By Michelle Girasole on 5/30/2008 12:18 PM

Michelle's Review of the RI Nexus Open Coffee Event

Wednesday, I went to my first RI Nexus event, The Open Coffee (mistakenly referred to as the Providence Geeks breakfast). Let me tell you something about these people—they are some of the coolest folks I've met in this state.



I have to admit I hesitated to attend a Geek Dinner event in the past year, not because of the name, but since I had the kids, I have had little time for after-hours business events.



Then, my friend Pam O’Hara from Batch Blue Software invited me to an Open Coffee, held every other Wednesday at 729 Hope. She told me she usually goes with Anisa Raoof from kidoinfo.com, whom I just adore. If they can hang with the geeky group, so can I. And I admire Providence Geeks founder Jack Templin for pulling everyone together on a regular basis. So on my calendar it went.



The first person I see at the café counter is tall Paul Lavallee, who has returned from the North to his home-state to, shall I say, “dabble and play”. Paul and I joked that we see each other everywhere—in the last month we bumped into each other at John Speck’s Web 2.0 Workshop at New Commons and at the RiverzEdge charity event downtown. He also lives next door to my best friend’s parents and refurbishes Harleys—not very geeky, to say the least (although...

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By Michelle Girasole on 5/29/2008 9:30 AM

Helene Gerstle, an Attorney You Can Trust

Yes, we know it's an oxymoron, but when The Sassy Ladies interviewed attorney Helene Gerstle, she taught us how building trust and nurturing relationships is the most important part of her business.

Listen to Helen's interview now.

Helene Gerstle has been an attorney since 1978 and has had her own practice for the past twenty-five years. Her focus is in real estate, and her litigation background helps settle land battles and contractor disputes. With all the day to day specifics she sorts out in her line of work, Helene knows that trust must be the foundation of her business relationships. Listen to her interview to hear how she balances her personal life and her law practice without compromising any integrity along the way.

By Michelle Girasole on 5/29/2008 9:04 AM

Pam Christy Makes a Difference in a Rough Real Estate Market

With twenty-two years in the real estate business, Pam Christy has had her fair share of experience in the ever-fluctuating market.  She sat down with The Sassy Ladies to share how her genuine concern for her clients' happiness and continuous love for education has helped her business grow.

Listen to Pam's interview now.

Pam Christy is an independent contractor for RE/MAX with a broad knowlege in sales and appraisals. In an industry that depends heavily on the economy, Pam knows the need to regularly educate herself and explore different avenues to sustain her business. Through appraisals, she develops values in communities, and also helps her clients make some of life's biggest transitions. Whether working with a first-time buyer or empty-nester, Pam has a sincere interest in helping people find their dream home.

Question:

How is your service making a positive impact in your clients' lives?

By Michelle Girasole on 5/22/2008 2:08 PM

Into the Wardrobe with Megan Graham

Megan Graham is the owner of the contemporary consignment boutique, Into the Wardrobe, located on Brook Street off of Wickenden Street on the East Side of Providence. Wendy recently interviewed her on her experiences in business.

Listen to interview with Megan now.

Here are some of the lessons Megan shared with The Sassy Ladies:

Megan Graham's business focus isn't on clothing, it's on recycling. She takes in gently worn men's and women's clothing and when the styles resell, it's like recycling energy back into the community. In an eclectic corner of the city surrounded by the hip students from the Rhode Island School of Design and Brown University, she understands the importance of knowing her neighbors and connecting with the locals. Above all, Megan knows the value of being present in her business and giving back to her community.

Question:

How have you used your skills or business to give back to your community?

By Michelle Girasole on 5/22/2008 2:06 PM

Khym Hamilton Shares her Wisdom Through Experience

Khym Hamilton has been the owner of the Hudson St. Market for almost the past seven years. Khym shares with The Sassy Ladies how she turned an 86-year-old neighborhood market in the Armory District of Providence into one of the hippest joints in town.

Listen to Kyhm's interview now.

Khym Hamilton knew she could no longer work for "the man" and dreamed of spending her days in a small business with tight roots to the community. That's when, on a whim, she stopped into the Hudson St. Market and inquired about any perspective job opportunities. One month later, Khym found herself as the fifth owner of what's known to locals simply as "The Market", a place that has any essentials you may need, as well as the biggest, most delicious sandwiches in town. 

As the owner, Khym has had the freedom to integrate her passion for the arts and music into the Market, with art openings and music shows. Now, there's even a piano in the middle of the store that she uses to give lessons during the downtime. She is even in the process of developing an eco-friendly, delivery-by-bicycle lunch service to extend her business out of the store and smack dab into the community.

Question:

In what ways have you extended your sassy service to your community?

By Michelle Girasole on 5/22/2008 1:29 PM

As the book launch draws near, there are millions of details to handle...open projects with our publisher, publicist, the press, the book launch event, book signings, virtual tour, social networks, etc., etc. It's going to get busy! Although we have worked with a team of capable virtual assistants, we knew we would need someone on a more regular basis, someone who was dedicated to helping us introduce the book properly.

Enter the talented and beautiful Ashley Lancellotti. 

Ashley comes to us with quite an impressive background.  Her experience includes years of customer service at a country club, a retail stint at Nordstrom's, and the college program at Walt Disney World, where she captained a resort shuttle boat from Epcot.

She is currently studying Hospitality and Tourism at Johnson & Wales University, with an eye on becoming an event planner after graduation. She brings the pulse of Generation Y to our company of Baby Boomers/Gen X-ers.  She is even rumored to have met Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, at a college party in Cambridge. We think that's pretty cool. Watch out, world, Sassy Ashley has arrived!

By Michelle Girasole on 5/22/2008 4:52 AM

After last month's promotion of the Bob Burg "Endless Referrals" workshop, we have gotten lots of inquiries about our next event.  We joke that we're not really in the events business, but when our market speaks, we listen.So, we've lined up another great event for you, but since we're getting a late start in promoting it, we will open it up to our entire audience, not limiting it to just our email subscribers.Let me introduce the next speaker.  I first heard about Michael Gerber way back in the days when my web marketing firm was a party of one (me) - the start-up days.  Fresh out of a job, I envisioned creating a company where I was the boss, and all the money I made went to me.  This thrilled me - I wasn't working my butt off for someone else's benefit.  I set to work defining a service, networking, finding a few clients, and the projects started rolling in.  Soon the money followed, and I thought, "Isn't this great? I am making some pretty good money - I am going to be so successful." Well...My mastermind group at the time, a seasoned group of marketing entrepreneurs that I met with monthly, suggested that before I celebrated too much, that I read "The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It ".  The way they described the author, Michael Gerber (as a God in the entrepreneurial world) made me pay attention.  They said, "Michelle, you have to read this book. One example he describes is a pie-making business, whose owner does not succeed because she is so busy working IN the business (making pies), she doesn't make time to work ON the business (finding customers, building partnerships, tracking profitability, etc.)."  This hit home, and I read the book.I quickly realized that I only had so many hours in the day, and since my customers were paying me by the hour, my income was limited.  So I set about to form partnerships with other marketing professionals who could handle some of the client work, while I focused on business development....

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By Michelle Girasole on 5/21/2008 1:57 PM

The Sassy Ladies and Bob Burg

This month, we had the honor of sponsoring a Bob Burg seminar in Seekonk, MA. Bob (shown here with Wendy and Michelle)



For those of you who might not know Bob, he is an accomplished speaker and author. He is the author of "The Success Formula"  and “Endless Referrals” and countless other products designed to help you develop a system for building relationships, and building referrals.  He has just released a new book, titled “The Go-Giver”.  We have all heard of Go-Getters, and this story line delivers important lessons about how to sell your product.We had 2 VIP tables of very Sassy Ladies (many of whom are shown here) who got to hang together and network as well as take part in the seminar, plus get a copy Bob’s book. They also received a download of a draft of The Sassy Ladies upcoming book and even get to attend a “Power of Relationships” workshop with Precision Web Marketing and Constant Contact.



The big takeaways from Bob’s talk were:

1. You need a system for following up on people you meet.

2. The personal touch is so important---what can you do for them?

3. People do business with people they know, like and trust.

4. The Giver’s Gain slogan of BNI, is such an important part of doing business.

5. Everybody wins when you provide more in “use value” than the customer pays in “cash value”.



These were just a few nuggets. There’s much more......it was a great session! If anyone wants to add more of what they learned at the event, we invite you to post comments in this blog.



Thanks to Bob Burg, and also to Bob Salvas, Bob Martinelli, and Jay White – the Send Out Cards guys – for making this valuable...

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By Michelle Girasole on 5/21/2008 1:57 PM

The Sassy Ladies and Bob Burg

This month, we had the honor of sponsoring a Bob Burg seminar in Seekonk, MA. Bob (shown here with Wendy and Michelle)



For those of you who might not know Bob, he is an accomplished speaker and author. He is the author of "The Success Formula"  and “Endless Referrals” and countless other products designed to help you develop a system for building relationships, and building referrals.  He has just released a new book, titled “The Go-Giver”.  We have all heard of Go-Getters, and this story line delivers important lessons about how to sell your product.We had 2 VIP tables of very Sassy Ladies (many of whom are shown here) who got to hang together and network as well as take part in the seminar, plus get a copy Bob’s book. They also received a download of a draft of The Sassy Ladies upcoming book and even get to attend a “Power of Relationships” workshop with Precision Web Marketing and Constant Contact.



The big takeaways from Bob’s talk were:

1. You need a system for following up on people you meet.

2. The personal touch is so important---what can you do for them?

3. People do business with people they know, like and trust.

4. The Giver’s Gain slogan of BNI, is such an important part of doing business.

5. Everybody wins when you provide more in “use value” than the customer pays in “cash value”.



These were just a few nuggets. There’s much more......it was a great session! If anyone wants to add more of what they learned at the event, we invite you to post comments in this blog.



Thanks to Bob Burg, and also to Bob Salvas, Bob Martinelli, and Jay White – the Send Out Cards guys – for making this valuable...

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By Michelle Girasole on 5/20/2008 8:12 PM

When Life Takes Over  (a.k.a.  Why we haven't written in so long!)In the month of April, we Sassy Ladies had three goals: 1) finish the book, so we could submit it to the Writer's Digest award,2) promote the Bob Burg "Endless Referrals" event, and3) keep the website and email campaigns up-to-date.As they say, two out of three ain't bad.  You've heard stories about writers going into seclusion in the woods to finish their books.  Our story wasn't so dramatic, but we did finally finish our book in the end - after two years of planning, writing, re-writing and editing.  We can finally say, "It is done!"  (More on that later.)We also had a wonderful day with many of you sassy ladies at the "Endless Referrals" workshop.  Bob Burg was full of great tips about how to sell by building relationships. And, he amazed us all with his ability to remember names.  (Again, more on that later.)So, alas, we come to number three - keeping current with our website, blog, email campaign, and podcasts.  Besides the book completion, the three of us had so much going on in April outside the Sassy Ladies (Wendy moved to South County, Miriam's father-in-law passed away, then her parents' apartment burned to the ground, and Michelle sold her house and is moving, too!). So, we just had to let something go, and it was our updated Sassy communications.We could say, "Oh, well - c'est la vie!", but that would be too casual for our taste.  It is very important to us to keep releasing our interviews, and providing monthly doses of inspiration to our website visitors.  And, bless your hearts, some of you actually reached out to us and said, "Hey, when are you going to do some new podcasts?"  It is good to be loved...So, hold on to your hats - in May, we are playing catch up.  We have a string of new interviews for you, and lots of great events and updates on the book and launch party.  We're back!  And happy to be here!...

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