Managing in Uncertain Times

1. - Stay flexible: In a climate in which the only constant is change, it pays to be agile. Reexamine your mission and strategies frequently to make sure you’re responding to changing times.
2. - Devour data: Knowledge is more important than ever when changes come at lightning speed, so stay in touch with customers and industry trends.
3. - Be (somewhat) humble: It’s important to realize you don’t have all the answers. In that spirit, seek new solutions from multiple sources, including employees and customers.
4. - Communicate: As a woman business leader, you play an important role as your firm’s “evangelist.” Enlist the support of all stakeholders – including staff, customers and suppliers – to ensure success.

What Do Women Want and Need?

Knowing that time is important to them, you can alter your marketing to be NOT time-intensive. What does that mean?

• Get to the point. When writing articles, creating videos, drafting sales copy, designing websites, get to the heart of the matter as quickly as possible. Don’t make her wade through a lot of fluff and extraneous detail: she’ll walk away otherwise.
• Use bullet points/sub-headings. When writing, use any device that helps her to scan your material quickly. She can then choose which sections of the writing to delve into in more detail.
• Micro blog. Use social media tools such as Twitter and Facebook to force you to encapsulate your point in 2 or 3 sentences.

4 Power Tips

Here are 4 nuggets they shared about power, how to support yourself and each other and to achieve success:

1) Women can and should help one another and stop under valuing "...the role that we can play in the success of other people and the organization." Amy Schulman, Exective vice president and general counsel, Pfizr

Women Business Owners Face Certain Challenges that Men do Not

1. Focus on your accomplishments, not your guilt - Many women feel guilt about working. Sometimes the guilt is generated from external sources (spouses, family, and friends who feel abandoned), other times it is generated from within (we are often our own worse critics), and then there are times when you get a dose from both sources. Approaching work with a positive attitude that focuses on your accomplishments and the benefits derived from those accomplishments goes a long way towards helping you gain support from others and keeping you motivated.

Self-Confidence is a Key to Growing your Business

1. Surround yourself with people who believe in you - Build a team around you of positive role models, a team of can-do people with can-do attitudes about the things that matter to you and your business. Having people around you who are pessimistic and negative can never be a good thing ever if you are taking steps to make your dreams come true. The negative vibes and energy they bring can be draining and exhausting to your positive entrepreneurial spirit.

People Buy From People who They Know and Trust!

Smart Tip 1: Stay in Front of Customers, its Key! - Find innovative ways to keep your business at the forefront of your customers. Whether you are sending links to articles or blogs, a weekly empowerment quote, a monthly e-newsletter filled with updated information about your company, great deals or tips they can use OR regular correspondence like birthday, thanksgiving or Christmas cards, they will remember to call you when they need your services. Give customers the opportunity to experience your product or service.