Announcements and Opportunities

Wardrobe Wisdom. Remember Melanie Griffith’s transformation in Working Girl? "For better or worse, how you dress often determines how people react to you. What you wear can send a message about who you are." So says Women for Hire, which helps professional women at both ends of the career spectrum, from college grads to older women re-entering the workplace. The organization’s website offers advice on wardrobe, job hunting, interview tips and more. Read the full article on professional dress and appearance here: http://www.womenforhire.com/advice/professional_
dress_and_appearance.

How to Write a Press Release. Whether you’re a newbie or an experienced promoter, you can always learn something more. Check out these online resources:

• 10 Essential Tips for Writing Press Releases
  http://www.press-release-writing.com/10-essential-tips-for-writing-press-releases/
• Sample Press Release Template
  http://www.publicityinsider.com/release.asp
• PR Tips and Sample Release
  http://www.prurgent.com/press_release_help.htm

Member News

Kay Presto, one of 2005’s NAFE Women of Excellence, has been honored four times over by the American Auto Racing Writers & Broadcasters Association. Kay, who has covered motorsports since 1971, received the four awards in the following categories: feature article, technical article, international website, and color action photo.

Dr. Betty Spence, President of NAFE, will moderate a panel 'What Have You Done For Me Lately" at this year’s Best Companies for Multicultural Women National Conference in New York in July, presented by Working Mother Media. She says the panel will offer “breakthrough ideas for the advancement of multicultural women.” See the calendar listing below for more information, or click here: http://www.nafe.com/web?service=direct/1
/ViewCalendarPage/insertCalendar&sp=S1219.

Network News

Liz Goodgold was the featured speaker at the June dinner meeting of the South Orange County (CA) For You NAFE network,. Her topic was “How to Have a Hot Personal Brand.” Liz is a nationally-known expert on branding and marketing. She was a speaker at the NAFE National Conference in Laguna Nigel, CA a few years back. For information on NAFE networks in your state, click here: http://www.nafe.com/web?service=vpage/357.

5 Tips… For Cutting Back Time Wasters
By Maria Marsala

Expenses aren’t the only things you should be cutting back on to stay lean and mean in this economy.

Savvy business owners can not only survive bad times, but also position themselves for future growth and prosperity. How can you do it? In a word: focus. Focus your energy on trimming the fat in your business. Eliminate time and energy wasters. Here are some ways you can narrow your focus and enhance your efforts to grow your business:

1. Networking events: Budget your networking time. Participate only in those events that provide great contacts and actual business. (Editor’s Note: Local NAFE networks are an excellent forum. Go here to learn more: http://www.nafe.com/?service=vpage/357.) To figure out which networking events are most worth your time, ask yourself, “How many events do I attend where the majority of the attendees are my ideal clients?” And don’t be afraid to be the only one in your industry at a networking event.
2. Business friends: Have you been spending social time with the same colleagues for years because you’re comfortable with them? Are they at the same level of business you are? Cultivating business relationships is like playing tennis. If you “play” with people who are better than you, your game will improve. If you associate with people at your level or below, your game will plateau and there’s no forward motion.
3. Social media: There are about a zillion social networks out there and you can spend half your day Twittering your every move, posting interesting comments to Facebook, and searching for new Linked In contacts. While these are legitimate online marketing opportunities, be realistic about your objectives and make sure they can meet them in the Web 2.0 arena. For example, use Facebook to advertise free or low cost teleclasses, webinars, or products; use LinkedIn to advertise association conferences or post your articles.
4. Newsletters: Recently, I realized that I was receiving too many e-newsletters simply out of habit that were cluttering up my inbox. Now, as newsletters arrive in my inbox, I ask myself. “Do I depend on this newsletter for useful information that I can apply to improve my business? Do they have a business that is on a level where I want to be in a few years? Do I often learn how to do business better from them?” If the answer is no, then I unsubscribe.
5. Clients: This is a hard cutback to make, especially in this economy. However, marketing guru Seth Godin recently wrote a blog post about how pandering to the masses and casting a wide marketing net leads to “dumb” customers. Dumb customers don’t spend as much, don’t talk as much, don’t blog as much, and don’t evangelize on your behalf as much as you want them to. Dumb customers may take more of your time and energy than the account is worth. One step you can take to make sure you don’t attract the wrong clients is to have a clear vision – in writing – about your company and your ideal client. You’ll be less likely to dumb down and much more likely to start attracting more high-quality clients-those who know what you do and value the results you produce for them.

©2009 Maria Marsala, Strategic Business Advisor, Speaker, Author and Founder of Elevating Your Business (helps high-achieving women who own professional service businesses to increase the value of their company by improving its systems, profitability, and performance. Go here to learn more: http://www.elevatingyourbusiness.com/.

Learn all about your fellow business women on nafe.com under Member Profiles. The Flood Sisters are currently featured, as wellas Janice Gallick of CareCircle, Robbie Motter and Terilee Harrison. Click here.

Know another outstanding NAFE member you’d like to see profiled on nafe.com? Send details to NAFE News & Notes editor Paula Damiano at pauladamiano@hotmail.com.

Upcoming Events

For a complete list of events, see our online Calendar!

New York, NY
July 9, 2010
Join the Flood Sisters along with Grizz Chapman from 30 Rock, Working Mother’s own Carol Evans and other celebs for a super fundraiser, benefiting The Flood Sisters Kidney Foundation of America. Click here for full details.

Seattle, WA
July 23, 2010
“Strategic Planning...Simplfied One Page, One Day” is the theme of an all-day workshop presented by Maria Marsala and Elevate Your Business: http://www.nafe.com/web?service=direct/1/ViewCalendarPage/
insertCalendar&sp=S1159.

New York, NY
July 27-28, 2010
Experience the Best Companies for Multicultural Women National Conference presented by Working Mother Media, an annual learning opportunity and celebration: http://www.nafe.com/web?service=direct/1/View
CalendarPage/insertCalendar&sp=S1219.

New York, NY
March 30, 2011
Save the date! NAFE’s Top Companies for Executive Women annual event will be held again at the famed Cipriani’s in Manhattan. Stay tuned for more information.

• Go to nafe.com to view our ever-expanding Calendar of Events for opportunities around the country. The new Search function makes the Calendar even more useful and accessible.
• Use the Event Submission Form online to let us know about events in your area. Events submitted for the website will also be considered for the NAFE News & Notes– twice the exposure for one listing!

Check the NAFE Calendar of Events for network meetings, workshops and other happenings around the country.