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Where else can you find such day-to-day Sassiness?
From business issues to spa nights, from rubbing elbows with politicians and business leaders to sharing poetry, wine, and chocolate... it is all covered here in our blog.
Blog from the authors of the upcoming book The Sassy Ladies' eGuide: How to be Successful in Your First Year of Business. In this blog for women entrepreneurs, you will:
- Get a sneak preview of some of the concepts in the eGuide
- See interviews with other women business owners
- Read our sassy perspective on everyday business situations
- Learn which products and resources we recommend.
Join our conversations about the challenges and victories of having your own business. We want to hear your point of view—and your questions. Click on any title, and add your comments at the bottom of the page.
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Author: |
Michelle Girasole |
Created: |
1/12/2007 9:43 AM |
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Sassy Blog for women entrepreneurs |
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What do the Sassy Ladies have in common with Hillary Clinton? |
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By Michelle Girasole on
2/26/2008 9:58 PM
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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 fo ...
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Waiting for a Sign? |
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By Michelle Girasole on
2/18/2008 2:42 PM
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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 conversa ...
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Happy Valentine's Day |
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By Michelle Girasole on
2/15/2008 11:17 AM
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Here are our sassy tips from yesterday's newsletter, for your archiving pleasure...
News from the Sassy Ladies: Happy Valentine's Day! 02/14/08
Today 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.
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Wisdom through Experience: Interview with Jennifer Huntley-Corbin of "Jen's Dish" |
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By Michelle Girasole on
2/7/2008 9:01 PM
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 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. ...
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Ask The Experts: Women Artists Share Marketing Challenges and Successes |
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By Michelle Girasole on
1/25/2008 1:06 PM
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Last month, we introduced a new "Ask the Experts" series, featuring women entrepreneurs in Rhode Island. This month we learn about the marketing challenges of some of our local artists and their businesses.
 We are pleased to interview Gail Ahlers from Ahlers Designs. Gail founded Ahlers Designs (www.ahlersgifts.com) in 1989 and is a RISD graduate. She has a collection of 1500 designs, and has had success growing her business through gift shows and relationships with stores, galleries and boutiques. Her company is located in the Hope Artiste Village in Pawtucket.
Gail is also President of the Foundry Artists Association and is busy with their upcoming Holiday Show, which features 65 local artists (www.foundryshow.com), December 6th - 16th. (This is a great opportunity to do some holiday shopping, and support local small businesses!)
Hear our interview with Gail now.
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January: Ask the Experts podcasts - Funding Your Business |
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By Michelle Girasole on
1/11/2008 4:38 PM
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 Finding Funding
In January's edition of the "Ask the Experts" podcast series, featuring women entrepreneurs in Rhode Island, we hear the story of Nancy Faella, of Violet's Products. Nancy is working to build a global coffee enterprise from Rhode Island. She has tapped into many of the resources within Rhode Island for help, including the Rhode Island Small Business Development Center (RISBDC), who assisted her in the process of finding investors for her patent-pending, Colombian coffee cube import/export start-up business. Hear Nancy's interview.
Great RI Resource!
To compliment this podcast, we're also featuring one of our early podcasts with Sixcia Divine, from RISBDC, who discussed ...
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I can't possibly work harder in this business! |
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By Michelle Girasole on
1/7/2008 4:12 PM
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If you've been feeling like a workaholic in your business lately, then add this interview to your "must-do today" list!
 Abundance coach Jeanna Gabellini shares some ideas on how to have abundance in your business using the Law of Attraction. She reminds us that we don't have to work that hard to be financially prosperous.
In this session of our "Ask the Experts" podcast, Jeanna flew across the country to join Wendy, Michelle and Miriam at the studio (Wendy's kitchen table!) to have a discussions about many topics - taking time off, setting goals, pricing our products, and allowing our own success.
Hear the interview with Jeanna
Connect with Jeanna on www.MasterPeaceCoaching.com
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The Sassy Ladies' guest appearance on Women's Business Cable Television Show |
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By Michelle Girasole on
1/4/2008 3:50 PM
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“Women’s Business: Speaking Frankly with MaryAnn and... Wendy?!”
We were recently delighted to accept an invitation from our good friend, Mary Ann Shallcross Smith to appear on her local cable TV show, Women's Business. We are hoping to put a copy of the video on the site soon, but it is currently running on Wednesday afternoons at 12:30pm on RI Cox channels 13 or 18 (depending on where you live).
After the show, an interesting conversation took place in which Mary Ann shared that she was looking for a new co-host for the show, and - what do you know - Wendy is going to be a TV star! We're so excited for this opportunity to work closely with Mary Ann in her efforts to educate young women about business matters. Stay tuned for more news, and here's more on the show:
About the Show
Mary Ann Shallcross Smith has a doctorate in education and is the owner of Child Care Connection, Kids Klub and Comprehensive Child Care Services Network of RI. She also is the President of the Rhode Island Foster Parent Association Board and a CASA volunteer. Wendy Hanson is a Business Coach, co-founder of The Sassy Ladies (www.thesassyladies.com) and President of Corley Hanson Associates (www.corleyhanson.com ), an executive coaching and consulting organization.
Our combined experiences have taught us that our c ...
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Writing Down Your Goals: Our Winter Solstice Celebration |
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By Michelle Girasole on
1/4/2008 2:48 PM
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Writing Down Your Goals: Our Winter Solstice Celebration
Last summer, Miriam shared a book with Wendy and I called “Write It Down, Make It Happen”, by Henriette Anne Klauser. She felt that it offered great stories and ideas to help you ritualize and realize your goals. Miriam read it first, then Wendy and at a lunch discussion soon after, I couldn’t help but share their enthusiasm toward one chapter in particular. Of course, I skipped right to this chapter when it was my turn to read the book!
The author shared the story about a woman who adapted an old Indian ritual, which took place during the winter solstice, in which they declared what they wanted to usher out of their lives and what they wanted to usher into their lives. I couldn’t wait to do this with “my sassy sistahs”, but suggested we wait for the symbolic Winter Solstice on December 21st. We agreed to calendarize it, and worry about the details later.
If you read the book, you will see the elaborate details of the author’s ceremony with her daughters and friends. Let’s just say it included rising before dawn, hiking to highlands and lowlands, and burning stuff outside in the cold of winter. We laughed at the way we chose to simplify, yet honor this ancient tradition. We did what any Sassy Lady would do – we took ourselves to dinner.
While we feasted on sushi, sake, and seaweed salad, we shared our wishes that we’d written on slips of paper. Some were things we wanted to “say goodbye to” from 2007 and beyond. Many more were things we wanted to “say hello to” in 2008 an ...
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