Maintaining your momentum means looking forward even as you focus on the present. Forecasting and planning are critical to your continued success. 

Forecasting For Growth: Strategic Thinking
To be effective as a leader, you must develop skills in strategic thinking. Strategic thinking is a process whereby you learn how to make your business vision a reality by developing your abilities in team work, problem solving, and critical thinking. It is also a tool to help you confront change, plan for and make transitions, and envision new possibilities and opportunities.

Strategic thinking requires you to envision what you want your ideal outcome to be for your business, then work backwards by focusing on the story of how you will be able to reach your vision.

As you develop a strategic vision for your business, there are five different criteria that you should focus on. These five criteria will help you define your ideal outcome. In addition, they will help you set up and develop the steps necessary to make your business vision a reality.

The following is a list of the five criteria of the strategic thinking process:

• Organization. The organization of your business involves the people you will have working for you, the organizational structure of your business, and the resources necessary to make it all work. What will your organization look like? What type of structure will support your vision? How will you combine people, resources, and structure together to achieve your ideal outcome?
• Observation. When you are looking down at the world from an airplane, you can see much more than when you are on the ground. Strategic thinking is much the same in that it allows you to see things from "higher up." By increasing your powers of observation, you will begin to become more aware of what motivates people, how to solve problems more effectively, and how to distinguish between alternatives.
• Views. Views are simply different ways of thinking about something. In strategic thinking, there are four viewpoints to take into consideration when forming your business strategy: the environmental view; the marketplace view; the project view; and the measurement view. Views can be used as tools to help you think about outcomes, identify critical elements, and adjust your actions to achieve your ideal position.
• Driving Forces. What are the driving forces that will make your ideal outcome a reality? What is your company's vision and mission? Driving forces usually lay the foundation for what you want people to focus on in your business (i.e., what you will use to motivate others to perform). Examples of driving forces might include: individual and organizational incentives; empowerment and alignment; qualitative factors such as a defined vision, values, and goals; productive factors like a mission or function; quantitative factors such as results or experience; and others such as commitment, coherent action, effectiveness, productivity, and value.
• Ideal Position. After working through the first four phases of the strategic thinking process, you should be able to define your ideal position. Your ideal position outline should include: the conditions you have found to be necessary if your business is to be productive; the niche in the marketplace that your business will fill; any opportunities that may exist either currently or in the future for your business; the core competencies or skills required in your business; and the strategies and tactics you will use to pull it all together.

By working through these five areas, you will begin to get a clearer picture of exactly how your business vision can be accomplished. As your vision becomes more focused, your ideas will appear stronger and more credible. Not only will it be easier to convince others that your idea is a good one, but it will also be easier to maintain your own conviction and motivation when you reach any pitfalls or obstacles in the road.
Overall, you can apply strategic thinking skills to any area of your life. But by making a concerted effort to apply them specifically to your business venture, you will have a much better chance of bringing your vision to life. And isn't that what you want?

"Grant Opportunities Available for Women
Business Owners

You are a woman business owner and there are many things for you to focus on  -- especially how to find money for your business so it can grow and thrive.  Did you know that some funding sources out there specifically target women entrepreneurs?  If not, you should know about them.  Check out the information below to see where to go for loans, scholarships, and other sources of funding.  If you have anything to add from your own experience, let us know at info@womanowned.com so we can pass it along to other women entrepreneurs.

Small Business Administration (Office of Women's Business Ownership)
(www.sba.gov/womeninbusiness) - The SBA is doing more than ever to help level the playing field for women entrepreneurs, who still face unique obstacles in the world of business. At every stage of developing and expanding a successful business, the Office of Women’s Business Ownership is here to counsel, teach, encourage and inspire.  Check out their "Hot List" of outside resources.

Count-Me-In
(www.count-me-in.org)  - This is a new fundraising organization that raises money from women for women.  Loans are given from $500 to $10,000 (for first time recipients the maximum amount is $5,000).  Count-Me-In looks like a great resource with funding consideration based on experience over credit history.  Check them out!  The CEO, Nell Merlino, started Take Our Daughters To Work Day in 1993.

Federal Money Retriever?
(www.fedmoney.com) - The premier grants and loans.database software containing information on all U. S. federal government grant and loan programs.  There is a cost for the software, but the site allows you to research some of the grant dollars that are available.  They have a specific category for grants available for women at:  http://www.fedmoney.com/grants/su0232.htm

The Women's Funding Network
(www.wfnet.org) - Promotes the development and growth of women's funds that empower women and girls by fostering strategic alliances among women, donors, communities and institutions.

NBC Supplier Diversity Program Website
(www.nbcsourcing.com/supplierdiversity/) -  This is not so much a funding opportunity, but a procurement opportunity specifically for women and minority owned businesses.  The National Broadcasting Company has launched its Supplier Diversity website to inform Minority-owned and Woman-owned Business Enterprises (MWBEs) of NBC's Supplier Diversity Program, and also permit MWBE suppliers of high-quality goods and services to register their companies online.  The website is a way for us to increase the number of MWBEs we do business with.  NBC owns and operates TV Stations in the following locations: Washington, DC; Los Angeles, CA; Dallas, TX; Chicago, IL; Philadelphia, PA; Hartford, CT; Miami, FL; San Diego, CA; Providence, RI; Columbus, OH; Raleigh, NC; Birmingham, AL.

American Association of University Women
(www.aauw.org) - This foundation is one of the largest private sources of funding for graduate women in the world, supports aspiring scholars around the globe, teachers and activists in local communities, women at critical stages of their careers, and those pursuing professions where women are underrepresented.

The Ada Project for Women (TAP)
(http://tap.mills.edu) - Includes information on conferences, discussion groups, organizations, fellowships, grants, and notable women in computer science. 

Financial Women International
(www.fwi.org) - Provides information on professional growth, information sharing, peer networking, mentoring, leadership development, and career advancement for women.

SCAMS

You will encounter scams in the way of: telephone calls to entice you, infomercials that look like TV programs with celebrities, "You're Invited" seminars that offer a big-time sales pitch.  Don't ever give out information like your credit card number or bank account number.  Do ask questions (you're entitled) and make sure you get the answers.  Please be careful!  Bookmark these resources so they are there when you need them:

Federal Trade Commission (www.ftc.gov) - this is the federal government's complaint department.  If you have been "taken" by a scam or suspect a scam, let this department know and they will investigate.  Check here for other investigations that have led to scams and learn how to avoid them (link to Consumer Protection and follow to Internet & E-Commerce).

National Fraud Information Center (www.fraud.org) - a division of the non-profit National Consumers League, this site is dedicated to educating consumers about scams and how to avoid them.  Check out the Internet Fraud Daily Report with up to the minute on-line scams.

North American Securities Administrators Association (www.nasaa.org) - any individual or organization who wishes to protect themselves from securities fraud will find the information on this site useful. Entrepreneurs will find valuable information on franchising and raising capital in the "Help for small business" section.

ScamBusters (www.scambusters.org) - keeps you posted on what to watch out for.  This site has earned the Forbes "Best of the Web" designation and has also appeared in the print version of Forbes' Best of the Web.

U.S. Department of Justice (http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/index.html)

Federal Bureau of Investigation (www.fbi.gov)

Introduction to Net Scams and Hoaxes (http://kryten.eng.monash.edu.au/netscams.html) - an article about such things as chain letters and other spoofs on the Internet.

How To Avoid Internet Investment Scams (http://www.sec.gov/consumer/cyberfr.htm) - an article by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission... well worth checking out.

National Financial Fraud Exchange - can be reached by telephone at (800) 822-0416.

Contracting Opportunities

Contracting Opportunities

Determining Value

A realistic business valuation requires more then merely looking at last year's financial statement; it requires a thorough analysis of several years of the business operation and an opinion about the future outlook of the industry, the economy, and how the subject company will compete.

Most people believe that a business should be sold for Fair Market Value. The term Fair Market Value is defined by the IRS at Rev. Ruling 59-60 as follows:

"the price at which the property would change hands between a willing buyer and willing seller when the former is not under any compulsion to buy and the latter is not under any compulsion to sell, both parties having reasonable knowledge of relevant facts."

There are a number of different methods to determine a fair and equitable price for the sale of the business. The following lists a few methods to determine the price:

• Capitalized Earning Approach — This method refers to the return on the investment that is expected by an investor.
• Excess Earning Method — This method is similar to the capitalized earning method, except that it splits off return on assets from other earnings.
• Cash Flow Method — This method is usually used when attempting to determine how much of a loan the cash flow of the business will support. The adjusted cash flow is used as a benchmark to measure the firm's ability to service debt.
• Tangible Assets ( Balance Sheet) Method — This method values the business by the tangible assets.
• Value of Specific Intangible Assets Method — This method is based upon the buyer's buying a wanted intangible asset versus creating it. This method also takes into consideration valuing the goodwill of the business.

This process can be applied to any situation where you need to make an important decision. If you follow these ten basic steps, you will find yourself making wiser decisions in your professional as well as your personal life.

• Define, as specifically as possible, what the decision is that needs to be made. Is this really your decision or someone else's? Do you really need to make a decision? (If you do not have at least two options, there is no decision to be made.) When does the decision need to be made? Why is this decision important to you? Who will be affected by this decision? What values does this decision involve for you?
• Write down as many alternatives as you can think of. Brainstorm as many different alternatives as you can imagine. Let your imagination run free and try not to censure anything; this is not the time to be judgmental. Just be sure to write everything down.
• Think where you could find more information about possible alternatives. If you only come up with a few alternatives, you may want to get more information. Additional information generally leads to more alternatives. Places where you can look for the information you need include friends, family, clergy, co-workers, state and federal agencies, professional organizations, online services, newspapers, magazines, books, and so on.
• Check out your alternatives. Once you have a list of alternatives, use the same sources of information to find out more about the specifics of each option. You will find that the more information you gather, the more ideas will pop into your head. Be sure to write these down and check them out too.
• Sort through all of your alternatives. Now that you have your list of alternatives, it is time to begin evaluating them to see which one works for you. First, write down the values that would come into play for each alternative. Second, look for the alternatives which would allow you to use the greatest number of your values. Third, cross the alternatives off the list which do not fit into your personal value framework.
• Visualize the outcomes of each alternative. For each remaining alternative on your list, picture what the outcome of that alternative will look like. Here, too, it helps if you write out your impressions.
• Do a reality check. Which of your remaining alternatives are most likely to happen? Cross off those alternatives that most likely will not happen to you.
• Which alternative fits you? Review your remaining alternatives and decide which ones feel most comfortable to you. These are your wise decisions. If you are very happy about a decision, but are not as comfortable with its possible outcome, this is a clue that this is not a wise decision for you. On the other hand, you may dislike an alternative, but be very excited about the possible outcome. This decision would probably not be wise for you either. If you feel you can live with both the alternative as well as the possible outcome, this is the wise decision you should follow.
• Get started! Once you have made your decision, get moving on it. Worrying or second-guessing yourself will only cause grief. You have done your very best for the present; you always have the option of changing your mind in the future. Remember, no decision is set in stone.
• How is it going? Be sure to review your decision at specified points along the road. Are the outcomes what you expected? Are you happy with the outcomes? Do you want to let the decision stand or would you like to make some adjustments? If the decision did not come out the way you planned, go through the complete decision-making process again. In the process, answer the following questions:  Did I not have enough information? What values actually came into play? Were they my values or someone else's? Remember, you can always change your mind!

• Organization. The organization of your business involves the people you will have working for you, the organizational structure of your business, and the resources necessary to make it all work. What will your organization look like? What type of structure will support your vision? How will you combine people, resources, and structure together to achieve your ideal outcome?
• Observation. When you are looking down at the world from an airplane, you can see much more than when you are on the ground. Strategic thinking is much the same in that it allows you to see things from "higher up." By increasing your powers of observation, you will begin to become more aware of what motivates people, how to solve problems more effectively, and how to distinguish between alternatives.
• Views. Views are simply different ways of thinking about something. In strategic thinking, there are four viewpoints to take into consideration when forming your business strategy: the environmental view; the marketplace view; the project view; and the measurement view. Views can be used as tools to help you think about outcomes, identify critical elements, and adjust your actions to achieve your ideal position.
• Driving Forces. What are the driving forces that will make your ideal outcome a reality? What is your company's vision and mission? Driving forces usually lay the foundation for what you want people to focus on in your business (i.e., what you will use to motivate others to perform). Examples of driving forces might include: individual and organizational incentives; empowerment and alignment; qualitative factors such as a defined vision, values, and goals; productive factors like a mission or function; quantitative factors such as results or experience; and others such as commitment, coherent action, effectiveness, productivity, and value.
• Ideal Position. After working through the first four phases of the strategic thinking process, you should be able to define your ideal position. Your ideal position outline should include: the conditions you have found to be necessary if your business is to be productive; the niche in the marketplace that your business will fill; any opportunities that may exist either currently or in the future for your business; the core competencies or skills required in your business; and the strategies and tactics you will use to pull it all together.

By working through these five areas, you will begin to get a clearer picture of exactly how your business vision can be accomplished. As your vision becomes more focused, your ideas will appear stronger and more credible. Not only will it be easier to convince others that your idea is a good one, but it will also be easier to maintain your own conviction and motivation when you reach any pitfalls or obstacles in the road.
Overall, you can apply strategic thinking skills to any area of your life. But by making a concerted effort to apply them specifically to your business venture, you will have a much better chance of bringing your vision to life. And isn't that what you want?

You Can't Do It All - Learning To Delegate

There is not a single management skill more critical to your personal and professional success as an entrepreneur than learning to delegate. There is much more to delegating than meets the eye. It does not mean to simply hand out assignments. It is a science and an exercise in understanding one's self.

Some of us have been lucky enough to find our strengths and at the same time recognize areas traditionally referred to as weaknesses. It takes mammoth strength to let go and say, "OK, this is not my area of expertise and here is where I need help. This is how I will get this help." Often, there are things we wish we were good at but somehow cannot seem to grasp (not for lack of intellectual ability, but for lack of experience/exposure). We must learn to accept this fact.

In this fast-paced world we live in, we must choose what it is we wish to conquer and what we need to let go of. An artful business person learns what he/she does best and does that to the best of his/her ability. He/She lives it, breathes it, and sleeps it. It is a passion. The rest can be left to someone else.

Unfortunately, that someone else does not just appear from thin air. Networking or relationship building, as it is referred to '90s style, is the initial key component of delegating.

You need to determine how your time would best be spent. For example, as a fundraiser, I know that in a given month, I can raise $X with uninterrupted, focused time. At the same time, I also want to publish a newsletter and send it out to my budding clientele. I have no experience creating a newsletter. While all of the software is at my fingertips, the question is, do I really have time to learn it? I ask myself, "Should I learn the newsletter software and design my own newsletter or should I spend $X and hire a designer who already knows the software and just supply the content?" Better yet, I could ask a local graphic designer to barter their services, but how do I find the local skilled person to barter with? You can find this person through networking and relationship building.

The key is to determine what you need to know, want to know, must know, and already know. Keep lists with these headings to remind you of these things. It is a great feeling to cross things off your list.

Becoming an Expert

Jack of all trades, master of none. The old adage holds a lot of weight in today's entrepreneurial environment. No one can possibly run a small business alone. I know this because I have tried. Know what you do and do it the best you can.

I recently started a small business. I could never have gotten it off the ground without the help of a CPA, lawyer, graphic designer, and administrative assistant. My expertise lies in the areas of people skills, marketing, and fund raising. I realized from the start that if I attempted to be anything but those things to my business, the long-term success of the business was doomed. I set out immediately to find the experts I needed.

It is important to surround yourself with competent individuals who have complimentary areas of expertise. Choose carefully and wisely and be ready to compensate these individuals for a job well done. In some cases, I was able to defer payment until the business took off. In other cases, I made long-term promises such as potential employment if and when the business was viable. When I was really lucky, I bartered. In fact, in most cases I bartered.

Payment need not always come in the form of dollars. Remember your area of expertise and be ready to trade it for what you need.

When bartering you need to follow a few simple rules: be nice and respectful, send thank you notes, and recognize those individuals who have helped you both publicly and privately. In doing so, you will gain respect and be known as someone who gets the job done.

When you are an expert, people will come to you in need of your talent. Be prepared to use it. Be proud of your skill and share it.

The Power of Delegating

It is quite liberating once you really do let go and put your trust in other people. The key here is to identify good people, enlist them in your cause or business, give them the ball, and then allow them to run with it. Only you will determine if the ball gets dropped. You must manage and oversee the game on a consistent basis. You must give the right ball to the best possible player.

For example, you would not hire a person with an associate's degree in accounting to do the job of a CPA. Likewise, a CPA needs certain facts to achieve the task of budgeting and forecasting cash flow for your business. You need to supply him/her with the necessary information to get the job done. You must understand the process and know what you need the outcome to be. You must also communicate these objectives clearly and monitor the progress. Set meeting times for updates and a time line for completion. Review the process and progress frequently. The same applies to the newsletter example mentioned above. As with everything, there are risks associated with delegating.

Do not over-delegate.

Excessive delegating can lead to disaster. Overburdening others and excessively monitoring others progress are habits of an excessive delegator. A completely hands-off approach will not do, either. Not being a CPA is no excuse for not understanding the budget of your company. You must understand how the budget works and why and be accountable for it. You must also be able to communicate this information to your board of directors, shareholders, creditors, and, depending on your business, even your customers. Most important, you must understand how the critical pieces of your business fit together to form the whole so you can make sound and effective business decisions. Should you not understand these processes, you run the risk of losing control. Losing control has a domino effect; when the quality of goods and services becomes compromised, customer satisfaction quickly falls.

One last note:

It is nice to want to do all the work yourself. For one thing, on the surface, it appears that it will save you money. However, time is also money, and your time is valuable. If you can not pay cash, try to negotiate a fee or a share of future profits, or my own personal favorite, barter. Just do not try to do it all alone!

Regardless of your choice of media, experts suggest four main elements of an effective ad.

1. Headline: The most essential element of an ad. You have only one or two seconds to get their attention. The message in, and treatment of, your headline accounts for up to 70% of the readership of your ad. Avoid the temptation to start with your name or logo. The best headlines emphasize the benefits of your service, not the source.

2. Reader's self-interest: Headlines and body copy should be written from the readerís point of view. Try not to talk about how "We're the best at . . ." or "We can do . . ". This tends to be ìego advertisingî and doesn't serve you well. Instead, stress to your customers how your product/service benefits can make their lives easier.

3. Call To Action: Always tell the reader what you want them to do. "Call today." "come to the store by August 15 to take advantage of this 30% discount." "Return this postcard for a chance at our fabulous giveaway." etc. Never assume the reader knows what call to action you want.

4. Visuals: Use visuals that have a high degree of stopping power. Photos are better than illustrations. Images that help tell your story are great "bridges".

Jim Ornat

The phone is often your prospect’s first impression of you. Do they get a busy signal, no answer? How long do they wait for a return call? Do they get someone rude, uninformed?

At least an answering machine, Return calls within two hours, Smile when you talk, Try to Avoid closing a sale over the phone, try to get face to face. If you are face to face - DON’T

ANSWER THE PHONE! Silence your cell. Is answering this call worth losing the sale? Part-time staff for it if you have to.

Yours - If you look good, you will feel good and so will your prospect. General rule - dress a little more conservatively than your client.

Your shop or office - Does it promote sales or hinder them? Dirty? Cluttered? Noisy? Try to make a space where you can have uninterrupted conversation.

Does your greeting reflect warmth and respect? Stand up, shake hands, welcome them, if your busy give them an idea how long you will be. Even an under trained part timer can help

by offering a coke, an apology, etc. Everything you say and do should reflect your respect and appreciation.

Ask open-ended questions that get the prospect to reveal personal likes, dislikes, interests. " How do you manage to stay so trim?"

Keep the conversation from taking side roads by politely changing the subject with a new question. The object is to see if you have a serious prospect or tire-kicker. "Your refigerator must be in serious condition to have you out shopping in such bad weather."

Research your client ahead of time if possible.

To establish that you are likeable, knowledgeable, experienced, trustworthy, etc. - in short worthy of their patronage. A customer often buys the salesperson before the product "I’ve been helping people with their insurance needs for over fifteen years"

"Will you be the decision maker or will we need (your wife, boss, etc.) to vote on this?

If so, maybe we should schedule a time when we can all get together."

Try to get an "up-front" contract where you both establish the ground rules for what you hope to accomplish when its time to get down to business. "What do you say we set out to accomplish (blah, blah) this session and then get together next week to finish up?. Why don’t we go ahead and make that appointment now?"

Establish that your time is also valuable. Sort out the tire kickers by giving them the opportunity to say no. "If you decide you are not interested it won’t hurt my feelings if you say so rather than tell me you want to think it over." "If you know of an obstacle that will keep us from doing business today will you tell me before we get started?" "Products like these usually run in the $$$ price range. Is that within your budget?"

Trust is the number one reason people buy. 2. Quality 3. Service 4. Selection

5. Price "I’m more interested in helping you than making a sale. If I can’t help you I’ll try to find someone who can" "Our product is not the cheapest in town" "Our product is not for everyone. If I feel it’s not a good fit for you I’ll say so."

If there is no pain, it’s unlikely you will be making a sale. A good salesperson can often find pain that a prospect may not have been aware of consciously... but don’t be a trickster.

Research your competition, your market, your customer, your product. Eliminate the "I want to shop around" objection by knowing what’s out there and using it in your presentation. It should be clear that you are the expert.

The customer will get bored.

"What kind of costs would you incur if you were to have a break down on a really busy day?" "What are the disadvantages of the way you handle this now?" "Are you satisfied with the service you’re getting now?" Get to the pain.

Write them down on flash cards. Shuffle the deck and try different responses.

Role play with Grandma or anyone that will give you an honest opinion of your responses.

When a customer comes up with an objection that stumps you add it to your list.

Ask other salespeople how they handle certain objections, adopt what fits your style.

Restate the pain items and how your product will help.

Recognize concerns. "Your not alone. Others have felt that way." " I’m sure you’ll agree that the concerns you mentioned don’t outweigh the advantages."

Ask for the business. Some salespeople will avoid doing this. They often believe it’s up to the prospect to finalize the sale.

Offer satisfaction guarantees if you can. Special discounts. "What will it take for us to do

business today?" "Think it over usually means no or something you don’t understand. Which is it for you?"

Briefly recap the pluses again and try a differently worded close. "Would you like us to gift wrap that for you today?"

Adamantly on the fence? Don’t beat them up, ask for a time when you can address remaining concerns.

Often salespeople become victims of their own success. They begin to spend more and more time processing orders and less on selling. Your time is too valuable.

You may have to sell customers on the idea that you will be turning certain post sale functions over to others. "Our operations team can serve your needs better than I but I’ll still be following up with you"

If you never feel uncomfortable you are probably short changing yourself and/or your company.

Look for ways to improve your sales approach. Focus on weak areas, develop several approaches to strengthen, rehearse them, test them through role playing, go live and make notes on the results.

Try to freshen your true blue material. A customer can spot worn routines.

Try cold calling to sharpen skills. This is the ultimate in discomfort for most salespeople. If your good at this, you’re really good.

Call or write to ask if they are satisfied with the product. If they are, try for a cross sale.

If not, do everything you can to fix it.

Regularly survey your customers. Give them special discounts to respond.

Go the extra mile for buying customers. Return business is the least expensive.

*Preferred customer discounts, preferential new product notifications.

*Referral bonuses.

*Go to funerals, send birthday, Christmas cards, etc.

*Try to develop a system to help you remember at least their name.