Kathleen Burns Kingsbury is a speaker and certified professional coach, offering professional coaching, workshops, and training.

Listen to Kathleen's interview.

A friend connected Wendy and Kathleen by saying, “You two ought to know each other”. Kathleen remarked, “Women do a great job at making connections and building initial relationships. It’s the follow up of tooting your own horn that gets a little tricky for most.”

So, how did she start helping women in the topic of “tooting your own horn”?
She found that in working with women on a variety of issues, no matter how much somebody made, how much they had accomplished, what thir education level was, most - if not all - struggled with selling themselves, and they undervalued themselves. And she got sick of it! “I said, ‘Something is really wrong with this.’ And I started doing teleseminars and workshops on this topic. Women don’t want to be this way, but are socialized to be this way. I witnessed that there was a great need for women to figure out how to be comfortable promoting themselves.”

Thoughts on Business Cards

As we were putting the final touches on the marketing chapter of our book, we wanted to sprinkle in a little advice about business cards. It is one of the first things you do after committing to the idea of the business. It is as if holding your own business card in your hands holds you responsible for making the business a reality!

Here’s an excerpt from the book:

Wendy:
“The world is changing at a fast pace. When I started my retail store Wendy's Country Things and Herb Garden in the late 80s, after creating a name, a business card was a sign of making it real. Business cards and/or small postcards give people something tangible that show you have given this business some thought. Using services such as VistaPrint.com, you can get nice‐looking cards without incurring a huge expense. I've seen too many people spend too much money on the accoutrements of starting a business. They could have bought five pairs of shoes at Nordstrom’s instead! In today's world, with a good color printer, you don't have to go out and spend $600 on stationary and envelopes. You can start your online messaging with a blog rather than a Web site.”

Michelle:

Stories from the Women's Summit, Part I:  Quotes

The Sassy Ladies once again attended this year's sold out Women's Summit at Bryant University. The day was inspiring, educational, and a great place to connect with friends, old and new.  Wendy was super as a panelist at the "Entrepreneurship: Is It The Answer?" workshop. All of us attended the morning session toghether, but split up in the afternoon, so we have lots to share with you, and this will be just the first of several blog posts that we create about the event. So let's get started with some of the quotes from my notes!

Michelle Peluso, the 36-year old president and CEO of Travelocity, was the first keynote speaker.  Among her words of wisdom:

Fulfilling a life-long dream since emigrating Mexico to the U.S. nearly 40 years ago, Maria Meza opened El Rancho Grande in Providence, RI last May. Listen to her lessons about family, hard work and keeping your focus on your goal.

Listen to Maria's interview now.

How she got started
Maria Meza opened El Rancho Grande in Providence, RI, with her son, Joaquin Meza Jr., on May 5, 2007 – Cinco de Mayo! Maria had worked in a factory, starting at 6:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., dreaming of someday owning a restaurant. Her son bought the building and did all the construction himself, to keep expenses low.

Both are committed to offering traditional Mexican dishes at an affordable price using only the most authentic ingredients possible, often bringing in hard-to-find food products directly from Mexico. Special festive events spotlighting traditional arts and entertainment from Mexico are held throughout the year.

Monica Gerard went from playing in the symphony to running a wonderful bistro at Ferns and Flowers Tea House and Gardens. She shares the great story of how she made the transition—by building upon her husband’s florist business. Her success in the restaurant business has come from passion and persistence. Her story will inspire you and give you ideas on how to build your dream---one step at a time.

Listen now to Monica's interview.

How she got started
Monica left a 21-year career as a violinist in the RI Philharmonic and teacher to build a business based on her passion for cooking and baking. She joined her husband in business full-time when they bought their current property, an 1860’s farmhouse in Warwick, RI.

She was able to leverage the customer base from her husband’s retail florist business, to build up her side of the business over the first seven years. She started first with cakes and confections, then jumped in full-time with the restaurant. This started off as ...

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 ...