Most women I know have a love of shoes and have way too many in their wardrobe.

Shoes were once an item to be drooled over in a shop window front, tried on in said shop and purchased either in a fit of impulse or after much careful deliberation.

Zappos turned that entire business model on its head when it started a company that sold shoes online. That’s right online. No fittings first, just guaranteed fast delivery of your shoes straight to your house at great prices.

And it worked! It worked so well that today they make over $1 billion in gross merchandise sales ever year.

What’s more this company, built by entrepreneurs that almost didn’t make it through, is now on a mission to `deliver happiness to the world.’

How the Zappos Success Story Came About

In his book, Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose Tony Hsieh, former investor and now CEO of Zappos, explains how important it is to establish a core-value-based organization, and to hire new talent who are purely in sync with those values.

I mean what other company pays new employees $2,000 to quit if they feel they’re not aligned with the culture and values?

Zappos also makes customer service the entire company, not just a department. Clearly this culture didn’t happen overnight, but it was instigated very early on as one of the defining factors that set this online retail giant apart.

So much so that in 2009 Zappos was listed as one of Fortune magazine’s top 25 companies to work for and Amazon acquired it later that year for over $1.2 billion.

What does Delivering Happiness deliver?

As I explain in my video book review this is a fun and easy read with loads of lessons delivered in a humorous style from a very humble yet passionate Tony Hsieh.

He talks about his success selling his previous company Link Exhange at a very young age to Microsoft for $265M before going on to invest in Zappos and eventually become CEO.

What I found truly amazing is the painstaking early days of Zappos who knew they were on to a good thing but were not making enough profit to survive.

With a dedicated yet small team working over time, some of the avenues they took to stay afloat blew me away – including housing the entire staff in Tony’s apartment, which was eventually sold to help keep the company alive.

The Psychology of Happiness Revealed

This is not a light and fluffy inspirational book but it certainly makes you feel that anything is possible. That truly great companies can be built on core values that are lived and breathed by everyone – employees, management, clients and customers.

Here are the Zappos family core values, I think they rock:

1. Deliver WOW Through Service
2. Embrace and Drive Change
3. Create Fun and A Little Weirdness
4. Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
5. Pursue Growth and Learning
6. Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication
7. Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
8. Do More With Less
9. Be Passionate and Determined
10. Be Humble

Tony and his team have spent a lot of time studying the psychology of happiness and this what they have built their core values on.

In the book Tony tells us about the Happiness Framework. There are 3 types of Happiness – Pleasure, Passion and Higher Purpose.

I’ll give you 3 guesses which of these is the longest lasting? Yes Higher Purpose because when you’re part of something that is bigger than yourself that has meaning to you, you are happiest.

How can you get involved?

I believe Zappos are leading the way in terms of going above and beyond the traditional company `role’. You can visit their headquarters in Las Vegas and get a tour on why they’re so god damn cool, they have Zappos TV and they’re currently on a `Delivering Happiness’ book tour on a specially designed bus!

The really do want to deliver happiness to the world in every way possible. This has helped the Zappos legacy reach

way beyond its brand and reputation to a movement that startups and established businesses can jump on and profit from- not just financially but in an all consuming way.

If you visit this site you can even join the movement and pledge to do one thing every week to make someone happy. I’ve made my pledge, have you?

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This is a guest post by Snowden McFall, author of Stress Express! 15 Instant Stress Relievers

How stressed are you?  Career Builder.com says that 78% of American workers feel burned out and 1/3 of Americans say they’re living with extreme stress.¹ Nearly 80% of all doctor visits are stress-related and 43% of adults are sick because of stress.

What’s more the American Psychological Association says stress costs industry $300 billion a year in absences, medical costs, lost productivity, turnover.

The numbers around the world are equally staggering: UK, 4 billion pounds, Australia, $14.81 billion, Canada, $12 billion, annually. That’s billions of dollars each year in each economy and millions of people who are under stress!

As a woman business owner, you are especially prone to burnout.

On top of all the demands every entrepreneur encounters, women are caretakers. Our excellent emotional intelligence can work against us when it comes to managing priorities, especially if you’re a mother.  Female entrepreneurs often work in isolation and have a harder time accessing capital.

Personally, I know how hard it is to juggle everything as a woman business owner. A few years into my 27 year old business, I developed hypoglycemia.  My doctor told me that in addition to eating right and better self-care, I had to take 2 weeks of vacation to handle my stress.

And for the most part I have followed that advice.  But in recent years, my husband got laid off, my sister in law was dying of melanoma and my father had a stroke.  Three dear friends were battling cancer and my stress levels skyrocketed.  So I set out to learn everything I could about stress management, for myself and others.

What Can You Do To Lower Your Stress Levels?

1. Get More Sleep.

You need at least 7 hours a night, (the minimum to prevent cancer according to the World Health Organization.)  Less than 7 hours means you are functioning at a cognitive disadvantage, are 3 times more susceptible to colds and are likely to gain more weight. Fortune Small Business reported that 13% of entrepreneurs have trouble getting to sleep every night.

The solution: plan for good sleep. Go to bed earlier, do not check email before bed, do not watch TV in bed.  Make your bedroom a sanctuary for sleeping, making love and resting.

2. Take Vacations:

Expedia found that 34% of Americans don’t go on vacation at all! What’s scary about that is for women aged 45-64,
two weeks of vacation cut their incidence of heart attack in half, according to a Boston College study! ²

Expedia found most people feel rejuvenated after vacation, are more productive and more satisfied with their marriages.  A Canadian life coach discovered that when his clients doubled their vacation days, they doubled their income.³

3. Spend time with girlfriends.

Years ago, Ladies Home Journal found that women are increasingly isolated and lonely.  Which is sad, because the latest research shows spending time with friends creates the release of oxytocin, a neurotransmitter that relieves stress and promotes euphoria.

In a study, those who had the most friends over a 9 year time period cut their risk of death by 60%.⁴ A key indicator in two different happiness studies demonstrate that strong friendships and connections lead to joy.⁵

4. Cultivate Optimism

Optimists live 7 years longer than pessimists, have better lung function and are far less likely to die young or die from cancer.  Several studies from NIH and Yale demonstrate this.

Dr. Martin Sullivan of the University of Pennsylvania spent 20 years interviewing 350,000 executives and learned something fascinating: the top 10% performers think differently from others: they are all optimists!

So if you want greater success, achievement, and profit in your business, become a more positive thinker.

Women have the ability to make a huge difference in their businesses, the economy and the world. As a female entrepreneur, you can have an enormous impact on others, but only if you take care of yourself first, prevent burnout and stay healthy.

Snowden McFall, professional speaker, trainer and author, is the owner of 27- year old Brightwork Advertising and Training and 14-year old Fired Up. She has written 5 books, including Fired Up!, which has sold  63,000+ copies, and her new book Stress Express! 15 Instant Stress Relievers.

An expert on stress and motivation, appeared on 300 radio shows, CNN Financial News, The Home Shopping Network, Bloomberg Television, Investors Business Daily, and foxnews.com. She was named National Women in Business Advocate of the Year by the Small Business Aministration and was honored at the White House and Congress. She can be reached at www.firedupnow.com

1“Stress in US Rises, Causes Health Problems,” The Scoop, The Meeting Professional, March 2008, p.442.
2 & 3. Brown, Sarah,  “Clean Break,” Vogue, June 2003
4. &5. Taylor, S. E.; Klein, L.C.; Lewis, B. P.; Gruenewald, T. L.; Gurung, R. A. R.; & Updegraff, J. A. “Female Responses to Stress: Tend and Befriend, Not Fight or Flight”, Psychological Review (2000), 107(3), p.41-429.

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I generally try to provide insight, intelligence and inspiration in my posts. But I also like to add a dash of humour from time to time so here’s my Thursday funny that I want to share with you.

It landed in my inbox recently, sent from a friend to make me laugh, and it did. Enjoy!

Standard Pricing Procedure

In the hospital the relatives gathered in the waiting room, where a family member lay gravely ill. Finally, the doctor came in looking tired and somber.

‘I’m afraid I’m the bearer of bad news,’ he said as he surveyed the worried faces. ‘The only hope left for your loved one at this time is a brain transplant.

It’s an experimental procedure, very risky, but it is the only hope. Insurance will cover the procedure, but you will have to pay for the BRAIN.

The family members sat silent as they absorbed the news. After a time, someone asked, ‘How much will a brain cost?’

The doctor quickly responded, ‘$5,000 for a male brain; $200 for a female brain.’

The moment turned awkward.

Some of the men actually had to ‘try’ to not smile, avoiding eye contact with the women.

A man unable to control his curiosity, finally blurted out the question everyone wanted to ask, ‘Why is the male brain so much more than a female brain?’

The doctor smiled at the childish innocence and explained to the entire group, ‘It’s just standard pricing procedure

We have to price the female brains a lot lower because they’ve been used.’

Image from Experience Project

To shed some intelligence in this post here’s some research from the Masters of Healthcare I did on the woman’s brain vs the male’s brain.

1. Human relationships. Women tend to communicate more effectively than men, focusing on how to create a solution that works for the group, talking through issues, and utilizes non-verbal cues such as tone, emotion, and empathy whereas men tend to be more task-oriented, less talkative, and more isolated. No kidding!
2. Left brain vs. both hemispheres. Men tend to process better in the left hemisphere of the brain and approach problem-solving from a task-oriented perspective. While women tend to process equally well between the two hemispheres and typically solve problems more creatively and are more aware of feelings while communicating.
3. Reaction to stress. Men tend to have a “fight or flight” response to stress situations while women seem to approach these situations with a “tend and befriend” strategy. Psychologist Shelley E. Taylor coined the phrase “tend and befriend” after recognizing that during times of stress women take care of themselves and their children (tending) and form strong group bonds (befriending).  Sisters stick together.
4. Language. Two sections of the brain responsible for language were found to be larger in women than in men, indicating one reason that women typically excel in language-based subjects and in language-associated thinking. Additionally, men typically only process language in their dominant hemisphere, whereas women process language in both hemispheres.
5. Emotions. Women typically have a larger deep limbic system than men, which allows them to be more in touch with their feelings and better able to express them, which promotes bonding with others. Because of this ability to connect.
6. Brain size. Typically, men’s brains are 11-12% bigger than women’s brains. This size difference has absolutely nothing to do with intelligence (of course we knew that), but is explained by the difference in physical size – i.e men need more neurons to control their greater muscle mass and larger body size, thus generally have a larger brain.

So much enlightenment for a Thursday huh.

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I’m always on the look out for new tools and resources to ensure I waste less time, become more efficient and make sure my money stretches further.

The thing is there’s a plethora of them out there and new companies springing up every day with cool services or products to help you run your business better.

This can all get a little overwhelming, and if you’re like me you’ve probably signed up to several of these in the hope that they will transform your life and then never logged in again.

In my mind these tools or resources either didn’t fill enough of a need at the time or weren’t user friendly and so I abandoned them. However I’m here to try as many as I can and test them on your behalf – I’m just that kind of gal.

Plus I love new things, and I like to think I have my finger on the pulse of the latest and greatest. So I’ll be featuring a regular post reviewing the key tools I like and want to recommend (full disclosure some of these may be affiliates because when I really like things I like to promote them).

With a tagline of `The Virtual Phone System Designed for Entrepreneurs’ how could you not love Grasshopper.

Grasshopper was started by two entrepreneurs back in 2003 who wanted a simple way to sound professional and stay connected no matter where they were.

They couldn’t find a solution with all the benefits and featured they needed that was affordable so they created Grasshopper, where you have complete control of the experience you give your callers.

You can set up multiple extensions. You can adjust voicemail greetings based on time of day. You can have your voicemail transcribed and sent to you.  It’s also been proven that having your phone number on every page of your website increases sales (ok so not set stas but trust me it does).

I really like is that they have no long term contracts, and prices start at just $9.95 a month which is so affordable. I’m excited to support Grasshopper to support you. If you click here you’ll get $10 off just for being part of the WomanzWorld commuity.

When I discovered Dropbox earlier this year I was thrilled. Now I could host files on their secure server and access them anytime online, from any computer or even my mobile. What’s more the software syncs my files online and across my laptops (yes I have more than one).

Put your files into your Dropbox on one computer, and they’ll be instantly available on any of your other computers that you’ve installed Dropbox on (Windows, Mac, and Linux too!).

For example I could upload my eBook to the public folder on Dropbox and grab the link it gave me so that I could paste that into my blog and anyone could download it.

I also posted some of my `PR’ shots up there and then just sent the link to any media who needed it. But I can also keep files just for me in my private folder. It’s super handy and you can store up to 2GB for free. Check it out here

This service takes DropBox one step further. It’s a cloud content management system that helps businesses share information and collaborate on projects online. The basic platform is free and is monetized by upselling advanced features, increased storage and additional security.

In just a few short years, Box.net has grown tremendously, the company now has more than 4 million users so they’re obviously providing a handy service.

Not only is it a cloud file server, you can also manage file transfers and track them, manage all your docs and media in one place, manage projects around your content and securely manage files.  Plus they integrate directly with Google Apps – sweet. Click here to find out more.

If you have any kind of customer database then you should be using an email platform to make the best use of your list otherwise you’re wasting valuable leads and referrals. Even though Aweber has a great reputation and has been around for a long time, as does Constant Contact, I love Mailchimp.

Ever since I signed up and the cute monkey avatar told me `You look great today Natalie, wanna share a banana?’ I was hooked. They have great tutorial videos – humorous too, and a really beautiful interface and dashboard that makes it really intuitive.

I use it to design fancy emails (still working on that!), then Mailchimp sends them so they stay out of junk mail filters. I can even see reports on who opened, clicked, do some split testing on what subject lines work better and track it through Google Analytics. I mean there’s a ton of features.

I also like that they’re free for the first 500 subscribers you have and so many of the others charge straight off. Once you go past that their rates are really reasonable. If you are interested click this link and when you sign up you’ll get $30 of free email credits, and so will I. Yay!

This is a brand new free resource for any business owner that is ready to accept credit cards or ready to switch credit card processing companies.

The site provides valuable information about merchant services including the different types of processors, the fees that are often included in the service, what to expect from the merchant application process and much more. You can also find useful tips for negotiating with processing companies.

For example, if you are expecting a high volume of credit card purchases in your business, it is more important to focus on negotiating a smaller transaction fee as opposed to negotiating smaller start up or monthly fees. Additionally, you can find tips on how to save your business from dreaded hidden fees or outrageous cancellation fees.

Being aware of common tactics credit card processing companies use to charge you additional fees can save your business a lot of money. Aside from providing information on merchant services, they’re also developing a free database full of reviews of the best credit card processing companies, which are posted on their site so you can compare different processors and then choose the right one for your business. Check them out here www.CreditCardProcessing.org

If you’re anything like me you probably have a gazillion ideas a day and if you could capture them all you’d be a genius. Well you actually can. SpeakWrite allows you to speak your mind and then turn it into written word for you. Just like dictating to someone, you get on the phone and say what you want to say.

SpeakWrite transcribes your message and emails it back to you, typically within 2 hours. The charge? 1.25 cents a word for general, non-legal work. That’s $1.25 for every 100 words. So if I calculate the words in this article so far it would have cost $12.  When you start thinking about how much your time is worth it’s really cheap.

I can think of multiple uses for this service especially if you write a lot, or produce a lot of information content, or if you’re travelling a lot and have downtime on the road.

There’s also software that can do this for you. If you have an iPhone you can download Dragon Dictation and it does the same thing (although it doesn’t recognize my Kiwi accent so well!). Look at what they offer here .

It’s a collaborative mindmapping tool that you can use to set up complex campaigns, todo tasks, map out websites (and track progress), visually delegate tasks, map out marketing/sales/fulfillment strategy, and a handful of other things.

My marketing savvy friend believes it’s the best tool he’s ever used for visually organizing complex things (and collaborating on them with others).

He’s tried project management software (celoxis, MS Project Manager), task management (Basecamp, Manymoon, paper), collaborative tools (google docs, google wave) and none of these compare. Cost is $9 per month. Check it out here http://www.mindmeister.com

My new all-time favourite tool is this amazing scheduling service. I can’t say enough good things about it, other than sign up for free and start tungling.  It’s the easiest way to stop wasting time going back and forth to find a time to set a meeting and it eliminates double bookings and time zone mishaps

It automatically connects with your existing calendar(s) so if you use Google Calendar or MS Outlook or both or more – it updates them instantly.

All I do nowadays is send an email saying `Tungle me’ and send people to my page http://tungle.me/nataliesisson and they pick a time that suits them and that is free on my calendar.

I get sent an email and can accept, suggest another time, leave a comment and suggest a location if I want. They get a confirmation email saying it’s on and it updates their calendar even if they’re not on Tungle.me. Try it!

Have you used any of these? Want to comment on your experiences – go ahead below

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This is a guest post by Phyllis Zimbler Miller, a female entrepreneur who hopes her story will inspire others who may feel that they are too old to learn social media.

Firstly, why do I think entrepreneurs should learn social media no matter at what age? Because social media – if done effectively – is an extremely powerful way to connect with very targeted markets.

And if you are clear on your USP (Unique Selling Proposition) you can zero in on connecting with your target audience wherever they hang out on the Internet.

Never too old to learn

Now let’s bring up the age question.  People frequently say to me: “I’m too old to learn how to use social media.”

To which I say: “That’s ridiculous.”  And then I tell people that at age 60 I threw myself into learning everything I could about Internet marketing and specifically social media marketing.

Here’s what happened:

For my 60^th birthday I decided to self-publish my novel MRS. LIEUTENANT, based on my experiences as a new Mrs. Lieutenant in May of 1970 right after the Kent State shootings during the Vietnam War.  At the same time that I was going through this process with Aamzon’s BookSurge (now folded into CreateSpace) I submitted the manuscript to Amazon’s first Breakthrough Novel Award competition.

MRS. LIEUTENANT was chosen as a semi-finalist – and Amazon gave each of us semi-finalists a page to promote our book.  One semi-finalist had something I didn’t have – a blog.

Now here’s the interesting part of the story.  Although I had been an early adopter of computers for word processing and email, I didn’t know what a blog was.  But that didn’t stop me.

With my background in marketing (I have an M.B.A. from Wharton), I instantly realized that free online promotional opportunities such as blogs were amazing. These leveled the playing field with companies and people who have huge advertising budgets.

I jumped in with both feet to learn as much as possible about Internet marketing and I never looked back.  In fact, when I became frustrated that I couldn’t instantly add pages to my websites myself, I formed a company with my younger daughter Yael K. Miller.

We learned how to create effective WordPress websites and then made these for ourselves and clients. Then once we had learned how to use social media effectively, Yael and I started teaching clients so that they didn’t have to jump through as many hoops as we had done.

The truth is that, in retrospect, I had one secret weapon which I can only thank my genes for (and the example of my father Albert Zimbler, for whom at age 84 we built the site www.alzimcomedy.com).  I have an open mind towards learning new things.

Although every day I may wrestle with learning new things (social media marketing changes at the speed of light), I am willing to feel “stupid” in order to press onward.

A friend tipped me off to the book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck, which I immediately read.  I then realized that I inherited an open mindset – the willingness to feel stupid in order to move forward.

Without trying to squeeze the essence of this brilliant (and easy-to-read book) into a half sentence, I’ll just say that the author talks about smart people who aren’t willing to try new things because they are uncomfortable if they don’t always feel smart.

If you have an open mind, then jump on the social media marketing wagon.  And if you don’t have an open mind, get Dweck’s book right now (I have no financial interest in it), read it, and change your mindset.

Then join all the other open-mindset entrepreneurs online who use the power of social media to connect with their target markets.  And connect with me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ZimblerMiller

Phyllis Zimber Miller

Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the co-founder of the social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing, which coaches clients in effectively using social media to attract more business.  Get 70 tips from 14 contributors, including Miller Mosaic, in the free tips booklet HOW TO USE SOCIAL MEDIA TO INCREASE YOUR BUSINESS at www.millermosaicllc.com/tips-booklet

Also if you’re in LA Phyllis has asked me to mention the following event, I always like to support women in business so here’s the details (and no I have no financial incentives to do so)

SPECIAL EVENT IN LOS ANGELES ON AUGUST 25: Free Social Media Seminar — Register Now

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I know you think you don’t have enough time on your hands to manage your marketing, financials, legal and your hard working team, let alone your Twitter account, Facebook Page, YouTube Channel, or blog.

However if you haven’t yet recognized the importance of joining online communities and networking with entrepreneurs just like you then you better get started. Why?

Reason One: Survival to Thrival

Community sites that support entrepreneurs are a vital part of your survival strategy. Not only are you accessing like-minded entrepreneurs, you also realize that you’re not the only crazy one trying to launch a start up or grow your business.

Reason Two: Boundless Opportunities

You can connect, collaborate, partner or just ask questions of others or experts. It’s a whole lot of powerful people, resources and tools at your finger tips and it’s free.

Reason Three: Return on Investment

It just requires time – yes that’s right your time, which if you want to invest it wisely you should at least check out these three sites (although there’s many more which I plan to feature):

The Visa Business Network

Last year I was invited to be a featured blogger on the Visa Business Network. I was naturally jumping with enthusiasm at the offer as Visa not only has global credibility, but they have also been committed to the ongoing development of innovative solutions that help small businesses grow, capture new opportunities and increase efficiencies.

Over the last few years I’ve been really impressed with their clever branding and marketing campaigns that have made them way more personable, international and responsive.

This support of small businesses was made even more evident when they launched the Visa Business Network, the online community that helps small business owners manage their businesses more efficiently, connect with and gain insight from peers, and ultimately grow their business.

This site is pretty damn cool, it allows small business owners to easily interact with peers in a collaborative way allowing them to get personalized help on goals ranging from growing their customer base to managing their business.  It’s obviously working as the community is now 100,000 members strong and growing!

They have also recognized the important role that social media plays in small business today and upgraded the entire site last week to cater to this need, especially after seeing the results of recent study by the Center for Excellence in Service at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.

This study determined that social media adoption by small businesses has doubled from 12% to 24% over the last year; 57% have built a network through an online networking site.

The new features include:

• Business Goal Toolkits – unique step-by-step “how to” guides that lead small business owners through the process of setting and achieving business goals. 
• Small Business Mentor Program – small businesses get personalized help and guidance from other successful small business owners. Having faced similar business challenges, these seasoned mentors offer advice and perspective to help Visa Business Network participants achieve their goals.   I’m proud to say I have been asked to be a mentor for Facebook Pages!
• Question & Answer Forum – members are able to collaborate by asking questions related to their goals and receive personalized advice and responses from small business peers and mentors with experience across a wide range of industries.
• Content Ranking – feature that provides small businesses with quick access to the resources and articles fellow small business owners have declared most useful.

If you haven’t checked it out yet then head over to Visa Business Network. www.visabusinessnetwork.com.

Sprouter

Sprouter.com is the newest darling on the scene and growing very quickly with innovative new features and a vibrant community. What’s more it’s founded by a kick ass female entrepreneur Sarah Prevette who I’ll be featuring on WomanzWorld in the coming weeks.

Sprouter was launched in private beta in August 2009, and in public beta in November 2009. Sprouter is devoted to creating a vibrant community of entrepreneurs.

Sprouter facilitates networking and collaboration between entrepreneurs globally. Providing a platform for users to connect with other innovators, entrepreneurs can expand their networks to include fellow entrepreneurs and startups with similar interests and goals.

What I like about it is that by answering the question `What are you working on?’ in 140 characters or less entrepreneurs can discover and join events in their local areas, start discussions and follow topics of relevance to their business.

But it’s more than a Twitter like community. It’s a place to meet like-minded entrepreneurs, bounce ideas off each other and find out about the latest events in your area for business, startups and more – all over the world.

Each week you get a newsletter highlighting cool new startups, great blog posts and highlighting some cool new members. It’s very social.

They’ve just introduced a new `Ask the Expert’ feature too and you’re guaranteed a response. I tried it the other day and was impressed at the reaction time and the answer (thanks Andrew Patico!)

Check it out at http://sprouter.com

Startup Square

I first came across this site in last year via a LinkedIn connection with one of the founders Tristan Kromer. I always think entrepreneurs starting a community for entrepreneurs is something that has real value, purpose and meaning – because only an entrepreneur knows what an entrepreneur goes through! They want to be the Yelp for Entrepreneurs.

They enable entrepreneurship by creating a space where co-founders can meet one another and brainstorm the next big idea. Then they turn those ideas into businesses by matching them with funding, tools, and services in a virtual marketplace.

And in their words here’s where they differ:

‘But we want to go beyond that. We’d like to become a long term business partner who helps companies find the tools, services, and funding they need to thrive. We pledge to continue to push our business model further down the lifecycle of startups and tie our key metrics to the metrics of our customers. We will judge our success on the basis of whether or not we’re able to increase the percentage of entrepreneurs on our site who are able to form businesses and the percentage of those businesses that succeed.’

It’s personal too, I mean what other co-founder talks about being an anti-ninja, posts a photo of his dislocated foot on the blog and still takes the lesson out of failing at a Parkour lesson (the cause of said foot). For example here’s Tristan’s lessons learned:

• The universe has a wicked sense of humor.
• You’re going to fall down at some point.
• Pick yourself back up.
• If you can’t pick yourself back up, make sure you’ve got a good team to help you.

PLUS they’re putting together a peer reviewed list of resources for entrepreneurs.  Take a look here http://www.startupsquare.com/

What’s more all these sites are FREE. What’s your favourite community site?

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This is a guest post by Sotiria Krikelis, Foundress of Relax Missy, trendy foldable ballet flats for modern women on the go.  At 27 years old, she launched her own business and is excited to be living out her vision.

I always thought I’d be great at public relations.  I love to talk, love to network, and I’m not shy at all.  However, I learned there is a science to PR, especially when it’s done online.  Meeting someone in person and networking to try and get a write up is completely different than pitching a reporter by email.

When I was 24 years old I started my own company called One Life, Live-It Inc, and debuted with our first product, Relax Missy, a sophisticated foldable ballet flat for all the multi tasking ladies out there.

Spreading the word and making connections was very exciting for me, but a lot more difficult than I anticipated.  Now at 27 years old with the recent launch of Relax Missy, our goals are to be available for sale in a major department store and featured in key magazines. So how have I gone about doing this?

Start with internet press

I started out with blogs, both small and big, and online magazines that catered to our target market.  The internet has exploded with bloggers and they are an excellent avenue to generate press. Firstly, they have their own engaged audience to showcase your product or service to. Secondly, well known writers and journalists now look to blogs to see what’s newsworthy.

Step 1. Create a list of all blogs and internet magazines that relate to your business category, for me it was fashion, and write down their contact emails and phone numbers.

Natalie’s top tip: Use the following tools to see the most popular blogs for your target audience Technorati, AllTop, BlogRank, Wikio, Top Blogs and BlogCatalog

Most of the time, I’ve found bloggers to be very receptive in email pitching.  However, just remember you are not the only person pitching them with your idea. They get hundreds of emails from PR companies to individuals and sometimes they need extra time to catch up. I say give it a week and then follow up with another message.

Step 2: If you haven’t received an email reply, then shout them out on twitter and they’ll almost always respond back. Many bloggers are active on Twitter and use it as a marketing platform to spread the word. Plus Twitter is quicker and easier.

These are two tactics I use daily and find them to be very effective.

Creating an email pitch to a Blogger

There is a proper way to email and an improper way to email.  I recently posted an ad for interns on a website and was shocked at the poorly executed messages I was receiving.  It dawned on me that these people have no clue they’re taking the wrong approach.  The right approach always seemed logical to me, so I’m going to give a few tips here:

Tip #1
Never, ever, ever write a mass email to anyone.  I don’t care if it’s a magazine, and employer, or a blogger.  Mass emails are a no go and will get deleted immediately.  They give the impression that you don’t really care who you’re writing to.

Tip #2

Always address whomever you are pitching by their name if it’s listed.  You never write “To whom it may concern.”  This just shows that you haven’t taken two minutes to click around their website, go to their about us section, and read what they’re about.  Cater your pitch to the specific news outlet or internet publication you want to be featured on.  This is very important.

Tip #3

Don’t ever send a blank email with just a press release attached.  I don’t know why people do this.  It’s not effective.

Tip #4

Think about why you are newsworthy and why they should write about your product or you.  Never think the product will sell itself.   You need to convince them and draft a kind and newsworthy email.  But keep it short!

Tip #5
Don’t send a follow up email with the words, “Why have you not responded?”  This will definitely not get you a response from that particular publication.

Tip #6
Wait a week to send a short follow up email and what I like to do is paste the original message in that follow up because I know my previous message has gotten lost in their inbox.  If their phone number is listed, then call the writer/blogger/editor and make your conversation short and kind.

Tip #7

Create a compelling subject line – I never knew this was so important, but it is.  This is what most media personnel use to decide whether or not to open up your email.  If it sounds like a mass email then it will be deleted.

Twitter and Facebook are huge marketing tools for your business.

Twitter is where I found most of the bloggers on my list.  Just click around between tweets and see who shouts out to who, then click on a twitter user’s web address and see what they’re about.  This is really simple and whenever I follow someone or respond to someone’s tweet, I always click on their website.

The most popular social networking site by user numbers is Facebook, which allows you to create a page for your business and invite people to join. Also you can `like’ related pages and leave comments linking to your business. You can also search groups you are interested in and message those that you would like to network with.

Here’s an example of a Twitter pitch that I instigated (my Twitter handle is @Solopreneete)

@DawnDelRusso Just sent you an email with a fab product! Perfect for all high heel lovers – looking forward to hearing from you!

@Soloprenette thanks just got it..they look super cute

@DawnDelRusso Great! Just got your email on my BB – love how we are up late tweeting! Will reply 2mrw, off to bed now, early day. Gnite!

@Soloprenette lol I know I get lots done at night

@DawnDelRusso Email me your address and size so I can send you a pair for your viewers!!

Generating daily newspaper press

This is actually less scary than one might think.  You can find all email formats on the actual newspaper or by going to their website and looking it up.

You can first start with an email pitch and then wait two or three days and follow up with a phone call.  Since these are daily newspapers and they are known as what’s called “short lead time,” you have a better chance of getting press.

The newspaper general phone number should be listed on the website and then you call and ask for the appropriate editor and briefly follow up with them to see if they are interested in your story.

You should know the editor’s name by doing your research prior to pitching to make sure you got the correct person.  If they say no, take a month off and then pitch again with a different angle.

Here’s a specific example. There are two types of newsstand fashion magazines: Weekly Celebrity and Monthly Fashion Magazines. The weekly celebrity magazines are just that, celebrity.

Basically, if your product is not tied into a celebrity story, then you will most likely not be featured in these magazines (Life & Style, In Touch, US, etc).  I once emailed an editor who responded saying she loved my product and asked what celebrity was wearing it.  At the time, I didn’t have one so I responded saying that.  Naturally her response was that I needed to have a celebrity fixture with my product.

Monthly Fashion magazines I found even more difficult to get into.  Of course if you know someone or have a hook up then that’s great, but most of us don’t.  In order to get contact information from all these editors; I spent two days calling every magazine I could think of and asking the gatekeeper for the company’s email format.

Everyone has a different format so be sure to ask.  These magazine editors are busier than most and get bombarded with tons of emails which they often read on the way to work on their mobile device.

There are thousands of PR companies pitching to land their clients a story, so you are not the only one.  Don’t get frustrated if you don’t receive a response, just keep pitching and it will happen.

Don’t keep sending the editor the same pitch, change it up, make it shorter, give them your updates, or tie your product in with a column you’ve seen in their magazine and say why it would make a great fit.  It’s all about persistence and exhausting all options.

I use all these approaches daily.  Emailing bloggers, stylists, magazines, sending samples, taking an active role on twitter, are all steps I take to network.

Public Relations is a hustle and generating press is a full time job, that’s why there are PR firms that do this full time, but as a new company, you don’t really have that luxury of hiring an expensive firm, so you must do it yourself.

Natalie’s Top Tip: Sign for HARO – Help a Reporter Out, and check in on daily opportunities to respond to that relate to your business.

About Sotiria: With many future goals in mind, Sotiria has taken the first steps most people only dream about and doesn’t plan on ever stopping.  The entrepreneurial world is something she has embraced and loves every minute of it.  A few fun facts about Sotiria are: unlike most people, she hates coffee and prefers high intensity boot camp exercise over yoga.

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As summer comes to an end it seems like the business world comes to life with a plethora of events designed to energize, motivate and rejuvenate you so that you’re psyched about the last quarter of the year.

If you are just coming back from holidays, or perhaps never stopped working, there are a number of amazing events coming up that I think will give you that extra push you may be seeking.

They will provide you with focus, ideas, inspiration and expand your mind. There will be opportunities for collaborations, networking and new friendships.

Below are my top five recommended events for you to consider to ensure your 2010 is one to remember. They’re all especially designed for women and there’s one for every month!

When: September 13^th 2010
Where: Global and online
Investment: $167 – right now $127 Early Bird price til Friday 20)

The WomanzWorld Business Builder Program is a fantastic four week online business coaching program designed to take your business to six-figures in just minutes a day. You get your own personal business coach and an awesome accountability team made up of your fellow entrepreneurs.

If your business is lacking visibility or credibility in the marketplace and you know you need to take action to ensure your business sparkles then register today.  Here’s some of what’s covered:

• Learn how to turn prospects into committed loyal clients
• Create a sales funnel that ensures you’re always building your revenue streams
• Discover how to cater to your niche markets and become the go-to person
• Develop strategic alliances to expand your business offering and generate more profit
• Build champions for your business and learn how to incorporate this across your team

What a great investment to make to have a complete business development plan in place in just 4 weeks to take your business to the next level. Spaces a limited and there’s a 100% money back guaranteed if you don’t earn the cost of this program back within the first 3 months!

Register at http://womanzworld.com/business-success-academy/

Plus 10% of all profits will be donated to 60 Million Girls – Empowering Girls and Women through education

When: October 14-17 2010
Where: Reykjavik, Iceland (the country with the most entrepreneurs per capita!)
Investment: 2,000 Euros

BrandIt is a four-day workshop to create and/or reinvigorate personal and business branding for women business owners worldwide.

The workshop helps women achieve success through attaining a clear vision of their present strengths and future goals, identifying their passions, and creating a network of powerful women to support them along their journey.

This event is co-hosted by the lovely Runa Magnusdottir, CEO & Founder Connected-Women.com – a fantastic community of women entrepreneurs. Here’s some of the benefits of attending:

• Crystal clear focus on your passions and future vision for yourself and your brand
• 2 – 4 stylized photos ready to use for your Marketing Kit
• Confidence when delivering your razor sharp elevator pitch
• A special GOLDEN profile on Connected-Women.com
• Your Brand Positioning Statement—who YOU are as a brand!

Another awesome way to get clarity on your business brand in an amazing location and to increase your network of women from around the world. Details are here http://brandit.is

When: November 7-9, 2010
Where: Marquee Event Host: November 7-9 2010: Grand Wailea Resort, Maui HI
Investment: $3797 (up until end of September)

Dream It! Launch It! Live It! is a five-city global conference that engages women everywhere to manifest the best version of themselves – as women, as leaders, as entrepreneurs. If you’re dreaming up your first big enterprise, launching a new division of your million-dollar business, or are a living example of integrating life with work, there is something here for you.

Over three days you will be treated to celebrity keynote speakers including Joan Lunden, Molly Ringwald, and Martha Beck, national and regional women leaders, thematic social networking events, and unique nontraditional breakout sessions, Ladies Who Launch is redefining how to “launch” for women entrepreneurs.

More details are here www.dreamitlaunchitliveit.com

When: 2-4 November 2010
Where: Las Vegas

Investment: US $997

SHINE Conference in Las Vegas will help you recognize the best opportunities for you and deliver the next steps you need to generate the income, impact, and life you desire, while making the world a better place for all of us.

Shine will help you to:

• a fresh look at the business and life that you want to create, and strategies to reach them
• new marketing and sales techniques to help you attract more clients and customers
• new productivity skills to help you get more of the right things done… in less time and with less energy
• new methods for adding passive income to your current business (or create one from scratch)
• hundreds of valuable new networking contacts for possible joint ventures and resources

Plus much more. Details are here http://www.shineevent.com/

Want to win a ticket?

This Friday 20 August I will announce the winner of the competition I’ve been running to win a ticket to this event and accompany me to SHINE.  Simply tweet this out and fill in your reason

I would love to attend SHINE in Vegas because ________________________________#womanzworld #shine

Thanks to all those who have entered already, it’s been amazing. You’re in with a chance!

When: 7-8 December 2010
Where: Washington DC, USA.
Investment: US $2,200 to attend the event or $100 for online access (registration started yesterday)

TEDWomen, is the first ever women focused event held by TED. It will explore in depth the evolving story about women as change agents, intellectual innovators, idea champions.

TEDWomen will gather global thought leaders and innovators for a cross-disciplinary program focused on how women think and work, communicate and collaborate, learn and lead — what this means and why it matters to all of us. Speakers from around the globe — including women and men, from anthropologists to artists, scientists to soldiers, farmers to futurists — will share their ideas in the classic TED format, creating a program that surprises and inspires.

You can read more about TEDWomen and register here.

I know there’s several more going on around the world so feel free to mention them below in the comments section and provide a URL

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When I look back on my life I have ALWAYS set goals. Most of the time I would write down far too many, then look at that piece of paper or journal 6 months later and wondered how I was ever planning on achieving them all.

I did realize though, that just by writing down what my intentions were, I generally achieved around 60% of them (aside from the really ludicrous ones that weren’t physically possible to do in one year simultaneously!)

Last year I used the Power of Focus book to really work through my goals and also strategies and tactics to achieve them. I spent several weeks pulling this together into a plan and then committed to reviewing it daily (which then slipped to weekly and subsided to monthly).

Was this goal-setting technique more successful?

Yes. I believe it was because it showed me clearly where I fall down when setting goals – being overly ambitious. It also reinforced the habits that were clearly working for me, so I was able to filter out goals that really weren’t aligned with my purpose and passions.

I still have my `Business Success Goal’ sheet to hand. Many have been achieved and there are several that I’ve revisited and adjusted – a step you must take when goal setting.

What I have found most useful is that the key goals are imprinted at the fore front of my mind and they appear naturally in daily lists that I make.

What key point are you making Natalie?

This one – YES you need a system, yes it needs to work for you, and it should be something you check in on at least weekly. But like life, your goals need to be flexible, exciting and challenging and they need to adapt as much as you do.

What’s really important is that your overall vision for your business should never change – if you really believe in it and live by it, then all the other activities, objectives and tactics you use in order to keep on track can change as often as you need them to.

Is that the real key to success?

Having a vision that drives you and holds you to a higher purpose is definitely a key ingredient. But aside from yourself, who is holding you accountable to make this vision a reality?

According to the experts like Les Hewitt, Anthony Robbins, Napoleon Hill and Stephen Covey who have proven this in their books or by working with thousands of businesses and seeing incredible results it’s having your own personal success team.

Who should I have on my personal success team?

1. 1. Mentors for each aspect of your business you need help, advice and wisdom for.
2. 2. A business coach to hold you accountable for goals you have set for yourself and your business.
3. 3. A lawyer who can deal with your specific business needs
4. 4. A financial accountant to ensure you save money, have the right business structure to maximize tax benefits and more

Have you got your personal success team onboard?

I imagine, if you’re like me you are working on it. You have people that you reach out to for various needs. Is it working for you? Do you need further help? Worried about being able to afford this?

I’d view it as an investment that will pay of big time in the future. I’m going to help you out, part of my vision for WomanzWorld is to provide bite sized chunks of information and knowledge to help your business sparkle.

Enter the WomanzWorld Academy’s

Launching on September 13th 2010 it’s designed to give you everything you need to build a six figure service business in just minutes a day.

Avoid the challenges, learn the tools, follow the program and measure your progress.

Spaces are limited to ensure that each one of you gets the most out of Felicia Lee’s coaching expertise and to maximize the world renowned Ghost CEO program that has helped thousands of business achieve an amazing return on investment using their tools and methods.

For full details visit here for a special offer available to you for just 48 hours from today.

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I recently got sent a report in advance by CB Insights on the state of venture capital investments and the people dimension behind the deals and dollars.

It’s the first time they’ve done this report because it’s well understood that `Vulture Capitalists’ as they’re sometimes called are a critical lever in the United States (and the rest of the world!) to spur innovation, entrepreneurship and economic growth.

You often hear and read that what really gets venture capitalists excited about the young, emerging, and often unproven companies in which they invest is “the team” or “the founders”.

Yes it’s likely that YOU are the key ingredient.

Who you are is often more important than what you’re doing. Wow them with your sales pitch, energy and drive and you may receive that million dollars your company needs to grow.

In Part 1 of the Venture Capital Human Capital report, CB Insights looks at three characteristics related to founders of venture-backed companies, specifically: race, age & experience and the number of founders per company. They tracked 185 Seed VC and Series A investments to get these results.

I’m looking forward to Part 2 of the report that will look at the gender and educational background/pedigree of founders.

So what did I glean from this report that you may find beneficial or just plain interesting? Here’s my summary:

It’s never too late to start your own business

To my delight the majority of founders were aged 35-44 years (44%) and not these young wonder kids that always seem to be in the news like Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook.

That gives hope to those of you who say you should have started in your 20s – no more excuses, just do it. That said the 26-34 seem to do better and receiving higher amounts of funding.

White supremacy still reigns in the US

Unsurprisingly (say in a sarcastic tone), the majority of people founding businesses were white.

Interestingly though all Asian founding teams are far more successful at raising money ($4.0 million is the average investment) vs all whites ($2.2 million).

Does that mean they create better business models, sell themselves better or are more skilled negotiators?

Experience counts for something

In this study 39% of founders were formerly CEOs/Founders which supports the idea that VCs back experience. I’ve heard this a lot from investors I’ve spoken to.

Many will only invest in someone who’s tried and failed with a previous business before they’ll fork out their cash, because they want to know that you’ve learned from your failures. So go ahead and fail. It could earn you more in the long run – seriously.

Outside of that common previous roles were either Directors or VPs and usually in Sales/Marketing and Product Management/Development.

Going it alone is an option

I’m personally more in favour of having your own business, but expanding your offering through strategic partnerships and collaborations.

The results of this report showed that majority of companies have two or more founders, although over a third are led by one founder.  Also the more founders you have doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get more funding.

Location, Location, Location

So even if you’re not a real estate owner, it does pay to choose where you will set up your business if you’re in the US or heading htere. New York and California both favor founding duos, while Massachusetts founders going solo do well.

You can read the entire report here.

http://www.cbinsights.com/blog/venture-capital/venture-capital-human-capital-report

By the way here’s a little info about CB Insights (www.cbinsights.com). Theyre a New York city-based information services firm that tracks venture capital activity, both venture capital firms and the companies they invest in.  In addition to venture capital-backed companies, CB Insights tracks private company investments made by angel investors, federal and state government institutions and private equity firms.  CB Insights’ is used by investors, bankers, entrepreneurs and advisors to enhance their research, sourcing and due diligence efforts.

So were the results surprising or did I fail to tell you anything new?

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