Vered Neta's Blog, page 12

10 Steps in Bringing Back Old Clients

At some point or another, all businesses lose a client, and so all businesses need to know how to bring back clients that stopped buying.  It may take a little bit of hard work, but winning back an old client will be worth it in the end.

1)    Review the project or sale.  Find out from your end exactly if anything went wrong—and if it did, take the necessary steps to ensure it won’t happen again.

2)    Contact the client with gentleness and respect.  Don’t be overly aggressive, or make assumptions about your customer’s feelings or point of view. Try to feel them out to see why they left. The reason could be simple—they could have relocated, cut their budget, or had a genuine problem with your product or service.

3)    If there was a problem, find out what went wrong from their perspective.  Maybe they have implicitly laid this out for you in the past, but go over it with them again.  Understand where they are coming from.  Give them your attention for as long as it takes to fully describe the problem. You can’t expect to bring back clients that stopped buying if you don’t know why they left.

4)    Get them up to speed.  Inform them of the changes you made in step 1 and assure them that any additional changes will also be made promptly.  Don’t promise what you can’t deliver though, or you risk ruining the relationship completely.  If you have many small customers, public announcements or mailings make work for this step; otherwise make it a face to face meeting.

5)    Offer an incentive.  Most consumers can’t resist a deal.  Give them something to tempt them back into your fold.  One of the best ways to bring back clients that stopped buying is to give them an irresistible reason to come back. Think of it as an investment in the future of your business.

6)    Open up lines of communication for the duration of the project.  Give the client your direct cell number or a few different ways to reach you.  That way they will be assured that you are available to handle any further difficulties. Personal service and attention is a great way to bring back clients that stopped buying.

7)    Consider milestones or review periods.  If it works for your type of business, set up periodic reviews of the project beforehand.  This will let the client know that both of you will be keeping tabs on the job all the way through.

8)    Resell your business to them.  In may seem repetitive, but go over all of the reasons they should buy from you again.  Remind them of what you can deliver.  Use positive references if possible.

9)    Offer them an out.  Different than the incentives you can give them, this works more like a guarantee.  Make the project as risk free an option as possible for them.  If they have little to lose in trying you again, they are more likely to do so.

10)  Ensure that your business will deliver with no further issues.  Strengthen the backbone of your business.  Double check that everything related to the project will happen well and on time.  Follow through with all promises you’ve made, and follow up when the project is complete.

Trying to bring back clients that stopped buying can be a difficult proposition for your business.  But the process and the end result are beneficial, and a satisfied customer is the best advertising you can get.

Now I’m curious…

What ways have you found work best to bring back old clients?

Share with us in, the comment box below, your tips, experience and ideas of how to bring back clients ? 

If you find this article inspiring, please SHARE it on Facebook, LinkedIn or retweet it, by pushing the button on the left, for the right channel, so more women could benefit from it.

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Have a magical week! Vered

A-Z of Crowdfunding

After last week’s Blog post about Crowdfunding, many of you have written and said: “OK I understand how powerful crowdfunding can be for my business, but how do I start with crowdfunding campaign?”

Crowdfunding is a long difficult road, but by following the A to Z of crowdfunding, you will be able to pursue and achieve a successful project.

A – Ask everyone you know for help.

B – Begin early. The preliminary stages of your project are vital.

C – Collaborate with your friends.  You might get help from unexpected sources.

D – Deliver on time. When you set a timeline, deliver.

E – Explain your goals clearly. People want to know what you’re doing and what they’re getting.

F – Focus on the successes, instead of the failings.

G – Give value to your potential funders in the form of rewards and a unique product.

H – Have a backup plan. If all else fails, you’ll know what to do.

I – Innovate. No one wants an average project.

J – Just do it. Don’t procrastinate.

K – Know your crowd. Not everyone will buy your product. Find out who will.

L – Let your product sell itself. You will do this by having a great product and marketing plan.

M – Make it easy for people to support you with clear calls-to-action and many ways to support you.

N – Navigate before taking action. Plan so you won’t get lost in the process.

O – Open your eyes to new ways to sell and market.

P – Prepare correspondence beforehand. You will be sending email blasts, writing copy, and making videos. Have it ready for game time.

Q – Question your shortcomings. You’re not perfect. By questioning your shortcomings you can find solutions.

R – Read up on the statistics. See what the margins are in your niche, and sketch out a numbers plan.

S - Self promote. You are the best salesman of your own product.

T – Turn your perspective around. Look at things from the consumer and investors side. It may be hard to objective when viewing your project, but the more objective you are the better you will be able to relate to your potential funders.

U – Understand your marketing platforms. Depending on your niche, your marketing platforms will vary. Know where the best places are to sell.

V – Vary your copy. Since you may be selling to different “crowds” you can’t sell your product the same way to everyone. Varying your copy is a way to market in a hyper-relevant way.

W – Write down your project description so it would be up to 30-seconds. Ever heard of an elevator pitch? If you can’t explain your project in 30-seconds, then it’ll be tough to keep the attention of your consumers.

X – X out excess. This goes along with writing down your project. Don’t be excessive when explain your project. While you may be excited about all the technical details, you’ve got to remember that you’re creating this campaign for others.

Y – Yearn for success.

Z – Zeal. If you do not approach your project with passion and zeal, then apathy will take over. Be strong in your convictions and even stronger in your commitment to your crowdfunding campaign.

So there you have the A to Z of crowdfunding. A successful crowdfunding campaign is about all of these things and more.

If you wish to learn more in-depth about how to do successful crowdfunding join us in our 2-day event about crowdfunding or get our crowdfunding online course and receive 2 tickets for our event.

Now I’m curious…

Which of those steps (A-Z) you feel you need more explanation about?

Share with us in the comment box below – Which step you’ll need to focus on and learn more about?

If you find this article inspiring, please SHARE it on Facebook, LinkedIn or retweet it, by pushing the button on the left, for the right channel, so more women could benefit from it.

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Have a magical week! Vered

How to Get Rid of Your Fear of Failure

I was sitting with my sister and her partner (in business) and brainstorming a new idea that we had for creating a new program for women in business that wish to create a breakthrough in their business.

Both my sister and her business partner are having a business more than 8 years. However, they still feel that they “don’t know enough” in order to truly create a breakthrough and become as big and as successful as they think they could be.

We were talking and I was describing all kinds of ways that in today’s New Economy women can benefit so much and grow their business, IF (and that is a big IF) they would let go of their concepts and ideas about what is business, how you do business, what it takes in order to be successful in business etc..

As I was talking to them and mentioned a few of the possibilities that the New Economy had opened to us (such as social media = relationship marketing and not push marketing; crowdsourcing = collaboration and not competition; crowdfunding = community and not “on my own” and more), as I was talking about it my sister said something that made me stop.

She said – “But with all due respect Vered, before I would use any of those techniques I need to make sure that I would not fail in them because if I fail… what would my clients think about me, worse, I would feel like a failure and would not have the energy and courage to keep on going”

Does that sound familiar to you?

So many women are so scared of trying out new ways of doing business under the excuse of “I don’t know enough about it, I better go and learn it before I try it out”

I’m not against learning. On the contrary I think learning is crucial for your growth. However, when it comes to business the best learning you could have is…. DOING!!!

Too many women are trapped in this vicious circle where they keep telling themselves they don’t know enough and they need to keep on learning before doing anything.

When it comes to business, especially today, when everything is changing so fast, you need to learn WHILE doing.

No more 3 years study before you try a new technique, a new strategy a new method. Research it, take a course and then… go out and try it out.

That would be your best learning ever!

The only reason you are not willing to do it is your fear of …FAILURE!

So let’s start treating failure in a different way.

Start treating failure as a scientist.

How does a scientist treat failure? And what can we learn from their approach?

When a scientist runs an experiment, there are all sorts of results that could happen. Some results are positive and some are negative, but all of them are data points. Each result is a piece of data that can ultimately lead to an answer.

And that’s exactly how a scientist treats failure: as another data point.

This is much different than how society often talks about failure. For most of us, failure feels like an indication of who we are as a person.

Failing a test means you’re not smart enough. Failing to get fit means you’re undesirable.

Failing in business means you don’t have what it takes. Failing at art means you’re not creative. And so on.

But for the scientist, a negative result is not an indication that they are a bad scientist. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Proving a hypothesis wrong is often just as useful as proving it right because you learned something along the way.

Your failures are simply data points that can help lead you to the right answer.

None of this is to say that you should seek to make mistakes or that failing is fun.

But failure will always be part of your growth for one simple reason…

If you’re focused on building a new habit or learning a new skill or mastering a craft of any type, then you’re basically experimenting in one way or another. And if you run enough experiments, then sometimes you’re going to get a negative result.

This way of looking at failure as an experiment has helped A LOT these last few weeks. If I would not have this attitude I would have probably not have started our new and amazing adventure, I would be still stuck in the fear and would overlook all the possibilities and opportunities that are staring me in the eyes.

Nisandeh and I are experimenting something new.

You probably heard and read about our new crowdfunding campaign. We researched and learned about crowdfunding for the past 18 months and what we found was so HUGE, we realized we MUST share it with our community.

What we discovered about crowdfuding is going to revolutionize everything you ever thought you knew (or didn’t know) about marketing, crowdfunding and business.

But we need your support! 

So, here is my invitation to you –  join us in OUR new experiment!

I’ve come to realize that NOTHING in today’s New Marketing is as powerful as crowdfunding. Nisandeh and I are on a mission to create the ultimate Crowdfunding mastery course, and we need YOUR support to make it a success.

We want to teach you step-by-step how YOU can benefit from this powerful method and take YOUR business to the next level. We want to teach you WHILE doing it.

Join us on this exciting adventure and support us in any way that fits you.

Now I’m curious…

What would you do if you knew there is NO FAILURE?

Share with us in, the comment box below, what projects, products or services would you develop? 

As a thank-you gift for your comment I will send you a special gift – a FREE ticket to our one-time event Mastering the New Marketing where you would learn more how you could co-create anything with your audience.

If you find this article inspiring, please SHARE it on Facebook, LinkedIn or retweet it, by pushing the button on the left, for the right channel, so more women could benefit from it.

Please share this article with your:



- LinkedIn connections
and blog readers...

Have a magical week! Vered

Why Crowd-funding is the Ultimate Win-Win

Last week I was showing you how successful women are on crowd-funding platforms and I urged you to start thinking of having your own crowd-funding project.

Crowd-funding is probably the BEST marketing strategy you can use today in your business. It is not about raising the money (although that’s a BIG part of it), it is about growing your business.

I got many responds from women asking me in one-way or another – “But why would anyone support me, my product or my service?” or “Wouldn’t it be showing I’m not successful, if I ask for money from people?”

If you had one of those thoughts it means you’re not yet clear about the New Economy and how business is done today.

The New Economy is all about creating trust and long-term relationship with your audience. It’s about friendships and co-creation and cooperating between you and your audience.

Crowd-funding is not about asking for favors, it’s not about being “needy”, it’s about taking your business to the next level WITH your audience.

To make it clear, for those of you who are still puzzled why would anyone give money to you?

If you are in business and you’ve already have some sales, you already got money from someone else!

The only difference is that now you get the money BEFORE you deliver the product or service. No body is going to give you money because you are “nice” or because they “like” you.

More than any other marketing technique; crowd-funding will show you who REALLY likes your product/service and who is paying you a lip service. In crowd-funding those that like you would have to “put their money where their mouth is”.

The question is how are you going to do it in a way, which is a win-win for everyone?

The other concept in the New Economy is that in order for it to be successful it has to be a win-win for everyone who is involved.

In order for you to make it clear for your audience that there is a win for them, you’ll need to take most of the risks on you and lower the risks that they might have. What it would mean is that you need to GIVE much more than they should risk at the start.

How does it work in crowd-funding?

In crowd-funding for EVERY donation you give, even from the lowest one (€5), to the most expensive one, you get rewards. Those rewards are delivered once the project is finished!

This is a great way where you offer OTHER products or service for a VERY special price for those who are supporting you.

In that way your audience gets an opportunity to receive special offers with special deals that before they might not have been able to purchase, while you get their support in your new project.

For example in our crowd-funding project, which we have started yesterday, you can get the 2-days event Crowdfunding Secretes, where we explain everything you need to know about creating a successful crowd-funding campaign.

The tickets for this event are €990, but you can get them when you pay only €100! Can you think of any discount that would be better than that?

Another example is our Crowdfunding Mastery Course, an online course where we teach you step-by-step how to do a successful crowd-funding campaign. We lead you by the hand and you have this course for a life-time, which means that there is no time limit to it. You can follow the course whenever you want to do the campaign AND you can repeat it as many times as you wish.

The normal price of this course is €1,250 and you can get it when you pay only…€250! As a special bonus on top of it you also get 2 tickets to the LIVE event!

Click here to learn more on our Crowdfunding Mastery course on Indiegogo

As you can see, it’s not as if people that support the crowd-funding are just giving money because of their good heart, they give money in order to get back something, which is the definition of any sales and business.

Your job in a successful crowd-funding is to give your audience products and services that they truly need and want and that could help them in their challenges and get them closer to their dreams.

This is the reason that I say that crowd-funding is the ultimate win-win technique. Your audience get much more than they expected to get (over deliver) and you get their involvement and cooperation both in fund and in advertisement for you.

The question you should ask yourself now is… how can I create a successful crowd-funding campaign?

I invite you to join us on this amazing adventure in creating the ultimate crowdfunding mastery course in Indiegogo and learn how to take your business to the next level with crowd-funding.

I truly think this course is going to change your business and would help you bring it to the next level.

Meanwhile…

Share with us in the comment box below – What project or product would you use crowdfunding in your business?

As a thank-you gift for your comment I will send you a special gift – a FREE ticket to our one-time event about crowdsourcing (Mastering the New Marketing) where you learn more how you could co-create anything with your audience and the principles of the New Marketing

AND… if you take us on our offer for the 2-day event Crowdfunding Secrets OR our LIFE-TIME ACCESS to our Crowdfunding Mastery course (click here for details) BEFORE midnight (September 3) you will get a FREE VIP upgrade for the Crowd Funding Secrets training (upgrade worth € 990)

If you find this article inspiring, please SHARE it on Facebook, LinkedIn or retweet it, by pushing the button on the left, for the right channel, so more women could benefit from it.

Please share this article with your:



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Have a magical week! Vered

Have a magical life, Vered

Lessons From Successful Women on Kickstarter

Have you ever thought or said, I can’t really make my business big since I don’t have enough money to invest in it?

Have you ever thought, or said: “If only I could find someone that would invest in my business until I make it truly big?

Have you ever wondered how can I get some OPM, (no, not opium), but Other People’s Money?

Well, you’re not the first businesswoman to say it.

One of the most heard excuses for women not taking their business to the next level is lack of funding.

Now, although it is true that women are lagging behind when it comes to obtaining investors, whether venture capital or angel funding (if you have no clue what this means, go check it out! It’s part of your financial IQ!), truth be told that today, there is another way of obtaining those funds you might need for your next project, product or service you wish to launch.

Not only it’s a new way of getting funded women are more successful in this new method of funding than men.

I’m talking about crowd-funding.

Women entrepreneurs do better on crowd-funding sites, such as Kickstarter, because women tend to launch businesses with less financing than men and thus have higher rate of success in achieving the goals they state.

On Kickstarter, women even outperform men in areas where they are underrepresented, such as gaming and technology, because they attract support from women who are activists who want to reach out and help other women.

Crowd-funding is not ONLY about raising money for your business. It is about using this platform as a marketing tool for your business.

I believe the reason women are more successful on Kickstarter and other crowd-funding platforms, is not because they are asking for less money (although some of them have raised more than a million!), it is because this platform is naturally fitting the way women do business.

Crowd-funding is the New Economy in it’s best. It is using the New Marketing to the fullest and creating something, which is bigger than just one person or one company or one product. It is about co-creation.

Women have always worked best in cooperation and in supportive environment; crowd-funding uses it to its ultimate success.

Crowd-funding works best with social media and women are much more active and more responsive on social media, which means that it gives you a higher chance of making it happen.

Now, If you are reading this and telling yourself: “well, this is all nice and interesting, but this is not relevant for MY business, or in MY industry or, my business is too SMALL for anyone to fund it” you are missing the point!

If you are still in doubt whether crowd-funding is for you here are 7 successful women entrepreneurs who have used Kickstarter to fund their projects.

Have a look at their projects and realize that it can be done in ANY business, ANY size of company and for ANY idea that you might have.

Music – Amanda Palmer is a musician, and in many ways, an unorthodox musician.

She defies all rules and has chosen NOT to connect to the traditional channels of producing records and music.

For her latest album she asked for $100,00 and she got… $1,192,793!

When you watch her campaign notice how she involves more than just her own project, but also other people’s art and allow them to be exposed.

Design & Technology – Tan Le is heading a company that has developed a revolutionary technology that translates EEG into meaningful data you can understand.

For her latest She asked for $100,000 she got… $1,163,117!

Notice in her project how she involves her audience in feedback on the design and the technology to improve it and make it better.

Games – This is one of my favorite projects on Kickstarter. Debbie Sterling was an engineer who realized that if we want to have more women in engineering and technology we need to start it in an early age with… girls!

She decided to create a game that would develop the skills and interest in girls for engineering.

She asked for $150,000 she got….$285,882! And a new era of games for girls was born…

Notice in her project how she stress the point of creating a different world and what her vision is about through this game (product) and not focusing on the product.

Film & Video – Taryn Brumfitt is on a mission to change women’s opinion about their body.

She wanted to create a feature length documentary that will unite women across the globe to love their bodies and interview and film women in Australia, USA, Canada and Germany.

She asked for $200,000 (AUD) and she got… $331,046 (AUD)

Notice in her project how she stresses her big WHY, which is making a difference in women’s lives.

Fashion – Julie Sygiel is a fashion designer who loves Yoga and sports.

She developed a new fabric and created a new design for Yoga pants that are better fit for those specific sports, which women would feel better in them, no matter what size or form is their body.

She needed the funds in order to produce the first batch of pants.

She asked for $15,000 she got… $158,933! (That’s more than 10 times more!)

Notice in her project how she emphasizes that everything they have developed is due to listening to their clients and getting feedback from them what are their challenges with what exist today and what do they want.

Crafts – are you an artist and you think all this is not relevant for you? Well have a look at this project of Lisa Glover. She created a fun and engaging paper dinosaur creation that inspires imagination! A toy, a learning tool, a challenge, and so much more!

She asked for $8,000 and she got…. $110,882

Notice in her project how she makes her design more than just art, but into a game and learning one!

Theater – OK, you might be saying, but I’m in the non-profit sector (although many women entrepreneurs are also in the non-profit sector… they have a business, but no profit!). How can Kickstarter or any other crowd-funding platform help me?

Susan Evans was the manager of the Blue Mouse movie theater and due to change of regulations of the movie distributors they needed to raise money in order to keep the movie theater running.

She asked for $75,000 and she got… $84,194!

Have a look at this project of saving a movie theater house in Tacoma Washington and learn how you can rally a whole community and get their support on your personal cause.

I think after having a look at those projects the only question you have is – how can I run a successful crowd-funding campaign?

We’re (Nisandeh and I) here to help you with it.

For the past 14 months we’ve studied intensely the crowd funding world and participated in several crowd funding projects and helped them become super-successful.

We want YOU to learn and harvest the benefits of this amazing platform. We want to teach YOU how you can stand out and be ahead of your game, by embracing this platform and achieving much more than just funding, which this platform can give you.

On September 1st (2014), we’re going to start a 30-day crowd-funding campaign to prove that it works, not just as a concept, but also in the Real World.

When you choose to join us on this adventure you’ll have the opportunity of seeing how it works every step of the process (before, during and after) as well as taking an active part in the campaign.

As you know, even a thousand miles journey begins with the first step, so here is your first step…

Take a moment and ask me, in the comment box below, ANY question you want us to answer about crowd-funding. We will answer this question, either in a blog post or in our special event about crowd funding, which will take place in the Ahoy.

As soon as you post your question in the comment box – I will send you a special gift – a FREE ticket to our one-time event about crowdsourcing where you would learn more how you could co-create anything with your audience.

Share with us in, the comment box below,  your your question about crowd-funding?

If you find this article inspiring, please SHARE it on Facebook, LinkedIn or retweet it, by pushing the button on the left, for the right channel, so more women could benefit from it.

Please share this article with your:



- LinkedIn connections
and blog readers...

Have a magical week! Vered

 

The Importance of Saying NO

In my previous blog post I’ve asked you what would you need to learn in order to take your business to the next level.

It was great to get your answers. What struck me most was that most of the things that you mentioned all had to do with Personal Development and not about business!

It’s as if the most challenging factor in your business is… YOU!

I was delighted to read it due to the fact that I’ve always said that your business will only be as big as you!

One of the biggest obstacles most solopreneurs have is their inability to say NO to people.

This is even stronger when it comes to women entrepreneurs.

Are you one of those women who has hard time saying NO?

It doesn’t matter how confidant you might be, it doesn’t matter how assertive you’ve taught yourself to be, somehow in our gene pool there is this part that wants to please everyone and serve and help ALL humanity.

As women we are raised on the notion that we need to support and help our fellow brothers and sisters on planet Earth. We are being rewarded for being “nice” and “good girls” for going far and beyond everyone else in helping and supporting different causes.

No wonder that as we grow old we build our self-esteem and notion of success based on how many people we’ve helped and how many projects we agreed taking on our plate.

This trend in business can be a blessing and a curse. Yes, your business will profit and grow when you serve and help as many people as possible. However, that does not mean that you need to work with ANYONE!

Unfortunately due to fact that you were raised to say YES to everything and jump to help anyone, you are willing to work with anyone that has a pulse and a wallet.

This habit of saying YES to every client that comes your way is not going to serve you in the long run.

First, it lowers your self-confidence when you are not aligned with your values and purpose, when you take everyone.

Secondly, your perceived value for your marketplace is lowered when you do not differentiate yourself from others.

There has to come a time when you’ll have to decide that a new client or a new project just isn’t a good fit. You know the ones I’m talking about.

You can feel it in your whole body even in the first meeting. But, that voice from old times that sits in your head is saying to you: “hey, they said they would pay”, (usually after lowering your price) so you took the work.

It can be frightening to do, but nothing will be better for you or the prospective client than your ability to size up a project and decline it if it doesn’t fit.

You can save yourself the headaches that you know come with trying to make what you do fit into someone else’s view of what you. Another funny thing about this approach is it makes you even more appealing.

When you turn a client down for the right reasons, suggesting that maybe someone else has a better solution, your credibility will skyrocket.

In fact, the prospective client may transform right before your eyes as you demonstrate that you are so trustworthy you won’t simply take their money and run.

Of course in order for this strategy to be of any value to you, you must know, without a doubt, your precise ideal client profile and the unique value you have to offer. With these two things in hand you will always be able to say no and grow your business.

Now, I’m curious….

Who is your Ideal Client?

Share with us in, the comment box below, who is your Ideal Client and what value you give them?

As a thank-you gift for your comment I will send you my a video ‘Start Saying NO‘ from the course “Women Do Business Differently”.

If you find this article inspiring, please SHARE it on Facebook, LinkedIn or retweet it, by pushing the button on the left, for the right channel, so more women could benefit from it.

Please share this article with your:



- LinkedIn connections
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Have a magical week! Vered

Have a magical life, Vered

Taking Your Business to the Next Level

In one of my previous Blog posts I’ve asked you what are you reading this summer and I got wonderful comments (if you haven’t added your list, please go ad add it after reading this blog post…)

One of the recommendations was “The Start-Up Nation”. The book addresses the trillion dollar question: How is it that Israel, a country of 7.1 million, only 60 years old, surrounded by enemies, in a constant state of war since its founding, with no natural resources– produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada and the UK?

Being born in Israel I was naturally triggered to read, even though I was having a great time in the midst of Galapagos Islands and the Amazon forests. The first time I had access to an Internet connection I downloaded the Kindle version and could not stop reading the book until my Kindle power went off.

However, this book triggered a more burning question in me.

Where are all the women entrepreneurs?

Women entrepreneurship is on the rise. Although the recent financial crisis has been destroying business owners and there are more business that are being destroyed today than being built, plenty of studies show that women run successful, profitable businesses. This could truly benefit our economy.

However, getting women to engage in entrepreneurship won’t be enough. Here’s why…

While women own almost three in ten American firms, (Unfortunately I only have statistics in the USA market) they only employ 6% of the workforce and account for barely 4% of business revenues.

In short, women aren’t taking their businesses to the next level.

From personal experience, I can say that most likely this is true due to women entrepreneurs struggling with one or more of the following:

An inability to manage other responsibilities in life, including their own health.
Concerns around negatively impacting relationships with family and friends.
Anxiety over how people might react to their aspirations.
Not wanting to fail publicly or let anybody down.
Not having the skills, information and resources to take their companies to a higher level.
Lack of funding.

Can you recognize yourself in any of those challenges?

All those reasons are valid however, the bottom line of all of those reasons is: “I think my small business is just fine the way it is.”

While I don’t expect you to become the CEO of a large company, I do think you should pay more attention in realizing your full potential. Remember – your business will always be as big as YOU are as a person!

 In order to grow my business I had to consciously deal with many of the same issues many women entrepreneurs are challenged with (and still am!). It took time – and a lot of assistance along the way. The following helped me:

  7 Ways Women Entrepreneurs Can Grow their Business

 1. Define precisely your target audience – I started my business in 2000 without a set of colleagues to collaborate with, I knew I wanted to build relationships with women who had the same aspirations as me.

I first had to identify my EXACT target audience. Knowing I want to work with women was not defining my target audience. I started with the target audience I thought I could help the most, due to the fact that I came from it, women in middle management that have the desire to move ahead and become leaders.

However, I found very quickly that I don’t fit anymore with the corporate structure of the organizations that I would need to work in. It felt like as if I would have to work in a straightjacket, rather than enjoy myself.

I struggled for a while until I found the exact audience I wished to work with. My target audience is women entrepreneurs who have a business and wish to grow it. I even defined it more precisely – women solopreneurs who wish to grow their business and make it into a big business.

2. Treat Every Obstacle Like a Research Project – Whenever I hit a major roadblock in my business, I go into research mode.

I’ve always found the answers by talking to people who are experts in their fields and can relate to my challenge. Usually, within five conversations, I’ve got new information and ideas to get me on track. I will be forever grateful to the people in my past (and future) who agreed to have coffee or a call with me. They are my game-changers!

3. Don’t Run Before You Can Walk – Each time my business grows, it comes with a new set of activities that are time-consuming.

When I find myself over-worked and scattered, it’s a signal I need to learn new skills to the point where the situation feels manageable. Several times in the development of my business I’ve turned down opportunities because I knew I wasn’t ready to handle them.

Which leads to the next tip…

4. Business is a Marathon, Not a Sprint – Growing a business doesn’t have to be like what you see in the movies, it takes more than 20 minutes to build a business.

You can take your time, but you shouldn’t stop moving forward either. Like I say in many of my trainings: “In business, if you aren’t growing, you’re dying.”

I’m constantly looking for ways to grow my business – but on my own terms. I’d rather take my time and finish the race than get injured and bow out.

5. Time-Out is Allowed when You Need It – Don’t let tough blows and unexpected issues make you react too strongly or quickly.

There have been plenty of times in my entrepreneurial life when I’ve thought, “I can’t do this!” Those days happen. I’ve come to learn when I’m emotional, I need to step back and let things settle down.

When I give myself time to get the feelings and situation in check, I’m able to make better decisions and take more appropriate actions.

A time-out is a female entrepreneur’s friend!

6. Accept You’ll Make Mistakes – This is so tough for you! You want to be perfect and never let anyone down.

My decision to grow my business came with the acknowledgement I was going make more mistakes. My mantra and is, “Experience = Learn = Grow.” Being too hard on yourself will kill your confidence. Don’t let it!

Business success is directly tied to your ability to believe in yourselves 200%.

7. Failure Does not Exist – The only thing women entrepreneurs fear more than letting people down, is losing everything.

As the business grows, it gets easier to say, “I should be grateful for what I’ve got.” It’s human nature to work harder to keep what we have instead of focusing on how to create even more success on our own terms.

However, this is a business-limiting mindset that can stifle a female entrepreneur’s ability to reach new levels of growth.

Remember – if you don’t grow… you die. Therefore you’ll need to keep on looking for ways to grow your business and with each step you’ll take you might feel the fear of losing, but you’ll need to remind yourself that failure does not exist actually.

Think about failure as an unexpected result. I mean; did you PLAN to fail? Obviously not!

BY the way… if you did PLAN to fail… than you succeeded… that makes you a SUCCESS!

But if you didn’t PLAN to fail than you got a result that is DIFFERENT than what you expected it to be. So, take another action to correct that result and improve it. If you can’t, than see what you could learn from it and move on with your new understanding and learning. This is how you grow!

Now I’m curious…

What would you need to learn in order to grow your business?

Share it with us in the comment box below - your experience and tips in growing your business 

If you find this article inspiring, please SHARE it on Facebook, LinkedIn or retweet it, by pushing the button on the left, for the right channel, so more women could benefit from it.

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Have a magical week! Vered

Have a magical life, Vered

Lessons from the Advertisement Industry

Have you noticed that something different is taking place lately when it comes to advertisement?

Advertisement is the last resort of the Old Economy where it is all about “Push Marketing” and all about the product and the brand.

The client is just a spectator and is not being heard. There is no dialog going on and definitely is not centered on the needs and wants of the client, but around the company.

Apparently, even the advertisement industry has realized that it is not working.

They are facing today the question of how can they adapt to the New Economy where the focus in on the client. Where it is all about conversation, dialog and where the clients has the power.

The advertisement industry has probably suffered the most from the rise of the New Economy and the power of the social media marketing. They had to adapt or die.

What is taking place lately is fascinating as commercials and ads are taking in account that the majority of their audience are… WOMEN!

No more lip service when realizing women are the majority of the decision makers when it comes to the spending habits.

This type of lip service can be seen in the 2000 movie “What Women Want” when the advertisement company brings in Hellen Hunt to lead the division in order to bring back their company to the top of their industry.

In the movie they implied that they brought her in only because she was a woman and could understand  her target audience better than a man. They found out that the reason she was successful was not because she was a woman, but because she was GOOD at what she was doing!

If you were tuned in you could see that lately more and more advertisements and commercials are focused on what is truly important to women. Advertisements are becoming more and more campaigns that support a cause or raises issues that before were not been handled.

One of the first ones was the skin care company Dove which raised the issue of what is beauty and is focusing today on raising self-esteem of girls and accepting their own unique beauty.

Have a look at their commercial about it…..

Have you noticed that nowhere throughout the commercial do they focus on the product or their brand, only at the end and even then, it is connected to the theme and the concept.

Or another one, which I love, is from the cosmetic company Cover Girl – supporting and empowering women to fulfill their potential and not accept the old ways of what girls can do or cannot do

Even the most traditional companies such as the hair product company Pantene, who you would associate with the stereotype of the beauty concept for women, is advocating today for women being strong and stopping labeling women. Their commercials are showing the double standard that exist today concerning women.

Here are some lessons we can learn from all those videos about the New Economy:

1. It’s all about Values

The New Economy is about meaning. If you wish to be successful today you need to have a vision that would be bigger than you, your product or your services and company. You need to inspire people and get them moving.

2. You need to have a dialogue with your audience

The interesting part in all those commercials and videos is that at the end of the video the call for action was not about buying the product, but about starting a dialogue and a discussion about this topic.

They are challenging you to express yourself and challenge your beliefs on a specific topic.

3. It’s all about educating

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, marketing is all about educating your audience. Giving them valuable information that can change their lives.

These videos just show how powerful marketing can become when we turn business into doing good. These videos are the proof that doing good, is good for business.

Just imagine how would our world look like when companies would start focusing on doing good for the environment, for their people and in taking a stand against wrong doing that is taking place.

Imagine that companies would start campaigning as part of their marketing for equality, for eradicating hunger, for peace and for better education everywhere – that could truly make this world a better place.

When you look at these videos ask yourself are you communicating your values?

Are you focusing on a BIG vision for your target audience?

Are you having a dialog with your audience? And most of all – are you educating your clients?

Now I’m curious…

What lessons can you take into your business from these videos…

Share it with us in the comment box below - your experience and tips in creating a dialog with your audience 

As a thank-you gift I will send you my webinar about “Creating Your Own Unique Message”

If you find this article inspiring, please SHARE it on Facebook, LinkedIn or retweet it, by pushing the button on the left, for the right channel, so more women could benefit from it.

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Have a magical life, Vered

What Are You Reading This Summer?

Summer is a great time to catch up on your reading.

During the season you are probably too caught up with your business and rarely have time to raise your head above the urgent and important stuff that needs to be done in order to read and learn new things.

However, when you don’t take time to get away from working IN your business, you are left behind. In today’s business world you can’t allow this to happen to you as business is changing by the minute.

You need to keep up with what is taking place in the world and what new trends are taking place. It doesn’t mean that you need to jump immediately on the next trend, but you need to become aware of what is going on in your industry.

Books are your friends in becoming an expert in your field. I’ve learned this important lesson long time ago.

When I was in University we used to get every year in the summer a list of 12 or 15 books they wanted us to read before the year started.

I didn’t have the money at the time to buy all those imported books, so I went to the university’s library and sat there for 3 weeks from 9:00 in the morning till they closed in the evening – reading every book on the list and some others I found on the shelves.

A whole new world opened up to me.

A few weeks later, when I started my studies, I was surprised (actually shocked) to discover that most of my fellow students didn’t bother to read even one of the recommended books.

The result was that when I was studying I got assignments and projects to run in my field, due to the fact that my professors realized I was up-to-date with the latest information in the field due to my reading, while most of my fellow students had to wait three more years before they even got any chance to practice what they have learned.

By that time I had three years experience in the field and I was hiring my friends to work for me….

This was one of the most valuable lessons I learned early on in my career as an entrepreneur – a lesson which I have continued to implement since then: “keep on reading at least one business book a week – no excuses!”

I believe that after all the personal experiences I had, the seminars I followed and the mentoring I got from successful entrepreneurs – good books provided me with some of the best inspiration ever…

This is the reason why I urge you that this summer spend time catching up on reading some good business books that would inspire you and support your business in growing.

Here are 3 books that I highly recommend you read this summer if you didn’t read them yet:

Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think – Peter Diamandis

This book for me s the ultimate answer for all those who are still living in scarcity mentality and predicting the end of the world and focusing on negativity.

It’s a book that shows us that we actually live in a period of history where we would be able to solve problems that before were never solved, such as shortage of water, hunger and diseases. It’s the ultimate achievable optimism, which we all need to have as entrepreneurs.

What Would Google Do – Jeff Jarvis

Even though this book was written in 2009 it is still one of my favorites in understanding what is the New Economy and what business is all about. It taught me on what to focus in business and what makes a company a GREAT one.

Start with a Why – Simon Sinek

If ever there was a book that explained how to think strategically and what is the essence of business and of GREAT companies it would be this one. From all the business books that I’ve read this is the one that not only spoke to my head but also to my heart.

Now I’m curious...

Which business books are you going to read during your summer?

Share it with us in the comment box below – the books you are reading, and books that inspired you?

If you find this article inspiring, please SHARE it on Facebook, LinkedIn or retweet it, by pushing the button on the left, for the right channel, so more women could benefit from it.

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Have a magical week! Vered

Have a magical life, Vered

What Are You Passionate About?

Last weekend we gave the last Business Bootcamp for this year. The tag line of the Business Bootcamp is: “Turning your Passions into Profits”.

The Business Bootcamp is a 2-days seminar focused on solo-entrepreneurs that wish to grow their business in a balanced way, which means that it would NOT take over their personal life.

So many solo-entrepreneurs start their business because of their passion, however, very quickly they find out that they are spending most of their time NOT on what is their passion just in order to survive in their business.

Does this sound familiar to you?

So I want to remind you that if you just want to survive and have a comfortable life…GO GET A JOB!

Business is not meant to be a survival trip! Business is there to help you create abundance in your life and be a tool in creating financial freedom for you and your loved ones.

The reason you are still struggling might not be the lack of knowledge of the New Economy and the new marketing methods. It has to do with your focus on your passion.

You see, I believe, most of you are focusing your passion on either the outcome of your business – meaning, your passion is towards achieving financial freedom, or getting recognition or fame you dream of.

Or, you are passionate about your products and services. You are passionate of creating more of the products you know so much about, or giving more of your services, which are your way of expressing your knowledge and expertise.

However, in todays’ New Economy in order to be truly successful and in order for your business to be a vehicle for your success, your passion needs to focus on something totally different.

I believe that in order to be successful today your business has to have a PURPOSE!

Your focus and passion should be on creating a PURPOSE for your business, which will be bigger than you, your products and even your clients.

What people are searching today for is an experience, not products, not services; they are looking for a special experience.

They want to experience something unique, different and special. If you manage to create that for them you have created the holy grail of business… a remarkable product.

Business that is able to communicate, a higher purpose, will always attract employees, customers and opportunities that are drawn to that higher purpose.

Focusing on the business higher purpose is also a great way to maintain business focus in this age of interruption where everything is changing all the time and the buzz keeps changing and moving.

People commit to companies, products and stories that are built on and positioned with a simple, easy to communicate purpose – we commit to things we believe in and businesses that get that make their entire marketing about purpose instead of product.

Some of the most successful brands today, Apple, Zappos, and Google, have captured people’s hearts and imaginations around simple purpose.

Zappos is about happy customer service and they happen to sell shoes
Google is all about making information available for everyone and they were able to change our whole concept about knowledge, learning and information
Apple is all about thinking differently and they make computers for people that want a simple, intuitive, stunningly designed experience

Some of you might think of the word purpose is something big and spiritual.

Immediately the question comes up “Who am I to create such a big purpose that people would follow me? What am I, Martin Luther King? Mother Teresa?”

But it doesn’t have to be a BIG hairy idea of Purpose (with a capital P). As you can see from the examples above it doesn’t have to be that “noble” cause of saving the world.  Purpose can be an innovation that attracts, a culture that attracts, or a single idea like trust.

I believe that in order for people to trust you they need first of all to have a connection with you. They need to see, feel and hear that you have a bigger purpose that just you and your product and service. They need to know that you stand for something and that you have a purpose for doing what you are doing beyond what you sell them.

Now I’m curious…

Can you discover a purpose greater than simply your product or service?

Share it with us in the comment box below – what would be your purpose for your business and how would you communicate it

If you find this article inspiring, please SHARE it on Facebook, LinkedIn or retweet it, by pushing the button on the left, for the right channel, so more women could benefit from it.

Please share this article with your:



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and blog readers...

Have a magical week! Vered