After55:

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!

Months and months ago I wrote about the importance of getting out of our work space.  This has been on my mind lately because I seem to be spending hours in front of my laptop by choice, not necessarily by necessity, so I think it’s a good time to revisit the topic.  As the days are getting shorter and here, outside of Chicago, the temperature is starting to drop, it can be a much bigger challenge to get out of the house.  The lure of a warm house, cozy bed, handy cup of coffee or tea is very strong, but the potential benefits of going out, meeting new people and hearing different voices and ideas are simply incalculable.

Just last week, I went to a noon lunch and learn featuring a local movie critic.  I am not a movie fanatic like my husband, but I simply needed to get out of the house.  Wow!  It turned out that it was hosted by the library, and I made two new community contacts there. The informal talk wasn’t about movies. It was about the changing face of movie reviews and how he is responding by taking his work to the internet and his own website, the place of YouTube and his challenges in connecting with his followers.  Now this was far more interesting to me than I expected and I got some new ideas, contacts and a delicious lunch at a restaurant I had never visited.  When I say, “Get out!” I truly have your best interests in mind; I’m not being crabby.

When I co-owned a direct-selling company I was responsible for “inside”–sourcing, receivables, payables, inventory, order processing. You get the drift: If it wasn’t sales, recruiting or design, it was mine. We used Quickbooks and, once I got the hang of if (and I did get some wrinkles because of it), I loved the program. That was five years ago–centuries in software time.

Earlier this week I got to sit down virtually with a senior product developer from Quickbooks to see what the newest version can do. I admit to being dazzled. Intuit has  taken care of some of the issues that kept me up nights. For example, what a pain in the neck it was to change prices on 250 inventory items. The company has figured out a way for users to deposit checks virtually and have all the information show up in the appropriate places.

But I want to talk about somethings came late in the conversation . . . strategic thinking and marketing. As After 55 entrepreneurs, we usually don’t have a lot of staff or support AND we usually have extremely full lives in addition to our business. This leaves precious little time to step back and take a look at our business on a regular basis and make strategic decisions. Here are the two features that I think make the program amazing: Company Snapshot and Marketing Center. I’m going to tell you why I am impressed by these, and then I urge you to explore the site and see if they make equal sense to you.

Company Snapshot
On one very colorful page there are graphs to tell you the TRUTH about your business. Comparisons to previous months/years, cash flow or any of a number of completely customizable charts that are important to your business. With a mouse click you get a great-looking page that you can print or send. When I think of the hours I spent crafting a weekly report for Peggy . . .

Marketing Center
The thing we struggle with most is marketing and keeping track of customers.  In this new edition there is an area called Marketing Center that takes all the angst out of maximizing customer relationships.  Click the report that tells you which customers have ordered in a specific time period or by sales level and then select an e-mail template to say Thank You, We Miss You or to send a coupon, customize it and send it off.  It even tracks the resulting sales from these e-mails.  Omigosh!  What difference would you see in your business if you could have just this feature alone?

Let’s be very clear here–I got to hear about this new edition because I write this blog.  They walked me through the features and said they hoped I would write to you about it.  I am telling you all this, not because of any obligation, but because I loved the program years ago and I am truly, truly impressed with what I saw.  Will it work for you?  Depends on the size of your business, but it is definitely worth your time to take a look.

In the best of times, being an After 55 entrepreneur has its challenges. We sometimes forget to set aside time to replenish our well of positive information and encouragement. There are excellent newsletters on every topic, and we don’t want to spend our precious time plowing through our inbox. Yet here are two newsletters I read pretty thoroughly each week. Sales Caffeine by Jeffery Gitomer and Tips for Extraordinary Living by Phil Humbert

See if they appeal to you–and let me know which ones you read . . . I’m always looking for good, positive information!

“What is sad for women of my generation is that they weren’t supposed to work if they had families. What were they going to do when the children are grown–watch the raindrops coming down the window pane?”
–Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

It is true that many of us who grew up in the ’50s have a very different view of the world. If we have lived the lives many of us were “trained” for, we are anxious about stepping out and starting the business we have always carried in our head. If Jackie Kennedy Onassis could become a respected book editor in her 50s, what could you do if you took the first step toward becoming an entrepreneur? If you are anxious, make it a baby step!

“We don’t know who we are until we see what we can do.”
– Martha Grimes, author (you have read Martha Grimes mysteries, haven’t you?)

If you have been reading this blog for a while, you know I’m a collector of quotes. One of the things I find interesting about these “collectibles” is how few of them are ascribed to women. In fact, one quote said that it was their assumption that Anonymous was really a woman! This isn’t as much of a digression as it looks.

One of the very best things about being an After 55 entrepreneur is that it challenges us to learn new skills (think computer, social networking, Quickbooks) and gives us something new to work toward. Many of us Women of a Certain Age have already lived very full lives and find ourselves looking around and asking, “Now what?” If you have a solid business concept and plan, entrepreneurship will provide you with unlimited challenges (that is not a negative word or euphemism for problems) that will keep you feeling vital and vibrant. You may even develop an entirely new appreciation for who you are and what you can do.

Now to quote a man, Dr. Seuss: “Oh, the places you will go!”

Last week I mentioned reading an article about unitasking.  So much has been made over the past several years about women’s ability to multitask.  I have been giving this a good bit of thought the last several months as I switched homes and traveled internationally as well as domestically several times since April 1.  Mind you, this is no complaint about my travel–I loved every bit of it–but I’ve been thinking about how we are so available 24/7, my cell phone rings wherever I am in the world, and e-mails arrive, too.  Is it any wonder I’ve been feeling frazzled, edgy and a little forgetful?  No, it isn’t. I, who used to be so proud of my ability to do three things (at least!) at once, am now enamored about giving my entire attention to the task at hand, doing it to the best of my ability AND enjoying the process.

How much more effective would you be if you focused on your major task until you completed it, or spent the time you alloted to start it?  How many more productive ideas toward a project could you come up with if you gave yourself a 15-minute brainstorming session each morning with a specific topic, pencil, paper and even a cup of coffee–no phone, no e-mail?  Try it for one, two or four weeks, and be prepared to be amazed!

This week my husband and I spent three days in Denver, a city neither of us had spent any appreciable time exploring before.  Naturally I had my laptop in tow, but I made it a point to do only what must be done so this could count as a vacation.  We toured art museums, the quilt exhibit at the state capitol, took a ride on the light rail system, and met new friends.  Why am I boring you with a mini-travelogue?  Because I learned a lot and was reminded of even more — I bet this will happen to you too if you leave your familiar surroundings for even a few hours.

1. The awesome service at the Oxford House reminded me that excellent service provided with personality draws rave reviews and referralse.  I have already recommended the hotel to three people and written a rave review on their behalf.
2. Being open to meeting others enriches your daily experience.  We got to talking to the couple seated next to us at brunch on Monday (killer restaurant #1: Snooze!) and learned of a great place for dinner (killer restaurant #2: Fruition) and learned of two excellent film festivals we didn’t know about.
3. Expanded horizons.  At the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver we saw an exhibit on wind turbines that has expanded my interest in renewable energy and that will undoubtedly enrich my website SilverVixens. Because of the installation of another exhibit we learned of a totally different way of displaying art — even if we never use it, our perception was changed.
4. I read different things. I am an admitted magazine junkie.  This week I had time to read Real Simple thoroughly and there was an article about unitasking — forget multitasking!  The author was writing about something I have been thinking alot about lately…but that’s for next week!

I am spending a few days in Breckenridge, Colo., and in the 36 hours I have been here I am struck by how simply gorgeous the town looks.  If you have yet to experience “Breck,” it’s a Victorian-era town that loves its heritage as a mining town and loves its current life as a ski resort and hiking mecca in the summer.  What has dazzled me in these two days is the abundance of flowers everywhere.  I’m not talking about a pot of petunias here and there; I’m talking redolent with hanging baskets, beautiful containers and gardens stuffed with flowers of every color.

And what does this have to do with you and your business?  Pride. Breckenridge lives on tourist dollars, and we all know that the tourism industry has been hard-hit, especially destination locales.  There are definitely empty storefronts, empty places where restaurants once stood.  The town could have cut back on the flowers as a non-income-bearing expense, but it didn’t.  People who are on the streets are in a happy mood because there is beauty all around them. Shopkeepers are working together to give customers a reason to come into their stores, and galleries are becoming innovative to support artists in the area. They are acting “as if” all is well, while working hard to make their dream a reality.

What can you do to lift the spirits of all who come into contact with your business?  What can lift your spirits when you head to your office?  Flowers always do it for me; what does it for you?

Plan for 2010!  As After 55 entrepreneurs, we are up to our ears in the daily stuff of our businesses, fitting in summer family visits and making sure the garden looks great not just for ourselves but for the neighbors that we rarely take the time to look six months ahead.  Well, ladies, today is the day.

What do you want your business to do in January?  Still be standing is not the complete answer.  Between now and January that will be your task–keep your baby healthy and growing. But what do you want to be able to start doing the first week in January 2010?  Now block out the tasks and systems that will get you there.  Good news!  You can do some of this planning while gardening and definitely put a game plan together on your morning walk.

I have my walking shoes on right now–gotta go!