By Michelle Girasole on 2/26/2008 9:58 PM

What do the Sassy Ladies have in common with Hillary Clinton?No, friends, we aren't running for President.  (Yet.)Hillary Clinton was in Rhode Island on Sunday, with a campaign stop less than a mile from my house at Rhode Island College.  Whether you plan to vote for her or not, you have got to love her energy - what a grueling job application process, isn't it?  This is one woman who is working around the clock.I didn't attend the rally on Sunday. I was working. All "the Sassies" were.  Wendy, Miriam and I have four businesses between us.  As you can imagine, this makes us very busy, and we rarely can find a full weekday to spend together, focusing solely on our Sassy Ladies' business strategy. And this is SO important to maintaining our focus, our results, our energy.So we made plans to carve out a weekend day to work ON the business, instead of IN the business.  And, let me tell you, it felt like a luxury!  Not only because our table was overflowing with food (as is typical of our Sassy meetings), or because Wendy brought a big flip chart with those colorful markers that smell like fruit.  It was luxurious to spend a few focused, un-interrupted hours to take a step back from the activity of our to-do lists, to think about how things were going, to determine what our next steps should be, to discuss how we can improve results.  It is just amazing for me to collaborate with these women, who I respect immensely.  A Sunday work day was pure joy.I wondered as I drove home, after a day of reflecting on you - our community of women entrepreneurs - how many of us work weekends? We started our businesses to enjoy more freedom of when and where we work, but does it mean we work 9 to 5, M-F?  Or 7 days a week?  I'd love to find out.  Add your comments below - how often do you work on a Sunday?Hey, you're not campaigning for President, but I have a feeling you're working just as hard!...

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By Michelle Girasole on 2/18/2008 2:42 PM

Yesterday, while driving home from getting the kids after work, we stopped at a red light. My son exclaims “Look, Mommy, N – O !”



This is the first time he’s read a street sign out loud, so I’m very happy about this, and respond enthusiastically, “Very good, Nick! You read the sign letters! N-O. No. It says “NO turn on red light! Good job.”



Long silence.



He then asks, “When’s it gonna say, ‘Yes’?”



You’ve gotta love this kid.



Laughing, I replied, “Well, it never will, buddy. But we’re waiting for the green light, and that’s what tells us we can make a turn.”



This is not the first time I’ve written about these driving experiences with my kids. (see Work and Play Don't Mix, Right?). At first, I thought I’d make a note in my mother’s journal, and not on this business blog, but as I reflected back on the conversation, I wondered how many times in business I had been waiting for a sign, and completely missed the mark.



Like that time I waited for a signed contract from a new client, but kept giving free strategic marketing advice. When I finally followed my intuition and sent an invoice, the client refused to pay, stating he thought we were still in the sales/proposal period. Yeah, that actually happened twice. Shame on me.



Or when our office flooded – the third time – and I finally admitted that it was time to look for new space on higher...

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By Michelle Girasole on 2/15/2008 11:17 AM

Here are our sassy tips from yesterday's newsletter, for your archiving pleasure... News from the Sassy Ladies: Happy Valentine's Day!  02/14/08Today is a day for celebrating love.  Business connections are probably the last thing on your mind, right?  You want to leave work, have that special dinner with that special someone. Maybe eat some chocolate, drink some wine and hang out.  We don't blame you.

 

But, being Sassy, we could not let a love holiday go by without mentioning customer relationships, so we're emailing you on Valentine's Day, darn it.

 

This issue is all about building and keeping the right business connections.  Use these tips to make that important connection that will make your sales soar!

 

Just wait until after the wine has worn off to start implementing them, okay?  Take a night off, for crying out loud.

 

Love always,

Michelle, Miriam and Wendy



Sassy Tips & Tools

 

The assistant you've always wanted 

What would it be like if you didn't have to do everything yourself in your business? Allow yourself to dream of offloading some of the tasks you could hand off - sending out invoices, confirming sales appointments, typing up notes, making travel arrangements.  Wouldn't it be great to have an assistant? 

 

We think so.  We've worked with virtual assistants in many capacities over the last few years.  In addition to keeping us sane, our assistants take on many business duties that free up our time up to do work that we love. On her site, our virtual assistant Linda Siniscal shares some background on virtual assistants, and also a list of ideas to get you started.  "101+ Ways to Use a Virtual Assistant"  Thanks, Linda! 

 

Love letters 

We love SendOutCards.com  because it has a huge selection of greeting cards, and saves you time and money.  It couldn't be easier.  You pick the card, type your message and the recipient's address.  They print the card, stuff it, lick the envelope, add postage and drop it in the mail!  The cards cost under a $1.00, plus $0.41 postage.    Who doesn't love getting an unexpected greeting card in the mail?  It is a nice way to reach out to business contacts, in a way that email simply does not. 

...

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By Michelle Girasole on 2/7/2008 9:01 PM

Jen Huntley-Corbin is the radio show host of Jen's Dish on WRNI. Listen to Jen's vision of her radio show which is all about her passion-food! Jen's virtual business is growing---she's a cross between Rachel Ray and Rick Steves. In Jen's interview, you can learn how to "think big" about your business.  Hear the story of how she took a big leap of faith, which resulted in her taping a cooking show with Jarvis Green of the New England Patriots.  This was a great promotion opportunity for her business, and lead to an expansion of her radio business to a web television show! Snippets of "Jen, Jarvis and Jambalaya" can be seen at jensdish.blogspot.com. More on Jarvis: Besides being a great defensive lineman for the Pats, he's a great chef, plans to open a restaurant and has been mentored by Prime and The Oyster Bar on Federal Hill in Providence. Also be sure to check out www.jarvisgreen.com You can learn about his wonderful foundation and his outstanding philanthropic efforts. Go Jarvis! You can support it by buying one of those cool "60 Minute Men" T-Shirts!...

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By Wendy Hanson on 2/6/2008 10:10 AM

As an entrepreneur, what can we learn from Southwest Airlines? Recently, I was on a flight to California. So, coming from the East coast, it was a long flight. For the last hour before we reached San Diego, the flight attendant started playing games. We played a game where everyone who wanted to participate wrote their seat number on a dollar and passed it in, and then we had a drawing. Then we guessed the age of the flight attendants.

By the last game, people started peetering out and going back to their reading, and the prize they had concocted was not given away. The uncoveted prize was a pair of slippers made from Maxipads from the restroom and a pair of plastic Southwest Airline wings as the classy embellishment.

The flight attendant must have seen me looking longingly at the fun slippers and came up to me directly and handed them to me. I was delighted! I was able to arrive in San Diego and give them to a girlfriend I was meeting. Life is good. I bragged about Southwest Airlines. They created an “experience” for me, and a memorable trip. They also got me there safely. :’)

What have you done in your business lately that is memorable and remarkable and maybe just a little silly?

...

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By Wendy Hanson on 2/4/2008 4:44 PM

The Sassy Ladies interviewed Gabriella Goddard about her new book, "Gulp!", during her virtual book tour. Gabriella is from London and has written a fascinating book to help you leap-frog into the future. She has been a leadership coach for 18 years, worked internationally and has a wonderful marketing background. She was compelled to write the book following the devastating experience of a breast cancer scare. It forced Gabriella to take stock of her priorities and re-evaluate what was truly important in her life.In 2001, Gabriella started Goddard International LTD, a leadership development company, helping people move ahead to a new level of self-awareness, professional growth and personal success by making fundamental shifts in how they think, what they feel and what they do.



From The Sassy Ladies' standpoint, she's also an extremely sassy marketer. You can go on her website, http://www.gabriellagoddard.com to see all of her media, videos, press packs, press releases and photos. Her product development alone is fantastic. So take the seven-day crash course to mastering your fears and break through any challenges by reading "Gulp!".



...

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By Michelle Girasole on 2/4/2008 11:59 AM

Lisa Van Allsburg of Forgotten Judaica shares some great ideas about getting the story of your company known. Lisa uses some very unique approaches that you'll want to hear about. How can her ideas translate into your marketing efforts? In addition, listen as Lisa shares her wisdom about business plans and financing.  You can check out her beautiful website, www.forgottenjudaica.com. Well done!  Hear Lisa's interview.

These "Wisdom Through Experience" podcast interviews are brought to you by The Sassy Ladies (www.TheSassyLadies.com), an online resource for women entrepreneurs, and Every Company Counts, an initiative of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (www.everycompanycounts.com).