October is National Women in Business Month and what better way to celebrate it then to join my friend and colleague Melinda Emerson, better known as SmallBizLady, one of America’s leading Small Business Experts in Philadelphia for her Reinvention Weekend Conference on Saturday where 50+ entrepreneurs gathered to learn from Barry Moltz (@BarryMoltz), Ramon Ray (@RamonRay), Amy Larrimore (@AmyAllStar), Lena West (@LenaWest), Ellen Rohr (@EllenRohr), Melinda Emerson (@SmallBizLady) and yours truly (@DarnyelleJervey).
It was truly an honor to sit amongst these small business experts – men and women who are truly committed to helping entrepreneurs and small business owners succeed. To be in the presence of such greatness…. I’m truly grateful to be able to say that I shared the stage with each of them! And, to have just about every attendee express the value that my contribution to the event meant for them – you know it was priceless for me. I love being able to share my insights with others.
I may be a little partial but we all ROCKED it! I was amazed at the amount of amazing content shared in such a small span of time. Just goes to show that when you have the right experts and thought leaders together, Incredible things happen.
What was amazing about the event is that the energy was high, the content was rich and the networking was amazing. The intimate setting made it easy to connect and learn. Like Melinda, I have a sincere desire to help business owners win in business by equipping them with tools to build solid, thriving and holistically successful businesses. Here are some highlights that I took away from each of the amazing experts that were featured at this great event:
Barry Moltz gets business owners growing again by unlocking their long forgotten potential. With decades of entrepreneurial experience in his own business ventures as well as consulting countless other entrepreneurs, Barry has discovered the formula to get stuck business owners unstuck and marching forward. Barry applies simple, strategic steps to facilitate change. – See more at: http://www.barrymoltz.com
- Go through the motions of writing a business plan so that you flush out all of the details but know that this is a living breathing not one time only document for building your business.
- Charge for your value not your time.
- Have a system to always do sales and marketing not just when sales are down so that you avoid the double helix trap.
Ramon Ray is Regional Development Director NY/NJ Infusionsoft and editor & technology evangelist of Smallbiztechnology.com. He is passionate about helping small businesses grow their businesses using technology as a strategic asset. – See more at: http://www.smallbiztechnology.com
- Create a social media strategy that is frequent, relevant, engaging and focused on analytics.
- Remember no one is stopping you from rising up and doing something great to grow your business.
- Make sure your marketing and content POP!
Amy Larrimore is an accomplished technology and business strategist, entrepreneur, consultant, mentor, and speaker. She has an acute understanding of business process, an often overlooked, yet critical aspect of business. As CEO and Chief Strategist with the Empire Builders Group, her work is devoted to the strategic use of process and technology for exceptional business results. Learn more at http://www.amylarrimore.com
- Have your phone number and email in your website banner image.
- Understand that the purpose of your website is the foundation of your business. Like any other house, there are many items that go into the building process to ensure it withstands the tests of times. Amy created a great picture for us (see it on the left.)
Lena L. West is the leading expert on how women entrepreneurs can monetize social media. She is also the Founder of InfluenceExpansion.com, the home of the Influence Expansion Academy, the only social media mastermind program created specifically for women entrepreneurs. See more at: http://www.influenceexpansion.com
- Be consistent in your business.
- Social media is a long term strategy.
- The fastest way to kill your business is by trying to be someone else.
Melinda F. Emerson, known as “SmallBizLady,” is one of America’s leading small business experts. She is a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker and social media strategist whose mission is to end small business failure. – See more at: http://succeedasyourownboss.com
- 6 C’s of Social Media Marketing. Connect, Communicate, Compelling Content, Consistent, Community, Commerce.
- Make a list each quarter of 25 businesses you want to do business with then, create a plan to connect with them.
Ellen Rohr, The Business Makeover Expert®, teaches the few things that make all the difference to your business success: Easy financial clean up, profitable pricing and powerful business planning. Ellen nearly sank her own family’s business. Then, she learned how to keep track of the money and make more of it. In turn, she has helped thousands of business owners start, fix and grow their companies.
- Charge more than it costs.
- Run your profit & loss and balance sheets once each week.
And yours truly, Darnyelle A. Jervey you know that I am an award winning business and executive coach, marketing and branding strategist whose mission is to help 5 million women build solid, thriving and holistically successful brands and businesses. Helping my clients plug the mindset, marketing and money-making strategy gaps in their business model tickles me purple.
- Focus on the 3 M’s of Marketing: Market, Message, Methods.
- 95% of your success is tied to your mindset.
- Connect to your reason why to stay motivated to work through having a successful business.
Want to checkout the tweets from the event? simply search #ReinventionWeekend trust me, it was Incredible!!
There are 27 million small business owners in the US; 8.6 million of them are women who according to American Express CEO Boot Camp tend to struggle with confidence, competence and connections and that is why 95% of women business owners never achieve $100,000 in annual revenue. In my opinion, attending events like Reinvention Weekend or our 2014 Unleash Your Incredible Factor will position you to gain access to tools and resources to help you to beat the odds so that you build a solid and thriving business.
