NAWBO Recognizes Top 10 Business Women

This past week I had the opportunity to attend the annual awards dinner sponsored by NAWBO.

I went because a friend, colleague and fellow chamber member, Robin Penca of Penca Creative Designs was one of the honored 10 top business women.  I also went because I look forward to hearing the stories of the honorees.  Inevitably among the list of thank-yous (because no one gets there alone) they'll share tidbits of how they define success.

"What does it take to be successful?" asked Lori DeVore or DeVore Technologies.  "A Nordstroms credit card and a great banker."  She attributed her success to the relationship she had with her financial planner to set the foundation for her growth.

She also advised that we focus on the SOLUTION rather than the problem.  When I worked at Pearle Vision I would start each committee meeting with "if you will be sharing a problem, please come prepared with your suggestions for fixing the problem."  It stops the whining and starts the turn around to success.

Rose Corrick of Art of Cloth clothing designer started her business by literally selling the shirt off her back.  A woman admired her top - refused to wait for one to be made for her causing Rose to actually take off her top and sell it to the woman.  "Thank goodness for layering," she quipped.  But the real message is - you have to be ready to make bold moves to grow your business and be willing to do whatever it takes to meet your customer's needs.

Cindy Mustafa of Realty One said that "I don't sell real estate, I sell the dream of the home."  So often when we are asked what we do we respond with our title or a feature rather than the end result.  She went on to talk about the importance of listening and changing your communication styles based on the person you are working with.

Robin has made made changes in her business over the last several years based on customer needs starting with firing her biggest client.  That bold move led her to redefine her business with the result being a 700% growth in sales.  Makes you want to take her to lunch and pick her brain, doesn't it?  She says "The true measure of success is laugh lines."

Robin lives her life by the George Bailey method.  You remember George from It's A Wonderful Life.  She strives to ensure that she makes a difference in people's lives so that their life/work/products are better because she helped make it that way. 

The key note speaker and recipient of the Tower Award was Colleen Barrett, president of Southwest Airlines.  A down-to-earth, tell it like it is, leader - she believes in every associate of SW having three things:

1.  A warrior's spirit

2.  A servant's heart

3.  A fun loving attitude

"We spend more time on hiring decisions than any other company out there."  With just a 2 year legal secretary certificate as her formal education, she has worked to grow SW Airlines to be the fun, successful, quality experience, customer focused company that it is.  She was very inspiring and I could have listened to her all night long.

Each woman came to the podium with a different story but the bottom line ingredient for their success was a dream - a passion and determination for achieving their goal, a team that supported and encouraged them and a willingness to keep at it no matter what came their way.

If someone were to ask you the same question, what would your answer be? 

How do you define success?  Where are you on the journey to achieving your goal? 

For a complete list of Nawbo Top 10 Business Women winners.

Comments

[Deborah]

Kimberly,

Thanks for the lovely comment and the great reference to Microsoft Office's small business solution. I am familiar with it and have recommended it to some of my customers just starting out. Thanks for visiting and taking the time to write a comment.

Deborah

[Kimberly Rosenberg]

Deborah,
What a wonderful post! It sounds like the women who spoke at the awards had some great valid points and advice, and the anecdotes you included in your post really prove that businesswomen can make a sizable impact when their head is in the game. I especially loved Lorie’s simple, concise words; focus on the solution, not the problem. This saves time and unnecessary headaches and keeps the process moving. No doubt these women have all learned the value of self promotion, and taking the proactive, personable approach to building a business, while maintaining and expanding their target market. It’s that “just go for it” attitude that really makes the difference.

As we know, one of the best means of business expansion is through not only local press and spoken word, but to tap into the unlimited potential business on the net. I’ve personally found Microsoft Office Live Small Business to be the best starting ground for women who want to broaden their opportunities, with easy domain name setups and handy HTML tools to add a personal touch. It’s non-threatening, easy to understand, and can prove to be an incredibly beneficial tool in any entrepreneur’s arsenal.

Oh yeah, and the website (even if you want deborahchattickbrown.com) is FREE!

If you or any other ever-expanding businesswomen would like to check out OLSB, feel free to visit http://smallbusiness.officelive.com/

And if you’re interested, check out David Pogue’s review at http://video.on.nytimes.com/?fr_story=20331d4f7dfd0d541404c93fb9bcf988c806cb31

Again, thank you so much for posting this inspiring blog! It’s always great to see other women doing it themselves, and doing it well! I would also like to extend the offer to anyone who is interested in using Office Live Small Business to email me with any questions or comments. I work with Microsoft and would be more than happy to answer any questions you may have! My personal e-mail is k-rosenberg@liveofficeusers.com.

Again Deborah, thank you and keep it up!

Best,
Kimberly