After55:

http://www.womenentrepreneur.com/2009/06/downsized-dont-despair–launch-a-startup.htmlD Day

This week I checked in with Gail Golden, Downsized? Don’t Despair, Launch a Startup, which was posted on 6/30/09.  I wanted to know how this focused, smart entrepreneur was doing in this rocky economy.  She had her game plan back then, but I wanted to hear what really happened.  Here’s the scoop:

She is doing great!!!  What a transition from just opening her doors (though she had previously owned a business for several years) to having several colleagues, a staff member and 19 clients!  As we spoke, her story is one that is important for every After 55 to hear.  At the 6 month mark, it felt like she had been working and working and working and not much was happening.  She cites this as her lowest point…and two weeks later the phone started to ring.  At first she wasn’t sure she could trust the change, but when it continued she knew she had entered a new phase of her startup.  Here are the lessons:

1. Have a plan.  Gail started out by using The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki as her blueprint.
2. She networked her heart out – most meals and coffee most work days. She followed up all referrals and contacts.
3. She added everyone to her database so she could keep in touch.
4. She leveraged contacts into teaching a course at the University of Chicago Business School.
5. She leveraged contacts into being one of three authors for a book on an area of expertise.
6. When the tide began to turn, she added an assistant who is interested in her business and therefore can be a true asset to her practice.
7. She is actively considering how best to keep up the marketing/networking now that she has a strong client base

Gail Golden proves that with hard work, a plan, and a smart approach you CAN start a successful business, even in these uncertain times.

During a long conversation I had with an After 55 this week, she kept going back to the wait for an “inner knowing” about what to do next. At various times in her long and accomplished career, she has simply stopped–not necessarily an easy thing to do financially or emotionally.  As she is in the process of launching her new business, she just has completed a major effort as part of the launch and is now stopping to take a breath and see where her inner voice tells her to proceed next.  I felt oddly comfortable with the conversation and full of admiration for the strength it takes to stop and wait.

Later, I recounted the conversation with my husband, who has been a very successful entrepreneur in his own right.  He had absolutely no idea or regard for what I was describing to him.  That’s when I knew that we were talking about the difference between men and women entrepreneurs.  Over the years that it has taken us to become Women of a Certain Age, we have experienced at least once an inner knowing/intuition/small voice/gut feeling that has either led us in an unexpected direction or clarified a decision.  The challenge is the wait until the answer appears.

When you are faced with a dilemma of not knowing which path to take, take time to sit with the question. Very few decisions need to be made instantly. It is often our own impatience that causes us to move ahead, rather than necessity. If you are at one of those unsettled junctures, try waiting and listening to your true instincts.

The German philosopher Goethe tells us, “Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them to become what they are capable of being.”

As women business owners of a certain age, we are also aspirational to our peers and to younger women. There are so many stories of how the belief of another shaped the future of a woman by giving her the inspiration and the affirmation to start her own business and prosper. Your participation in women’s organizations such as NAWBO will, of course,  bring you the benefit of meeting like-minded women, and it will also allow you to encourage and mentor younger women to realize their dreams through entrepreneurship.  Your treating them as successful entrepreneurs will be invaluable!

This quote appeared in my inbox this morning from Heartmath:

Thought is the sculptor who can create the person you want to be.
–Henry David Thoreau

Excuse the pun, but it got me to thinking. Much of entrepreneurial activity is solitary–you come up with a concept and start to flesh it out before you share it with others.  Much of the responsibility for your business’s success rests on you; most of the ultimate consequences also rest on you.  How you think and think about yourself are of critical importance to your and your business’s well-being.

So today I’m encouraging you to spend at least a few minutes every day thinking about your best vision of who and how you want to be as an individual and business owner.  What qualities are important to you? Why? How will you try to ensure those qualities are part of your daily life?

Entrepreneurship is oftentimes challenging and exciting.  Bringing the person you have dreamed of being to the forefront will bring personal reward and authenticity to your business.  I’m off to take a walk and think about just these things!  What will you do today, tomorrow and the next day to sculpt your future?

Close this immediately!

If it is Monday or later, use today to reflect on the year past and list three–and only three–changes you would make to your business in 2010.  Tomorrow make a list of three action items under each of the three changes.  Other than whatever you must do for your business this week–that’s enough for this week.  The rest of the time, give yourself over to celebrating, relaxing and resting.  It’s been a tough, challenging year in so many ways.  Take a break, be good to yourself.  You’ve earned it!

Happy holiday!

Earlier this year I wrote about CiCi Bianca, a wonderful little company making killer jackets that was part of a small-business contest put on by Intuit.  Well, despite all our efforts, Cindy White didn’t win that prize. Like many small-business owners this year, things have gone from difficult to challenging to harrowing for White, but she has kept her business standing.  Last spring, she responded to a posting on HARO (Help A Reporter Out) about the difficulty of slow-paying customers.  She was delighted when she was interviewed for the article by The New York Times, but nothing happened . . . until last week.  She got a call telling her that the Times was going to run the article and needed to come take a photograph!  Well, the story hit today, and her phone has been ringing off the hook!  Old customers have called to congratulate her and promise to return as soon as possible, customers have called with good wishes, and trunk shows have been scheduled.  A breath of hope!  Here’s the article:  New York Times, December 17, 2009.  Cute picture, too.

What’s to be learned from this?  Lots of things:

• Keep on keeping on.
• Look for ways to get your name out there.
• Check out HARO.
• Don’t be surprised if the PR stuff doesn’t take effect immediately.
• When something good happens, hop to it and spread the word.

Congratulations, Cindy.  I hope this is a wonderful turning point for the new year.

In her December article on SilverVixens.com, “No, You’re Not Crazy!” Kaya Singer, business coach, talks about why women over 55 are excellent candidates to be entrepreneurs.  If you are thinking about starting your business and afraid you are too old to undertake such a project, this is a must-read.

The very issues that might give you pause are your strengths–you have been around the block a few times and know what effort is, you know how to look at a project and break it down into reasonable pieces, and you know how to motivate people and get your point across–many of you have been wives and mothers, and I think that is some of the best possible training.  Remember the SilverVixens motto–It’s Our Time!  Just do it! (OK, that’s Nike’s motto– but it is a good one!)

Is this last half of the fourth quarter when you make your money? Are these weeks the difference between profit and loss? Or are these the weeks when you have done what you can do, the year is basically wrapped up and you are setting your sites on January 1, 2010?

Either way, there is one task you should be up to your elbows in . . . probably NOT baking cookies–unless you give them to your customers as thank-you gifts! This time of year we tend to be focused on getting all the holiday gifts for our families and dear friends and planning get-togethers with those near and dear. But how are you thanking those who make much of this merrymaking possible? Handwritten or handmade expressions of gratitude are so rare in good times, but all the rarer in challenging times. You have one month from today to find interesting, uniquely “you” ways of showing your appreciation to your staff and your customers. Have fun thinking of low-cost, high-recall ways of saying thank you. Do you have support staff or a Mastermind group? Make this question a no-holds-barred brainstorming session with delicious nibbles and tasty beverages, and astound yourselves with your creativity. You can do this!

Let me know some of your ideas.  We can all use a jump-start!

Thie following is not mine, but Jackie Rogers’ of Kitchen Table Entrepreneur.  Jackie is the consummate interviewer.  I’ve never met better, and she is an entrepreneur.  When I read this, it struck a chord with me–what about with you?  How do you feel about what she says?  Hit “comment,” please!

“I haven’t posted anything new to Twitter for days, or Facebook or LinkedIn and I’m OK with that. I’m in a Mister Ed frame of mind.

Gaetan Benson has a wonderful day job, but she has been making jewelry for years.  Often she would sell her necklace right off her neck.  For a part-time entrepreneur, Etsy.com is a wonderful way to have her creations seen by a much larger audience, and have the delight of creating new pieces and branching out.

Gaetan started with jewelry and soon added her incredibly adorable baby hats. She’s now adding beautiful knit cowls!  She is having a ball, learning new skills and adding customers–all in her spare time. Could life be any better?  Probably not.

Today I ran into Lu Herbold, owner of the Caroline Carlson & Associates showroom at Chicago’s Merchandise Mart.  You might have heard that people just aren’t spending money for gift items such as her firm represents.  You know, the economy is awful, no credit available, unemployment is high.  Heard about that?  I asked Lu how things were going.  Her response?  “Just fine.”  Pressed, she said  that while sales are not at their peak, her lines are doing “just fine” because she and her reps don’t use all the negativity as an excuse not to work like crazy and make sales happen.  She said she isn’t particularly interested in talking with the naysayers; she prefers to work hard, keep in touch and do her level best to make things happen . . . and they do.

Wouldn’t your business do better if you followed Lu’s example?  Try it for 30 days and let me know.  I bet you’ll be pleasantly surprised!  Thanks, Lu!

It seems I am seeing a lot about creativity lately.  Perhaps it is because of the economic mess.  We have all been encouraged to be “creative” about how we can do business for less, get our message out and meet market needs.  Some have asked what it takes to be truly creative and have gone in search of enlightenment through books, internet and lectures.  I think it takes very few “things” to be creative: curiosity and questions.

Curiosity opens our minds to new ideas and people.  Just because I own a web-based business for women over 55 doesn’t mean that is what I read about exclusively.  I read about fashion, decorating, architecture, travel, technology, cars, inventions, business, fiction AND almost all the books my grandchildren read so I will know what they are thinking about.  From this love affair with the written word I have “met” many of the fascinating women on my site, many of the fascinating women I have written about in my After 55 column or in these blog entries and have had more darn fun connecting with people at gatherings and being able to keep up my end of the conversation.  You know that these conversations lead to . . . who knows where?

Questions expand horizons.  Take a look at every part of your business and ask, “Why do I do it this way?  Is there a different/better way? What would be best for my client?”  If you take this step seriously, you may find some surprising answers.  You may not want to continue a product or process.  You may find a much better way of being useful to your client. You may discover a new profit center.

Being creative doesn’t require anything more than a curious mind, good questions, and pencil and paper.  Oh, the places you will go! — Thank you, Dr. Seuss!