conference Archives - Page 2 of 5

Women’s Leadership Summit 2010

March 14, 2010 Filed Under: Business Musings

Six weeks ago, my friend and mentor Shandel Slaten called me up and said “You know, I have this idea. Tell me if you think it’s crazy. I just won Coach of the Year. One of the bennies for winning that was that I could offer this awesome personality and values profile at a discount for just one month. I love helping people and I want to help as many people as possible. What do you think about the idea of me putting on a Women’s Leadership Summit?” I was on board. Until she said her next line: “… in six weeks.”

I’ve planned business retreats, ran a conference for 100 entrepreneurs on Rosario and been involved with other weekend events and planning on in 6 weeks seemed a little aggressive. But, if anyone could do it, it was Shandel. “I’m in!” I told her.

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of being in the audience with 130 other women as we explored what our natural personality types are and what motivates us to get up in the morning. I’ve taken these tests with True Life Coaching (Shandel’s company) before and have brought her up to Bellingham to coach my entire team. The tests are incredibly interesting, valuable and helpful for living a life with purpose.

Molly Wilmot from Pinks Original Bakery spoke about starting Pinks (formerly Mostly Muffins) and about her biggest lessons growing a business. My take aways from her talk were:

1. Always tell the truth. If you speak from the heart and put honesty first, you don’t need a PR company and you never need to spin anything.

2. Believe in yourself. Molly never believed in the early years that she would fail. It didn’t cross her mind. She just put one foot in front of the other and did what came naturally.

I was honored to speak at the event. I told the Bramble Berry story (starting out in my house with $15,000 on a credit card and no business experience) and went over some keys for Bramble Berry’s successful business journey.

1. Goals matter. Set goals. Make a roadmap. Follow the roadmap. No excuses.

2. Surround yourself with a strong support network – family, friends, employees, life and business coaches, Mastermind Groups, Accountability Groups – to have a better chance at succeeding.

3. Continual learning. Devour books. Read and learn from the best business minds possible to grow yourself as a person and as a leader of integrity within your family and your company.

The event was incredibly rewarding and I was grateful to be a part of it. Thank you to True Life Coaching for facilitating it.

And, if you’re interested in taking that next step in your personal life? Shandel is doing a Life 301 course (via phone) to help you determine your life’s purpose and dig down and figure out what your values are. I’ve taken it and the course was incredible. It helped me define what my values were so I could start to design my life with those values in mind. Four years later, I’m still finding value in the phone training course I took from Shandel.

Purpose Filled Leader

March 13, 2010 Filed Under: Business Musings

Guest Post by Shandel Slaten – I spoke at Shandel’s brainchild today, 2010 Women’s Leadership Summit in Seattle and can’t wait to share what I learned … tomorrow. Tonight, I’m hanging with my family and feeling energized by all of my newfound knowledge. Until then, enjoy Shandel’s Guest Post.

The continual pursuit of excellence in leadership fascinates and inspires me. In my simple way, I have observed there are flashy firework leaders and steadfast star leaders. The firework leaders are ones that come out with a bang, a spark, and a flash of brilliance that “ooooos” and “aaaaahs” the crowds as they are mesmerized by the exciting new light in the sky. All attention and admiration is completely focused on the show and the star-filled sky is forgotten and disregarded while the fireworks display their magic. However, the fireworks quickly die out and fade away after their burst of showmanship. Meanwhile, the stars still shine as they always have and provide consistent, steady, predictable beauty and guidance. Did you ever hear of someone navigating through stormy seas by fireworks? No, that’s ridiculous. Neither do people depend on firework leaders when they really need guidance and effective direction. Similiar to the sailor, we look to the steadfast stars to bring us through the turbulent times in our own personal or corporate lives. (read more after the jump by clicking the link below ….)

How then are star leaders born, or shall I say bred? I think it is through experiencing brokenness, being teachable, and enduring trials that people gain the lasting confidence, strength, and character required to be an effective leader. If you had the opportunity to see the latest Lord of the Rings movie, Return of the King, you will recall Aragon’s sword, Narsil, which lie in pieces. At just the right time, the sword was subjected first to the blazing melding fire and then to pounding of the hammer. Over and over it endured the trials of heat, pressure, and beating, but every blow was purposeful and every minute in the fire was refining the sword that it could be used for a higher purpose. That sword was a symbol of leadership. Was it any less valuable broken? I say no. Its value and worth were always there; lying latent, waiting for the opportunity to be made whole and useful. What it lacked was purpose and guidance on how to be used for the common good.

Like Aragon’s sword, I believe that only after you’ve been broken and endured refining fires and molding trials do you possess the confidence to lead forth with purpose and a true sense of usefulness. Otherwise, you may try to imitate the strength you believe a leader SHOULD have from all those books you’ve read and try to “act” like a leader with purpose, but you know the truth: your efforts resemble the fireworks or short bursts of light more than the lasting, steady brilliance of the stars. You’re not fooling anyone and here’s a sample list of what may be giving your firework show away: arrogance, “feeling “powerful, demanding to be served, out of control emotions, putting others down so you can feel better about yourself, and the need for more, more, more. Believe me if you’ve fooled them at the office, you haven’t fooled them at home. Oh people may “oooo” and “aaaah” for awhile and serve you out of fear, but soon the flash of lights will fade and once the show is over (and someday the show will be over) those you thought your fans will sigh with relief to be free from the tyranny. They will look for that leader who is a bright shining star that will humbly and confidently lead them toward “true north.”

As we enter this new quarter, be honest with yourself and evaluate if you are more like a firework or a star leader to those looking up at you? What can you do in this next year to be teachable, “coachable” (if you will) and moldable so that you won’t miss the opportunity to become a leader with purpose and be used for the good of all mankind? Maybe you’ve so confused flashes of light for true success that you’re not sure where you’re headed or if people are following or if they are, in which direction the ship is sailing. Slow down, breathe, get help, relax, and listen. Look up from your daily routines and busyness, find the big dipper, and then follow it to the North Star. You’ll always find true north if you look up from where life has you and make the effort to seek guidance or tools necessary to persevere through trials and the wisdom required to be a purpose-filled leader.

For more about Shandel Slaten, visit her webiste True Life Coaching.

Social Media Conference & the Oscars

March 7, 2010 Filed Under: Business Musings

I had the great fortune of meeting the ‘Pied Piper of Facebook,’ Mari Smith on Friday. Jody Bergsma (noted artist and rockin’ businesswoman) and I went to the Total Networking Event in Seattle to meet, mingle and hang with 300+ other businesswomen who wanted to learn more about how social networking could benefit their businesses. You don’t need to convince me of that! Follow me on Twitter here, become a Fan on Facebook here, watch me on YouTube here or sign up for this blog feed to come directly to your email here.

Mari did an incredible job inspiring the audience to consider utilizing social media to speak to anyone and everyone. No longer is there a gatekeeper to keep you and your message away from the masses. You can use social media to connect with customers and friends in entirely new ways. If you’re not on Twitter, you can learn more about how to do this from this Michael Hyatt ‘How To Twitter’ blog.

Tonight, I’m at a Oscar watching party with the force (and face) behind Baker’s Breakfast Cookies, Erin Baker, and Jody Bergsma.

We’re munching on the most incredible cheese plate from local cheese shop, Old World Deli and enjoying the beautiful fashions on the screen.

In addition to the Social Media Conference, the weather cooperated in Bellingham for a hike to the top of Oyster Dome in the beautiful Chuckanuts with my sister in law, Cheriss. You can see the photo from the top here. I hope you had an equally fantabulous weekend. Happy soaping!

Happy Weekend!

February 27, 2010 Filed Under: Business Musings

Happy Weekend! I hope you’ve got something great in your soap pot. We’re prepping for an awesome Sunday shoot for SoapQueen.TV It’s time for us to dip our toes into Cold Process soapmaking and we’re starting the shoot this Sunday. I’ll take photos in process tomorrow and upload so you can see what we’re up to.

Today, I went on an awesome (drizzling, sort of wet and cold) hike with my sister in law and my favorite niece dog, Samantha. It was a nice way to start the day before reviewing the SoapQueen.TV scripts a bunch. Though Bramble Berry has a Beginner Cold Process DVD out already, we had many requests for Cold Process on SoapQueen.TV. The segments will be short (the DVD is 45 minutes to get a basic overview of soapamking) and the series will be a good idea of what it takes to do CP soapmaking but we’ll still be recommending extra resources like The Everything Soapmaking Book by Alicia Grosso. You can never learn too much.

I had a fabulous Thursday down in Seattle with the Women Business Owners. I met the founder of Wink Cupcakes (no, I didn’t ask her how she stayed so skinny. I should have).

And, here I am with Shandel Slaten, founder of True Life Coaching and the headliner for the awesome Women’s Leadership Conference 2010 in Seattle in March (details here) and Melody Birigner from Crave Party.

One of the things I talked about was how important it is to have a strong support network around you as you grow your business. From a Mastermind Group (blog posts here, here and here about how to set one up) to Business Book Clubs, we all need people around us encouraging us to do better and to reach our next level. Right now, the three business book clubs I’m in are reading: Anatomy of the Spirit – the Seven Stages of Power and Healing by Caroline Myss, Linchpin by Seth Godin and Crucial Conversations. I’m excited to have discussions about these books over the next month to expand my worldview and increase my knowledge as a business owner. It’s a bonus that anything that makes me a better leader also helps me to become a better friend, wife, daughter and sister as well.

If you don’t have a support network in place to help you succeed at business, consider picking up any of the great business books out there – 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is an awesome one to start with – to learn from the best and the brightest thought leaders of our century.

Do you have any awesome business books that you’ve read lately that you think would be a good one for my business book club? I’d love to hear what they are.

The Great One

February 22, 2010 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Though it hardly seems possible, our Olympic experience got even more epic yesterday. The wonderful day with the Hudson Bay Company tour and the Speed Skating event was truly once in a lifetime (blog post here). I could have left the city feeling lucky and blessed but Metro Vancouver had one more perfect day planned for us.

During our morning education session, Metro Vancouver brought in three incredible speakers: economic commentator Michael Levy, the Director of the Vancouver Foundation (Peter Jackman) and the President of the McLean Group (Jason McLean). They all covered different subjects about doing business in Canada. Michael Levy spoke about the divergent paths of the US and Canadian monetary policy. Peter Jackman spoke about the incredibly generous and kind spirit of Canada’s citizens and Jason McLean talked to us about how supportive the Canadian Government is of entrepreneurial pursuits. It was a wonderful morning of learning and I walked away feeling very inspired by their positive messages.

Then it was off to Salt, a tasting room in Vancouver. They served us three types of wine and paired them with three different types of cheeses. The room was dominated by a huge table filled with exotic foods and the group was thrilled to have such a sophisticated lunch. Who doesn’t love cheese and wine? It was a crowd pleaser!

Our guest was equally sophisticated: the former Mayor of Vancouver and also the former Premier of British Columbia – Mike Harcourt. He spoke about his love of Vancouver, his focus on sustainability and views on city planning. We were honored to have him at our table.

In photo: Laurie Simon from Ombrella, me, Karen Howlett from McSweeney Steel

And then it was off to the main event – USA versus Canada Hockey! We had stellar seats right near the middle line and the entire game was breath taking – fast, aggressive, passionate and entertaining.

I was such an obnoxious American that my husband pulled me aside at one point to suggest piping down (lest I offend The Great One in the box next to us). The entire audience was a sea of red shirts. The American fans were probably outnumbered by at least 50 to 1. We did have the privilege of sitting next to Wayne Gretzky’s box at the match. It added a surreal, magical feeling to the entire experience.

We ended the night with dinner at La Terratza where the current Mayor of Vancouver Gregor Robertson visited. He sat at our table and we were able to hear about his political journey (from entrepreneur of the Happy Planet to politician ) and his passion around social issues (especially homelessness) and his commitment to a more green, sustainable Vancouver BC.

A big thank you to the City of Vancouver for being such an incredible host city and to Metro Vancouver for such a fantastic introduction to the business opportunities in British Columbia and to Barbara Mowat of Impact Communicationsfor alerting me to this incredible opportunity in the first place.

Soap Queen Goes to the Olympics

February 19, 2010 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Do you like the new header on the blog? It’s in honor of an incredible opportunity. Metro Vancouver is a group of 22 municipalities in the greater Vancouver area who have come together to attract business investment to the region. One of their programs involves bringing qualified businesses to see the best that Vancouver, BC has to offer – in this case, the Olympic games. Otion, our retail store, would be a great fit in Vancouver or any of the surrounding areas. After an application process, Metro Vancouver invited me, my husband and 18 other qualified businesses to see some of the Olympic events and learn about what Vancouver, BC has to offer the business community. My husband runs Fiberglass Structural Engineering and he’s getting a lot of great information and contacts from this experience as well.

We arrived via bus last night at 6 pm and immediately headed out to LiveCity for a reception. Many bankers, lawyers and representatives from all of the major cities in and around Vancouver, BC were there. It was an opportunity for all the visitors to learn more about the region, talk about the opportunities here and discuss how we can work together in the future. And, in a totally incredible coincidence, the 13-year-old-daughter of the Deputy Mayor for Vancouver is a soapmaker! We were able to talk soap and entrepreneurship and I’m hoping to interview her daughter for the Soap Queen blog.

A huge highlight of the reception was meeting Ruky Abdulai,an Olympic athlete representing Canada in Track ‘n’ Field (most recently the High Jump in Beijing). She is training for the Heptathlon in London 2012. Her personality was warm, funny and she told us that she trains 5 hours per day (wow!). It was an honor to meet her.

The weather in Vancouver, BC is absolutely dream like – sunny and clear. It couldn’t be a better week to visit this world-class city.

This afternoon, we had lunch at the Four Host First Nations. We also witnessed traditional aboriginal dancing from the region. The dancers told their story through song and dancing. The presentation was memorable. And, our day is only half way done! Tonight, we go to the Granville Island Urban Showcase for a tour and dinner. Tomorrow is business education about how to do business in B.C., an Olympic Showcase tour and then on to the Speed Skating (Men’s 1,500) event and finally, the Richmond Olympic Live site (and the Holland Heineken Olympic house) for the evening. We aren’t scheduled to be done until late tomorrow night so I’ll be posting photos to Twitter throughout the day and then update the blog on Sunday. Until then, happy soaping!

Saudi trip to Aramco

January 25, 2010 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

I’m writing this from our long layover in London; I know it’s not as timely as it could be but I wanted you to share in the incredible, once-in-a-lifetime experience at the Saudi Arabia Aramco refinery. We head back to Seattle today and it’s not a minute too soon – I’m homesick!

We had a massive treat a couple days ago. We got out of the hotel by 5:30 a.m. to catch a private corporate jet (yep, that’s the plane in the top photo) to the Saudi Aramco oil fields. The Aramco team flew our entire Entrepreneur’s group across the country to tour their oil fields and learn more about their company.

According to the presentation, Saudi is facing a massive problem. My memory is a teensy bit fuzzy but the demographic information for Saudi’s future will be challenging for them: 70% of the population is supported by 30% of the population and within 10 (?) years, over 50% of the population will be under the age of 18 with no jobs in sight (since Saudi Arabia doesn’t export anything besides oil). Aramco used the opportunity encourage the entrepreneurs in the group to partner with them in their Innovation Zones. They import a lot of industrial products for their oil fields and would like to manufacture those products in-country (to help produce jobs for future generations).

The official line is the Saudi government partnered and purchased Aramco from their U.S. counterparts back in the ’70s. Some of the locals told me that they actually “appropriated” Aramco from a US based company back in the ‘70s for under market value. The truth probably lies someplace in the middle. Today, Aramco produces 1/10th of the world’s crude oil every single day. Their last plant cost multiple billions to build (memory is foggy but I think it was $2 billion) and they repaid it within four months. Saudi Aramco is thought to be (by far) the world’s most profitable company.

We were given a once in a lifetime opportunity to climb the sand dunes at Shaybah oil fields. We all kicked off our shoes and climbed the sand dunes and watched the sunset from these massive sand dunes. Climbing sand dunes is a lot of work (very, very physically taxing) but was so very worth it. It was breath taking and incredibly peaceful.

The Saudi Aramco company prides itself on being a “Little America” so they allow women to work with men and women can drive. When we got to our second destination of the day (three flights on the private jets – it wasn’t much of a hardship), the Aramco men greeting our plane INSISTED the women take off our abayas. Since we typically have understood that we will very much offend the locals and be under possibility of imprisonment if we are caught out in public
without our head coverings and abaya coverings, we were quite hesitant but the Saudi Aramco men wanted us to understand that they are ‘different’ at Saudi Aramco and welcomed us to wear our western-style garb. Even then, several of the women still left theirs on.

This permissive attitude only went so far however. When I asked, in a public Q & A session, if the women and children are allowed to live with the 700 worker men who work in this very very very remote section of Saudi, the man feigned puzzlement and said “Thank you for your comment.” Still having the mic, I said, “No, that’s a question. Are women and families allowed to stay with their husbands in your staff housing?”

He looked at me sideways, barked a short laugh, turned his back to me and said “No. No women. It’s very simple!” And when we were boarding the plane to go home, one of the women put her abaya on as she was cold and he said to her “Ah, you look much prettier in that.”

The trip to Aramco was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I am so thankful that we were given the opportunity. And, if I could only figure out how to manufacture one of the parts that the Aramco company needs, I would be one happy businesswoman. I wonder if I can convince them that they need a lot of handmade soap?

Saudi Arabia is Going Straight to My Hips…

January 22, 2010 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Greetings from Saudi! It’s going exceedingly well, despite some surprising cultural norms around the way women dress and are treated (separate eating areas, separate meeting rooms etc). Being in Saudi has been a bit of a shock with all of the women in their burkas and abayas. It’s odd not to see women working in shops or driving. Women are still not allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia and up until a few months ago, they could not work in shops where men worked (‘mixing’ was illegal and now is just heavily frowned upon). That said, there are some incredible parts of the culture that are heart warming (emphasis on family is strong) and some surprising – like, they have Krispy Kremes here! It’s like an oasis in the desert to see American comfort food. In fact, we ate at a ‘South of the Border’ Mexican joint last night. That was hilarious. Saudi Arabia is a ‘dry’ country – no alcohol at ALL in the entire country yet look at the ‘chandelier’. It’s made out of empty beer bottles that they can’t drink here. And the coaster? Is it a ‘margarita’ if there is soley Lime Juice and a salt rim?

Food is another big part of the culture here. I’ve been eating a lot. It probably has to do with the no-waist abaya; there’s no waistband to remind me I’ve eaten too much. This is just a small fraction of the desserts that we had at one of our first functions here. Doesn’t it all look insanely good?

In our Hilton (a little liberal oasis), they have a small little non-head-scarf wearing area for the American women (though we do have to sit on our women’s section for all the educational classes behind one-way mirrors; we can see the men and the speaker but they can’t see us). My husband and I were able to meet some local dignitaries (as evidenced by their golden robes). My husband’s company does work in Saudi Arabia so it was great to strengthen his relationships in the country.

The head scarf is a strange thing for me to wear. I’ve always been an exceedingly opinionated, strong willed woman. To not have men look me in the eyes or take my order at restaurants is a new experience. My husband is always by my side on this trip as women traditionally are accompanied by a man. When we were in the hotel lobby the first day, I turned around and my husband lost me. With me turned around, I looked like every other woman in the lobby. He found me again, surprise, confusion and a whiff of panic in his eyes, “I thought I lost you. You can’t tell who you are from behind.”

Another difference here is that there are separate sections in restaurants for women & children and then one just for the men. My husband typically is the only man in the area. Many of the of the other men have left their women and children in the ‘family’ area and are seated by themselves in the ‘men only’ area. It’s just one of the interesting and different cultural norms that I am getting used to.

As if the schedules didn’t keep us busy enough, the internet is quite spotty and expensive in our room. I’ve been missing Facebook, Twitter and interacting with friends and customers on this blog and the Teach Soap forum. It’s yet another thing I took for granted in the States. I’ll try to post another update on Sunday. Until then, happy soaping! =)

On the Way to Saudi

January 16, 2010 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Greetings from London’s Heathrow Airport where my husband and I have just toured the airport, via multiple buses, for the last three hours. The giant tour was unintentional. We have a 7 hour layover and had heard of a ‘Yotel’ – a short stay sleeping pod – in Terminal 4. We chased the rumor down, with the aid of the Yotel website and several kindly (but misinformed) airport employees, only to find that we had to leave passport control to get to the sleeping pods and that it might take up to 3 hours to get back to our gate. So, no Yotel for us.

We fly through the night tonight to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and arrive at 4 a.m. By that time, we will have flown through two different nights in two different time zones (Washington State night and London night). We are already flagging a bit but are still in high spirits. Though I am not wearing my abaya yet, I will be sporting the fashionable garb before I step off the plane in Jeddah.

I am looking forward to the learning and education that the Entrepreneur’s Organization has planned for us and hoping to be able to blog from my trip but if not, you’re in good hands with Amber who will be supervising and writing the blog while I am gone. As for me, I’ll have the sleepless-night-on-plane thing down pretty well by the time we land.

Nellie Cashman Awards – We Won!

October 11, 2009 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

The 2009 Nellie Cashman Businesswoman of the Year event was a once-in-a-lifetime party. The entire process started back in early 2009 when nominations for the award were taken. All the nominees spoke at an early morning breakfast, filled out many essay questions and then waited as the judges went through all the applications. When I was chosen in the final five nominees, it was an exciting day! The judges then went over our business history with a fine toothed comb. They called customer references (thank you to Joanna from ProductBody and Debbie from SoapyLove for vouching for me as customers of Bramble Berry). They also called our lawyer and our accountant and asked for tax returns to confirm all the information in the applications. Nominees were judged on our entrepreneurial spirit (35%), ethics and community spirit (25%), financial and management skill (20%) and the difficulty and risk we have endured to achieve success (20%). The other fabulous finalists were Kathy Casey, Marcia Ives, Julie Tappero, Mari Eriksson.

Before the big event (held at the Fairmont Hotel in Seattle with 350 well dressed people in attendance), there were many opportunities to get to know the other Nellie finalists better. We did panel interviews for the Women Business Owners group, an interview with Chat with Women and had lots of opportunities to interact. All the nominees are incredible women – inspiring, unique, community-minded and whip-smart. One of them (Mari) runs a bead company. I’ve made earrings a few times but when I went into her store to make my necklace for the big night, I felt like a kid in a candy store. And who knows, I may have found a new addiction!

One of my stressors about the evening was the six minute speech that all the nominees had the privilege of giving. It’s stressful to speech in public, no matter how much you do it, and this night was particularly nerve wracking. My whole family was in attendance, friends from the Women President’s Organization were there and several of my business mentors were there. My biggest fear was crying up on the stage. Thankfully, the Nellie committee hired a speech coach to help all the nominees on their speeches and Jean Hamilton helped put my racing heart and fearful mind at ease. I didn’t cry. I made it through the speech and even got applause through out the speech (well, in fairness, my Dad and my Husband were applauded but that’s close enough).

Though I had a wonderful support network there to celebrate Bramble Berry and everything that our team has accomplished over the years, I was not expecting to win. In fact, I had told my entire family that it would be a fun party but that there was “no way” I would win up against such an incredible group of women. When they called my name, I was shocked. I had been so confident that I would not win that I hadn’t written an acceptance speech (seriously). I managed to speak coherently for a few minutes about how important it was that women continue to help women through mentoring and collaboration, thanking my family and the Bramble Berry team and acknowledging the other incredible women nominated for the Nellie.

And then, I floated off the stage. It was one of the best nights of my life. To have my family and friends all together in one room, celebrating our successes and then to be acknowledged for the hard work that Bramble Berry puts into helping other women achieve their goals was a once in a lifetime, epic evening.

Do you know someone in Washington State who qualifies? Nominate them next year!

Nellie Cashman Award Qualifications.
Nominations are accepted from businesswomen who meet the following criteria:

Nominee must be a current woman business owner with headquarters in the Puget Sound Area (King, Snohomish, Whatcom, Pierce & Kitsap Counties).
Nominee must be primarily responsible for the financial performance of her business.
The business must gross over $1,000,000 and have at least 3 employees.
The business must have been in operation for at least 5 years.
Nominee must have greater than 50% equity ownership in her business, unless the company is publicly held. If the company is publicly held, the nominee must be the original founder or purchaser and be actively involved in the company’s day-to-day management.

Learn more about the WBO (Woman Business Owners) and Nelli HERE

Nellie Cashman Awards tonight!

October 8, 2009 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

I can’t wait to share with you who won and photos from the evening. The awards banquet is tonight (eek!) and I’ll be blogging it up with photos and tidbits by Monday at the latest. I am sooooo excited for tonight’s dinner. My whole family will be there, along with my business mentor Charlie Billow from Charlie’s Produce and Bramble Berry’s COO, Norman. It’s going to be a night to remember for sure. I have to give a six minute talk in front of 350 people and have butterflies already … But right now, I’ve got to make it down to Seattle for a full day of meetings before the awards ceremony starts. I haven’t forgotten it’s ‘Tutorial Thursday’ though – expect one later today!

Nellie Cashman Award Luncheon

September 16, 2009 Filed Under: Business Musings

Greetings from Seattle! I’m down here for the Nellie Cashman Awards Luncheon, meeting with the genius Melody from CraveParty and then getting interviewed by the ‘Chat with Women‘ radio show later today. It’s a jam packed day.

I’m honored to be a finalist for the Nellie Cashman Award. T he Nellie Cashman award recognizes and honors women business owners who have enhanced the status of women entrepreneurs through their vision, perseverance and fearless, relentless leadership in business and the community. There are five nominees (pictured above) and we’re already getting nervous for the speeches we need to give at the awards gala. Supposedly, there will be an audience of 350 people (eek!) and we each get 5 minutes to talk (double eek – that’s a long time!).

Right now, I’m waiting to meet with Melody from CraveParty. She is a phenomonal businesswoman; a definite force. I’m excited to hear what she’s been up to. Last time we met, we shared social media strategies and the importance of building supportive community for women owned businesses.

The Chat with Women radio show later today is for all five Nellie finalists. We’re going to be discussion the following questions:

1. Tell us about your company?

2. What was the reason you started your own business?

3. What is your secret to success?

4. What has been your biggest challenge and how did you solve it?

5. If a women from Women Business Owners called you and ask you what was your most important lesson – what would it be?

It’s going to be a lot of talking in one fast hour! And in case you’re wondering, there is no ‘secret’ to success. It’s a combo of luck, being in the right place at the right time, a great support network and loads of hard work. I have a big announcement to share with you later tonight and I can’t to get home and tell you about it.

Frozen with Indecision

July 24, 2009 Filed Under: Business Musings

Yesterday, I spoke at the Women Business Owner’s monthly luncheon for a panel focused on driving a growth oriented business in a difficult economy. The Women Business Owner’s group meets at the Washington Athletic Club in Seattle on the last Thursday of the month and exists to “propel resolute women entrepreneurs to embrace their fullest vision of success”

The panel primarily focused on the realities of doing business in an economy with sticky credit markets (banks aren’t lending without lots of hoop jumping), scared customers (people aren’t spending money because they’re worried about stability), and jumpy vendors (vendors are requesting pre-payment for orders when typically Net 90 would have sufficed).

Some really great advice came out of the panel discussion:

1. Run the numbers – Assuming you can find a bank to lend to you, don’t take money that you’re not 100% sure you can pay back. Funding losses through a credit line has never been wise and it’s especially unfortunate in our current economy.

2. Keep an eye on the Cost of Goods Sold – Watch your margins. Don’t sell for a loss. You’re not Wal-Mart and can’t afford to have loss leaders.

3. Marketing matters – Ignore social media at your peril. Reach out to customers any and every way that they will have you.

4. Don’t cut across the board – Foolish companies cut across the board. Really foolish companies cut where their customers notice. Be strategic with your cuts thinking 2 to 4 years ahead of time.

5. No one is going to save you – If you’re waiting for your white horse & handsome prince to come in and look at your books, tell you what to do and hold your hand through the whole business process, Dede Henley told us, ‘Don’t hold your breath. He’s not coming.’ Take charge of your destiny. Learn how to run your company. Do the stuff you don’t want to do. Find a mentor to guide you through the rest.

6. Action Matters – My strong belief and the message I tried to convey is that action – any action – is better than no action. Do not look out into the world at large and fret about things that you cannot control (the economy, peak oil, rising sea levels etc…). Focus on the things you can control in your sphere of influence.

You can take charge of your destiny by creating a small business that you build one customer at a time. You can take charge of your quality of life by committing to a fitness routine. You can take charge of the depth of your relationships by committing to authenticity and deep connection with your family and friends. You can take charge of how you react to outwardly disappointing circumstances.

If you want to have a great business in two years, what steps do you need to start taking right now to create a stable and predictable sales cycle? Do you have your Big Hairy Audacious Goal (a la Jim Collins)? Have you broken it down? What are you doing right now, today, to make sure that you’re successful and rising above the rest in the future. Don’t be frozen with indecision. Take small baby steps until you reach your first workable goal. Then, just like a mountain climber going from camp to camp, start putting one foot in front of the other until your next goal is achieved. You can do it. The secret to success isn’t a secret at all – it’s try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try again. And then, try some more.

Don’t be a time manager, be a priority manager. Cut your major goals into bite-sized pieces. Each small priority or requirement on the way to ultimate goal become a mini goal in itself.

–Denis Waitley

I’ve posted many blogs on setting and achieving goals. You can review them all here.

Need a Microwave for Palm Springs

May 6, 2009 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Are you headed to Palm Springs next week for the Handmade Soap Guild Conference? Would you like my undying gratitude? If you answered ‘yes’ to both of those questions, read on. If you’re not going or just not all that enthused about my unwavering devotion, you can quit reading now.

I am teaching a super, duper hands on Advanced Lotion class. We’ll be making 5 recipes (and pouring them each into 100 little jars making for a grand total of 500 jars of lotion per class) in just 1 hour.

To make this sort of magic happen, I desperately need a 2nd microwave for the class. Thanks to SoapyLove driving a microwave to Palm Springs for me, I have one. But I need a second.

Do you live in Palm Springs? Are you driving there for the Soap Guild Show? Can you bring me a microwave? Email me if you can – info(at)brambleberry(dot)com and gain my eternal gratitude and maybe even one of our fabulous Bath Bomb Cupcake kits….