SubscribeSMALL BUSINESS LEADER March 2008
Small Business Leader
Marian Banker, MBA, Business Leadership Coach, and creator of the Business Success System.
"Lead Your Business to Success" ISSUE #103
March, 2008
In This Issue
Business Success System Course
Success Tip #1
Feature Article
Success Tip #2
Small Business Leader Marketplace
About The Publisher & Feedback
Quick Links
Past Newsletters
More About Us
Note from Marian:
The Small Business Summit 2008, was a B-I-G success. We heard glowing comments from attendees, sponsors and the media. Shelly Banjo from the Wall Street Journal included a blurb about us in her blog, Independent Street. If you'd like a closer look, read the overview of action and meet some of the attendees, speakers and sponsors at smallbiztechsummit.com.
Photo by Jeffrey Holmes Photography.
I really love creating, producing and hosting the Summit. It takes four to five months of dedicated work by a lot of people to bring together a nine hour program. Fortunately, I have a great partner who complements my assets and a dream team that helped us put it together and make it happen. I'm delighted to know it is meeting a real need in the small business community. We're already starting to think about Summit 2009.
Read this month's feature article, "A Small Business Community's Success Story", and learn how we put together the Summit. As I mentioned at the Summit it's just like running a small business.
This month I'm putting the finishing touches on my reinvented website. It's not quite ready for prime time yet. I'm really excited about some of the new tools I'm making available. One is "The One Page Marketing Plan". In two basic steps you'll learn how to create a plan you'll actually use. It's simple and easy and gives you what you need to effectively carry out a marketing campaign. Downloadable in PC and Mac formats. Hope to have it out before end of the month.
Meanwhile, you can still get the Business Success System Course, http://primestrategies.com/bss, the proven self-study program that trains you in the basic steps to business success.
This month I've added a couple of Success Tips. Let me know if you find them helpful.
To your success,
Marian Banker
Publisher
Small Business Leader
NOTE: We have had to disguise some words in order to keep them from getting caught in the $pam filters. Please bear with us.
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Business Success System Course
Want your own Personal Roadmap to Business Success? Take Command of Your Business with the Prime Strategies Business Success System Course. Gain the confidence to make well-calculated strategic business decisions in spite of challenges and crossroads.
Included is a step-by-step guidebook, interactive tools to organize your thinking and your actions, plus coaching audios to support you as you take each step in the system. It's totally risk f*r*e*e because it comes with a 100% satisfaction *guarantee*.
Order Now
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Success Tip:
When you're hiring a new employee or provider of outsourced services, write a clear job description and a list of expectations for satisfactory performance. Make sure your selected candidate agrees and signs it. Even if you have been unsuccessful in finding the right candidate; don't settle for anything less than what you know you need. Your business must have the right people in order for you to succeed.
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Feature Article
A Small Business Community's Success Story
By Marian Banker
I'm still high from the energy and positive feedback we've had from the Third Annual Small Business Summit 2008. Support and enthusiasm about making it happen was apparent from last year's Summit, but we didn't know we'd have a sell-out and fill the house. Last year we had 360 attendees and this year it was 450.
As a small business community in one of the nation's major business centers, it's clear that we are a vocal and expanding group. The Summit concept and community now has a life of its own. People tell us they look forward to attending each year and many ask what else we're doing. Here's a quick glimpse at how it happens and why it's a success.
It all started in the Spring of 2005. I had read articles and posts by Ramon Ray, http://smallbiztechnology.com, for several months and finally decided to attend an event where he was speaking. I was impressed by his presentation and the fact that he focused on small business technology. It's a critical element of any small business, but not really my strong suit. I wanted to know more about his work, so we decided to meet for coffee.
During the conversation we learned that both of us had visions of someday doing a large event that would bring together small business people interested in business and technology. We decided to do some research and learned that there were a few companies willing to sponsor such an event. We both became excited about the possibilities and were encouraged to put together our first Small Business Summit in February, 2006. I think we finally started working on it in October, 2005.
In starting to plan for the very first Summit we realized we needed some professional help. We hired Maria DeVito and Roy Bavaro of Corporate Experience, http://www.thecorporateexperience.com/, an event planning firm with experience in similar types of events. One of their main functions was finding and helping us negotiate for an appropriate and affordable venue....no easy feat. They've worked with us all three years. They're great!
And, of course, we always need a website with information about the event and a way to register, someone to create banner ads and a layout for the printed program, which then had to be printed. What we didn't realize was how much all of this would cost. Our planners gave us some guidelines, but it turned out things were always much more expensive than we had budgeted.
Running an event of this size is not for the faint hearted. There's often not only a cash flow issue, but an issue of whether or not we can attract enough money from sponsors to cover our committed expenses. We keep the attendance fee low so as many as possible small businesses can afford it. Attendance fees, unfortunately, only cover a tiny fraction of the costs.
Like any small business, we faced technical and timing challenges. There were some scary moments when we didn't have the answers we needed, but with perseverance and teamwork, it all got done.
With no marketing or PR budget, we looked to our small business colleagues and organizations to help us promote, primarily through e-mail, newsletters, blogs and websites. Every year these have been our main methods for reaching our audience. The size of the list continues to grow exponentially, so each year we've been able to attract more attendees.
In 2008 we had the benefit of some great media exposure and that helped us reach an even larger audience. Attendees came from across the country and even Canada.
This year we reached capacity for the venue we have used for the past two years. We've decided to cap the number next year so we don't lose the congenial ambience and high-energy agenda that has become part of our brand.
I think the Small Business Summit has been a success for a variety of reasons.
First, and most important, is the support of great sponsors and organizations who believe in what we are doing and have been willing to contribute to make it happen. Without them, we couldn't do it.
Second is the partnership between me and Ramon Ray, http://smallbiztechnology.com. We are both passionate about the Summit. We each have our own reasons, but the result is the same. Ramon is the sales and marketing (out front) guy and I'm more the operations and budget (behind the scenes) part of the team. We value each other's perspective, experience and opinion. We talk over all decisions and reach agreement (and have to twist the other one's arm a bit sometimes) on everything.
We could never put on an event the size of the Summit without a good team. Each year we've managed to find people who are as passionate as we are about what we were doing. This year our team consisted of Andrew (Andy) Shulkind, http://andigomedia.com (web designer), Gail Cramer, http://sol21.com (Advertising and Print Design), Beth Silver, http://doubetconsulting.com (media specialist) and Laura Leites, http://workstationbs.com, our terrific Summit Coordinator, who helped us with everything.
Here's the whole team at the follow-up celebration dinner and reunion.
Here are some other reasons I think it was a success:
- Involvement of the regional small business community in promoting
- Interesting exhibits by both large and small businesses
- Speakers who were, for the most part, a member of the small business community
- Lots of time for networking in a congenial environment
- Attendees can meet and talk with the speakers
- Great volunteers and barter arrangements that served both parties.
It truly is a Summit of small businesses, coming together to focus on business and technology. Some people have attended each of the three years. And some sponsors have been with us that long also. We are continuing to involve the Summit community in planning for the future.
Honestly, I'm always amazed at how well things come together on the day of the Summit. We know, however, that success is only as good as the last event. We have our work cut out for us to continue listening and serving this amazing small business community.
Thanks to all who helped make this year's Summit a success.
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Success Tip
Outsourcing often increases as belt tightening kicks in. When corporations begin to shed staff and functions as a result of the all-but-confirmed recession, it may be an ideal time for you to pitch your product or service to big business. And working virtually makes it even more attractive for many tasks. What big businesses could benefit from what you provide?
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Small Business Leaders' Marketplace
Introduce your product or service he.re.
During the recent Small Business Summit I offered attendees my personalized coaching program "How to Be a Hammer and Not a Nail" for $1.25 a day. Now this offer is being extended to you, Marian's readers from March 11-18, 2008 only. Florette Anderson, CSS Company. For details and benefits, please click here.
Adrian Miller Sales Training, www.adrianmiller.com, provides customized sales skills training and sales strategy solutions for businesses interested in generating more new business as well as increased business from existing accounts. Adrian's programs are provided on site or thru teleconference or webcasts and Small Business Leader subscribers will get a 15% discount.
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About The Publisher & Feedback
ABOUT THE PUBLISHER:
Marian Banker has been publishing Small Business Leader since January, 1999. Her focus is on bringing to the busy entrepreneur a quick look into the current world of small business from the perspective she's gained through coaching, consulting and training entrepreneurs in both service and product based businesses.
Marian offers individual coaching, business support groups, seminars and workshops on topics of critical interest to small business owners. Her monthly Lunchtime Telephone Roundtable has proven to be a popular way for business owners to come together around a specific business topic without leaving their office. See notice about this month's topic in the content above.
To learn more about her services, visit http://primestrategies.com.
FEEDBACK:
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