Archive for Profile
One Entrepreneur’s Journey From Bean Counter to Publicity Pro
Posted by: | CommentsJulia-Isabel Davenport comes from a long line of educators and entrepreneurs. As a child, she was either
playing teacher or store owner. She even made and sold necklaces.
Although the seeds for entrepreneurship were already there, after Julia-Isabel got her degree, like many Boomer women, she didn’t feel entrepreneurship was an option. “I was expected to get a job.” Which is exactly what she did.
And while her job as a “bean counter” wasn’t exactly a passion, it did allow Julia-Isabel time to work on her MBA. Her course work exposed her to marketing and entrepreneurship – tools that would lead her to her first business.
After she married, having a second income made it easier for Julia-Isabel to take a risk and start her first business – as a computer trainer. She partnered with different training firms for six years. But this still wasn’t quite her passion. “What I really enjoyed about this business was publicizing myself,” says Julia-Isabel.
Then she had the opportunity to take a Public Relations job for Census 2000. She took a chance and quit her computer training to accept the position. And discovered she loved it. She enjoyed all aspects of marketing and PR. And she was good at it.
After the 2000 census, it was time for Julia-Isabel to find another career so she began a job hunt. While she was looking for a job someone asked for help promoting their medical practice. Julia-Isabel took them on as a side project – something to keep her busy until she found another job. She never got another job. Word of mouth began to spread and soon she found herself starting a public relations company.
She focused on women and small business as the target audience for her newly launched PR firm. However, although Julia-Isabel enjoyed working with small businesses and they have a great need for publicity, many didn’t feel they could afford to pay for publicity. And they didn’t always understand how publicity works.
“I had the same discussion so many times I got tired of it,” Julia-Isabel says. “I’d explain how publicity works and then clients would be disappointed that one particular press release didn’t get published in the particular paper they wanted.”
In 2007 Julia-Isabel had a brain wave. Instead of doing PR for individual clients she would focus on teaching small business clients how to do their own PR. She started monthly networking meetings that are more like group coaching. Her Business Strategy LunchesTM usually has six to eight people in attendance. People come with their questions about publicity. It’s not a mastermind group because membership is fluid. Occasionally one or two people attend several months in a row, but usually people come only occasionally.
As part of her plan to teach people about publicity, Julia-Isabel has written How to Maximize Your Publicity and the Publicity Planner TM. She has joined the National speakers association as a professional speaker and holds seminars to help people tell their stories to the media.
For clients with more money than time she continues to offer publicity services, but at a higher rate than when she first started out. In fact, she doubled the price. “The same day I doubled the price and mailed my existing clients I got a call for PR,” said Julia-Isabel. “I told them about the increase and they said okay.”
How does Julia-Isabel handle her own publicity?
“I have a marketing plan,” she says. “The biggest part of my marketing is the PR. I look at my marketing plan twice a year. But I update my publicity plan monthly. I send out at least one press release per month and sometimes as many as three.”
Clearly Julia-Isabel practices what she preaches.
Andrea J. Stenberg
If you want to learn more about how to use publicity for promoting your small business, join me and Julia-Isabel on July 29th for another edition of Andrea’s More Effective Marketing Podcast recorded before a live teleseminar audience.
Everything I Know About Business I Learned From the Sports Pages
Posted by: | Comments“What’s going on in general society first happens in sports,” Bruce Rumpf, CEO and President of Job1USA, told me. I must have sounded skeptical so he explained.
Jesse Owens and Jackie Robinson
In 1936 the Olympics were held in Nazi Germany. Jesse Owens, an American track star who also happened to be African American, was the target much of Hitler’s racist propaganda. And yet, despite the racial epithets and the constant presence of the s
wastika, Owens won four gold medals in front of Hitler.
In 1947 Jackie Robinson broke the colour barrier by becoming the first African American player in Major League Baseball. As a result, today we find people of colour in all areas of business, including running for president of the United States. But it happened in sports first.
Don’t Forget Women
Bruce then mentioned the Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. This legislation did not specifically mention sports, but it is best know for the impact it had on sports as it relates to women. Title IX resulted in high schools and colleges making the same opportunities for sports available for women as well as men. Since the enactment of Title
IX, women have not only had an expanded role in the sports arena, but have expanded their role in business. Women can be found in management, on boards of directors, as CEOs and yes, running for president of the United States.
Bruce was starting to convince me.
Take a Swing
But there’s more. At one time baseball teams would draft a kid out of college or high school and he’d stay with that team for his entire career. He’d retire wearing the same jersey he started his professional career in. No more. Last season, 60 percent of all Major League Baseball contracts were for one year.
Our parents’ generation, and many Baby Boomers, started their careers expecting to get a gold watch when they retired 40 years later, from the same company. But no one today expects to stay with one company their entire career. Few people expect to stay with the same career. And entrepreneurs are starting to think like sports teams. “What players do I need today to get a team on the field?” More and more, short term contracts are becoming the norm.
I was convinced, but Bruce wasn’t done with sports. He pointed out that in baseball, if you get one hit out of every four at bats, you’ve got a respectable batting average. If you hit one in three, you’re a star. No one freaks out because they made a bad swing three times out of four. It’s just part of the game. Bruce asserts business is the same. “Every day is practice until you make a decision,” Bruce said. “You can make one good decision out of four and still make good money.”
Too many people worry that every decision they make must be the right one, must be perfect. If a baseball player did that, and worried every swing had to be perfect, he’d never get a hit. I think that’s true of business. If you never make a decision, never try, you’ll never get a hit either. It’s better to miss a few, but take more swings.
Okay Bruce, you’ve convinced me. The next time I’m trying to predict what will happen in business, I won’t go to the business section. I’ll grab the sports pages and see what’s happening there.
Andrea J. Stenberg
Are You Breaking the One Rule No Entrepreneur Should Ever Break?
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Sharon Evans, owner of Kinexions Holistic Health Studio, has broken every rule in the book; she has no business plan, makes snap decisions and follows her gut. Not a smart way to run a business – right?
Wrong! Although Sharon doesn’t have a written plan, she DOES have the one thing very successful entrepreneur must have – a very clear vision about what her business is and should be.
Kinexions is here to help people in a holistic and natural way.
Every decision Sharon makes about the business is measured against this vision and philosophy. If something doesn’t measure up, it’s not right for her business. On the other hand, if something matches her vision and philosophy Sharon jumps at it, no holds barred.
Like many women-owned businesses, Sharon started part-time. Her path to self-employment began when her employer gave her six month’s notice. Since she had been a part-time fitness instructor for a number of years, Sharon decided to pursue this field rather than look for another office job. During the six months, she took courses to become certified as a pilates instructor and began teaching at the local YMCA.
At the end of six months, Sharon was informed she wouldn’t be laid off after all; but the ball was already in motion. Sharon continued to teach part-time until the two jobs became too much. She approached her employer about working part-time so she could devote more time to her business. A year later, she turned in her notice and began her business full-time.
Flexibility has been one of Sharon’s strengths. When she noticed a number of her pilates clients had brain injuries, she took courses on treating people with brain injuries. While hosting a bridal spa day, the maid of honour mentioned she worked for a company selling natural soaps and lotions. Sharon loved the products and decided they’d be a perfect fit. She immediately placed an order and started selling them from her studio. Both these actions fit with her vision so Sharon could easily make the decision to act.
Purchasing the house she works out of was another “gut” decision based on her vision. She was renting a room in a nearby business and saw a sign for an open house. She came in and immediately felt she needed to have the house.
“People come in here and just go ‘ahhhh.’ We’re here to help and serve people. They are pampered; this is a place to just relax,” says Sharon. “I felt it when I first walked into the house.”
Service to the customer is an essential part of Sharon’s vision. “I think women-owned businesses are different because women are nurturers. We work hard at making sure people feel good,” says Sharon.
This service is key to Kinexions’ success. Whether Sharon’s just had an argument with the bank or her husband, the customer never sees that. From the moment they step through the door, everything is geared to making sure people feel good.
Another key to Sharon’s success is getting support. She has a friend who started her business about the same time. They share their struggles, joined the Chamber of Commerce together and give each other encouragement. “We borrow each other’s energy,” says Sharon. “Otherwise, you can get caught up in negativity.”
As with any business, getting customers through the door is Sharon’s biggest challenge. While she did some advertising and had an article written about her in the paper, they really haven’t been effective for her.
Her connections from teaching prior to opening her studio, word of mouth and networking have been her biggest sources of new business. The challenge with networking is the time. It takes time to network – time away from her business.
Many women entrepreneurs struggle with balancing family and work. Sharon feels she could only have started her business now. Her children are grown and don’t need her as much which allows her the time and energy to focus on her business. This is something she couldn’t have done when they were younger. The demands of family would have been too much to allow her to give the business the focus it needs.
The success of Sharon’s business shows that having a clear vision for your business is key to making it work. Even if you have a business plan, if you don’t have a clear vision and a philosophy for your business, you may not make the right decisions. If you really know what your business is about and where you want it to go, you can make even major decisions easily.
Andrea J. Stenberg
