Posts from — October 2005

This article is available for reprint as long as the byline remains intact.5 Ways to Start a Networking Group That Sizzles, Not Fizzles
By Leesa Barnes

You’ve attended every networking event in your area and they seem to offer the same thing – eating, meeting, greeting and fleeing. You’re bored with the routine of these events and you joyously decide that the time has come to start your own networking group that will blow everyone’s socks off.

Starting your own networking group takes time and effort. Not only do you have to create excitement, but you also have to sustain the momentum so people continue to attend.

Here are 5 things to remember when launching your own networking group so that it sizzles, not fizzle.

Ensure that you build a solid board of directors or volunteers. You can’t do this alone, so enlist the help of volunteers who share your vision. I was fortunate to have 6 people work along side of me in the early stages of the development of this association. The seven of us became the founding board. Having them helped me in shaping the direction of this new networking group, not in my own personal vaccum, but by tapping into a wide variety of experiences.

Craft your association bylaws early. This will save you alot of grief in the long run. The bylaws help you to govern your group so that it runs more smoothly. It also helps you in deciding how elections will be run, how board members will be replaced and how you’ll manage your group’s money.

Plan your year’s events before you launch your group. Nothing will irritate new members more than to attend a launch for your new networking group with no other events planned for the rest of the year. Keep the momentum going by ensuring you have planned out the timing of your future events. If possible, make it the same time each month eg. the third Thursday or the first Monday. That way, people can plan ahead.

Decide early what your mission and strategy is for the first year. Being able to succinctly tell people why you’re doing what you’re doing can make the difference between having 10 repeat visitors or over 100. Understand why you’re creating this new networking group by crafting a winning mission statement and strategies for the upcoming year.

Understand whether your new group conflicts with another. People are more willing to support networking groups that offer something new. Develop an interesting model that other networking groups aren’t using and you’ll create repeat visitors to your events.

While adopting these suggestions may be too much for your new networking group, following them will make the difference between having a successful – and sustaining – networking group or one that fizzles and dies within weeks of the launch.

(c) 2005 Leesa Barnes. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

Leesa Barnes, The Schmooze Coach™, helps consultants, virtual assistants, professional organizers, coaches and solopreneurs avoid cold calling by developing a fearless networking plan. Leesa is author of “Schmooze Your Way to Success: 9 Fearless Networking Tips for the Shy, Timid, Introverted & Just Plain Clueless.” Go to http://www.schmoozeyourwaytosuccess.com/ecourse.html and sign up for her free 8-lesson ecourse called “From Clueless to Fearless: Secrets from the Schmooze Coach.”

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

Today I read an article about Paul Orfalea, the founder of Kinko’s in Fortune Small Business.
Click here for the article .  This was of interest to me because when I was growing up we spent a LOT of time in Kinko’s with my mom.  She was always copying something for the PTA or for church.  That’s why there is no paper jam that can frighten me, especially since most of the copiers actually tell you where the jam is.  Kinko’s is a great example of a business that started off small and grew to be the corporate giant that it is today.  Now I am not saying that all small businesses have to grow into corporate giants.  I just happen to like this story.  

Grow Your B2B Small Business Without Marketing
By Joel Walsh

Summary: Want to grow your business-to-business small business
without chasing after new clients? Expand with new value-added
services that complement your existing offering. Find out how.

If you have a business-to-business small business, some of your
clients inevitably will go out of business, get bought out,
undergo management shake-ups, or just get seduced by a new
vendor. You have to grow your business just to stay in
business. But how?

• Undertake costly and time-consuming marketing and networking
projects to get new clients to make up for the inevitable
attrition.

• Ask your existing clients to refer new clients. This is
always a good idea, but it’s not the fastest or most reliable
way to get new business. You could wait months to see results.

• Don’t get new clients at all. Instead, expand your offerings
to your existing clients.

Choosing Your New B2B Small Business Offering: What to Look for

Expanding your B2B offering might sound like a bit of a
headache and that is a possibility. You have to select your
expanded offering carefully. Here’s what to look for:

Complements existing offering

In case you’re tempted to branch out too far, keep these
factors in mind:

• Market. If your expanded offering complements your existing
offering, your existing clients will provide a ready market.

• Credibility. “Jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none:” it’s a
cliché, but people instinctively believe it. Which would you
trust more: a shoemaker who also sells wristwatches or a
shoemaker who also sells socks?

• Skills. You will inevitably need new skills for your new
offering. This includes the softer skills of selling and
servicing the offering. The fewer skills you have to acquire,
the smoother your rollout will be.

Modest investment to start

The only guaranteed way of minimizing your risk is to minimize
your investment. Remember: investment doesn’t just mean money,
but also your time and energy. Choose an expanded offering that
won’t be all-consuming.

Strong existing demand

Face it: your small business already has its hands full with
its existing business. You can’t afford to break ground on
something the world doesn’t know about yet. Look for an
unfulfilled demand on the part of your existing client base.

Hypothetical Case Study: B2B Service Expansion

Lisa is a virtual assistant who has expanded from data entry to
helping her clients organize their internal records. But
offshore companies are taking away record-keeping clients just
as they did with data entry. Getting new record-keeping clients
would be an uphill battle against offshoring.

What does Lisa do?

1. Lisa gets into a few long telephone calls with her favorite
clients. One client mentions his secretary is tired of handling
payroll. Another says he is fed up with being put on hold with
his current big-name payroll processing company.

2. Lisa researches payroll processing outsourcing. She finds
it’s a business where offshore companies have not made great
inroads. Domestic businesses have not glutted the market,
either. Traditionally, the technology needed to run a payroll
process business was so expensive that only a few large firms
could compete. The new software that allows any small business
to offer payroll processing services has only been on the
market a short time. Meanwhile, the cost of startup is only the
cost of the software, plus a portion of her sales. Best of all,
the only training she needs is to read up on a few payroll
manuals, and do a test run with one or two of her most
supportive clients.

3. Lisa gets a few of her clients on the phone and asks them
point-blank if they would be interested in outsourcing their
payroll processing to her. They sound interested.

4. Lisa finds a reputable payroll processing software company
founded by someone with extensive experience in the field. She
calls the company up and confirms that they have not sold a
franchise in her area yet.

5. Within six months, Lisa has taken over the payroll
processing of about one-fifth of her existing clients. Though
she has lost two large clients to offshore virtual assistant
services, her business income has grown by fifteen percent,
since she has gotten more work without having to invest in
marketing.

Of course, Lisa’s success took hard work. But she was able to
maximize her effort by choosing an offering she could expand
her business into easily. Payroll processing is one example of
a value-added service that many B2B small businesses can
transition into smoothly. But whatever new offering you go
with, just make sure to choose your new offering carefully.

About the Author: Joel Walsh recommends you check out this site
for expanding your business with Payroll Outsourcing [Publish this
article on your website! Requirement: live link for above
URL/web address w/ link text/anchor text: "payroll outsourcing"
OR leave this bracketed message intact.]  
Source: http://www.isnare.com

I found a website that lets you make free customized buttons. The url is
http://www.tomaweb.com/buttons.asp
I just thought I’d pass the word along.