New look. New feel. New direction.

We did it.  Whew.  Nothing like a deadline to make you move and make it happen.  Yesterday our new website went live!

We started our rebranding discussions back in March.  After 15 years of operation, we decided that Company of Women needed a facelift.  As an adolescent, our views on what we needed to do had changed, and it was time for the organization to represent the new reality of doing business today.

Gone are the pinks and purples that represented our femininity.  We are women in business and we’re here to stay and to be taken seriously. We’ve gone with an edgier look – lime green and blue.  Our logo is no longer just our signature.  We are more than that and the symbol of the mountains reflects the journey we are on.  

Each mountain represents the three pillars of our organization – business development, leadership and personal development.   After working on the Good Enough book for three years, in which we explored why women don’t feel good enough about themselves, it became clear that without confidence, we can’t achieve what we wish for ourselves.   So in addition to focusing on business development, we also want you to have the tools and faith in yourself to be successful.

And talking of success – our new slogan is Success on your own terms.   No more comparing yourself to others. No more living someone else’s dream. No more striving for other people’s definition of success.  It is all about you and what you want out of life, and we’re behind you every step of the way.

The smaller triangle in the middle represents leadership.  It is smaller because not all of us are leaders, yet we wanted to foster women’s leadership because this is the way to the future; to changing the world we live in.

So there you are – a quick snapshot of our new look and programming focus.  Yesterday we launched the new website, so we start October afresh, moving forward.

It is a bit nerve wracking and a lot of work.  I’ve had to let go of my need for perfection, because while we have hopefully ironed out the kinks, there are bound to be some teething problems.  Please be patient.

I’ve always said you are never alone when you own.  Well that is so true.  None of this would have happened without the facilitation, input and creativity of other others. My thanks to my team for helping us pave this new future.  And a special thanks to my daughter Megan, who worked tirelessly to create the new website. 

Go check it out – www.companyofwomen.ca

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Invest in yourself. Get a mentor.

When you start a business, you don’t know, what you don’t know and often you end up finding out the hard way.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could have a fast track so you could avoid some of the pitfalls?   When you have a mentor, someone who has already ‘been there, done that’ it could save you a lot of heartache. 

Sure you will still make your share of mistakes, that is how we learn, but just having someone asking you the right questions, gently or not-so gently prodding you in the right direction, can make a positive difference.

It is a lonely life out there as an entrepreneur. As a solopreneur you make all the decisions – something that attracts many of us to this career path in the first place, but the down side is what if you are wrong? Really wrong.

But you don’t have to be alone when you own. Having a mentor reduces that sense of isolation.  You have someone who is in the ring with you, cheering you on, celebrating your successes and providing support when business doesn’t go the way you expected.

Back in my career days I had a mentor who frankly saw my potential long before I did, and she would give me stretch assignments, which left to my own devices, I would never have taken on.  A mentor brings an objective prospective to your business, seeing your potential, perhaps gently pushing you out of your comfort zone and providing ideas that had never occurred to you.

As women we often don’t like to ask for help.  We don’t do vulnerable.  But having a mentor is none of that.  It is actually a sound business decision.  It means you recognize you and your business are worth investing in; that you have potential and want to grow – professionally and personally.

I encourage you to make that investment in your future.  Sign up for a mentor through our new Mentoring Program.  Go on --- you know you are worth it.

Know when to quit

With the launch of our new book, The Best of Company, I have had to explain the source of the articles in the book.

You see for four years Company of Women published its small but mighty magazine Company which was much-loved and distributed across Canada.  However, the publication also offered me a big business lesson – know when to quit.

As a writer and avid reader, I still strongly believe in the power of the printed word, and the magazine fast became my favourite project.  It took up much of my time as I garnered up articles, sought out advertisers and oversaw the production of the quarterly magazine.

However, as I shared at a recent meeting, it was a money-pit.  Launched in 2007 it faired well at the beginning but with the downturn in the economy, it became increasingly difficult to secure enough advertising to cover the production and distribution costs.

But remember, it was my favourite project, so I kept trucking.  I even convinced myself that it was a membership service, rationalizing and justifying the expense because we were providing useful information to our members.

And I did that for four years.  True it did make us unique and could be classified as a membership and recruitment tool.  But as the bills came in and I was writing cheques for thousands with each issue,  I reluctantly realized there was no way I could continue.  

A good friend, Michele Bailey, of Blazing the Agency, generously agreed to do the layout for the last issue for free, but really it was delaying the inevitable. More buying me time to get used to the idea that it wasn’t financially viable to carry on.

My lesson from all this is that you have to know when to stop; when to pull the plug on a business venture that is just not working financially, no matter how many resources you throw at it.   In other words, I should have made this decision way earlier.

My other piece of advice is to track the numbers. Find ways to measure the results. Ask tough questions. While Company created increased awareness of our organization, when I looked at the funds coming in vs. the funds going out, it wasn’t working.

You have to be honestly brutal with yourself.   No excuses. No rationalization.  If it ain’t working, it ain’t working.

Back to the book, if you have missed our articles or never caught them first time around – check into The Best of Company, which provides 50 of the best, along with a bonus on networking.  Copies of the book will be available at our events and will shortly be available online at www.companyofwomen.ca

I am celebrating our success

My friends and family will tell you that just before the Journey 2 Success conference I can be heard muttering under my breath “never again, this is the LAST one.”  

And certainly this year was no different, in fact I had decided it really was the last one.  

Equating my decision that it was better, like a TV show, to quit while you were ahead.  Plus “10^th conference” had a good ring to it.

Fast forward two days after the conference and what have I just done?  Booked the space for next year – May 9^th ladies, mark your calendar.   

What made me change my mind?  Apart from being on a high from the day,  I just love, love seeing women connect and support one another.  I spend hours plotting out the table plans and to see it working is reward in itself.  The energy in the room was palpable and it wasn’t just at the start, it lasted all day.

Second – I have come to realize that we are offering something special and unique to women and I want more women to benefit from that experience.  Part of my growth is learning to delegate and so heads up team, get ready as I plan to rope you all in.

Lastly, where else do I get told by 200 + women that I am looking good?J

As I sat in on the Make it Happen session the day after the conference, I was struck by some common themes that came up. 

The sense of community that Company of Women has created.  Not just at the conference, but across the organization. We had women there from all nine chapters, including Manitoba, and it became really clear to me that we are attracting like-minded women, who want to support not compete with one another.

My second observation was that we can all learn from one another, no matter what stage you are at in the your business or how successful you are, there is always something new to learn.

There was much conversation at the conference about success and as one person pointed out, it is an inside job.  It starts with how you feel about yourself and your level of self-awareness.   The speakers frequently talked about trust – in yourself and your gut instincts and in others.  Being authentic was also key. 

Our keynote speaker Amy McLaren spoke with such humility and honesty about the life-changing charity she started at 26, downplaying her achievements while encouraging us all to step up and make a difference.  And we did.  Together we raised $5,085 for Amy’s charity – World Teacher Aid.

As I listened to the women in the Make it Happen session it was interesting that many of their main takeaways came from someone who ran a charity, not a for-profit-business, which speaks to the fact that it really doesn’t matter what type of business you are running, striving to do and be your best is what matters.

As for Liz Radzick.  What can I say?  She’s always amazing but when she just took over the opening session without a blink… that’s masterful.  That’s truly role modelling how to go with the flow.

That leads me to our ending - the clever, entertaining but thought-provoking documentary – One Red Lipstick – produced by Spenser Chapple, a young woman with insights beyond her years, who was looking for role models, and found them.

It was a day of laughter, tears and wisdom, in a community of women who care.

See you next year.

Getting to know you...

Recently I had the amazing experience of taking part in an environmental photo shoot.  Now I just thought I was getting head shots done for an article being written about me, but no.  I had the pleasure of spending over two hours with the photographer and his team.

So what’s an environmental shoot, you may ask?   I had to look it up,  I confess.  Basically the photographer spends time seeing you in action, getting a sense of what you do, and through all that, what you are like.

I had to pretend I was presenting to a small group of women who were gathered together as my “props”  then converse with just two women and finally, what I had been expecting, the head shots.  

As I reflect on this process it strikes me that as small business owners, it works best when we do an “environmental shoot” too.   What do I mean?  When we spend time getting to know our prospective client, visiting them in their office or plant, we get to see them in action on their home turf.  It gives us a better perspective on who they are, what they will want and more to the point, how they like to be pitched.

All of which makes it much easier for us to present and close the sale.  Yes, it is an investment in time.  So was my photo shoot, but I bet you those photos will rock because after two hours, he has likely captured my essence.   And you can do the same with your customers.