When I entered Edward’s home with Julio, Edward shuffled out timidly into the entryway from an upstairs bedroom. His gray hair was as tall as his beard long. He was a man in his late 60’s and anorexically thin. He looked like a skeletal “Father Time”. As I looked around squinting in the dimly lit surroundings, I could barely take in what I was seeing. Rats were jumping in and out of bags filled with cans down the hall in the kitchen. The stench from stopped -up sinks with putrid water filled my lungs. Extension cords were strung up the stairs to provide electricity to Edward’s room. As if that wasn’t horrific enough, to my right I saw a mound of dead bees a foot high from Julio’s extermination. The plaster was falling off the walls to the point I could see the framing of the house. As I looked up, I could see the sky through holes in the ceiling.

I gleaned from Edward that he lived alone, was being “cared” for by another individual named Bill, that his parents had died years before and he had no siblings or other family members. As I walked around the dilapidated home it was apparent that at one time it was nicely appointed with beautiful furnishings, now frayed and grayed by the passage of time. I found an invitation sent to his mother decades before resting on a coffee table never moved and covered in at least an inch of dust. It was as if time had stopped in the home except for the man living in it.

I immediately called a lawyer friend who specialized in elder issues and started digging for information. While I took some days to investigate the situation, Julio concerned about leaving Edward unattended, waited outside the house for several days and watched. Within a day he witnessed a man walk up to the house. The man opened the door, threw in several bags of groceries across the floor, slammed the door shut and walked away. Edward apparently opened the door and yelled  “thank you Bill” and closed the door.

Edward

During this time I located Edward’s parent’s will and discovered that Bill was a trustee his mother Elinor had designated to care for her son after her death. His father, Edward Sr., had died years before his mother. Through one of his mother’s friends, I learned that Elinor had planned for him to be cared for by Bill, the son of trusted friends as she was concerned about his ability to take care of himself. To think Elinor planned for her son’s care and Edward was living worse than an animal infuriated me. Over the course of several years with the assistance of my lawyer friend, we had a conservator of the estate appointed by a judge to take over Edward’s financial affairs, Bill agreed to step down as trustee and relinquish any role caring for Edward, the new “team” sold Edward’s property which he had inherited from his parents, and with the proceeds from the sale we were able to set him up in a new place and ultimately with full-time care.

Edward was unique. He had idiosyncrasies such as not wanting to cut his hair and beard as he believed it was the source of his strength. He had a fear of the sun and of people who were strangers. He was hermetic yet kept up with news of the world and we would have interesting discussions. On the occasional outings to a dentist or doctor, he would wear the same plaid coat circa 1970 he’d worn for decades with pins on the lapel he’d received in the mail. Yet, anyone who sat and talked with him soon discovered he was a sweet man with a twinkle in his eye. Over the years, Edward would occasionally tell me God had reached down and touched him by bringing me to him.

In the last year, as a respiratory illness plagued him, he lost much of his memory and cognitive ability. He would smile when he saw me and I’d see that twinkle but he could

Portrait of Elinor Phelan

no longer remember my name. Today while waiting for the mortician to pick up his frail lifeless body from his home, I stared at portraits of his parents hanging on the wall of Edward’s living room and kept thinking how Edward Sr. and Elinor must have agonized over their son’s wellbeing after their deaths and how they planned as best they could. I’m gratified that with the help of numerous people he had an opportunity for a better life.

I know angels are carrying Edward back into their waiting arms.

The post The Loss of My Friend Edward appeared first on Michele Ruiz.

We were introduced by a division executive at a global Fortune 100 company, which I’ll refer to as ABC Global. The agency is what’s known as a “prime contractor” – a large company awarded a contract over a certain amount that does business directly with a Fortune 100 company. And ABC Global wanted the agency to explore the possibility of working with my company as a sub-contractor given that we provide services that could be a good fit. ABC Global has very high supplier diversity goals, and the company encourages and often requires “primes” to subcontract to qualified woman-owned, minority-owned and veteran-owned small businesses. During the call, “Mr. Agency person” asked if we could provide our services for a very low contract amount. I explained our minimum contract level, and that to agree to such a low contract would be a money-losing proposition. It was at this point that the Mr. Agency person told me — under the auspices of trying be “helpful” – that a lot of potential suppliers will agree to a money-losing proposition in order to have the bragging rights of saying they do business with ABC Global. The thinking is that if you can refer to ABC Global as a client, that will impress other large company targets and influence them to do business with you. He went on to say ABC Global knows this and actually expects its suppliers to agree to money-losing deals. My response to this assertion was, “Well, I’m not in the business of losing money.”

Now what this agency person did not understand was that I happen to personally know the Supplier Diversity executives at ABC Global, a company that is part of the elite “Billion Dollar Roundtable.” This Roundtable is comprised of companies that award at least a billion dollars in business to diverse suppliers annually, and are considered leaders in supplier diversity. I also knew quite well that this particular Fortune 100 company actively promotes and supports diverse suppliers, and one of its core values as a company is to help diverse suppliers grow. So I informed Mr. Agency person that what he was telling me was in direct conflict with ABC Global’s core values. He countered, saying he was giving me the “inside story”. The conversation ended rather quickly with Mr. Agency person relaying that he would inform the division executive at ABC Global who introduced us that we had spoken. It was not a great introductory call, by any means.

Now, this is a corporate field full of landmines. Think about it. Who knows what Mr. Agency person would proceed to tell ABC Global … that our company was too expensive? Or uncooperative? Or some other spin that wasn’t exactly truthful? And do I now go back to the division executive at ABC Global who introduced us and tell him what Mr. Agency person told me was the “inside story”? How would my small growing company be perceived? Since this particular division at ABC Global is already doing business with the agency and they really don’t know my company, who would they believe? I venture to guess most business owners stay silent in these situations because, let’s face it – what’s the upside of speaking up?

To be fair, I do believe Mr. Agency person that suppliers sometimes agree to money-losing sub-contracts. However, that may be more likely due to the diverse suppliers wanting to do business with this Fortune 100 company badly enough that they wouldn’t turn down the “opportunity” at any cost, rather than ABC Global truly having expectations that their diverse suppliers lose money. I also believe that some “prime contractors” are well aware that newer, smaller suppliers desperately want the business, and will try to force them to accept contracts with terrible deal terms. It also might be possible that in some cases, the primes have themselves accepted a money-losing deal to get their direct contract cemented, and may be pressuring sub-contractors to do the same.

Whatever the scenario, it’s bad for all involved, including ABC Global. This topic is rarely discussed in the world of supplier diversity, yet I suspect this scenario happens all too often. And when it does, what options do we as diverse suppliers have to rectify the situation? There is no easy solution. More often than not, the supplier diversity managers at these large companies don’t want to get involved in the contracts between their contracted primes and the prime’s subcontractors. They simply want to interact with the primes and ensure that they are helping the company meet its supplier diversity objectives.

It took me several weeks to think about how I wanted to handle this situation. My good relationship with the Supplier Diversity executives at ABC Global allowed me to share the story with them, for the purpose of them taking this into consideration as they strive to improve their supplier diversity program. I will also let the other division executive at ABC Global who made the introduction between the prime and my company know what happened. I don’t expect the end result will change with this particular agency nor do I expect that the division executive to do anything further about it. But I believe the knowledge of how ABC Global is being portrayed to these diverse suppliers is of paramount importance, because at the end of the day its about ABC Global’s reputation and end goal of growing supplier diversity, not hindering it. I’m sharing this experience because my mission is to help other entrepreneurs overcome hurdles, first and foremost. The impact to my business is less relevant to me. My hope is that by sharing my experience publically, these global companies that are leaders in supplier diversity, will enter the dialogue and begin thinking about how to address this issue. When they commit to solving this problem, others will follow.

There are a couple of other take away’s I feel are important. One, sometimes smart people say stupid things. As business people, we should be mindful that one person’s actions or statements more often than not do not warrant painting an entire company with a broad brush of negativity. I’ve heard other business owners be very negative about a company due to a bad experience with one individual or not getting what they wanted. Criticisms of companies based on a bad experience with one person does not mean that the thousands of people who work for those companies are all similar.

Secondly, this issue transcends all of us. As savvy business owners, we won’t stop this from happening if more of us don’t stand up and actually say, “thank you for the opportunity, but this isn’t the right deal for us.” If we continue to agree to contracts with detrimental deal terms, then shame on us.  We can effect change, business owner by business owner, one contract at a time.

What About You

Have you had an experience with sub-contracting that you didn’t know what to do? Please comment below.

Like this? Please share with friends and colleagues.

Michele Ruiz ~ Empowering Entrepreneurs to Empower Themselves!

I’m a former news anchor/reporter turned entrepreneur. I blog about my Life as a Latina entrepreneur which includes being a Mom, a Latina woman in the business world, and an entrepreneur. I share real life, tips, know-how, lessons I’ve learned and insights I think might helpful to you as I launch and build my next company. Hope you’ll join me! You can follow me on my website MicheleRuiz.com, on my Facebook Page , Twitter (@micheleruiz01), LinkedIn,Google+, YouTube vlogs, and  Pinterest . Thank you for support! Mil gracias por su apoyo!

The post A Secret About Sub-Contracting in the Supplier Diversity World No One Wants to Talk About appeared first on Michele Ruiz.

Becoming a government contractor is one of my company’s top strategic priorities for this year. Why? Because the government wants to work with certified Small Businesses and Women-owned Businesses. In fact, it was recently announced that the SBA will make changes to its Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contract Program to help women-owned small businesses get more federal contracts and help the federal government meet and exceed its statutory five percent women’s contracting goal. Ding, ding, ding — my company can help solve that contracting goal!

Admittedly, pursuing contracting is complicated and not for the faint of heart. It requires dogged persistence. However challenges like that have never deterred me. My team has started the journey and I’m sharing it with you because it is my passion to help women entrepreneurs get over the $1MM annual revenue mark.

Hopefully, my experience can save you time and short circuit the process so you can get going and growing! Here is what I’ve done so far:

1. Read and Research. The two books and other primer material I’ve read to get an overview and familiarize myself with the lingo are :

a. The Basic Guide to Government Contracting by Gloria Berthold Larkin

b. Winning Government Contracts by Malcom Parvey and Deborah Alston

c.  “Understanding the Federal Marketplace” on the SBA website in the section about Federal Contracting

d.  Government Contracting “Classroom” which is an online training course by the SBA

e.  Overview PDF  prepared by Lourdes Martin Rosa for the Give Me 5 program created by WIPP (Women Impacting Public Policy) and Open Forum by American Express

f.  Contracting Resources for Women-Owned Small Business from the SBA’s Office of Women’s Business Ownership

2. Find a mentor or an advisor. One of my mentors is Carlos Guzman, a consultant who formerly worked with the MBDA (Minority Business Development Agency) who is now helping larger companies get government contracts. His knowledge and guidance has been invaluable to me.

a. If you don’t have a mentor, find people who have been successful at government contracting, let them know you are interested in getting into it and ask if they would be willing to take the time to talk to you about it. You’d be surprised how many people are willing to help. If you get a “no”, reach out to someone else.

b. Contact your local SBDC (Small Business Development Center) and PTAC centers and let them know you are interested in getting into government contracting. These are resource centers funded primarily by the SBA and the government at large which offer free and very low cost services and counseling to business owners to grow their businesses. They have advisors who help entrepreneurs through the procurement process. My SBDC business advisors have been invaluable.

c. Contact your local SBA office for assistance, guidance and resources.

3. Look for Federal Agency Procurement Forecasts from the agencies you’re interested in possibly working with to see what products and services they are buying. Make sure they are buying what you have to offer. If not, focus on another agency.

Michele Ruiz meeting with Federal Agencies in Washington, DC.

4. Look up the OSDBU (Office of Small & Disadvantaged Business Utilization) for government agencies. These are offices within Federal agencies which exist specifically to help small, small disadvantaged, women-owned, and service disabled veteran-owned businesses with assistance in contracting opportunities. Leonardo San Roman from the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization within the Office of the Secretary of Transportation and Mark Oliver, Director at the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization within the U.S. Department of the Interior in particular have been amazingly supportive of our company’s goals and guiding me through the process. Their top tips are:

i. Prepare

1. Check with the SBA if your business fits small business standards or other certifications

2. Obtain a DUNS number from Dun & Bradstreet which is needed for the next tip

ii. Register

1. Register on the System for Award Management (SAM)

2. Identify the NAICS code(s) for your product or service

3. Create a capability statement specifically for government contracting (Refer to the overview PDF in the Read and Research section near the beginning of this blog)

iii. Certify

1. 8(a), WOSB, SDVOSB, Hub-zone, GSA Schedule Contract # and/or any other contract vehicles, s.a. BPA’s, IDIQ’s, MATCO etc. Click here for an overview.

iv. Attend outreach events and agency sponsored matchmaking sessions to meet key people and decision makers

1. Research ahead of time who will be there (agencies and specific people if possible)

2. Know in advance what they buy, what they do and what their objectives are which are all explained on each agency’s website

3. Be prepared to succinctly explain how your company can provide value to that particular agency

4. Use an iPad to call up their website and specific information to reference when you’re meeting face to face with agency representatives as you talk about your value proposition

v. Start with a goal to obtain a small contract first which is between $3k and $150k as the purchasing cycle is less time and it’s easier to potentially to win your first contract. This is important as each agency wants to know your previous record of doing business with the government so go for an opportunity that is easier to obtain at first

vi. Identify just a couple of agencies to market your services too at the beginning as it can be overwhelming and you can spend a lot of time trying to win a contract. So stay focused on three to five federal agencies at most

5. Plan strategically to be at events, conferences where federal agencies are represented so you can meet numerous people at one time saving yourself time and valuable capital. For example, I recently attended or plan to attend:

a. 8(a) Conference in Orlando

b. CEO Summit put on by the Minority Business Roundtable (MBRT)

c. Federal Procurement Matchmaking event at the USHCC Legislative Summit

d. WBENC National Conference & Business Fair this summer

e. Annual National Small Business Federal Contracting Week Summit in DC

6. Join business organizations and chambers that have programs and relationships that can help you grow your business with government contracting.

There’s a lot more we’ll be doing in this process. I’ll keep you posted and tell you about my experience with the various federal agencies and their representatives I meet. The best advice I can give you if you’re at the stage we are, is that it takes time, persistence and diligence. It can be intimidating so take it one step at a time and access the resources available. Start with reading up on government contracting and then I suggest take the next step as I’ve outlined.

One more thing … Your success is my goal! Un abrazo!

What About You

What do you need the most help with to grow your business? Do you have tips to share? Please comment below.

Like this? Please share with friends and colleagues.

Michele Ruiz ~ Empowering Entrepreneurs to Empower Themselves!

I’m a former news anchor/reporter turned entrepreneur. I blog about my Life as a Latina entrepreneur which includes being a Mom, a Latina woman in the business world, and an entrepreneur. I share real life, tips, know-how, lessons I’ve learned and insights I think might helpful to you as I launch and build my next company. Hope you’ll join me! You can follow me on my website MicheleRuiz.com, on my Facebook Page , Twitter (@micheleruiz01), LinkedIn,Google+, YouTube vlogs, and  Pinterest . Thank you for support! Mil gracias por su apoyo!

The post Where to Begin in Federal Contracting appeared first on Michele Ruiz.

As a business owner, it can be costly to move forward based on what we think our target customers need and then find out our hypothesis was wrong. Guessing and executing on a marketing and customer acquisition plan not knowing if the facts support the plan can be disastrous. Many early stage businesses or new product launches fail because of a lack of customers. The business owners didn’t find a product market fit. In other words, customers may not want what you’re offering. If customers aren’t offered something they want, need or value enough they won’t pay for your product or service.

The key is to search for new customers who will buy your products or services (identifying a successful business model) before you spend a lot of time, energy and capital executing. Figuring out how to find new customers and make sure that you get the highest return on your marketing dollars often needs to start with good market research.

Below are some of the questions the market research should answer:

• What problem are we solving?
• How are our target customers currently solving that problem?
• Is it a big enough problem or is our value proposition significant enough that they would want to pay for our product or service?
• How many would want or need this product, and how large is the market if they all bought?
• How big is MY slice of that market and is that enough to reach our goals?
• How do customers look at the problem our product or service is intended to solve versus how we think they view the problem? Do they care and if so, how much?
• Find out what would it take for them to make a purchase or buy from us? What would motivate a target customer to buy our product or service?
• What are best marketing channels to find, engage and convert our potential customers? Is it online, in-person or both? Is there a marketing channel that gets us the biggest return on our investment – in other words can we find a sweet spot?
• What trends are occurring that could impact our plan? Are there technological developments that could impact or affect our revenue plan? Any disruptors? (Think how streaming technology impacted Blockbuster.)
• Who are our competitors? What are they offering? How big are they?
• How is their product or service different from ours? How does their pricing compare with ours? What marketing strategies are they using? What is their sales funnel process? Are those strategies working or not?
• What do we need to know in order to be successful?
• How long is the sales cycle? Do we have enough working capital to sustain the company through a longer sales cycle? If not, how do we get that working capital? What can we do to shorten the sales cycle?
• Could public policy impact our success? For example, would a change in regulations help or hurt our chances of acquiring new customers?

How do I find out the answers to these questions so I know whether it is worth executing on the plan?

It varies from different industries but here are some tactics and resources to get you started.

• Approach customers directly. Go out and talk to potential customers about your service. Show them a basic model of your new product and get in-person feedback. Use diagrams and visual images to help show them what you’re offering. Talk to as many as you can about the pricing, the purchasing process, and even how you’re describing what you offer. Ask how would they describe the problem you’re solving and what would would they be searching for online to solve that problem? Use email surveys or focus groups.
• Ask employees, vendors, and even distributors the same questions.
• Evaluate what you already know about your customers – from your database and customer relationship management software – and see if it answers any of your questions.
• Use social media platforms to query your existing fans/customers who can be a focus groups.
• Use the Internet for secondary data such as statistics, white papers, research reports. Below are some sources for consumer research.
• Nielsen Market Research
• Wall Street Analysts
• Business Futurists who study trends and disruptive technology
• Yahoo! Answers
• US Department of Commerce
• eMarketer
• MarketResearch.com
• DemographicsNow
• US Census Bureau
• Dow Jones
• Factiva
• Hoover’s Online
• LexisNexis
• Standard & Poors
• US Securities and Exchange Commission
• Value Line

And lastly, you might want to consider engaging market research agencies. Start with

• Greenbook.org
• Frost & Sullivan
• Thomson Research

What is key to keep in mind is that while you think you may have the greatest gizmo it’s important to not guess and to find out directly from customers if what you’re offering is truly desired by them or does it solve an important enough pain point that would be willing to make a purchase. Look at it from your customers’ perspectives. If you can answer as many of the questions above, adjust your business model based on what you find out and then develop and execute on your marketing strategy your chances of spending a lot of valuable capital upfront with little traction can be greatly reduced and possibly even save your business. This is one way to plan for future growth and how to be sustainable and even identify new revenue opportunities.

Your Internet is an important tool in this process. Since it can take many hours to find and gather the research data, fast Internet speed can cut down on the time invested. Take a look at Verizon FiOS for your Internet needs, one of the fastest Hi-Speed offerings on the market.

Wishing you a wildly successful 2013!

What About You

What strategies or tactics do you use for strategic planning or identifying ways to grow your company? Do you have tips to share? Please comment below.

Like this? Please share with friends and colleagues.

Michele Ruiz ~ Empowering Entrepreneurs to Empower Themselves!

I’m a former news anchor/reporter turned entrepreneur. I blog about my Life as a Latina entrepreneur which includes being a Mom, a Latina woman in the business world, and an entrepreneur. I share real life, tips, know-how, lessons I’ve learned and insights I think might helpful to you as I launch and build my next company. Hope you’ll join me! You can follow me on my website MicheleRuiz.com, on my Facebook Page , Twitter (@micheleruiz01), LinkedIn,Google+, YouTube vlogs, and  Pinterest . Thank you for support! Mil gracias por su apoyo!

The post How to Find New Customers Using Market Research appeared first on Michele Ruiz.

As a result of meeting with Supplier Diversity officers at conventions put on by the NMSDC (National Minority Supplier Diversity Council), WBEC West and the USHCC (United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce), I have either obtained contracts or in active discussions about contract opportunities with Fortune 500 companies.

Some were willing to share the reason we’re on to productive next steps: preparation.

That means:

• having done research about the company in advance of our meeting
• being prepared to talk about how our company can help them achieve their goals or solve a pain point
• having examples bookmarked on my laptop from their own websites or their annual reports I can point to in talking to them anticipating they may not know everything that is going on with their behemoth company
• providing “leave behinds” – a company summary and a capability statement

Michele Ruiz meeting Corporate Supplier Diversity Officers, USHCC Business Matchmaking

Usually these are 5-10 minute speed meetings at these events so my goal is not to close a deal. It’s simply to get to a productive next step: demonstrate that we’re a company worth talking to further, to establish a relationship with a person I can follow up with, and be able to move the conversation to the next step.

Surprisingly few MBEs and WBEs show up ready to talk about how they can be of value. Instead, more often than not, the tactic is “here’s what we do or this is our widget” and then asking how the corporation can help them. Know that procurement officers hate that. Bad strategy. Good luck (contracts!) is when preparedness (first – get certified, then do your research and be ready to talk about how your business can solve a problem for a corporation, improve market share, increase revenues or some other way your products or services help with their business objectives) meets opportunities (join organizations that promote WBEs and MBEs and then attend conventions and other events where Supplier Diversity representatives will be in attendance).

Wishing you much success!

Watch this video with tips from the NMSDC Convention.

What About You

What challenges do you have certifying or getting contract opportunities? Do you have tips to share? Please comment below.

Like this? Share with friends and colleagues.

Michele Ruiz ~ Empowering Entrepreneurs to Empower Themselves!

I’m a former news anchor/reporter turned entrepreneur. I blog about my Life as a Latina entrepreneur which includes being a Mom, a Latina woman in the business world, and an entrepreneur. I share real life, tips, know-how, lessons I’ve learned and insights I think might helpful to you as I launch and build my next company. Hope you’ll join me! You can follow me on my website MicheleRuiz.com, on my Facebook Page , Twitter (@micheleruiz01), LinkedIn,Google+, YouTube vlogs, and  Pinterest . Thank you for support! Mil gracias por su apoyo!

The post Top Four Tips to Get Contract Opportunities appeared first on Michele Ruiz.

When we reconvened they started the session with “we are concerned about our leader”. The feedback was: I was doing too much, not delegating enough, driving myself too hard and not getting enough sleep. And one person on my team who has been with me a long time said with some emotion, “Michele, I’ve seen this before. You are doing too much. And I’ve seen the effects.” The overall message was, if I’m not taking care of myself I can’t be an effective leader.

They then shared with me their recommendations for what we need to do as a team. Those recommendations were very specific and included implementing processes so we can move the business forward and free me up to do what only I can do – which is build the relationships to grow the company. One of the recommendations included that I no longer schedule my time, because I was over scheduling trying to cram in more than I can actually do, and that was having a negative impact on everyone… including sometimes not meeting objectives. In other words, they were saying “Slow down to lead.”

“We each commit to making sure we take ownership of our piece, and if you (Michele) don’t agree to follow our recommendations you are signaling to us you are not committed to the success of this company,” said another person.

Talk about an “ah ha” moment. That got me. That brought me to tears. I realized how committed my team is to me and to my vision. But I needed to give up some control and let each do what they can do because they want to take ownership of what they can each do to create a successful company.

I knew what was required of me. I shared my anxiety over things not being done well or matters falling through the cracks, therefore that drives my need to control and take on too much. Letting them know what I have concerns about gave them more ideas on what can be done. We have since started implementing some new procedures, project management software, and cloud based systems so we can have access to documents, data, and project information. It also meant I needing to look at upgrading our Internet speed to help with our task management and efficiency.

The overall result is by giving up some control, implementing processes and upgrading technology I actually feel more in control. And I’ve made taking care of myself a key priority. The changes are positioning us well for growth. How fortunate I am to have an exceptional team that taught me a valuable lesson – Slow down to lead.

Sending lots of good wishes your way!

Do you have the fastest Hi-Speed Internet to help your company be more productive and efficient? Take a look at Verizon’s FiOS Internet bundle.

This blog post is sponsored by Verizon’s Somos FiOS. Thank you to Verizon for helping this Latina Entrepreneur!

What about you?

What are some leadership tips you have?  Please share below in the comments section.

Like this? Share with friends and colleagues.

Michele Ruiz ~ Empowering Entrepreneurs to Empower Themselves!

I’m a former news anchor/reporter turned entrepreneur. I blog about my Life as a Latina entrepreneur which includes being a Mom, a Latina woman in the business world, and an entrepreneur. I share real life, tips, know-how, lessons I’ve learned and insights I think might helpful to you as I launch and build my next company. Hope you’ll join me! You can follow me on my website MicheleRuiz.com, on my Facebook Page , Twitter (@micheleruiz01), LinkedIn,Google+, YouTube vlogs, and  Pinterest . Thank you for support! Mil gracias por su apoyo!

The post Slow Down to Lead appeared first on Michele Ruiz.

Michele Ruiz Speaking at California Women’s Conference

Recently while speaking about lessons learned as an entrepreneur at the California Women’s Conference, those of us on the panel were asked about dealing with employees who aren’t working out. The discussion prior to the question was about us as women, and generally speaking, how we treat our employees like friends or family. And when confronted with a situation where an employee isn’t working out, how do we stop being the “friend” and handle the tough business decision to let someone go.

“I would imagine it’s important to be tough like a man and make tough decisions as women business owners, would you agree?” asked one highly educated woman.

I’ve thought a lot about that question and the underlying belief by some women that in order to succeed we have to be like men. And that we have to deny our femininity to be good in business. Or that the right path is by imitating a perception of a male entrepreneur. My answer to handling an employee who isn’t working out was to quote a friend. Marlene Canter, a successful entrepreneur who built a company and sold it to a large corporation shared with me a lesson I’ll never forget – Hire slow. Fire fast.

Take your time when you are looking to hire someone and bring them into your company culture. And if it at some point it’s not working out, fire quickly. In business, we know in our gut when someone is not a good fit for our company. It often comes up as a feeling we have. It’s women’s intuition. Research has shown that women are, as a group, more perceptive at picking up on nuances than men. The key is we have to listen to what we know intuitively and then make the right business decision. I would argue our women’s intuition is an asset in business – especially when it comes to our team.

And for those women who think we have to “man up” to deal with tough situations I point out one of the most successful male entrepreneurs, Richard Branson. During a presentation at Dreamforce ‘12, he was asked a similar question- how does he handle people who aren’t working out. Branson, who has hired friends in his companies admitted “I’m quite weak when it comes to that. I let it go on too long. And I don’t think it’s a bad trait.” He went on to say, when you run business like a family it should be tough decision. In business you have to confront someone who is not doing their job well and let the person know they are letting people down. Ideally, you want to find them something else in the company. But if that’s not an option, you have to let them go. Otherwise you lose the respect of everyone else in the company.

Two takeaways here: First, most of us, male and female, value our relationships with our employees and struggle with having to fire one. It has nothing to do with gender. As women we may just do things differently in the world of business and it should be appreciated, not undervalued. Secondly, to be a good leader we need to make difficult decisions that are best for the overall company. Sticking with a wrong employee can be costly. Consider that experts say the cost of a bad hiring decision can be one-third of the annual salary- assuming you address it within the first 6 months of making that hire. If you’re struggling over the personal relationship, consider the impact of that “misfit” on the morale of your team, and the respect they have for you as a leader. All have real costs.

Wishing you an amazing entrepreneurial journey!

What about you?

What are some leadership tips you have?  Please share below in the comments section.

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Michele Ruiz ~ Empowering Entrepreneurs to Empower Themselves!

I’m a former news anchor/reporter turned entrepreneur. I blog about my Life as a Latina entrepreneur which includes being a Mom, a Latina woman in the business world, and an entrepreneur. I share real life, tips, know-how, lessons I’ve learned and insights I think might helpful to you as I launch and build my next company. Hope you’ll join me! You can follow me on my website MicheleRuiz.com, on my Facebook Page , Twitter (@micheleruiz01), LinkedIn,Google+, YouTube vlogs, and  Pinterest . Thank you for support! Mil gracias por su apoyo!

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