Communication Bridges Blog

The Importance of Video in Social Media

2011-09-23T16:21:00.002-06:00

Video is becoming an integral and necessary part of social media and an essential way to reach customers. YouTube, a worldwide video-sharing community, is the second largest search engine in the United States, and more than one-third of the time that someone does a Google search, video content comes up.

There are 24 hours of video downloaded on YouTube every minute of the day…this is where people are “shopping.” Facebook is the second-largest video referrer. By providing potential customers with something interesting to watch, they not only stay on a website longer, but also are a lot more likely to buy.

The quality and value of the video’s content is more important than the quality of the video, as the public are familiar and comfortable with cell phone and inexpensive Flikr camera videos. But that doesn’t mean it can be slipshod. Simple techniques are to keep the background clean, look straight into the camera, and make sure there is good lighting on faces.

Elinor Stutz, CEO of Smooth Sale LLC, says professional video really outshines any other form. “Professionally done looks and sounds better. But you won't do it as frequently. I do a video every single day and it has made a huge difference in my book sales. I can post my videos directly into social media sites. You may want one video on a website to be a truly professional video. But to increase traction for books and speaking, you need to get in front of the masses as often as possible.”

The most effective videos are honest, transparent, real, relevant, educational and authentic, all factors which take the opposite approach of traditional sales, says Jennifer Abernethy, author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Social Media Marketing. And the first and potentially most important component of marketing videos is that the video must be targeted. This means that it must 1) identify your audience and highlight your product with what it can offer that group, 2) target specific groups, because if you are too broad you will glaze over most people, and 3) understand and relate to the groups’ needs and interests that you are targeting.

Set a goal of posting a video on a social media site at least once a week – mark a time in your calendar. Be creative and give valuable information, don’t make it a sales pitch. And for those with home offices, yes its best if you get out of your pajamas for this work assignment.

Kenya Association of Women Business Owners

2011-09-21T09:51:00.004-06:00

Kenya Association of Women Business Owners
Inspired by NAWBO, KAWBO is now a thriving reality

Mary Schnack just returned from Kenya and Rwanda where she conducted communications trainings (http://www.maryschnack.com/), as well as purchased more items for http://www.upfromthedust.com/, including from a KAWBO member.

The Kenya Association of Women Business Owners (KAWBO) has grown to 120 members since its inception about three years ago. All the members are currently located in Nairobi and their vision is to grow to 1,500 members throughout the country, with chapters set up.

KAWBO was patterned after the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) in the United States. I was the Chair of NAWBO’s International Forum and reached out to the Kenyan women I had met at conferences, including Aoko Midiwo (pictured right with her husband Elkanah Odembo, Kenyan Ambassador to the U.S. and I) of Legacy Books and Eva Muraya (pictured below with me), then of Color Creations, who would become KAWBO’s co-founders.

What a joy it was to see them thriving when I was there to visit. And I bought some terrific items for Up from the Dust from a KAWBO member, Jennifer Mulli. Eva’s new business, Brand Strategy Design (BSD), which contracted for me to come to Nairobi to do a three-day communications seminar, also gave me a wood bowl that was beaded by Jennifer’s company as an appreciation gift.

KAWBO is planning another conference for March 2012. Three of us from NAWBO spoke at KAWBO’s inaugural conference in May of 2009.

“We began in response to a yearning among local business women for a forum in which they could network, professionally engage on issues affecting their businesses and acquire requisite skills that would enable them to upscale their businesses,” said Muraya, Chair of KAWBO’s Board of Directors. “We hope to create more awareness and a stature, along with a significant level of resources, to benefit the women business owners’ communities and contribute to the national economic performance.”

Muraya attended two of NAWBO’s national conferences and met with many board members, Chapter leaders and NAWBO members doing international business. “Using NAWBO as a successful platform and getting information and advice from their members, leaders and sponsors was invaluable for us in starting KAWBO.”

Vital Voices Global Partnership sponsors KAWBO through a grant from their economic development program funded by Exxon Mobile.

Kenya’s Trade Ministry is assisting in rolling out trainings, which include:
o Entrepreneurs and Handicrafts: How to leverage skills in the handcraft category.
o Start and Improve Your Business. This training is implement in almost 100 countries through the International Labor Organization and KAWBO hopes it will help bring in younger entrepreneurs to their association.

KAWBO also has a training curriculum for mentors, which is different from anything else in the market and supported by the Danish International Development Agency. The five-month, 20-meeting program covers Business Dimension Skills, analytical tools, and Mentoring Dimension Skills, the “softer skill” approaches to working with the mentee.

Monthly breakfast meetings are held which sometimes are devoted to networking and other times feature a speaker on topics such as business finance, business etiquette, human resource policies and elevator pitches. They also have group outings to movies, plays, etc., to increase networking opportunities.

Almost all of the members are in service industries, plus agriculture and banking. Many of the women worked in the corporate sector and now have moved to entrepreneurship.

For more information on KAWBO or their March 2012 conference, please contact Elizabeth Kariuki, Senior Programmes Executive, at spe@kawbo.or.ke, or go to their website at http://www.kawbo.or.ke/.

Up from the Dust Purchases in Africa

2011-09-15T09:50:00.007-06:00

I love shopping! Although I say my passion in starting Up from the Dust is because of my strong desire to help the women in developing countries grow their businesses, I know my shop-a-holic tendencies also are a great contributor.

Here are the women I purchased from during my trip to Africa last month and of course, you can view and purchase the products at http://www.upfromthedust.com/.

Katchy Kollections was started by Jennifer Mulli and her son, Anthony. Anthony started designing jewelry at the age of 16 years with the aim of helping out in paying house bills, having lost his father at the age of 2 years, as well as creating employment for the youth and women. They started out in the backyard of their house with only two employees in 2006, and a jewelry product line, sold through word of mouth. Today, they employ 15 regular permanent youth and have increased the production line to incorporate leather bags, sisal baskets, sandals and home ware that encompasses beaded wooden bowls, spoons, sisal beaded table mats, cotton beaded table mats, beaded guards etc., and are proud to say that they now have a workshop to work from that allows them expansion.

Anthony continues to be the head designer with a creative and youthful open mind and sets trends for others to follow.

I also had fun doing a little design. I loved their big rings. And I looked at the beaded necklace that Jennifer was wearing when we met. I asked her to take it off and slid my ring on it. Sure enough, the ring also works as a pendant. So – I created a new design, ordered some of them, and they were a big hit at the NAWBO conference in San Diego!

My dear friend Phyllis Mwangi started Zingira Wasanii, literally meaning “embracing the artisans,” which seeks to identify, improve and manage the quality of products created by Kenyan artisans living in low income areas. Once the process is complete, Zingira Wasanii provides market access for the artisans’ products through domestic and international corporate partnerships. Most of the products do well as corporate gifts. Phyllis, who is a terrific trainer and is in the middle of conducting a fabulous youth training program, has done well capturing corporate buyers in the US, but still “humors” me and my customers by providing their fabulous beaded bowls. I hope to add beaded rings to my orders in the future.

A very touching story to my heart is Monda Africa. I bought some items from Carol Monda personally two trips ago when my friend Eva Muraya suggested I look at some higher end jewelry from Kenya. Monda Africa is a Fair Trade Certified Kenyan company with a focus on creative, socially responsible entrepreneurship with an emphasis on eco- friendly products. The products include home decor and personal accessories made of recycled glass and other materials. I met Carol on my last trip and when I contacted her this time, her husband told me the unfortunate news that she had tragically died in July of a pulmonary embolism. I had a pulmonary embolism in February 2010. I was in the US. Carol was in Kenya. Thus the difference in our outcomes. Carol’s husband is committed to continuing the business to support their son and the women who work for them, so I am committed to continue buying from Monda Africa.

I bought more dolls from Beacon of Hope. They have been such a favorite. Their mission is to bring hope to women living with and affected by HIV/AIDS within poor communities by empowering and equipping them to meet their economic needs.

On my first trip to Rwanda, I bought from a woman named Allen Joy. Allen Joy was mentored through the Peace Through Business program (http://www.ieew.org/) by a friend Laurie Johnson of Phoenix, who also has a retail business.

My budget for purchasing from Allen Joy was $300. When my total added up to $600, I scaled back to $500 but I couldn’t justify cutting out anything else. And of course—at my first exhibit, at the NAWBO national conference, I sold out on some of the things I had put back. I bought four beaded belts instead of the original eight I was going to purchase. The four belts sold within minutes of the exhibit hall opening!

And if there are any doubts about why I do this work, Allen Joy told Laurie what a thrill it was to get my big order and she was so pleased that I liked her products. And then she added, “And now my husband is taking my business seriously if I can receive orders like this.”

Helping our sisters’ businesses thrive, that’s what Up from the Dust is all about, and is what helps feed my soul.

Cecilia Katunga of Kenya

2011-09-15T09:33:00.003-06:00

In August I went to Kenya to do a three-day communications training. Of course I used that opportunity to buy exciting new items for Up from the Dust. I also made my first trip to Rwanda and bought items from there as well.

But there was one meeting that caused me to break into sobs--sobs of happiness.

I was hosted by Cecilia Katunga at her new home. If you remember, Cecilia's home in the Mukuru Fuatanyayo slum of Nairobi was burned in March of this year. I asked you, my friends, on this list if you could spare $20-$50 to help Cecilia. We sent a total of $750 to Cecilia and that was enough money for her to get out of the slums, and rent a new room.

Actually her new home is two rooms. Orphaned at 13, Cecilia, age 25, still supports a brother and sister who live with her.

Cecilia was so excited to greet us. (My friends Eva and Joe went with me. Eva helped support Cecilia in setting up her knitting business about four years ago). Cecilia was dressed up and couldn't get the smile off her face. She served us tea and buttered bread. They had been on a blackout all day but she was still cheery. (Would we be after a day without electricity?) When Eva said grace before we enjoyed our tea and bread, I just started sobbing. What does $20 mean to us? $50? So little--yet by 10-20 people sending in small amounts of money, Cecilia now has a new life.

I was overwhelmed by how happy she was and what a difference we made in her life. She told Eva, "When I heard from Mary Schnack that she was wiring the money, I was no longer a fire victim."

I bought more scarves from Cecilia (red, black, brown, maroon, white, peach, light green) and two darling baby outfits--one pink and one blue. She has also moved her knitting machines out of Kenyatta Market into her home. Please go online and support her business by buying her products!

Cecilia is so thrilled with her new home, the extra space, the sense of community around her and she said it is a much safer place to live.

I Finally Went to Rwanda

2011-09-12T12:18:00.001-06:00

My first trip to Africa was in May, 1994, when a humanitarian aid group, ADRA, sent me to Nairobi to lead their communications efforts during the Rwanda genocide.

We worked out of Nairobi, Kenya, because that’s where the press was centered. We also went to a refugee camp in Burundi, which neighbors Rwanda.

I was in Africa for three weeks and I left before the war was over. When it ended, I had an incredible ache to return to East Africa and go to Rwanda.

Africa had kept a piece of my heart and my life changed forever with that trip.

I have made seven or eight trips to Africa since then, to Ghana, South Africa, Swaziland and many more trips to Nairobi, but I never made it to Rwanda.

I read everything on Rwanda. I watch all the movies and TV shows. I volunteer to do training and mentoring through the Peace Through Business program (www.ieew.org), which works with women entrepreneurs from Rwanda and Afghanistan.

Finally, I was able to close the loop and went to Rwanda. It was only a two-day trip, but having the opportunity to go, I had to grab at the chance even though it was far too short.

Called the land of 1,000 hills, the capital city of Kigali is beautiful with so many parks and open, green areas, and most houses and buildings built on the side of hills (giving almost everyone gorgeous views).

I met the three women I have been involved with mentoring through Peace Through Business. Deborah Kakoma has a brand strategy business, Chantal Zirim is working on opening a juice bar and Honorine Mugorewase has a hotel/apartment building which I was able to see and tour.

I also met Chantal’s and Honorine’s families which was such a treat. Deborah took me to the new Film Institute and to a poetry slam. As someone said, I am living my bucket list!

I also spoke to a gathering of about 30 Peace Through Business graduates. Many of the women I have met before and call friends, as I have done training for the program the past four years. Their enthusiasm for business, soaking up new ideas and experiencing the new concept of networking is inspirational and one of the things that keeps me going through difficult times.

Deborah introduced me to Rose Kabuye. When commenting on all the greenbelts and parks in Kigali, she said, “Thank you. I like to think I had something to do with that.” Rose, who had been just another woman business owner that I enjoyed meeting and talking to at lunch, was now larger than life.

She told me some of her background, which I have augmented with her Wikipedia entry. She is a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the Rwandan Army and remains the highest ranking woman ever to serve in her country's armed forces. She is currently working in the private sector as Chief Executive Officer of Virunga Logistics and Startech Limited but is best known for her work as a freedom fighter in the liberation of Rwanda from 1990 through 1993. She subsequently became Mayor of Kigali City, Rwandan Chief of State Protocol, and a member of the Rwandan parliament. Because of her participation in the liberation struggle, she was awarded The Rwandan National Liberation Medal and the Campaign Against Genocide Medal.

Now as a board member on the Rwanda women entrepreneurs group, she hopes to encourage women to get involved politically at their local community levels.

I could have talked to her all day. Be sure to Google her and look at the Wikipedia entry on her. I have only told a small, small part of her story.

I also bought more items for Up from the Dust from another Peace Through Business graduate, Allen Joy Mbabazi (more in another upcoming blog). Saudah Nalule treated me at her Spa and Salon to the most incredible facial I have ever had and Immy Kamarade sent me home with fresh roasted coffee from her business. Immy was recently named the President of Rwanda’s women’s chamber of commerce.

Chantal showed me the real “Hotel Rwanda.” Honorine took me to the Kigali Genocide Memorial. Besides many mass graves, there is an outstanding exhibition, which goes through the history of Rwanda and what led up to the genocide. It is a powerful presentation and should be seen by all.

I did not realize at the time that Honorine lost her parents and family in the genocide and spent three months in a refugee camp in Burundi. It must have been difficult for her to be there with me. Afterwards, I got to meet three of her four children, her husband and see her new business. She is a great example of how Rwanda has worked towards recovery (I think recovered is still too strong of a word) in a short 17 years since the genocide.

My main thought after going to the Memorial is how embarrassed the international community must be at letting this genocide happen. It could have been stopped. At the least, it should not have lasted as long as it did.

The Memorial also details other genocides. The world said it would learn after World War II and the genocide of the Jews at the hands of Hitler. But it is clear that we did not.

And now it is clear how much we have to learn from Rwanda.

How Many Other People Can Recite Your Elevator Pitch?

2011-08-10T10:35:00.000-06:00

I used to own a sign and banner shop in Marina del Rey, California. It is the first business I started as an entrepreneur. I set up shop in the same geographic area as the hospitals where I had worked. Since Community Relations reported to me at the hospitals, I had been active in the Chambers of Commerce and a lot of other local groups.

My #1 form of marketing was networking. Besides the Chambers (I think I joined five), the police auxiliary board, morning breakfast meetings such as LeTip, and the American Cancer Society, I also targeted women’s business groups.

My “elevator pitch” was “A business with no sign is a sign of no business.” Catchy, memorable and a good call to action. (See Rhonda Abrams story about Signs, the tried and true in marketing business).

In fact, when I would stand up to introduce myself, after just a couple of weeks, those present would say my tag line for me. My phone number was the same forwards and backwards and something I made note of when I said it, so that made everyone remember my specific phone number as well.

I had equal success with clients. When Broadway Gymnastic School reinvigorated their branding, we added the tag line “Helping Children Grow Since 1979”. This says that they do more than gymnastics,--they care about children overall, and are not a new start-up gym but a long time community member. They were able to use this phrase effectively--and immediately--when their gym burned down and the media and concerned community members and parents were at their doorstep.

After attending one of my communication seminars, Gone Rural from Swaziland, Africa, added a tag line : Gone Rural designs and produces uniquely beautiful home accessories handmade by 700 rural Swazi women. The only part of the story that tag line doesn’t tell is that Swaziland has the highest rate of HIV infection in the world—and many of those women are raising their grandchildren.

As Runa Magnusdottir and I teach in our BRANDit workshop (www.brandit.is), whether you are trying to raise capital, promote your company, or promote yourself, it‘s essential to have an elevator pitch. You have less than a minute to explain yourself, your business, your goals, and your passions. Your audience knows none of these. Are you prepared? Can you present your vision smoothly, enticing them to want to know more?

1. WHO

DESCRIBE WHO YOU ARE: Keep it short.
HINT: What would you most want the listener to remember about you?

2. WHAT

DESCRIBE WHAT YOU DO: Here is where you state your value phrased as key results or impact. To organize your thoughts, it may help to think of this as your tag line.
HINT: this should allow the listener to understand how you or your company would add value.

3. WHY

DESCRIBE WHY YOU ARE UNIQUE: Now it‘s time to show the unique benefits that you and/or your company bring to business.
HINT: Show what you do that is different or better than others.

4. GOAL

DESCRIBE YOUR GOAL: Describe your immediate goals or intentions. Look at your markers from Your BRAND Your Passion worksheets. Include a time frame.
HINT: This is the final step and it should be readily apparent to the listener what you are asking of him / her.

5. CREATE ONE SENTENCE OUT OF THE PRIOR FOUR

These guidelines help you communicate your main message quickly, clearly, and distinctly to someone who doesn‘t even know you. A good pitch takes planning and practice to deliver quickly and to make it memorable.

PR WORKS: Know your Strengths …..And Weaknesses

2011-07-14T09:49:00.002-06:00

When creating a communications plan or branding statement, one of the most important things to come up with is: “How are you unique?” It’s a question that a lot of business owners feel challenged in answering, but it’s the key to making them stand out from the crowd.

Now I want to take that idea one step further: As important as it is to understand your strengths, it is even more critical to know your skeletons, or areas of vulnerability. Understand these skeletons and work to correct them, but also be prepared to communicate about them.

How well do you really know and understand your organization…it’s structure, the mission statement, the history, past, present and future challenges. Who are you? Why do you exist? Who is your customer? By answering these questions, you’ll find your businesses strengths….and weaknesses.

For example, in the mid-1800s, a group of Adventists set a date for the end of the world. Although the mainstream Seventh-day Adventist Church has never sanctioned date-setting, it is an irrefutable reputation of the church. One cannot just respond to a question on date-setting with a denial. There must be a brief, sensible explanation on how it happened in the first place and why it no longer happens now. (I counseled them on this during the Waco Cult standoff in 1993.)

Besides understanding our own strengths and weaknesses, it is imperative to know what is going on in our community, our industry, with small businesses, and overall--our world. What are challenges that others are facing? You may not be immune to those same challenges for long. What is happening in your specific community? In the business and political worlds in which we operate? It is important to have a grasp on the world around us to put our own strengths and weaknesses into perspective.

When I owned a sign shop in the mid-90s, we used vinyl to make the lettering on our signs and banners. It was a big step forward from the toxic paints that had been used in the past. At the same time, I was aware that there was a lot of publicity around the fact that disposable diapers, such as Pampers and Huggies, did not break down in landfills and there was a push to go back to cloth diapers for the environment.

So what do diapers in a landfill have to do with a sign shop?

I investigated the vinyl we used for our signs and found out they would take far longer than diapers to break down. If diapers had become a major story, what about all of these new vinyl sign shops that were opening across the country? Fortunately, this never came to the media’s attention, but I knew it was an area of vulnerability if it did break, and I was prepared with answers.

Access where you are vulnerable. Seek out the vulnerable areas within your area where you can prevent a crisis and immediately begin to correct the problem.

With the advent of social media, we are even more vulnerable as word spreads virally much more quickly.

This is where a crisis communications plan is helpful. You note a problem, anticipate what type of crisis may occur even after taking precautions, and then label a set of steps to take place to handle the situation and communicate during the crisis. Have your message points ready and include plans for social media. It’s far better to do this in advance than in a reactive mode.

How Events Around the Globe Can Affect Your Business

2011-06-01T13:56:00.002-06:00

Here’s my second blog post on It's Your Biz, powered by SBTV.com.

I never expected the earthquake and tsunami in Japan to affect my business. Too far away from my U.S. offices.

I never expected the tornado and its devastation in Joplin, MO, to affect my business. Too far away from my offices in Washington DC and Arizona.

I never expected a volcano going off in Iceland to affect my business. Yes, I go to Iceland once or twice a year to give seminars. But the timing would have to be oh so precise....

Well, all three events DID affect my business. And in vastly different ways.

1) My client, Acura of Glendale (CA), had to suspend public relations (fortunately, only for two months) when they weren't getting any new cars or financing deals to promote. Why? Most Acuras that are sold in the U.S. are actually made in the U.S. But there are some little parts that are made in Japan. And without those parts...there are no new cars.

2) Life Cube Inc. started talking to us about doing their social media work about a month ago. Life Cube is a quickly deployable, portable shelter that can be enormously helpful in providing life-saving shelter and supporting on-the-ground operations by aid workers.

But the day after the Joplin, MO, tornado, Life Cube called us and said-start now! Here's the signed agreement and the check is in the mail (and it really was). We dropped everything and immediately set up their social media accounts, started Tweeting and obtaining significant "follows" for their accounts.

3) I was scheduled to go to Iceland to speak for the European Women Inventors & Innovators Network International Conference. But on May 21, three days before my trip, the Grimsvotn volcano started erupting and the Keflavik Airport outside of Reykjavik was closed. The conference, expecting more than 300 attendees from throughout Europe, was postponed until September.

So what's the lesson in all of this?
- Be aware of what is happening in the news-for yourself and for your clients. How can you localize and personalize a story for a client? The media loves local interest stories. How can you use this to make your social media more relevant and timely-a vital part of attracting attention on social media.

- I found out my ACURA client was "back in business" with new financing deals by calling her. She had not had time to call me and gear her PR back up. So stay in touch (without being annoying) and be there to help.

- After a day or two, I got in touch with the Icelandic conference organizers and offered to share my speech presentation and hand-outs with the people who WERE going to attend. I slightly changed the presentation, which was on Building a Brand on a Sustainable Business. I used it as an education/To Do piece that, now they had over three months to build their brand on sustainability, what steps they could take so it would be strong and powerful by the rescheduled date in September.

Yes, indeed, it's summer and the perfect season to make lemonade out of lemons!

Read the full blog.

Targeting the RIGHT Audience for Outreach

2011-06-01T11:21:00.001-06:00

I have a new blog on It's Your Biz, powered by SBTV.com.

A good thing about the Oprah show being over, to a publicist, is we have always heard from clients "I want to be on Oprah."

Well, that was easier said than done. Yes, there would be great benefit to many clients to be on Oprah. But it wasn't always the best way to spend your money, to have your PR firm spend an inordinate amount of time trying to make this happen!

I remember when I had a client of nurse-owned home health care agencies across the state of California. They wanted to be on Oprah (that's a given) and CBS, and written up in USA Today, and Time Magazine. (I'm not sure how they came up with that list.)

But when we scheduled a half-day meeting to brainstorm a Communications Plan, we took a hard look at their TARGET audience. Their primary audience was case managers at hospitals, people who would recommend an agency when someone was discharged from the hospital and needed home health care services.

Knowing your target audience is so vital. Do hospital case managers watch Oprah? Maybe. Do they read USA Today and Time Magazine? Maybe.

But we know they read the stories in the industry publications geared towards nurses and case managers.

It may not be as exciting at the dinner table to say to your family, "I was featured in Case Manager Today magazine this month" as it is to say "I was quoted in USA Today." But it will be more effective to grow your business! And it's probably just as much fun at the dinner table to say "I got five new clients today" - even though you weren't even on Oprah.

So the basic lessons here are:
1. Develop a Communications Plan, which will include your target audiences.

2. Decide the best way to reach those audiences.

3. When you do get media coverage, leverage it through reproduction, social media, posting on websites, etc., so it has a LONG shelf life.

Read the full blog.

Ingenuity in Iceland

2011-03-21T10:04:00.002-06:00

What do you do when the U.S. leaves a base with all its buildings? This happened in Iceland when the U.S. Military left the area after being there for 60 years. The area soon had staggering numbers of unemployment and foreclosures and threatened to turn into a ghost town.

But ingenuity is something Icelanders are never lacking. A new company, Keflavik Airport Development Company (Kadeco) was founded with the goal of putting the defense area and its facilities to civilian use. Kadeco is wholly owned by the Prime Ministry of Iceland.

The goal and purpose of Kadeco is to lead the development and transformation of the former defense area for civilian use. Part of that process is necessary preparation work, assessment of the area and facilities as well as assessment of development- and growth opportunities in cooperation with invested parties.

Keilir Atlantic Center of Excellence was founded in the spring of 2007 and the name symbolizes Iceland’s position in the globalized world; with the goals of the institute being to build up knowledge, teaching and research at a university level within the international academic community. Keilir’s main international focus is on two schools: School of Energy and Technology and an Aviation Academy.

Of course, the one that caught my eye is the Ásbrú Incubator at Ásbrú Enterprise Park which offers support and facilities for entrepreneurs, start-ups, early-growth companies, and R&D departments of established companies, in the areas of green energy, health and fitness, and aviation related businesses.

There are basically three ways for an entrepreneur to come to Ásbrú. The first is to buy or rent facilities. The second is Eldey entrepreneur centre where the Icelandic Innovation Centre provides facilities and support for entrepreneurs. The third way in is through the undergraduate diploma in entrepreneurship at Keilir School of Creative Industries. Its goal is to educate and graduate students who will use their creativity to further our society.

Their initiatives include an international centre for health and relaxation will rise at Ásbrú and health related tourist services will be marketed internationally and a cluster of companies that produce green energy, use green energy and improve energy utilization. The energy cluster at Ásbrú is unique on a global scale for its access to clean energy from the geo-thermal power plants in the area. And the Eldey entrepreneur centre, which is a joint project by Kadeco, the University of Iceland and the Icelandic Innovation Centre, specializes in green energy.

Innovation and entrepreneurs are always a good mix and in my opinion, too often ignored by our political representatives and funders. I look forward to heading back to Iceland in April and learning more about Asbru.

I’ll close with a Video Testimonial by Asbru Project Manager, Thoranna Keilir, who attended my “Be the Expert that You Are” seminar for the Iceland Trade Association that I conducted in October 2010.

The Importance of Professional Online Video

2011-02-17T11:58:00.009-07:00

We have seen video grow from a “frill” some businesses occasionally include on their websites, to an essential, competitive differentiator that drives SEO and increases brand identification.

Knowledgeable companies embraced this shift and made video a central part of their online offerings. Videos grab attention, engage viewers and, if executed properly, can succinctly communicate your entire value proposition in as little as two minutes.

There are many new techniques people are using to promote and increase the sales on their website. Videos are considered as one of the best methods for communicating with audiences. A fact that all of us know is that it’s much easier to consume the visual image than to read something. The visual impact created by videos can often be creatively used to reach out and capture the imagination of a wide audience. Video’s use of real people, animation and music are valuable when motivation is a key ingredient in your message.

Video is best for the communication of a simple, convincing message. We can feel an emotional connection more readily with video’s moving images and sound than other communication mediums – to an audience it is the closest medium to reality.

Streaming videos over web pages has caught on with an increase in the available bandwidth and connection speeds in the last couple of years. Often a good video can double or even triple the ’sale ability’ of the product. The impact created by the video partially depends on the quality of the created video.

Here is a video on my media training work that I did in one take, having a friend hold my Flip video camera.

And here is a video that was professionally done and edited at the BRANDit Workshop.

Do you see the quality difference? Would seeing one video versus the other one make a difference in your decision to hire me to do media training?

Now add your video into an online magazine and you have even more impact and a variety of ways to reach people.

A good video, bundled with the right support material, will definitely prove to be one of the most effective ways of reaching out to a worldwide audience 24×7.

Branding: Making an Emotional Connection

2011-02-16T08:13:00.002-07:00

When talking about branding, we most often have to start with a definition—what is a brand?

A brand is a name that stands for something in the mind of the customer. Your brand is your most valuable asset. The goal, therefore, is to define a brand that creates an emotional connection between you and your customers.

What emotions do you want others to feel when then think of you?

Maya Angelou said, "At the end of the day people won't remember what you say or did, they will remember how you make them feel."

We are overwhelmed by thousands of product choices, and we’re all short of time. That’s why the emotional connection is so important. People want the facts (why is this better?) and the emotional connection (why is this right for me?).

The power of appealing to emotion is detailed in Wharton professor Deborah Small’s groundbreaking research. She shows how the use of statistics by non-profits, as opposed to a vivid “identifiable victim,” results in lower giving. People want to hear and be moved by real stories.

You want to unite an idea (your brand) with an emotion. But how do you do that? The best way is to tell a story.

You use a brand, both visually and verbally, to educate your prospective customers about who you are. You tell them both visually (with a logo) and verbally (with a short message that best describes your business and its benefits). The key to creating a strong icon or logo is to paint word pictures. Then compare the word or visual pictures with your description of your business and what sets it apart from the rest of the business world. Think unique, think independent, step outside of your marketing mindset and get creative.

Everything you do stimulates an emotional response whether you want it to or not. Even if you don't know it, you leave every encounter with someone feeling a certain way, whether you meet in person, via social media, or simply by them viewing your business card, flyer or web site. So knowing that, why not be proactive about this and work to stimulate the emotion you want others to feel instead of leaving it to chance?

To take an active role in the emotions you make people feel, start by being aware of what you want to portray and sprinkle it in here and there. Do you use inspirational quotes on social media? (I specifically make sure I do NOT do that since so many others are). Or if you want people to feel excited and alive, do you send out samples of music and music videos that you like?

I send out research, relevant articles, to friends, clients, past clients, potential clients and colleagues. Thus, an emotional connection with me is one of networking, a strong resource, and someone who stays on top of current events and trends. In the online marketplace, it can be easy to get trapped behind a monitor and keyboard.

You have to remember that business is about people, not numbers. It’s about relationships, not computers. In our rapidly evolving business environment, the entrepreneurs who are going to thrive are the ones who engage their clients and build long-term relationships. So get out there and develop your cheerleading squad, refer business to others, join groups and tell your story.

You can purchase my webinar on The Brand Called You or sign up for the BRANDit weekends coming up in Santa Barbara or Iceland. Watch this video from Harpa Georgsdottir, Manager of Rain Deer, who attended our BRANDit workshop in Iceland in October 2010. She talks about the importance of the emotional connection.

Online Video Ads Reign over TV Ads

2011-02-04T08:29:00.002-07:00

Since I became involved with the BRANDit program (www.maryschnack.com/brandit or www.brandit.is), I have become more and more aware of videos on the web. Besides training on re-invigorating your brand, The BRANDit program offers attendees a new marketing kit-which includes new head shots and a video for their website.

Being a trainer and speaker, I've been "trying" to get videos up on my website for three or four years--and just wasn't successful in getting it done. Now I have four on my home page--which all tell the story of what I do much better and more succinctly than all the text on my site!

I notice other articles about the power of video on the website. For example, according to Forrester Research, you are 53 times more likely to appear on page one of Google's search results with video on your website. Video raises click-through rates up to 200 percent.

The story I saw today about online video ads versus TV ads doesn't totally apply to our individual business websites but its still interesting. In a research conducted by The Nielsen Company and Microsoft it was found that video ads shown during the full episodes of TV shows shown on the Internet have deeper brand impact on the viewers than has TV ads during the same show when relayed on television, because there is greater brand recall. The over-arching reason for this, that does have influence on why we should videos on our websites? "The research showed that people are more engaged and attentive while watching on the Internet, which assists in brand recall."

I'm working with my clients to get videos on their websites. The more professional the better. The Flip cameras are great, but you can't fill your site with amateur videos. As more and more business goes online this is an important marketing step to take.

Who Are You Cheering For?

2011-01-07T14:00:00.002-07:00

When I watch tennis, I usually cheer for the higher ranked player. I think once you get to the top, it's hard to stay there. Everyone is gunning for you and they are often playing the game of their life. One bad day and the top pros can find themselves on the losing end.

But when it comes to basketball, that rule doesn't apply. Because I am loyal. Loyal to my Los Angeles Clippers.

I lived in Los Angeles for 18 years and during most of that time, I had both Lakers and Clippers season tickets. The difference was--my Laker tickets were in the 25th row and my Clipper tickets were in the sixth row--or better.

The Clippers play the same teams the Lakers play, and I had the best seats. A real basketball enthusiast (anyone surprised--TWO sets of season tickets?), I enjoyed being closer to the action despite it being the Clippers instead of the Lakers. When I decided, for both time and financial reasons, that one of the sets of season tickets had to go, it was the Clippers tickets that I kept.

So no matter who the Clippers play, I cheer for the Clippers. When I was both a Clippers and Lakers fan, I would always cheer for the Clippers when they played for the Lakers. Once the play-offs started, it was all Lakers for my cheering (primarily because the Clippers in the playoffs is a rare event). During one Clippers/Lakers near the end of a season, when a Laker win was important for home court advantage during the playoffs, I still cheered for the Clippers, much to my date's chagrin. He thought I should be more cognizant of the long term impact of that game.

There's no other team as consistently bad as the Clippers that I cheer for. I hated it when Phoenix didn't embrace the Cardinals--until they started racking up some wins two years ago. I hated it even more that I was one of the fair weather fans!

As much as I like, and I hope, for an underdog like the Clippers (which Sports Illustrated dubbed the worst franchise in pro sports), they have been replaced in my heart. There's nothing like knowing a player personally and cheering him (or her) on. Since I personally met Channing Frye and got to know what a terrific person he is, I am for whatever team he plays for. Fortunately, he was picked up by the Phoenix Suns last year so I was able to cheer for the home state team (by then I was living in Arizona). Until Channing joined the team, I was for the Suns--unless they were playing the Clippers, Lakers--or the team Channing played for (Knicks or Blazers).

Now,only when the Clippers play the Suns do I root against the Clips. Blake Griffin is a bright spot and a leading candidate already for Rookie of the Year.
Go Blake Griffin! Go Clippers! Go underdog!

But most of all--Go Suns! Go Channing!

Being a Small Business Sub-Contractor

2010-11-29T11:56:00.001-07:00

It always amazes me as I travel around the world how different our cultures and life can be--and yet how much is still the same. As a small business that has worked in the transportation industry in Arizona, I found an amazing similarity when I met a woman from Afghanistan that builds roads. See Video.

My experience with the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) was primarily as the Communications Manager for the State Route 179 project. I also worked (an am working) on some smaller projects, such as the study on Interstate 17 north of Sedona and south of Flagstaff, and several projects for the City of Sedona. I am always a sub-contractor to the primary business that won the contract award.

There are great people/companies to sub for, such as Katherine Bush at URS in Phoenix and DMJM+Harris (now AECOMM) in Phoenix, there are some that are good and there are others that are terrible--which I am so tempted to name, but probably better not. The worst offender was a woman in Phoenix who used another colleague and myself to win the award, and then brought our services in-house (so she would get more of the $$$$). We wrote and designed the proposal.

But when I talk to a woman in Afghanistan about building roads--I expect to hear all kinds of problems -- about security, about funding, about working conditions, lack of supplies, etc. Yet what was her main complaint? About being a small business sub-contractor. She said the large firms get the $3-$5 million contracts and then contract with her to do the work at just a fraction of that price, keeping all of the profits. Well, its best left to hear in her words: See Video

Things My Daughter has Taught Me

2010-11-10T08:39:00.001-07:00

My daughter’s cat had to be put to sleep on Saturday. Looking back to how she got this cat as a kitten 16 years ago made me smile. And made me realize for the first time at the age of 12 she also had a pretty good business sense.

I was in the process of selling my sign and banner shop and Christmas was just a week or two away. I was having a holiday open house for 150 people later that week. Busy time, to say the least. My daughter called me, right before I was heading home, to let me know that she had found a kitten abandoned in our outdoor storage shed. Could she keep it?

But her question wasn’t that simple, figuring that I would say no, she quickly added, “I talked to Connie and she said you need to pick up…..” and she gave me a list of things (like a doll bottle and baby formula) to pick up on the way home. Connie was my best friend and is the ultimate cat lover. She also had helped Erika pick out her initial two rescue kitties three years earlier (one of which was now dead—leaving Erika to believe there was room for another cat in the house).

I had to give it to Erika. She did her research BEFORE she called me, and rallied “the team” around her request. But I still said no—if I had to stop on the way home to do that type of shopping—I was just too tired and had too much going on to take on something else like this.

Erika did more research and called me back. She had called Connie again. By putting cat food and water in front of the kitten, and the kitten eating and drinking, meant the baby bottle and formula wasn’t needed. I didn’t have to shop on the way home. She added creativity and initiative to the mix, along with foreseeing problems and obstacles and having her message points ready, and added that—oh by the way—she had made a bed for the kitten in her shower and named it Butterscotch.

Of course I said yes this time. Just shows what good research and good teamwork can accomplish!

Who’s the Quarterback?

2010-11-09T10:12:00.005-07:00

It always seems self-serving when I recommend that an outside consultant is needed during a crisis communications situation.

Let me back up a beat. First of all, the MOST IMPORTANT thing for a crisis or challenging situation is to have a plan in place in advance. That’s most important.

I have a video clip that talks about the importance of having a plan in advance, and why outside consultants should be considered.

See Crisis Communications Video.

An outside consultant or agency helps add a dose of objective realism. It may be difficult for internal staff to see the whole picture objectively, as an outsider would.
When you work at a company, you are part of that company’s family--no matter how good you are at work/life balance! Thus, when something happens that may be upsetting, those in-house are emotionally involved and are not necessarily in the best position to either make objective, critical decisions and/or may need help in carrying out everything in the plan.

What is important when you bring in an outside consultant to help, is to define who is going to be the “quarterback” of communications. Control should always be firmly in the hands of the organization, but the outside consultants should become an integral part of the crisis team. The agency or consultant should play an advisory role while the organization makes the final decisions.

If you are working with an outside public relations agency or consultant, it is important to keep them on retainer so that you have their expertise available to you with the additional people power that can be brought to bear quickly in a crisis. By having them involved early on, it will help your ability to deal quickly with the media should a crisis occur. If a retainer relationship is not possible, bring in an outside consultant before a crisis occurs so that the company benefits from the preplanning expertise of the consultant, ideally to the extent of avoiding a crisis in the first place.

Discuss with the consultant or agency, in advance, such things as what resources they can make available, what media contacts they have, what they would charge in a crisis situation (by the hour, day or crisis), who exactly will be working with you (what level of seniority), and can they work on-site?

The downside of bringing in external help is the morale of your current communications staff (feeling discredited or unappreciated) and the perception of your external audiences that may indeed be an even bigger crisis than they imagined since you are soliciting outside assistance. (Consequently, a prior relationship with any outside sources is important so this perception does not exist).

SEE WHY MARY RECOMMENDS OUTSIDE CONSULTANTS FOR CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS—and more on the importance of having a plan prepared in advance…

Take the Time to Reinvigorate Your Brand

2010-08-20T09:29:00.002-06:00

Last month I gave a speech on crisis communications at the AMMJE conference in Cozumel, Mexico. I talked about the “crisis” that Cozumel, and Mexico as a whole, was having with the tourism industry being way down. Media reports of swine flu and drug cartels in other areas of Mexico have affected Cozumel severely, as well. One of my suggestions was to take the time to develop scenarios of what might happen in the future, and develop their responses. Rather than operating in a “crisis” mode, be proactive.

I also talked about being innovative and looking at new strategies besides the cruise ship tourists. Who else can they communicate to?

At dinner that night, a business owner’s son asked, “My mom is busy every minute of the day. How can she take time to plan? I am helping her this summer, and I don’t even have time to think about these things.”

Patty DeDominic, a Strategic Business Coach in Southern California, says you have to step out of the office to do such work. “Outside workshops and retreats are becoming more and more popular. You must step back and work ON the business not just IN the business. When you go offsite to do planning you get the big picture and can capitalize on the energy in the room. By getting away from your daily tasks, you can see things in a different light and get a more accurate reality of your strengths and weaknesses, rather than just a one-sided perception that the office is giving you that particular day.”

Karen Duncum, owner of a coaching and training firm in Santa Barbara, recently wrote a column for The Huffington Post on “Put Your Feet Up and Innovate.” She said leaders arrive at big-picture solutions by pulling the plug on their usual routines and doing nothing. “Most of the time executives find themselves bombarded with reports, e-mails, telephone calls, fire-fighting, and meetings. The answer is to engage in what I call passive innovation. I routinely advise my clients to unplug by taking a drive to a park, the ocean, or into the country with only a blank pad of paper and pen. Think of it as a coffee break for your brain.”

Two of her tips in the article for “overachievers to clear their minds and open up pathways for breakthrough thinking” were:

Put on Your Thinking Cap: While you can't force inspiration, you can mentally prepare for a productive session of creative ideas. Setting aside time for the specific purpose of "doing nothing" can train your mind to be open to the process.

The bottom line: We all have an unconscious tendency to sell our mental abilities short by miring ourselves in unnecessarily restrictive, shortsighted thinking patterns. Use mini-vacations for your mind to break free from the forces that keep your untapped creative powers in check. Don't be surprised if you discover your greatest productivity occurs when you're doing nothing at all.

Workshops, such as the upcoming BRANDit four-day workshop in Iceland where I will be speaking, offers just this kind of escape. Not only is it an opportunity to combine work with pleasure, but the striking setting of Iceland is the perfect back drop for the workshop. The inspiration of Icelandic nature is being incorporated into the workshop for the women while they are reinvigorating their own branding. There will be some scenic and remarkable side trips, including a stop at the world famous Blue Lagoon.

DeDominic added, “Sometimes it might take an international location to truly get people to turn off their cell phones and e-mail feeds during the planning sessions. It’s important to be in a quiet environment where you are not distracted and give yourself permission to think totally creatively.”

How long has it been since you’ve taken a few hours, or a few days, to explore how to re-invigorate your branding, your strategic plan and/or business operations? It might be time now to purposefully set aside time on your calendar and make the reservations to get away.

Branding is Not Just For Start-Ups

2010-08-19T09:37:00.001-06:00

By Mary Schnack

Your brand is your most valuable asset. How long has it been since you’ve re-vigorated your branding?

How do YOU as the business owner fit into that branding?

The goal of branding is to define a brand that creates an emotional connection between you and your customers. It is not just the traditional “graphic” elements that confirm your brand identity.

As business owners, we represent a big part of that branding. It’s everything—the organizations we join, where we advertise, how we reward employees and for what, where you meet with clients…..how firm your handshake, how thorough your follow-up, how aggressive your sales pitch -- all of these say something about you and about your business. Every action either builds on or detracts from your brand.

The owner is the lead ambassador for the brand. You are identified with your company’s brand, and your company is identified with you.

You may start with your visual and your words, but a brand is built on fundamental sustained behavior. Never lose sight of what makes your business special, promote your strengths and build a brand that targets your core customer base. It becomes part of a business’s anatomy based on how you, the business owner, engages with your audiences—whether they are customers, local community, suppliers, industry colleagues or the media.

“When we started organizing our BRANDit workshop, the first reaction from women business owners was that it must be for start-up businesses,” said Runa Magnusdottir, a certified business coach and the CEO and Founder of Connected-Women.com. “We want women with established businesses to look at transforming themselves from “an ordinary business woman” into a “powerful brand”. Our workshops will help them think unique, think independent, and step outside of their daily business mindset and get creative.”

Magnusdottir and Bjarney Ludviksdottir started BRANDit, offering women business owners worldwide a four-day workshop in Reykjavik, Iceland, to create and reinvigorate personal and business branding. Ludviksdottir will use her experience as a casting director and co-owner of Eskimo Models, an Icelandic modeling agency, to capture each woman’s personality via a new headshot, video trailer and press kit.

BRANDit offers the opportunity to revisit your branding. You can change the direction of your business, add new products or services to your business model, but you never change your core values behind the brand. That’s who you are as a brand. It’s your businesses personality.

You have to communicate that brand promise and in order to do that, you have to know what that promise is inside and out. Just like you re-visit your strategic plans, you need to re-visit your core values and branding. Your brand promises customer service, community leadership, corporate integrity, environmental responsibility and democratic values. The brand is YOU, YOU as a leader. It’s more important than you may think.

Creating a Business Value and Culture of Sustainability

2010-06-25T16:32:00.003-06:00

I stated earlier that I didn’t learn much about sustainability at the World Expo in Shanghai because of my terrific client, Nancy Goshow, co-founder and managing partner of Goshow Architects in NYC. She gave a webinar yesterday for WIPP’s Entrepreneurs, Energy and Environment series titled Creating a Business Value and Culture of Sustainability. Nancy packed so much information into the 30-minute webinar that I would highly recommend people to go listen to it online. You can find archived podcasts of this and other past training sessions on EntrepreneursAndEnergy.com in the Resources section.

Goshow Architects is dedicated to sustainable design for the public sector and is known for its diverse range of green projects in the New York metropolitan area. These are now starting to expand internationally.

Most of us have, by now, started recycling programs and changed our light bulbs. Many have even quit using paper products. (Even me—who HATES to do dishes!). In this webinar, Nancy not only told us HOW to be a sustainable business, but more importantly for what I want to write about here -- how to create a culture of sustainability in our workplace.

Nancy outlined points on creating that culture:

- Inspire stakeholders toward a greater greener future.
- Engage by delegation and collaboration (two heads are better than one).
- Create a Green Task Force supported by a green study group.
- Foster communication up and down within your organization.
- Require accountability and flexibility from all participants.
- Ask all stakeholders to be open and on the watch for new ideas.
- Promote & Maintain an ongoing sustainability conversation with all stakeholders.

She also discussed the triple bottom line: people, planet and profits. Goshow Architects has reached their goal for the triple bottom line this year:

- People: We are a diverse firm of architects working collaboratively.
- Planet: On a variety of High performance green buildings.
- Society: For public sector government agencies serving the public good.
- Profit: We are a very busy firm and we are profitable.

She said sustainability has given Goshow a future focused strategically for success in the 21st century. However, their success has not only been on green design for their projects, but because of the diversity of their people and projects. I’ll be writing more about diversity in the future, and I love to see the importance of diversity tied in with sustainability.

New Chinese Name

2010-06-04T17:53:00.000-06:00

I now have a Chinese name—Mary Mulan. (My African name is Njoki, meaning “one who returns”).

During my stay in China we did a three-day trip to Shang Qui in the Hunan Province. This is where the Mulan Temple is and where that entire story originated. The story became famous worldwide in 1998 when Disney did an animated movie on Mulan.

Doking Foods’ factories are located in Shang Qui, a small Chinese city of 10 million people. Most people I have met in Shanghai have never heard of it—because it’s small by China standards. It also is the hub of agriculture output for China.

Doking was the primary financial sponsor of the Legacies Dinner for the Global Summit of Women dinner in Shanghai which honored the President of Finland. Mr. and Mrs. Liu, who are one of the most delightful couples I have ever met, started the business about 10 years ago.

What really astounded me about Doking is that they are introducing a new organic grain drink in their 92 stores across China. And an etching modeled after my photo is on the cup! They decided to make me the face of this health drink since I am a six-time cancer survivor, a former basketball player and coach and still pretty healthy despite all I’ve been through.

When our train pulled into the Shang Qui station, I was a little dazed after sleeping most of the five-hour trip. But I woke up quickly after stepping out on the platform. Mr. Liu was there with flowers for me and the other women in our group. A banner at least 10 feet long welcoming me to Shang Qui was on the platform and there were photographers everywhere. As we left the station, a lot of city, regional and province government officials were there to greet us, too.

We went to our hotel and I was given a suite. At that evening’s dinner I was honored with gifts and – more pictures were taken! And yes, we did a lot of “cheers” and drinking. The top woman official for the region was at the dinner, too.

The next day we went to the Doking Factory and toured the Shang Qui area. We were given a police escort everywhere so we would not be held up in traffic and yes, there were photographers at every stop.

Doking already had a brochure and video made that had photos and editorial mention of the Global Summit dinner, which had just been two days earlier. They are one of the few factories in China that do not allow smoking on the property.

Besides the Mulan Temple, we went to the Mulan Cultural Park, the city wall and old town and the “Fire House.” It was all very interesting and informative. And of course, that night we had another celebration dinner before leaving the next morning on the train.

Mulan was a warrior from somewhere between the 4th and 6th centuries that went to war disguised as a man so her elderly father would not have to go. Of course, she was one of China’s greatest warriors for the next 10 years and not until her service was over did she reveal that she was a woman.

To be compared to the “most famous and strongest” woman in Chinese history is quite an honor. And at first I was embarrassed by it. But I know it is in fun—and I decided, why not? I have been working for many years to help further the status of women throughout the world. In the last few years, my main focus in this area has been for women in developing countries.

The woman that heads the women’s association in the Hunan Province was at the Mulan Temple to greet us as well. This is not just a group for businesswomen, but for all women. She said that the association helps women with personal issues as well as business issues. She said that many women want to start businesses. I asked her what is the biggest issue overall. I expected something like child care, domestic violence, health care services – something more on the personal front. Her quick answer was “getting capital.” It’s amazing that no matter how different things are, they are still the same. That is probably the primary obstacle for women business owners in the US, as well.

Videos from China

2010-06-04T15:41:00.005-06:00

China Pavilion:

DEVNET Pavilion:

2010-06-04T15:15:00.003-06:00

Caribbean Pavilion:

Iceland Pavilion:

2010-06-04T15:01:00.004-06:00

African Pavilion:

2010-06-04T14:48:00.005-06:00

Booth at the Global Summit of Women in Beijing:

World Expo

2010-06-03T11:09:00.002-06:00

I could make a blanket statement that I was really disappointed in the World Expo. I could make a blanket statement that I think countries focused more on tourism and reaching the Chinese population who is known to be the next (or already current) big tourism market. But I shouldn’t because there’s far more of the Expo that I didn’t see than what I did.

Was I wowed by any new technology? Only in the Youth Innovation area and that was about computer games, mobile devices, etc. Nothing too far “out there.” Did I see anything where I learned more about sustainability or “Better City Better Life”? No.

The US Pavilion is an embarrassment. There are two films (one with Hillary Clinton and President Obama) and then there is a large room of corporate sponsor advertisements. Each sponsor (Microsoft, Pepsi, Dow, Dove, and, gee, the other ones are lucky as I’ve already forgotten them) has an area with an LCD screen. Some use it for blatant advertising and some try to have some sustainability information, but not much. Hopefully, most foreigners won’t recognize this “sponsorship” model.

Then, following the Disneyland model, to exit you have to walk through a large gift shop.

The other thing I realized is that I really was here to work. I spent another half day with the two winery clients in the DevNet Pavilion and seeing how we could improve their display.

Otherwise, there are just too many people and the lines are too long to get into Pavilions—1-3-5 hours long. Standing in line for hours is harder on the body than walking around for hours.

Freedom of Speech

2010-06-02T11:11:00.002-06:00

I met a woman at the World Expo who grew up in Tijuana, Mexico. We talked about the internet being blocked for You Tube, Twitter and Facebook. She said she doesn’t mind. She is willing to give up Freedom of Speech for the safety she feels here in China (there is little or no crime on the streets, etc). She asked me if I didn’t agree. I said, being from the US where Freedom of Speech is one of our founding principles, I could never willingly give that up.

But I don’t have her background—growing up where there is SO much crime that you constantly fear for your own personal safety. Interesting how our perspectives are shaped so differently depending on our backgrounds. A good thought.

P.S. People ask why there is no “crime” here. I asked too one day on another trip as we walked down an alley at 2 a.m. looking for a foot massage place….I wondered—is it because their jails are so bad or prisoners are treated so horribly? I was assured not. It is that most people who commit crimes are caught as people are not fearful of being eye witnesses here. There is no “I don’t want to get involved” or “I saw nothing.” They tattle tale!

Francoise Mukagihana

2010-06-01T17:57:00.002-06:00

I met Francoise Mukagihana from Rwanda in the Africa Pavilion at the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai. She was selling items made in Rwanda by her Rwandan Art-Crafts & Beyond women's group. I'll be buying fruit baskets (like the one she's holding), treasure baskets, pencils, earrings and dolls from her which should be arriving in July. Let us know if you'd like any specific color on the baskets. The treasure baskets are a bright red.

Coaching Stephen and Joan

2010-06-01T13:25:00.001-06:00

I am going to the Expo with an 18-year-old boy whose English name is Stephen. Earlier in my trip I spent a couple of days with a 16-year-old girl. She had given herself the English name of Linda but we changed it to Joan. Both Stephen and Joan want a US Visa to go to the US to study so I am trying to coach them on their English, and give them a lot of practice in speaking to me! This is necessary for them to “pass” their Embassy interview.

I have really enjoyed the time I spent with both of them. They are very sweet and appreciative. Stephen even took me shopping on Sunday to the Silk Market with his mother. His mother does not speak English but she is VERY stylish and I appreciated her opinions on what to buy – and what not to buy. Yes, I did buy a Chinese-style dress. She smiled and said that she has never bought such a dress. But that is what I have found—it is the foreigners who wear the Chinese-style clothing, not the Chinese!

Anyway, I think Stephen will be glad when I go home—a day shopping and two days at the Expo! He’s ready for a break, I’m sure.

I asked my business partner here in China, who handles these immigration matters for clients, why Chinese students want to come to America for high school, when in the US we complain about our failing education system. She says, the Chinese system is so rigorous that the students—and parents—don’t like it. They gain no “social skills”, and this is important if they want to do global work. Stephen’s father owns a very successful company that manufactures valves and taps for oil wells. Stephen does not want to go into that business, he wants to start his own business and build it up. Right now he is thinking of being an engineer—that is, when he’s not thinking about playing basketball (no wonder we get along so well!)

First Day at the World Expo

2010-05-31T13:52:00.001-06:00

Whew! Done with my first day at the World Expo. I will do another day tomorrow. Today we visited the Africa Pavilion, Caribbean Pavilion (no Bermuda—sigh), DevNet Pavilion and China Pavilion. Our “contact” got us into a two-hour que at the China Pavilion—otherwise it would have been four hours!

The China building is amazing but I was disappointed in the content. Thanks to my client, Nancy Goshow of Goshow Architects in NYC, I have learned tons about sustainable design and practices. So on one hand I’m pleased to report that I really knew everything being presented and on the other hand—it was very disappointing that there was nothing “new” or truly “innovative” there. It seems like the other countries’ Pavilions are more for tourism outreach than following the theme of “Better City, Better Life.”

Tomorrow we will go to the USA Pavilion and I hope it is better than the disappointing reviews I’ve heard from other Americans who have attended. I also hope to go to Iceland and I will go back to DevNet again.

The DevNet Pavilion is in the United Nations area and it is where my two clients are exhibiting: JiuQiunJiu Wine, the Official Rice Wine, and HanSen Winery from Mongolia, the Official Red Wine of the Expo. Both are EXCELLENT wines. I meet with the President of DevNet tomorrow and hope I can make some significant changes (additions) to our displays.

The other impression of World Expo? Lines, lines everywhere. You may have noticed, or heard, before that Chinese do not really take well to lines. They have no problems “cutting” in line, pushing past, etc. I decided to be a bugger about this and they did not push past me! Although it is somewhat amusing because by pushing, they might move up 2-5 people and in a two-hour line—that means nothing time-wise. I was told that last week at the German Pavilion, when German workers were trying to stop the pushing and cutting, an all-out war-of-words broke out, with a lot of name-calling, and the Chinese suggesting a boycott of the German Pavilion. LOL German and Chinese cultures in that situation certainly would be clashing!

More to report after my visit again tomorrow!

Greetings from China

2010-05-30T19:25:00.001-06:00

Greetings from China! I came to China for several reasons. First was the Global Summit of Women in Beijing. More than 1,000 women attended from about 85 different countries. The best part of these conferences is to meet the other women. I was moderator of a panel on “Handling the Difficult Conversation.” It was a GREAT panel and I hope to keep in touch with my panelists—two women from the US and the President of China Mobile in China (yes, a woman!). Actually Pam Teagarden, one of the “US” women, has homes in Russia, London and Berlin. We hope to work together in the future on crisis communications. She handles the behavioral psychology side of it and I would handle the planning and implementation. Sounds good to me!

I also hosted a booth for Sunflower, who provides the pearls for my Up from the Dust products. They had sales beyond belief in the 2 ½ days. Our booth was constantly packed and some women said they didn’t buy from there because it was always too crowded. A good problem to have. Before we started, Sunflower said she could not pay the booth fees as they were too expensive and what if they only had $1,000 in sales? They had four women there working. Well there sales were more than 10 times that and at the end they were saying—why didn’t you get two booths?

I have also introduced products from Susan Shi. Susan is from Beijing but lives in London. This is in my efforts to also help women business owners in the “missing middle.” Susan designs for the European woman so her designs will be a nice addition.

I am bringing back incredibly unique designs and necklaces from both Sunflower and Susan and look forward to hearing my customers’ responses.

Strong Brands Recover from Recession Faster

2009-09-21T08:45:00.000-06:00

Analysis released today by Millward Brown Optimor reveals that the BrandZ™ Portfolio, created from the world's Top 100 most valuable brands, is recovering faster than the S&P 500 as a whole. The BrandZ Portfolio is now worth 28 percent more than the S&P 500, and it has returned to profit ahead of the market.

The BrandZ Top 100 is based on the world's largest brand equity study. It is the only brand ranking that combines financial data with research among 1.5 million consumer and B2B customers in 30 countries.

Joanna Seddon, CEO Millward Brown Optimor said: “The recession has provided fresh evidence of the tremendous value of brand assets. Over the past year, even when things were at their worst, the BrandZ Portfolio outperformed the market. Our new analysis reveals that as the stock market recovers, the share prices of companies who have invested in developing strong brands are recovering fastest. Companies that continue to invest in their brands in a recession emerge with a sustainable competitive advantage.”

The Brand Called YOU (And what to name kittens)

2009-09-17T14:23:00.004-06:00

This month I have done three presentations on The Brand Called YOU. The first one was in Iceland to the women entrepreneur association and the second one to NAWBO in Sedona, AZ. Yesterday I did a free teleseminar on the topic to about 70 women who signed on through www.connected-women.com.
I want to highlight two things that have happened the last two days:
1) I just adopted two rescue kittens. One is a tabby (orange) and is five weeks old. The other one is all white and is three weeks old. They are ADORABLE. My daughter is really the big cat lover and she no longer lives at home but her roommate does this rescue work and these kittens were irresistible!
So we came up with the names Tiger and Snowflake. And then I realized that these were the most typical, unimaginative names we could have come up with. I told my daughter--we have to have better names. She loves Winnie the Pooh and wanted to change Tiger to Tigger and she wanted Snowflake to become Anna Bella. I said OK to Tigger and no to Anna Bella. A few hours later, I said OK to Anna Bella because I can call her Bell.
I really didn't think this through at the time that these cat names might affect my personal branding. I hope that part of my branding is that I am a creative person and I guess that kicked in, even subconsciously, as there was NO creativity in those original names. It's only after the fact (last night in bed) that I realized this WAS a branding issue for me!
(Plus--if you don't think Anna Bella and Tigger are very creative--I can just say, "My daughter named the kittens." That solves the branding issue for me, too!)
2) As I said, I was just in Iceland. I LOVE Icelandic fashion designers so someone sent me a link to where the founder of Steinunn, Steinunn Sigurd, one of my favorite Icelandic designers, has a Small Business Makeover by Fortune.
http://money.cnn.com/video/smallbusiness/2009/08/26/sbiz_mak_steinunn.smb/ and
http://money.cnn.com/2009/09/1/smallbusiness/icelandic_fashion_business_makeover.fsb/index.htm
In the interview, Steinunn said she one of the things she learned through this process is to “Profile myself more so people can get to know who I am.”
Does this sound like “The Brand Called YOU”? I love having my messages reinforced in other places.
So--how do you profile yourself to carry out your brand?

International Women Business Associations

2009-09-02T07:03:00.002-06:00

I arrived in Iceland yesterday and joined a meeting of the International committee for the FKA (the Icelandic women business association). I am past Chair of the International Forum of National Association of Women Business Owners (U.S.)
The points of discussion at the committee meeting were:
1) what do we get out of our alliances and what organizations should we be looking at?
2) can we do a survey of members and learn more about them--including whether they do business internationally
3) we need to re-do our organization website, particularly to add more about members and about international
4) we have members that import, etc., but say they don't do business internationally!
I kept feeeling like I was at a NAWBO meeting. ALL of these topics are discussed--and discussed and discussed-- by NAWBO as well. It is just another example of how similar we are throughout the world!

AN ARGUMENT NOT TO CHANGE YOUR NAME WHEN MARRIED

2009-09-02T06:57:00.002-06:00

AN ARGUMENT NOT TO CHANGE YOUR NAME WHEN MARRIED
About 3 weeks ago Eunice Shriver died, the founder of Special Olympics. Many articles on her after her death stated she was perhaps the Kennedy sibling that left the biggest legacy. Yet when Senator Ted Kennedy just passed away, she was barely mentioned--but his two brothers were. Is this because:
1) Her last name was no longer Kennedy?
2) She wasn't a male?
3) She was never a Senator?

My vote would go to the first two choices!

Afghanistan and Rwanda Women Business Owners

2009-08-17T14:59:00.003-06:00

I had the pleasure of working with the Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women in Dallas Texas last week in their Peace Through Business program. Peace through Business® trains women entrepreneurs in war torn countries in basic business practices, then goes a step further by providing mentorship with American women business owners. These courageous women spend 3 weeks in class learning business basics through a entrepreneurial University, then take that information and transfers it into ‘real’ life through mentorship.

After training in their respective countries, 14 women from Afghanistan and 15 women from Rwanda attended a 10-day training at Northwood University in Cedar Hill, TX. Tomorrow they leave Texas to go to places throughout the country to be matched with a woman business owner who has a similar business and will mentor them.

Terry Neese is the President and Founder of IEEW. She is a former national president of NAWBO and the co-founder of WIPP.

I did a day of marketing training with the women, including information on branding, media, networking and message development. I want to introduce you to the women below. (The descriptions are very short because I also used these descriptions in my Twitter account. You can follow me @maryschnack. I also have an account @upfromthedust).

Sarah Mukandutiye from Rwanda has dairy and chicken farm and three greenhouses with tomatoes. Sells 1,000 eggs and 600 liters of milk a day

Khalida Dunya of Afghanistan gives internally displaced people work making soccer and volleyballs--by hand! Wants to start exporting.

Frozan Raufi of Afghanistan owns Family Med Clinic. Needs EKG & digital blood press machines. & grants to treat patients at only $2/person.

Mariam Yousufi started Mariama Education and Culture Assoc in Kabul, a hand craft biz and has trained almost 400 women in tailoring and literacy.

Shakila Rozbeh of Afghanistan provides raw materials to women handcrafters and employs 35 crafters.

Cathy Bitwayiki is an organic farmer in Rwanda. Her goals are to learn how to process and export locally grown fruits and vegetables and to get her company’s products into the organic market.

Immy Kamarade’s company in Kigale, Rwanda distributes petroleum products, cement and coffee. She joined neighbor famers together to sell bigger coffee orders & make a market for all.

Farghana Alimy, 20, only female shop owner in 1 of biggest markets. Also serves as the manager of the Trader Woman’s Association in Kabul.

Francoise Uwamwezi carries on her family business called African Wood Enterprises. The company creates furniture for the home, the office, floor parquets, partitions and ceilings.

“Women in Afghanistan are confined for different reasons…the main reason is lack of ownership. Men have it and women don’t,” said Razia Arefi. “I want to open my own shop and achieve this goal of [ownership] and beat these difficulties.”

Marlene Nyirubutama opened first ice cream shop in Rwanda. She imports ice creams from South Africa and Kenya and now wants to make it herself. She’s in Orange County now studying with a mentor.

Farzana Ebrahimi founded the Kandahar Health and Development Organization (KHDO) in Kandahar, Afghanistan. KDHO specializes in training women in the fields of sewing, embroidering, and knitting. KDHO specializes in training women in the fields of sewing, embroidering, and knitting in hopes that it will help propel them into a successful career down the road.

Annette Karenzi owns a holistic, “ladies only” fitness center in Kigale. When her business grows, she plans to set up a complete executive spa.

Roqia Sajjadi, who spent the majority of her childhood and adolescence in Iran during the Taliban’s rule in Afghanistan, has started her own financial consulting services company and is excelling to new heights with it.

Keza Kamwenub is President of IATA Travel Agencies in Kigali, Rwanda. Anyone want to see the gorillas? We edited her brochure!

Deborah Kagwisagye owns and operates Generations Impact, where she trains orphans and former sex workers to be job creators through handcrafting jewelry and wall hangings. She gave me the purse made by orphans—see the photos on my Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/mary.schnack.

Andeisha Farid spent her childhood living in refugee camps in countries neighboring Afghanistan. It was living through this experience that inspired her to get involved with helping children, starting a new non profit, the Afghan Child Education and Care Organization (AFCECO). AFCECO runs 7 orphanages in Afghanistan, 2 orphanages in Pakistan, a girl’s school, and several vocational training centers around the country.

Asma Ataie a 23 year old businesswoman from Kabul, started a small business development firm, which provides BDS (Business Development Services) to growing and budding businesses.

Joan Twagira, with the help of the Oxford University Press, owns Kigali Bookstore-Book Distributors. Her core business includes searching for authors to write books for academic needs and schools, as well as selling English books to the general public.

Lydie Hakizimana owns a book store that sells both new and used books in Kigale. Her overall goal is to develop libraries in schools and hospitals where children would have access to books for free.

Other Rwanda women businessowners. Jane Natukunda owns a tea business. Josephine Mbabzi and Joy Kansangire own promotions businesses. Saudah Nalule owns a beauty shop.

Go to ieew.org for more information, and view photos at www.flickr.com/ieew and at my Facebook account, www.facebook.com/mary.schnack.

Health Care Reform

2009-07-21T09:41:00.001-06:00

Write your Congressional Representatives (both House and Senate) today expressing your support of key principles critical to healthcare reform. A 2009 member poll by Women Impacting Public policy showed that 72% of women business owners believe health care reform is needed in order to be successful.

Whether you are a business owner or not, this is an important subject that will affect all of us.

Key components of healthcare reform that WIPP vigorously supports:

·Creation of a private nationwide insurance purchasing pool for small businesses;
·Tax credits for small businesses that offer healthcare to their employees;
·Rating reform and the elimination of health status for benefits rating;
·A simplified enrollment process; and
·An individual requirement for health insurance coverage.

WIPP vigorously opposes:
·An employer mandate that includes small businesses; and
·The taxation of employee health benefits.

What do you think?

Ways to Keep Cool

2009-07-20T17:47:00.001-06:00

Thanks to Sarah McLean, Sedona Meditation Training Co. [sarah@sedonameditation.com]-Aromatherapy: use pure rose or sandalwood oils - you can even spritz these cooling oils on your skin
-Eat lots of sweet, juicy fruits - avoid sour fruit
-Avoid spicy or salty food
-Cook with cooling herbs like cilantro and fennel
-Avoid excessive heat or sun - stay out of the sun from 10 am until it cools down.
-Hang out with people who bring out your positive side
-Avoid disagreeable people, or violent television
-Give yourself an oil massage with cooling coconut oil
-Go to bed by 10 - 10:30
-Stay hydrated, drink lots of water - avoid alcohol and caffeine
-Speak sweetly and be respectful of others
-Engage in activities that bring you contentment and happiness.
-Walk in nature, especially in cool environments like the woods, mountains and lakes
-Gaze into the night sky, bathe in the cooling light of the moon, or walk into the rising sun for expanded awareness
-Wear cool colors, greens blues, whites. Avoid the hot and spicy colors of red and orange
-Meditate twice a day

AN AMBASSADOR FOR GLOBAL WOMEN'S ISSUES

2009-06-15T16:28:00.002-06:00

An important event at the U.S. State Department on Friday means good news for women - and men - around the world, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton swore in her friend and former Chief of Staff Melanne Verveer as the first ever U.S. Ambassador for Global Women's Issues.

"There is so much work to be done to improve the status of women and girls in many parts of the world" Hillary said earlier this week. "Every single day, you can pick up the newspaper or turn on the TV or log on to a website and see the reports of terrible assaults on women's progress. We have to fight these attacks on women's rights, and we have to address the conditions that hold women back and continue to make them the majority of the world's poor, hungry, and unhealthy."

"I don't believe that we can be successful in the many challenges that we face around the world if we don't stand up for the rights of women."

There is so much to be done; but let's take a minute to cheer the new Ambassador for Global Women's Issues - and the commitment of the United States to the lives of women and girls around the world.

Melanne was one of the founders, along with Secretary of State Clinton, of Vital Voices. When I congratulated Melanne via email on her appointment in March, she wrote back to me and said, "Thanks, dear Mary. You've been an ambassador for a long time."

That meant so much to me--and how generous of her--even though I'm still plugging along to try to do even part of what she has accomplished!

Leadership Provides Positive Public Relations

2009-05-15T13:23:00.002-06:00

Recognition For a Job Well Done

The women I meet through my global work, including my work with Vital Voices, never cease to amaze me. I love watching the “light bulbs” go on with the communication ideas that I present. What most of the trainees do not realize is how much they in turn inspire me!

My professional goals are very closely aligned with Vital Voices’ – to help women have their voices heard! I look forward to this regular column to pass on communication tips that hopefully will help you “let your voices be heard.”

I actually met Vital Voices through Eva Muraya. When Eva, CEO of Color Creations in Nairobi, Kenya, attended a communications seminar given by me at a World Bank/International Finance Corporation conference in Accra, Ghana, in 2003, Eva learned that I was advocating for women to publicize their awards and honors.

Many women at the seminar had reservations about this aspect of Public Relations (PR), as culturally it is not acceptable for most African women to “toot their own horn.” Eva had recently been named one of the “top 30 entrepreneurs in their 30’s in Eastern Africa,” and she said it would not be good protocol on her part to publicize that award. After discussing a variety of ideas short of sending out a public announcement, which would be perceived as bragging, Eva decided she could put a line in her e-mail signature that stated the award. It was a start.

Since then, Eva, who is a natural leader not only in her Nairobi community, but for African women throughout the world, has used her leadership skills and activities to promote not just her business, but to advocate for women’s leadership on her beloved continent. She was chosen for the Fortune Leadership Program and won the Goldman Sachs Fortune Leadership Award. She became Chairperson of the Zawadi Africa Education Fund (www.zawadiafrica.org) and started the Kenya Association of Women Business Owners (KAWBO). When Color Creations earned the coveted ISO 9001:2000 global management systems standard in 2007, making Color Creations the first business in communications, and first woman-owned, in sub-Sahara Africa, to gain the standard, Eva and her work team put together a communications plan to announce the award and to enhance their branding.

For a girl who grew up and was educated in the rural countryside of Kenya, Eva now knows that letting her voice be heard has a strong ripple effect in helping others. She and Color Creations have started the “BE Campaign” to respond to Kenya’s devastating high rate of youth unemployment (3 million Kenyan youth are currently unemployed). The retail merchandising business program targets helping 22,000 youth start businesses in the next 4 years.

Being a leader in your community or industry (and we all are in one way or another) can create a strong brand for your business as well. Qualities associated with leadership include professional excellence, valuable service, strong business skills, creativity, and initiative – these carry through from your leadership work to your business and its brand.
Most importantly, your story may inspire others to aim for their dreams. Put modesty aside and publicize your success.

PR tips on awards:

• It may take a significant portion of time, but enter award competitions in your industry. These are one of the highest forms of recognition for your work. However, rarely do these awards "find you." Contact your local industry association(s) and find out if they have an awards program. Search the Internet for other related associations that may have awards programs.
• Sometimes, you may even need to ask, or remind someone, that you need to be honored. If you have done outstanding work or service above and beyond what is usually expected of a responsible citizen/worker/business owner, don't keep it a secret.
• Publicize awards and special designations. Use them as an integral part of all of your outreach for public relations, investor relations, community relations, public affairs, marketing and advertising. Third party endorsements are hard to beat--it's actually someone else tooting your horn--not you.
• The award process provides unique networking opportunities that allow you to talk about your business and yourself to potential clients and sources of referrals.
• Routinely applying for awards should be a part of everyone’s PR strategy because even if you don't win, you have the opportunity to increase your visibility and expose your business to a whole new group of potential clients.

Top 101 Bloggers to Watch

2009-04-29T15:09:00.002-06:00

I am so honored that WE Magazine for Women included this blog on the “101 Women Bloggers to Watch!” list for 2009. Please take a moment to check out the others who made the list. Thank you!

A Presidential Slip

2009-03-23T12:52:00.001-06:00

My daughter participates in a disability bowling league every Saturday morning. It’s probably the #1 thing she looks forward to during the week. Her presents at Christmas last year were her own bowling ball, shoes and bag.

I don’t know if she ever breaks 100 but she sure has fun. Thus, President Obama’s comment about “Special Olympics bowling” last week really hit home.

I’m not quite sure what to think about what he said. (I’m also not quite sure what to think about the President of the United States going on the Tonight Show!)

On one hand, when you are as overly scrutinized as he is, it is easy to make a blunder. His staff caught it during the taping and had an apology out before the show even aired!

On the other hand, the verbal “slips” that we make in public are often things that we may easily say – and believe -- in private.

Like the President, I grew up playing basketball and have played my entire life. I was an all-star, leading scorer, played Division I ball in college, but I learned more about life from basketball after I started coaching in a youth league. My daughter played in the Santa Monica YWCA basketball league and was on a team of nine-year-olds.. I was the coach. Erika usually had trouble catching the ball and would either fumble it out of bounds or get called for traveling. But one time, our top player, Stacy, got a pass from Erika and scored a lay-up. While running down to play defense, Stacy ran over to Erika and gave her a high-five to thank her for the pass. The audience knew Erika well and erupted in cheers to acknowledge the assist.

When I repeat that story, I add, “It took me to the age of 35 and a group of 9-year-old girls to show me the real meaning of basketball.”

Maybe President Obama hasn’t had the honor of having an Erika in his life, or seeing such an important play as Erika’s pass to Stacy. I have no doubt that President Obama has the best interests of the disabled in mind when he looks at policies, sets policy, etc.

Maybe this was a fortunate “slip” as it has increased awareness about the disabled and I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot more on the subject. I understand some Special Olympians will be visiting the White House.

Now the challenge will be to keep the agenda for the disabled front and center, as there are many issues even more important than their bowling scores, such as employment opportunities, services, access to health care (including mental health services), etc. From the experiences of raising my daughter, I think that discrimination against the “differently abled” is the most prevalent discrimination we have. I also see it in my travels around the world. It by far surpasses most of the issues that get far more press. We may end up owing President Obama a thank you for bringing this to light by an “innocent”, yet no less demeaning, comment.

WIEF PRESENTATION

2009-03-10T13:50:00.000-06:00

Here are highlights of my presentation:

The number of women-owned enterprises is now growing faster than the economy at large in many countries around the world. Women-owned firms comprise more than one quarter of businesses and are starting up in every industry sector. International trade offers new markets and new opportunities for businesses that can’t be ignored in this global environment.

With the cost in money, time and physical wear and tear of travel, communication and work projects will heavily depend on technology. This technology will need to address ways to find each other, get acquainted and build trust and actually carry out business.

However, these advancing technologies can not completely cut out personal interaction, especially for women who insert a lot of intuition and relationship-building into their business decisions. These factors are also more important in other cultures than they are in the U.S. culture, thus, technology will not take place of all face to face interaction, and using video on the internet will become standard operating procedure.

Women business owners, already good at collaboration, will find alliances to be of significant strategic advantage. A joint alliance, or teaming up, can provide an ideal and unique alternative – to team up through a contractual agreement to provide services, yet stay independently owned and operated. Joining forces with the right partner in another country or continent can leverage power and increase financial stability, helping a small company to effectively compete in today's ever-changing marketplace. The rewards can include personal and professional growth, immediately strengthening and growing your visibility and marketing efforts, and expanding your eyes and ears out in the business arena.

Associations, organizations and technology sites that give women in business an opportunity to easily connect and build relationships will be key in the expansion of accessing international markets. (Such as www.connected-women.com) Although a social context is important for women to get to know each other and build a level of trust and respect, these entities will need to go beyond social events and business matchmaking. Women in business will demand more from these entities than gathering business cards, attending gala dinners and passing out awards.

It will be key for women to share resources and best practices and expand their networking arena to work together in important areas that impact women overall, such as policy, access to capital, communications, project management and leadership. Forums will need to be provided for education, discussion and carrying out work projects.

For example, training of even the most well-off and successful entrepreneurs in public relations and communication areas is vital. By combining leadership and communication training, women business owners can discover how the two go hand in hand and become skilled at using communications in a strategic manner. Women are historically reluctant to “toot their own horn” and share their triumphs, successes and inherent knowledge.

Government agencies worldwide, and in the United States, have historically focused their programs, trainings, funding and all forms of assistance at exporters of products, particularly manufacturing. Programs, trainings, financing, trade missions and other forms of assistance will need to focus more on women business owners, and even more specifically, service businesses. By reaching out to these specific sectors, governments should see exponential growth in export.

ANECDOTES FROM WIEF IN INDONESIA

2009-03-06T11:23:00.001-07:00

My computer’s auto-correct feature keeps changing WIEF to WIFE. I did not catch that on my hand-out. So the headline on my hand-out was

Presented at WIFE Businesswomen Forum, March 1, 2009

A Freudian slip, to say the least…..

*********

The night before the Forum, I had dinner with Deb Leary, President of the British Association of Women Entrepreneurs. Amongst other important topics, we were discussing our hairdressers. She pays 250 pounds to have her hair cut and colored in London, whereas I just paid $165 in Arizona. The next day, when Dr. Mohamad said at the Forum, “We need to be seen as more than just women who wear scarves,” I tried to make a joke that I’m not sure came across well. I said, “Yes, we were discussing the high cost of hair care last night so we might all switch to wearing scarves on our heads.” Dr. Mohamad quickly said, “Oh, we still spend a great deal of money on our hair, too.”

******

When you think of spike heels (probably four-inches) strappy red sandals, do you think of:

1) Heidi Klum on the runway

2) What a Muslim woman wears under her long dress

3) Julia Robert’s favorite shoe in “Pretty Woman”

4) A holiday shoe—for Christmas or Valentine’s Day

I think very few people would select #2 as the right answer. Rina Fahmi Idris, Chairwoman of the Indonesian Business Women Association, wore the greatest shoes under her long dress during the Businesswomen’s Forum. Yep, they were strappy red sandals with spike heels. At lunch on the second day, I asked her if she was wearing her red shoes again. She said, “No, I just have slippers on today.” When she got up to leave, I saw her beautiful brown sandals which “only” had a two-inch heel.

*****

The liaison officer’s job was to assist us in any way we needed and other than sleeping, Citra and I were together from the moment I arrived at the Jakarta Airport on February 28 until I left on March 3. And I mean together—I told her she did NOT need to go into the Ladies Room with me!

****

I was the only speaker at the Forum from the United States, but less than two weeks earlier, our U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was in Indonesia. When my 86-year-old mother commented to me that she saw this on the news, and it was the same place where I would be going, I said, “Yes mom, Hillary is doing the advance work for me.”

*****

One of the stats I gave in my talk is that research from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce shows that 96 percent of the world’s consumers live outside the United States. Therefore it is vital that we look beyond our borders to do business. Further research by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce showed that women business owners who engage in international trade grew at a rate of 57 percent while those without international business grow at less than half that rate.

In contrast, another speaker said that, “The rest of the world can no longer depend on the 250 million US consumers. We must all become consumers for the good of the world’s economy.”

******

I may have been the only speaker who did NOT mention President Barack Obama. The excitement and the new optimism about the United States were apparent and I was proud in so many ways of my new government. It was as if I was the kid in a classroom, being showered with praise instead of scorn. The mood about the U.S. has definitely changed from my previous trips overseas during the past five years. I felt like I was being embraced again, instead of being held at arm’s length.

Greetings from Jakarta, Indonesia

2009-03-05T10:13:00.002-07:00

I had the honor of participating in the Businesswomen’s Forum of the 5th Annual World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) on March 1 in Jakarta, Indonesia. There were women participating from many Asian countries, as well as Uganda, Kenya, UK, Pakistan, Egypt and Holland. I was the only attendee from the United States. The title of the day event was “Women Entrepreneurs: The Driving Force Towards a Stronger Future.”

We have set up a forum at http://www.connected-women.com/ to continue our discussions, and anyone that wants to join in is most welcome. The goal of the WIEF Businesswomen’s Forum was “not to talk too much about challenges but move forward in working together” said Dato’ Dr. Norraesah Mohamad, Chair of the WIEF Businesswomen Network. “We want to look beyond national borders and create serious and workable ventures together.”

I was quite excited about attending the event, and in talking about it with friends and colleagues in the U.S., most people would say, “Islamic women and economics? Isn’t that an oxymoron?”

Unfortunately, we are buying into the stereotypes we see in the media. Not only are terrorists a fringe group of Muslims, but so are Muslims that constrain women and their role in the family and the economy. The women I met at this conference are dynamic, educated, driven, strong, powerful, committed and about every other positive adjective you can think of to describe business women.

I met a woman from Malaysia whose company had revenues last year of $3.9 billion. I verified that with her, because it was hard to believe—of any woman or company! Her company builds and maintains highways in Malaysia, which recently privatized its road system.

I had a terrific talk with another public relations consultant from Indonesia. Mercedes Benz is one of her clients. We plan to stay in touch and continue to share stories.

We are all hoping to find ways for the associations to which we belong—such as the NAWBO and WIPP; the Indonesian, Egypt, Pakistan and Malaysian women business associations; and the Islamic and Ugandan Chambers of Commerces—to fully work together and stand united by sharing resources and ideas. And maybe, most importantly as a first step, to help break down barriers and stereotypes.

When I pursued this a bit further with Attiya Nawazish Ali, Assistant Secretary General for Coordination of the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry, she said their biggest need now (from US women business owners) is the sharing of resources and knowledge. “There is not a lot of interest or need now in doing business in the United States. We have such a big network that we can do business amongst ourselves first, while we learn.”

Ayesha Zaheer, Director of Zaheer Ahiekh Architects and Engineers in Pakistan, implored that women and the associations work together for another reason. “It is the women who will find peace in the world.”

Each conference speaker had a “liaison officer” that we dubbed “our shadow.” Citra Harshari was my liaison. She just graduated from a University in Australia in business and finance and is looking for her first professional job. I will write more about the great experience of working with her in a later post.

To illustrate that the stereotypes go both ways, Citra said she was very nervous about meeting me. I am the first American that she has met and she thought I would be arrogant, because that is how we are portrayed in the media.

But we departed almost tearfully after our three days together, we have already connected on Facebook, and I look forward to mentoring her in the future and continuing this new relationship. I am glad I was able to break through another stereotype.

KENYA STORIES

2008-12-10T09:24:00.001-07:00

December 9, 2008

A couple of stories came up, and observations, that I was not able to fit in along the way so I thought I would share them now.

At the WBF training, a lawyer who was giving information on the legalities of starting up a business, opened his talks with a story about his sister. He and his sister were in the same class in school. They were both good students but his sister always was a bit ahead of him. About the age of 12, both of them had to start doing a lot more work at home. His sister had to help with the other children, the dishes, the cleaning and the cooking. He had to help herd the cows.

When you herd the cows, you can take a book with you and read, and do some homework. You can not have a book in your hand and bathe a child, or cook the rice, or do the dishes. Consequently, when they completed school, he was at the A level and she was at C-. He said this was entirely because of the difference—and intensity—of their work at home. It was a very telling illustration of how girls are so often side-tracked by the “girl” duties at home.

Two years ago when I came to Kenya my friend Eva gave me a Kenyan name—Njoki, which means “one who comes back.” This has been a great source of pride and amusement for both the Kenyans and myself. I found the same reactions—pride and amusement—when I was in Kenya in August of 2007, and when I met officials at the Kenyan Embassy in Washington D.C. in May 2008.

However, this trip I found a somewhat different reaction. At least five times during the week after I introduced myself as Njoki, I had the person ask me, “Are you a Kikuyu?”

The post-election violence the end of last year and early this year was predominantly between the Kikuyus and Luos. Both were represented by a leader in the close election. Tensions were high and erupted into unspeakable acts of violence for 1-2 months in some areas.

It’s pretty obvious that I am not a Kikuyu. Yet some people were seemed so taken aback by my name. When I would laugh and say, “No,” they would ask if a Kikuyu gave me the name. I would just respond, “A friend that lives here gave me the name because she knows I love Kenya and I always come back!”

I questioned the last person who said it to me, a young gentleman who works for KLM at the airport. I said to him, “I was never asked this on my trips before the election, but now since the violence, I am have been asked at least five times on this trip. Isn’t that sad?” And he replied—talking about himself as much as the others, “This is why we as Kenyans do not move forward. We are stuck in the past instead of looking at the future. Yes, I should not have asked that.” He called me Njoki for the rest of our transaction—and did not charge me for my overweight luggage!

The first time it came up was from one of the girls we were training. When I said my Kenyan name is Njoki, she took a step back and asked if I was Kikuyu. When I said no, she asked if a Kikuyu person gave me that name. Then she went to the other side of the room and sat alone. She was clearly troubled. I alerted the other trainers about our interaction—her concern that I had a Kikuyu name.

The Kenyan adults in the training were surprised. Were the young people, who grew up side by side with people from different tribes, different villages, different backgrounds, starting to soak in some of the prejudices of the adults?

This young woman became one of the most engaged trainees and definitely one of the best communicators. The last day, as our three vans converged at a meeting point to go to the corporate launch, she jumped out of her van and came to sit in the van by me. I decided to light-heartedly tease her—that I knew she did not like me at first because of my Kikuyu name. She tried to shrug it off, but I wouldn’t let her. I said to her, “I knew it bothered you and I am so proud of you now for overcoming it.” She grinned and nodded her head.

Raychelle, who handled the logistics for our training, had seen that interaction during the informal introductions. She said she was pleasantly surprised that I picked up on the girl’s comment and body language so quickly. “I knew from that point that the training would go well and the girls were in good hands,” she said.

Yes, Njoki is appropriate. I was going back to Kenya in March for the KAWBO conference, which has now been moved back to May. I had already lined some other things up for March, so I’m thinking—maybe I need to go in both March and May….

HIV FREE GENERATION

2008-12-09T08:02:00.001-07:00

HIV FREE GENERATION
The launch on December 5, 2008
It was the corporate launch of the Partnership for an HIV FREE GENERATION initiative in Kenya. (www.HIVFreeGeneration.com) The day started with the Roundtable—what we have been preparing for all week. The eight girls mentioned above, plus two more that joined us the last day, had 2-3 minutes to tell their story. Those in attendance were the U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger, Buck Buckingham, head of PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), Ian Kirumba, head of the HIV Free Generation initiative in Kenya, and representatives of other corporate partners (such as Warner Bros. and Coca-Cola) and other NGOs.

The girls were so excited ahead of time and their energy was quite high. I could tell they were nervous, but also positively excited. We were there at least an hour before they had to speak, so we had time to kill. We kept them busy talking, laughing, taking pictures…anything but obsessing about their presentations.

They were amazing. Just amazing. The adrenaline of the day, the event, hit them and it was a positive influence. They talked loudly (on the first day of training you could barely hear half of them speak, they were so soft…), slowly, clearly, concisely and with conviction. Everything we could have hoped for and more. The question and answer period with the Ambassador was illuminating. His questions were targeted and so were the girls’ answers. And they were eager to respond to his questions—with multiple girls raising their hands to answer.

Then we went outside for the big ceremony with hundreds of people and dignitaries in attendance. The Ambassador spent the first part of his speech talking about the girls, how he was so impressed, how much he had learned, and how he could never pass on the message of the importance of an HIV Free Generation as well as the girls. They were sitting in the front row and deservedly beaming from the praise.

(We were told later by one of the NGO representatives that Ambassador Ranneberger does not get much opportunity for this type of one-on-one meetings with the Kenyan people and he does not easily give praise—so his remarks were especially sincere).

Our two 12-year-olds, Cynthia and Annie (who became super close friends during the training), spoke from the podium. They each added even more to their presentations. Instead of freezing in front of the big crowd, they responded to their task and WOW-ed everyone. Cynthia even said, “As a leader, if you take the elevator up, you have to send it back down so other people can take the elevator up, too.” That was a quote that Eva used during training which comes from the NBA star Dikembe Motumbo, who is originally from the DRC.

It shows that these girls were a sponge. Eager to be given a chance, the opportunity to not only lead—they were already leaders before they came to the training—but to learn how
to spread the word and affect more and more girls in their communities. It’s what “The Girl Effect” program from the Nike Foundation is all about—if you change a girl’s life, you change the family’s life, and the community’s life—and then the world. You make history.

The event was held at the AmericaShare/Micato Safaris youth center in Mukurukwa Njenga, one of Nairobi’s “informal residential settlements”. You had to drive through the entire slum to get to it. What a brilliant choice for location. This made much more sense than a hotel ballroom. The journey in made it very clear the work that needs to be done—and how important and vital it is.

Cecilia came up to me afterwards and asked if I knew where the Ambassador went because she wanted to give him one of her scarves. We found him just as he was getting into his vehicle to leave. He got back out and Cynthia presented him with a scarf and they took pictures. What a savvy businesswoman she is!

We then held a celebratory lunch at a Nairobi restaurant that is woman-owned. Dr. Auma Obama joined us, as well as one of Kenya’s most popular singers, Nyoto. The girls were honored and excited about the special guests. We presented them with Nike Foundation posters, certificates of completion for the training, and my PR Works book.

Nyoto has a great story to share. She was house help before she got her singing break. So she comes from the same place where the girls are now and shows them the positive results of having a vision and working towards that dream. She told the girls her story in Swahili. I asked the girls to tell her about The Girl Effect in Swahili. They had a great interchange.

Nyoto told me afterwards that she hopes we can keep in touch and I can help her bring her music to America.

It was difficult to say good-bye. I hope the girls keep in touch with me, but I know its not necessarily easy. They do not have easy access to computers. We had thought about getting each girl one of Nyoto’s CDs, and then realized they probably would not have a way to play it. Reality hits—so different from the world we know, in such a simple way.

The training definitely served its purpose. The leadership training offered by Phyllis and Eva gave them the confidence, self-esteem and knowledge that THEY ARE LEADERS. I helped them learn how to effectively assemble and communicate their stories. On the first day of training, Cynthia was too embarrassed that she was an orphan and did not want to talk about it. Now she talks about it as another piece of her background, not one that necessarily needs to define her.

Our motto was CHEERS NOT TEARS. These stories are so moving and touching that they do bring tears to people. But we hoped the end result would not be that people sat there and cried, but that people jumped up and applauded and cheered the girls on. Responded in appreciation and awe for who they are on the INSIDE and how they share themselves with others to make it a better community, a better world.

Mission accomplished. What a great day!

LEAVING KENYA

2008-12-08T12:53:00.002-07:00

December 7, 2008

The training is over, the event is over, and I’m on my way home. What a rewarding trip this was. I was hired to impart my wisdom and experience to girls and young women and I feel like I am coming home with so much more than I could ever possibly give.

I would say the overall theme of this trip was “Pay It Forward.” That started with the slogan of the Women Mentorship Walk on November 29. It was highlighted throughout my time in Kenya and it is so true.

I bought from five suppliers for Up from the Dust—including two of the young women I trained. For both of them, it is their first sale to America, the first sale outside of Kenya. They are now global.

The other two new organizations help either specifically rural women or women with HIV and AIDS. They have new, unique products and the wealth is being spread. I’m excited to see the reaction.

I had my hair braided by Cynthia and her Aunt Josey. Cynthia was one of the two 12-year-olds in the training. She was orphaned two years ago and lives with her Aunt, who has a hair salon in one of the slums. They came to my hotel room and it took them 7 hours to do the braiding. I paid them almost double what they asked for in compensation. It was an added bonus just to spend the time with them. Josey is having trouble coming up with the money for Cynthia’s school fees. Cynthia has been the first in her class since she started Level 1 (she is now Level 8). What a loss it would be to society if Cynthia could not continue in school and pursue her dreams.

I made new business partnerships for future business in Kenya, which will be exciting benefit to both myself and my new partners. I hooked several women up with other women from the United States where I think there may be good synergies and good business. Pay it forward.

I donated medical supplies to Dr. Obama of CARE International. And two books written by my friend Joan Bourque to school libraries. Pay it forward.

I went to an African Art Gallery that a woman owns who was the WBF training on Nov. 28. I bought some wonderful that I may want to include in Up from the Dust in the future. In the meantime, I’ll be wearing them and enjoying them myself! Pay it forward.

THANK YOU to Vital Voices for giving me this experience. THANK YOU to the girls for letting me into your lives. THANK YOU to my co-trainers, Phyllis and Eva. THANK YOU to the Nike Foundation for focusing on the girls and carrying through with the funding for these great programs. THANK YOU to Nyokabi for the mentor walk. THANK YOU to Raychelle for trusting me as a new business partner and immediately setting up a government appointment so we can move forward. THANK YOU to Eva for sharing your church and your family with me. THANK YOU to all the Kenyans who make this a special “second home” to me!

There are more stories to tell. Small, but significant. I’ll keep them coming for the next week. Hope you enjoy them.

P.S. Mark your calendars for May 20-23, 2009, (dates changed from March) when the Kenya Association of Women Business Owners will be hosting an international conference and presenting the first ATHENA International Leadership Awards in Africa!

Kenya Day 5—December 2, 2008

2008-12-03T08:58:00.005-07:00

Our training started today. The Nike Foundation introduced their powerful programs by showing their videos. (Please go to the website that I highlighted at the end of the day yesterday and view these videos.) The PEPFAR program was introduced and what the girls will be doing on Friday with the corporate launch of the HIV Free Generation program. Our purpose in this training is to teach the girls leadership and communication skills. We want to make them realize that they are already leaders! And how to communicate their story and their leadership messages.

I had high expectations for this training, but was somewhat concerned when the young ladies were identified (less than 24 hours before training was to begin!) because I would be working with women who were ranging from 12 to 23 years old!

But my expectations were by far exceeded. These girls are incredible! They started showing their leadership and profound thoughts from our first team-building exercise in the morning.

And it is such a joy to work with my two co-trainers, Phyllis Mwangi and Eva Muraya. They are working on the girls leadership skills and communicating those. Their presentations are lively, make the girls laugh and really add a great dimension. Eva had the girls come up with the Peacock Formula—which was 28 words that start with P that traits of leaders. (Why Peacock? Well, it starts with P, the girls thought it was a fun word and Peacocks are regal and proud—a good look for a leader!)

In the afternoon we worked on finding out the girls’ stories. Sometimes we had to push and prod and pull to get them to share, but they understood the value in that, as well. I’ve put a brief version of the girls’ stories below—this is the information that will be going out to the press for Friday’s event and gives you an idea of the phenomenal girls I am getting to know. I have added some of my side notes in parentheses.

Joyce Waithaka, 20, was raised by her mother in Muchatha. She won a business plan contest when she was 18 and opened a bakery. She now employs two other young women, including an orphan, because “if they make money and learn a trade they won’t participate in behaviors that endanger themselves.” (Today when we were envisioning a “world leader”, Joyce envisioned one of her employees. She feels her mentorship and employment may have this type of impact on this girl’s life).

Ann Agesa, 12, is a Girl Guide and lives in Nakuru with her parents. As a peer educator, she teaches other youth about HIV/AIDS prevention. She helped develop a handbook for other peer educators. She wants to be a doctor.

Cynthia Aginga, 12, lives with her aunt and uncle, their two children and her four siblings in Kasarani. Her father died when she was one year old and her mother died of cancer two years ago. Cynthia has been number one in her class at school from Class 1-8, and she won an essay contest on “Something I’ve Never Told Anyone About”. She is a member of Chill Club, which teaches youth about being an HIV Free generation. She wants to be a pilot because she wants to travel to different countries. (Cynthia is ashamed of being an orphan and did not want to publicly share that part of her story. We are working with her on being proud of who she is, where she comes from, and what she is accomplishing despite the odds against her).

Stephanie Shipemo, 20, lives in Jamhuri in Kibera and completed Level 4 this year. She dropped out of school after getting pregnant from a rape, but went back to school and completed her studies. “I am an overcomer” she says! She wants to be a beautician and make a better life for her two-year-old daughter. (Stephanie said it is the first time she told anyone about being raped.)

Maureen Atieno, 18, is a community organizer. She is a leader with the Binti Pamoja program in Kibera. She has recruited all the girls from her immediate community (30) and works with the “Kicking AIDS Out” program. She wants to be a lawyer. (We are teaching Maureen that she is a “community organizer” like President-Elect Obama! Why? BECAUSE SHE IS!!)

Maggy Muthoni, 20, is a single mother of a two-year-old and owns multiple businesses in Baba Dogo. She has learned to save money every month rather than buying snacks. Her family left the Masai over tribal conflict before she started school. Maggy was instrumental in uniting the Kikuyus and Luos in her community after the post-election violence. Many peers seek her out for her insight and guidance and personal and professional matters. She takes good care of her son, who has some health challenges.

Queen Atieno 17, lives in Baba Dogo where she works at a beauty salon seven days a week. She lives with her aunt because her parents and four siblings fled Nairobi after the election violence. She wants to expand her business, buy her own home where she will live with her younger siblings and find a caring and faithful man.

Cecilia Katungwa, 23, lives in Mukuru Fuatanyayo with a brother and little sister. Her mother was an alcoholic and died from TB when she was 13 and Cecilia was raised by nuns in a Children’s Home. She established a knitting and design business two years ago and continues to expand it each year. It is located in the Kenyatta Market. She has cultivated her leadership skills as a Chairwoman of Smart Girls Youth of Life, a savings alliance for young women ages 15-25. (I may be importing some of her items for Up from the Dust!)

KENYA Day 4, Monday, December 1, 2008

2008-12-01T13:52:00.003-07:00

Today I went to the slums of Nairobi for the first-time and it was such an uplifting experience.

That may seem like an odd statement and my emotions from today are so high that it may even be hard for me to explain.

I must start out here by saying that I am tired. It is getting late and training starts tomorrow. So I may leave some holes and some questions, but please be assured that I will try to fill in those holes throughout this week. However, I have to share some points about my day despite the late hour at night.

Today we did site visits to some of the homes and businesses of girls who are going to be in our training program this week. We visited two girls that are in a program conducted by TechnoServe (http://www.technoserve.org/).

Maggie sells water (for 2 shillings a jug—about a quarter) and Queen works with her aunt in a hair salon. Maggie and her two-year-old son live in one room and it is obvious that it is cherished and taken care of with great pride. Lace curtains and beautiful embroidered couch cushions are just a few of the special touches.

But I was particularly impressed when Maggie reached under her mattress to show us her ledger. She had been keeping track of her sales for two months. She shows sales and expenses for each day. But most impressively, she also shows SAVINGS for each day. She is saving over 1,000 shillings a month.

She said she learned how to do all this—her ledger and to save—through the TechnoServe program (which is funded by the Nike Foundation). Maggie said before her training with TechnoServe, she spent the extra money on snacks, but now she understands the importance of saving.

WOW.

It was quite a walk from the main road and entrance to the slum—and local bus stop—to Queen’s home. I mention this because sometimes when Queen goes to training programs she gets back after dark. Our chaperones from TechnoServe told us how unsafe this area of the slum in particular is at night, and they are concerned about how far Queen has to walk from the bus stop.

The entire time we are walking through the “streets” the young children are running up to us and saying “How are you?” It is a chorus of “How are you?” “How are you?” “How are you?” the entire afternoon! Maggie told me that these are the first English words that children learn. Many reach out to shake our hand. Pauline Mwangi, Entrepreneurship Manager for TechnoServe (and a graduate of a Vital Voices-Fortune program) said most of these children have probably never seen a white person.

There were many ducks on one street. Maggie told me the ducks belong to her cousin, who sells the ducks as a business. I asked her how her cousin can be sure the ducks aren’t stolen? Maggie said, “It is very hard to steal a duck. If someone tries to steal a duck, the duck quacks very loudly so my cousin knows and can come out and get the duck before the person can get away with it.” To Maggie, I’m sure it seemed like a funny question, because the answer is so practical.

We went to a meeting that about 10 girls had for the TechnoServe program. Maggie is the leader with a girl named Florence as the assistant leader. I was extremely impressed with both of the girls’ leadership skills. Since I had not met Florence earlier, she was a welcome surprise. She kept Maggie focused on the agenda, paid attention to staying on track of time and was not afraid to disagree if she did not think plans were practical.

Florence said, “We will be seen as very important now in our community because we have two white women that came to meet with us.”

Florence was also drop dead gorgeous. When I mentioned this on the ride back to the hotel, Pauline told me that Florence’s past included prostitution, but she had quit that and was working hard to stay away from it. TechnoServe had set up a sales internship for Florence and Pauline said she did an outstanding job.

After the meeting Florence came up to me and asked for my email address. She told me she wanted to email me and keep in touch. I was extremely honored that this bright young woman had an interest in me, this 52-year-old stranger from America. I look forward to corresponding with her and really hope she writes to me.

The girls’ group scheduled an acting class that would start the following week. Part of the purpose of the acting class is to use it as a recruiting tool to get other girls to join their group. They also discussed topics for the play they wanted to write and put together. I gave them a goal. I will be back in Kenya in March. I wanted to see their play in March. The girls, and Cyprian Amakulu, our driver and an intern with TechnoServe who works with this specific group, assured me that it would happen.

On the way back to the hotel, I asked Pauline what the goal was with these groups, which TechnoServe has set up all over Nairobi. Is it to get the girls out of the slums? Or is it as simple as trying to build up their self-esteem? Is it to help them grow a business and get a better life?

Pauline said the goal is to show the girls the options that are out there in the world. One option might be entrepreneurship. Another one might be to save money and provide a better life for your child, even if it is within the same community. This answer was so impressive to me. If the goal was to get the girls out of the slums, it may seem too far-reaching and discouraging. To build their self-esteem would not be enough. This goal makes perfect sense.

The three-day training that Vital Voices is doing for the Nike Foundation starts tomorrow. For more information on this program, go to http://www.girleffect.org/.

KENYA Day 3, Sunday, November 30, 2008

2008-12-01T12:41:00.001-07:00

Other than logistical things with the upcoming training, I had the day off. I went to church with my friend Eva. Going to worship services in different countries is one of the greatest cultural things one can do when visiting another country, in my opinion. Eva’s church is a series of HUGE tents and there are three different simultaneous services—one for adults, one for youth and one for children. The service was almost 3 hours long, but extremely interesting. Next Sunday Eva’s choir does a holiday presentation so I’m really looking forward to that.

Some of us did an afternoon shopping trip to the Masai Market. A woman I purchased items from in August 2007 saw me and came up to me. I was so surprised that she remembered me. I was looking for her as well. You can check out my website at www.UpFromTheDust.com in the next couple of weeks and we’ll highlight the “bone jewelry” that I buy from her. It sold out quickly the last time I got it!

Phyllis Mwangi and her husband joined the Vital Voices team, Eva and her daughters and myself for dinner. We got into a very interesting discussion about the Women’s Business Forum’s advocacy training that Eva conducted on Friday (see Kenya Day 1 blog). Or—I’ll save you the trouble and remind you of one thing that I wrote:
Advocating for “economic” issues has never been discussed before, they said. Advocacy here is generally about human rights so the idea of economic empowerment and advocacy is a first.

One of the presenters, Betty Murungi, Director of the Urgent Action Fund in Nairobi, talked about the importance of businesswomen to stay involved with the human rights advocacy as well. We had a great discussion about this at dinner. I mentioned that based on my experience with WIPP, I thought it might be important for the Women’s Business Forum (WBF) to make sure they focus on business and economic issues.

This created a lot of discussion about how violence against women, gender discrimination and overall human rights violations are an economic issue. If an entire generation is dying of AIDS, where are we are business owners going to find our employees? If women are beaten and battered by their husbands, they can’t go to work and that affects the economy. If girls are married off at age 15—or lower—society is potentially missing years and years of economic contribution from that girl.

Melysa Sperber from Vital Voices, a lawyer who has experience representing human rights’ victims, cited a US Supreme Court decision that upheld a lower court ruling which declared that violence against women is even an interstate commerce issue.

Again, as I said earlier, I am active with Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP), which represents more than 500,000 women business owners on Capital Hill. WIPP has more than 30 women business groups as coalition partners. However, you will not see WIPP take an issue on a breast cancer bill, for example. WIPP only responds to issues that relate to small business or women-owned business, not to women’s issues.

Part of the strategy behind that is to keep a focus. Part of its policy statement reads “Matters which are not directly relevant to the economic health and well-being of constituent businesses are not part of our agenda.”

So, the scourge of AIDS on society does affect a business, but maybe that can be covered by making sure that businesses can afford to provide health care benefits? This is just one example. But the Supreme Court decision also shows the impact on human rights issues when businesses get involved or commerce is affected. So if more businesses and business associations got involved with human rights issues, would we move more quickly in these areas?

One suggestion I made is that for a group like the WBF, maybe economics is the umbrella and the human rights issues are visibly mentioned under that umbrella. That begs the question that should human rights issues be treated as second-rate issues—or is that how it would be perceived?

This discussion can go around and around. Will WBF, especially since it is just beginning, be less effective if they don’t keep a focus? Another great suggestion was—are any of the 30+ coalition partners in WIPP groups that are predominantly advocating for human rights issues, women’s health care issues, etc.? If not, maybe those groups need to do more to reach out and work together with business groups and add the economic impact of their issues to the forefront of their advocacy!

We continued this discussion on Monday with the NIKE Foundation representatives, because their programs really look at the economic empowerment of adolescent girls because overall, that helps increase the living situations of the girls, their families and their communities…..So again, does economics lead the human rights issue, or vice versa? More on the NIKE Foundation program later this week as we get into the training.

I encourage readers of this blog to respond to this discussion—what do you think?

Dr. Auma Obama

2008-12-01T12:17:00.002-07:00

Here I am at the mentoring walk with Dr. Auma Obama, the Sport for Social Change Initiative Coordinator for CARE International in East Africa (and half-sister of our President-Elect!). My t-shirt was printed by Color Creations in Kenya, the business which is owned by Eva Muraya.

2008-11-29T23:50:00.001-07:00

Saturday, November 29, 2008
The Women Mentor Walk (WMW) mentoring walk was really a great experience. It was held at the Nairobi Safari Walk of Kenya Wildlife Services. There were about 300-400 women walking. Women were randomly paired up and we walked and talked and looked at the animals.

I went as a mentor and had three women walk with me. One was in her 20s and worked in the Human Resources department of a bank, another was 37 and is the head of Human Resources for a outdoor advertising display company and a 30-year-old woman is a General Practitioner M.D.

A training for mentors was held earlier in the month that I was clearly not able to attend. We were given hand-outs that we could follow that discussed pillars of leadership development, social development and character. Signs were posted along the route (approximately 1 ½ miles) suggesting these topics, as well.

What a terrific morning. We did see some animals, although a lot were hiding in the bush. A brazen baboon (which may be an oxymoron) came up and took a woman’s bag and ripped it open before someone from the Park scared it away. All the other animals were secure behind fences—including the lion, miniature hippos, albino zebras, antelope and many other animals that we saw.

As we walked and talked, it wasn’t important who the mentor or mentee. We talked as women discussing different situations we were in—at our jobs, in our career, with our families, in our life path—and helped each other with suggestions. Jane, the 37-year-old, wants to mentor women so she participated in this walk to get some ideas, and build her confidence.

The main theme for the walk was Pay It Forward and help mold the next generation of leaders. The first WMW was held in New York in 2005and the initiative was founded by Geraldine Laybourne, the Chair and CEO of Oxygen Media. The walk has now spread to four states, Kenya and 10 other countries, including Argentina, Peru, Serbia, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Tanzania, Ghana, Egypt, Jordan and Russia. It is now an initiative of the U.S. State Department-Vital Voices-Fortune 500 Mentorship program.

Dr. Auma Obama was a special guest. She is the Coordinator for CARE International in East Africa and half-sister of U.S. President-Elect Barack Obama. I had a chance to talk to her and we plan on getting together again later in the week. I brought medical supplies from the U.S. that I donated to her to give to some of the clinics she might work with.

Both mentors and mentees were quite excited by the half-day event and I look forward to hearing from my three mentees. Each is on a different path (one has one-year-old twin girls) and I look forward to sharing that with them and seeing them again upon a return visit to Kenya.

Kenya - Day 1

2008-11-28T12:57:00.005-07:00

I arrived in Nairobi last night after 29 hours of travel from Sedona. Vital Voices contracted me to do a training here next week which I will talk about further in a future blog. I am participating in two other Vital Voices events before next week’s training.

Vital Voices was started in 1997 by then-First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright after the UN’s Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing to promote the advancement of women as a US Foreign policy goal. It is the preeminent non-governmental organization (NGO) that identifies, trains and empowers emerging women leaders and social entrepreneurs around the globe, enabling them to create a better world and providing these women with the capacity, connections and credibility they need to unlock their leadership potential. In June 2000 Vital Voices Global Partnership was created as nonprofit. Besides Senator Clinton (D-NY), the other two honorary co-chairs are Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, (R-TX) and Nancy Kassebaum Baker, former US Senator (R-KS). For more, go to www.VitalVoices.org.

I have spoken at conferences for Vital Voices before, including leadership conferences for Latin American women in Miami, FL, African women in Capetown, South Africa (2007), and Eura-Asia women in Kiev, Ukraine (2007).

My first day here in Kenya I attended a “Women’s Business Forum” which reminded me a lot of WIPP (Women Impacting Public Policy). The WBF (www.womensbusinessforum.org) is sponsored by Vital Voices and The Gates Foundation. My good friend here, Eva Muraya, put the program together.

About 20 leading women entrepreneurs in Kenya trained in advocacy skills to enable them to face up the challenges of engaging stakeholders so that policies and legal barriers can be changed to create a more enabling and level economic playing field for women.

The main objective of WBF is to improve the quality of lives among women and to secure the rights and opportunities for women in business, governance and leadership positions. This will be realized through the following specific objectives:
1. to enhance women’s participation in policy making process
2. To impart gender advocacy skills among emerging women leaders
3. To establish increased access to finance for women entrepreneurs
4. Gender mainstreaming of government projects, financial services providers, corporate governance and legal
structures.

Advocating for “economic” issues has never been discussed before, they said. Advocacy here is generally acout human rights so the idea of economic empowerment and advocacy is a first.

The speakers lined up were extremely impressive. Jane Kiragu, Managing Director of Satima Consultants Ltd, organized the seminar with Eva. She is a lawyer and an advocate of the High Court of Kenya. She is a household name in Kenya and has over 18 years of experience in human rights law, lobbying, research, training, facilitation, evaluations, operational management and legal work. She said there are five fluid stages of advocacy: issue identification, developing solutions, awareness building (building political support), policy action and evaluating the policy.

An icon in Kenya politics is Mrs. Rose Waruhiu, a former member of Parliament. Her public service career spanned 35 years. She served as a fellow at IOP Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Betty Murungi, Director of the Urgent Action Fund in Nairobi, talked about “trading up” your advocacy. She has a degree in law and was a fellow at the Harvard Law School’s Human Rights Program in 2005-2006. She has extensive experience in the Human Rights of Women and was awarded the international Advocate for Peace Award by the Cardozo Law School in New York.

She drew a spiral with “me and mine” in the middle. As the spiral unfolds is the “team” or your “company/business.,” The next part of the cycle is community and then policy change, followed by regional, national and global. After global is social entrepreneurship. She calls the inner part the “me, me, me. You will always revert back to this if you go through a divorce, your spouse dies—we tighten up. If we’re here, we go around in circles and someone else controls your life.” But if you continue progressing in advocacy, you eventually go global and become a social entrepreneur.

It was a fascinating day, hearing a different culture discuss advocacy and seeing how much work there is for all of us to do in research (thank goodness for the Center for Women’s Business Research in the U.S.!) and advocacy. And thank goodness for WIPP that has gotten us so far down the road in the U.S.!

I’ll be up early tomorrow morning for the First Annual Women Mentoring Women (WMW) Walk.

The WMW walk is an annual event that will be held in 15 countries around the world including Kenya.. It is an initiative of the Vital Voices-Fortune 500 Mentorship program alumni around the world. It is an exciting opportunity to pay it forward.
I will not have a mentor there, but the 500 expected attendees will be teams of seasoned entrepreneurs and young women ages 21-30. While walking the 1.5-2 kilometers, the women will share wisdom and experience in the areas of leadership, character and social etiquette. For more info go to
http://storymojaafrica.co.ke/main/events/first-annual-women-mentoring-women-walk/ or come back here tomorrow when I report on the walk! Time for bed—its been a tough day to stay awake!

Thoughts from the last Presidential debate:

2008-10-17T17:02:00.002-06:00

SPECIAL NEEDS AND SCHOOL VOUCHERS
I have a special needs child who went through special education in school. She graduated from high school, is a good reader, has a job and lives almost independently. Much of this has to do with the quality of education that she received.

There is no way that one person can be both an advocate for special needs children AND for school vouchers. Most private and charter schools do not accept children with special needs. Legally, they don’t have to. Legally, public schools have to. Why would we give public money to a school that doesn’t have to accept all children?

There is a similar problem with teacher incentives. How are these incentives going to be determined? By testing scores? Then special education and resource teachers, and many ESL teachers, who may be the best of the best, would never get incentive pay.

TAXES
If Joe the plumber has a business that makes more than $250,000, and his income is $250,000 (the only type of income that Obama is proposing to tax), then I say—he needs a better accountant.

OK, all joking aside, I think things were getting mixed up—there is a difference between what a business makes and what the owner of the business makes. There are a lot of business costs that will dwindle that $250,000 gross revenue quickly.

WOMEN BUSINESS OWNERS
Why was Josephine the plumber not mentioned? We’ve addressed Joe six-pack, Joe the plumber…what about Joanna the single mother, Jill who has to find the health insurance and health care for her family, Jackie who works two jobs to make ends meet, Jessica who was passed over for a promotion and it was given to a younger man, Jana who owns her own business and is looking at having to lay off 10% of her employees, Jezebel who worked hours on a proposal and was on a winning bid for a federal government contract job but the prime contractor ended up doing her portion of the work in-house, or June who can’t get a business loan because she was late on some of her cancer treatment payments. (Regards to the Women’s Media Center for prompting these thoughts).

THE SHOW GOES ON

2008-09-02T09:06:00.002-06:00

The Republican Convention started on Monday in St. Paul but was scaled back to only an afternoon event due to Hurricane Gustav. Our WIPP event was from 2-4 p.m. and the Convention was 2-5 p.m. so we did not make any Convention activities.

The delegates I spoke to were very understanding of the changes that were made. Unless everyone is on message point, no one at all stated disappointment or dismay. It was so obvious that this is what needed to be done. Some of the delegates even said it gave them some breathing room to enjoy other things throughout the Twin Cities and some of the other Convention meetings—such as the WIPP event.

The evening parties were not cancelled. We went to AT&T/Blue Cross and Lifetime parties. The Beach Boys were the highlight at AT&T. At every event, there was information and immediate ways that people could donate to hurricane relief efforts. The AT&T and Blue Cross party had donation forms. The Red Cross had a table set up at the entry to the Lifetime Party.

AT&T and other wireless companies have ways to easily text a donation to the American Red Cross (and the donation appears on your cell phone bill). To help the victims of Hurricane Gustav, you can use your cell phone to donate $5. Just text the keyword “Give” (4483) to the address 2HELP (24357).

There was a huge sigh of relief by everyone during the day that the anticipated severe damage to New Orleans did not happen. This also helped the positive and upbeat atmosphere.

The Twin Cities are not as “twin” as we had imagined. Both downtowns and Convention Center areas have a lot of activities. But they are a $30 cab ride apart from each other so it takes specific planning, unless you have an unlimited budget, to determine what you want to do and the locations.

We did take a couple of hours to go to Civic Fest at the Minneapolis Convention Center. It was a terrific hall of historical, presidential and Minnesota displays. There were replicas of the White House and Air Force One and real presidential limousines. There were films and displays on presidential history. The Smithsonian Museum had moved part of their display of First Lady dresses here for the Convention.

There was a vendor area. One vendor “guessed wrong” and had McCain-Romney buttons! I bought two—these might be collector items. I was surprised at how many bi-partisan and non-partisan booths were there, which was an encouraging sign. I was also surprised at how nasty some of buttons and bumper stickers were against the Democrats and Democrat Presidential nominee Barack Obama. This really doesn’t seem necessary. One bumper sticker said “Republican Women Like Men.” What is that trying to imply?

SALUTE TO WOMEN’S BUSINESS LEADERSHIP

The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE) and Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) hosted a tea in AT&T’s meeting suite at Brit’s Pub in Minneapolis. The tea was to “celebrate our leaders who support U.S. competitiveness, innovation and entrepreneurship.” WIPP also presented its Economic Blueprint: The Women Business Owners Platform for Growth.

Karen Kerrigan, President & CEO of the SBE Council, and Barbara Kasoff, President and CEO of WIPP, both spoke. Opening remarks were given by Carly Fiorina, the RNC 2008 Victory Chairman and former CEO of Hewlett-Packard.

She said that women balance family budgets, grow businesses at twice the rate of men, and make the health care, education and consumer choices. Then consider the fact that small business creates two-thirds of all jobs and it is clear that women will decide this election.

She committed to get the Economic Blueprint directly to Senator John McCain, the Republican nominee for President.

She also got cheers about Sarah Palin’s nomination for Vice President. She sited Palin’s executive experience as head of a family, mayor and governor. In a private conversation I had with Fiorina before the program began, we talked about the media treatment of powerful women.

Fiorina was fired from Hewlett-Packard the same week that the major indictments came down for Enron and World Com. Yet her firing received 10 times the media coverage. I heard her state this in a keynote speech at a Women’s Leadership Exchange event and addressed that with her again. She said she was curious to see how the media would treat Palin. I said, “They took off after Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama and Cindy McCain.” She agreed that we needed to stand up for all women and said, “Sometimes principles are more important than partisanship.”

Marilyn Carlson Nelson, the former Chairman and CEO of Carlson, Inc., was the keynote speaker. She has a new book out on “The Power of Leadership.” She sited a study that showed that Middle School girls say they do not want to go into business because business is not aligned with their values. This obviously needs to change.

By the time Ann Sullivan who does government relations for WIPP spoke on the Blueprint, at least one-third of the audience had left. Good lesson that policy should come first on an agenda.

In a recent conversation with a woman who leads a non-profit health care association, she said she worked hours on a story with a Glamour magazine reporter. The key to her for this story was a call to action on pending legislation—for readers to contact their legislators to support the bill. She was extremely dismayed when Glamour left out mention of the legislation and the call to action.

Evidently the Glamour editors did not think their readers were interested in legislation. This type of perception can be reinforced by the fact that so much of the audience left before the Blueprint was presented at the SBE and WIPP event.

These are more examples of how we have to continue to work to get the word out on the vital importance of women and small business owners to LET THEIR VOICES BE HEARD.

And by the way, my friend who would not do the Lifetime segment at the State Fair, did it at the Lifetime party. She understood that she has to add her voice! Each small step and victory counts!

PREPARING FOR REPUBLICAN CONVENTION

2008-09-01T08:58:00.001-06:00

Hurricane Gustav is obviously overtaking the news, rightfully so. The Republicans have cut back on their events today (Monday) and the schedule will be determined day by day. WIPP is going ahead with our meeting today. I saw that Cindy McCain has arrived, although President Bush and Vice President Chaney, and several Governors from the Gulf Coast, have understandably cancelled.

Some of went to the Minnesota State Fair yesterday—an All-American Day. Lifetime TV had a booth there and wanted people to speak for 30 seconds about what they would do if they were President. It will be posted on U-Tube. I spoke about WIPP’s Economic Blueprint and Small Business, of course.

It was the end of a long day and we were exhausted, but I was still disappointed, and a bit dismayed, that my two woman friends would not do it. One is a small business owner.

We really need to have our voices heard—no matter what it takes. They were asking for only 30 seconds—not an intellectually perfect dissertation.

Again—write, speak—get whatever your message is out! Participate in SBTV.com, WIPP. LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD.

ON MY WAY TO THE REPUBLICAN CONVENTION

2008-09-01T08:49:00.001-06:00

The WIPP contingent flew out of Denver to Minneapolis. There were a lot of media on our flights (as most attendees go to one convention or the other, not both). We’ve got the weekend to catch up on our other work before we start up again. Of course, the media is full of news on how the impending hurricane will affect the convention, and Governor Sarah Palin’s announcement as Senator John McCain’s VP nominee.

We are getting a lot of questions about what we think of Palin’s nomination. WIPP does not endorse any candidate. We encourage women to run for political office, from community boards to federal elective office. In fact, a recent nationwide survey commissioned by WIPP told us that our members place a great deal of importance in electing more women to public office and feel that the country would be better governed if more women, and specifically more women business owners, in office.
However, WIPP’s sole mission is to educate women business owners on the economic issues before Congress that affect their business growth – and they, alone, will decide which candidate to support.
According to the survey, women small business owners are nearly unanimous in their intent to vote in the November election, and a majority feel that they have some degree of influence on the outcome of the election. Our members are almost evenly divided between the two candidates, and one in six are undecided. They are similarly divided over which candidate would be best for small business.
The economic picture is the top issue for small businesses today, followed by other pocket book concerns like taxes and gas prices. WIPP worked together with 30 small business organizations to develop its Economic Blueprint. WIPP and its partners are united on six economic areas that are essential to our economic growth: healthcare, procurement, taxes, access to capital, energy and telecommunications, and the Blueprint is our call to action to Congress. We call upon Congress to adopt the principles contained in the Blueprint, as they are essential for small business growth. It represents our action plan to remove the constraints that inhibit the success and growth of women enterprises. The Economic Blueprint was unveiled at both the Democratic and Republican conventions, and will be the primary focus of WIPP’s Annual Meeting on September 8-9 in Washington, DC.

INVESCO FIELD

2008-09-01T08:48:00.002-06:00

It’s hard to even begin writing about the last day of the Democratic Convention. Presidential nominee Barack Obama (we can now drop “presumptive”) spoke to me and 84,999 others at the Invesco Stadium in Denver. That speech was well-covered so I won’t speak much more about it now.

There was five hours of programming before Obama spoke. Jennifer Hudson sang one of the most beautiful renditions of the Star Spangled Banner that I’ve ever heard (right there behind Marvin Gaye and Jeffrey Osborne). Vice President and Nobel Prize Winner Al Gore gave a rousing speech to the crowd.

It was a combination of a rock concert and another marathon of speeches. Sheryl Crow and Stevie Wonder played, and Michael McDonald, who was kept to only one song.

The other speeches were pretty much more of the same—generals, Republicans, other politicos—giving their support to Obama. A particularly touching moment was when Martin Luther King III spoke, on the anniversary of his father’s “I Have a Dream” speech, and said how proud he would be.

The Obama campaign asked the crowd to text to the DNC to show their support. No one around me could get any cell phone signal for the next hour—the request probably overloaded the service in the area and shut it down, or significantly slowed it down.

Eight “regular citizens” proceeded Obama’s speech. One of them was a small business owner. Obama’s speech also touched on small business. I felt small business was well represented, especially after my earlier experiences highlighted in the previous blog.

While Obama spoke, there were as many tears throughout the stadium as cheers. The Olympic comparison continues as the evening ended with a fantastic display of fireworks. (And because they ran out of food and drink at a lot of stands, as well as t-shirts, hats, etc).

LAST DAY OF DEM CONVENTION

2008-09-01T08:48:00.001-06:00

I attended the Women’s Caucus meeting on Thursday morning. It was great to hear so many women speak who are in public office. The highlight of the morning was Michelle Obama’s speech.

Only one speaker mentioned women as a voting bloc—and small business ownership wasn’t mentioned at all. The Ohio representative who mentioned women as a voting bloc talked about “women in mini-vans.”

But it hit me at this caucus that perhaps I was starting to “whine.” It’s not enough to sit and complain about small business not being mentioned enough. The big issue is—what are we going to do about it? Well, I’m doing part of it, by showing up at the conventions and being a part of the process. And even more importantly, being bi-partisan.

We need to write letters to our representatives, to newspapers and be involved in the dialogue. Our time will come if we keep up this work. Being involved in associations like WIPP is vital.

This was hit home even more in the afternoon when I attended the meeting for Obama’s campaign on small business. In my introduction I stated my disappointment that small business wasn’t mentioned more from the podium. Another gentleman disagreed with me and said that Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez’s speech on small business was great and that we should be pleased that we even got there. “There were many other issues that never got mentioned from the podium that people feel passionate about,” he said, “including HIV-AIDS.”

I realized he’s right. Our steps may be small, but we’re making them. And we have to keep up the hard work to be recognized as the voting block and economic engine that we are.

NEWS COVERAGE and OLYMPIC COMPARISON

2008-08-28T08:29:00.002-06:00

When small business isn’t mentioned from the podium, that means small business isn’t in the news coverage. And the snowball effect keeps going. That’s why we have our work cut out for us to get the voices of SMALL BUSINESS and WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESS heard.

Today’s news coverage is primarily on President Clinton’s speech. And Joe Biden’s. I personally think the speech that should get coverage is the one by Major Tammy Duckworth. I encourage you to go on the web to read about her.

OLYMPIC COMPARISON

Yesterday brought more Olympic comparisons to mind. Pin trading is big at the Olympics. Buttons, buttons and more buttons is big at the Convention.

And, of course, that public transit being the slowest way to go.

IN THE BUILDING, BUT NO SEAT

2008-08-28T08:22:00.002-06:00

Another day at the Convention, another evening of fantastic speeches, but no mention of small business at all.

Yesterday I wrote that “at least I was in the building.” I should learn to be more specific. Last night I got into the Pepsi Center again. But there were NO seats. So how did I see President Bill Clinton’s speech? On a TV monitor in the hallway.

I did snag a standing spot (where I really was not credentialed to be) so I got to see Vice President Nominee Joe Biden’s speech and the surprise appearance of Barack Obama.

I have to look back at another similar example. In the summer of 1999 I had surgery to remove a cantaloupe-sized tumor. Needless to say, I spent most of that summer in the hospital, doctors’ offices and cancer centers for treatment. In the summer of 2000 my daughter had major back surgery. Another summer of hospitals and doctors’ offices. In the summer of 2001, my dad had a stroke and was in the hospital for three weeks before he died. The spring of 2002, I said—I just want a summer without going to the hospital.

Well, I should watch every word I say as in September it was diagnosed that my cancer had returned and – yep, I was back in the hospital to have surgery. Next time I'll ask for a year, not a summer.

Well, I feel the same way about saying “At least I was in the building.” I should have said, “At least I had a seat in the building.” I got credentials and got into the building last night, but there was no seat.

The shuttle buses are the SLOWEST way to get to the Convention. We should have walked again. The buses sit and wait to get full (there were only two people on it when we got on). Then it takes the most circuitous route possible. We also had to wait for hundreds of cyclists to ride by us.

We got to the Pepsi Center just as President Clinton started speaking. Being so late is probably why I didn’t get a seat. I noticed that Michelle Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton had seats. They must have gotten there earlier.

The worst part about not getting a seat is that I didn’t get any signs. I’m collecting signs from the two conventions to bring back to two classes at home.

THE ENTHUSIASM AND OPTIMISM OF THE ENTREPRENEUR

2008-08-27T09:44:00.000-06:00

Besides the mentions of small business being few and far between, the primary thing missing for me was the enthusiasm and optimism of the entrepreneur.

Speaker after speaker talked about our energy crisis and our poor economy. Citizen speeches were predominantly people who had lost their jobs. Many of the politicians spoke about how poor they were growing up.

Small business owners are inherently enthusiastic. We work long hours and we have a lot of challenges but we continue to believe that we can create opportunities, create jobs, give back to our communities and expand our goals.

It is commonly said that small business owners are the economic engine of our economy. Not the corporations. If that is the case, why are we ignored from these important podiums?

I think examples of thriving (small) businesses could have been highlighted without making the economy or energy crisis seem “OK.” What about tutoring businesses that are growing because our education system has so many holes in it? What about bio-tech businesses that are thriving because of stem cell and scientific research that many Republicans seem to oppose? Or the small businesses that are finding energy alternatives that one of the speakers alluded to?

That’s why what WIPP is doing at the Conventions is so important. WIPP is the nation’s largest bipartisan group of women business owners. It is unveiling the “Economic Blueprint – The Women Business Owners Platform for Growth” at the 2008 Democratic and Republican National conventions. Created as a guidebook for Congress and the next administration, the Economic Blueprint outlines the public policies necessary to help women entrepreneurs grow their businesses in the 21st Century.

Women entrepreneurs are a growing force in our nation, owning 10.4 million businesses and generating $1.9 trillion in annual revenues. However, there are still several obstacles impeding our growth. “t is our expectation that each and every member of Congress, regardless of party, and the incoming administration, will take action to make the principles outlined in the Economic Blueprint a reality.

Released 20 years after the historic Women’s Business Ownership Act of 1988 (HR 5050), which paved the way for an unprecedented growth in the number of women entrepreneurs, the Economic Blueprint picks up where HR 5050 left off. Included in the Economic Blueprint are six critical public policy areas that affect the expansion of women-owned businesses today: Healthcare, Access to Capital, Energy, Procurement, Taxes and Telecommunications.

WIPP members believe these principles will allow women business owners to flourish in a global marketplace. We have that entrepreneurial optimism. By embracing the goals and principles which are spelled out in the Economic Blueprint, WIPP joins the strong coalition of women business organizations working to ensure women achieve the parity which they have been seeking since 1988.

Talk about messages of “hope.” My hope is that success stories can be used as effectively as stories of hard times and despair.

Where Oh Where is Small Business?

2008-08-27T09:07:00.004-06:00

The Pepsi Center was packed last night. I felt so lucky to have a credential to be there. And I felt lucky that I got there early enough to get a seat!

Yes, you get a better view by watching on TV. I hear people say the same thing about going to sporting events. But to me, there’s nothing like experiencing it live.

The people on the stage were only small blurs I was so high up. But as the saying goes: “At least I was in the building.”

I am here to represent Women Impacting Public Policy. So I paid particular attention to what, if anything, was said about small business. Unfortunately, I didn’t have to take too many notes.

Speaker after speaker said nothing about small business. The theme on Tuesday night definitely seemed to be “energy” and “hard times.”

The first speaker I heard mention small business was Nancy Floyd, founder of Nth Power, an energy technology investment firm in Portland, Oregon. She mentioned that small businesses can help solve the energy crisis and how they are getting private funding, but no assistance from the government. I wanted to hear more.

Then the Honorable Nydia Velazquez, member of the US House of Representatives from New York and Chair of the House Small Business Committee, spoke. Her entire speech was on small business and women-owned businesses. “There are billions in lost opportunities because women business owners do not have access to the marketplace. We must demand a level playing field. Neglecting small business is what creates unemployment.”

Her ending words were, “Small business is big business in America. The entrepreneurial spirit is the backbone of this country.”

Speech after speech, I’m not sure how many people listen. They are truly waiting for the evening headliners and only the headliners are covered live on television.

The keynote address was by the Honorable Mark Warner, Senate candidate and former Governor of Virginia. He was a small business owner and briefly talked about his three endeavors.

Governor Warner gave a good speech but what a difficult position he was in (which he mentioned). The keynote speech four years ago was given by the junior Senator from Illinois, Barack Obama. And the real headliner was yet to come.

Three current governors spoke after Warner and –before Hillary—and gave great speeches—Ted Strickland of Ohio, Deval Patrick of Massachusetts and Brian Schweitzer of Montana, who was particularly entertaining. Any of these three would have been great if featured as “the” keynote.

Senator Hillary Clinton brought down the house. She did mention small business once but clearly, it was not the focus of her speech.

President Bill Clinton arrived just before Governor Warner’s speech. Right before Hillary spoke, white Hillary signs were passed out throughout the Pepsi Center. I saw President Clinton refuse the signs that were being passed to him.

From the Olympics to the Democratic Convention

2008-08-27T06:36:00.002-06:00

I can’t help but feel a bit of déjà vu here in Denver at the Democratic National Convention. I was in Beijing for the first 10 days of the Olympics earlier this month. There are a lot of similarities. The different venues (I must have walked miles yesterday going from one event to another—and picking up credentials). The police presence—although it is much for obvious here than it even was in China. And the police seem to have a lot more “gear” here (bullet proof vests, many things attached to their belts, helmets, etc) than the police did in China.

And the crowds! (Photo on the top is from Denver, other is from Beijing). One of my few criticisms of the Olympics in Beijing was that you had to have an event ticket to get into Olympic Park. So instead of a party atmosphere in this incredible spot, it almost always seemed “deserted.” That would be like saying you have to have a credential to get onto the 16th Street Mall here in Denver. Not so. The party atmosphere is present in Denver and the streets are lively until late at night.

There must be hundreds of vendors selling every type of t-shirt, button and sign imaginable. I have a budget from two school classrooms back home and it will be easy to fulfill their orders within budget—it’ll just be hard to choose. So far my favorite button is “Hillary is for Obama and So Am I.”

Despite the crowds, of course, I run into people I know. Totally accidentally. I can’t necessarily say that happened in China!

LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD

2008-08-26T05:41:00.001-06:00

My overall goal for my business, and my passion, is to help people let their voices be heard. I particularly (or at least most often) work with women.
Men tend to be more visible. When you think of powerful women, Hillary and Oprah may be the top two that come to mind. But there are many women who have a wide range of influence across a wide range of industries and in both public and private sectors. So why is the population of women so invisible? Without role models, young women may not go after positions that they want to achieve.
Women tend to think that if others recognize their work, they'll be rewarded for it. That is not necessarily the case.
And in the times of the upcoming Presidential election, women are one of the largest, if not THE largest, voting blocks. We got a lot of attention during a previous election as "soccer moms." Yes, many of us are proud mothers. Yes, many of us car pool our kids around to soccer, music lessons, gymnastics, play dates, etc.
But seriously, how insulting. We are businesswomen. We lead the drive to save our environment. We influence most of the consumer purchases. Implying that all we do is shuttle our children around limits our voice and limits the dialogue.
I am attending both conventions with Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP). WIPP, the nation’s largest bipartisan group of women business owners, will join a coalition of 30 women’s business organizations in unveiling the “Economic Blueprint – The Women Business Owners Platform for Growth” at the 2008 Democratic and Republican National conventions. Created as a guidebook for Congress and the next administration, the Economic Blueprint outlines the public policies necessary to help women entrepreneurs grow their businesses in the 21st Century.

Women's Right to Vote

2008-08-26T05:39:00.000-06:00

Some women won’t vote this year because – why, exactly? We have carpool duties? We have to get to work? Our vote doesn’t matter? It’s raining?

Read this story and maybe you’ll change your mind:
The women were innocent and defenseless. And by the end of the night, they were barely alive.

Forty prison guards wielding clubs and their warden’s blessing went on a rampage against the 33 helpless wrongly convicted of “obstructing sidewalk traffic.” They beat Lucy Burn, chained her hands to the cell bars above her head and left her hanging for the night, bleeding and gasping for air. They hurled Dora Lewis into a dark cell, smashed her head against an iron bed and knocked her out cold. Her cellmate, Alice Cosu, thought Lewis was dead and suffered a heart attack. Additional affidavits describe the guard grabbing, dragging, beating, choking, slamming, pinching, twisting and kicking the women.

Thus unfolded the “Night of Terror” on November 15, 1917, when the warden at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia ordered his guards to teach a lesson to the suffragists imprisoned there because they dared to picket Woodrow Wilson’s White House for the right to vote.

For weeks, the women’s only water come from an open pail. Their food – all of it colorless slops – was infested with worms. When one of the leaders, Alice Paul, embarked on a hunger strike, they tied her to a chair, forced a tube down her throat and poured liquid into her until she vomited. She was tortured like this for four weeks until word was smuggled out to the press.

It is jarring to think Woodrow Wilson and his cronies tried to persuade a psychiatrist to declare Alice Paul insane so that she could be permanently institutionalized. And it is inspiring to watch the doctor refuse. Alice Paul was strong, he said, and brave. That didn’t make her crazy.

The doctor admonished the men: “Courage in women is often mistaken for insanity.”

What would those women think of the way women today use – or don’t use – their right to vote?

August 18 was the 88th Anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution. It’s time to consider how far US women have come in the last 88 years, and how much farther we have to go.

WIPP is proud to be releasing The Economic Blueprint, the Women Business Owners’ Platform for Growth, at the Republican and Democratic Conventions (and in Washington, DC to Congress on September 9th). The Blueprint, comprised of research derived from WIPP members and members of its Coalition Partners over the last year, will provide a clear roadmap for Congress and the New Administration of the policy needs and objectives in the coming years.

We are especially proud of the Blueprint because it is has been created with no corporate funds, and is being supported by the many women business owners who have agreed to sign onto the Blueprint as sponsors.