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Saturday, July 29, 2006


This week's featured woman entrepreneur or executive is Maria Gonzalez, VP of Content Development, EduCel, LLC/Willitfly.com (Emeryville, CA).

about EduCel/Willitfly.com
Willitfly.com, for small-to-medium business professionals, is a 100% owned subsidiary of EduCel, a pioneer and a leader in technology that accelerates learning and supports performance at the time of need. Willitfly.com's mission is to make it easier to avoid the failure that frequently accompanies new undertakings. With expert prep modules designed to speed up knowledge transfer and support users at their time of need, Willitfly.com provides a quick way to find out if you are ready to perform according to best practices for important business tasks. Based on the cognitive sciences and the methodology used by experts for their own prep, the core technology on Willitfly.com (the Will-it-Fly? DKTS) was also developed by EduCel. The Will-it-Fly? DKTS technology is consistently rated by users as easier to use and more useful than other knowledge transfer tools - making life easier for enterprising minds everywhere. Gonzalez comes to EduCel with 14 years of experience in biotech, which included scientific research, manufacturing processes and the building of business infrastructure. Her last job included setting up the foundation for a corporate university at Chiron Corporation (Novartis) in Emeryville. Her quality management expertise and degree in molecular and cell biology from UC Berkeley ensures a quality approach to content development that is difficult to find.


Maria's Top 10 Tips.


1. Know yourself
Would-be entrepreneurs who fail to analyze their reasons for starting out on their own, and who don't take an objective measurement of their initiative and background, could end up facing family issues, competition and money problems they cannot deal with, which ultimately may cause the loss of the new business. Performing a self-analysis of your entrepreneurial readiness is worthwhile in order to make sure you have a solid grip on why you want to go into business.

2. Accept that you need help and support
Starting and running a business isn't anything like being part of a support group. Nevertheless, trying to do everything yourself is likely to end in failure. It's important to accept that you cannot succeed as a Jack (or Jill)-Of-All-Trades, and that you need to look for expertise and support where you can find it. You should also spend a moment to define the difference in value between the support your family and friends offer (good for emotional support, not so good for expertise), and that of real experts and good resources.

3. Know your field
Entrepreneurs that don't make the effort to assess if their industry knowledge is sufficient to operate their business could end up starting a business without the proper background and possibly end up failing. It is critically important to understand the industry dynamics in your chosen field. This understanding often comes by default when entrepreneurs start in a field they love (and know inside out). However, if you are new, or relatively new to a field, make sure you spend enough time to pick up the nuts and bolts of what you are about to do.

4. Always start with best practices
According to the Small Business Administration (SBA), 80% of new businesses fail within five years - more often than not because attention was not paid to best practices in new undertakings. While there's no shortage of proponents that will tell you the trick to success lies in building a better mousetrap, that advice does not apply unless you first cover the basics. If you do not know the rules of the game, you really shouldn't play (your established competition has spent years refining their game).

5. Understand how to deal with others
Managing people is an enormous task with a steep learning curve. Business owners that have never managed employees usually have very little preparation or support when they need to do so, which can lead to serious problems with employees and suppliers that eventually destabilize the business. Acquiring the basics of good people management is essential to success.

6. Create a business plan
A business plan needs to address a business' strategic needs and potential for healthy growth. Ignoring the need for a business plan or crafting one that does not detail every aspect of the business could undermine revenue generation and possibly lead to failure. Creating a business plan is also an excellent exercise for increasing your understanding of your new venture. However, when it's done, don't consider it set in stone, think of it as a sailboat: You can (and sometimes should) adjust course while underway, but don't be so eager to replace the boat itself until you know how it handles.

7. Develop and execute a marketing plan
Not focusing enough on marketing goals and strategies (or not integrating them with business goals) could lead to misallocating the marketing budget on a poor marketing effort and burying the product before it even gets to market. Staying with the sailing metaphor above: Your marketing effort should not be impulsive in nature, but much more like the charted course on a captain's map.

8. Pay attention to legal matters
Not paying attention to legal matters can quickly sink a new business. If you end up in litigation, you can lose even when you are in the right (too much cost associated with defending yourself). It always pays to spend some resources up front on important legal considerations: i.e., each type of legal entity/structure has different ramifications. Choosing the wrong one could leave you with having to pay more taxes than necessary, or also open to liability and increased litigation.

9. Keep accurate books
Businesses fall into one of several categories, which can legally require the use of specific bookkeeping methods. Failing to keep the most accurate records for the type of business category, could lead to an IRS audit and/or penalties. Accurate bookkeeping also has the added benefit of letting you know where you are financially at all times. This benefit is essential to your continuing planning effort and ultimate success.

10. Never run out of money
Sounds almost silly, doesn't it. However, what if I told you that this phrase is considered one of the most essential teachings at Harvard Business School's entrepreneur program? In fact, at Harvard they teach that this point about money is to entrepreneurship what the location mantra (location, location, location) is to real estate: 1) don't run out of money, 2) don't run out of money and 3) don't run out of money. So, there you have it. If you don't remember any of the other tips, remember this one - and I'll say it again: Never run out of money.


Contact Information

Maria Gonzalez
EduCel, LLC
4099 Harlan Street
Emeryville, CA 94608
510-295-4114
maria.gonzalez@educel.com
Web: www.willitfly.com


A big thanks to Maria for her wise words.




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Saturday, July 22, 2006


This week's featured woman entrepreneur or executive is Karen Friedman, President of Karen Friedman Enterprises (Bluebell, PA).

about Karen Friedman Enterprises, Inc.
Karen Friedman Enterprises, Inc. is passionate about helping you discover creative and practical ways to better communicate with reporters, peers, employees, clients, and other important audiences so you can get the results you want. For nearly a decade, the company has put their skills as journalists and professional coaches to work helping executives, managers, government agencies, professionals, politicians, Olympic athletes and international celebrities improve their communication skills. The company has conducted workshops and provided counsel to countless individuals across the globe in Romania, Venezuela, Argentina, Asia and provided media and message training at First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton's "Vital Voices" conference in Uruguay. President Karen Friedman is one of the leading communication coaches in today's business world. An award-winning television news anchor and reporter who has interviewed thousands of people, she teaches others how to make the most of every interview, appearance and presentation. Her breaking coverage of local and national events has aired on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, the Today Show, Good Morning America and Nightline.


Karen's Top 10 Tips.


1. Believe in Yourself.
Fear is a powerful motivator. Be motivated and hallenged by all of the people who tell you it can't be done.

2. Be a sponge.
Read everything you can get your hands on. Attend as many rofessional development sessions that time and money afford. Talk to everyone and anyone. Each person, regardless of what they do, has knowledge to offer.

3. Don't try to be everything to everybody.
Focus on what you're good at and what you love to do. That's what you'll excel at and that's how you will provide the most value to your clients and customers.

4. Even the big guys are always looking for the next client.
There is no such thing as coasting. Worrying about keeping clients forces you to bring new ones in the door. Your worst enemy is not the competition...your worst enemy is the status-quo.

5. Always strive to re-invent yourself and your product.
Look for new ways to spread information, offer services and change the way you do things so you remain fresh, informed and can provide new tools for you clients to grow.

6. Integrity is King.
Never Never Never compromise your values and beliefs. There is no such thing as an easy road to success or making an easy buck. No one gets discovered. But, they do earn success.

7. Leave your ego at home.
I come from an ego driven business and I have an ego. That's not bad as it has served me well in television and in business. HOWEVER, the priority is the client. They don't care about how great you are. They care about what you can do for them to fix their problems and make them better.

8. Know When To Let Go: Not every client is worth keeping.
Learn to recognize relationships that drain time, energy and money from your business. Don't be afraid to stand by your principles so you shape the image and business that you truly want. Compromising your values can compromise ethics.

9. Do what you say.
So many people are so worried about pitching and competing for the business that they lose sight of what they told the client in those initial meetings. Remember what you said you would do. Don't forget that the old clients need just as much tender loving care as the new ones.

10. Have fun.
Love what you do and love to get out of bed in the morning. If not, you're in the wrong business.


Contact Information

Karen Friedman
Karen Friedman Enterprises, Inc.
PO Box 224, Blue Bell, PA 19422
Web: www.karenfriedman.com
karen@karenfriedman.com


A big thanks to Karen for her wise words.




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Saturday, July 01, 2006


This week's featured woman entrepreneur or executive is Eva Rosenberg, CEO of TaxAnxiety Inc. (Northridge, CA).

about TaxAnxiety, Inc.
TaxAnxiety Inc. teaches businesses and tax professionals to succeed via live, online courses, newsletters, and workshops. The IRS Exam Review course trains tax professionals to pass IRS's rigorous license examination. And TaxMama's Tax BootCamp teaches businesses to cut their taxes, cut their operating costs, enhance family quality of life - and to build a wealthy, tax-free or tax-deferred retirement. Eva Rosenberg and TaxMama are regularly quoted in publications like the Wall Street Journal, US News & World Report, USA Today and more. You can hear Eva on the radio on CNN, Jim Blasingame's Small Business Advocate show, Brent Clanton, and more. Entrepreneur Magazine named Eva's latest book, Small Business Taxes Made Easy, one of the top tax books of 2005. And LIFE Magazine recently selected TaxMama.com as their Editor's Choice. With over 14,000 pages of free tax advice and information on TaxMama.com, and the new sister site TaxTwist.com, you can see why.


Eva's Top 10 Tips.


Running a business or a department is so complex, with so many people and government agencies pulling on you from all directions. With all the endless reports, it's amazing that anyone is actually able to get work done, to produce a product or finish a project. Yet, we do, don't we? And we do it well.

In a workshop I once conducted for executive women, the universal complaint was that their days were so full of interruptions, that these women just couldn't get their own work done. By the end of the workshop, we'd come to realize that the interruptions are the job. So, to reduce those interruptions, and to make your life less taxing, here are some guidelines.

1. Know what you want. Whether it's in life or business, have a goal. Have you ever seen people who seem to always get what they want? It's because, when the opportunity presents itself, they know what to ask for - and don't hesitate to ask.

2. Have a plan. If you can outline the steps to take to reach your goal, you'll actually take those steps. And it feels so good to cross off each step as you go along.

3. Care. Care about the people who work for you, with you, supply you and pay you. When you treat people well; when you listen to them; when you make each person feel they have 100% of your attention when it matters - you'll have earned a powerful loyalty.

4. Know things. Learn the things you need to know to reach your goals so you never have to rely on others. That way, in a pinch, or on deadline, you can step in to do the task, or you can quickly train someone to do it.

5. Delegate. Once you know the things you must know to run your business or project, hire the right people to those things you prefer not to do. If you have any doubts before hiring them - keep looking.

6. Market yourself with finesse - not aggressiveness. Regardless of what you do, you're always selling - whether it's yourself, your company, your product, your services, or even your ideas or passions. Don't be overly modest. Just learn to express your ideas or pitches as briefly and effectively as possible.

7. Go to the top. Start with the president, CEO, or the person with the decision-making authority, at the company you want to pitch. To get past their executive assistants, just tell the assistant what you want to accomplish. Make the assistants your ally - they not only have the ear of the top boss - but also influence all the executives' assistants. Let the boss and his/her aide introduce you to their operations executives or managers.

8. Don't waste your advertising budget on big ticket, splashy ads unless you have unlimited funds. Those are good for the moment only. Use your budget and your customers- word-of-mouth to establish a constant, visible presence.

9. Keep great records and comply with all government requirements - all levels. Not only will this make audits easier, and give you information to keep your costs under control, good records reduce your taxes,

10. Have no competitors. Everyone in your industry does something just a little differently. So when someone else is a better choice for your customer or client - refer them. In fact, make the introduction. You'll generate good will all around.


Contact Information

Eva Rosenberg
CEO of TaxAnxiety Inc. and Publisher of TaxMama.com
Web: www.TaxTwists.com and www.TaxMama.com
taxwriter@gmail.com


A big thanks to Eva for her wise words.




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