Building a Million Dollar Business Part Time #11: Top 7 Low/No Cost Stuff To Use In Business

The alternative title to this post is, “How to fake like you’re a big company” or “Running it lean and mean.” Let’s get right into it since I’m on vacation in Vermont.  One little story, then onto the top 7.

(Note: See past posts for our long-standing, co-dependent relationship with coffee. Nintendo recently rejected a sponsorship request from us. Starbucks MUST be involved in some way. WE ARE SOLICITING ANY AND ALL IDEAS FOR SPONSORS FOR OUR CASE STUDY LIBRARY, KICKED OFF BY OUR COMPETITION OCT 13.)

Intern for the Hot Mommas Project? Now that's a man confident in his masculinity.

Hey everyone, welcome Achin to The Hot Mommas Project! He is a George Washington University MBA student. Here, he holds the Indian equivalent of Starbucks.  He is in India right now and will join us in the fall.

 

 

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INTERLUDE [Samba music plays, rudely interrupted by “You are My Friend” the horrific Barney  themesong]

Setting: The Posh Frey Honda Pilot (recently downgraded from an Acura MDX as Kathy has a gripping phobia of investing in depreciating assets).

Location: Driving from Lake George (our rainy-day plan) back to Vermont (our vacation location, where there is nothing to do in bad weather).

Josh (my husband): [Seeing a shirtless, blonde Grizzly Adams looking hitchhiker] “Hey! Let’s pick him up.”

Kathy: “Ha! Yeah.” [Pause] “Well, we do need to start looking for a new au pair.”

Josh: [After passing shirtless Grizzly Adams] “He could have been a good one.”

Kathy: [Feigning “interested friend” voice] “Your new aupair is so great! Where did you find him?” [Feigning response] “Oh, we found him on the side of the road one day on vacation.”

Josh: [Feigning response] “Yeah! Just south of a federal correctional institution in New York! No problem.”

And so goes the cost-effective search for a new au pair for the Frey family.

END INTERLUDE [Barney Theme song ends]

P.s. Did you know there is a full-on anti-Barney trend? Riveting.

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This is a really odd, tangential method of transitioning into the Top 7 Low/No Cost resources for businesses (no, we will not suggest you pick up Grizzly Adams hitchhikers for subsidized staff members):

1. Advice. Advice is the best free thing you can get.  How to get good advice:

– KNOW WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW. If you are someone who thinks, “Oh, I’ll just figure it out” you’re in trouble.  I’ve noticed the willingness/ tendency/ propensity in certain people to spend 5 hours on the internet searching for something versus 5 minutes on the phone solving the problem.  I make sure my interns don’t do this (see item #7). I have a list: “STUFF I DON’T KNOW THAT IS CRITICAL TO THE SUCCESS OF THE HOT MOMMAS PROJECT.” Then, I search for smart people who can help me with those issues (see next item).

– HOW TO GET A NETWORK: Social media allows for relationships never before available to folks outside of the right schools or social circles. Go to www.Alltop.com to see who the players are in your industry. If they’re blogging, you can reach them.  I have also seen entrepreneurs benefit tremendously from EO (forum) and like groups. Personally, I have relied on all of the above plus I have specifically sought out role models/business luminaries I admire and am in varying stages of contacting them/working with them. For example: Ted Leonsis, Bob Prosen, Guy Kawasaki, and Stewart Friedman. The latest are Tim Ferriss, Chris Brogan, Robert Scoble, and I am trying to get in touch with Gina Bianchini who co-founded Ning with Marc Andreesson of Netscape.  Based on this, Esther – my right hand woman – approached Senator Lieberman (whom she idolizes) at the movies, told him about the Hot Mommas Project, and is emailing with him. Go Esther!

– EXAMPLE: I posted the following on Twitter the other day

how atrocious is our website? We need free help for exposure. anyone? www.hotmommas.org 04:00 PM July 31, 2008 from mobile web

We got the following response:

fgortonI may be able to lend a hand or point you in the right direction. DM me when you have the chance and we can talk a bit more 04:31 PM July 31, 2008 reply

And thus began our interaction with the super helpful Frank Gorton who gave us every single idea in #2, #3, and #4 below.

2. Low Cost Web Templates. I thought I was all cost efficient using the $5 GoDaddy template when I first took the Hot Mommas Project online.  Good: It’s cheap. Bad: It sucks. As we became more tech-savvy, I realized: a. It was pathetic-looking and b. It was incredibly slow  (shared server, not dedicated server).  Here are some resources suggested by Frank Gorton (fgorton on Twitter), who is a social media expert and worked with AOL and Monster.com, among others, during his career:

– http://www.wordpress.com –  Good templates, says Frank.  Even though I am doing our insiders blog on wordpress, I didn’t realize that you could use a wordpress template for your whole site (click here for Hot Mommas Project non-insiders blog). Frank recommended this to us based on our needs at this stage of the project (Nutshell of our project: Building world’s largest women’s case study library. Kicking off w/ case study competition launching October 13, 2008. Read more here.)

– http://www.templatemonster.com– Frank told us about this, and Achin (new intern) had heard of it too. I have zero time (as I am doing this part time, have two kids, and yada yada) and really need to rely on others to cut through the mess and act as the social media Consumer Reports for me.

– http://www.ning.com. Everyone thinks Ning is awesome (“awesome” word count from past 2 blog posts: 3). You can start a community for free using their software (with a Ning address), and for a nominal fee use your own address. It was founded by Gina Bianchini and Mark Andreesson.  Here is a cool video c/o Robert Scoble.

3. Low Cost “Other Stuff” for Our Site. Aside from the basic “how to pimp out your blog” items (see first post reference to Seth Godin’s article on this), Frank specifically noted the following beyond the basic widgets and RSS stuff:

– www.Vimeo.com – get a free account and build video content. Frank suggested we film our Hot Mommas Project case study protagonists to connect people with our educational tools and take “role models on paper” to “role models on film.” We had dreamed of doing this for a long time, and were even approached by some Hollywood folk, but this is quick and does the job.

– www.Brightcove.com – Here are some syndication products from Brightcove (think “Alliare” – inventors of ColdFusion software).  This could be useful if the above (Hot Mommas video case studies) are a hit or there is other content we want to syndicate (like our research on best practices in work life balance).

–http://www.Twitter.com – Twitter – it’s everywhere. Frank suggested having a Twitter widget on our site would, again, humanize it and help connect people with our cause: Providing academic tools to serve as role models for women and girls (Cool Daddies beta – too!).

If you’ve ever gotten an email from Guy Kawasaki, here is something he uses that he lists as part of his signature: SpinVox(will convert voicemail to email). You can also usually find lots of fun widgets on Guy’s blog.

4. Low Cost Developers and Designers.  Achin, our newest addition, found a developer in India to convert our whole site onto a blog template if we don’t have the fortitude to do it ourselves. Frank uses a developer who charges him about $12 per hour. Contact Frank (fgorton) if you want to know who this is. Here is who Achin found for us: http://www.compose.co.in/.

P.s. Re Designers, I’ve heard of folks using eLance. I use Brad Imburgia who developed the Hot Mommas Project logo. I also used our interns to do some work. (see #7) I’m sure India also has designers.

5. Low Cost and Professional Sounding Phone System. In love with eVoice (I’m pretty sure these are the eFax people). Husband knows the guy who runs Got Voice Mail, also.

6. Low Cost and Professional Looking Printing. Big fan of Vista Print. If you plan far enough in advance, can be UNBELIEVABLY cheap.

7. INTERNS. This is a biggie, so, if you do not care about interns stop reading now. When thinking low or no cost, my personal favorite is interns. My favorite place to list them is at GW’s career site. You can also integrate your post in with NACElink which lists nationally. I also have friends who have used Craig’s list (under part time or your industry). In 1 or 2 years, these interns are going to cost someone $40,000 to $70,000 plus benefits. So, why not receive help from their fabulous brains NOW. I have had to learn to do the following to be successful with interns:

– LIST AT THE RIGHT TIME.  Think student. When are they looking for internships? Post in between January-April for the spring semester (by May you’ve probably lost them to finals). Post by early August for Fall. Post in the Fall before Thanksgiving for the Spring semester. I cannot tell you how many business owners contact me during finals in May and say, “Can you tell your students about this internship?” I give it a 1 in 100 chance at that point.

– BE GOOD AT TRAINING If you suck at mentoring, or don’t have the time or interest, don’t bother.

– HAVE AN “IT” or specific thing they can do.  There is no such thing as too much definition or clarity. Consultants, project managers, and individuals who think this way can usually easily get their brains around this.

– HAVE A WAY TO MONITOR the “it.” I discuss this in an earlier post. It is easier if you have done a good job setting a clear goal or “it” (mentioned above). I am CONSTANTLY adjusting this based on what I see in the person’s performance (e.g., If I sense they are overloaded, I stop sending lists of things to do and re-focus them a la “HERE’S WHAT WE MUST DO BY TODAY.” I will ask them to tell me, with hours by tasks, how they are spending their day…in this way, we work on time management together).

– HAVE SPACE FOR THEM. I have had experience with the student population through teaching. One thing I’ve learned is: It is HARD for most to work on their own and deliver what they say unless they are EXTRAORINARY. So, ixnay on the virtual/independent working.

– HAVE A COOL COMPANY NAME/INTERNSHIP NAME. We got infinitely more resumes with the Hot Mommas Project vs. Vision Forward. hot-mommas-internship-flyer_summer2008.

– SELECT GOOD ONES. I try to select interns where I see a minimum 1/4 ratio. That is, for every 1 hour I spend with them, they can do 4 hours of work. If I can combine several interns into the one hour, great, that is an exponential amount of work being done when everyone goes on their merry way to do a project.  A list of questions I ask is below:

HOW TO INTERVIEW INTERNS:

Interview #1: Phone interview. Min = 15 mins, Max = 1 hour

a. What drew you to the Hot Mommas Project? (Desired answer = They are interested in/passionate about the project. This is KEY.)

b. Tell us about _______________. (Ask about several items on resume to get a sense of  responsibilities). We ask about GPA if there is a problem. Below a 3.0 is a red flag (see “e” and “f” below).

c. What are your top 3 strengths? Draw from group projects, other internships? (We like to see social sophistication and a drive to succeed. If this is not apparent, we ask another question later).

d. What is something on which you’d like to work or improve. (We like to hear them admit a real weakness vs. some B.S. At this point we figure they are an over-achiever type anyway, a couple chinks in the armor show self-awareness which is ESSENTIAL for self-correction).

e. How do you organize yourself? Explain an example – beginning to end – using a major assignment or work project. (We like to see someone with an actual process for organization. If they suck at organizing themselves this means your tasks will not get done, as much as you may like them in the interview. You can turn a B+ into an A, you cannot turn a C or D into an A is our experience).

f. Do you tend to overextend yourself? (This is BEYOND CRITICAL for students who are doing MANY MANY things and often will get into the semester, freak out, then bail on you. Ask this up front. Dig a bit.)

g. What questions do you have for us? (We like smart questions, but, many are overwhelmed so we assign it to them for the next interview. We say, “Come with three questions to the next interview” if they proceed to the second round.)

h. Of the items I’ve described, what sound the most interesting to you? (If you have some flexibility and can match the intern’s interests to specific functions, you’ll have a greater chance of a happy worker.)

Interview #2 (if we ran out of time, but had a good vibe about the person, we’ll send some of the above questions for them to answer via email in between Interview 1 and 2).

a. What additional questions do you have about the project? (They should have been assigned 3).

b. What ideas do you have for the project? (They were assigned a “task” of coming up with 1-3 ideas to make sure they “get” the project).

c. Are you interested in the project (usually already apparent by end of first interview and email interactions in between interviews 1 and 2)?  (If we like them) Rate your interest from 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest. If not a 10, what would make it a 10? (Take notes to integrate into their job during the internship to – again – create happy workers).

d. (If we like them) We’d like to formally offer you the __________internship. (Discuss start date, weekly schedule, their ability to continue beyond one semester, confirming they understand the internship is unpaid, making for-credit arrangements, other logistics. WRITE THIS DOWN and make sure you EACH HAVE A COPY.)

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PARTING THOUGHTS: Gotta run, on vacation, need to go look for hitchhikers.

Building a Million Dollar Business Part Time #10: How We Are Getting Press & Buzz

Let’s continue our discussion of how to do marketing and pr, shall we? Especially since Esther and I spent all %*$#i day organizing our email folders since we are so overwhelmed by the response to our project (good) and seem to have had the email-organization part of our brains partially lobotomized (bad).

We are a tad overwhelmed at the Hot Mommas Project right now and looking forward to Fall reinforcements

Left, please find the metaphoric “Rock Holding Steamroller.” It is the visual representation of how we are feeling right now.  I am not sure if we are the rock, or the steamroller, but I think we are the rock.

Here are things we’ve learned about PR over the past couple of months which is a mix of:

1. Stuff we’ve read

2. Stuff we’ve done

3. Meeting with experts, namely Hot Mommas Project case protagonist Susan Apgood who owns one of the nation’s largest radio PR companies (News Generation) and Racine Tucker-Hamilton at the George Washington School of Business communications office.  Also, White Trash Mom from the BlogHer conference says she’ll help us. Note: PR is completely new for me as my background is in nerdy service-type businesses where no one cared what we did (see “pre-steps” section of older post for more on background).

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INTERLUDE [Samba music plays]

First, let’s start with a quick story about how MUCH we had to learn about PR, buzz, and getting the word out there for the Hot Mommas Project Case Study Competition.

Setting: Bus on the way to Guy Kawasaki’s party.

Esther and I are sitting toward the rear of the bus and the women in front of us learn, through Twitter, that another bus is lost. Esther and I were about to learn we were WAY behind in the social media department.

Women in front of us: “Hey! Are you all up front on Twitter?”

Voice from front of bus: “Who’s NOT on Twitter?”

All: Laughter

Me and Esther: [Blank stare. Silence]

Women in front of us: “Hey driver! The people on Twitter on the other bus just told us they’re lost.”

Bus driver: “What’s Twitter?”

All: Laughter

Me and Esther: [Blank stare. Silence]

With social media tails between our legs, Esther and I immediately sign up for http://www.Twitter.com on our mobiles. I am “chiefhotmomma” and she is “hotmommasintern.”  I had not gotten on Twitter before thinking it was sort of stalkeresque.  However, in Silicon Valley I felt like Bert – my father-in-law –  when he said he “couldn’t be bothered with all that email mumbo jumbo” and that his grandkids could, “pick up the phone so he could hear their beautiful voices.” (Sorry to out you Bert.) I am happy to report now Bert is on email…and we are now on Twitter….”Tweeting.” Feel free to “follow” us as ChiefHotMomma and HotMommasIntern.

END INTERLUDE [Samba music ends]

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Now, on to our PR takeaways:

1. PR is the cheapest form of marketing. If what you’re doing is newsworthy, work it. And, if you THINK you are creative, think again. Esther and I thought we were creative. We developed this press release titled “Hot Mommas Project Produces Role Models on Paper for Women Across the Globe.” Ha! We were totally delusional. Look what Racine Tucker-Hamilton came up with: http://business.gwu.edu/news/archive/2008/0703.cfm

2. Develop a media plan.Racine shared a one-page media plan with us that articulated the following:

– GOALS: What is the goal? To increase news coverage, create awareness, all of the above? Articulate these goals in 1 to 5 bullets.

– AUDIENCE: Who is the audience? For us, it could be women, but, we’ll probably also be targeting their husbands, partners, and leaders in education and policy. Articulate this in 1 to 7 bullets.

– MESSAGES/PITCHES: Write out the message points in 1 to 5 bullets. My friend who has a long history in PR used to say, “Focus on 3 message points max.” So, my guess is that we will draw the 3 best points from our list depending on the conversation. Make it clear how you are different. Click here for some sample what, where, when, why message points I am going to run by Racine and Susan along with the following:

Exposure to role models increases one’s sense of self efficacy, or the feeling of ‘I can do that.’ The Hot Mommas Project approach of providing role models on paper hits the nail on the head and fills a void that exists in women’s leadership education today.

-MEDIA TARGETS: This can be as big as one needs it to be, however, Susan recommended we target folks like Working Woman, Pink, etc. News release service providers like Cision, Vocus,and MediaMap (which was acquired by Bacon’s, which merged with Cision) can help as well.

-PLAN/KEY ACTIONS: These are action steps that will be taken based on the above goals. 5 or so bullets.

-TIMELINE: These are dates associated with key actions, like creating a press release, creating media lists, distributing press release, pitching, and follow up (to include thank yous to contacts).

-MEASUREMENT/KEY NUMBERS: Susan also mentioned being very clear about what we want to accomplish (e.g., x media impressions, or x placements in certain types of magazines or newspapers). We need to have a way to measure hits (aka coverage).

3. Develop a press kit. Again, we consulted Susan Apgood of News Generation on our story angle.  We had it completely reversed, so, were glad we had spoken with her. Here is a pretty concise article on developing a press kit. If there is no interest in the story, Susan says you can sometimes resort to a “what’s in it for you” approach (e.g., we are targeting professional women and you will have exposure).

4. Distribute the press kit/press release.

4a. Push the story out through press releases or Hot Mommas-initiated contact. Here are a couple of resources: Peter Shankman’s “Help a Reporter Out” which is AWESOME and FREE. He sends 3 emails a day on stories reporters are looking to write.  Michelle Woodward, who is a master-certified life coach (sort of like the Mr. Miyagi of life coaches) put us onto this. Also, you can distribute mass news releases in a targeted fashion with Cision & Vocus.

Note: This same method can be used with organizations (see #5 below) where you might want to promote something to their membership or employees.

4b. “Pull.” For instance, George Washington University School of Business did a newsletter piece on the Hot Mommas Project. Then communications for the entire university put it out there. Then the story was picked up by newswires. People started calling. We just sort of sat there. It was awesome.

4c. There may be some other way of which I’m unaware, so, adding “c” in here.

Side note: Make it easy for the reporter.  A year or so ago our cases were being used at Western Michigan University and we wrote a press release, looked into media outlets, and followed up. At the end of the day, it failed miserably because we were making the reporter work too hard to figure out the story.  So, being clear on our story is key, as is running it by some PR experts (as to whether it is a good story…or, whether it totally blows). We have our facts, figures, quotes, and sources teed up.

5. Interviews and Appearances.

– INTERVIEWS: Susan says before meeting with anyone, have a media training session and prepare for potential questions. Have fun facts memorized, and learn how avoid answering certain questions. I am still working on this and talked with a really amazing reporter the other day who gave me some great feedback.

– PRESENTATIONS: Know audience and practice. For example, I delivered a presentation recently at an Entrepreneur’s Organization  retreat (formerly YEO, like YPO but funner. Yes, “funner” is a joke people): “What Women Want: 3 Secrets to Attracting and Retaining High Performing Female Employees.”  I thought the presentation went pretty well, and was right in the sense that the presentation received one of the top scores. (Here are the presentation notes eo_what-women-want_61108.) However, I recorded it with my video camera and realized I said “uh” a bunch of times (hence, the practice concept mentioned at the top of this paragraph).

6. Whatever works in your industry.  The ultimate caveat of caveats: Remember to adapt any PR or marketing strategies to your industry. For instance, friend and Hot Mommas Project Host Committee Member Richard Barney said that in his former industry (real estate), the company tried tons of cool stuff and events and giveaways. But, it all came down to referrals, referrals, referrals. Whatever works in your industry, do it. We are figuring it out right now. I have some creative giveaway ideas with which www.OnSalePromos.com is helping us. (OnSalePromos on Twitter).

7. Create buzz. To create buzz, we are largely relying on the world of social media and membership organizations. To the extent that it links in with coverage in press, great. So, what are we doing?

– Now: Blogging. We are not sure if this is working, but then we get out to BlogHer and people say, “Oh! We’ve heard of you!” Maybe it’s because we’re listed on http://moms.alltop.com.  Sample research and role model series posts. As you read in the vignette above, we’ve also gotten ourselves wrapped into Twitter.

– Now: Twitter.Twitter is like the “what are you doing now” application on Facebook. That’s it.  I’ve heard some folks say it drives traffic to their blog, their site, or whatever they’re posting in their status updates. See our last post mentioning Chris Brogan’s ideas on how to use Twitter.

– Now: Podcasts (examples SBTV and Hip Tranquil Chick). We’ve had a good reception with these. After this we were approached by Pink Heels and others and will be doing some partnering.

– Now: Partnering with bloggers. For instance, really cool bloggers from the BlogHER conference – like White Trash Mom and Your On Ramp – are blogging about us in September and October near the time of the Oct 13 Hot Mommas Project Case Study Competition launch.

– Now: Partnering with organizations. For example, Women’s Presidents Organzation, SBE Council, WE Inc, and the American Mustache Institute (this second one for our Cool Daddies beta section of the case study competition). They work with us to communicate with members about the competition in exchange for formal recognition as a marketing partner.

– Now: Partnering with connectors. There are some folks who we call “connectors” (like Malcom Gladwell discusses in The Tipping Point). They are people with extensive networks who are enthusastic about the Hot Mommas Project Case Study Competition. Many of these will become marketing partners, like Julie Lenzer Kirk. Others will become Host Committee Members like Michael Goldstein of Content Now or Brian Scudamore of 1800GotJunk (host committee members will email their networks for us).  Also, in a major win, Guy Kawasaki of www.Alltop.com (we’re listed here) is going to advertise the competition for us.

Future: More press. Will also ask Susan at News Generation if our stuff is radio worthy and see if she can help us get on some talk shows, etc.

Future: Facebook group, cause, or “fan.”

Future: Group on LinkedIn…if this can be done…someone told me they could put me in touch w/ the founder and that hasn’t happened.

Future: Search optimization/Google. Shashi is the man on this.

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PARTING THOUGHTS: So, at this point it’s probably pretty easy to see why I am overwhelmed and very behind on my sponsorship contact goals. Time to pick that baton back up and run with it. (Click here for sponsor post).

Building a Million Dollar Business Part Time #9: How to Market_Networking Our Brains Out

 

Esther and I are in San Francisco for the BlogHer 2008 conference. Okay, to be totally honest, we came out here for a party being hosted by Guy Kawasaki’s venture www.alltop.com along with Kirtsy (as part of the BlogHer conference). We decided to do this just last week. (Side Note: If you want to see why we like Guy Kawasaki, click here or here. Here is the link to the Alltop page where we’re listed http://moms.alltop.com/).

Charlie (aka Guy) and his angels.

 Cheating on the third angel – note: ginger ale in hand

Click here to learn who the third angel (and business partner) is.

THIS IS HOW IT ALL STARTED:

—–Original Message—–


From: Guy Kawasaki    

Sent: Saturday, July 05, 2008 2:03 PM


To: Kathy Korman Frey
    

Subject: Re: Shashi, AllTop,

Katherine,

Are you coming to BlogHer? If you are, I’d love if you can make the Alltop/Kirtsy party at my house on Thursday night. Invitation is below.

All the best,

Guy  

—–Original Message—–


From: Kathy Korman Frey  


Sent: Monday, July 07, 2008 4:08 PM


To: ‘Guy Kawasaki’
    

Subject: RE: Shashi, AllTop,

Guy,

I am seriously thinking of flying out. You’ll be there, right…you’re not just volunteering your house as a party house? 

Kathy

  —–Original Message—–


From: Guy Kawasaki
    

Sent: Monday, July 07, 2008 5:20 PM


To: Kathy Korman Frey    


Subject: Re: Shashi, AllTop,    

 I’ll be there for sure! 

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BEGIN INTERLUDE [Samba music plays]

1. Conversation with Esther “Uh…yeah…you know how this internship is Tuesdays and Thursdays? Okay, skip that. And your LSAT class. Do you want to go to San Francisco? Oh, we’ll be staying in the same room. My husband says I snore.” Esther is 100% game. CHECK 

2. See if we can book tickets to San Fran with miles. There is room in steerage! CHECK

3. Ask hubby if this works for him/fam. 100% okay with this. CHECK

BTW folks, this is an example of having a supportive spouse which is one of the TOP FACTORS in being able to “Do it all.” Keep checking back here for more on our research (preliminarily discussed in Hip Tranquil Chick podcasts with The Hot Mommas Project – new podcasts to start launching July 19. Click here for original podcast)

END INTERLUDE [Samba music ends]

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THE RESULT  [Blog themesong starts] 

Note: If you have not read the first post,or the second post or the third post(I forget which)the blog themesong is “Everybody’s Got Their Something” by Nikka Costa. (Click music samples on left side of page at the link).

 —–Original Message—–


From: Kathy Korman Frey
    

Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 2008 5:55 PM

To: ‘Guy Kawasaki’


Cc: ‘Esther Leff’


Subject: We’re flying out just for YOUR party! RE: Shashi, AllTop,

Guy,

My intern (Esther) and I are flying out JUST for your party! We didn’t even know about the BlogHer conference! We just got on the waiting list.

 Kathy

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During the trip, Esther proceeded to tell me that I look younger than I am. As my father says when my kids do something cute, “Get out the checkbook!”

TAKEAWAYS:

HNL. We thought we were networking before, having meetings and doing podcasts back in DC. Meeting with the folks enveloped in social media at the BlogHer conference was an HNL (HOLE.NOTHER.LEVEL).Whatever you’re doing, what are ways you can kick it up a notch to an HNL? This was an eye opener for us. For example, everyone is on Twitter (another story for the next post). Here is a good article by Chris Brogan on how to use Twitter.

Grow a set. For me, it was pretty a-typical to drop everything and drag my intern to CA. It was worth it, and has set a new standard for us now. We are literally overwhelmed with contacts, information, and inspiration (more on the awesome people we met in the next post). Here is a link to suggestions for driving traffic to your blog…just one of many sessions we didn’t attend (because we weren’t registered) but, alas, these are bloggers! All the sessions are covered in detail online.

Be different. Be clear.

Different – We’re called The Hot Mommas Project. We are out of a university. We research best practices in work life balance equations.

Clear – We are having a case study competition launching October 13. Women will write their own case to be used in classrooms around the world. The winners will be published in a top Prentice Hall textbook. Please consider submitting your case. Here’s our card.

Develop partners. Make asks. Before the trip to California, we had done some podcasts with SBTV and Kimberly Wilson from Hip Tranquil Chick. We had also gotten some really incredible press out the George Washington University School of Business’s communication office(see links below). This gave us some momentum.

SBTV Podcasts

http://www.sbtv.com/?segid=3151

http://www.sbtv.com/?segid=3152

http://www.sbtv.com/?segid=3153

Press out of GW – Hot Mommas “Sizzling New Research Initiative” (These are examples of how the first link – out of GW – led to the story being picked up by different wires because of the great writing of Racine  Tucker-Hamilton who consults for GW).

http://business.gwu.edu/news/archive/2008/0703.cfm

http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/542493/

Another place the story got picked up

PARTING THOUGHTS: More later sports fans…time to catch my flight back to DC.

 

Building a Million Dollar Business Part Time #8: How We Got Our First Sponsors

We got our first set of sponsors for The Hot Mommas® Project 2008 Case Study Competition. This blog talks about who they are, and how we got them.  The bottom line is RELATIONSHIPS. (Click here to get to the main Hot Mommas Project site which has links about the case study competition).

Pictured left is my son, Maxwell, and daughter Lilah who is traumatized by Maxwell hitting her with one of those noodle toys people use in the pool. If Maxwell could read, he would learn from this post that relationships make everything happen and that he should not – I repeat NOT – hit his sister with the noodle.

What is the Hot Mommas Project: In case you are lost, the Hot Mommas Project (www.HotMommas.org) is an award-winning research and curriculum endeavor on how successful professional women balance it all.  Click here for main blog. Our goal this year is to build and launch a global case study competition in which women write their own case, tell their story, help others in doing so, and might get just get in one of the nation’s top business textbooks by Prentice Hall! (Let’s not forget the cash and prizes). Click here and type “CSC” in the subject line if you would like to nominate someone you know, or be notified when the competition is live. Now, onto our post (How We Got our First Sponsors):

1. Consult with experts.

First we consulted with social entrepreneur Julie Silard Kantor of the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship  (NFTE) on how to approach sponsors. She ran one of NFTE’s top offices in the nation.  Now she works for NFTE national. She gave us the following advice:

a. What’s in it for me? Be sure to answer this question for sponsors. For some it’s the networking at an event, for others its the visibility, for others a combination and/or other goals.

b. Ask, don’t tell. Ask them what they liked and didn’t like about past sponsorships. Be cognizant of this during your interactions.

c. Search Guidestar. Julie also encouraged us to search www.guidestar.com and print the c90s (tax forms) of similar causes to get a flavor for who is sponsoring what. 

d. Use templates.  Like a little sponsorship angel, Julie encouraged us to check out the NFTE DC office’s sponsorship links as a sample (sponsors, form).

e. Develop host committee. Getting a host committee going was another suggestion – this formally honors champions who are tapping their networks for your cause.  We’ve decided to tap people who are willing to email their network of over 100 people.

2. Develop a sponsor packet.

Click here for our sponsor and partner packet. It is a pretty shameless copy of NFTE Greater Washington’s.  As a rule, I like to find friends who are willing to share their templates. I do the same thing from my end.

3. Develop measurable/trackable goals, make asks.

Esther and I (Esther is my “right hand man” – see previous post) have developed a very specific goal of 5 asks per day (each). This is a little more involved than it sounds, because many pre steps must happen before we can approach a potential sponsor or partner (research, writing letters, editing letters, getting coffee, etc.). Having a TARGET NUMBER has helped us a great deal. We agree that the 5 asks per day (and – this is part time – so it is 2 days per week) is our number one priority. Although, one might not guess this based on how miserably behind I am on my target. But, 5, each, Tuesday and Thursday is the target.

Because this is the first Case Competition we are willing to operate without salaries and cover costs only. Of course, the ideal is to have a salary and have a cash reserve for next year.  We have developed a budget, which I’m sure will change. Click this link ( module-3-exercise-3-4_33108) for a really basic financial planning curriculum I developed for NFIB’s Young Entrepreneur Foundation and Visa’s Practical Money Skills (start at page 7 if you want to build very simple financials).

4. Results – Secure Sponsors.

Here are the sponsors we just confirmed this week. We want sponsors to INCREASE our revenue, and/or DECREASE our expense line items.

– The George Washington University, Center For Entrepreneurial Excellence (through the generosity of Linda Rabbitt).  Dr. Erik Winslow – who is pretty much the mac daddy of the Women’s Leadership Program at GW – walked into my office last week. He tells me Linda Rabbitt – big time entrepreneur and donor to GW – was interested in the Hot Mommas Project and part of a donation is being earmarked for us. That is the REVENUE side. GW also donates office space to the Hot Mommas Project thus allowing us to reduce an EXPENSE line item.

What led to this: I have been updating George Solomon and Erik Winslow (GWU Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence Co Founders) for years. They have been there every step of the way.

Linda Rabbitt: Click here or here for additional info on major stud Linda Rabbitt.  At the bottom of this post, you will find article from when she was honored as a Washingtonian of the Year.  She is such an incredible person I had to include the entire piece.

 -FMS, Inc. FMS is our technology partner. They are reducing an EXPENSE line item for us.  FMS is owned by Luke Chung (an EO member). Veteran FMS employee Dave Juth (a GWU Alum) is our project lead.  What can we offer? Aside from being fun and interesting, we included them in some news coverage of the Hot Mommas Project coming out of GW. Click here to see article.

What led to this: I have been friends with Luke Chung for years. I am a huge fan.  When I needed to talk with a tech expert, he came to mind first. I was shocked when Luke said they could help us out.  Because we are cause-related, they are giving us a discount. 

The big takeaway here is the people you know can help you.  We are in a good position because of the connections with which we are starting. This is why people say networking is important. But I don’t like it when people are just users. My goal and approach is to be a decent person and maintain the relationship out of genuine interest, not because of what the project or I can get.  I love these guys (mentioned above).  Lots of good business karma going around as a result.

5. Looking ahead: Diversification

For ongoing sponsorship development, I’ve been advised by Tony Sudler – head of the Alzheimer’s Association, National Capital Area – to diversify the sponsor base…ideally 25% for each category an organization might have (e.g., planned gifts, corporate, individual, etc.). This is a smart tactic which helped the association post 9-11 and post Tsunami when many donors’ dollars were diverted.

6. Other resources.

 The Sponsorship Seeker’s Toolkit was recommended to me, but I have not been using it. I have used it in the past.

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Linda Rabbitt

from The Washingtonian

Washingtonians Of The Year 2003

Share | <!–Print–>Print

By Leslie Milk , Ellen Ryan

“My father taught me to always leave things better than you found them.”

“Volunteering is a way of life for me,” says Linda Rabbitt. Owner of Rand Construction, a business she built from the ground up, she is involved in so many community groups that her husband has threatened to enroll her in “Just Say No” school.

Rabbitt is the immediate past chair of the Greater Washington Board of Trade, only the third woman to head the 115-year-old organization. She spearheaded creation of the Washington Collaborative, moving the Board of Trade and community organizations that work with the business community into one building where they could share space, resources, and ideas. Rabbitt also raised almost $1 million in in-kind contributions to rehab that building. “We’re building communications through physical space,” she says.

As CEO of the area’s third-largest female-owned business and a leader of the Washington Building Congress and CREW (Commercial Real Estate Women), Rabbitt has encouraged women to build careers in construction and commercial real estate. As president of the International Women’s Forum, she pushed for creation of a Leadership Foundation to fund a fellows program for women moving up the corporate ladder.

Three years ago, Rabbitt survived breast cancer. Even before she’d recovered, she was working with the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure and the National Breast Cancer Coalition. Rand Construction built the coalition’s new offices pro bono. In her spare time, Rabbitt has helped raise funds for My Sister’s Place, a program for battered women.

If you ask her, she says she does so much for selfish reasons. “The only things you really keep are what you give away,” Rabbitt says.

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PARTING THOUGHT.

I am so thankful for the incredible, and generous people and companies involving themselves with The Hot Mommas® Project.  Reading about Linda Rabbitt has been so inspirational (here is ANOTHER link…page down for story).  Can’t wait to see what happens next. 

Building a Million Dollar Business Part Time #7: How to Implement

I also affectionately refer to this post as: “How to get s*&t done.”

What are the big takeaways from today’s post?:

1. Focus

2. Focus

3. Focus

Esther, pictured here (with our original business partner), and I have been religiously and regularly deploying the “F-word”: FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS. We have been very focused on results, and – unfortunately – not fun stuff like blogs.

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What is the Hot Mommas Project: In case you are lost, the Hot Mommas Project (www.HotMommas.org) is an award-winning research and curriculum endeavor on how successful professional women balance it all.  Click here for main blog. Our goal this year is to build and launch a global case study competition in which women write their own case, tell their story, help others in doing so, and might get just get in one of the nation’s top textbooks by Prentice Hall! (Let’s not forget the cash and prizes). Click here if you would like to nominate someone you know, or be notified when the competition is live. Now, onto our post:

Focus – What has NOT been happening. I started this post about a month ago and am only finishing it now. Why? I’ve been focusing. Two of my three team members bailed on me.  A set back, yes, but it forced a high level of prioritization.  Here are some keys and tips that are working:

1. PRIORITIES AND FOCUS: KEYS TO THE UNIVERSE. The Hot Mommas Project survey research (data from highly successful professional women who also want to have a life) indicates that PRIORITZATION AND FOCUS are the keys to the universe.  More on this in the future, just trust me.

2. SAY NO. SAYING NO IS A PART OF PRIORITIZATION AND FOCUSING. Newsflash to some of us overachiever “oh…I’ll just do it myself” types.  Men focus this naturally because of the way their brains work.Toilet paper roll not changed? Bed not made? It’s focus ladies.  The beauty of what’s NOT getting done COULD be – gasp – FOCUS. Not on the top three list, not getting done.

Note 1: See brain book which I’ve mentioned before.

Note 2: This of course does not allow frat boys doing beer bongs to claim they are “focusing.”

TIP: HAVING TROUBLE? Develop a DO NOT DO LIST.Works wonders. Did it when I was pregnant/post-preggo, hormonal, and nuts.

3. DELEGATE: THIS MEANS GOOD PEOPLE.  Esther is like having 2 staffpeople. And I don’t mean multiple personality disorders. I mean, she is on top of it.  So, the lesson here is GOOD PEOPLE ALLOW YOU TO FOCUS. Here is my time triage with a bad person/staffer:

TYPICAL DAY WITH BAD STAFFER:

2 hours – meeting and download with staffperson.

4 hours – staffperson works independently on project, I do my stuff.

2 hours – clean up of staffperson’s crap work. Assign staffperson some other less meaningful task I feel they can’t mess up.

2 hours – staff person works on their menial task, I get some work done.

After work: 1-5 hours – worrying about what crap work I’m going to see tomorrow.

-Total available time to get work done for me in a 10 hour day: 6 hours

-Total time spent worrying: 1-5 hours

-Scale power (hours of productive work by another person…”scale”): 2?

TYPICAL DAY WITH ESTHER:

2 hours – meeting and download with Esther.

4 hours – Esther works independently on project.

.5 hours – Approve and press “send” on project with Esther.

3.5 hours – Esther moves onto her next thing, I move onto my next thing.

1-5 hours – thinkng how awesome Esther is and how I am looking forward to tomorrow

-Total available time to get work done for me in a 10 hour day: 7.5 hours

-Total time spent being positive and happy: 1-5 hours

-Scale power (hours of productive work by another person…”scale”): 7.5 hrs

GOOD PEOPLE, GOOD PEOPLE, GOOD PEOPLE. Can’t say it enough. I finally get when the business books/business experts say “get good people.”

4. HAVE A PROCESS/FORUM FOR TOUCHING BASE ON PRIORITIES. Esther and I are really, really, really focused on results. We are constantly in touch about the big picture (where we are heading) and what steps we need to be taking NOW to get there.  In addition, I want to make sure to this is a rewarding experience for Esther so that we are in a mututally beneficial situation. Here is how we accomplish the above:

4a. Bi-Monthly Culture Check Ins.We sit down every other week at the beginning of the week. I ask her, “How is it going? Poor, Good, Great, Really Great?” Esther told me in our first meeting that things were going “Great.” I said, “What would get it to ‘Really Great’?” She said, “Talking with more contacts and coming to more meetings.” So…that is what we did. When there was a meeting, I included her. When there was an opportunity to speak with a partner or the media, I assigned it to her. By our next meeting two weeks later, Esther was giving the experience a “Really Great” rating. It has to be a two-way street, however. Employers working with Generation Y may be tempted to make it all about what the employee wants. However, this does not allow for growth or mentoring. During that same meeting, I rated the experience a “Great” also. I told her that when we started producing actual deliverables, I would probably lean more toward a “Really Great” rating. So…that is what we have been FOCUSED on: Actual Results. Not a lot of chasing your tail.

Tip: Think – if I could only do 3 things today, what would they be?Then FOCUS! Screen/test your answer by following up with this question: “Will these three things get me closer to my major goal MORE than other tasks?” If not – time to REPRIORITIZE.  Tim Ferriss is a real hard a*& about this stuff in The Four Hour Work Week.

4b. Daily Check Ins.  Esther and I check in daily. We work off a list of priorities. The list is shaped based on:

a. Our goal (in this case launching a case study competition) and

b. Meetings with experts (please, don’t try to reinvent the wheel…such a time drain).  For example, we met with a PR expert who told us NOT to lead with information about the Hot Mommas Project survey research.  Susan Matthews Apgood, owner of News Generation, told us, “The case study competition is much more interactive. There is something in it for people. They can participate, tell their own case study, help others, and be honored by winning prizes and getting their case published in a text book. LEAD with the story about the case study competition.” Well, this conversation changed everything for us. We had to be able to quickly adjust, and re-assign tasks based on the readjusted priorities.

5. RE-PRIORITIZE, RE-FOCUS. If you have a regular process for meeting to discuss goals and steps for achieving those goals, it allows for quick correction and re-prioritization. Catch as catch can meetings don’t always allow for this. It’s part of the criticism about virtual workplaces.  Thus, a formal structure needs to be created for communicating – even if it’s just a “call staff” note in Outlook. I would say that at every other meeting, Esther and I slightly bump up or down an item on the list.

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PARTING THOUGHT: Ted Leonsis talked about the relentless drive to execute in a Cool Daddies case we did on him. He checked in with staff regularly. He was basically seeing if they were getting the job done, and what they needed to get it done. He had a saying, “No bad days.” A bad day would lead to a bad week, a bad week would lead to a bad quarter, etc. It is about having processes for early correction. I think he was probably effective in building AOL, and achieving his other successes, because of this trait…but also because people wanted to do well for him.  Thus, steps 4a and 4b – and this post as a whole – is my attempt to model these behaviors. 

Building A Million Dollar Business Part Time #6: Help Arrives

Pictured here is one of the team members selected for the Hot Mommas Project competitive internship. My first thought is “YAY. The cavalry has arrived.” Albeit, the cavalry looks like a Barbie doll. (No offense Jen). Why do I – and why should you – love Jennifer? We love Jennifer because she represents HELP. And a lot of you out there – you know who you are – try to do it all yourself. You just do, because you can. I did too. Now, I must stop if I want to build a million dollar enterprise part time.

Here’s me: 50 – 75%

Here’s Jen: The rest.

YAY! Also joining Jennifer will be Esther about whom you’ll be hearing soon.

First order of business – unearthing the action plan I originally authored in Post #3. This was a beast. Doing it by myself would have been impossible. Now, and have I mentioned this already?…the cavalry has arrived.

Jen and I discuss her action plan and decide on the following:

1. Overall training

– Give her download of project, history, future direction, and her part in this future direction.

– Do something relevant and semi-fun/different by having “mavens” (interns) participate in a power-chicks bookclub selection: “Go Put Your Strengths to Work” by Marcus Buckingham.

– Develop Action Plan and report out weekly. Here is the action plan with which we came up today in our first meeting.

2. Develop Objective: Global Case Study Competition with goal of ready-to-launch by end of summer and 100 cases end of 2008

CHAMPION: JENNIFER

3. Develop Action Plan for May:

5/19/2008	kkf/Jen	Intro and training/blog and tech netherworld
5/20/2008	Jen	Make mock up of case study competition page
5/20/2008	Jen	Look into domain name/blog format for case study competition
5/20/2008	Jen	Research tech models/tools
5/22/2008	Jen	Research: Women’s case studies (list sources – talk w/ kkf to get started)
5/22/2008	Jen/KKF	Meet with Luke and Dave (tech advisors)
5/22/2008	Jen/KKF	Talk with Neel (tech advisor)
5/22/2008	Jen	Training: Blog and social media
5/29/2008	kkf/Jen	Decide on going forward strategy (software vs manual submission)
5/29/2008	kkf/Jen	Develop list of social media/online marketing, and legal/publishing advisors

Jen has already had some brilliant ideas. I am happy. This is what I have asked her to do to facilitate our working relationship:

a. Manage up – I need to be managed. Remind me of stuff. Plan 2 or 3 weeks out and start telling me what I/we need to be doing to make the objective (stated above) happen.

b. Don’t assume I know everything, and am just delivering instructions over the course of the summer. We are figuring this out together. It will be a push and pull of brainstorming, mushing it around, and having something great come out. (Not unlike the experience of having children…did I just say that?)

c. I don’t remember. I need another coffee.

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Lil’ nugget (how g is that?) – Here is my token little bit of info to help you/us/we women because – Lord knows we don’t get enough of it. In fact, in the afterlife, I hope to be someone’s husband (see that past life regression on Oprah the other day? You might have been a man. Or a princess. Or a ferret. Anything is possible ladies.) Back to the lil’ nugget:

The concept of strengths. There is a little debate going on in the business community at large about scenario A vs. B:

Scenario A: Strengthen weaknesses – Employee sucks at spreadsheets, throw him in a “killer app” spreadsheet development class.

Scenario B: Leverage strengths – Employee is amazing at networking, throw him out there to develop business and build brand. Screw the spreadsheets.

This is massively over simplified, however, you can read more and do an online seminar. Click here for links to book, free seminars, etc. on “Go Put Your Strengths to Work” by Marcus Buckingham (mentioned earlier). Very easy read, and, makes you think a bit about – gasp – yourself!

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Parting Thought:

I actually think this is going work. It’s an equation. I’m at 50% or 75% in terms of time and brain space. From my mavens, I plan to get 50% work hours (and hopefully brainspace depending on how hard these gals party). I officially have a team. Jen says, “I’m blonde…so I probably have less than 50% brainspace.” (And FUNNY too!) My vibe is this will work. I’ve tried a lot of different permutations and combinations over the years – but, it was managing other people that the HR department helped bring in. Now, I AM the HR department. I’ve kissed a few frogs, but, I think these are the princesses.

Building a Million Dollar Business Part Time #4:The Productive Amoeba

This week sucked. I would like to blame all of my problems on Quicken.

I. WHAT‘s WORKING?Let‘s start on a positive note. Doing my goals is working. I am accomplishing them, mainly due to the fact that they are hovering over me like a school marm tapping her watch. It prevents them from eking out into the abyss of 100%.  Dennis Hightower, former big-time Disney exec, advised “Good general managers must be able to make decisions with between 40 and 70% information.” So, there you go. Lodged firmly in between 40% and 70%, I listed Hot Mommas Project internships online at GWU (George Washington University), talked with a tech guru, forged ahead with my research, all the while taking care of my mom and being totally ill myself (now, having intense love affair with the z-pack).

 Every blog needs a creepy doll picture.  Here is my loyal non-mammalian business partner (yes, a Starbucks coffee) on a playdate with my daughter‘s doll. Okay, fun‘s over, back to work. 

II. WHAT‘s NOT WORKING.

1. SOMETHING – It‘s always something. If it‘s not me being sick, it‘s my kids…if it‘s not my kids, it‘s a friend…etc. etc. So, there were a lot of “somethings” this week. Something doesn‘t seem to be going away.

 2. FAMILY WITHDRAWL – Because of the “somethings” I barely saw my kids and husband this week. Need to do a bit more schedule triage (below). (See first post on schedule triage).

 3. BURN OUT – After many “somethings” and subsequent worrying about “somethings,” I was left with I the brain capacity of an amoeba, except crankier.

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 III. THE PLAN – WHAT DID I ACCOMPLISH?

 A. On the Hot Mommas Project PLAN (and granted, this is very tactical in nature) here is what I wanted to accomplish this past week:

 04/08/09 – Research (idea = research release to correspond with marketing of competition)

·     Accomplished this. On track.

 04/10/08 – Develop intern/staff listings and post.

·     Accomplished this. On track. (Even have first resume in!)

 04/10/08 – Research – Draft report 75% complete.

·     Accomplished this. On track. (This is a crock, however, as the remaining 25% of questions are a complete nightmare to analyze).

 B. This week – What I need to do:

04/17/08 – Conversation with software developer to sketch out scope and costs.

·     Confidence level: High. Need to develop priorities list and get to tech partner on 4/15.

 04/17/08 – Develop budget.

·     Confidence level: medium. Not sure how long it takes tech partner to develop budget. Will let him know about my deadline.

 04/17/08 – Develop sponsorship kit final + target list.

·     Confidence level – high. Can have draft and initial target list, even if budget is not ready.

 04/17/08 – Research – Draft report 100% complete. Submit to GW advisors for comment.

·     Confidence level – low. Have many open ended answers to code and not sure how this is going to happen.

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 IV. SCHEDULE TRIAGE RIDES AGAIN!

 A. The assessment

Hours available to me to work: 29. How I spent these hours:

 

12.5 –  Hot Mommas Project – accomplishing objectives

  6.0 –  Teaching / GW-related stuff

  4.5 – Client work

  6.0 –  Personal (sick/squeezing in time with kids /hubby due to “somethings”).

29.0 – TOTAL

 

Conclusion: An additional 6-8 additional hours will free up this and next week, and maybe another 6 to 8 the week after that. No G*d Knows What time suckers (see original triage post). Good.

 

 B. Going forward – the personal pledge

Personal Pledge to RESTORE BALANCE IN THE FREY UNIVERSE

 

In addition to my Hot Mommas Project goals, this week I promise to:

 

 1. Be outside of the house 1 night only (last week was 4 nights 3 with mom at hospital, one at my forum*).

2. Work out 4x during the week, one time at home or on walk with kids/hubby.

3. Plan 3 fun/nice things (each) for kids and for hubby.

4. Multi-task and work at my mom‘s house now that she is out of hospital.

5. Plan time with my best friend Julie.

 

*Definition of Forum = group of mentors. Meets 1x per month. Amazing. Changed my life. Click here for book on forum (“Forum: The Secret Advantage of Successful Leaders”) by one of the world‘s leading forum facilitators, Mo Fathelbab. 

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V. Inspiration/Resources:

Found this interesting time management site: Mindtools. (This is in no way affiliated with “Mind Head” from the movie Bowfinger with Eddie Murphy and Steve Martin.) I like the approach – specifically adding a “stress diary” to a daily time log. I am not sure what I would actually do once I realize something is stressful, but, is fun to think about nonetheless. The major topics are:

 1. Introduction to time management.

2. Beating procrastination.

3. Activity Logs.

4. Action Plans.

5. Prioritized to do lists.

6. Scheduling skills.

7. Personal goal setting.

 

As pathetic as it may sound, three of the most helpful things I‘ve been doing to get through my tasks are:

·     NOT LOOKING AT OUTLOOK,

·     NOT LOOKING AT MY BLACKBERRY (a la leaving it in another room), and

·     CLOSING ALL NON-RELEVANT DOCUMENTS ON MY COMPUTER.

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Parting Thoughts:

Things are getting done. This is good. Goals are good. Still have not completed action plan for writing “How to Be a Hot Momma” book. Need to balance a teensy big more prior to getting another plate spinning. Don‘t want to degenerate back into a cranky amoeba.  What is the #1 trait Hot Mommas (in our survey) are saying has helped them professionally? Perseverance. So, I am marching on.

Thanks – again – to all of you who have posted offering comments and encouragement. Feel free to post your own goals here, too. 

 

 

 

Building a Million Dollar Business Part Time #3: THE PLAN

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Begin at the beginning: Before sharing my action plan for moving forward, I want to outline the pre-steps that got me to this stage. (Skip to II if not interested in this). As I’ve learned from my students, there is an intense need out there to know about the very, very beginning. Here is the Reader’s Digest version:

Photo: Paging Dr. Pepper. Here I am back in the hospital with my mom, cheating on my business partner.

I. THE PRE-STEPS (Vastly oversimplified for the purposes of brevity)

1998-1999:“Aha” moment re: Hot Mommas Project. Get MBA. Begin to ruminate about idea.

• 1990-1997 – Leading up to this point: Worker bee/managerial skill building.
• Theme: Make other people look good.

1999-2001: Hiatus from idea. Working 16 hour days. Managerial/Executive skill building.

• Theme: Still making other people look good.

2001-2007: Build consulting firm (full time, great $$$, interest level = medium). Hired “Hot Mommas” as consultants.

• Theme: “Let’s see if I can do this.” Answer = Yes. (Great clients, great consultants, many many zeroes in our revenue line, however, still did not make it more interesting).
• Did not realize how luxurious my time was. Enter children. Had kid #1 (Maxwell – “Il Capo”).

2003-2008: Teaching (part time, not great $$$, interest level = high). Hot Mommas Project accepted/honored in academia.

• Theme: “Hmmmm…this is interesting. Is this what I’m supposed to be doing?”
• Had kid #2 (Lilah – La Principessa). Lots of umming and uhhing while I get my bearings. Wonder if I just need to give up on my professional goals to a certain extent.

2007: “It” moment:

• “This is the idea with which to move forward for the Hot Mommas (case study competition…finally, some specificity!” 
• Still had doubts about my ability to build a kick-ass career part time.
• Nevertheless, continued with idea development and tested with good advisors.

2008: Kicking Hot Mommas Project into high gear.

• Cases in a leading entrepreneurship textbook. Lots of amazing and surprising folks and industries interested in project.
• Theme: “Give up on my professional goals?  If there is way to do this part time, I am going to find it.” Husband on board. Childcare in place. Maybe will fail miserably but have to at least try.

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II. THE PLAN: Here we go….

Side note: Planning is not rocket science. It is a like a fancy to do list. However, it is very easy to mess up if you leave out certain core components. I have not found any planning methodologies specifically for part time people…so – here – I have adapted a planning process my company does with executives and government agencies.

A. VISION: Global Case Study Competition (as mentioned in Post Numero Uno)

1. LONGER TERM GOAL: By end 2009, have built and operationalized a case study database accessible to instructors and consumers with the goal of providing:

– Role models on paper for entrepreneurially-minded women.

– Provide a free tool which can be easily integrated in the classroom.

– Teach key business and personal lessons necessary for success, and substantiated by research.

2. SHORT TERM OBJECTIVES: Create platform for global case study competition, raise money ($ tbd – let’s say $250,000 for now), and develop 25 marketing partnerships prior to the end of 2008. Stretch goal = Launch the case study competition

B. ACTION PLAN – FY 08

Big Tasks: Hire people, find sponsors, develop case study submission tool, market. (Parallel task – finish research – will help to release research with call for case studies).

Pre-steps: Gaining specialized professional experience, consulting with mentors, and developing a research-based approach that makes Hot Mommas Project DIFFERENT. (complete)

Due Date Tasks (cumulative – to be broken down by category – see note below)

03/15/08 – Develop mock up of case study page elements. (complete)

03/15/08 – Develop draft sponsorship document. (complete)

04/04/08 – Create action plan. (complete)

04/08/09 – (!) Research (idea = research release to correspond with marketing of competition)

04/10/08 – * (!)(see note below on symbols) Develop intern/staff listings and post.

04/10/08 – Research – Draft report 75% complete.

04/17/08 – (!)Conversation with software developer to sketch out scope and costs.

04/17/08 – Develop budget.

04/17/08 – Develop sponsorship kit final + target list.

04/17/08 – Research – Draft report 100% complete. Submit to GW advisors for comment.

04/24/08 – Have 1 to 2 interns/staff secured.

04/24/08 – + (!)Round 1: Sponsorship kit to 5 connectors (people who have big networks).

04/29/08 – Research – Revisions.

05/01/08 – Round 2: Sponsorship kit to 5 more connectors.

05/01/08 – Follow up on Round 1 connector contacts.

05/01/08 – Consult with lawyer on legal structure (would like to NOT be a nonprofit).

05/01/08 – Work with GW communications and existing interns on research release plan.

05/10/08 – (!)Back from spa

05/13/08 – Revise sponsorship kit as necessary.

05/13/08 – Follow up on Round 2 connector contacts.

05/13/08 – Intern: Follow up on research release plan.

05/15/08 – Round 3: Follow ups on Rounds 1 & 2, and sponsorship kit Round 3.

05/15/08 – Remaining staff hired.

05/19/08 – Staff training ½ day. Go through assigning of mini objectives & action plans. 05/19/08 – Begin weekly team meetings.

05/20/08 – Begin working with developer on case study submission tool.

05/22/08 – Round 4: Follow ups on Rounds 1, 2, 3 and sponsorship kit Round 4.

05/27/08 – Revise case study submission tool with developer.

05/26/08 – Online mock-up: Submission tool. Feedback provided.

06/01/08 – 1/3 of funding secured. Develop marketing partner list.

06/12/08 – Approach 1/3 of marketing partner list. Consult with Google search specialist.

06/26/08 – Approach second 2/3 of marketing partner list. Consult with Google specialist.

07/10/08 – Approach last 1/3 of marketing partner list. Consult with Google specialist.

08/01/08 – Second 1/3 of funding secured.

08/28/08 – Site complete and Phase 1 testing complete, revisions ordered.

09/01/08 – Last 1/3 of funding secured.

09/10/08 – Site revisions complete. Last tests and fixes.

09/29/08 – Launch Round 1 of competition.

10/20/08 – Launch Round 2 of competition.

12/20/08 – Cases reviewed, tagged, edited.

01/19/09 – Winners announced. Prize money distributed. (!) Winning case studies integrated into textbooks and curricula around the world.

Ongoing roles (allow time for this):

• Following up with staff on objectives/management. (e.g. weekly team meetings)
• Meetings with potential sponsors/follow up.
• Developing/consulting with advisory board.

[[“ Eeeeek” thought I am having: ? Do people really want to see all this? Seems soooooo booooooooring.?! Let me know.]]

NOTES related to plan above:

(!) – This symbol indicates items I’ve worked up to over time. Did not happen overnight. Was a process.

*Side note on staff: If I am part time, I need to hire around my time constraints. Want team of 3-4, one of which is my “go-to” person – takes almost same, for me, to manage 1 person as 3 people. Might as well be team. They will have to come to GW when I am there. Note to self: Talk to MGT Dept about this. The virtual thing does not work with most students for my working style. Have experimented for years. It took me a while in my career to get used to having direct reports.

+ Side note on sponsorship: Based on past sales experiences, my guess is that I am looking at a pipeline between 1 and 6 months to bring in a sponsor. If I don’t have any sponsors after 6 months then something is wrong.

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IV. TIME MANAGEMENT AKA “IS THIS HUMANLY POSSIBLE?”:

Time Management Step: This is a critical step I am calling: “Is this humanly possible?” (Could this be a cool acronym? ITHP – uh, that would be no).

1. Did action plan in excel with following categories: Due date, task, category, status. This allows me to sort the plan by category (marketing, sponsorship, tech, etc.), or by date (as shown above). Sorting by category is especially good for delegating. Note: I fundamentally object to my kids being more organized than I. They are on a schedule and a routine, so I am trying it (e.g., Having certain tasks – talks w/ tech folks – on specific days to add some calm to the chaos.)

2. Copied and pasted a shortcut to the excel plan into bottom of a “Task” in Outlook (insert, file).

3. Dragged the task to each time block I have available, and assigned the time block. Examples:

[Time blocked on calendar: 8-5pm 4/8] 04/08/09 – Research (idea = research release to correspond with marketing of competition)

[Time blocked on calendar: 8-9am 4/8] 04/10/08 – * (!)(see note below) Develop intern/staff listings and post.

[Time blocked on calendar: 9-12am & 4-6pm 4/9 & 1-5pm 4/10] 04/10/08 – Research – Draft report 75% complete.

4. Pimped it out, if you can call it that. At the beginning of each task in “Subject,” I type “HMP” (for “Hot Mommas Project”) followed by the part of the plan I’m supposed to do that day. This allows me to easily search for all HMP entries in my calendar. I will probably wind up adding colors (current view, “define views”), reminders (in “task”), & priorities (in “task”). Also added link to the original document. (Link allows me to click and change the plan).

[[I’m sure there must be some automated program for doing this out there. I am looking into add-ins that are not a major pain in the butt. More later if I find anything good.]]

5. Adjusted Action Plan based on “IS THIS HUMANLY POSSIBLE” dragging and dropping of tasks into my calendar. I wound up bumping my action plan due dates up or down based on actual time I had available on my calendar. It will change more. This is a start.

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IV. INSPIRATION/RESOURCES:

A. Current theme song for this blog: “Everybody’s Got Their Something” by Nikka Costa. (Click music samples on left side of page at this link http://www.amazon.com/Everybody-Their-Something-Nikka-Costa/dp/B00005B0S6)

B. Zero to $1 Billion: This article talks about David Thomson’s 7 traits of companies that went from zero to a billion. These companies are called “Blueprint companies.” One million dollars doesn’t seem like a big deal when you’re reading about billion dollar businesses. So, that’s what I did. Link: Article. Link: Zero to $1 Billion Scorecard.

Summary of the 7 Zero to $1 Billion traits:

1. Create a killer value proposition/idea.

2. Operate in a market big enough for you to grow. Most blueprint companies operate in markets large enough to accommodate several billion dollar business.

3. Marquee customer – Attracted in early days. High profile opens doors to new markets. Willing to innovate with you. Seems like a mentor/client or partner/client…you’re on a journey together.

4. Inside-Outside arrangement – Hire a second-in-command who can take care of the day-to-day while you think big picture.

5. Big Brother Alliance – In early days, for credibility

6. Manage for positive cash flow from the start. Early growth finance – from operations.

7. Extraordinary value from boards – Expert CEOs and advisors with contacts

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V. Parting Thought: Doing the action plan is a bit of a mind-bender, exercise in b.s., and a reality check all at the same time. Dragging it to the calendar MAKES IT REAL. I’m sure something will blow up in my face here, but, it feels good to tell myself that things are somehow nice and neat and organized here (pointing to computer) even if they are not nice and neat and organized here (pointing to head). I would like to think of this as my roadmap to success.

Thanks to all for the support and encouragement so far. You all are my coaches. Next step, does the book even fit here? That is the next action plan.

Building a Million Dollar Business_The Art of the Start

Here…today….it begins: The journey to build a million-dollar enterprise.  This is a beta blog chronicling the growth of ‘The Hot Mommas Project’ – a women’s leadership endeavor focused on helping women to balance it all.  Click here for main blog.

Pictured left – My non-mammalian, yet very helpful, business partner and I give each other a peptalk in my office at The George Washington University School of Business, Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence: “We can do this.”