Saturday, April 30, 2005
This week's featured woman entrepreneur is Gail P. Zelitzky, Co-founder and Principal of Silver-Robins Consulting (Chicago, IL), a business performance firm.
about Gail Zelitzky and Silver-Robins
Silver-Robins Consulting (www.silver-robins.com) is a business performance coaching firm offering both individual and group coaching. Silver-Robins Consulting helps businesses grow by developing and implementing new sales and business strategies. In addition to individual and group coaching, business owners can participate in a Business Performance Roundtable, a peer advisory group format facilitated by Silver-Robins consultants. Silver-Robins Consulting can also create custom-tailored seminars to meet training objectives on sales, customer service, leadership and management. Gail is the Chicago NAWBO Chapter's 2005 "Member of the Year."
Gail's Top 10 Tips
Gail's tips about making friends with your financials...
Successful business owners understand that the numbers that drive your business are crucial to maintaining control of cash flow. We find, too often, business owners enter their records into a computerized accounting program during the year but never review them until their accountant gives them an annual statement and tax return. Every quarter, or better yet, monthly, print out your Profit & Loss statement and your Balance Sheet. Ask yourself these 10 questions. These answers will help you analyze the performance of your business.
1. Ask yourself: How Profitable is your Company?
Look at your Balance Sheet and find the Retained Earnings number. This cumulative figure records all the income and losses incurred since the business was started. It is adjusted annually.
2. Ask yourself: What is your Gross Profit in $$'s and in percentagea?
Watch this number closely. Even small variations month to month make the difference in profit or loss for the month.
3. Ask yourself: Do you understand Gross Profit and Mark-up are not the same?
If you mark your services or goods up 50% your gross profit will only be 33 1/3%. Don't count dollars of profit that are not there.
4. Ask yourself: Do you have Inventory?
Comparing your gross profit each month will alert you to unusual variances in your net Inventory.
5. Ask yourself: What are your Net Expenses?
Are they consistent month to month? By recording your expenses on a spreadsheet you will be able to spot variations that lead to problems.
6. Ask yourself: What areas need improvement?
Reviewing numbers monthly permits you to make adjustments in any area of your business that is not performing to your expectation. Inspect what you expect.
7. Ask yourself: How do your everyday marketing activities affect your bottom line?
Do you budget for your meaningful marketing activities? Are you aware of how much you spend for marketing promotion, public relations, networking events, client luncheons, membership dues, trade shows, conferences, etc? Are the expenses for these items over or under budget? One line item can make the difference between profitability and loss.
8. Ask yourself: Do you analyze your income?
What makes up this figure? Did you record all earnings for the month?
9. Ask yourself: Does the Cash in Bank figure on your Balance Sheet accurately reflect your bank statement?
The ending balance on your bank statement equals Cash in Bank on your Balance Sheet. Do you record all interest paid, bank fees, merchant charges?
10. Ask yourself: What are the key numbers that drive your business?
Every industry has different benchmarks. Identify which numbers are important to the profitability of your business. Monitor them for an ongoing snapshot of how you are doing. Be sure the measurements you monitor are aligned to your company's strategic business goals as well as individual performance goals.
Contact Information
Gail Zelitzky
Co-Founder and Principal
Silver-Robins Consulting
www.silver-robins.com773.665.2340
A big thanks to Gail for her wise words.
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WISE WOMEN WAITING IN THE WINGSMay 7 - Jill Konrath, President of Leap Frog Strategies (Minneapolis, MN)
May 14 - Angela Washelesky, Partner Sachnoff & Weaver (Chicago, IL)
May 21 - Saj-nicole Joni, CEO, Cambridge International Group Ltd. (Boston, MA)
Saturday, April 23, 2005
This week's featured woman entrepreneur is Yvonne Brown, Founder and Chief Empowerment Officer of JAD Communications International (Chicago, IL), a business and executive coaching firm.
about Yvonne Brown and JAD Communications
JAD Communications International (www.JADcommunications.com) was founded in 2002 by Yvonne Brown to help women on the Journey to Achievement of their Destiny. The primary focus of the company is public speaking, keynote presentations, workshops and seminars for corporations and associations. Yvonne is an internationally recognized speaker, author, personal motivation, inspiration, and empowerment expert. Author of "Self Creation: 10 Powerful Principles for Changing Your Life" Yvonne helps people to eliminate self-sabotage, stop self-limiting beliefs and reach their highest potential. She knows how to accelerate personal performance and career fulfillment for workgroups and individuals everywhere. Her new book "Ethics, Choice and Leadership" will be available later this year.
Yvonne's Top 10 Tips
Yvonne's tips explore ways to gain team commitment and cooperation...
1. Clear Purpose The vision, mission, goals, and tasks of the team must be defined and accepted by all members, and an action plan established to achieve them. People need to know that the leader has a vision for the future. Show me a leader without a vision and I'll show you someone who isn't going anywhere. The mission draws followers who believe in the objective and propels them to embrace it and execute it.
2. ListeningGood leaders use effective listening techniques, such as questioning, paraphrasing, and summarizing to get out ideas. This crucial skill is the mark of a good communicator. Have you ever spoken to someone and realized that they are already planning their response before you even finished your thought? This behavior signifies that the speaker is unimportant and results in communication breakdown, missed opportunities, and loss of innovation.
3. Open CommunicationsMembers feel free to express their feelings on the task as well as on the group's operation. There are few hidden agendas; constructive communication takes place inside and outside of meetings. The most innovative companies practice this. A true leader realizes that the person who performs the task knows better than anyone else the means to efficient performance.
4. Clear roles and work assignmentsThere are clear expectations about roles, and when action is taken, clear assignments are made, accepted, and carried out. Work is fairly distributed. Giving a poor performance assessment at evaluation time is too late to be helpful. It is crucial to communicate your expectations, follow up, and tune performance consistently.
5. Shared LeadershipWhile there is a formal team leader, leadership functions shift from time to time, depending upon the circumstances, the needs of the group, and the skills of the players. The formal leader models the appropriate behavior and helps establish positive norms. Leadership is not about telling people what to do; it's about asking people what they need. As a leader you job is to use your influences and resources on behalf of your people to ensure their success. You must have a servant's heart. Ask yourself "how would things change if I put the needs of those following me first?"
6. Market the VisionYour vision paints the target. It sparks and fuels the fire within the organization and draws everyone forward. It lights the fire for others to follow. Then market the vision to get buy in from the people responsible for executing it. When you create the vision adopt a philosophy of long-term, pro-active thinking. Let everyone know how the vision will change the organization. A shared vision involves everyone working together to make improvements.
7. EmpowerGive people the training and autonomy to perform their tasks. Practice putting on the Ritz. At the Ritz Carlton employees are empowered to do whatever it takes to make the customer's experience outstanding. Regardless of their position, each employee can make the decision, without permission of a supervisor, to solve a guest's problem.
8. InvolveGet employees to help remove obstacles to performance improvement and find new ways to do things better. Many people only use a tiny part of their abilities and thrive when given the opportunity to get involved. Good leaders also allow people to fail as they realize that failure just means you're trying something new.
9. RewardProvide meaningful recognition that is clearly distinguished from cash compensation. Giving credit where credit is due creates a culture where people feel valued, where they're energized, where they're creative and where they love coming to work.
10. Understand the role of tangible rewardsMerchandise, travel, tickets to special events, debit cards, and gift certificates provide powerful publicity that supports corporate values. Promise a trip to Hawaii or other tangible reward for achieving your objectives and watch what happens. A tangible reward is an incredible motivator.
Contact Information
Yvonne F. Brown
Chief Empowerment Officer
JAD Communications International
www.JADcommunications.com312.893.7527
A big thanks to Yvonne for her wise words.
Share your knowledge! Submit A REQUEST to have your company featured along with your 10 Tips For 10 Million Women.RETURN TO TODAY'S RE:INVENTION BLOG POST.ARCHIVED FEATURESClick
HERE to read previous 10 Tips for 10 Million Women features.
WISE WOMEN WAITING IN THE WINGSApril 30 - Gail Zelitzky, CEO Silver-Robins Consulting (Chicago, IL)
May 7 - Jill Konrath, President of Leap Frog Strategies (Minneapolis, MN)
May 14 - Angela Washelesky, Partner Sachnoff & Weaver (Chicago, IL)
Saturday, April 16, 2005
This week's featured woman entrepreneur is Jennifer Warwick, Founder & CEO of jenniferinc (Los Angeles, CA), a company that offers success coaching to gutsy women.
about Jennifer Warwick and jenniferinc
Jennifer Warwick, MA (www.jenniferinc.com) 
is a women's career strategist and coach based in Los Angeles, with clients in the US, Canada and Europe. Whether you want to get gutsy and step into living a bigger more fulfilling life...or you have found your current gutsiness isn't getting you the results you want...Jennifer and the team at jenniferinc coaching can help you achieve success on your own terms. Jennifer specializes in career transitions, including transitioning to self-employment; overcoming underearning; navigating office politics; and reviving stalled careers. She is also an award-winning speaker, and offers both teleclasses and on-site workshops. She's currently at work on her first book of career advice for women. Sign up for her free monthly e-newsletter at www.jenniferinc.com.
Jennifer's Top 10 Tips
1. Contemplation: Know Thyself.If it were easy to spend time on ourselves, my little angel food cakes, there'd be no one to buy microwaves and 8-minute abs. The fact is we live in a busy world with lots of other human beings, and with all the demands on us, it can seem self-indulgent to stop and look inside. It's not. It's actually the ultimate gesture of self-respect to stop and explore what makes you tick. You can significantly increase your personal effectiveness by better understanding your own style, knowing your strengths and focusing on specific goals. So write in your journal, hire a coach, take the MBTI again, do a 360 look inside first.
2. Curiosity: Get Smart.Call out your inner Nancy Drew, and use your innate curiosity to dig up information you can use to help you communicate more effectively. Is your partner or key investor a stickler for details? Give information in bite-sized chunks with plenty of fine print, and provide regular written updates for their thoughtful review. Are they a "summaries only, please" type? Provide an overview, perhaps with bullets; update them on long-term plans with broad strokes, and keep the details handy in case there are specific follow-up questions. And as Maya Angelou says, "When people tell you who they are, believe them the first time." Don't ask if you aren't ready to listen.
3. Clarity: Know What You Want. As women, we learn to go along to get ahead. And, judging by what I hear from my clients, after a certain point, we can lose ourselves. We tolerate abusive co-workers, inflexible schedules, and lack of opportunities for advancement. We tolerate mind-numbing work and chairs that give us backaches. We tolerate poor leadership and we tolerate doing extra work because others cannot handle the load. Stop the madness! You are the only one who can get clear on what you need to have a fulfilling life and business: is it financial independence? Your name on the door? A respectful environment, interesting work, the chance to learn new things? If you are stuck and don't know where to start, remember that complaints are unfulfilled requests...so what are you complaining about? Find its opposite, and seek it out.
4. Confidence: Be Bold. Gail Evans, author and former CNN exec, once said that "Perfect is for fourth-grade spelling bees - business is about making good choices." (I actually won my fourth-grade spelling bee in Anchorage, Alaska, and despite the promises from that guy who learned all he needed to know in kindergarten, I guarantee you it did not prepare me for running my own business). In my practice, I regularly work with high-achieving women entrepreneurs whose idea of basic competence equates to flawless performance - as in, "I'm not ready yet; when I'm good enough, I'll raise my rates" or "I can't expand into that area ' I haven't totally mastered this one." Once in this spiral, they start to doubt themselves; they second-guess their worth, and negotiating skills suffer. They charge less than they should, are reluctant to raise prices, barter too much, give too much away for free, and so on. I beg you: take a deep breath sometimes, trust yourself - and stop when something is 80 or 90% "perfect." Just STOP. Once you regain consciousness after hyperventilating, you'll find it's enormously liberating.
5. Choice: Self-management. It's hard to be confident if you don't believe in your abilities, so start by focusing on the areas where you're a natural superstar: so you aren't the best public speaker. You are a genius at writing easy-to-understand and entertaining PowerPoint presentations for investors, or you do put together outstanding flowcharts and reports, or press releases and promotions. Own your talent and your impact. And take responsibility for the less fun stuff, too: in your heart, you already know if part of the challenges you face are your own missed deadlines, your perfectionism, or your impatience. Concentrate on addressing your own limitations, with a coach or other support, and get to work. Take a chance, fail fast, dust yourself off, and do it again.
6. Creativity: Play! It's no accident that the second place I look on
re:invention's site - and, yes, sometimes the first - is the dreamy "Shoe of the Week" feature. It's fun! You can turn anything into play with the right perspective...take self-promotion, which for many women entrepreneurs is like hearing Paris Hilton's finely manicured fingernails on a chalkboard. Break through the dread by choosing the activities you enjoy. If networking events give you a stomachache, cut back to the ones you enjoy. If you hate public speaking, so what? If you love to write, write - and don't limit yourself to the occasional press release. Take a writing class that piques your interest and write articles or a column, publish an e-zine. You'll know when you've found your strength (and your place to play) when the next time you need to do it, your reaction is not "ugh, more marketing" to "Hell, yes! Let's play!"
7. Community: Build Your Life-Support System. A mentor told me as I was starting my practice, "If you can realize your dream all by yourself, you're not dreaming big enough." Every entrepreneur knows that lasting success is not a solo journey. So remember that it doesn't serve you to be good at everything - it leaves you no time to focus on what you do best! Learn to delegate and ask for help, and to recognize and accept help when it's offered. And make the decision to surround yourself with positive people, thoughts, music - you name it. If that means no longer having lunch or drinks with the same complainers (and you know who they are, my little cheese puffs), so be it. You deserve to have your environment support you, not weigh you down.
8. Compassion: Love Yourself as You Love Your Neighbor.No, I didn't get this backward. Women are superstars at advocating, negotiating and fighting for others...yet a recent study reported that up to 80% of women's self-talk is negative. If you would not say it to a child or a loved one, don't say it to yourself. Period.
9. Conviction: Ask! A 1988 study reported that little girls are often assigned routine chores that emphasize dependence, are done indoors, and do not pay (cooking, cleaning, washing dishes). Little boys' chores regularly encourage independence, are less frequent, and often occur outdoors and for pay (mowing the lawn, shoveling the driveway, washing the car). Girls who do "their" chores outside the family are rarely paid, and boys who do "theirs" for others most often are paid. In this way, many boys are taught to work for payment - and girls to work for love. Standing up for ourselves, assigning a fair value to our work, and then (gulp) negotiating for it - that's new territory for many of us! If you have gotten this far and are still not comfortable asking or negotiating on your own behalf, it's time to get gutsy, and quit leaving money on the table! Read a book, take a class, find a mentor, hire a coach - invest in yourself and your future by learning how to ask for what you deserve with grace and confidence.
10. Charity: Give Back.And remember that the surest way to attract support and abundance is to share what you have. What knowledge do you already have that you can offer other women entrepreneurs? Genuinely offering your expertise with those following in your footsteps, and seeing your hard-won wisdom and stories ease their journey, is one of the most validating, esteem-building experiences you can have.
Contact Information
Jennifer Warwick, MA
Founder and CEO
jenniferinc coaching
www.jenniferinc.com310.695.7889
A big thanks to Jennifer for her wise words.
Share your knowledge! Submit A REQUEST to have your company featured along with your 10 Tips For 10 Million Women.RETURN TO TODAY'S RE:INVENTION BLOG POST.ARCHIVED FEATURESClick
HERE to read previous 10 Tips for 10 Million Women features.
WISE WOMEN WAITING IN THE WINGSApril 23 - Yvonne Brown, CEO JAD Communications Intl (Chicago, IL)
April 30 - Gail Zelitzky, CEO Silver-Robins Consulting (Chicago, IL)
May 7 - Jill Konrath, President of Leap Frog Strategies (Minneapolis, MN)
Saturday, April 09, 2005
This week's featured woman entrepreneur is Melissa Krinzman Steinhardt, President & CEO of Venture Architects (New York, NY), a business planning and capital raising firm.
about Melissa Krinzman Steinhardt and Venture Architects
Venture Architects, LLC (www.venturearchitects.com) positions private companies for success in the capital raising process through the development of business plans, financial projections, and investor presentations. Since 1998, Venture Architects has worked with over 300 early and growth-stage companies across a wide variety of industries, which have raised approximately $250 million in investment capital. The team at Venture Architects hails from companies such as Accenture (formerly Andersen Consulting), A.T. Kearney, BSMG Worldwide, and Monitor Com.
Melissa's Top 10 Tips
Learning from others mistakes can be quite useful. Listed below are the top 10 tips that I have learned from the hundreds of young companies that we have worked with over the last seven years. I encourage you to keep these, as well as the tips from the other weekly re:invention columns, near your "to do" list and review as a frequent reminder in order to help you to manage the growth of your business.
1. Problem / What critical problem is your business solving? Many entrepreneurs do not take the time to define their business in terms of the problem they are solving for their customers. But no problem, no reason to buy from your company. It is the entrepreneur's job to clearly define and explain the problem (and their solution) to potential customers. It is helpful to use a strong example to communicate the core problem you are solving and crisp action verbs to communicate your solution.
2. Professionals / Who are you surrounding yourself with? We have noticed that entrepreneurs can forget a core principle - you are only as good as the people around you. So ask yourself...Who is running the marathon with you? Who are you hiring and who are you outsourcing to? Do these individuals have relevant experience, a track record of success, demonstrable relationships that can be leveraged, and a focused commitment to and passion for your business? And most importantly, do you actually like these people, and will they be liked by your customers?
3. Products and Services / What is the core product or service that you are selling? This question seems straightforward enough, yet entrepreneurs dilute their message by talking about the ten other things that their company does, rather than the company's centerpiece product or service. The rule is that if people associate you with doing one thing well, they will often ask you if you can do other things. But if you provide a laundry list of the myriad of things that your company can do, they don't associate you with anything!
4. Planning / Do you have a phased execution plan with defined milestones that match your financial projections? According to Peter Drucker, international business author, "Plans are good instructions only if they immediately degenerate into hard work." I agree! Assuming you already have a business plan, the next step is to develop a phased execution plan or growth strategy. A phased approach outlines what will, and just as importantly, what won't be completed during a specified timeframe (quarterly is a good rule of thumb) and with a specified amount of capital and resources.
5. Pipeline / Are you networking to find new customers all the time? Your number one priority should be keeping your sales pipeline full. Do you have a thorough segmentation of your target audience, cost effective sales strategy to sell-into each of your customer groups, an understanding of the distribution channels for your industry and the challenges that these channels may pose; and intimate knowledge of the length of your sales cycle? Armed with this information, you can then maximize your time by effectively networking through business associates, at conferences, and even among friends. Ask your network to introduce you to people who have access to your target audience and never leave home without your business cards.
6. Profit / Do you know the financial drivers that impact your cash flow? Would you ever go on a long trip without checking to see how much gas you have in your car? Yet surprisingly, entrepreneurs often do not know the key numbers that they need to hit in order for their business to run smoothly. Every investor and successful entrepreneur will tell you that it is critical to understand and religiously monitor the financial indicators that measure the success of your business. Number of new/recurring customers? Profit margins? Accounts receivable? Whatever your key indicators are, keep track on a weekly basis and know your numbers.
7. Peril / Who are your current and future competitors? All companies have competitors, but not all are smart enough to intelligently discuss their competitors' strengths and weaknesses and communicate how they differentiate themselves. Answering this question is your opportunity to shine. Differentiate yourself as the company that knows and can articulate how it stands out from the crowd.
8. Penny-pinching / How have you prioritized your expenses? Burning through too much cash too quickly is the downfall of many young companies. On the flip side, being miserly about paying for things that can increase your sales and/or productivity also significantly contributes to entrepreneurs' downfall. When prioritizing expenditures, ask yourself "Will this expense increase my sales or productivity?" If the answer is no, then the expense gets pushed lower on your list or crossed-off.
9. Proof / Do you communicate proof of your success? Potential customers aren't just buying your product or service, they are buying peace of mind that your product or service will solve their problem. Your job is to inspire their confidence from the get go. In other words, brag! If you are a start-up, brag about the results of your focus group or beta tests. If you are an established business, brag about your caliber of customers, sales figures or significant press you have received. Either way, in order to win customers, clearly document the proof of your success - don't bury the facts.
10. Play / How do you and your team release stress? This is an obvious point that entrepreneurs overlook in the 24/7 world of starting and growing a business. How do you celebrate company successes with your team? How do you reward exceptional individual performance? When was the last time you took a vacation? Happy people make happy offices make happy customers.
Contact Information
Melissa Krinzman Steinhardt
President & CEO
Venture Architects, LLC
www.venturearchitects.com212.308.9885
A big thanks to Melissa for her wise words.
Share your knowledge! Submit A REQUEST to have your company featured along with your 10 Tips For 10 Million Women.RETURN TO TODAY'S RE:INVENTION BLOG POST.ARCHIVED FEATURESClick
HERE to read previous 10 Tips for 10 Million Women features.
WISE WOMEN WAITING IN THE WINGSApril 16 - Jennifer Warwick, MA, CEO Jennifer Inc. (Los Angeles, CA)
April 23 - Yvonne Brown, CEO JAD Communications Intl (Chicago, IL)
April 30 - Gail Zelitzky, CEO Silver-Robins Consulting (Chicago, IL)
Saturday, April 02, 2005
This week's featured woman entrepreneur is Sandy Marsico, Principal and Founder of Sandstorm Design (Chicago, IL), a marketing and graphic design firm.
about Sandy Marsico and Sandstorm Design
Founded in 1998 by Sandy Marsico, Sandstorm Design (http://www.sandstormdesign.com) is a Chicago-based marketing design firm specializing in B2B marketing communications. From print to web, Sandstorm Design helps businesses craft, communicate and deliver their marketing message in a clear, strategic and intuitive way. Creative services include: advertising campaigns, sales collateral, brand development, media kits, direct mail, trade show pre- and post-show communications, website design, and email marketing.
Sandy's Top 10 Tips
1. Visualize Your Dream and Write it Down! Putting your dream in writing is the first step to achieving it. The act of writing creates a commitment on your part, and helps you paint an even clearer picture of your future.
2. Invest in Your IdentityIf you are looking to start up a new venture, don't skimp on the logo. Your logo is the first impression of your business (especially when all you have are business cards to hand out). If there is one thing to spend some money on, it's building your identity. And don't forget to choose a great company name!
3. Two Words: Royalty FreeRoyalty free photography is a designer's dream come true. The images can be purchased quickly, at a reasonable rate, and can be used an unlimited number of times. This is an excellent way to build a beautiful, cohesive look to your brand.
4. Breaking Up is Hard to DoDeveloping the ability to fire the "bad" clients can make the difference between a profitable year and a year with too many headaches. Sometimes the chemistry just isn't there, or you have grown apart. Either way, the relationship needs to come to an end - it's better for both parties involved.
5. Find Mentors Outside of your IndustrySome of the best mentors are those outside of your industry, with similar business philosophies and ethics as yourself. If you find someone who inspires and guides you, you've found a new mentor!
6. When All Else is Equal, Go with your GutNot sure what to do about a current situation? Listen for that voice inside that I call my gut. This natural instinct can help you make significant creative, business and hiring decisions.
7. Don't Underestimate the Power of ColorColor has the power to persuade, influence and engage a reader. Don't be afraid of color when working on your marketing materials. Thanks to digital printing, full color pieces have become more affordable than ever.
8. When Spec Work, WorksI personally hate spec work. But it worked once when we needed to show a client that we were capable of handling a project and we didn't have the specific experience in our existing client portfolio. If your company decides to hire a design firm based on spec work, make sure there is open communication with the design firms involved to increase their chances of pulling together a creative solution that works.
9. Creativity Takes TimeDesigners have a saying...You can get creative work done cheap, quick or good -pick two. Be patient as the best creative ideas generally don't happen the first hour or two of brainstorming.
10. How to Get the Most Out of Your Design FirmThe best way to get the creative results you are looking for from your design team is to outline your marketing goals from the beginning so your designers can create a visual solution to your problem, not just a pretty picture.
Contact Information
Sandy Marsico
Principal and Founder
Sandstorm Design
www.sandstormdesign.com773.271.3800 x21
A big thanks to Sandy for her wise words.
Share your knowledge! Submit A REQUEST to have your company featured along with your 10 Tips For 10 Million Women.RETURN TO TODAY'S RE:INVENTION BLOG POST.Click
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