Mar 18 2013
Leave a comment
business, commerce, retail

4 Ways to Get More Shoppers in Your Store

Laurel Tielis

What’s going on in retail? Changes in attitude and latitude are affecting everything from size to style to fit. For example, European malls are taking a tip from Brazil, recognizing an aging customer base, and being savvy about bringing in and expanding business.

Moving Beyond Mall Malaise

If malls want to remain viable, they’re going to have to  offer things that shoppers can’t find online.

This report from Reuters offers mall owners options. One that makes a lot of sense is in Brazil, where a mall health clinic lets patients sign in, and give them a buzzer to alert them when  the doctor is ready to see them. This is possibly paving the way to let people, shop ’til they drop, which is not the worst way to go!

Model Reality

Does size matter when it comes to retail? You bet. While stores are being downsized to reflect new lifestyles, mannequins in Sweden now represent fuller bodies, more like their real-life curvy customers. Nice to know that in Scandinavia, big girls don’t cry–they strut their stuff.

(Courtesy: Imgur)

FASHION’S LONG TAIL

French chanteuse Edith Piaf, best know for Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien, which translates as I regret nothing, differs from most of us. When it comes to shopping, it’s easy to pine over the things we decided against, or denied ourselves. Now, just because you missed buying something when it was brand new, it’s no longer gone forever. The Wall Street Journal reports on how you can buy it now, as shoppers get to reel in the one that got away.

Go Where They Like Your Style

Fit is not only important in clothing, it matters in every aspect of your life. Just ask John Browett, Apple’s former retail chief, who explained in an interview in London during Retail Live Week 2013 he didn’t fit the corporate culture.

If you want more information about what’s happening in business, as well as ideas for bringing in more business, I can help. I’ve been a retail reporter at Women’s Wear Daily and Home Furnishings News, a columnist at the Miami Herald and a correspondent at People.

I’ve also handled the marketing and public relations at major corporations and small businesses. Need a speaker or a consultant? Get in touch at Ask Laurel (one word) at laureltielis.com or connect with me at LinkedIn.

For easy and effective ways to bring in more business, follow me on Twitter @laureltielis and read Ka-Ching! How to Ring Up More Sales on Kindle.

Copyright © 2013 Laurel Tielis

Tagged , , , , ,
Feb 20 2013
Leave a comment
business, entrepreneurs, retail

Let Me Entertail You

Laurel Tielis

Welcome to the convergence of retail and entertainment. For example, if you’ve ever wanted waitress service at lunch, while you’re out fishing, now you can have it. IntoOutdoors, a mall 45 miles outside of Oxford, England, will open in 2014 offering lakefront fishing, coffee shops, and retail stores. Read more here.

Ever watch your items being toted up at the supermarket counter and notice that you’re being charged more than the shelf price? Here’s why, and even better, here’s how it can be fixed.

You’ve got to do the legwork, and you’ve got to ask for the price at checkout or within 15 days, and you can only buy one item at that price. But once you do all that, beginning March 3rd, Best Buy will price match all local retail competitors and 19 major online competitors. TIME will tell you the details.

As you go about your business, keep this in mind: People generally quarrel because they cannot argue. G.K. Chesterton

If you want more ideas about bringing in business, I can help. I’ve been a retail reporter at Women’s Wear Daily and Home Furnishings News, a columnist at the Miami Herald and a correspondent at People.

I’ve also handled the marketing and public relations at major corporations and small businesses. Need a speaker or a consultant? Get in touch at Ask Laurel (one word) at laureltielis.com or connect with me at LinkedIn.

For easy and effective ways to bring in more business, follow me on Twitter @laureltielis and read Ka-Ching! How to Ring Up More Sales.

Copyright © 2013 Laurel Tielis

Photo Info: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Flyfishing.jpg

Related articles
Tagged , , , ,
Nov 19 2012
Leave a comment
business, entrepreneurs, retail, small business

How to Reap Big Rewards on Small Business Saturday

Laurel Tielis

You’ve heard the expression Little things me a lot. if you think it’s just a platitude, think again. Everyone thrives on recognition, so offer it to your customers on Small Business Saturday, November 24th this year.

Small Business Saturday, as you know, is a shout-out to the mom-and-pop shops that make up the bulk of the businesses in this country. Started in 2010 by American Express, it’s a chance to show shoppers that bigger isn’t necessarily better, and that shopping in your store can be more compelling than buying online.

5 Small Things You Can Easily Do to Increase Your Sales

1. Make a small change to your hours. Better serve your shoppers and maximize the day’s potential by opening early, staying late, or if you can, by doing both. If you open early serve hot coffee, tea, cocoa or cider.

2. Take a tip from Trader Joe’s (you know how everyone loves the food station!) and serve small bites on small plates. Go healthy with snacks such as carrot sticks and bell pepper strips. More sinfully, set out doughnut holes or two-bite brownies. (Save money by cutting full-size pastries into smaller pieces.)

2. Offer customers small change to feed parking meters, pay for parking in a lot if it’s not too dear, or pay for the valet’s tip.

3. Do a lot of your customers bring small children to your store? Have a storyteller on hand to entertain them. Their parents will bless you for it, and so will the other shoppers. If you can configure the space so that it works, put them near your front window—like puppies, kids attract attention and bring in more shoppers.

4. In the late afternoon or evening, bring out the wine. Serve small pours, similar to a tasting. If you can, this is a good time to partner with a wine dealer. Be sure to check local liquor laws first, though.

5. Make customers feel important and get valuable feedback with a short questionnaire with multiple choice answers. Give everyone who fills it out a small gift that promotes your business.

If you do any or all of these things, you have a good reason to reach out. You can send off an email about them to your list, alert the media through a press release, post about what you’re doing to your website, share with fans on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and write about on your blog.

Document the day’s events with photos, videos, and updates to your social media sites. Make your story so compelling that anyone who missed it this year will be first in the door next year. See the day as an opportunity to increase your sales and prove that Walt Disney was right: It’s a small world after all.

To learn more about Small Business Saturday visit http://www.smallbusinesssaturday.com.

If you want more ideas about bringing in business, I can help. I’ve been a retail reporter at Women’s Wear Daily and Home Furnishings News, a columnist at the Miami Herald and a correspondent at People.

I’ve also handled the marketing and public relations at major corporations and small businesses. Need a speaker or a consultant? Get in touch at Ask Laurel (one word) at laureltielis.com or connect with me at LinkedIn.

For easy and effective ways to bring in more business, follow me on Twitter @laureltielis and read Ka-Ching! How to Ring Up More Sales.

Copyright © 2012 Laurel Tielis

Related articles
Tagged , , , ,
Nov 15 2012
Leave a comment
entrepreneurs, independent retailers, retail, small business

NCR Silver Brings the Cloud to Small Business

Laurel Tielis

Want to take your business to the cloud, but afraid that you’re too small to make it practical? Maybe you’re concerned about dealing with companies with which you’re unfamiliar? Relax, NCR Silver offers owner-operated businesses a $79 a month solution.

You remember NCR. Their cash registers have been around since horse-and-buggy days. In the 1960s, the company had a 96 percent share of mom-and-pop retailers. That changed when they brought out electronic cash registers and dropped the little guy for big business. Forty years on, they want back in.

Small is Beautiful

There’s a lot of money to be made from single-person operated stores, home-based businesses, and mall kiosks with revenues of $100,00 to $750,000. These companies make up 70 percent of retail, and when you consider there are 4 million of them in the U.S., and an additional 8 million worldwide, that’s a lot of money to leave on the table.

So if you’re a small business, light on inventory, still running cash register receipts, and using an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, check out their app (look for Android in 2013). It can simplify your work day and give you more free time.

The Gift of Time

Every small business owner knows that being your own boss means you only have to work half days–any 12 hours will do! What the cloud does is let you do your business anywhere at any time, because all your back office information is available wherever and whenever you want it. You can “open” your store standing at a flea market, and close it from your home.

What do you get for your $79? First, it’s a no-contract, month-to-month deal, for your first device. Add another and there’s a 10 cent fee per transaction, capped at $29 a month. You get email campaign capability, simple inventory management, sales analytics, and access to 24 hour call centers. Come 2013, they’re promising to get more social, adding Facebook, YouTube, and live chat. As for security, NCR boasts they’re secure on their network from “swipe to web and back.”

If you want an actual register center, with a wireless receipt printer and a cash drawer, the hardware will cost you $599. If you go for that, your $79 a month also gives you a one-day turnaround on maintenance. There’s a 30-day free trial period, so check it out at http://www.ncrsilver.com.

If you want more ideas about bringing in business, I can help. I’ve been a retail reporter at Women’s Wear Daily and Home Furnishings News, a columnist at the Miami Herald and a correspondent at People.

I’ve also handled the marketing and public relations at major corporations and small businesses. Need a speaker or a consultant? Get in touch at Ask Laurel (one word) at laureltielis.com or connect with me at LinkedIn.

For easy and effective ways to bring in more business, follow me on Twitter @laureltielis and read Ka-Ching! How to Ring Up More Sales.

Copyright © 2012 Laurel Tielis

Related articles
Tagged , , , , ,
Sep 26 2012
Leave a comment
business, entrepreneurs, retail, small business

Get More Leads through Savvy Prospecting

Laurel Tielis

How do you build a business? Speaking at the National Blinds showroom in the SF Design Center, Hunter Douglas rep Shelley DeVall shared insights on increasing sales through planned prospecting.

Most people love what they do, DeVall said, but hate the idea of going after business. Whether you’re selling a product or a service, though, you can’t just sit back and wait for customers to come to you.

And while social networking is invaluable, the bulk of business comes through face to face meetings, or via the even more dreaded cold calling, which is prospecting by phone.

Here are some of DeVall’s suggestions for taking the pain out of prospecting.

Who are Your Prospects?

You’ll save a lot of time if you have clarity about who would make a legitimate prospect for your business. Keep these four points in mind:

1. Fits your target market
2. Shows interest
3. Has money to spend
4. Has authority to buy

File:Prospector&Burro.jpg

Where Do You Find These People?

Waylon Jennings sang about Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places. In business, you can save time, energy, and money when you look for leads in all the right places.

Start with recognized business-building outlets–clubs, organizations, associations, conferences, and exhibits. Here’s a tip–prospect only in places where you enjoy the group, otherwise you’ll be reluctant to do it.

There are also other less expected places that are natural places to look for leads. DeVall talked about a woman who made jury duty pay; she came away with three strong leads. When you think about it, it makes sense; you’re spending a lot of time with a large group of people. Use it to your benefit.

Be inclusive in your networking. Don’t just stick to people who look like you. Think about the growing buying power of Hispanics, African Americans, and Asians.  Learn about their cultures and traditions, and take your message to them.

How Do You Begin “Digging”?

To be most effective, you’ve got to set up a schedule. Hit and miss networking won’t show you the same results as a focused plan. A constant continuous process brings the best results.

Have a goal for how many times you want to reach out on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. Then allocate a sufficient amount of time to reach your goal. Once you start working at it, you’ll be better able to figure out just how much time you need to budget.

The next step is to track what you’re doing and evaluate the results to make sure you’re headed in the right direction. When you are, you’ll see results that will build your confidence. You’ll find it easier to go forward.

What Do You Tell Prospects?

To maximize networking, develop an effective message to explain the benefits of your service. You can do that by talking about the value you bring to a relationship, and what sets you apart and above others in your field. Make it clear you are the expert, the problem-solver, and you can fulfill their needs.

Once you know what to say to make the sale, ask a colleague, friend, or family member to role play with you, so that you move forward with confidence.

Remember, you can’t go wrong when you focus on the person you want as a client or customer. You can do that by listening more, and talking less. The next step is to follow up. Don’t be put off by an initial “no.” You have to keep going to get where you want to end up.

It’s been said that you can’t fail at prospecting, unless you fail to prospect. What works for you when you go after leads? Please share any prospecting thoughts, tips, or tricks.

Want more ideas about bringing in business? I can help. I’ve been a retail reporter at Women’s Wear Daily and Home Furnishings News, a columnist at the Miami Herald and a correspondent at People.

I’ve also handled the marketing and public relations at major corporations and small businesses. Need a speaker or a consultant? Get in touch at Ask Laurel (one word) at laureltielis.com or connect with me at LinkedIn.

For easy and effective ways to bring in more business, follow me on Twitter @laureltielis and read Ka-Ching! How to Ring Up More Sales.

Copyright © 2012 Laurel Tielis

Photo credit: Prospector&Burro.jpg

Related articles
Tagged , , , , ,
Sep 18 2012
Leave a comment
business, entrepreneurs, retail

10 Top Decorating Tips Used by the Rich and Famous

Laurel Tielis

Want to know how the very wealthy decorate their homes? Larry Laslo shared some tips and tricks when he spoke at Robert Allen Design, in the SF Design Center Galleria. He was there to promote his new fabric line, done in conjunction with the company, but at no point did he talk about it. He didn’t sell.

The legendary designer for the rich and famous has an irreverent attitude toward life as well as design. He was a witty and erudite speaker, entertaining the audience, sharing useful information, and educating us in the fine art of working with the monied classes.

That’s the takeaway for any business owner who wants to bring in more business. Get in front of people, and let them know about your business without pitching. You’ll enchant and intrigue people, and they’ll want to work with you. Here’s the fun part about Laslo.

He started his career as a painter and illustrator, went on to see his designs featured at Bergdorf Goodman and Takashimaya, as well as the homes he’d done featured on the covers of major shelter publications. Laslo jokes, before his style was called eclectic, it was called psychotic, but there’s no denying his decorating is not for the timid.

And while Scott Fitzgerald wrote and proclaimed “The Rich are Different, ” Laslo’s attitude is, not so fast. He works on the principle, “Money is always an object.” So while he deals with the 1 percent, his ideas translate beautifully to the rest of the population.

10 Ways You Can Benefit from Larry Laslo’s Know-how

1. White is always right, he says, and he’s used as many as eight different whites in one room (of course, that room was larger than most people’s homes).

2. Rather than plants in pots “that always leave rings on the floor,” he’s a proponent of leaves, big leaves. They make a statement, he says, and cost next to nothing. He gets them for free at his Palm Beach place and paid about $15 a piece to a New York florist.

File:Taimo Okinawa.jpg

3. To create an unexpected and attractive centerpiece, he places peonies and wheatgrass in a bowl. Granted, the bowl he uses is Baccarat, which costs a pretty penny, but you can substitute other attractive glassware.

4. When it comes to tabletop, advises “Don’t make swans out of napkins.”

5. In his own home he’s got lots of TVs, and he hangs them from the ceiling. “Don’t be ashamed of them,” he counsels. “It’s something we use. People watch TV.” He compares hiding them in built-ins or wall units to “placing a doll over toilet paper.”

6. As for patterns his advice is “You have to use it in a full way. Saturate the area.” Adding a patterned pillow just doesn’t cut it.

7. On the other hand, avoid patterned linens; bedding should be simple. For example, he shared a slide of a simple Frette sheared mink bedspread.

8. If you want monograms, make them full-size. His monogrammed pillows have the initials going from top to bottom.

9. Art is expensive, but photographs are still affordable. Use them to make a statement.

10. Combine objets trouvés (think thrift shop finds) with more expensive items. “Everything mixes together,” he say, “if you have conviction.

If you want more ideas about bringing in business, I can help. I’ve been a retail reporter at Women’s Wear Daily and Home Furnishings News, a columnist at the Miami Herald and a correspondent at People.

I’ve also handled the marketing and public relations at major corporations and small businesses. Need a speaker or a consultant? Get in touch at Ask Laurel (one word) at laureltielis.com or connect with me at LinkedIn.

For easy and effective ways to bring in more business, follow me on Twitter @laureltielis and read Ka-Ching! How to Ring Up More Sales.

Copyright © 2012 Laurel Tielis

Photo courtesy Taimo_Okinawa.jpg

Related articles
Tagged , , , ,
Sep 12 2012
Leave a comment
business, entrepreneurs, retail

How to Attract More Customers to Your Business

Laurel Tielis

Have you heard the story about the ant and the elephant? They shared an evening of hot passion, but sadly, when the ant woke up in the morning, the elephant was dead. Just my luck, she said, now I’ll have to spend the rest of my life digging his grave!

Customers often feel they’re standing in the ant’s shoes. Yes, they may have taken advantage of your professional services, but they’ve come away feeling taken. Or they’ve gotten something from your retail outlet, but haven’t found it worth the cost. Your giveaway was clearly a get-back.

3 Things to Avoid if You’re Looking for Customers

1. Are you a bank that offers a monetary incentive for people to sign up to with you, then takes it back by nickel and diming them to death? And in the process, are you also ticking off longtime customers who see they’re get nothing for their loyalty?

If so, you’re creating customer estrangement, rather than customer engagement. Take care of your customers by offering clarity to new signups and rewarding longtime clients.

File:Ant Receives Honeydew from Aphid.jpg

 Ant Receives Honeydew from Aphid courtesy of Dawidl

2. Maybe your company invites customers for cocktails, but makes them first  listen to a boring speaker, or worse yet, several speakers who drone on. If you do, you’re wasting your time and money, and annoying the very people you want to do business with.

To ensure that people are willing to visit your business after their normal working hours, and lift a glass from you to you, get professional speech training for your staff, or hire compelling speakers who are capable of entertaining, informing, and educating your audience. That will get you the results you want.

3. When someone shows an interest in your offering, don’t make them regret it by inundating them with emails. One is fine, more is too many.

I’m still shaking my head about  the consultant who offered a free download of an e-book, and as soon as it was downloaded, sent an email to ask what I thought of it. It was too soon for me to critique the book, but it was too late for me to want to do business with him.  If you want to keep customers on your side, don’t assume that your needs are their needs.

So how do you know if you’re guilty of extracting too high a price from your clients or customers? When  is your offer a gift, and when is it a Trojan horse? The answer is simple. Put yourself in the customer’s shoes. The things that engage you, will engage them.  And engagement is what you need to increase your customer base and its loyalty to you.

Got a bouquet for a company that’s doing things right, or a gripe about one that doesn’t get it? Share it here.

If you want more ideas about bringing in business, I can help. I’ve been a retail reporter at Women’s Wear Daily and Home Furnishings News, a columnist at the Miami Herald and a correspondent at People.

I’ve also handled the marketing and public relations at major corporations and small businesses. Need a speaker or a consultant? Get in touch at Ask Laurel (one word) at laureltielis.com or connect with me at LinkedIn.

For easy and effective ways to bring in more business, follow me on Twitter @laureltielis and read Ka-Ching! How to Ring Up More Sales.

Copyright © 2012 Laurel Tielis

Related articles
Tagged , , , ,
Aug 23 2012
Leave a comment
business, entrepreneurs, retail, small business

How to Sell Without Selling

Laurel Tielis

SAN FRANCISCO–If you’re a believer, as I am, of the famous Mae West quote, Too much of a good thing is wonderful, you would have enjoyed last night, when the Luxury Marketing Council held its 7th Annual Food & Wine Event.

Twenty Napa, Sonoma, and Livermore Wineries offered more than 50 wines, all accompanied by the best of local cheese, charcuterie, and other taste-tempting small bites, to several hundred attendees at the Baker Knapp & Tubbs Showroom at the San Francisco Design Center.

To keep the theme “my cup runneth over,” on hand were three well-known chefs: Martin Yan, whose newest restaurant, M. Y. China is scheduled to open October 8th at the Westfield Centre, as well as Bravo Top Chef contestants Jennifer Biesty and Fabio Viviani.

Yan Can Cook–and Do Standup

After an extended cocktail hour, the chefs appeared on a panel hosted by Luxury Marketing Council Chairman Alf Nucifora. How did they get started in the business?

Fabio said he had to go to work when he 11; because of Italy’s child labor laws, he worked at a bakery at night, so no one knew he was employed. Martin said he was luckier than Fabio. “I was born in a country where there were no child labor laws, so I went to work when I was 9.” And so it went.

https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment/?ui=2&ik=a023e2b236&view=att&th=1395f6996bdd54dd&attid=0.1&disp=inline&safe=1&zw&saduie=AG9B_P8GvfH5zcUjnRU7UtOtkaor&sadet=1345925552402&sads=w67btFeMwU_dNb0ZJY7rYZbAB9w&sadssc=1

What’s the hardest thing about being a chef? Jen said it was making sure that everyone in the kitchen knew what to do and how to do it. “Working in the kitchen,” she said, “is like being a teacher.” Fabio added, “with knives and liquor.”

There are No Sissies in the Kitchen

Being a chef can be hard, they agreed. Fabio said, “There are no sissies in the kitchen.” As to how Martin stays positive after 32 years of being on TV? “I just look at the camera and imagine $20 bills coming at me.”

The chefs were funny and fun, the food and wine were fabulous, and the evening was a huge success. While no money changed hand, other than the entrance fee of $25 paid by non-council members, everyone who participated got to show their wares in a context that could only benefit their businesses.

The Takeaway

You don’t have to run an ad to make a sale. Get in front of people to get your business seen. Show your passion. If you’re an entrepreneur, speak at events; if you sell products, make them available so that people can try before they buy. The more you team up with others and get out and about, the more you increase your visibility and enhance potential sales.

If you want more ideas about bringing in business, I can help. I’ve been a retail reporter at Women’s Wear Daily and Home Furnishings News, a columnist at the Miami Herald and a correspondent at People.

I’ve also handled the marketing and public relations at major corporations and small businesses. Need a speaker or a consultant? Get in touch at Ask Laurel (one word) at laureltielis.com or connect with me at LinkedIn.

For easy and effective ways to bring in more business, follow me on Twitter @laureltielis and read Ka-Ching! How to Ring Up More Sales.

Copyright © 2012 Laurel Tielis

Related articles
Tagged , , , ,
Jul 30 2012
Leave a comment
business, entrepreneurs, independent retailers, retail, small business

Gary Vaynerchuk Talks Social Media–Listen Up

Laurel Tielis

Gary Vaynerchuk’s in 1,424,988 Google+ circles, and has 935,967 followers on Twitter. Bring up his Facebook page, and there are 85,935 likes on it. Clearly, the man knows about social media.

And he doesn’t just know about it, he confesses to loving it. His reason? “It sells stuff.” If you’re selling “stuff,” whether products or services, learning how to use it effectively, will make you an enthusiast as well.

During a webinar hosted by Marketing Cloud, Vaynerchuk explained the social media equivalent story of bacon and eggs for breakfast.  You know the one; the hen is involved, but the pig is committed.

Smart business people need to fully commit to social media to maximize its benefits, he says. By mapping a potential client or customer on a number of social sites–think LinkedIn plus Twitter plus Facebook (as well as any other sites you can manage)–you’ll get a complete picture of how your prospect sees the world.

For example, you learn about someone’s social side by becoming a friend or fan on Facebook, discover their business side by connecting on LinkedIn, and find out what they’re tossing off by following them on Twitter. Then, you can respond to what excites and interests them, so that they see how they’ll benefit by working with you.

Let’s say someone you’re interested in working with shares a tweet about Britney Spears. Vaynerchuk says, “Say ‘I love Britney Spears, too.’ Personal information connects you.”

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Gary_Vaynerchuk_by_Erik_Kastner.jpg

Gary Vaynerchuk photo by Erik Kastner

Social Media Combines Content and Context

See social in terms of content marketing and context marketing. Content marketing offers information through a video, an infographic, or a blog post like this. It’s more like publicity or advertising where a company pushes out information. Context marketing is community management. Here’s where you engage with customers and clients.

Interacting on social sites offers us context, Vaynerchuk says. “The more we know about others, the more global ammunition we have,” he says. We want to understand who they are, he says, and then we want to use a combination of email or social media to make them a client.

Five Social Media Must-Knows

1. What if you’re short of time?

“If you don’t have time, the answer is you stop doing the dumb ‘stuff.’” Just like the Navy carves out a budget for the Navy SEALs, Vaynerchuk says you have to allocate the time for social media–it’s that important.

2. You tried it and it was a non-starter

Everything has failed, he points out, not just social media; TV commercials were a bust when they were first tested.

3. It takes too long to take off

Social media  is not good at doing short term, he says. Play long term, because owning a relationship takes time. It rarely converts on on a KPI (key performance indicator), but he says, it converts more quickly when you take care of others.

4. It’s too noisy?

Vaynerchuk says, “What breaks through when everyone is talking? The listeners.” Be a good listener, and a responder, rather than strutting your stuff.

5. Being human matters

Automate zero in social media, he says, because if you treat it as just a push platform, it doesn’t work. You need to buy equity in people by caring about them first, then when you go for the ask, it’s easier.

Vaynerchuk put it in business terms, but his advice essentially breaks down to what your mother told you. Social media works when you take an interest in others, share what you have, behave nicely, and give everyone a turn.

If you want more ideas about bringing in business, I can help. I’ve been a retail reporter at Women’s Wear Daily and Home Furnishings News, a columnist at the Miami Herald and a correspondent at People.

I’ve also handled the marketing and public relations at major corporations and small businesses. Need a speaker or a consultant? Get in touch at Ask Laurel (one word) at laureltielis.com or connect with me at LinkedIn.

For easy and effective ways to bring in more business, follow me on Twitter @laureltielis and read Ka-Ching! How to Ring Up More Sales.

Copyright © 2012 Laurel Tielis

Related articles

Tagged , , , ,
Jul 23 2012
Leave a comment
business, entrepreneurs, independent retailers, retail, small business

Women Tech Titans Talk Business–From Bossy to Babies

Laurel Tielis

Thanks to StumbleUpon, ScoutMob, and Girls in Tech, the overflow crowd at San Francisco’s 111 Minna got to hear women tech titans talk about how to behave in business to have, if not all, a great deal.

The panel, made up of Jesse Draper, CEO/Producer/Host of The Valley Girl Show, Julia Hartz, Co-Founder and President of Eventbrite, Leila Janah, Founder and CEO of Samasource, Rashmi Sinha, CEO of SlideShare, and Johanna Wright, Director of Product Management, Web Search, at Google, was moderated by Liz Gannes, Senior Editor at AllThingsDigital.

With a tip of the hat to Tina Fey, the title of the evening’s event was Can I Succeed in Tech Without Being a “Bossypants,” and the answer was it’s quite alright to be one.

Leila Janah finds it works not to think in terms of being bossy, but rather to remove herself from the picture, and ask, Is my behavior making things better?

Rashmi Sinha put it this way: “I don’t care if I’m perceived as bossy or not. It’s not relevant; you need to do the things you need to do.” Sinha advised, “Think strong, rather than bossy, because communications are better when you’re clear and direct.” She confided that “the world changed for me at that point.”

As for why men do better in business than do women, Johanna Wright said the book Women Don’t Ask laid out the need for women to speak up, and was helpful in her career path.

Julia Hartz agreed, “I felt like I was taking my clothes off and doing something crazy by just speaking out. And I just kind of broke the field by going for it.” While she found it scary, she also found it liberating. “It made all the difference.”

Jessie Draper said, “You need to be pushy to get things done,” and shared that her life changed, and she got her show, when she decided not to wait on others but to do it herself.

Of course. Marissa Meyer’s move to Yahoo and her pregnancy came up for discussion. The women agreed that having children and running a company requires a lot of help, but, they felt it was worth doing, and that it can be done well.

Johanna’s comments on combining parenting and business showed how it can play out in the real world. “Sometimes my kids call me Maria; she’s my nanny. That’s alright. Sometimes they call my husband Maria. And they really love her.”

The secret seems to be to see yourself as assertive rather than abrasive, and then just get on with business.

How about you? Do you do it all? If so, how do you do it. And how do you make yourself heard in the work world?

If you want more ideas about bringing in business, I can help. I’ve been a retail reporter at Women’s Wear Daily and Home Furnishings News, a columnist at the Miami Herald and a correspondent at People.

I’ve also handled the marketing and public relations at major corporations and small businesses. Need a speaker or a consultant? Get in touch at Ask Laurel (one word) at laureltielis.com or connect with me at LinkedIn.

For easy and effective ways to bring in more business, follow me on Twitter @laureltielis and read Ka-Ching! How to Ring Up More Sales.

Copyright © 2012 Laurel Tielis

Related articles
Tagged , , , , ,
← Older posts
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

%d bloggers like this: