Productivity, visibility, and profits.

Can you say, “More, please!” ???

During the two-hour “Brainstorming for Your Biz” session I facilitated at MicroCredit-NH’s awesome Entrepreneurial Exchange Day 2007 (which took place on Saturday, May 12th), I had the opportunity to mix it up with 14 other big-thinking, creative, adventurous small business owners hungry for new business strategies, marketing ideas, and revenue-building solutions.

In our session, we went over the history of brainstorming, tools and techniques for successful brainstorming, and the FIVE unbreakable rules of brainstorming. Somehow, we also managed to squeeze in “hot seat” brainstorming sessions for a couple of the lucky attendees, so they could benefit from the group’s fertile thinking.

I promised the group I’d post the 3-5 minute, power-packed brainstorming blasts we did in the twilight of the session. So, without further ado, here they are!*

HOW TO INCREASE YOUR PRODUCTIVITY:

1. Task list
2. Designated email
3. Limited time on inter(???)
4. Receptionist
5. Delegate
6. Rules
7. Prioritize
8. Centrally located list of goals
9. Short term goals
10. Calendar
11. Set aside certain time for working on business
12. Notebook for ideas
13. Review progress quarterly
14. Treat employees well

HOW TO INCREASE YOUR VISIBILITY:

1. Website
2. Press release
3. Joint ventures
4. Email list
5. Trade shows
6. Coupons
7. Fairs/events
8. Direct mail
9. Flyers
10. Newsletters - hard copy/email
11. Pamphlets
12. CofC
13. Pro bono work
14. Giveaways @ organization
15. Vehicle signs
16. Banners
17. Window signs
18. Free speeches
19. Hillside planting in words
20. Business cards
21. Demonstrations
22. Business signs
23. Logo products
24. Sponsoring teams

HOW TO INCREASE YOUR PROFITS!

1. CO-marketing
2. Advertising
3. Billboards
4. Magnets
5. Car signs
6. Internet
7. Brochure (pro)
8. Trade shows
9. Income without work - passive
10. Franchising
11. Customer appreciation days
12. Complementary samples or sessions
13. Raise prices
14. Extend into new markets
15. Articles/Newspaper/Press
16. Seminars/Workshops/Classes
17. Be a speaker
18. Teleclasses/Webinars

 A fine, spectacular example of Group Think if there ever was one!!! Great job, everyone. Imagine if each group had a whole 10-15 minutes…20-25…or even a whopping 45…!!!

Almost makes you want to stop what you’re doing, get a success-focused group of biz folks together, and come up with ideas, strategies, and solutions for your own business, doesn’t it??? (It should!)

*I’m just transcribing what the groups jotted down. If some of them don’t make much sense out of their original scribbled context, that’s the way the cookie crumbles!

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 15th, 2007 at 11:02 pm and is filed under Microenterprises R Us. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

We’re gearing up for the big MicroCredit New Hampshire event of the season - a full day of workshops for the smallest of small businesses in the state. I had the pleasure of dropping in on the MicroCredit-NH offices last week to deliver our contribution to the swag bags, and told their fabulous Marketing & Communications Manager Tara Dolphin I’d pass the word about the event along to you.

If you’re going to be in the Concord, NH area on Saturday, May 12th, check this out - they just opened registrations to the general business public. Now’s your chance to get in on a great learning opportunity, detailed below:

Concord, NH, May 1, 2007 – Are you self-employed and seeking fresh marketing, business development and technology strategies to further develop your business?  MicroCredit-NH has organized a statewide event dedicated to business development and networking for New Hampshire’s small business owners. 

“Entrepreneurial Exchange 2007: Reach the Peak” will be held in Concord on Saturday, May 12th from 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM.  The event will take place at the Grappone Conference Center at the Courtyard Marriott on 70 Constitution Avenue.  Entrepreneurial Exchange 2007 is sponsored by PSNH, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Laconia Savings Bank and First Colebrook Bank.

The Entrepreneurial Exchange will offer participants a choice of four morning workshops to attend. These include: Effective Sales Techniques, covering sales and listening strategies to build rapport with prospects and clients to increase business; Business Development, which will provide participants tools for brainstorming including 50 ways to boost business productivity, visibility and profits; Technology Panel, with three speakers discussing the latest opportunities technology provides to small business owners, including search engine optimization, blogging, and search engine marketing; and Marketing, which will focus on the power and significance of a strong branding strategy.

The event’s featured workshop presenters include: Judy Carlough, Sandler Sales Training; Steve Forkey, WebAction Group; Christine Halvorson, Halvorson New Media; Debby Hoffman, Positive Results Seminars; Susan O’Neil, @Web Site Publicity; Thom Pollard, Eyes Open Productions; Kevin Skarritt, Acorn Creative; and Lani Voivod, Epiphanies, Inc.

In addition to the morning workshop tracks, the event will include two hours of facilitated and open networking time and afternoon roundtable discussions facilitated by the workshop presenters.  These discussions will cover a variety of business issues and challenges facing the small business owner.
 
“The Entrepreneurial Exchange is MicroCredit-NH’s premier event of 2007,” explained Rob Riley, Director of MicroCredit-NH. “Our mission is to increase the income and economic stability of New Hampshire’s small businesses, and this event will offer strategies for participants to achieve increased profits through business skill development and networking opportunities.  We encourage the self-employed from all corners of the state to join us for this unique day of training and celebration of entrepreneurship.”

Pre-registration is required, as space is limited.  The registration fee is $40, which includes lunch.   To register and for more information, visit http://www.microcreditnh.org/ for a live online registration link, or call MicroCredit-NH at 1-800-769-3482. Information about the Entrepreneurial Exchange sponsors is available online at: http://www.psnh.com/; http://www.bos.frb.org/; http://www.laconiasavings.com/; and http://www.firstcolebrookbank.com/.

To accomplish its mission of increasing the income and economic stability of microbusinesses and the self-employed, MicroCredit-NH provides statewide business development programming, loan capital up to $15,000, and expanded marketing and networking opportunities.  MicroCredit-NH delivers its services through local Business Groups that are comprised of self-employed individuals and small business owners.  Since program inception, MicroCredit-NH has loaned more than $800,000 to New Hampshire’s entrepreneurs. 

MicroCredit-NH is a program of the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund, Inc., a statewide non-profit charitable organization headquartered in Concord.  MicroCredit-NH is generously supported by Citizens Bank, NH Community Development Finance Authority, the Community Development Block Grant Program, among others, and is endorsed by all New Hampshire County Commissions.

# # #

If you see this and decide to go, be sure to find us and say hi!

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 9th, 2007 at 5:59 pm and is filed under Microenterprises R Us, Press 'n Such. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

When you’re on the right path, the perfect people come into your life at exactly the right time.

Such is the case with Team Epiphanies (that’s Allen and me) and a dynamo named Claudia Needham.

Claudia is a regional manager for MicroCredit-NH, an extraordinary non-profit dedicated to supporting NH’s microentrepreneurs and its microbusinesses.

Now, if you’ve never heard any of these “micro” terms, you’re going to be shocked when I tell you what Claudia told me:

87% of NH businesses are micros, and 85% of ALL businesses in the U.S. are, too. (!!!) 

According to MicroCreditNH.org:

A Microenterprise Is a Business that:

Employs between 1-5 people, including the owner

Has gross sales from $1 to $500,000

Requires under $35,000 for start-up

Claudia recently asked me if I’d like to do a “brainstorming for business” session for an all-day workshop sponsored by MicroCredit in March. (Would I? HECK YEAH!)

We met this week to discuss the workshop. After three hours of talking about businesses, practicums (Claudia’s getting her Masters degree in Organization and Management, with a focus on how to truly live a balanced, non-segmented life and business. She uses the phrase “Lifestyle Entrepreneur,” and I love it. She’s a BRILLIANT woman), goals, marketing, best practices, local talent, regional resources, and pretty much everything under the sun EXCEPT the details of the workshop, we had to part ways.

Yesterday she sent me an awesome email - the kind I LIVE to get - and she said I could share it with you here: 

Lani,

Thank you so much for yesterday!  I had another “epiphany” this morning of astounding proportions!  I’m still processing!  You gave me a huge gift yesterday - believing in me in ways I don’t think about myself.  Still processing all of that too.

Can’t wait until we talk about the workshop!  Have a great day!

I can tell we’re all going to learn so much together over the coming years, and become integral to our business success, intellectual growth, and general well being.

Thank YOU, Claudia!

The MicroCreditNH site has some fantastic resources for anyone running or thinking of starting a new business. And if you’re in NH, I recommend you join one of their business groups and get in on the MicroCredit action ASAP!

Oh, and don’t miss the March workshop, featuring me, Claudia, and “Chief Nut” Kevin Skarritt: BRAINSTORM + BRAND = BOOM!

For FREE articles, tips, and strategies designed to catapult your content and electrify your business, sign up for our ezine, “The Inciter,” at EpiphaniesInc.com!

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This entry was posted on Saturday, January 20th, 2007 at 9:58 am and is filed under Agents of Karma, Microenterprises R Us. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.