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.

If you haven’t heard of the site, either, it is a quick way to get into the conversation about your particular business.  HARO is an acronym for Help a Reporter Out.  Three times a day you receive an e-mail listing 25 to 30 inquiries from reporters, writers, whatever.  If one is related to what you do, you contact the writer and go from there!  Easy, quick, free!  Three wonderful words for an entrepreneur.

1. Trust Yourself. It’s important to be confident in your area of expertise. You should feel extremely comfortable talking about your specific area.

2. Do Not Over-Think It. In your presentation, share the information you would want to receive without the extras that sometimes take away from the real message.

3. Have a Great Time. Begin with the intent to truly enjoy sharing information and ideas that you are passionate about and expect that your audience will be just as excited to receive the information.

Good points, aren’t they?  If that isn’t enough to get you comfortable in front of your chamber of commerce, contact Gillie at gilliehaynes@aol.com and find out what it will take to raise your star power.

First, the conference was a huge success by the numbers: More than 3,000 women attended, and there were four outstanding keynote speakers–Naomi Tutu, Jackie Speier, Lucy Liu and Lynne Twist.  Each speaker spoke to us at our highest level as businesswomen and women.  I met women ranging from senior executives in huge multinational corporations to women involved in not-for-profits both large and small, a dairy farmer and a woman who has cleaned houses for 20 years and loves her business.

Second, watching the connections being made among women from all over the country, across areas of expertise, finding commonality through family and values was heartwarming.  One of my passionate delights is connecting–both people and ideas.  As I wrote to my daughter, it was Candyland for me.

Third, the prevailing attitude about the economy was realistic, but also tired of all the unremitting gloom and doom in the media.  Yes, things are challenging, but there was conversation about looking for the good news and tapping into our huge creativity to develop alternative programs and ways of meeting the challenges.

Fourth, the 250 women who attended my session, “We Don’t Retire, We Reinvent,” were a really thoughtful group.  They delighted in looking both forward and back and planning for a future that will bring them delight and fulfillment. It was a pleasure to help so many proactive women look at the next phase of their lives.

I was also delighted to see the wide age range–there were a lot of After 55s, and they were leading the pack in sharing, teaching, connecting and learning.  I was a proud respresentative.

What is most on my mind today is how important it is to know your market. Whom do you think your product or service will most benefit? I was fascinated to hear attendee after attendee (and if the truth be told, almost everyone was male!) ask how to reach the boomer market! As if boomers are one market!

There are left-handed boomers, blue-eyed boomers, boomers who like Birkenstocks, boomers who like earrings. You get the idea. When we come up with our great idea for a business, we imagine hoardes of people lining up for it, but we stand a far better chance if we take the time to understand clearly our best potential customers and get to work with them in mind.

This quote appeared in my inbox this morning (thanks to AsAManThinketh.net/Daily Insights). Being a huge fan of Dr. Seuss and his wild creativity, both visual and verbal, I chuckled and then started to think.

Questions as you go about your work today:

1. Are you putting all of you into your enterprise?
2. Do your customers feel connected to you?
3. Does your passion for your business come through?
4. Is there something holding you back or is it you?
5. If you could do anything, what would you do?

One of the best parts of being an entrepreneur is doing something you think is worthwhile and trying different ways you think it should be done. This is one of the things that sets you apart.

So today what can just you do?
No one can make your business youer than you –

My apologies, Dr. Seuss, but I couldn’t resist.

Make it informative by letting them know about one of your services they might not be using, an issue they may not be aware of or a new product that can help them. Ensure that it’s reliable by doing your homework so you know the information you are sharing is true and helpful. Keep it regular so they will come to expect hearing from you. That is one of your goals : to become a trusted resource.

The content needn’t be long or in depth, particularly if writing does not come easily to you. What’s most important is that you bring something of value to your recipients. Your sincerity will shine through. And use Spellcheck to make sure you are putting your best foot forward.

You probably already know about Constant Contact, a widely used program for just this purpose. Constant Contact will help you design professional looking missives easily. The company’s support is excellent. Sending a crisp simple e-mail will also work, but it’s not as eye-catching.

Like we tell our kids–keep in touch. The rewards are great.

As I talk to “women of a certain age” entrepreneurs around the country, I hear excitement in their voices. We are captivated by bringing our product to the attention of the marketplace. We delight in the connections we are making with others. We hum with the electricity of problem solving. Okay, sometimes we are also tired and frustrated, but that is part of the process that brings out the best in us. We enjoy the stories of our trials, tribulations and triumphs.

So, today let’s do a “passion check”–Do you love what you are doing? Is it worthy of your affection? If your answer to either of these questions is not a resounding “yes,” give thought to what needs to be done to get it there.

Here’s to passion!