Turn Your Passion into Profits
July 21, 2011
“It’s great for women to go into business when they have a passion for something,” says Michelle Madhok. “I’ve come across a lot of women who go into business because they know the market, whether it’s children’s products or make-up. And that’s great! I used to love to shop. I still love to shop! So I went into a business I was interested in.”
Michelle is the CEO of SheFinds Media: “We run websites that help busy women shop online. We have shefinds.com, which is fashion; momfinds.com, which is stuff for busy moms; and bridefinds.com for brides.”
I had the pleasure of chatting with Michelle at the Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network Conference in Rio de Janeiro. She said, “It’s just so inspiring to be around all these women. I’ve even become closer friends with some of my contacts from New York on this trip because we’re together in this new environment all the time. It has been a really good time to sit and think about our business.”
When Michelle first started her business, there wasn’t competition, but now the competition grows larger every day.
“I really have to be strategically thinking all the time, ‘What is my value-add?’” Michelle said. “You have to keep changing and improving your business so you can keep serving your customers.”
Michelle also suggests carving out an online presence for yourself in a specifc niche: “If you Google ‘online shopping expert,’ I’m number one and two on the search engine result page. Whatever you want to be, make yourself available in that space for SEO [search engine optimization]. Using online media is a way of meeting customers wherever they want you to be.”
Enjoy this interview with Michelle Madhok at the Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network 2011 event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
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Michelle Madhok – SheFinds MediaOnline shopping expert Michelle Madhok has been a pioneer in women’s online content for over a decade. Following positions overseeing online content at CBS and AOL, Madhok founded SheFinds.com in 2004, and MomFinds.com two years later. SheFinds and MomFinds are editorial websites that aim to make shopping online easy and fun for busy women, highlighting only the best products with independent reviews and links to buy. The sites aim to find people deals like this complete list of online same sales. Madhok is currently CEO of SheFinds Media, which operates both properties.
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Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network 2011
From June 5-7 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, more than 120 female business leaders from around the world gathered with Dell to learn about technology, marketing, brand, social media and raising capital while building relationships and sharing insights. It was an impressive group of participants, including Moira Forbes, Arianna Huffington and Luiza Helena Trajano, the founder of the third largest retail chain in Brazil. Over the course of two days, the conference participants explored and learned that women entrepreneurs truly share a unique perspective and approach to business.
Building on Dell’s entrepreneurial heritage and recognising the unique challenges and rocky journeys entrepreneurs can face led to the inception of the Dell’s Women Powering Business Initiatives, including Dell’s Women Entrepreneurs’ Network (DWEN). DWEN strives to help women entrepreneurs expand their networks, innovate and grow their businesses. The DWEN event and LinkedIn community supply a social network to grow B2B and exchange ideas to help build confidence. Dell’s believes never in the history of the world has the entrepreneurial spirit been more alive or in a more favourable position to drive global growth.
Australian women business leaders are invited to join in the conversation and share who and what inspires and motivates them as entrepreneurs and leaders via the Women Powering Business Network group on LinkedIn.
Write Your Own Story
July 18, 2011
What’s the story of your business? Have you considered it?
“Businesspeople should never underestimate the power of story,” according to Valerie Khoo, founder of the Sydney Writers’ Centre. “It’s not just for best-selling books and short stories. What’s going to sell your product and personal brand is absolutely the story behind it.”
Valerie and I met at the Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Conference in Rio de Janeiro, where she was excited to meet businesswomen from around the world: “Already, 40 percent of our students are online, so they’re already all over Australia and the world. We’re really making a push to go global, so it was great to meet women in business from so many different countries and find out more about their markets and how to expand into their countries.
“Apart from the networking and learning about regional differences and what would work in different markets, this conference has really been about the inspiration. It’s just been so fantastic to see the caliber of women here and to learn from them and leave full of ideas about new ways to do business.”
The Sydney Writers’ Centre offers adult short courses and educational training in all sorts of writing such as business writing, writing for the web, travel writing and magazine writing.
Enjoy this interview with Valerie Khoo at the Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network 2011 event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
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Valerie Khoo – The Sydney Writers’ CentreValerie Khoo is a writer and editor whose work has been featured in a range of magazines around the world. She runs an editorial and communications consultancy in Sydney with clients including magazines, newspapers, companies and websites.
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Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network 2011
From June 5-7 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, more than 120 female business leaders from around the world gathered with Dell to learn about technology, marketing, brand, social media and raising capital while building relationships and sharing insights. It was an impressive group of participants, including Moira Forbes, Arianna Huffington and Luiza Helena Trajano, the founder of the third largest retail chain in Brazil. Over the course of two days, the conference participants explored and learned that women entrepreneurs truly share a unique perspective and approach to business.
Building on Dell’s entrepreneurial heritage and recognising the unique challenges and rocky journeys entrepreneurs can face led to the inception of the Dell’s Women Powering Business Initiatives, including Dell’s Women Entrepreneurs’ Network (DWEN). DWEN strives to help women entrepreneurs expand their networks, innovate and grow their businesses. The DWEN event and LinkedIn community supply a social network to grow B2B and exchange ideas to help build confidence. Dell’s believes never in the history of the world has the entrepreneurial spirit been more alive or in a more favourable position to drive global growth.
Australian women business leaders are invited to join in the conversation and share who and what inspires and motivates them as entrepreneurs and leaders via the Women Powering Business Network group on LinkedIn.
Grandpa didn’t understand the term networking. It’s just good practice.
July 14, 2011
By Kate Tribe, Tribe Research
One of the results from the Australian Businesswomen’s Network 2010 survey was a need for more networking opportunities. Opportunities to network are everywhere, the biggest issue is that we don’t do it properly.
I wanted to share here, a post that I wrote on my personal blog. It is a way to live, not an event, and it will create a tribe around you of clients, customers, staff, supporters, fans, advisors, and friends.
My grandpa was a great connector and mentor to me, so I thought I’d share a conversation I had with him about networking.
I believe we’ve made it too complicated. So did he.
Generate good-will because you want to help
Grandpa almost always greeted me by saying: Have you generated any good-will recently?
He asked it so often that it became ingrained in my thinking.
It also meant I always needed to have a response of: Yes, I’ve…
His response would be: Well if you’ve generated some good-will then it will come together for you.
Understand what you’re passionate about and how you can assist
Grandpa was a lawyer by trade. He was passionate about it. He was even more passionate about the arts and knew he could use his skills as a lawyer and passion for the arts to help. In turn his experience with arts organisations helped his business as a lawyer.
Know what is work to you and know when to offer it for free
When grandpa did property law, it was work (that doesn’t mean he didn’t enjoy it). When it was using his skills in the arts it wasn’t. I’m not saying that all property work was charged, he had pro-bono clients. However, when it came to the arts he didn’t charge, he received rewards in other ways, which were sometimes just pleasure.
Communicate
As Kim Williams said at a celebration of grandpa’s life:
I’ve been a periodic recipient of thoughtful letters from him. Some of them unusually long in that beautiful copper plate hand writing of his… At times they were welcome; and others caused me to pause and reflect with considerable care in response to their striking observations which I can assure you were rendered with disarming candor. I am sure that many others have received similar precious communications with the sort of direct observations which we all too rarely experience in the course of life.
The key aspects to what Kim said about letters from grandpa (he was pre-internet in terms of communication) was that we ‘all too rarely experience’ it and that they had ‘striking observations’. More importantly, they were received by enough people that when Kim told the story there was fond laughter from the audience.
Grandpa, sat down to write letters to people on a regular basis. To touch base or share his views… he communicated and that created a great connection to a broad range of people.
He didn’t see it as networking. It was just the right way to live. He didn’t understand the term networking because it was just good practice.
MORE GREAT BLOG POSTS BY KATE TRIBE
- Gaining insights for priority setting
- A survey isn’t the only way to capture information
- The 9-Step Feedback Cycle
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Kate Tribe – Tribe ResearchKate Tribe is the founder and Managing Director of Tribe Research. Kate has developed Tribe Research into an innovative and creative company focusing on accessible ways for business, non-profit and government sectors to grow from a better understanding of their tribe. Tribe Research aims for customers to explore their tribes of clients, customers, suppliers and staff, to uncover their views, and drive change in each clients business. Kate understands that as leaders of an organisation you need to be clear-headed about your marketing and business planning priorities and has made this a primary focus of Tribe Research’s solution. Kate believes that getting to know your tribe should be an enjoyable journey of discovery that gives you a clear head and direction to move forward, to drive change in the right direction.
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ABN in The Stalk-Free Guide to Networking – CLEO Magazine
June 23, 2011
Suzi Dafnis of the Australian Businesswomen’s Network has been featured in Cleo Magazine’s April 2011 issue in an article entitled, The Stalk-Free Guide to Networking.
The article discusses the correct procedures for successful networking – and what you should avoid. For example, bluntly telling someone “I want your job” is a big no-no. Suzi also discusses the importance of LinkedIn as a networking tool and gives an example of how using LinkedIn managed to land someone a great job.
Click here for the full article
Getting on board to overcome professional isolation
May 20, 2011
By Susan Wareham McGrath, Susan Wareham Immigration Services
The professional isolation experienced by solopreneurs and work-at-home business owners is well documented, as are solutions – such as regular networking with colleagues, becoming an active member of your professional association or Chamber of Commerce, attending conferences and seminars and participating in online forums and discussion groups, just to name a few.
Today, I’m writing about another, less well known strategy, serving on a third sector (charity, not for profit or community group) board – which has the altruistic advantage of allowing you to give back to your community, cause or profession at the same time as overcoming professional isolation.
While these positions are generally unpaid, they are an excellent way to build professional reputations, develop a high profile, obtain leadership experience and take the first step towards gaining experience that could lead to a paid position on a corporate or government board in the future.
Australia’s third sector is growing rapidly, comprising over 700,000 organisations to date, so there is sure to be a board or management committee that’s right for you! If you need inspiration, you could visit www.ourcommunity.com’s Boardmatch service, or www.seek.com.au’s listings of volunteer roles which include serving on boards or management committees.
When you’ve located a role that interests you, you will most probably be required to submit a CV or résumé for consideration by the selection panel or recruiter. To present yourself in the best light for a board position, it’s important that your board CV is targeted to highlight your leadership skills and the attributes you can bring to the board.
It’s not difficult to write a third sector board CV – it just requires a slightly different perspective from the standard employment résumé. In general terms, your board CV should be strongly targeted to highlight your leadership skills, knowledge of and commitment to the community or industry in which the organisation is working. It should be succinct – 2 to 3 pages at a maximum – and the following information should be included at a minimum:
- your name, telephone and email contact details – making sure that any email addresses you use sounds professional
- a concise and tailored statement of the experience, skills and networks you can bring to the relevant board – bullet points are fine
- previous roles you’ve held on boards or management committees – even if they’re not relevant to the position of interest, they all demonstrate your commitment and leadership skills
- membership of any professional organisations or community groups
- a succinct overview of your employment history – include the name of the organisation, the dates your employment started and ended and your job title – unless a role is of specific relevance to the board you’re interested in, try to keep the information you include about your responsibilities to a maximum of three lines
It’s not unusual for boards to ask applicants to also address other requirements, such as providing brief biographies and listing referees, so before submitting your application, make sure you’ve read the recruitment information kit carefully, doubled checked your application for grammar and spelling and provided all the requirement information to demonstrate that you’re the best candidate for the role.
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The Australian Businesswomen’s Network recently presented an exclusive, one hour webinar with governance expert Julie Garland McLellan. This presentation dispelled the popular myths and provided viewers with the practical information needed to decide whether, how and when to enter the boardroom. |
MORE GREAT POSTS BY SUSAN MCGRATH:
- Quotas on Boards. What’s the real issue?
- What I Want for International Women’s Day
- “Tell us a little about yourself” – How to answer tough interview questions
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Susan Wareham McGrath, Susan Wareham Immigration ServicesSusan Wareham McGrath is a skilled and experienced Australian visa and immigration consultant; jobsearch strategist and career management consultant; professional writer, blogger and social commentator. She holds a degree in psychology, an advanced diploma in human resource management, a post graduate qualification in public policy development, a national training accreditation and registration as an Australian migration agent with the Migration Agents Registration Authority. Susan is a strong advocate for the personal and professional advancement of women, and after serving as an Advisory Board Member of the Australian Businesswomen’s Network since 2007 is now the ABN’s National Special Projects Manager.
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How to Maximise the Value of a Business Conference (Even If You’re Shy!)
April 29, 2011
Julia Palmer of the Business Networking Academy has attended thousands of business conferences. She helps people learn how to build strategic networking skills so that the cost of a conference does not go to waste.
“One of the first things we want to look at is ‘What do you need to get out of the event and who do you need to meet?’” Julia recently said at Kochie’s Business Builder’s Boot Camp in Sydney. “You can meet your colleagues and catch up with them any time, so you need to be a little bit more strategic when it comes to maximising the outcome or the value of a conference like this.
“We’ve had some amazing entrepreneurs, incredible speakers, great sessions and amazing sponsors here. If you look around, everything you need for small business is actually here, and yet a lot of people won’t maximise that. You have to say, ‘Okay, I’m here. How can I feel more comfortable and confident to actually meet these people?’ The more strategic you are, and the more tools you have, the more comfortable you get over time.”
Even shy people can learn how to maximise the value of a business conference through savvy networking, Julia explained: “I actually think shy people network better than the overt ‘card collectors’. Shy people should get very excited by this — because shy people are good at listening. I think the key thing with shy people is to arrive early to a room so that you’re not overwhelmed by walking in and seeing lots of people. If you’re there early, a lot of people actually come up to you, so it does take the pressure off a little bit. And at the end of the day, if you have a strategy, you do feel more comfortable, regardless of whether you’re an introvert or extrovert. The key is to have that strategy and get out of your comfort zone. The relationships you make at conferences help take your business to the next level, and we’ve got to keep that vision in mind.”
“I love technology. I think it’s an enabler and a great resource. However, I think we’ve become too technologically focused when it comes to networking. There’s a big presence of social media and we need to find that balance.
Julia also explained that although social media is great for networking, it should not overshadow face-to-face connections: “I love technology. I think it’s an enabler and a great resource. However, I think we’ve become too technologically focused when it comes to networking. There’s a big presence of social media and we need to find that balance. The great thing about social media is that you can use it to say, ‘I’ll see you at this conference.’ Then you’ve got to follow through with the face-to-face to take that relationship to the next level. I do think social media has a place, but I think we need to find the right balance and make sure that we don’t dismiss the face-to-face side because that’s where to really get the trust, and the deeper conversations happen face-to-face.”
Enjoy this interview with Julia Palmer!
Kochie’s Business Builder’s Boot Camp was supported by the Australian Businesswomen’s Network.
Related Links:
Business Networking Academy
Kochie’s Business Builder’s Boot Camp
Does Your Online Profile Make Sense? Lessons via CrossFit Open.
April 3, 2011
A good quality business photo is an essential part of any professional’s business toolkit. I have head shots that I use for publicity, speaking engagements, on blogs, websites and in articles etc. I have a selection of 3-4 photos that I can choose from depending on the situation.
So, what was I thinking when recently I put my profile up on the CrossFit Games Open site? (The 2011 CrossFit Games Open is an international event that 35 members of our gym (and over 30,000 in total) are participating in. Though only the top 3 men and women’s scores count towards the team score, the rest of us – me included – are participating for the fun* of it and to support the team.)
To register for the competition I completed my profile on the CrossFit website, like to you do on many community websites, and added a profile picture. I went into autopilot and added one of my professional shots.
When I went to visit the site this week I realised how ridiculous I look. Others photos depict them in various stages of athleticism and me, I look like I’m posing for a glam business shot!
See Sample Pics here:
Sample Athlete Profile (She's coming first)
Sample Athlete (Female)
It was a doh! moment and highlighted to me the importance of being appropriate for the context of any community that you join.
- My glam, non athletic profile
Business is Business
While I made a blunder that is pretty pain free (the CrossFit community won’t judge my professionalism but may judge my athleticism from this pic)… had it been the reverse, and I had a terribly inappropriate pic up on my LinkedIn or Twitter page then it COULD impact on my credibility as a businesswoman.
Yet, every day I see examples of BAD photos used on professional networking sites, on article submission for our newsletter, within our very own Member Directory. I’ve even authors who self publish using ‘home spun’ photos on their books. Yikes!
It really doesn’t do you any favours to use photos of you taken at social occasions (No. You at your daughters wedding is probably NOT the right look for a corporate picture. Nor is the one with your best friend (or glass of wine) cropped out of the pic, or a blurry or badly framed picture.
And, an out of date photo of a younger, smoother-skinned you can also create embarrassing moments when people DO meet you in person. [I just updated my pics in October after five years, which is too long.])
Me, I’m going to find a better photo for the CrossFit site (one that makes me look mean, lean and threatening – hmmmm, wonder if I can find one of those). At least it will be one that makes sense for this context.
What about you? What photo do you need to update? Do it this week.
Suzi
*The word fun is used here in the loosest possible sense. I don’t find this ‘competition’ fun. I stress each week before the designated workout and were it not for the wonderfully supporting environment at the gym I go to I wouldn’t be doing this at all. Each week should get easier though. I hope!
Cat Matson interviewed at SXSW
March 20, 2011
By Suzi Dafnis, Australian Businesswomen’s Network
Last week I was one of over 19,000 crazies at South By South West Interactive, a five-day festival held in Austin, Texas. The five-day program is about all things media and technology. There are tribes of people – bloggers, authors, developers, professors, tech-heads, geeks, content-creators, publishers etc…
It’s also where great minds in new technology development gather to learn, network and hear about the innovations that are taking place across industries.
This year it was great to more fellow Aussies along that before. In this interview Cat Matson of Alito tells us why she made the big trek to attend this conference and what she’d learned so far!
I managed to capture the ideas and stories of some exciting folks and will share those with you over the coming weeks.
Best wishes, Suzi
Networking – Improving my ROI
March 2, 2011
By Julie Wise, The Silver Owl
Did you, like me, create a list of New Year’s resolutions that even as you wrote them your devil’s advocate was saying things like ’Oh there’s one from last year’s list!’, ‘You are kidding with that one aren’t you?’.
In a moment of absolute clarity, I threw out my list. I’m as busy as I can possibly be, so a list of extra resolutions just really isn’t sensible (duh!). 2011, I decided, is the year I change tactics!
So using the latest hippy trend of the “one word mission statements”, I looked long and hard at what I’m doing to find the one area I know isn’t working and to look at a few things that I could really focus all my attention on.
As with all business owners, my 2011 schedule is already well planned and, when I count all the charities, theatre, work functions, seminars, sports and NGO work that I’ve already accepted, I attend an extraordinary a number of events – an average of 15 or so a month. These are fabulous and I wouldn’t change them as I meet people from all over and in all sorts of industries and positions, which over the years has given me a list of contacts of amazing professionals and entrepreneurs.
However, rather than a highly active and informed network, I spend a lot of time with a few while the others go into my ’little black book’ and I have to admit that there are an awful lot of names that I have a hard time remembering who / what & why. I want to change that and make my ‘little black book’ a thriving living thing so I realised that I need to work on the one thing that will provide the biggest bang for my time – return on investment
So, my one-word mission statement is FOLLOW UP.
It’s something that every one of us who takes part in business-to-business networking can do better: Researching the reference material around about what are the key ‘to-dos’ here’s a list of the things that I don’t do now and that I will be doing in 2011.
- Sending thank you notes or at least acknowledging people who’ve given me referrals
- Actually making that coffee appointment that we talked about
- Giving a referral as soon as I think of it (so it’s not forgotten) and getting in the habit of looking for ways to refer more
- Putting people’s information into a trusted system that we’ll use (I’ve started using BatchBook.com – though I’m still partial to paper.)
- Learning about and acknowledging the accomplishments of others (I’ve set up Google alerts for names or their company name)
- Setting aside time every week specifically to do follow-up work
- Having a system in place to help get these things done
I’m still working to put these all into practice and make them a habit – acknowledging.
Will better follow-up give you a big return on investment of your time that is spent on business networking?
If follow-up is your area of improvement, I hope the above lists of ideas are helpful in achieving your networking goal. If it’s a strength, have you got some tips on how you make the connections after the event – I’d love to hear them.
MORE GREAT POSTS BY JULIE WISE
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Julie Wise - The SilverOwlJulie has over 25 years in business operations, strategy and performance improvements. She is an accredited Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and an alumnus of the Institute of Executive Coaching. She established The SilverOwl specifically to help businesses with their strategies and operational efficiencies. With Julie’s wealth of experience, and network of associates, The SilverOwl provides access to a vast range of business performance solutions and experienced professionals. Julie is on the Australian Business Women’s Network Advisory Board and the NSW Committee for the Australian Women’s Archive Project. In Jan 2010, she joined the Fred Hollows Foundation.
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A Picture is Worth a 1,000 Words
January 14, 2011
By Julie Wise, The Silver Owl
Those of you who have met me know that I expect that my permission is asked each and every time someone wants to use something that has my name - be it a post, story or photo. You’ll also know that I often don’t give that permission as I am always conscious of how I ‘brand’ myself and my reputation.
The newspaper reports we saw last year of people using the online world to get a complete picture of a person prior employing, are back again this year. Here’s a quick link to one printed in the Sydney Morning Herald on 2 January 2011. [Festive Cheer / Sad Photo- Gee, could there be a correlation?]
Many people are blindly thinking that this is ‘discrimination’ and laws would protect against it. Or so say many ’learned’ people of the blogosphere. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case and as many court cases are proving – if you post something of yourself on a public page that’s what it becomes ‘public’.
If a picture of you appears on Facebook or somewhere else on the Internet, it is likely that just about anyone can see it if they search for you. Did you know that right now there is a Facebook application called Photo Finder, powered by Face.com. It uses facial recognition and social connections software to locate a photo of someone – even if it wasn’t identified by name (tagged). Yikes. What about that fun party last weekend where a bunch of adults were karaoking yeah, better not put those on Facebook or YouTube…
You want you and your business to be searchable, but are we too searchable on the web?
According to the exceptionally insightful (& scarily titled) article in The New York Times Magazine, “The End of Forgetting,” by Jeffrey Rosen (July 25, 2010), as facial recognition software becomes more sophisticated, people will be able to find any picture of you located anywhere on the Internet. Someone could simply take a picture of you with a phone, plug the image into Google, and pull up all photos (whether identified or not) of you that are on the Internet.
The lesson from this is to remember that our public image and our reputation are not just in our hands to control. If you are your business or you’re a key player in your brand and your business then you must use caution with your online presence. Make sure you know what is out there about you – pictures, reviews, and everything else.
This guard (or phobia as some of you have told me) is something that I have done for so long I can’t remember not doing it.
“It takes 20 years to build a good reputation and 5 minutes to ruin it.” – Warren Buffet
MORE GREAT POSTS BY JULIE WISE
Julie Wise - The SilverOwl
Julie has over 25 years in business operations, strategy and performance improvements. She is an accredited Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and an alumnus of the Institute of Executive Coaching. She established The SilverOwl specifically to help businesses with their strategies and operational efficiencies. With Julie’s wealth of experience, and network of associates, The SilverOwl provides access to a vast range of business performance solutions and experienced professionals. Julie is on the Australian Business Women’s Network Advisory Board and the NSW Committee for the Australian Women’s Archive Project. In Jan 2010, she joined the Fred Hollows Foundation.
Email: julie@thesilverowl.com.au Website: www.thesilverowl.com.au Twitter: www.twitter.com/julie_wise LinkedIn: au.linkedin.com/in/juliewise Member Profile: See Julie’s Member Profile
