Here’s what his acronym means:
F: fast
E: easy
E: exciting
T: Tingle  (as in, makes you tingle)

So, if you need to shift your inertia, get moving. Don’t try the biggest thing first. If you’ve put off a very important thing because you are concerned you aren’t going to do it so well, pick a warm up activity. Do something that lets you practice or feel comfortable. Just do something and do it consistently.

Tomorrow we will talk about goal setting. To me, it’s a bit overrated and tomorrow you’ll see why I say that.

Together, we are stronger!
Vicki Flaugher

p.s. Thanks to those readers who checked on me over the weekend–I took some much deserved time off. I am glad you noticed….

Women, Karaoke, and Business–Hear SmartWoman Sing!

Hear SmartWoman sing!
CLICK ON THE “RATE THIS PERFORMACE LINK” BELOW TO HEAR MY SONG:

Rate this performance at The Sims On Stage

 

 

As a lifelong singing fantatic, the advent of karaoke was a dream come true for me. I simply love it. I’ve even been a KJ (karaoke host) so that should give you some perspective. It’s just so much fun!

One of the reasons why I enjoy karaoke so much, beyond the fun of singing, is you get to see into the heart of people. You witness a side of their personality that doesn’t always have a chance to show up in day to day living, especially the business side of their life. It’s a rare glimpse into their souls and it’s very intimate.

It takes courage to stand up in front of people and sing your heart out. And, make no mistake–the most audience beloved singers are not the ones that are perfect singers. It’s the ones that mean it, that sing their heart out with all they’ve got. People crave authenticity and like to feel they can relate to you.

I tend to have a bit of stage fright in front of groups, so karaoke gives me the chance to practice my performance muscles, to put myself out there and get over it. Much like when you are giving a sales presentation or a keynote address, you are in the spotlight with all eyes and ears on you. Having the skill, the strength of spirit to allow that level of energy to flow through you and out of you is a valuable thing.

Don’t forget the fun and comraderie! Add a small touch of imbibing and you have a full blown confidence party, right?  I’m not suggesting that you have to be drunk to let go (I don’t), but taking baby steps to comfort yourself and nudge yourself into doing something new can change your entire perspective. Sip a margarita a bit (or meditate or go to one of those fire walking classes) if you need to, but jump in. Initiative always gets rewarded.

It’s easy to see how this relates to your business, isn’t it? Showing your authentic self, letting your guard down so people can relate to you, courage, initiative, fun, confidence, feeling comfortable in the spotlight…it all adds up to a better you as a woman entrepreneur.

So, grab some girlfriends and go check out your local karaoke scene. If you are just so shy you can’t imagine doing it in pubic, try going to www.singshot.com and singing a song or two there. Record them and share them with the online community. Even that can be a challenge so just do it.

To show I mean what I say, I recorded a song for you. It’s The Rose, made popular by Bette Midler. My singing isn’t perfect and I am nervous to share it with you, but I want to show you that I take my own advice. Go and have a listen then post your songs here. When you have a supportive community like this one, take advantage of it and do the scary things. It’s worth it. 🙂

Together, we are stronger!
Vicki Flaugher

 

Hear SmartWoman sing!
CLICK ON THE “RATE THIS PERFORMACE LINK” BELOW TO HEAR MY SONG:

Rate this performance at The Sims On Stage

 

 

 

Breaking News: Chicken Soup for Authors’ Souls–Get Published Now!

Okay,  I am SO excited! Recently in LA I attended an event where Mark Victor Hansen spoke (of Chicken Soup for the Soul) and he announced a new publishing venture he was about to launch. Besides committing his considerable energy and wealth toward abolishing poverty, he is also working to change the face of publishing. Great guy and great idea. Here’s the deal:

It’s free to get started. You can publish your stuff (all types of files) and either give it away or charge whatever you want and split the proceeds with the site. If you don’t like it, you stop doing it and all the copyrights remain with you. You keep control.

Most publishers charge 80-90% (yes, that is not a typo) to publish you and they do little to no promotion or marketing. They also traditionally retain certain rights (like the right to make audio recordings of your book, or develop training materials from them as an example). Not much of a deal, right?

This site is a 50/50 split and knowing Mark, it’s going to take off like a rocket. You can also earn an affiliate commission for referring others, so if you know the next Stephen King, sign up and send them an invitation.

The site went live TODAY, so sign up for your account and start loading up your files. E-books, audios, whatever, just get yourself out there. Don’t be afraid or intimidated, just get involved. I have! I want all of you to email me once you post stuff so I can go check it out, ok?

Here’s how to get there: You Publish

Go there and check it out and watch for SmartWoman offerings in the future. And for your own sake, get your own stuff up there too. Everyone’s got a book in them–it’s time to let it out! 🙂

Together, we are stronger!

Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

 

What is an Emerging Woman Entrepreneur?

To listen to the MP3 instead of reading, click here

 

I confess I have an agenda. I am passionate about connecting with and empowering women. Not just any woman, but the 35-55 year old female entrepreneur–what I call the “Emerging Woman Entrepreneur”.

I am often asked “Why just 35-55 year olds?” and “Why just entrepreneurs?” and of course “Do you not like men?”. Fair questions and here are my answers.

Women go through a dramatic life change during the 35-55 year span. I call it the “Second Coming of Age”. It’s like a redux of puberty, with all the incumbent insecurities, questionings, and discoveries. (Read about it in New Passagesby Gail Sheehy, and Marianne Williamson’s latest book The Age of Miracles: Embracing the New Midlife.) I personally have experienced it (and still am) and I have not yet met a woman who hasn’t. It’s not imagined or just a physiological result of the onset of menopause. It’s a spiritual, emotional, and psychological awakening.

Myself, I began at about 38 years of age to deeply examine all aspects of my life. At the end of my contemplation, I chose to get divorced, quit my high stress corporate job, travel, and finally, embrace my entrepreneurial calling. And, for the first time ever, I felt free and in control. I wasn’t quite sure what to do with those feelings, but they were fully there.

The essence of my quest came from asking what I wanted. I quit focusing on pleasing others and came to terms with what I wanted my life to be. Life began to seem too short to compromise anymore. So, I stopped, and it opened up a whole new world of choices that I now have before me.

I see many women who have followed the societal path of being an employee when they weren’t really well suited for it. The joy that honoring my entrepreneur inside gave me was something that had to be shared. And I knew that other women who hadn’t found theirs yet needed encouragement, especially during the sometimes dark days of their Second Coming of Age. I hope to offer that encouragement.

Lastly, I love men. Seriously. I enjoy the way they think and I appreciate how they see the world. (They go through their own awakening, but that’s another story). In the same way that I am not a mother so I cannot fully understand their mindset, I too cannot fully understand and speak to men’s needs. So, I stick with what I know and can speak honestly about. Ultimately, all are welcome here who seek to understand or can relate to what we’re discussing. It’s an open door.

I hope this sheds some light for you.  What do you think? Have you experienced this? Please share your own stories-I Iove the value of sharing.

Vicki Flaugher

 

Recommended Website: Divabiz at Prosperity Cast Network

I am not very good at MLM network marketing. I get the concept and I have respect for it, but I haven’t gotten the hang of it. Partly because I tend to be very solo, stay in my office cave and work on my computer more than go out and meet people. I enjoy people but I am not a social butterfly.

Well, to compensate for my lack, I found a website to recommend to you.
http://divabizatprosperitycastnetwork.wordpress.com/

You can go and get very solid general business advice (loved the 16 Steps on Becoming a Success in Your Home Based Business post) as well as information on how to make your MLM work. I’ve emailed the owner and she is passionate and committed to the success of women entrepreneurs, (my kind of woman! :-)) so go check her out and tell me what you think.

As always, your recommendations are welcomed and encouraged here. Do you have a favorite female focused site you’d like to highlight here? Be sure to post it and tell us about it. The internet is like a huge information shopping mall to me and I just love being told about great places to go visit, so speak up!

Until next time, best of success!
Vicki Flaugher

 

Time and Teamwork: Your 4-hour Work Week

I noticed that I tend to put in a P.S.  about delegation, so I felt I should go at my message more directly: Get some help in your business–now!

I know it’s hard to imagine it, but you can have a life outside of your work. You deserve it and you need it. Long periods of constant work reduce your creative abilities, cause health problems, and make you cranky. It’s an illusion that it actually moves your business forward. I work at home, I understand the issue, but I  am serious that it is not helping you. I think deep down you know that too.

Entrepreneurship is about following your joy.  Sure you’re going to work, but it’s time to re-examine the attitudes about it. Do any of these sound  familiar? Are you guilty of thinking/doing any of these?

If I don’t do it, no one else will.

It would take me more time to train someone than just do it myself.

I  don’t have the budget to hire people.

No one else can do it exactly like I want it done.

Insert your favorite reason/excuse here…

I  don’t know very many entrepreneurs who intended, when they left the “real” job world, to work all the time, but that’s what many of us do. I have done it too and there is a solution.

I read this really cool book by Tim Ferriss that gives you a roadmap to working more productively. Tim is this amazing young man who has learned the art of the outsource. He’s very cheeky and hip and he guides you through the ins and outs of contracting out your work.

The idea is that you focus on what you are best at and only that. There is no reason to focus on your weaknesses.  I know that we are taught to, but ignore that for now.  There is no sense in it. It only makes you meagerly better at something you were bad at in the first place.

Focusing on your strengths, that’s a different story. You can take what you are great at and become world class super-star amazing at it. That’s better, right?

Check out Tim’s book.  It’s a fun and easy read and gives very practical advice. It’s one of my favorites and it gives a true mindset shift that will benefit you and your business. Hey, you might even be able to go on vacation this year with your family if you follow what he says…hmmm…..

Vicki Flaugher

 Click here to go check Tim’s book out ====>>

Recommended Site: Find Your Inner Entrepreneur Goddess!

I found this great website for female entrepreneurs and thought you might want to check it out.

Filled with helpful how-to articles, videos and tips,  the site is fun, well-layed out, and easy to navigate. The owner of the site, Kate Skow, and I may do some things together soon, so check it out and go visit her. 

www.entrepreneurgoddess.com

One of my primary goals in developing this blog is to unify the field. In my own research for help with my entrepreneur adventure, I have found many resources, but mostly they are scattered and frankly, they vary in their relevance wildly.

In the larger business journals, you only get a smattering of female focused articles, mostly ones that compare how we do against men (how many businesses we start, how often we fail, how effective or not we are in obtaining financing, etc.) I guess that can be helpful, and I hold out hope that the larger establishments come around to fully embrace our power group, but for now, we have to turn to more progressive thinkers.

Since there are many types of female entrepreneurs and lots of business models they follow, I intend to gather together the tools and help we all need to be successful. Not just the hard fact type of help but also the emotional and psychological assistance. Entrepreneur Goddess is a good example of what I mean.

So, go visit her and tell her I sent you. And, if you have a favorite female entrepreneur focused website to recommend, be sure to post it. The more we all communicate and share, the stronger we become! 🙂

Vicki Flaugher

Iron Chef Entrepreneurism

I am an admitted “foodie”. I love eating yummy food, I love cooking it, and I watch all the cable TV shows too. I don’t care for brussel spouts but overall, I am game for just about anything.

As I was watching Iron Chef Morimoto battle today, it occurred to me that the Iron Chef challenge is a lot like being an entrepreneur. You get to choose your challenger, normally someone who is experienced and ahead of you in the market. Much like identifying your competition in your niche, you can be very strategic about who you choose to go head to head with in battle. You size them up, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and pick where you feel you can excel. You rise to the challenge of their quality as you face a worthy adversary.

Next, the secret ingredient! You don’t know what’s getting thrown at you but you are required to work with it and make spectacular dishes with it.  For an entrepreneur,  your secret ingredient is your client’s needs and wants. Once you know what those needs and wants are, you have the basic information you need to develop the products and services that satisfy them. You have to apply your creativity, walking the fine line between traditional presentation and forward thinking inspiration, offering innovation that your clients can relate to as well as be lifted up by.

Don’t forget that 60 minute clock! You probably have more time than a mere hour to develop your products, but truth is, fresh is good and action is even better. Implementation to market is one of the biggest challenges of entrepreneurs. Set a mental clock and plate your dishes–your market is waiting so set a deadline and meet it. Doing your best is enough, even if it’s not perfect.

At last you get to the judges. Your market place and clients tell you what they think and they vote with their dollars. They admire uniqueness but be careful making trout ice cream unless your market is trout ice cream lovers (pretty small market, I think). Your clients will appreciate new twists on classic standards and they want to see that you really considered their situation in your solution. 

A winner is scored for taste, plating, and originality, so focus on all three. Make sure the substance of your offering is on point, but don’t forget about presentation. Put your personal flair into it, developing your unique selling proposition, always focusing on your clients rather than just being different. Different may be just what your market needs, so it’s not that you can’t be wildly innovative.  Just be sure that you are focused on giving your clients what they are seeking rather than fulfilling a personal ego desire.

Lastly, you get to be applauded and celebrate. Even if you don’t win, you gain experience, notoriety and popularity and you continue to build your reputation of excellence. So, enjoy your win and begin again tomorrow. Everyone knows that even the best chefs are only as good as their last meal. Continue to be challenged by the changing desires of your market, keep your knife sharpened, and love what you do. Bon apetite!

Vicki Flaugher

p.s. By the way–Iron Chefs all have 2 sous chefs. Get the help you need, people whose skill and integrity you trust, and you will get everything done. No one does it alone, so don’t pretend you can. Teamwork is a sign of a true professional.

 

Septic Woes: Dealing with the Stuff of Life…

Today I woke up excited that I was getting new toilets installed. Our 24 year old toilets finally gave up and the city has a cool program to give you new low-flow ones for free. Great, right?

A few hours have passed now, and I do have new toilets, which work like a charm. We also have a hole in the yard where the septic tank had to be uncovered and pumped out with the promise of a potential major system repair looming. Ouch.

Hmmm…..what does this have to do with being a woman entrepreneur?

Well, first off, stuff happens. I feel fortunate that my partner and I have some cash reserves to handle what comes up. If you don’t, you might want to start to build towards having some flex in your budget. Some problems can’t really be put off. Imagine your life without plumbing…not a pretty picture.

Secondly, even when you put in new bells and whistles (the toilets), you still have to deal with the major underlying systems involved. Systems are the lifeblood of a successful entrepreneur. It’s how you’re going to build your business, sustain your business, and have a life outside of your business. (If the show stops running when you take time off, that could lead to trouble. If that time off is because of a major illness, rather than the more whimsical jaunt to Italy, then you can run into some real problems.) Get your systems in order and you’ll be much better off.

Lastly, you have to have a sense of humor and let it go. Being able to calmly (and dare I say joyously?) weather the ups and downs of Life is good for your health, creativity, and relationships, all of which you need in full working order to attract the success you deserve.

I love my new toilets and I am hopeful that any other repairs will be minimal. Regardless, I am most grateful that I have developed a point of view that lets me bend with the breeze. So, what about you—how do you deal with the challenges of Life? I’d love to hear your story.

Vicki Flaugher

p.s. I almost forgot to say-don’t forget the power of delegating. I am definitely glad I was not the one who had to stand knee deep in mud and…uh, stuff…to get this problem under control. 🙂

SmartWoman has launched!

Today is the first day of my blogging adventure. I am excited, I am nervous and I am thrilled. You’re invited to join me as I discuss my passions about the awesome power of the Emerging Woman Entrepreneur.

The 35-55 year old female entrepreneur worldwide is a force to be noticed. More small businesses are started by this group than any other group in the world. Wow, right? So my thought is we need to nurture ourselves, let our voices be heard, and bond together for everyone’s mutual success.

You’re going to see me make mistakes, you’re going to see me be wrong, and I recognize upfront my frailties. You’re also going to see that this forum is a great community of wonderful people with joy and talent to share.  And, I am glad you are part of it.

Thanks for showing up and I look forward to getting to know you better. 🙂

Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

http://www.SmartWomanGuides.com
http://www.SmartWomanPublishing.com
http://www.EmergingWomanEntrepreneur.com

 

What I’m all about

I sometimes wonder about myself. I am an enigma to me. I love results, am a hard worker, but I am ill-fitted for the average “job”. It’s not always so clear to me where I fit in when it comes to wealth building.

I believe with all of my heart that I am meant to contribute here but I also know I am not supposed to have my nose (or any other part of me) to the “grindstone”. I love creativity, I love working “smarter not harder” and I am a pure blown hedonist. Not in a sinful way, but in an ice cream loving, joke about life, spent time doing cool stuff way.

I pray that I can be successful choosing this approach. I think I can–I have hope. That is one thing entrepreneurism has given me—hope that I can live the way I choose and the way I prefer and be successful. I read about people every day that did it their way and love their lives. That’s me…that’s where I live.

What about you? What drives you? What interests you? Why do you do what you do? Shout out!