Have you ever put something in the oven, only to get distracted and end up overcooking it?

I used to do it all the time — especially once I started my business. In the oven went dinner, then I was off to check emails or write.

An hour later there was a burning smell (and “yes”, baking potatoes CAN explode in your oven!).

Then I discovered the freedom that a simple timer could bring. Set it, off to do whatever and come back when it beeps.

I employ the same principle in my business using a Polder Digital Timer (it’s the visual of digital “sand” that makes this far and above other timers):

• Love (or not-so-much) writing? Give yourself X time to get the writing done, set your timer and GO!
• Coaching? Set your timer for the call time — when it beeps, call’s over. This keeps you on track with your day and helps you with boundaries.
• Spending too much time, or not enough, on Twitter, Facebook and Linked In? Set your timer. . .
• Email? Set your timer. . .
• My timer allows me to easily split my day into chunks, knowing that the timer gives me the freedom to completely focus on a task while staying on track with my day. After all, it’s been said that “work expands to fill the time allotted”.

It’s such a huge benefit to me, that it’s been a standard gift I send out to clients for years.

Try it. . .you may be surprised at the effect it has on your productivity. . .and your sanity.

A Strategic Marketing & Profitability Mentor, Sandra Martini (www.SandraMartini.com), creator of Escalator Marketing™, shows creative heart-based entrepreneurs how to build sustainable businesses without losing their integrity or their minds. You can catch up with Sandra on her blog at www.FromTheDeskOfSandraMartini.com or Twitter at www.Twitter.com/SandraMartini

The Woman Business Owner of The Year Award
2010 Recipient: Gretta Spendlove, a partner with Durham Jones & Pinegar

And Rising Star Award
2010 Reciepient: Amanda Moxley of Amada Moxley, LLC

Cocktails and Social Hour at 6:30

Dinner served at 7:00p.m.

Wednesday June 16th, 2010

Marriott University Park Hotel

480 Wakara Way · Salt Lake City, UT 84108

Early Bird Registration by June 9th – Register now!

$45.00 per person

$80.00 per couple

Thanks to our Gold Event Sponsor -
Wells Fargo Women’s Financial Services

Presented by Therese Skelly, Business Coach

What you will learn during this workshop:

• The signs and hidden costs of ‘hiding out’ or not being as BOLD as you can be.
• How the B.O.L.D. formula can get you on course to having the business that will serve you and your clients well
• Why ‘owning’ your business is the #1 most important thing you can do.
• The high cost of the ‘do-it-yourself’ mentality and ways to get away from that.

May 19, 2010

11:30-1:00pm
Zion’s Bank
Foothill Village, 1304 Foothill Drive
Salt Lake City, UT 84101

Register Now!

NAWBO Members – $20

Non-Members – $30

For more information about Therese Skelly, check out her latest article on our News Blog.

Based on the surveys we have done over the last few years, YOU have told us that you want more networking, more sharing and more opportunities to build your business and HAVE FUN!

So on the first Wednesday of each month, NAWBO-SLC hosts a mixer where you can bring your business cards and your girl friends, mix, mingle and get some leads, support and have fun.

Our current Networking Mixer host is the Desert Edge Brewery in Trolley Square. There is valet parking (free) on the east side of the mall and a parking garage on the west side–just outside the brewery. Join us!

WHERE:  Desert Edge Brewery, Trolley Square, 600 East & 600 South

WHEN:  May 5, 2010 – 5:00–7:00pm

COST:  No-host mixer (which means it’s free but you buy your own drinks/dinner if you want)

WHY:  To network, provide support for other women business owners, and HAVE FUN!

For information, contact Marti at NAWBO.

There is an epidemic out there that is costing small business owners not only thousands of dollars in revenue, but more troubling is the cost of confidence, momentum, and integrity. I’m here to help solve this problem!

What’s the epidemic?

The fear of being big and bold and owning all the gifts you bring to the table as a business owner.  Most people go into business and spend all their time focusing on marketing, sales and getting money in the door, but they rarely stop to do the work on themselves. This is the key to mastery and also for creating a business that would really makes them happy.

The foundation for all the coaching I do comes out of my B.O.L.D™ Business Growth Formula.  This blends both the inner game (mindset) with the outer game (business strategy) that when combined, create much more rapid and lasting results because it takes into account YOU and your business.  Remember – as the owner, you are the business!

Let me share with you the elements of this powerful way of looking at business:

B:  BLAST IT!!!  We blast through the blocks, belief and barriers that are in your way

O:  OWN IT!!!  Own your unique vision, talent and style

L:  LEVERAGE IT!!! Your time, talent and team

D:  DESIGN IT!!!  To serve your life, your clients, and your legacy

If I can be honest, the most ‘juicy’ work for me is in the domain of helping business owners OWN their stuff.  (In fact, the word owner starts with the word own, so how fitting!)

Too often we go into business thinking we have to be a certain way, or let go of some of the unique, fun, or quirkier parts of our personality to be ‘professional.’  The things we did or loved in the past seem to get left at the door when we don the title of “Business Owner.”  And yet it’s these very things that when integrated, will give you far more passion and serve to attract the exact ideal clients that you’d love to work with.

I show you how to own your vision, your talent, and your unique style.  It’s here that so many clients come to me and find a really profound transformation when are taken through the process of getting to fully own all they want and who they are.

Ask yourself these questions to see if you are stuck anywhere in this piece of the process:

1. In the area of vision – is it yours or are you living someone else’s dream for you?
2. When we look at talent – do you really embrace and promote the expert that you are?
3. And for unique style – are you showing up and expressing yourself fully?

Now let me share with you some of the signs that you haven’t fully owned your brilliance.  You will experience procrastination, doubt and fear and indecision, do inconsistent marketing, not have a clear message so you won’t be getting referrals or be seen as an expert, and you won’t be charging what you are worth.  The cost is really quite high on so many levels if you think about it!

So how about if I give you a few pointers for how to begin to “OWN” what makes you magic?

First – if you were 25% more bold in expressing who you are, what would you do differently?  The funny thing…everyone knows this answer!  Deep inside you is a part that would do more, speak up more, write more, and be more fully and uniquely you.  Just make the commitment to do it.  Get support if you need to, but make a plan and put yourself out there a bit more to see what happens.

Next – take a look at what are you afraid of if you do show up more boldly or more with your personality shining through?  For most clients I work with it’s the fear that it won’t appear professional enough or there will be some judgment somewhere along the way.

Yes, if you are a banker you probably can’t dress in a very flamboyant manner, but running your business allows you the freedom to be who you are.  Leaning into some of those fears give you freedom to enjoy your life more every day.

And finally – remember that growing a business and marketing is just opening new relationships.  I liken it to dating in that if you reveal only little aspects of yourself and attempt to put on a façade, you will either attract no one, or worse yet, the complete wrong person.  While it takes some courage to be BOLD in your business, the more you put yourself out there, the greater the changes that your perfect “tribe” will find you!

Therese Skelly has been working for years in helping people overcome their barriers and create amazing things in life and business.  She has a Master’s Degree in counseling and practiced for 25 years.  In addition to her mindset and “inner game” expertise, Therese has been coached and mentored by the industries finest in the areas of marketing, sales, copywriting, and business strategy.  She’s also a certified and highly trained coach/business consultant who specializes in helping her clients create businesses that make them happy.  She works with her clients’ mindset and marketing because she’s passionate about showing people how to own their gifts and purpose and get that out in the world in a huge way.  You can visit her website at www.HappyInBusiness.com to download her free special report “Overcoming the 7 Biggest Money Drains in Your Business:  Tips and Tactics to Stop Losing Money Each Month.”

Register Now!

NAWBO Members – $20

Non-Members – $30

Woman Business Owner Rising Star award nominations due. NAWBO presents this award to a local business woman who has demonstrated entrepreneurial creativity and determination in successfully managing a business that is less than five years old. Awards presented at the June 16^th NAWBO Board installation event. Click here for nomination form. Submit nomination to office@nawboslc.org

Businesses are concerned with making a profit. Very simplified, profit is what you make when your revenue or income exceeds your expenses. When expenses exceed your revenue, you have a loss. These elements are tracked through a profit and loss (or P&L) statement.

Thus there are two ways to make or increase a profit: either bring in more money or spend less. This is often referred to as either top-line or bottom-line growth. Marketing helps you grow your top-line and can be used to manage some bottom-line expenses.

In order to guide your marketing efforts, it is helpful to first establish your goals. Once you set a target for how much you want to make, you can then figure out the steps to take in order to reach your goal.

There are two primary routes to generating revenue. The first is sometimes called Household Penetration. Let’s say you earn $1 each time you sell a widget. The more families who buy your widget, the more you make. The other approach is often called Frequency. Let’s say there are 100 people who buy from you, and they buy once a year. If some of those same 100 people bought from you twice a year, you would increase your revenue without having to find any new customers.

So, when you set your top-line growth goals, decide if you want to increase your household penetration (customer base, membership, readership, reach …), frequency or size of purchase, or both. Do you need to find more new customers or sell more to existing ones?

You can apply these formulas to non-business concerns as well. For instance, in your personal finances, you can increase your income or cut your expenses. With your blog, you might want to focus on finding more new readers or having your existing community read your posts more regularly.

In order to set your goals, you first need to know where you are starting. Collect some data. Determine all your sources of revenue — or readers — or whatever it is that you want to grow. Do some measurement over time. Establish a baseline – how many customers do you have in a year? How often do they buy from you on average? What is the amount that they spend in an average transaction?

See if the 80-20 rule (or some variation) applies; i.e., do 20% of your customers drive 80% of your sales? If so, what do their stats look like? For example, maybe 20% of your customers buy from you 10 times a year and the other 80% buy one time. What do your projections look like if you find new one-time buyers and what do they look like if your 10-time-a-year buyers increase to 12 times a year, or the existing one-time-a-year buyers increase to two times a year?

Play around with the numbers. And if you are just starting out, look at what others are doing and make some estimates of what you could potentially achieve in one month, six months, one year, five years.

Next, list out all your expenses, such as the cost of materials; anything you are paying to employees; what it costs to operate your workspace; fees for services; and so on. Look at which ones are the same no matter how much you sell and which ones vary as sales go up. If you find more readers for your blog, eventually you might have to pay for more bandwidth. If you create aprons that you sell on Etsy, finding a source of lower-cost fabric would reduce your expenses. In both cases, your attorney fees for incorporating or securing a trademark would be the same regardless of how many readers you have or aprons you sell.

Once you’ve gathered this data and made a simple P&L statement,it should be easier to see whether your goal should be to increase household penetration, frequency or both. And once you have your goals in place, you can start to plan how marketing can help you reach them.

Find more blogs by Maria at http://www.blogher.com/haystackprofile/viewprofile/Maria+Niles