SXSW is like Burning Man with Laptops and Bathrooms
I am attending SXSW for the first time this year. If you have never heard of SXSW, it is one of the largest film, music, and media conferences in the world. Held every year in March in Austin Texas, it’s been described as Burning Man with laptops and bathrooms. I am attending the interactive media segment, which lasts for five days. I am so excited to meet some of the business and social media bloggers, thought leaders, and best-selling technology authors I have been following for over eighteen months now. I am ecstatic to see and hear some of the key-note speakers like Ev Williams, CEO of Twitter. I feel like a kid riding my bike without my hands on the handle bar…HAPPY! For the last year and a half, I have immersed myself in social media, internet marketing, SEO, and learning online software tools, all for the purpose of growing my own company’s presence online. In my former life, I was an outside sales person. Today, I sit in front of a computer connecting with the online world. And, surprisingly I’ve realized that I have a knack for it. Perhaps that is why Hewlett Packard contacted me a few weeks ago and asked me to review thier new HP iPAQ Glisten SmartPhone, which I am giving away on March 17th. Perhaps that is why oftentimes, I have to peel myself away from my computer, even though I have been in front of it for 16 hours. I know it sounds obsessive and unhealthy. I am working on finding that balance. But, the point is that who would have thought a non-techy gal like me has found LOVE and PASSION for internet technology! I have transitioned from an off-line business model to an online business model and now I am going to meet the very people whose content and guidance I have used to help me make that transistion.
What is Your ROI Formula for Attending Conferences?
There are literally a gazillion conferences to choose from and obviously a small business owner cannot attend every single one. So, how does a small business owner choose the best conference for their specific needs? It starts with the ROI (Return on Investment). Simply put, the ROI is the amount of time, money, resources, opportunity costs, you put into attending the event (which is the investment). After you add up all those expenses, costs, etc., you then subtract it from your return or your gain. Whatever amount is left is your ROI. Recently, I got into a fairly big discussion with my biz partner, Chuck on this very subject. He is the left-brain of our business and I am the right-brain. He wanted to tie the ROI of my time spent at SXSW to the sell of a product. I wanted to tie the ROI to the networking, relationship building, as well as the sell of a product. In other words, I should gain not only social equity from SXSW, but financial gain as well. In addition, that gain should be tied to a specific timeline. In a future post, I will give you specific examples of the ROI formula I used for attending SXSW. In the meantime, here is my question for you. How do you measure your ROI when attending conferences? I think it is hard to measure relationship building because you are not always sure how that relationship is going to evolve. The sell of a product or service is much easier to measure, but honestly, that’s never the main reason why I like to attend conferences. Everyone has their various reasons for attending a conference. Authors attend to promote their book. Speakers attend to gain more exposure. Companies attend to expand their brand. Attendees attend to learn, network, and build prospective strategic alliances. What are your reasons and how do you justify your investment? Please leave your comments on my post! Thanks!
I SEE YOU
There’s no doubt that the movie Avatar has captured the imagination of millions. So what does a Hollywood film have to do with business owners? Three words: I SEE YOU. In the movie, Neytiri of Pandora looks straight into Sully’s eyes and says to him, “I see you.” Three simple words, yet such profound meaning. Now think about that for a moment. Imagine taking the time to say that to our customers, our vendors, our employees, our subscribers, and our partners. My observations and life experiences lead me to believe that people have a desire to be acknowledged and treated with dignity and respect. Once you understand that, then you are in a position to better SERVE the people around you whether it be employees or customers. I realize that sounds so obvious, but I am amazed at how oftentimes, businesses just don’t seem to care. By saying, I see you, Neytiri acknowledged Sully, she validated him, and she showed him that she cared.
I see you means so much more than its literal connotation. It means:
- I am listening to you, Partners, Affiliates and Vendors
- I understand your needs and wants Mrs. Customer
- How can I empower you, Employees
- How can I help you Fans, Followers, Friends
- How can I support you, Subscribers to my blog
- What can I do to serve you, Database of Prospective Buyers
- How can I thank you, Donors
I See You is about the Platinum Rule
Ultimately, I see you means, I am here for you . I care about you. It’s about understanding the needs and wants of the people around you. I see you is more than the Golden Rule — Treat Others the way YOU want to be treated. I see you is about the Platinum Rule — Treat others the way THEY want to be treated. Now, you might say that giving everyone the customized attention and care of the Platinum Rule is not cost effective or realistic, but what I would encourage you to think about is how you can better understand the people around you that help make your business successful. It’s a known fact that people do business with people who they know, like, and trust. What are you doing to see the people around you so that they rave about your products and services and refer more business your way? How are you showing them that you care? If you are having a hard time answering these questions, then it’s time to ask them whether it be your employees or customers. I recommend using survey monkey, an online survey tool. By surveying your team, customers, etc., you will get the feedback you need to guide you in the right direction. Lastly, unfortunately, this lack of caring does not seem to discriminate, whether it be big business or small business. Here is a perfect example of someone who felt like his airline did not “See Him.”
Reminder: Just 9 more days left to win an HP iPAQ Glisten SmartPhone.
Are You Forgetting to Take a BREAK?
When We Are Healthy We Can Take on the World.
So How Do you Fit it in and Make it Work While Running a Business?
A few quick tips:
- Use your scheduling tool of choice and make an appointment with yourself. Blocking off even 30 minutes per day for physical activity can make a big difference. Treat the appointment just as you would one with a client.
- Cook in bulk. Make casseroles and soups with 6-8 servings and freeze for quick meals.
- Plan your health and fitness strategy just like you plan your business strategy. List out your goals and the objectives to achieve them. Develop a strategic plan at the day, week and month level.
- Use tools to work smarter not harder. There are iPhone apps to get nutrition information, online fitness communities for support and even healthy meal services to bring good food to you.
- Just like anything worth having in life, being healthy and fit takes work. It is work worthwhile, just like all those other aspects of your business you spend hours on. So before you think that health and fitness isn’t a priority to growing a successful business ask yourself this question. What would happen to your business without you?
Crush It
I just finished reading two books and they are filled with powerful reminders that strong business relationships matter and harnessing the power of social media is critical to cultivating those relationships. The first one is called “Crush It” by Gary Vaynerchuck. For those of you who have not heard of Gary, he has internet rock star fame. He grew his family’s local wine shop into a national industry leader using the power of social media. I highly recommend it to every entrepreneur who wants to grow their online brand. It’s fresh, authentic and a very fun read. I believe we are seeing the emergence of a new kind of entrepreneur in America and Gary Vaynerchuck is our poster boy.
Trust Agents
The second book is “Trust Agents” by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith. Chris was just recently named one of Forbes Web Celeb 25. Trust Agents offers incredible perspective on how to harness the power of social media by understanding that transparency and authenticity is powerful behavior in building your online presence. They write about being a “Human Artist” – someone who understands how to communicate with people in a real and thoughtful way.
Using the Power of the Internet
These two books, “Crush It” and “Trust Agents” should be the foundation to growing your business online. They are a must read for anyone who is serious about building your business by using the power of social media.
Here’s How YOU Can Win the Glisten SmartPhone! A $380 value.
Hewlett Packard has teamed up with Hware! Their representative contacted me (Brenda Horton) a few weeks ago and asked me if I’d be interested in reviewing their new iPAQ Glisten Smart Phone. After my review, I am going to give one AWAY! All you have to do to be eligible to win is sign up for Hware’s Demo on Social Media. When you click on the link it will take you to a page that will ask you for your name and e-mail address. By entering your name and e-mail address you will have a chance to win! And as an EXTRA BONUS, YOU will have access to our “Getting Started with Social Media for Small Business” Online Training Demo, which I highly recommend you take advantage of because it is filled with key strategies on how to use Twitter, Facebook and Blogging to grow your online presence. That’s it! It’s that simple!
Oh! Be sure to follow me (Brenda Horton) on Twitter closely and become a FAN on Hware’s Facebook Page as I tweet about the HP Glisten over the next 2 weeks. The contest ends on March 17th midnight Pacific Time. The winner will be announced on March 19th! The winner will be notified by e-mail and posted on Hware’s FAN page and Brenda’s Tweets! Applies to U.S. residents only.
Disclosure: Brenda Horton of Hware is not receiving any financial gain from Hewlett Packard and her review is strictly her own personal opinion of the SmartPhone.
I am a firm believer in selling through education. And, there is no better way to inform and educate your customers than through blogging. That is why I have invited a few entrepreneurs over the course of the next few weeks to share with Hware’s readers how they are using their blog to expand their online reach to attract more customers. You will find that you don’t need to be a Chris Brogan or Seth Godin in the blogosphere to be a success. You just need to take the first step. We would love to hear what steps you are taking to start your blog if you have not started one already. What are some of your fears or concerns about blogging? If you are an experienced blogger, feel free to jump in and share your advice. We are all here to learn from one another. Please share your thoughts with us. ~ Brenda Horton, President of Hware
This is a guest blog post from Mary Anne Davis, a jewelry designer of Madison Design Jewelry
The beauty of internet-driven marketing tools is they are very inexpensive (often free) to utilize in helping build our businesses. I am launching my jewelry business on a very tight budget. What started as a hobby quickly turned into a business — it still surprises me when people want to buy my handmade earrings or necklaces. So how do I use the internet and social media to market my jewelry? I have a Facebook “fan” page for Madison Designs Jewelry, where I post my blogs and an occasional message to my fans about a new design, or a “special sale for fans only”. Because I’m trying to be careful not to over-sell, I keep my blog postings to once or twice a week. I think a good rule of thumb (for me) is to market 25% of the time I post, blog, or tweet.
I spent some time thinking about what to write in my blog that wasn’t just a huge “buy my jewelry” message. I came up with what I think is the perfect balance — blogging about a different gem stone each time. I tell the folklore about a particular stone, and keep it strictly informational. Of course the photo I use depicting that particular stone is something I’ve made and is available on my website. But other than that, it’s not a big “buy me” message, and I have had people respond well to that.
I recently started using Twitter (www.twitter.com/maryannedavisnc) where I post my blogs with the gem stone stories, but I also comment on other tweets and other things I do. I purposely did not put the name of my jewelry company into the Twitter account title because I didn’t want it to limit what I could talk about. I am also a photographer and occasionally like to post about that as well. (To view some of my photos, www.maryanne.imagekind.com). Having my name as the title keeps my options open.
You don’t have to have 25 years of marketing experience to use the social media to your advantage. There are some great experts out there who can help guide you through the sometimes confusing technology. None of us have to do everything ourselves — the best entrepreneurs are the ones who capitalize on their strengths and outsource everything else.
See Mary Anne’s blog at www.maryannedavisjewelry.blogspot.com
Getting Started with Social Media for Small Business
As a courtesy to Hware’s blog readers, we want to hip you to our popular online self-paced video training series called, Getting Started with Social Media for Small Business. Go ahead and try the Demo! It’s FREE!
Get Started Now with Free Demo!
No software to download. No Dvd to install.
5 Reasons You Should Check Out Hware’s FREE DEMO on Social Media:
1. You cannot afford to waste another moment while your competitors are using social media to grow their business.
2. You are frustrated and overwhelmed with understanding how to use social media to grow your business.
3. You want to learn specific key strategies and methods to using social media to sell more of your products and services online.
4. You want to harness the power of Twitter (fastest growing social networking site), Facebook (400 million users), and Blogging (powerful tool to communicate with your customers) to generate more sales and revenue.
5. Social media is the cheapest and fastest way to connect with your customers online and you want to learn the tools, tactics, and strategies to build a trusting long-term loyal customer base who refer more customers to you.
Are you already using social media to grow your online presence? Feel free to share with us how you are using it to grow your business online.
Gourmet Food and Wine Tasting
A little over two years ago, I organized a charity fundraiser in my community for children in the foster care system. It was a gourmet food and wine tasting event along with a live and silent auction. The goal was to raise over $100,000.00. Anyone who has ever spearheaded a fundraiser, knows how labor-intensive they are even with hundreds of volunteers. One day, I called on a local French restaurant, Le Bilig and asked the chef if he would be willing to donate a cooking demonstration class that would be auctioned off during the live auction. He graciously agreed and then signed off on all the paper work that committed him to the cause. The terms stated that the donation was valid for one year. Most donation packages have an expiration date.
Goodwill
Fast forward two years and three months later; I get an e-mail from the high bidder of the French cooking demonstration. She told me that she had never “gotten around” to scheduling the cooking class, which was for twelve people and was hoping she could redeem it now. I then offered to contact the restaurant on her behalf. I spoke to the co-owner, Monica (wife of the chef) and explained to her that I realized the donation had long expired and understood if they said no due to the current state of the economy. She then shared a short story with me about how she herself had once been the winner of a live auction travel package to Mexico and it too had expired. (She had been pregnant and could not fly.) The donors had denied her request to extend it. She said she remembered having ill feelings about the incident and the way it was handled and therefore, did not want the person making the request of her to feel the same. She then agreed to honor the request being made of her on behalf of her chef husband and restaurant. Now that is what I call over-delivering! It is no wonder that this little family-owned French Bistro is still in business while many restaurants and businesses are closing shop. Bottom line? Le Bilig Kitchen CARES! Isn’t that what everyone wants from someone they do business with? They want them to care. Period. That small gesture, which was just a ripple, is going to turn into a tidal wave because of all the goodwill she has now created. That’s a lot of goodwill going around during a time when it is very easy to have a scarcity mentality. Another word that comes to mind is ABUNDANCE. I dislike the overuse of a word and abundance seems to be one of those words that is over used a lot lately, but Monica was definitely coming from a place of abundance.
How Do Your Customers Know You Care?
How are you over-delivering with your customers? Are you coming from a place of abundance or scarcity? Are you doing things in your business that will make others talk about your business and create buzz in a positive way? What kind of goodwill are you creating for your customers so that they can go out and refer more business your way? I believe there is a time when small business owners should definitely NOT over-deliver, but I will save that for another blog post soon.
By the way, we exceeded our goal of raising $100,000.00 and were able to place over 20 children in permanent family homes on behalf of Sierra Forever Families.
