Can you change this? Oh, and that?

I had the pleasure recently of working on a project with a committee of about six people. We had to create a 24-page booklet for an event. Needless to say as the event grew closer the emails were flying fast and furious with last minute changes and revisions to our booklet. The order of events on the agenda, the spelling of someone’s last name, which page each ad should be on, the spacing on page 5…among many, many other things, were changing almost by the minute.

I have literally hundreds of emails about revisions for the booklet, many of them containing one single change.

For some projects I get paid by the hour. If I was my client I would take my own time to compile the changes and send them in one big email. It is more efficient, more economical and leaves less room for errors. Think about it. If I receive all of the changes at once I can print one email versus 50 emails. This saves paper, ink and time. With one set of changes I can open, revise and save the document once, rather than 50 times. If I need to double-check something I can find that one email, rather than searching through 50 of them all with the same subject line. If I am the client who wants to go back and make sure my changes have been made, wouldn’t it be easier to have them all listed in one place?

Some people like to fire off emails as soon as a thought hits them. In the case of a project which requires review and revisions, this isn’t a good way to work. It’s why many graphic and web designers say that their price includes two rounds of revisions. They don’t say that the price includes 50-100 individual little changes!

If you don’t care about how much it costs, then sure, have your designer organize your revisions for you. Also, if you don’t care how much it costs,  I would love to meet you! If, however, you are like most people and are looking to make the most of your budget, try to do things efficiently. It will save everyone time, money and frustration.

It’s not you, it’s me.

We had a great discussion last night at the Woman Business Owner’s Idea Cafe about outsourcing – what you should and shouldn’t outsource, success stories, relief from the frustration of trying to do it all yourself – all very positive things.

I was pleasantly surprised. I went into the meeting expecting to hear only about the dark side of outsourcing. It’s too expensive. I was screwed over by some awful graphic or web designer. I just don’t trust someone else to do it for me. It’s too hard to let it go.

There was some of that, but mostly it was positive. I realized that my own frustration over people asking and expecting me to do things for them for free, is really my own darn fault. I can’t tell you how many times someone gives me their card and says, “Check out my site…I’d love to hear any ideas you might have.” Or “Can you just look this over?”

The thing is, I don’t do things half ass. If I’m going to give an opinion about your website I’m going to take the time to read it, analyze it, navigate it, and then put down my thoughts about it. Be it a blog entry, a flyer, an ad, a bio…my time and my skills are what I bring to the table. I improve upon what you started. I clarify your message so that people can instantly understand it.

I’ve stopped looking at the sites of the people who do this to me. I politely take their card and usually say nothing. However, as one of the very smart ladies in attendance last night said, why not put the onus on them? Why not give them my card and say, “Send me the link and let me know where you think it needs improving. I’d be happy to look at it and provide you a quote.” Wow! Now doesn’t that turn things around. It’s off my shoulders, off my mind and there is one more person in the world who knows that I don’t work for free. If they contact me that’s wonderful. I’ll know they are serious. If not, no harm done.

I do have a small and trusted group of people that I “bounce” things off of and in return they bounce things off of me – people who I know will be truthful and who I trust 100%. We value and respect one another. There is a mutual understanding between us and no one is being taking advantage of or asked to work for free. Those people aren’t the ones I’m talking about here.

So the next time someone asks you to do something for free don’t get mad about their apparent ignorance that you are running a business, look at it as an opportunity to educate them that your time and skills are well worth every penny.

Netwalking In The Rain. Oh Yes, We Did!

We had our 2nd Netwalking event last Thursday. About half of the people who RSVP’d bailed out by 3 p.m., mainly due to pending rain storms. So at 4 p.m. I sent out an email saying the event was canceled. At 5:45 p.m. Irene Webster from Juice Plus called and asked if it was still happening. I told her I’d canceled. Her advice was to never cancel an event. What if someone didn’t get the email and they show up? Won’t they be upset that no one is there? I know I would be.

With that, I grabbed my rain coat, made some quick phone calls and ran up to the Farm Park for Netwalking to begin.

Ellen Fisher from the Women’s Yellow Pages soon arrived, along with Irene and my good friend Andrea.

The four of us headed out in the drizzling rain. We walked and we talked. We saw deer in the fields and visited the Trout Nursery. As in the first Netwalking event, we may have been small in numbers, but we were big in spirits. Everyone was enthusiastic and truly embraced the event. There was not one complaint about getting wet or about our hair getting damp and matted.

As Ellen said, “It’s not the number of connections that you make, but the quality of those connections.”

Thanks to a shared walk in the rain, I am now more deeply connected with those who did show up.

Netwalking – How did it go?

Response to my “Netwalking” idea has been really positive. Many people commented that it’s a great idea. Many helped me spread the word with their networks.

Our first event was last night. My husband was nice enough to go with me. Yet another reason why I love him.

So, at 7 p.m. last night when there were only about six of us there ready to walk, I must admit that I was disappointed. I did get a few last-minute cancellations. Work and life get in the way sometimes, and I certainly understand that. It was fairly hot last night too, so maybe the weather kept some people away.

This morning I found out that three other people DID show up, but they went to a different entrance! I’m so proud though, the kind of people that they are, they walked together anyway and really enjoyed it.

Those who did make it came with their walking shoes, their business cards and a ton of enthusiasm. Chris from 1406 Financial brought towels for everyone, as well as water and gatorade. Dianne from The Buddy System brought her two beautiful dogs, Storm and Major. Everyone said they would love to do it again.

It takes time for an idea to grow and catch on and I’m excited to see where this one goes. I will be walking on the trail for exercise anyway, so why not invite a few friends and spend the time getting to know one another at the same time?

I’m thinking Thursday, September 16th at 6 p.m. for the next one. Whitehall Road entrance of Norristown Farm Park. Call my cell phone if you get lost (484) 429-3815.

Introducing “Netwalking” Better body. Better business.

Do you go to a lot of networking events where there is NO healthy food in sight? Are you tired of networking with continental breakfasts made up of high calorie, high fat cakes and muffins, or evening events with nothing but fried food and soda?

“Netwalking” is a free and healthy alternative to traditional networking events. The concept is simple – network with local business people while also getting some exercise.

Join us for our premier event!

WHEN: Tuesday, August 31, 2010

TIME: 6:45 p.m. – Approximately 8:00 p.m.

LOCATION: Norristown Farm Park

Register Here!

Meet at Whitehall Road Parking Lot, directly across from Norristown High School.

Additional Parking available at the school.

Exact location can be found here–> http://bit.ly/aq5dhD

This event is open to all local business people interested in casual networking with other local business owners and business people. Men and women are welcome! The purpose is to get to know one another, network, share ideas about business, and get some exercise in at the same time. The walk is approximately 2 miles. Dogs are welcome as long as they are on a leash. Name tags will be provided, make sure to bring business cards.

Organized by: Linda Bandura of LB Marketing

For more information call Linda at (484) 429-3815 or email Linda@LBMarketingOnline.com

THIS is why I LOVE what I do…

I designed a logo and a direct mail piece recently for a new company in Alabama. It’s a long story about how I was connected with them, but goes to show that between the phone and internet, you can work “virtually” together, even when you’re far away from the client.

Linda,

I posted (in a couple of places) a thank you and “shout out”.  But, I wanted to say thanks again in a personal email.

I have to tell you that the first night that Anthony and I sat down to verbalize the vision we had for New Way CEU (and other future companies) we came up with several nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs…..but had no idea how we would get all that literary jumble into an actual logo and brochure.  I have been truly amazed at the end products, having never worked with a graphic designer in the past.

I have shared the results of your work with several people in and out of my profession for feedback and continue to get rave reviews.  The brochures our competitors use are very clinical, boring, wordy, and long.  NO ONE wants to read them.  The brochure you designed truly sets us apart from the competition. I appreciate all that you’ve done for us and look forward to working with you in the future.

Have a great day!  And thanks again.

Mike Brown
New Way CEU

www.newwayceu.com

Was it the tiramisu?

I had an unexpectedly great day today with my business. This is a good thing because when I woke up today I wasn’t expecting too much. See, there’s a networking group that I’ve been going to for almost a year now. Its called PBN (Professional Business Network – www.pbnworks.com). I just got an email from them last week saying its time to renew my membership. My general rule of thumb is to give a group a year, and if it hasn’t produced any business, then its time to move on.

I really like the group. I do. There is always a nice mix of people, men and women, from many different industries. They usually average around 60-80 people per meeting. The meetings are held at Magianno’s which serves the BEST networking lunch around. Bruce Zanar, who founded the group, is a wonderful guy. However, I haven’t received any business as a direct result of attending the meetings. I follow up with people, have conversations with them outside of the group, connect on LinkedIn, and all that good stuff. It just hasn’t resulted in a paying client.

So I went today, thinking this would be my last and preparing to tell Bruce that I wouldn’t be coming back. And don’t you know, this was the best meeting yet. I had seen the speaker before. He talked about email marketing and this is one of the services I offer, so it was easy to get up after his talk and say “Hey, by the way, if you need help with your email marketing, or even someone to do it for you, I offer this service.” One guy even came over to me while everyone was still seated and asked for my card. Afterward I stayed and met four new people I had never met before.

So for now, I’m breaking my rule of one year for a group. I figure with a group of this size, with a continuous stream of new people, it may take a little while longer for people to get to know me.

Oh and did I mention they had this tiramisu for dessert that was so good it was ridiculous??

Gotta love sweet endings…

’11 Ideas for Your Video Marketing’

’11 Ideas for Your Video Marketing’.

5 Marketing Tips That Don’t Cost a Dime

Times are tough right now. People are losing their jobs, budgets are being cut and everyone is keeping a close watch on their funds.

While many businesses  react by cutting marketing, now is actually an important time to continue to market. Staying in front of your customers during the bad times will make them more likely to come to you in the good times.

What I’m hearing from small business owners is that word-of-mouth and referrals used to be enough to sustain them, but this is no longer the case.

So what are some things that you can do for free to help boost your marketing efforts?

1) Put your logo on everything
Assuming you already have a logo. If not, I would suggest getting one.

2) Attend FREE networking events

A great free group that I belong to is the Women Business Owners Idea Cafe. Occasionally I give back by bringing food or a door prize. A small price to pay for being part of 12 great meetings a year. www.wboideacafe.com

3) Have a Plan
It costs nothing but your time to put together a marketing plan, but it goes a long way in maximizing your marketing efforts. Choose to do things that tie in with one another.

4) Speaking Engagements
Seek out groups that you can present to on a topic that positions you as the expert. Prepare one or two presentations that you can present to several different groups.

5) Whatever you do, be consistent!
Even if you order free business cards online, have your website hosted for free and attend a free network event, be sure your message is consistent.