The top three reasons that small business owners avoid developing their online marketing plans and stay away from social media is lack of capital, lack of time, and lack of skills. This is where a blog will fit your needs perfectly—it is relatively cheap to incorporate into your site, requires very little time, and you do not need any special technical skills or writing expertise to use it. View this guide for tips on getting started with a blog and for best practices on maintaining it.

What is most important to having a successful blog is to understand that it is like hosting a networking event on your site, around the clock. People can read what you’ve written, which should be entertaining and informative. They can also participate by asking questions and posting comments. This can become a sounding board for revealing your areas of expertise and truly helping potential customers. It can also be a place for your current customers to tout your goods or services.

The beauty of the blog is that it does not need to be a picture perfect dissertation of what you do; as a matter of fact, it is better if it is more conversational and speaks to the masses. You can also have fellow employees or business associates write posts to expand your reach. One cardinal rule of blogging is to not only start this conversation, but to respond as well—keep the interaction moving.

Learn more and get started today!

Too often, new attendees to local marketing groups achieve the opposite effect than what they wanted simply because they did not properly prepare.  A few foresights and a little mental preparation can make a world of difference.  No matter how different the groups are, there are a few universal tips that apply to all networking groups.

Tips for Attending Local Networking Events

1. Before you even think of attending, have your elevator pitch nailed down and perfect (15, 30, 45 and 60 second). The term “elevator pitch” was coined for those entrepreneurs looking for an opportunity to catch a venture capitalist in an elevator.  Depending on the height of the building, they needed to have their elevator pitch such that they could sell their idea quickly.
2. Don’t forget your business cards.  EVERY local marketing group will ask you for at least one business card.  Some will make copies of all business cards and pass it out to the general audience of attendees.  When people hear your elevator pitch, they will often refer to this list of business cards to find out more about you, write down your number, etc.  You should have enough business cards to give to everyone in the room.
3. Show up early.  A lot of networking occurs prior to the event start time.
   1. Work the room.  People do business with (and refer business to) those who make them feel comfortable.  You don’t have to be a salesman, just genuine.
   2. No matter if you’re normally an introvert, during this time you must force yourself to be eager to “grip and grin.”  It may feel awkward for some, but you really have to force yourself to stand next to two people already in a conversation, waiting for the appropriate time to cut in and introduce yourself.  (Promotional items make this a little easier – see #5 below.)
4. Have a “giveaway” or door prize available (value $10-$20).  Chambers have networking groups that are especially interested in keeping the atmosphere fun and involved for the participants (who often pay $5-$15 to attend).  If you offer a door prize, you receive twice the recognition because you or your business will be announced as they give it away.  At the very least, they will announce your company name.  Some even give you an opportunity to address the crowd a second time.
5. Bring promotional items (value $.50 – $1.50 each for all attendees).  Most Local Networking groups gratefully accept promotional items because it adds to the general goodwill feel of the environment.  Some will even provide a table for these promo items.  Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can utilize this table to place your brochures or pamphlets on it.  People are interested in taking useful items.
   1. Any item you give away should include three basic items – company name, tag line, phone number
   2. Small boxes of mints, magnets, bottles of water, etc. have a shorter shelf life, but are more likely to be used, so maximize the opportunity
   3. Pens are most common and may have the longest shelf life
   1. 1. Bring a container filled with pebbles so that they will stand out and be more easily grabbed by attendees
      2. Place them in front of each chair at the event
6. In your elevator pitch, consider referring to these items (e.g. “become a magnet for your potential customers” or (holding bottle of water) “replenish, revitalize, and re-energize your business”
   1. Holding the items in your hand at the time of your elevator pitch is a great way for people to remember who you are later.
   2. Bring a visual aid for your elevator pitch (e.g. a sign, an product example, your company name written on a large promo item, etc.)
7. Psychological studies have demonstrated that there is a statistically significant difference in recall from subjects who hear a name, vs. those who hear AND see a name.  Figure out how to show your company name at the same time your speaking.
8. Recruiting the person (whom you previously didn’t know) sitting next to you to stand up and hold a sign with your name on it is a great way to enable people to remember who you are.

Above all, remember that you’re in it for the long haul.  Just as bloggers must realize that they need to provide daily attention to their blogs, so must local networkers understand the need to attend as frequently as the networking events are offered.  Attending a weekly event once a month is a lot like a weight lifter who works out once a month – he’s just going to make himself sore.  Remember, you’re not attending the events just to sell your products or services to the other attendees (although that occurs occasionally); rather you’re there to influence them – to make them feel comfortable enough to pass on your information to their customer bases and circles of influence.  And once you start attending you’ll find that the relationships, and even friendships, you’ve established will make you think of these people first when your customers have a need for someone in their fields.

Differences between Local Networking Groups

• Some networking groups, with a global presence, simply move to an area and start new chapters.  These organizations typically have very specific rules for joining their organization, including a yearly fee, a one-industry-per-chapter rule, and a requirement that you attend every week (with a two week exception every few months).
• Some Chambers of Commerce have a special name for their networking e vents (e.g. “Leads to Success“) and serve food.  Some do not (see Network Gwinnett).
• Other networking groups specifically target individual segments of the population, such as women, African Americans, and other ethnic groups).
• Most Networking groups have moderators who start, run and end the meetings.
  • These folks are usually volunteers and have an additional amount of time to tell others about their businesses
  • One of their more important tasks to is keep a stopwatch so that all attendees keep within the established time limit for talking about their business.
  • Most moderators are responsible for keeping track of how many leads are passed each week, as well as how many closed business sales have occurred over time.
• Sponsorship opportunities abound at nearly all local networking events – although most require membership of some form.
  • Some sponsorships are sold; others are raffled off at the end of the meeting to build  attendance and retention
  • Most networking groups have a weekly “spotlight” on a featured small business, where an individual business will receive 2-10 minutes to show a presentation/video, speak to the audience, hand out samples, etc.
  • Giving away door prizes (generally at the end of the meeting) has become extremely popular, and a great way for a business to have a second opportunity to impress other attending businesses.
• Generally speaking, the more popular a networking group becomes, the more business owners prefer to attend these large networking events
  • They’re able to address more people
  • The fastest growing and most popular are often free
  • The number attending is inversely proportionate to the amount of time one has to explain who they are to the group.  So attendees with 15 seconds to explain their businesses can be easily forgotten until they’ve managed to attend regularly over time.
• Each organization has its own method for making attendees aware of one another
  • Some section off attendees into groups to play team building games that will enable them to remember each other’s business.
  • Most will allow 15-60 seconds to position “your elevator pitch” to the group.
  • Some organizations change the theme every week/month.

So, which type of regular local networking works the best?  The answer is “yes.”

Each of the networking methods mentioned above have found success in building and retaining regular attendees.  The best bet is to find the one that is most comfortable for your style.

In the next edition, we’ll give some helpful tips for beating the learning curve and making the most of networking groups on the first day.

Not to be outdone, Local Networking events, which require a regular physical presence, are also seeing record turnouts lately. Similar to social media, the same adage applies here too, yet the two networking media are poles apart. We’ll explain. But first, we should define Local Networking. Local Networking is any organization, consisting of small to medium sized businesses, which meets on a regular basis to share and receive referrals and leads. Examples of formal Local Networking groups are: BNI (Business Networking International), Merchants’ Associations, Chambers of Commerce, Business Associations, etc. We’ve outlined below the most common similarities, and biggest differences, between local networking events and social media.

The similarities
1. No matter the city where you live, local networking events occur all of the time.
2. Both social media and local networking events are primarily in place to promote businesses to new customers.
3. It is usually the most interesting blogger (or interesting person at the local event) who will get the most leads.
4. Many Local Networking groups, as well as bloggers, attempt to pay for their activities (and even make a profit) by attracting sponsors.
5. They both require constant attention, although the frequency may be quite different.
6. Social media can become viral, where blog entries and links are sent along to readers who might find the content interesting. Similarly, local networking groups are not in place to sell to one another, but rather to sell to the attendees’ circle of influence.

The differences
1. Blogs and other social media typically require regular (often daily) attention. Local Networking events typically occur (at most) on a weekly basis.
2. By definition, Local Networking events are… well… local. Not global like social media can be.
3. Some Local Networking groups, like BNI, are exclusive to one business per industry.
4. Just as Local Networking groups do not require daily interaction, the payback period for this group is also prolonged. Generally speaking, the attendees at local networking groups must become familiar with you at their regularly scheduled events before they feel comfortable suggesting you to their customers or circle of influence.
5. Due to the nature of geographically based businesses, some industries are better than others for Local Networking vs. Social Media. (e.g. a mechanic in Opelika, AL may have a fantastic blog worth reading every other hour, but he’s not likely to get much business from his most loyal fan in San Fransisco, CA)

“You can only choose one. Which one do you want,” she asked.

The boy chose the one that directly in front of him. The one he could easily reach out to and take without any fear. He was eager to tear open the pages of whatever adventure awaited beneath the cover.

“That one?  Are you sure?”

He nodded and they were off. I don’t know if he ever enjoyed the comic, but I saw, for that moment, he was completely confident and excited about his choice.

Right then and there, I had my topic.

The rush hour of small business marketing.
With so many people reaching out for your prospective clients’ attention, it’s getting harder and harder to see yourself as the clear choice.  It is easy to get overwhelmed with choosing where to advertise, how to cast the widest net, and what your message will be to get their attention.  It can be frustrating with every niche item salesman suggesting what bit of swag will be sure to lure in that potential client, the local print shop touting the latest sale on brochures and postcards, networking events crowded with the same people over and over again, and yet have you noticed what you want…seems to be right where you need it?

I’m not advocating you ditch any of the tools above, but simply recognize them for what they are. They are tools and avenues to get you to the next prospective client.  But if these avenues are backed up with rush hour like traffic fighting for attention, why would you take them? Because they are safe bets? Because everyone is doing it? Because you are a bit afraid to feel like you wasted your all ready limited resources on an unproven tactic?

But what if you take these choices and you end up with a closet full of key chains, boxes of never seen brochures, and networking events where you end up collecting the same business cards from the same people just on different days?  Isn’t THAT a waste of your valuable all ready limited resource?

Be where you’ll get the most eyes.
Instead of trying to create tactics and plans that brings them to you, try getting out and going to them.  Seriously, go where your future long term customers will be. It could feel awkward at first, but if you’re the first person to tap the well of uninterrupted visibility then you’ve got nothing to loose.

The best example I’ve seen of this was just yesterday at an office where I am doing some contracting.  In their kitchen, right on the refrigerator door, was an advertisement for a Babysitter.  The design was clean, clear, and simple.  There was a pocket, made of folded paper, stapled to it with business cards sticking out. The business cards were even clearer than the flyer. They simply read, in a welcoming font,

“Nicole.
Babysitter.”

And below that were her phone number and email.

This wasn’t done in an off the shelf font, but it was neatly presented and easy to read. No fluff designs or overly wordy content. The business card laden flyer was close to eye level with anyone going to get their lunch.

Nicole tapped a market of an office made up of probably 60% of her chosen clients. She went right to where she would get the most eyes on her services.

Needless to say, I’ve seen Nicole’s simple business card holder refilled at least twice since the advertisement went up.

Be brave with your limited resources.
Don’t be afraid to take chances once in a while. Get out there and go after your prospective clients with the same excitement you started your business.  After all, they are your clients after all, right?  Instead of the next tried and true moderately successful “everyone’s seen it, done it, and got the t-shirt from it” tactic, get a little creative with your limited resources.

If you’re an auto detailing company, offer to wash cars in the parking lot of your local office building for free in exchange for letting people know about your services.  If you’re a business coach, give away coupons for a free session at a networking event for small business owners.  If you’re an author with a new book to peddle, go to where your reader will be and give out free sample chapters of your book with info on where to get the rest of the great, amazing best seller to be. What ever it is that you do, be bold, be creative and be fearless in whatever your marketing endeavor will be.  Failures will happen, but successes will as well.  Be more focused on the later and conscious of what caused the former.

If you’re wondering, yes, I’ve seen the aforementioned suggestions done, but those business owners wanted the clients and weren’t afraid to take a calculated risk to reap a little long term reward.

But the real question is…are you?

As all ways…stay wicked.

Overnight something wholly amazing happened.
They opened their email box one morning a month into the passively pushed campaign and found they had, honest to Bob, over 7,000 submissions requesting to be a part of the campaign. Emails poured in from all over the nation taking part in the submission. We all clamored to the marketers’ desk to see this with our own eyes. An email box so overloaded with requests it called to mind the commercial of the new business that puts its store online and the orders just keep going up, and up, and up. Just like the emails that continued to pour in.

From joy to panic.
Some thought it was spam. Some were excited at the potential of something they did being that “viral”. Some freaked out at how they were going to service all of the requests with a limited supply.

With one of their web team helping, I started looking through some of the emails to see if we could detect signs of spamming. We couldn’t find any that were that obvious. The submission forms were filled out were each unique, accurate, and different, that the only thing that kept the curiosity of it being spam was the frequency of how these came in. It was roughly twenty emails a minute with each second a part from each other.

The Google Search is strong with this one.
So there we sat, debating on what to do, and I thought “Google will have the answer”. I threw the name of the campaign between some quotes in Google’s search box and hit send. My screen, and Google’s Search results, were maxed out with Freebie Sites, sites that do nothing but list where to find, and how to get, free stuff online, listing the “Free Gift” that came with campaign and how to get it.

I figured, “if it’s already this deep into Google…where else could it be”. I turned m search to the tools of Social Media. The links started popping up on Twitter with a link back to the directions on how to get the “Free Gift”. It was in different spots all throughout Social Media.

In a very short time, less then ten hours, the “Free Gift” had spread like wild fire. It was time for some damage control.

From excitement to frustration
From there, I created a timeline of when the first Freebie Site listed the campaign, which linked off of it, when other posts picked it up, and cross referenced it with when the emails came in and how often they spiked. Yeah, I know, I’m a geek. My wife reminds me constantly. Sure enough, the spike in email requests coincided with each time the campaign appeared on a Freebie Site.

This wasn’t spam after all, but an army of people who collectively thought the “Free Gift” was worth their time to blog about the “Free Gift” and share how sign up for it. They rallied their own troops, got the message out, and took action on it. This was truly an example of the kind of Viral Marketing companies’ dream of!

Yet notice nothing in that last paragraph talks about the connection with the campaign, the belief in the goal, sharing the message of the campaign over the free gift, or any positive remarks about the non-profit’s effort?

With learning that submissions were still flooding in, we closed down the submission request box. I sent emails to the Freebie Sites letting them know what the intention of the campaign was and how we hoped they update their info. Some did and thanked us. Some ignored us. I sent a few emails to those who submitted letting them know what happened. Some did and thanked us. Some got frustrated and said that they did what the website said and they wanted their “Free Gift” anyway. Some ignored us.

The moral of the story, kids.
This outcome was not what they expected, or intended, when they created their marketing campaign. They just wanted to add a little value for being a part of it. Those online saw the value not in supporting the campaign, but just filling out whatever they needed to get the free item they wanted.

Rather than give a long, lengthy explanation, here are the top five things the non-profit quickly learned:

1. Be proactive on learning the reason once you find a negative reaction to your campaign.a. You could have unintentionally created it. If you sit back and blame the people doing the very thing you asked them to, but for a different reason than you intended…you get nowhere.
2. Accept the mistake, learn from it, and work with it instead of running away from it.a. It’s safe to say, that on the next campaign this will be something that will be brought up and avoided.
3. Don’t give into our initial fear.a. Fear can cause you to assume your first reaction is the best one. Sometimes that’s not the case. Imagine what would happen if they thought they were spammed instead of doing the research?
4. Find out what worked, what didn’t, and, depending on your outcome, how you can either duplicate that later on or never let it happen again.Clearly the free gift had value to people. Is there something that they could leverage in this?
5. When people ask for your free gift that does not mean they are interested in you.a. Free gifts are great. They little items, that shouldn’t break the bank, that if well done should spark conversation or curiosity. They should not be a crutch to get people interested in you or your company.

I say, give “Free Gift” away, but don’t let the value of the gift be greater than the message. There are some really big marketing lessons in this that came to light. What, life lessons, have you learned from you marketing experiences?

Until next time, stay wicked.

If you liked it, please Tweet it.

Joe Loong: So, how’s it going?

Rob Neelbauer: Going good so far, everybody seems to be having a good time.

How long have you been doing Matchbox?

It started January 2008.

Can you talk about the evolution between Job Matchbox and Social Matchbox, or is it all the same thing under different brands?

That’s a good question. We started off as a startup job fair. We had a jobs list, and a Job Matchbox that corresponded with that. Companies came, they wanted to talk about what they were hiring for, but then they also wanted to show off what they were doing.

So we gave them a mike; the presentations got better; companies got funded; their presentations got even better; and it’s just evolved. Now it’s a lot more presentations, with some good networking because of the peer community.

How have things changed in the current economic climate — in terms of what you’re seeing from the companies that are presenting.

The bigger companies aren’t here — and by bigger companies, I mean if you’ve got $30 million in your bank from investors, you’ve been laying off people to save that $30 million, because you’ve been hiring so many new people. Now those companies are laying low and trying to survive.

You have a lot more early-stage companies; people, a lot of them have been laid off, and a lot of them have severance packages and more free time on their hands to pursue their ideas. Or maybe now it’s just their time. So you have a lot of those sorts of companies presenting.

In terms of the evolution of the matchbox, where do you see it going? Are you trying to branch out a little bit, or are you going to keep it focused in the DC area?

When we first did it, the farthest away we had a company from was Silver Spring, and we were holding it in Fairfax. We’ve moved to DC, and now we’ve got companies from Baltimore and Annapolis. Maybe we’ll have a company or two that comes in from Philadelphia next. We’ll see. We’re not trying to make this the next TechCrunch 50 or something (laughing)

Well, Arrington probably needs someone to keep him honest… So where does Social Matchbox fit in with other tech networking events, and what are some of the differences that set it apart?

You go to Frank’s event [Tech Cocktail] and it’s a crowded room of people in a bar — you’re elbow to elbow, you can’t hear each other very well…

Sure, so here this is an explicit presentation / whatever opportunity, instead of just rubbing elbows in a bar somewhere…

It’s part that, but I think the bigger thing is that it’s not just a sit and conversation-friendly zone. The “speed dating for geeks” concept that we use and talk about all the time; it’s about that — making peer-to-peer conversations. The people who come to this are all makers. Whether they’re building things, they’re engineers, or they’re designers designing things, or the entrepreneurs building a business plan, they’re the people that are building and making things. So it’s kind of a makers’ meetup — a makers’ user group.

And that’s one of the other things that’s different about this and other events — you don’t have to worry about being hustled by a troupe of salespeople, or a troupe of staffing agency recruiters, people who are there to take you and make you a client.

So you’ve got startups and developers here who are looking for help like that, for marketing help…

Well, for that they can go to any networking event. This is more: You meet other peers, people who are developers, who are entrepreneurs that are building things. These people are going to talk to each other, of course, and when they talk to each other ask, “Who should I call for marketing?” “Who should I call for recruiting?” “Who should I call for sales?” — that’s the natural thing that’s going to come out of that conversation.

But it’s not here that they need the sales rep or the marketing consultant.

Last question: So, are you going to formally adopt “speed dating for geeks?” Everyone uses it…

Maybe (laughing)

Many thanks to Robert Neelbauer and everyone who attended and participated in Social Matchbox DC.

Washington Post tech columnist Kim Hart has a good event writeup, which features a photo from our own Shashi (you can see even mo’ bettah pictures in his Flickr set from the event). So what’s left unsaid for me?

I did grab a chance to have a quick talk with founder Robert Neelbauer, so I’ll post that in a subsequent entry. Here now, are just a few shotgun-style personal observations:

* Social Matchbox is a little more structured than other types of tech networking events; established companies, startups, and even not-quite-startups do three-minute presentations (hence the unofficial “speed dating for geeks” slogan), interspersed with opportunities for attendee networking. (It typically ends with an open-mike segment, though it was cut this time due to time constraints.)

* Business opportunity: Pre-event presentation coaching. Considering some of the cringe-inducing performances I’ve seen over the years, including any number of low-talkers, pocket-jinglers, and generally incomprehensible speakers, I’m thinking this is gold.

The presenters this time around were pretty good, though there’s always room for improvement, and there are enough things out of a presenter’s control to worry about (remember, every room, AV setup, and audience is different).

If you’re going to present, rehearse, preferable with video — friends may lie, but video doesn’t. Neither do stopwatches, lest you run afoul of timekeeper Juliana:

At the very least, pay attention to other folks so you know what the room sounds like, or have a confederate there to give you the high sign when your volume goes too low.

Also, it’s not usually wise to forgo the microphone — even if you project well, they might need it if the event is being recorded or streamed.

* Everyone was issued a MingleStick to use, a contact info-swapping device of the type that I denigrated in my earlier post about managing contacts:

It seemed to work okay — once you’re registered in, point at another MingleStick and click to swap info. But the novelty wore off quickly, and I like having context, even if it’s scrawled on the back of a business card. I guess I’m hopelessly analog that way.

I do note that we had to turn in the devices at the end of the night, and I still haven’t gotten my contacts to the e-mail address I provided.

* Several companies slotted to present were no-shows. Like with many raffles, hey, you gotta be present to… present. I was mildly tempted to jump on stage and spout nonsense on their behalf.

* One of the companies presenting (Root Orange) was in “stealth mode.” It’s hard to do a pitch for something when you can’t talk about it. If you have a personal track record, that’s something, but otherwise, there just isn’t a lot for other people to go on.

* DubMeNow, was another company looking to build a better mousetrap for contact swapping and management, using smart phones and other mobile devices. I still don’t get why people have such a big problem with business cards.

Anyway, it was a good event, though I didn’t stick around for the dinner afterwards. Check out the Social Matchbox site for a full list of presenters, including video interviews. And stay tuned for my own interview with founder Robert Neelbauer.

Were you at the event? Are you vehemently anti-business card? Got a tale of presentation woe you’d like to share? Leave a comment below.

I’ve just started playing with the service, so this isn’t going to be a full review, but I thought I’d revisit the ever-relevant topic of business cards and contact management in the modern era.

Switching to… “INFRA-RED”

Technology solutions to make it easier to swap and manage your contact info are nothing new. Way back when, Apple Newtons let you beam your contact info via infrared. Of course, the other person also had to have a Newton, which was a problem, and continues to be a problem for any hardware-specific solution — Palm devices, various (and silly) dedicated contact-exchange gizmos, and of course schemes for iPhones (which, tech conferences notwithstanding, are still not universal).

However, using SMS as the transfer protocol, which is pretty universal, is a nice approach, at least until we all turn into Media Lab-style cyborgs, with people’s info automatically overlaid onto our augmented reality heads-up displays.

Anyway, the service is interesting — the Contxts scheme is somewhat similar to, say, having a preset message on your phone with your contact info that you can text to other people, with the added features of a persistent profile, contact lists, and a knock-knock feature for people who request your info.

(Though in any event, you should already be making sure that your card features your primary public profile, and that your public online profiles interlink, so that people can find your other relevant stuff online.)

Welcome to Contact Purgatory

But do we need yet another social network for networking contacts? I would say there’s at least one niche to be filled, and that’s for a buffer or holding tank for contacts. A purgatory, if you will, as I decide if I’m going to add you to my LinkedIn or not. A slush pile of people.

Here’s the thing — just because I meet you at a networking event and I take your card (in whatever format), doesn’t mean I necessarily want to add you to my LinkedIn or other network. Because that’s kind of an endorsement, or it dilutes my real contacts. Yet I don’t want to chuck your info in case it may be useful someday. So at that point, you’re a quasi-contact.

So I’m thinking this network (or something similar) might be a good way to manage your quasi-contacts. At least it’s better than the “drawerful of cards” method. Though is there really value in posting and sharing your “people they’ve met” file? If so, what happens when you graduate proto-contacts into real contacts?

Contact Clutter — We’ll Take Anyone!

Now, Stephanie hates paper cards; I like them — though I do agree that having the info in digital form makes it easier to manage. Theoretically. But the technological aspect is only one part of the problem, and whether it’s digital or analog, that problem is contact clutter. By keeping a distinct network for quasi-contacts (or at least a separate category in an existing network), you can be as indiscriminate as you like and collect as many people as you want, without messing up your primary networks.

How do you handle the random folks you meet at events, manage your contact clutter, and keep tabs of your quasi-contacts? Do you keep a separate “People I’ve Met” file, or do you just add people to your LinkedIn / Facebook / Twitter?

You can subscribe to the feed on iTunes or RSS.

Week in Review Segment:
Joe Loong:
Networking events revisited — from the smaller-scale Digital Happy Hour in Reston, to Tech Cocktail DC 4, and advice on how to be a better and more effective schmoozer. With some followups that I forgot, like review and post photos from the events you go to.
Jill Foster:
“Learning to Launch” at WomenGrowBusiness.com
From small business e-learning tools to venture capital, the action was in full force at Women Grow Business.  Shana Glickfield, Washington, DC’s area venue/restaurant expert, launched her new series about converting her hobby to an expert company.  She just registered ‘DC Concierge’ as a LLC; and in the coming weeks Shana will share insight and lessons learned on starting up.

Business Tips Segment:
Jill Foster:
Biz tip:  Make ‘the ask’: host events, invite experts, and build your business pipeline
Networking style has been an interesting discussion at Solutions Are Power.  And on this note, a favorite sales mindset comes to mind:  Don’t forget to “make the ask.”
This applies to certainly your sales funnel but also to your collaboration pipeline too.   Example:  DC Media Makers – a peer learning group in digital education – has grown a lot in the past year.  But what’s interesting is it’s growing partnerships.  It partners with NPR downtown to host monthly meetups on digital media — for entrepreneurs, marketers, producers, & tech enthusiasts.  But what drives their meetups is the unique, in-depth feedback at each session.  And what drives the feedback?  –asking people in the community to share their work and initiate Q&A.  So many collaborations and leads have come from this type of initiative by just asking folks to present.
Joe Loong:
Biz tip:  Preparing for a Business Crash Landing
Preparing for a Crash Landing — this isn’t one of my tips, but Jason Calacanis, outspoken serial entrepreneur, has a thought-provoking blog post detailing his advice on “what to do when your startup is about to fail” (http://calacanis.com/2009/02/27/what-to-do-if-your-startup-is-about-fail-or-dont-stop-believing/ )

Week Ahead:
Joe Loong:
A few more local tech and social media events (from last week and upcoming)
Jill Foster:
Business owners discuss their changed operations in this economy; plus a new Women Grow Business series starts about entrepreneurs and leadership.
Steve Fisher
Marketing Plan Series Launching on Solutions Are Power

We are taking two weeks off because of upcoming events and our travelling to SouthBySouthWest. We will be back on March 27 with new segments and new things we can’t reveal yet in Episode #13. You can subscribe to the feed on iTunes or RSS. We hope you listen in and keep listening!