A special note from Janet,

Some changes are on it’s way.

You see, I was thinking about this association and what I truly wanted to get out of it.

Back in September, I thought of all my clients and customers and realized that with this association, I might be alienating so many.  And it hit me, “I’m all for diversity and inclusiveness…why am I creating such a divisive organization?  How can this possibly serve as many people as I want.”

That’s the key word – want.  It took me several months from September through March to figure out what I truly wanted.  And the truth is that I don’t want to hide behind an association.  I don’t want to be on this computer every day – uploading images, approving articles, approving access, etc.  What I really want to do is what I love which is to teach.  And I mean teach every entrepreneur that needs me.

Don’t get me wrong.  I totally bond with my minority women entrepreneur clients.  We’re like “this.”  So many times, we talk of times where we were excluded, alienated, made to feel very small, etc.  But you see, a national association isn’t going to change this.  My best gift as leader of this association is to teach anyone that wants to participate how to be really fierce in business.  Be fierce despite these challenges.  Know when to push hard, when to negotiate, when to listen, etc.

Is this something you want to learn?  Click here.

I’ve been in business for forever…that’s the beauty of growing up in a family-owned business.  There’s such variety and lessons learned.  One moment I’m cleaning the toilet and the next moment I’m negotiating a $500K order.  In a day, I could talk to 20 fabulous customers and make each person feel as though they’re my #1.   Can you believe I’ve actually negotiated for higher prices in a time where my customers were looking for price breaks?  Now that’s skill.

So why aren’t associations teaching small business owners how to juggle all of this?  I’ve been out there – believe me…

Through the years, I’ve attended networking events and felt completely lost in the sea of gray suits all spouting tag lines and elevator speeches.  I’ve talked to dozen of consultants who talk of the benefits of business plans to get financing and to plan exit strategies.

That’s the thing – business plans are awesome.  What about business plans for actually running a company?  That always bugged me.  You see, that’s the meat of it.  That’s what’s most important.  Because once you win that contract and/or once you invest in your company’s growth, how are you going to sustain it all?  How are you going to keep all those balls in the air, serve your customers extremely well so that they keep ordering from you or working with you, and still have a life?

Nobody teaches this stuff!  It’s so frustrating.

Fortunately for me and you, that’s what I love, love, love.  It’s totally possible.  When I look back to all that I accomplished while…

~ going to grad school and finishing with my MBA in less than 2 years

~ getting married

~ having kids

~ continuous learning in anything from therapeutic touch to blueprint reading

~ traveling Europe, the Philippines, and parts of the USA

ETC, ETC, ETC…

It’s doable!

So that’s about it.  This is what we’re going to do.

My next steps…

I’m going to work with my web designer to make membership free and membership includes free access to:

1) our extensive E-library (download all you want on topics from marketing to branding to whatever)

2) our extensive QuickBooks lessons (money management is a big deal to me – this is my way of helping you create your awesome financial system)

3) logos – use our logo on whatever marketing material you wish

4) finally free or low-cost classes from teachers that are experts in their fields – people that I have vetted for you to give good, up-to-date solid information on any subject from legal start-up requirements to financial management to the latest in social media.  You can bet that I will be one of these teachers!  You can’t hold me back – I’ve got a lot to share…believe me

Let’s stay in touch!

Please keep a look out.  In fact, if you give me your contact info by clicking here, I will be sure to let you know when Sam, my designer, and I have totally revamped this site and therefore, association.  Thank you for your patience!

Are you swamped with busy-work?

Are you tired of putting yourself last?

Do you want help prioritizing?

Get your free planner at

http://focusedbusinessplan.com/

Thanks!

Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover

You were probably told not to judge a book by its cover at least once in your childhood, but how often do you apply that advice in your adult life? If it has been a while since this idea crossed your mind, you may want to spend some time revisiting it today. It is a concept that could change the way you look at your personal relationships, your business, and the rest of the world at large.

The Danger of Surface Knowledge 

Imagine you are relaxing at home after a long day of work when someone you do not know knocks at the front door. You peek out and see a young woman standing on the front step. What do you know about this woman? You can see her physical features and will make immediate assumptions based on the way she is dressed, her posture, and perhaps the car she may have parked in your driveway.

Whether you open the door or quickly make sure it is locked depends on the assumptions you make about the person based on this limited surface knowledge. These assumptions are formed using every experience you have gone through in your life, but you will never know what leads you to have a gut reaction to this person at this time.

If you decide not to open the door because this woman doesn’t look friendly, you could miss out on a great opportunity to help someone in need or make a new friend. She could turn out to be the new neighbor hoping to introduce herself.

In some instances it is wise not to open the door, but not always. In many situations it is best to open up the door and see what stands on the other side.

The Deeper Content of Life 

When there is no obvious threat of danger and your gut is not screaming to run, you should take the time to crack open a book or open the door. When you meet someone new, try to dismiss your immediate assumptions based on appearances. Take the time to get to know them and then form your opinions based on the facts as you have experienced them personally.

When you come across a new business idea, try not to rule them out or jump on them too quickly. If it looks promising, open the cover and explore the finer details of the opportunity. If it does not look promising, still open the cover and dig deeper. You may find that the best opportunities do not look so great from the cover, and some of the slickest covers are hiding big flaws.

This applies to every aspect of your life. Do not rush to judgment and do not assume you always know what has happened when an accident occurs. Always take the time to learn the details, and you may just find that there is more to life than you ever imagined.

©2012 Quail Run Ventures, LLC DBA the National Association of Minority Women Entrepreneurs.  All rights reserved.

Want to use this article on your website or your own ezine?

No problem! But here is what you MUST include:

Janet Johnson, the president and founder of the National Association of Minority Women Entrepreneurs, is the creator of the NAMWE Success Blueprint, the proven step-by-step program that shows you exactly how to gain more clarity in your business, work on continuous improvement, and how to keep your customer’s values top-of-mind with every activity you choose to do.  To get your FREE MP3 by email and receive her twice-monthly ezine articles on building a sustainable and successful business, visit www.minoritywomeninbusiness.org.   

“Well, I’ve got some wonderful business-women friends who have been in my shoes and I’m going to hire them to help automate myself for 4 months as I take care of my newborn, nurse, rest, and basically readjust my entire life to become a busier mom of  two children.  My ezine, my videos (which I hope to start soon), and everything else will run without me.  I won’t book speaking engagements until June and people will just have to wait.  My baby comes first.”

He said, “So you don’t feel pressure to keep doing your business as you take care of your baby?”

I said, “No.  Not at all.  Business will wait.”  And then he said (and I’m thankful for this),

“It sounds like you have your priorities in order.  Baby comes first, business will wait.”

And I basically said, “Yep.”

~

See, the thing is that I’ve been in business either on my own or in my family’s business for 21 years.  I know that life goes on as business goes on and that we can jump in at any time.  We have the ability to say NO and put up those boundaries whenever we want.  It’s all an illusion.  The people that want to work with me will wait.  Those that can’t wait will find another consultant.  And, that’s just fine!  Because again, baby comes first.

I haven’t always been this way.  When I had Koryn my 5-year-old daughter, for several months, I put together an operations plan for my team so that I could take the 4 months off.  The plan was BEAUTIFUL if I say so myself  It was thorough, step-by-step, it had hyperlinks, shortcuts, important numbers, etc.  However, the team did not use it.  2 days after coming home from the hospital, the owner of the company brought me 10 new jobs to process through our quality system.

Until now, I wondered why people didn’t want to pick up my beautiful plan.  I mean, it was all laid out for them.  Or was it?

Successful Employees Create Successful Customers 

You have done the work to establish a business concept that can be profitable. You have developed products and/or services that are in demand and of high value. You have even invested in branding and marketing to maximize exposure for long-term success. Now you are relying upon your employees to represent your brand in a beneficial manner.

When a customer calls your business with questions, walks into your retail store or sends an email with a complaint, it is your employees who are likely to take care of them. If you want those employees to uphold the positive image you have worked so hard to create, you have to make sure they are successful in their own jobs.

Positive Customer Experience 

When employees are happy doing their jobs, they pass that happiness on to your customers. They greet customers with a smile, even if that smile just shines through the telephone. They are willing to answer questions and solve problems, rather than becoming annoyed or angry, and frustrating customers.

Whether you are doing business online or in a local storefront, customer experience is critical to securing repeat sales and word-of-mouth referrals. If a customer feels they were given a great deal on a valuable product and were treated with respect, they will come back when they need more of your product or when you release something new.

On the other hand, if a customer feels they were an intrusion on your employee’s day or that they were not respected, they will turn on their heels without making a purchase. If they do go through with the purchase, there are no happy feelings lingering at the end, so they are not likely to return.

The Successful Work Environment 

In order to ensure your employees feel successful and accomplished, you have to make their work rewarding. You have to ensure they want to report to work each day, and that they feel respected and appreciated while they are there. Here are some ideas to make this happen:

• Keep an open door policy so all employees can talk to you freely.
• Give every employee a voice in your business.
• Take employee complaints seriously.
• Pay fair wages for the work being performed.
• Create an atmosphere of respect that does not permit bullying, gossiping or other negative behaviors.
• Implement employee incentives to reward hard work and excellent customer service.
• Acknowledge when an employee does something right or corrects a previous mistake.

When your employees feel they are a part of your business, they will feel more accomplished in their work. This sense of inclusion and personal satisfaction will put a smile on their face. That smile is then passed on to every customer they come in contact with throughout the course of their day.

©2012 Quail Run Ventures, LLC DBA the National Association of Minority Women Entrepreneurs.  All rights reserved.

Want to use this article on your website or your own ezine?

No problem! But here is what you MUST include:

Janet Johnson, the president and founder of the National Association of Minority Women Entrepreneurs, is the creator of the NAMWE Success Blueprint, the proven step-by-step program that shows you exactly how to gain more clarity in your business, work on continuous improvement, and how to keep your customer’s values top-of-mind with every activity you choose to do.  To get your FREE MP3 by email and receive her twice-monthly ezine articles on building a sustainable and successful business, visit www.minoritywomeninbusiness.org.   

The purpose of the event was to raise money and awareness for the Born Learning Trail which we want installed at a local walking path in town.  Each sign of the trail consists of small lessons a parent or any adult can do with a young child ages 5 and under.  The idea is that children are “born learning” and that it doesn’t matter if you’re in the grocery store, at the park, at home, etc., there is always an opportunity to teach and learn.

In my area which I co-managed with another PLTI friend, Maureen, there were 6 lessons for kids to choose from and this one was my favorite…it was a getting to know you one.

The parent stands on a blue dot about 2 feet away from their child and the child on another blue dot and he or she picks a popsicle stick with a question on it and asks the parent that question (with an adult’s help reading the stick if needed).  Mind you, most of the sticks were plain brown but a handful was colored with green, red, and blue.  Of course, kids were attracted to the colorful ones.  I’m not sure if Heather meant to do this but one that kept getting pulled was, “What are you good at?”

With me, a stranger standing right there, most of the time, the kids were bashful.  Others were silly.  Others listed a couple things.  Others listed so much that the parent had to say, “OK, that’s enough!”  Bashful at 5 is fine.  To me the most surprising thing about this lesson was how difficult it was for parents to say what they are good at.

Side note:  If a child proudly is listing all of the things that he or she is good at and it’s taking forever, don’t cut them off.  Cherish him or her.  Be proud.  Nod your head.  Encourage them.  There is nothing wrong with pride in oneself and this needs to be nurtured, especially at a young age.

Why is that?  Why are we taught in life to be modest about what we’re good at?  I’m not saying that we should become arrogant and brag but shouldn’t we at least know so that we can use this knowledge to help others?

And so, this is a business blog – not a parenting blog although as your writer, you can’t halve me in 2 and expect me to compartmentalize my life for writing’s sake.  As adults (entrepreneurs, working adults, parents, etc.), it is our responsibility to know what we’re good, to focus on it, and to use it to the best of our abilities in life so that we contribute so we’re not just a lump on the side, collecting dust, as life passes us by.

This is my 1 gift to you as I wrap up this article.  Here is the poem entitled, “Our Deepest Fear” by Marianne Williamson that I love.  I used to keep it on my desk but I’m about to print it out again, hang it up, and read it at the start of my day every day.  Why don’t you do the same with me?  Here’s the link. http://namwe-connect.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/OUR-DEEPEST-FEAR.docx

~

*PLTI stands for Parent Leader Training Institute.  Here is a link to the course that Heather and I took: http://www.cga.ct.gov/coc/plti.htm but to find one in your area, try to do a local search.  It is a life-changing course that helps you become a better advocate not only for your own child but for all children.

**To find more information about the Born Learning Trail, please click here: http://www.unitedway.org/pages/kids-get-fit-cac-bornlearning

~

©2012 Quail Run Ventures, LLC DBA the National Association of Minority Women Entrepreneurs.  All rights reserved.

Want to use this article on your website or your own ezine?

No problem! But here is what you MUST include:

Janet Johnson, the president and founder of the National Association of Minority Women Entrepreneurs, is the creator of the NAMWE Success Blueprint, the proven step-by-step program that shows you exactly how to gain more clarity in your business, work on continuous improvement, and how to keep your customer’s values top-of-mind with every activity you choose to do.  To get your FREE MP3 by email and receive her twice-monthly ezine articles on building a sustainable and successful business, visit www.minoritywomeninbusiness.org.   

Time to be honest now.  I have had such issues with this blog and realized just now that it’s time to get back in the game and stop trying to outsource my voice.

Earlier this year, I hired a writer to help me with a few articles.  While I loved how beautiful and creative her writing actually was, I realized that it didn’t sound like me whatsoever. I’m blunt, a little quirky, I know my stuff and I tell it in a lighthearted way chock full of my own experience and past mistakes.

So, I stopped using her articles, hired her for article marketing purposes for EzineArticles.com and the time went so quickly that she forgot 2 of the 4 article assignments we agreed upon across a table at Starbucks back in July.

I know that this all must mean something.  Why am I having such a hard time finding someone else to write my articles for me?

It hit me.  I am not supposed to “outsource my voice.”  I am supposed to record my own videos (more on that) and I am supposed to write my own articles for you all.  That’s the power of authenticity.  How can you decide to work with me and join my association if you don’t know who I truly am and if I’m hiding behind another person’s written word?  Where did this self-consciousness and self-judgment come from?

One day back in 2008, my boss from an educational non-profit told me in frustration that I was a bad writer.  For an entire month, she even went so far as to critique all of my emails before I sent them out.  I know.  It was humiliating and degrading.  This was a nightmare micro-manager.  While I can’t control her management style or her thinking that criticism is an OK thing to do to people, I can and should have controlled how her words affected me.  All this time, even though I was told most of my life that I was a great writer, I let this one person affect me in a way where I became very closed-off and overly self-conscious for four long years.  As of today, I forgive myself for allowing her words to have such a huge impact on my life.

I think this is what a lot of women and men do.  We put more substance into the negative criticisms of others VS more substance into the compliments and positive feedback.  Why do we do that? How can we deal with criticism?

Please do me a favor.  When someone criticizes you, before accepting their words as the truth, consciously have these 4 thoughts.

1)      Is this criticism for this one article/one email/one situation?  Or does it apply to everything I do?  Oftentimes, when someone says, “you are a bad__” it’s a generalist statement and most likely not true.

2)      Is this person having a horrible day?  Are they projecting their negativity onto me?

3)      Is there a way that I can spin this criticism into constructive feedback?  How can I use their words to help me improve upon whatever it is that they are criticizing?

4)      And finally, have this thought, “That hurt me when they criticized me.  I’m not going to let this get me down after today.  I’m moving forward.  And most importantly, I’m going to think twice before I criticize someone else.  Instead, I will look for a way to 1) ask permission if it’s OK to give constructive feedback and 2) give that feedback in a loving and encouraging way.

Please feel free to share this article with anyone you know dealing with self-judgement or self-consciousness about anything (from writing to whatever).  Pass it along and share your comments.   I would love to hear from you.

©2012 Quail Run Ventures, LLC DBA the National Association of Minority Women Entrepreneurs.  All rights reserved.

Want to use this article on your website or your own ezine?

No problem! But here is what you MUST include:

Janet Johnson, the president and founder of the National Association of Minority Women Entrepreneurs, is the creator of the NAMWE Success Blueprint, the proven step-by-step program that shows you exactly how to gain more clarity in your business, work on continuous improvement, and how to keep your customer’s values top-of-mind with every activity you choose to do.  To get your FREE MP3 by email and receive her twice-monthly ezine articles on building a sustainable and successful business, visit www.minoritywomeninbusiness.org.   

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