UPDATE: I regret to inform the SmartWoman Community that I ran into a technical snag with the recording of my interview with Lynn Pierce. The actual recording replay of Lynn and I talking cannot be made available. I am so sorry.

Although it is not specifically me and Lynn together, Lynn has created a series of teleseminar broadcasts, the first of which is on the topic we discussed, turning your passion into cash. It really is very valuable information and if you sign up, you can get many other interviews in addition to that topic. This is the only alternative I have to offer you so that you get the information I had promised you.

I would highly recommend that you afford yourself of Lynn’s generosity and go sign up to hear the interviews. It doesn’t cost a thing and it’s so worth it!

Register at: Business Empowerment Summit Pre-session Teleseminars

______________________________________________________________________________

Lynn Pierce, creator of the Women’s Business Empowerment Summit, has agreed to a SmartWoman Guides exclusive 60 minute tele-seminar event on Wednesday, June 25th at 5:00 PM PST.

Lynn will be discussing how she created the Women’s Business Empowerment Summit and what the theme and focus will be for this year’s event. She’ll be telling us about her 7 step approach to turning your passion and expertise into cash. She’ll be giving us her unique perspective about effective product creation, and share with us some very convincing statistics about why women fail and succeed in business.

As a member of SmartWomanGuides.com, you can attend the Women’s Business Empowerment Summit at a deeply discounted tuition of $497 for all 3 days.That’s a 50% savings off the publically advertised lowest price. SmartWomanGuides.com was one of only five websites authorized to make this offer, so if you don’t win the free tickets, you will still have the opportunity to take part in this at a great price.

For more information about the event, go to

Women’s Business Empowerment Summit Info
(Be sure to return back here to actually sign up, though, or you will pay a whole lot more!)

To sign up for this event at the discounted rate of $497 Women’s Business Empowerment Summit Signup

There is an interesting learning model call the conscious competency model. Basically, the theory asserts that everyone goes through at least 4 stages of learning. There are some people who also add a 5th stage, although it is not as supported in study as the first 4 established stages.

You progress through the stages and you can’t skip stages but you can regress. These stages are

1.  Unconscious incompetence–where you don’t even know what you don’t know.
2.  Conscious incompetence–where you know that you don’t know but you still don’t know
3.  Conscious competence–where you know and must practice and be aware to demonstrate knowing
4.  Unconscious competence–where you no longer have to concentrate to demonstrate knowing–it has become “second nature” to you.

Where are you on your entrepreneur journey? Do you feel you even know what questions to ask to start a business? And, if you don’t even know what you don’t know, and don’t know enough to ask, how do you get started, right? It can seem difficult to conquer, but there is a way.

One of the best ways to move yourself through these stages is to have role models who have already done what you want to do. Seeking out an insightful coach or mentor, who can see through the haze you’re in and is already on the other side of it, is a way out. Even in Stage 1 when you don’t realize you are lost, you can move forward.

Your mentors can be alive or not. You can learn through observation, training tapes, direct conversations or biographies. Autobiographies are especially helpful to hear it from the source. The only thing you need is an open mind and a curious outlook. Be willling to discard past patterns and presumptions. Start with the idea that you are determined to see differently. Be willing to be shown something new, maybe even challenging, to your current paradyms.

One thing I have found helpful is to observe how your teacher teaches. Yes, what a teacher says is important, but so is how they say it. If you are learning to be a motivational speaker, you’d watch the cadence and timing of your mentor’s words. You’d observe the sequence certain types of ideas are presented in and you would watch for jokes and where they are inserted. When do they include facts? When do they include an emotional plea? If you watch enough motivational speakers you begin to see the universal patterns. These are all guideposts for you on your path. These are the types of actions that will move you through the stages sucessfully.

One final thought: you have partners in this. You are not alone in your challenges. You can come to virtual communities like this one. You can reach out to others in your local area. It’s the ones who have gone before that are inclined to reach back to you–let them. In no time at all, you’ll be doing things by second nature that you used to not even know you needed to know. It takes courage to admit you don’t know something, but it’s a natural stage and you will make it through it. I believe in you and many others do too.

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

I need to know: What kind of female entrepreneur are you?

• Do you create physical products? If so, what are they?
• Do you own a service or consulting business? If so, what service do you provide?
• Do you have a MLM (multi-level marketing) business like Airbonne or a distribution business of some sort? Tell us all about what you promote.
• Do you own a manufacturing facility? What do you make?
• Are you an internet business woman, using affiliate revenues and internet marketing to build revenue streams?
• Are you a celebrity or author or speaker building her brand? What’s your message?
• Are you a stay-at-home mompreneur or WAHM?
• Have you taken leadership of the family business? What does it do in the market place?
• Are you a Dilberta in cubicle nation, secretly planning her escape, whose entrepreneur’s heart is full of hope and promise?
• Are you an advocate or activist or politician?
• Are you an inventor or artist or something else I haven’t mentioned yet?

Here’s your chance to sign on, get a link from our site leading back to yours, and share with us what you do.

The reason I want input is, one, I am curious and two, I recognize that women entrepreneurs are not a monolithic demographic. Although we have many similarities, the sub-segments of us all have different needs and goals. I, for example, do not have children. Although I can try to imagine the needs and concerns of a parent, I don’t truly know. I don’t have to make those sacrifices, nor do I get to experience those joys. I haven’t ever lived there.

I am a true believer that together we are stronger. It’s not just my motto, it’s my mantra. I find our differences interesting because I am a constant learner. I need other people, and specifically other women entrepreneurs, to understand my own entrepreneur’s journey. It gives me context and new ideas. So I am asking for your help for a selfish reason. I need you. I need you present to understand myself. My rewards in life are only complete if they are shared.

So, what do you say? Post a comment about what you do. I know you’re out there. Would you share with me and with all of us? I’d love it if you would.

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

Pushy marketing really, well, pushes my buttons. Not the “buy now” button or the “let me tell all my friends about you” button. No, more like the “opt-out, delete, don’t ever send me another email” button and the “I am selling your stuff on e-bay today to get the stench out of my house” button. Not pretty.

What has me so hot and bothered? I received an email recently from an internet marketer who had sent a big freebie bonus offer to me. The marketer was apologizing for having referred me to someone who was so relentless in his sales pitch (fortunately, since I had not opened the offer yet, I had been spared. I felt sad for all the others who had not been). This IM wonder said he was sorry if I had been offended, being sent a free offer, that I had to go through sales page after sales page of hard hitting, multiple offers. He said he thought it was a fun salemanship roller coaster ride and hey, the guy makes big money with these techniques, so it’s all good. GRRRRR….

I’m here to tell all you internet marketers out there that, NO, it is not all good. Especially for women buyers, these techniques no longer cut it (if they ever did) and it would be a wise move, in the new social media Web 2.0 environment, for you all to get on board and get over yourself. I can’t speak for all women, but having tolerated this treatment through the thousands of dollars of products I have bought over the years, I know I am not the only one who doesn’t like what you’re putting down.

Here are the top 3 things internet marketers should stop today if you want to sell to more women.

1. No more sports and war analogies. I am an avid boxing fan. I play around at golf. I know many women who love watching and playing sports. But, sinking a slam dunk, having home court advantage, or scoring a hole in one is not the only way to describe business success. Being a player isn’t that great either (women give a fake phone number to players, not their credit card info). I am not a road warrior and I am not out to make a killing. I am not afraid of who else is out there in the market because I know my USP. I don’t need to be pitted against another human being to make my way in this world.

I am a professional business woman with a college degree, a busy life, and a passionate, vested interest in my client. I don’t want to annihlate the competition. I’d rather joint venture with them and achieve synergy. Could you sell me something by focusing on providing great service and value without me having to butcher anyone, please? No more drop dead anything, ok?

2. No more “buy now or else” and “here today, gone tomorrow” strategies. A one of a kind Monet painting is priceless. Your eBook or mentoring program is not. You can and do crank those puppies out faster than I can eat chocolate ice cream, so just stop it. Don’t artificially create or inflate scarcity. It causes me to doubt your customer service, your commitment to your client, and your ability to actually give me real value. Your 100% money back guarantee means nothing if you’re out of business. Fly by night sales technique makes me wonder if you will be around to fulfill your promises. On top of that, my life (contrary to your narrative) will still be good without your product, so you don’t need to tell me how I’m a loser or an undedicated hack unless I get off my butt now and buy your product. Bull. Bull. Bull.

It’s especially irritating when I find your “today only” sale on a google search 6 months later. That doesn’t do much for my trust in you. Are you a going concern or not? Act like it! Most women buy through trusted sources and thoroughly investigate before buying. Once they buy, they tend to be fiercely loyal. Offer me a long term relationship and I will reward you with money and more referrals than you can shake a stick at. Are you interested in that or not?

3. No more hidden, auto-renew memberships as bonuses. Offering a month or two of free access (after which time you will begin charging my credit card $39 a month) to your paid membership site as a “free” bonus, among a zillon other bonuses on a long sales page is just plain deceitful. Sure, it’s all there in writing. Sure, you’re following the letter of the law. I know the opt-out rates are low because people just aren’t observant. But if it’s really ok with you to build your business on apathy rather than true value, count me out.

Your membership site should give me so much great advice and assistance that I am banging down your door to renew. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t deserve to be on auto-pay. I know these techniques work to make money, but so do SPAM scams from a foreign diplomat. I’m not suggesting that this approach is criminal on that level, but as a woman, I value transparency, forthrightness, and being given a fully informed choice. Betrayal lasts a long time for most of us, and the old adage of a woman scorned does have some truth in it. Be bold enough to lay it all out and let me choose. No tricks, no hiding, no deception. Respect my ability to recognize a great deal and act on it. Spend more time on how you can actually benefit me rather than polishing the vanishing act routine. You’ll get my business if you do.

I know I have painted with a broad brush here. I am not a self-appointed female representative. I have to edit myself too, because I have learned marketing from mostly men who use these techniques. But editing yourself for your audience is what professional marketers do. Learning what makes your client buy is the key. (you see, I wanted to say the name of the game there, but I edited myself…hint…). I also recognize that the buyer has full culpability in this process too, which is why I am speaking up. And opting out. And building a better approach for my clients (and yes, selling off some of the worst offenders’ stuff on ebay.)

Times are changing. Permission marketing, a la Seth Godin, is where things are moving. And, women worldwide open and run more small businesses than any other single group. We make 70%+ of the purchasing decisions in households. We are well educated, dedicated, and street smart. We’re not some little girl who gets giddy when you tell her how cute she looks (although we do enjoy sincere compliments) and we all already have a daddy. We aren’t on a man basher crusade (most of us). We are business women with money to spend. Do you want some of it? Following these tips could help. Try it and see if you can score a homerun with your sales.

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

One of my heroes is gone. Tim Russert, NBC News’ Washington Bureau Chief and journalist extraordinaire, passed suddenly from a heart attack Friday while he was preparing for his weekend show. A good man is gone and I am sad.

Recently, at an event in LA, I heard Mark Victor Hansen (another one of my heroes) speak. He talked about creating your “Top 200″ list. He suggested that you should create a list of the top 200 people you want to work with, play with, travel with, do philanthropy with, and grow old with. He further said to find a picture of them and write out next to their picture what you will say to them when you see them, even if these people were kings and celebrities you haven’t even met yet.

Mark’s point was to build your dream team and to begin living your life at that higher vibration. Identify who you admire and are aligned with. Want peace? Put the Dalai Lama on your list. Want social revolution? Put Nelson Mandala on your list. Want business acumen? Put Donald Trump on your list. The idea isn’t to celebrity stalk but to begin to realize that you can count yourself among those people.

Tim Russert is on my list. He is on my list because I admired his journalistic integrity. I liked how he could patiently ask probing and important questions (more than once, if he had to) rather than let it slide or to let the spin get out of control. He called it “persistent but civil”. I regret that I didn’t get to say in person to him what I had planned.

Tim was passionate about the contribution our fathers made. He believed in the silent good. He believed that our nation is purple, not red or blue. He could make you laugh about ridiculousness. He was an expert at politely highlighting inconsistent behavior. Common sense was his standard.

I sometimes am discouraged by the state of mainstream media but I always looked to Tim for steadfastness. I watched Meet the Press because of him, not in spite of him. I have been watching him for decades and I have been touched by his point of view.

What, as entrepreneurs, can we learn from his life and his passing?

• Life is short, so live it well while you have it. Tim  was only 58 years old.
• Living a life rich in experience and open to others’ points of view builds you fans. Even if you disagreed with him, it was hard not to admire his style.
• Laughter can soothe even the most vicious of beasts. Many an adversary chuckled on Tim’s show.
• Gratitude and recognition of meaning contributes to all of us.  Tim would glow when he spoke about the lessons his father taught him. He saw the full meaning of his dad’s life and his dad’s role in his life. He knew what to notice.
• Heroes persist in our hearts even after they are gone. Be a hero. Make a difference.

As we move into Father’s Day, in honor and celebration of Tim Russert’s life, go out and buy one of his books for your dad. It’s a great gift to put into words what you want and need to say.

Wisdom of Our Fathers: Lessons and Letters from Daughters and Sons
Surprised by the overwhelming and heartfelt reception to Big Russ and Me(2004), Russert follows that memoir of his relationship with his father with a collection of letters he received recounting relationships between fathers and their sons and daughters, excerpts from which comprise this book. Tim said that he has left a blank page in the front of this book so that you can write a personal letter to your father. Based on Tim’s sudden passing, I encourage you to do it now, today.

Big Russ and Me: Father and Son: Lessons of Life
Meet the newsman’s father in this stupendously entertaining book. The senior Tim Russert served in WWII, married and settled in South Buffalo, N.Y., worked days for the Sanitation Department, drove a night truck for the local evening paper and raised four kids. The younger Russert’s memoir begins as a tribute to his dad and the lessons he taught through the years, but also takes ample time to tell how Russert junior grew up and became the moderator of Meet the Press.

Tim,  I miss you already. May you rest in peace and may your family find comfort.

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

Lynn Pierce, creator of the Women’s Business Empowerment Summit, has generously provided SmartWomanGuides.com free scholarships to attend this awesome event.

Update 6/27: THE WINNERS HAVE BEEN CHOSEN AND THE CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. If you would still like to attend the event at a discounted price, see below.

As a member of SmartWomanGuides.com, you can attend this event at a deeply discounted tuition of $497 for all 3 days.That’s a 50% savings off the publically advertised lowest price. SmartWomanGuides.com was one of only five websites authorized to make this offer, so if you don’t win the free tickets, you will still have the opportunity to take part in this at a great price.

For more information about the event, go to

Enjoy this 15 minute interview with mega-entrepreneur Evan Carmichael.

As my loyal readers know, I am a huge fan of EvanCarmichael.com. Since my first day of finding Evan’s entrepreneur resource site, I am been enamoured. It’s thoughtful, it’s jam-packed with helpful and relevant information, and it has the best interviews of historical and current day mega-entrepreneurs available. If you need inspiration and know-how, it’s a must see.

Imagine my excitement when the company’s founder, Evan Carmichael, agreed to an interview!

Evan is a down-to-earth, well-rounded man with big dreams and the smarts to make those dreams come true. We discussed his beginnings as an entrepreneur and how he has built his business to where it is today. He shared how he approached the development of the software company he grew, the marketing research methods he applied, and then how EvanCarmichael.com blossomed out of his original personal website.

I also asked Evan to be frank with my readers about the specific challenges and opportunities that affect female entrepreneurs today. Evan has interviewed dozens of successful women and I felt he would give us a fresh perspective. We discussed finding inspirational role models, and the value of leadership and high self-esteem. We discussed the need to share and support each other in the entrepreneurial community. And he also told me where he hopes to take his business next.

Enjoy the interview and go visit Evan’s site. You won’t be disappointed!

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

Kiss those superstitions about Friday the 13th being unlucky goodbye! Friday may be the luckiest day in your month!

Today I received final confirmation that I have been gifted several free scholarships (value $1497 each) for an upcoming 3-day Female Empowerment and Education Conference. I will be giving these scholarships away and also unveiling an amazing SmartWoman exclusive offer to receive deeply discounted tuition if you buy at our website.

Why did this website receive these great gifts? Apparently our community is getting noticed! SmartWoman Guides is one of only 5 female entrepreneur support sites that are being gifted these scholarships. We are being recognized as a source of inspiration and support for women and the conference creator wants our community to be rewarded for what we do. How cool is that, right?

The countdown has begun. Mark this site and return to us on Friday at 10 AM CST. The full details will be launched at that time. We have to confirm the winners by July 1st, so this will be a whirlwind. It won’t be hard and some very deserving and wonderful women will be going for 3 days of education, networking, and fun.

In the meantime, I want you to gather together your best, most passionate and thoughtful response to the following question (hint: it’s how the winners will get picked…)

The entry question: What inspires you to be an entrepreneur?

Okay, be sure to come back on Friday and get the full details. I can’t wait!

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher,  the original SmartWoman

It’s essential, as the lead visionary entrepreneur of your business, to review the impact of what you are spending your time on and then prioritize the most leveraged activities first. Here are some suggestions to help you make some shifts to improve your business:

1.  Do an inventory of your highest use skills: Does it make sense, if you are an expert at business consulting, for you to be programming websites? No. Does it seem a smart use of resources for you to learn how to program websites from scratch when the genius high school kid down the street can already program circles around you and needs a summer job? No, no, no.

Start releasing your need to have your fingers in everything. Build a team of  people you can rely on. Trust people who know better than you. There is nothing wrong with outsourcing your weaknesses. Your lesser skills are not a disease. They don’t need to be cured. Play to your strengths only. Those skills are your specialty–insist on utilizing your highest skill.

2.  Reduce your availability: It’s a myth that human beings are capable of multi-tasking. If you are having to apply your creativity to create a proposal that has a looming deadline, it doesn’t help for you to hear every ding from emails coming into your inbox, your cell phone ringing, your pager going off, and your latest training seminar flowing out of your computer speakers.

You need to shut it all down and focus. Check your email mid-morning after you’ve had a few hours to get some work done. Let your calls go to voicemail (with the ringer turned to mute) and return calls at specified, limited times of the time. Chunk your time so that you can focus on one important task at a time. One of your chunks might be “miscellaneous to-do’s” so you can catch up on all your loose ends, but don’t intertwine them all together. It negatively impacts the quality of all of your work.

3.  Know your rhythms: If you struggle to do analytical thinking first thing in the morning (or at least until you’ve had 2 cups of coffee), don’t. You will make more mistakes and your task will take twice as long. If you are sharp as a tac in the morning but at 2-4 pm you can’t focus anymore, don’t plan meetings where you have to be “on” during that time. Be honest in your evaluation of yourself and your preferences. You didn’t choose to be an entrepreneur to limit your choices. Live and work the way that fits your personality best.

4.  Dump the meetings: Traditionally, face-to-face meetings have been a requirement. Salespeople would go to cold calls where they had no clue if they were even welcome to be there at all, let alone could hope for a sale to close. But go they would. It’s very old-school and it is not automatically the only way to do business. It’s often the least productive way.

Same goes for employee meetings.  Ask yourself if a face-to-face is really the only and best way. If it’s not, do something else. Don’t let travel and perceived tradition restrict your productivity. Try webinars, tele-conferences, phone calls, video conferencing, IM and maybe even don’t have any “check-in” at all. Let your employees impress you with their initiative rather than report in on their compliance.

5. Systematize and automate: If you are doing the same task over and over, the same way, in the same circumstance, figure out a way to systematize or automate that task. Computers totally shine in these circumstances. Email autoresponders, automatic downloads, sales scripts, order entry checklists, outsourced virtual assistants, website FAQ’s (frequently asked questions) and interns work great. Use them. It’s fun once you make the adjustments.

I know I might sound harsh. I also realize that these suggestions fly in the face of traditional approaches.  I can own that. But, there is a method to my madness.

Why do I feel so strongly about this? It’s because I know what you are capable of, the  brilliance that is there to be tapped. Playing small does no one any good. Fully stepping into the best use of your best skills can literally revolutionize your world. And my world. Our world. Start today examining what you can leverage so that we can all enjoy the wonderful fruits of your labor. Please? Pretty please? 

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

My Favorite Books About Leveraging and Outsourcing

Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

This book made a huge difference for me in organizing my office, desk top, filing system and my focus. It’s an gentle read with practical, step-by-step processes to help you get going and keep going more productively.

 
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich

I’ve recommended this book before–it has changed my entire work philosophy. Don’t let your skepticism stop you from embracing the idea that you can design and live the life of your dreams, with time to do as you will and deep job satisfaction too. 

                                       Be sure to check out Tim’s blog entry about “Time Bind”

Fairy tales are very seductive and attractive. So are magical wand techniques. Most compelling are the fairy Godmother “save the day” answers. Although I do hold a personal belief in magic, I don’t rely on it as my only tool. I witness it when I see it and celebrate it when it touches me, but I don’t build my business on it. But, there’s something else I believe in even less and that’s hard work.

Most coaches will tell you it’s hard work that brings success, but I don’t think so. You see, I think that approach is even more shakey than relying on magic. Yes, as a woman entrepreneur, you are going to spend time and effort working on and in your business. But, if you are having to work harder and harder in your business to get anywhere, you are doing something wrong.

If there is no joy in the time you spend, you are wasting your opportunity. If there is no deep rooted passion in your purpose for being an entrepreneur in the first place, you might as well pack it up and go home. Throwing more hours at it won’t make an uninspired and heartless approach any better. Drudgery doesn’t equal profit.

Working a lot of hours doesn’t equal results either. One of the biggest challenges I see women entrepreneurs facing is the reluctance to delegate, to take the role of leader rather than worker bee. If you are not concentrating your time and effort on the most leveraged activity in building your business and creating reliable revenue streams, you are throwing good time and money after bad. Stop that today. Get help, make room in your plan for people to take up some tasks for you, and focus every day on freeing yourself up from the day to day work. Today is the day to transform yourself into a visionary. Work less to make more.

I can hear some of you screaming “But you have to work hard to make it!” or “But I ‘love’ my work, what do you mean do less?”.  I am suggesting you are better off  using your creativity rather than your sweat. I am encouraging you to stop doing tasks that you are not amazingly great at doing. Get rid of the busy work, the distracting filler material and the low return activities. These types of activities do not move you forward. It’s a fallacy that the level of difficulty you “conquer” is a badge of honor.

Tomorrow we will discuss how to cut out time wasters and work less to make more. Until then, sprinkle fairy dust when you can and work smarter, not harder. Be inspired and get back in touch with what you truly hope to accomplish with your work. The practical stuff can be delegated. The passion is yours alone.

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman