The Marketing Mix | official blog of the Marketing Mentor community

Guest Post: Turning your passion into a profitable business

We go on and on here at the Marketing Mix about how a "real" job is not the sure thing it was for previous generations of gold-watch-and-full-pension retirees. Couple that with the rise in restlessness among an underchallenged, overburdened working population and you have the perfect conditions for striking out on your own. But how?

Christine L. Dennison, a fellow member of that amazing advice resource, the Ask Liz Ryan mailing list, recently answered that very question on the list with her own story about creating her job coaching business. It came from a place I think is so wise--creating a business around your own natural skills and passion--and was so helpful and well-written, I asked her if she minded sharing it here. Chris graciously accepted, and even agreed to author a few more guest posts, which I love: always great to get posts from a professional writer!

I set up my business twenty years ago when I decided that I really didn't want to go back to my corporate life when we started our family. I thought about what I could possibly do that people would be willing to pay for, and that I could do from home. I had been working for 15 years, had just spent 8 years as a headhunter, but had no desire to continue going after corporate clients -- I loved the process, but had always been frustrated that I wasn't getting paid to help anyone but those "perfect" candidates at the top of the food chain. I had developed skills in writing résumés, and I understood the hiring process.

I started by mailing a letter to everyone I knew (previous colleagues, friends, Lamaze class alums, etc.), announcing my new business. I self-published a one-page quarterly newsletter and looked for cheap advertising in school event brochures, village directories, etc. I bit the bullet and spent big bucks (for me) for a one-inch ad in the Donnelley Yellow Pages. Gradually, the business came. When the Internet came along, I added a website. Business was steady.

One challenge for you is to start charging for what you now do for free. You'll want to enlist your current network to help you in your marketing -- maybe continuing to help your current group for free and charging only new clients, especially since your current group is your best resource for new business. Since you're good at networking, you can now apply those skills and use those contacts to promote your business.

Christine Dennison, celebrating 19 years as The Job Search Coach, helps people find jobs they love through her résumé writing and job search coaching services. She offers a wealth of practical advice from her previous experience as a headhunter, as a corporate HR manager and trainer, and in business operations and marketing.

Ask Liz Ryan is the online community based on the workplace, work/life and networking advice of author, commentator and advisor Liz Ryan. Members use the group to get advice from Liz and from one another on careers, business, networking and work/life issues. Its mission is to support working people at the intersection of work and life.

November Networking in New York

I've said it more than once and I'll keep saying it until the economy turns around: face-to-face, in person, real time, networking is your number one marketing tool. Why?

The impact you make online doesn't hold a candle to the impact you make in person.

And as soon as the holidays hit, the networking turns to partying, which in my opinion, isn't nearly as productive.

So here are a few events coming up that we highly recommend you attend:

November 10 6:30 PM
How to Get Free Publicity for your Business
I have free tickets ($49 value) for the first 10 people who email me (ilise AT marketing-mentor DOT com)

November 13 7 AM - 7 PM
Women's Leadership Exchange: East Coast Summit

November 13 6 PM
Usability & Interaction Inside NYC Taxis: Design Lessons Learned
(part of World Usability Day)

November 18 6:30 PM
Spark Roundtable—Comparing Proposals

November 19  7:30 AM
Crains NY Business Small Business Awards Breakfast

November 19 in Brooklyn NY 6:30 PM
Freelancers Union first industry-specific event for the Film and Television Industry

Any others you know about? in New York or elsewhere?

An ebook about the value of tribes, by a triiibe who knows

Three months ago, marketing guru Seth Godin posted one item on his blog about a private, online group he was setting up on Ning.

The idea was to create a real-life experiment/lab to play with his ideas about community, or tribe, in the weeks leading up to the launch of his latest book, Tribes.

I was one of the people who made it into the triiibe, and was fairly active in the first month, meeting a number of interesting people it probably would have taken me a lot longer to meet in real life (most of us were only a degree or two or three apart--it's a small, small Internet world.)

My favorite of these new acquaintances, Mark Hayward, is an entrepreneur who chucked "regular" life to go open an island resort with his wife. He was in the throes of putting together a nifty nonprofit with Leo Babuta of Zen Habits and author-adventurer Dan Clements when triiibes came about, and was able to solicit a lot of help from the triiibe around his design, his marketing plan, his promotion--all kinds of many-minds stuff.

(Coincidentally--or maybe not--Mark just wrote an interesting post on the value of expanding your network during difficult times. He lists a number of people he's met via the Internet, myself included, whom he's started following to help him get over the social media learning curve. I found it extremely interesting that the links he shared were all from Twitter--another knife in the heart of the myth that it's nothing but a time suck.)

One of the projects Seth fostered in triiibes was an ebook about...tribes! It contains dozens of case studies, one by yours truly on the famed Group Theatre (see p. 220), and it's free!

Download the free Tribes Case Studies PDF ebook here.

Pretty interesting range of tribes in the book. Between that experiment and my month's working sabbatical in Seattle, meeting local members of Biznik, I'm getting full immersion in community.

What tribes are you a part of? How are they helping you day-to-day? And how are they helping you in these weird economic times?

Trade Show Prep

A Marketing Mentor client who is targeting the specialty food market will be attending the Natural Food Expo East this week in Boston and asked how to prepare to approach prospects she's been calling.

Here's my answer:

Refresh your memory about your last conversation and ask where they are  in relation to what you discussed, if they're made any progress, if anything has changed, if they are affected by the economy....

in other words, ask lots of questions.

And be prepared to talk about any new projects you've done that are relevant to them.

Any other ideas for someone in this position?

Are you feeling it?

Last week, when I gave a talk for the Freelancers Union called "Marketing in an Economic Downturn," I started the session by having each of the 30 people in the room stand up and tell not only what they do but also how they are experiencing this "economic downturn."

You know what? Most people admitted they weren't actually feeling it yet. Moreover, those who were feeling it acknowledged that it was probably because they hadn't really ever done any marketing. And, they agreed that what they're "feeling" might be mostly the media "infecting their brains" with panic.

My advice, of course, in all circumstances is, "Don't panic." Do something instead. And what I advised everyone one to do is get out there. Networking is the number one recession marketing tool. Why? Because when people need help, they go out looking for it. So you are most likely to meet people with "needs" if you go out looking for them .

So double up your networking efforts. If you usually attend one meeting a month, attend 2 in October. If you usually do 1 event per week, find 2 this week. It can only help. And it's better than staying home.

Anyone else not feeling it but worried anyway?

P.S. I did a radio interview with Barbara Weltman recently on this topic during which I outlined the 5-Step Marketing Machine. She's posted a summary of it here.

Drive Time Networking

I had the evening open when I arrived in Seattle on Monday night (for my "Pricing Secrets for Designers" talk for the local chapter of AIGA on Tuesday) and because I must practice what I preach, I decided to find some networking to do.

So I went to Biznik.com to see what events were happening. There was one in Tacoma that was being hosted by Dan McComb and Lara Eve Feltin, the co-founders of Biznik. One of the incredible features of Biznik is that not only can you see what's happening, you can also see who's attending and, in my case, try to hitch a ride with someone, especially since I wasn't exactly sure where Tacoma was.

As it turned out, it was Dan and Lara themselves who graciously swung by my hotel and picked me up. We had about an hour drive each way -- invaluable networking time -- to talk about all sorts of issues faced by the market we are all trying to support: they call that market "indie professionals" -- we have been calling them "creative solopreneurs" -- but it's all the same.

Independent is good, most of the time, but it can also be isolating. If I had tried to be "independent" or "self sufficient" in getting myself to Tacoma, I wouldn't have had that 'drive time' to network with Lara and Dan.

What other in-between, non-traditional networking opportunities have you taken advantage of lately?

Guest Post: When opportunity knocks, are you listening--or talking

In the Hilarious-Until-It-Happens-To-You Department, previous guest mixer and Marketing Mentor client Drury Bynum of Workerbee Creative got an interesting look at connection and opportunity from the other end of the wire. Read 'em and weep...

At a recent fashion-related networking event, I was reminded of the power of listening when a zealous host bent my ear for a solid 7 minutes - a blink of an eye when you're engaged in conversation, an eternity when someone is showering you in the blinding light of their ego. That’s how long it took for this potential client became someone I never cared to see again.

As a side project, I make 1-minute documentaries on artists and designers - folks whose work I admire. I do these for free and I am always on the lookout for new subjects. Previous to this networking evening, the organizer mentioned that the host was looking for ways to market with video. So I thought I would talk with her and see what I could offer. I even brought my camera. Maybe she was a candidate for one of my films.

I approached the host and introduced myself. That was the beginning and the end of the conversation. In the next 7 minutes, she gave me: her personal history; a history of the event; why the event was video worthy, and; a lamentation on how she couldn't afford me. Finally she asked me a question about fashion-related video but graciously supplied the answer herself.

In the beginning I tried to get a word in, "Well that's -- I think -- Have you -- I could --." In the middle I gave up and just waited for her to finish. By the end I was looking for a way out. In such a short time, this person went from someone I might have offered free services to someone I wanted to avoid at all costs. I'm still amazed at the value of the opportunity she lost but never even knew it. I imagine that she left the conversation thinking, "That went pretty well."

It's obvious that it makes marketing sense to listen and ask questions, but this lesson puts a monetary value on it. Think of the millions of dollars that have been lost simply because someone can't keep their mouth shut.

Guest Post: The Girls Just Wanna Have Businesses

Marketing Mentor client Jezra Kaye has talked about her networking experiences in the field before for the Marketing Mix blog. Today's story details a recent experience in the company of women, and covers some interesting changes in the nature of networking over the years.

The best networking experience I’ve had in over a year (perhaps ever) was at last Friday’s Womensphere Entrepreneurial Leadership Summit—a one-day event in NYC that was inspiring, informative and fun.   

The 200+ women (and over 40 speakers) who gathered to present, learn and brainstorm on topics ranging from Web 2.0 to Angel Investing to The Entrepreneurial Life Cycle ran the gamut of business types—from college women launching their first ventures (one example:  leak-proof, stain-resistant panties) to recent biz school grads (“HBS” was a much-heard acronym) to venture capitalists to celebrity bloggers to CEOs of long-established firms.

Every age, stage and ethnicity was represented—yet there were two big areas of commonality among these extraordinarily diverse and interesting women:

1.  They were NICE. The passion for entrepreneurship is a great leveler.  But credit for the collegiality at this event also goes to the Womensphere team, led by CEO/Founder Analisa Balares, which set a tone of warmth, enthusiasm, curiosity and inclusion.  This atmosphere of easy acceptance meant that everyone spoke to everyone else—and the business cards were flying.   

2.  They had GREAT SHOES. “Dress for success” used to mean ugly navy suits and white broadcloth shirts, but the vividly dressed entrepreneurs at this conference made it clear that those days are gone for good.  We aren’t just blazing new trails—we’re doing it in pumps, peek-toes, platforms and spikes.

Carrie Bradshaw, eat your heart out!

***

Jezra Kaye is a master speaker coach and speechwriter who helps her clients say the things that matter.  On 7/29, she’ll be leading “PRESTO! Presentation,” a workshop on how to talk to anyone about any topic, in New York City.  Learn more at Jezra's website, or sign up for her newsletter.

What makes a Master Networker?

Over the weekend, while most people were eating hotdogs under cloudy skies (at least here on the East Coast), I was working on the new presentation I'm launching at Bizjam this Thursday.

I came up with the idea to profile a few "Master Networkers" after a conversation with Saul Colt from FreshBooks, a great new online invoicing tool for solopreneurs we found out about at the HOW Conference last month -- or was it the month before?

Anyway, Saul was telling me about a new person they have on staff, whose title is "Chief Handshaker" and who he referred to as a "master networker." When  I asked what makes this guy, Sunir Shah is his name, worthy of this new-fangled title, Saul told me that he's warm and engaging and can talk to anyone about anything.

I like to think of myself as a good networker, but I don't know if I could talk to anyone about anything. But I digress.

So what do you think makes for a master networker? And is it a level one can aspire to?

Looking for leads at the Fancy Food Show

One of our new Marketing Mentor clients, Dani Nordin of The Zen Kitchen, is a real foodie. So her target market -- no surprise -- is the specialty (especially natural) food and beverage industry. That's why she went looking for leads last weekend at the Fancy Food Show in NYC. (Next one is in San Francisco in January 2009.)

Check out her blog to read about all the incredible prospects she made contact with.