Expert Marketing Blog - Page 67

Stuck on a plane somewhere between Chicago and Los Angeles, I pulled out a magazine I had bought at the airport. It's one of my favorites and is always full of stories that inspire, educate and enlighten me on topics that are interesting.

Inc Magazine is an entrepreneurial stable. It is one of the most popular magazines in the world for entrepreneurs and people who run businesses. One of my good friends Kevin Daum, a guy that I met way back in 2002 in Sydney, Australia, is a New Yorker who submits regular articles to Inc Magazine that are read by thousands of people.

As I read the article, "I thought I knew you - Entrepreneurship changes people - and not always for the better", I reflected on my own experiences.

Has entrepreneurship changed me? Is it for the better?

"All women are crazy and all men are stupid," said a well-known author when I recently met them at Atlanta's St Regis Hotel for a cocktail.

How true. I know many women will throw their arms up in the air at this one and it is a gross generalisation - but if you think about it, it actually is closer to the truth than most women entrepreneurs would like to admit.

While I try in earnest to be consistent, without too many overwhelming changes to my personality, I think most people who know me well, would say I am a tad crazy - just like all my other female friends. I won't react quite like I use to when it comes to anything emotional or otherwise, because as you get older, the chances are you can hold it in a little more, but YES I do over-think things and I definitely react irrationally at times when I would prefer to not have reacted at all. 

Do you actually know what get's you in the door of a prospect? If you don't, then there is someone who you need to meet. Her name is Caryn Kopp. Seriously, if you run a small business, you need to remember this name because she is dynamite, built in a small package with an enormous explosion just ready to come out at any time. The explosion however, isn't the kind that you need to be afraid of. Instead, its a bundle of energy that opens doors; left, right and center.

I met Caryn Kopp in unusual circumstances - for me at least! In the restroom of the Nascar Center in Charlotte, North Carolina at around 10pm at night.

Apparently, as she later explained, she saw me earlier in the evening and thought I was beautifully dressed (thanks to the great designs of Sass and Bide in Australia). Her immediate reaction was to think that perhaps she didn't wear something that was dressy enough. She noticed the long, blonde hair on the black dress and the risque spikes that turned what is otherwise a pretty dress into one that is there to be noticed. She then looked at the name badge and although, like most of us, she had trouble focusing on the small print, she noticed the spelling of my name on the badge. It's unusual. 

"This is the girl I have to meet at the conference," she thought.

Prior to this, our friend Jim Weldon, had connected the two of us as he thought we would have some synergies with our businesses. The only problem was that Caryn was too busy to schedule a call in the week I was available and it was postponed to the following week.

You never know who you will meet in the bathroom

A lot of good things happen in the bathroom according to Caryn. After all, her business was born out of a gym bathroom some years previously. "Who knows what happens in the men's room!" she says with the same enthusiasm that she has for life, business and creating relationships.

As a business owner and entrepreneur, there is nothing more apparent than when you sit in a room full of other like-minded individuals, that you are a little different. 

If one of my "normal" friends were sitting there, in that room, they would be terrified. They would have ran out as fast as they can, without looking back. Everyone was talking, almost all at once. They all had their ipads, iphones and pens and paper ready to hear - you are not going to be believe this - JACK DALY. Not that you wouldn't believe that someone would go and see Jack Daly, but because most of the people in the room had seen him speak on sales, not once, not twice, not even three times - but more than 5 or 6 times - BECAUSE he is that good and everyone in that room knows that to build their businesses, they need good management, strong marketing, and SALES. And, when it comes to SALES there is no-one more qualified or better at giving small businesses insight, than Jack Daly.

Brian Heather is a serial entrepreneur; young, dynamic, good looking and with a real social conscience. Not only is he in the business of sustainable environments, landscaping and water proofing, this 30-year old business man is changing the landscape of green buliding.

It may be a buzz word to many, but let me assure you, being green is more than meets the eye. Brian is a much sought after entrepreneur who has landed himself in the spotlight with his inaugural Ted Talk on June 23 on "The importance of reconnecting our cities to nature" as well as the natural charisma of an entrepreneur who is really going places.

His business, Solterra Systems, is a fully licensed electrical, landscaping and waterproofing company that focuses on integrating environmental technology into buildings.

This can range from green roofsproducing food, through to rain screen siding systems that protect the building from the elements with plants.