This is a guest post from Chia-Li Chien, who helps women entrepreneurs convert their business into meaningful personal wealth.

When I recently received a phone call from a client asking, “what’s going on in the stock market?” I had to wonder if they ever actually listened to what I said in the past.

In the fall of 2009, I told every one of my clients to keep their investments in CASH, because by summer of 2010, the commercial real estate bubble would burst and the stock market would not do well.

Unfortunately, no one took me seriously, because the stock market has been on the increase and a subject of hype during the first six months of 2010.

However, the European financial crisis, coupled with a slowing down of consumer and business spending, has created a very tight and expensive credit condition. Many small businesses (less than 500 employees) were cautioned about their spending and had to do more with less without the access to capital available in previous times.

In June, I served as moderator for “2010 Charlotte Chamber Summits: Access to Capital for Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs.” (You can listen to the audio recording here.) From the audience’s questions, it became clear that there are many businesses looking for financing.

However, it also soon became evident that the 340 entrepreneurs in attendance have little or no information about the tools available and where to get them.

In 2009, I published an article “Need Money? Think Private Capital Markets” about the six types of private capital for small businesses. It’s a complex process, and was not fully addressed at the recent workshop at the Charlotte Chamber Summits.

One thing I kept repeating at the workshops I moderated was “Revisit your business model, and, if need be, innovate your business model and products or services.” Why is that? Not only do we now have to do more with less, but we also have to grow using newer technologies, better customer relationship building, etc.

Let’s take a look at what a business model is and what it can do to help you grow. You can see the complete article about “Create a Company Wealth Map” for more details. But for the purpose of this article, we’ll only focus on the business model.

First, let’s understand the terminology:

• A business model is the vehicle that gets you there. The “there” is your company wealth map.
• A company wealth map describes the current state or position of a business, its current market value, the owner’s value goal, and the strategies, tactics and business model required to meet the goal.
• The goal is your desire to become financially independent.
• Being financially independent means different things to different people. It is a stage in which you no longer need to be engaged in gainful activities such as business, a job, etc. You can generate income without actually working.

Many business owners have plenty of passion when they start their business. However, passion alone can’t generate dollars.

A business model should align well with:

• Passion/purpose. This is your business purpose and personal passion. Ideally you want to match this with a something you can sell or do for a customer. For example, when Ann-Marie Fleming faced a challenge with her dog, she was unable to find the products or tools to help her aged pet.She felt so passionate about the animal that she created dogquality.com. Not only did it address her problem, but also helped many other people gain more quality time with their much-loved canine companions.
• Talents or core competency. These are your business’s key resources or key processes. Review your business core competency to stay focused and make better business decisions about what and where to expand.
• Economic drivers. You can’t have a business without making a profit. The economic drivers are your profit formula. Surprisingly, many businesses do not realize any profits from what they do.Just talk to any CPA firm and they’ll agree. Why? Because they’ve failed to start the business with a profit in mind and without the economic drivers needed to diversify the overall revenue stream.

Use the above terms and write down how they apply and what they mean to your business. Work on your answers for a couple of days to clarify your business model. Remember, maintain your flexibility and be sure everything makes sense, remaining totally aligned.

The three things I list above take time to formulate. You may not get all the answers the first day, but continue to work until you see a clear picture. Ideally, work with an advisor, mentor or coach to guide you.

Without a clear business model, you may not know where you’re taking your business, and end up wasting unnecessary energy, resources and time.

To receive a complimentary copy of a sample business model worksheet, just tweet this message to me

@ChiaLiChien: “I want to have my sample copy of your Business Model Worksheet.” #womanzworld

Chia-Li Chien is the author of Show Me The Money and columnist for WomenEntrepreneur.com & Fox Business online. She is available for consulting, speaking engagements and workshops. She can be reached at www.chialichien.com or jolly@chialichien.com.

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This is a guest post from Chia-Li Chien, who helps women entrepreneurs to convert their business into meaningful personal wealth.

For every six new businesses started, five fail within five years.

Although the high failure rate can be attributed to many factors, one common issue I see (even after surviving the first five years) is misalignment with a business model. And a good business model really depends on how well something called the Six Variables factored in when you first started your business.

For centuries, the Chinese culture has passed along the wisdom of these Six Variables, yet many forgot about them or chose to ignore them. Let’s further examine what they are so you too can have a successful start and a long lasting empire. You can see the complete details in my published article Secrets of a Successful Exit.

The Six Variables that you should understand are the following:

The G Variables

The right time.

If you were to introduce the first generation microwave in today’s market, it may not work as well as you expect if compared to when the first microwave came out. Timing is everything, and your products or services will impact how your buyers determine when to buy.

The right place.

Years ago, there was a swimsuit manufacturer which for over ten years could not sell their products, no matter how many different ways they tried. Five years ago, they found themselves with so much accumulated inventory that the owner was ready to close.

Ironically, he was on a tour of the Middle East when he realized that he could potentially sell these inventories to Muslim women who desired to cover their entire body. Today, he is one of top swimsuit providers to predominantly Muslim countries. He simply happened to market and sell his products in the right place this time.

The right people.

We all know that you can’t grow your company ALONE. You need people, especially helpful people. These people can be your staff, team, customers, vendors, mentors, and/or coaches – anyone you come across. Without them, it’s hard to build a team and to gather the resources and systems required to grow your business.

The U Variables

Yourself.

You can operate your business on your own for at least the very beginning. No one knows your business better than you. The goal is, at some point, for you to have a lesser operations role as you mature your business.

Your own profession.

In Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, he uses Bill Gate’s example of taking about 10,000 hours to reach perfection in one profession. That is approximately five to ten years of time if you do part-time work.

This does not mean that you can’t change industries. As a matter of fact, you can, but you’ll need to reset your expectations of the number of years for you to be technically very good at your next profession, career, or even job level.

Your own money.

Have you ever taken out a mortgage to buy your own home? Have you ever wondered why the bank requires a 20% down payment in order to avoid mortgage insurance? It’s because if your own money is in play, the smart people at the bank know that you likely will be more serious about making your monthly mortgage payment.

The same thing can be true about your business – if you want investors to come up with 100% of the funding, they may be reluctant to do so since none of your money is involved. Invest some of your own money, and they understand that you’ll think twice about spending profits on something that is NOT an income generating activity.

Okay, so what if you don’t have all six variables lined up like a jackpot on a slot machine? Well, just like when you sit at a slot machine, you’ll try again and again until you hit the jackpot. It does not mean you won’t have success, it just means you may have to spend some money and pull the lever a lot.

There is much to consider when starting out in business. In addition to the Six Variables above, proper discipline, structure and accountability will help you go a long way. Because you’re the boss now – you call the shots. You pull the handle on the slot machine. No one is there to monitor how you choose to play the game.

Chia-Li Chien, CFP®, CRPC, PMP; helps women entrepreneurs convert their business into meaningful personal wealth.  She is the author of Show Me The Money and columnist for Women Entrepreneur and Fox Business online.  She can be reached at www.chialichien.com or jolly@chialichien.com.

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This is the first in a series of guest posts from Chia-Li Chien, CFP®, CRPC, PMP; helps women entrepreneurs to convert their business into meaningful personal wealth.

Flash back to February 2010, when we were all busy watching the 2010 Winter Olympics. Without a doubt, these were athletes trained to take home the gold.

Then, some of these same athletes returned home and competed in Dancing with the Stars, where they had an even better chance to win the gold, or in the case of that competition, the glitter ball trophy.  Why is that? Is it because they can visualize their end game? You bet!

How about your business? Are you going for the gold? It’s easy to start a business, but not so easy to pass the first five years mark, harder still to sustain business growth at the second five year mark, and even harder to breakthrough to earning your first $1 million, $5million, $10million, $20million going up to $100 million in revenue.

Winning the gold seems impossible at times. You may be committed to and diligent in growing the business, but do you have your end game in mind?

It appears Oprah Winfrey had an end game in mind when she announced her exit in November 2009. In my Exit Strategy 101 article, I shared with readers why Winfrey decided it was the right time to leave the game.

Is it time for you to rethink where you’re taking your business and start visualizing your end game? Then start getting by getting it written down, mapping it out, putting it in a Word doc – whatever you need to do – because without a goal on paper, you won’t get anywhere.

So when should you have your end game mapped out? Ideally when you start your business, but the reality of running your business day in and day out make that an unlikely goal to make. You just don’t have the time or the energy when getting a business off the ground.

Depending in which fifth year block your business is, here are a couple things to consider:

The First 5 Year Block

For the most part, this is the survival stage. You’re lucky if you’re worried about growth in this stage. You focus most on marketing and sales to pump revenue into the company. It’s all about volume and transactions. Many businesses show minimum profits if any.

The Second 5 Year Block

Your growth stage. Once you have enough volume you will naturally focus on streamlining processes. Focus on repeat business and customer loyalty. It will shorten your sales cycle and provide more added value to customers.

The Third 5 Year Block

This is your positioning stage and now is the time to take your company to the next level. This will require certain foundations that you’ve hopefully built over time. I advise that you focus on the P Variables. Find out The P Variables in my Secrets of a Successful Exit article.

Regardless of which 5YB your business is in, you should have the end game in mind. Take time to plan for it now. Check out the Company Wealth Map (CWM) to help guide you. The CWM is a “road map” that can help take you to your ultimate goal – financial independence.

To receive a compliant copy of a sample Company Wealth Map, just tweet this message:
@ChiaLiChien: “I want to have my sample copy of the Company Wealth Map #womanzworld

Chia-Li Chien is the is the author of Show Me The Money and columnist for WomenEntrepreneur.com & Fox Business online.  She can be reached at www.chialichien.com or jolly@chialichien.com.

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A few months back I was reading a fascinating article in Entrepreneur.com about how few entrepreneurs start a business with the end in mind. The all important exit strategy seems elusive to many of us yet it is so important to have that end goal in mind.

I was so impressed by the points in the article and the level of advice given, plus the fact that she’d just written a book called Show Me The Money that I just decided to email Chia-Li Chien and tell her so.

Chia-Li Chien is the founder and chief strategist of Chien Associates LLC, a strategy and implementation management consulting firm that helps women entrepreneurs to convert their business into meaningful personal wealth.

She’s also one of the most organized and productive women I know that focuses on her priorities and getting results. I was impressed by her prompt, friendly and professional reply, scheduling of our Skype interview and her follow up and her sense of humour.

Chia-Li even shared her incredible calendar with me that is fully colour coded and is planned months in advance with weekly sessions blocked out for marketing, writing, business development, workshops and more.

I knew we all could learn a great deal from her years of experience in time management and business systems, but more importantly her financial prowess and passion in helping women invest in themselves.

Here’s our interview below plus listen to our recorded Skype call where I ask Chia-Li specifically about exit planning, time management tips and more.

Tell me why having an exit plan is so important for women in business?

Creating a business is not just a means of “lifestyle”. As women we often end up taking care of everyone else in the world except for ourselves and we also neglect to view our business as an investment asset.
When you start to view it from this perspective though, you will actually demand an annual return and a certain growth in value over time. Without this end in mind you will not get where you want to be, or achieve financial independence so you can enjoy doing the thing you love the most.

In your opinion, what’s the biggest challenge women face in viewing their business as investment?

They don’t see it as a real investment asset, most view it as “lifestyle” or in reality a job. Let me elaborate, if an owner takes less than $100K salary from the business, she effectively created a job for herself.

If an owner takes less than $250K salary from the business, she created a “lifestyle” for herself.
Until you create 2 to 5 times of the value you’re not creating wealth for yourself at all. The biggest challenge I see women face is “but I am not in the business to make that much money”. My answer is always the same, then work for someone else, it’s a lot easier that way.

What do you love most about helping women achieve financial freedom?

I’ve been there, and can relate to their challenges. We all have family and business to juggle and there is no one formula that fits all. Everyone is unique, and each woman her own set of challenges that I love to help solve.

Most importantly, I am a great connector and can help my clients connect to big customers/clients and stay focused. I love to see them grow and it is the most rewarding thing for me to witness.

You’re a master at time management, what are your top 5 tips for managing your week?

#1. Preview your week: Check your week’s schedule on previous Friday night or early Monday morning so you can familiarise how your week layout looks.

#2. Block Time: Block out time in your calendar such as

• Staff meetings
• Training (for you)
• Green block (making money time)
• Client service/design time
• Marketing/Sales (unless you have staff to do this)
• Review/monitor Company KPI (Key Performance Indicators)
• Paperwork time – something you have to do but make NO money for such as filing, signing contracts, etc. Your staff can do most of this but there are still some things you need to do.
• YOU Time – such as family time, nap time, fitness time, etc.

#3. Be true to yourself: Once you have your own systems down, follow your own rule so your staff can keep you honest.

#3. Put your To Do on your calendar: Block them out into the categories above. So you don’t get side-tracked easily.
#4. Take Care of Yourself. If you need time to nap, put a nap time in your calendar.
I wake up at 5 AM everyday; naturally, I am exhausted by 3 pm. Therefore, I block out 3 to 5 pm for cooking for family or nap time for me. You don’t have to be a super women. Yes, I get home from the office by 3, but continue to work few hours after 6 or 7 pm.

You put aside 25% of your time for marketing your business, what’s your key focus?

My key focus on marketing is to land speaking engagements and interviews. In professional services, the most effective way to generate qualified leads is to get in front of qualified suspects (they may not be prospects yet).
Often it will lead to another speaking engagement or prospective meeting.

This can include “center of influence” or COI, those business entities that have the same target clients as you do, and they refer clients to you. I also call them Market Makers and I cover this in more detail in my book.

What are some of the top books you’ve read that have made a personal difference to you and influenced you and why?

Most of Dr. Wayne Dyers’ books – very much aligned with spiritual, purpose and passion and John Maxwell’s books

– great leadership books.
I believe that we all have to do what we’ve been called to do, that which is truly aligned to our passion, purpose and core talents to thrive in our lives. Finding the passion and purpose is not easy.

To recognize them and align them with your core talents is even harder because at the end of the day, you have to make money out of that. So these books have greatly influenced me.

But to be honest, there are many more Chinese books that I read that influenced me as I was growing up. Those are the ones built my foundation, integrity and value in life. Mostly Tao or Lao Tzu related.

What’s the most exciting thing that’s happening in your world right now?

I’d say it’s getting requests from people that I don’t know about my Show Me The Money – Run Your Business Like A Prosperous Investor book. I’ve received many requests for consultations or sometimes just simple one or two quick questions.

Because of that, I am planning to launch “Ask Jolly” for women entrepreneurs to call in for a live show. I am the Suze Orman version for Women Entrepreneurs.

What is your key piece of advice to any female considering becoming an entrepreneur?

I hate to tell you to read my book, but in chapter one, I reveal an ancient Chinese secret for success. Sorry, ladies, there is really no secret here, but some smart hard work as I mention this previously published article “Secrets of a Successful Exit”.

If you can get the first and 2nd set right, you’ll have a great start. You ultimately have to be honest to yourself whether it is worth that much effort to create a business.

To win a signed copy of `Show Me The Money’ just tweet this message:
I want to win a copy of `Show Me The Money! and learn how to treat my business as an investment  via @womanzworld

Chia-Li is also a columnist for WomenEntrepreneur.com & Fox Business online and her interviews appear in the New York Times “You’re the Boss” Blog.  Chi-Li also serves on several womens’ boards and provides pro bono services to the community. You can reach her at jolly@chialichien.com

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This is a Guest Post from Stella Fayman who knows her stuff on an area I’ve recently had frustrations with – credit card processors. I think you’ll find her tips very valuable.

Image from MBDA Minority Biz Blog

If you have your own business, you most likely have gone through the annoying and frustrating process of choosing a credit card processor (also called a merchant account provider) in order to accept credit cards.

Since there is not a lot of information out there on how to choose a processor, a lot of business owners get ripped off with tricky rates, confusing salespeople, and contracts that are impossible to understand.

Here are some tips to help guide you in your search:

1)   No cancellation fees allowed

Make sure to read the fine print from your credit card processing contract. You may be surprised to find a cancellation fee from at least $250 to several thousand dollars.  This fee is a way of guaranteeing your loyalty to the processor, regardless of your satisfaction with their service.

The good news is that getting rid of this fee should not be a problem: most salespeople have the authority to waive it. To avoid this problem, talk to the salesperson and make sure the fee is waived in writing either in the contract or as an amendment.

For a beginning business, making sure to have the no cancellation fee clause is a great hedge in case anything goes wrong.

2)    Only interchange plus pricing

The bulk of the processing fee goes to Visa and Mastercard—this fee is called “interchange” and is set in stone. Interchange-plus pricing is the fairest form of pricing structure for your business, meaning that you pay the interchange fee plus a constant markup which goes to theprocessor as a service charge. Having this structure ensures there are no tricky fees or hidden costs, unlike tiered pricing structures.

3)    Comparison shop

Research shows that the best deal can be found by comparison shopping for credit card processors–at least five. However, make sure to compare on an apples-to-apples basis, and be sure each processor knows that you are actively shopping. You can easily make your bids more competitive by leveraging the power of comparison.

4) What about PayPal?

If you’re in ecommerce, PayPal seems to be the no brainer chose for a processor.  It’s an ok choice in the beginning when credit card revenues are low and your service is growing.

However, as revenue gets in the thousands it’s time to reevaluate since PayPal may be taking more of a cut for their service than a traditional merchant account provider.

5) Don’t Rent of Lease Equipment

For the most part credit card processing equipment is quite cheap now.  Those little black terminals that you see in small retail stores usually cost $100 – $300 and a full-fledged POS system is a little more than a desktop computer, less than $2000.

If you own your own equipment there is less chance for processors to sneak in extra profit by padding your lease payments and it also makes it easier to switch if something goes wrong in the relationship.

Bio: Stella Fayman blogs about credit card processing at the TransFS Blog.  Just like getting multiple quotes for airfare using Expedia, TransFS lets business owners compare top quality processors on an apples-to-apples basis and makes sure they get the best deal by not having any cancellation or hidden fees, and only interchange plus pricing. Feel free to email Stella with specific questions at stella@transfs.com.

This is by no means a paid advertisement! I think this is just very handy for business owners to know about.

If you have 30 seconds to spare I’d appreciate your vote on my one click poll in my previous article on what solutions you’d like to see from WomanzWorld to help you and your business

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Kelley Keehn, founder of the Prosperity Factor,  is an incredibly positive and engaging woman. She also has that rare quality of making you feel like you’re a very important person.

To top it off she’s beautiful and smart and has just landed herself a role as co-host of Burn My Mortgage, premiering in the fall of 2010 on the W Network.

Kelly Keehn

I first approached her for an interview some months back when a good friend of mine, mentioned what an amazing mentor she’d been in her life and how incredibly focused and successful she was.

Kelley is not only a financial expert, she’s also a speaker, media personality and author of six books, including She Inc., The Woman’s Guide to Money and The Prosperity Factor for Kids.

Kelly is a former financial professional and managed millions for one of Canada’s most international banks and then went on to experience the challenges of running and selling her own business.

She’s witnessed firsthand the problems individuals have with money and discovered that whether someone had a billion in the bank or was a million in the hole, everyone has money problems!

What’s more Kelley understands what it means to be a woman in corporate North America today and how to overcome one’s weakness and capitalize on female strengths.

Below she reveals her insights as a workaholic, entrepreneur and a woman who challenges us to take on a different mindset and empower ourselves by taking control of our finances.

WomanzWorld: As an entrepreneur what are you most passionate about?

Kelly Keehn: Empowering individuals to feel good about money.  Most of my books are geared towards women (but many men write me as well).

I don’t think one can be truly independent and free without being financially independent.  There are times when a woman (or man) may need to be dependent on their spouse, if they’re having a child or going back to school, but financial empowerment is about education and knowing that no one will look after your finances better than you.

What led you to start your own wealth management firm?

The market.  My position at the bank was fantastic and a privilege.  As the banking structure was changing, I just didn’t see a fit for me there unless I was willing to relocate and I wasn’t due to my family and just buying another house at the time.

I thought I’d make one final career switch and open my own firm.  I never thought I’d sell it 6 years later and be doing what I am today.

What’s been your biggest challenge to-date and how did you tackle it?

Definitely, opening my own firm.  I thought I had run all the numbers, truly thought it out, but didn’t realize how very long it would take to get back to the salary I left at the bank.

Sure, I was building a business that I could sell one day (this never crossed my mind until my business coach suggested it three months before I actually sold it), but there are times when the receptionist is making more than the business owner.

It’s challenging to forgo a salary, expense account, and all that’s paid for and taken care of when working for a large corporation.

What key strengths do you believe women bring to the financial world?

In general it’s their attention to detail, follow-up and caring that are absolutely an asset.

What is the most common financial issue for women and what’s your solution?

There isn’t one issue.  Women today are so diverse.  Some have kids, some don’t, some are married, single or from the sandwich generation.

There are too many variables today that women didn’t have say 4 or 5 decades ago.  But there are too many women that don’t think they can take charge of their finances.

They tell themselves myth’s like, “I’m just not good with numbers”, or, “my husband/dad/brother/advisor” will look after me”.

I think financial wellbeing, like with our health, and can never fully be trusted to anyone.  And paying attention to your bank and credit card statements, your spending, negotiating on your mortgage, etc. – one doesn’t need to be good with numbers – they just need to pay attention to them.

How do you juggle being a Financial Expert, Author, Speaker and contributor to CNBC and CBC?

I’m a work-a-holic and proud to be one.  It’s trite, but when you’re truly on purpose doing what you love, you can’t help but live it 24/7.

What was your inspiration behind your books The Prosperity Factor for Women, She inc and the Woman’s Guide to Money

Many of my past clients and women I’ve met that won’t ever be free and independent unless they’re financially independent.

That was the impetus of both books…plus, I could write a book on the “why”.

She Inc. is very special to me as I’ve lived these principles for over 15 years and have served me in every step of my life.  If I hadn’t thought like a corporation, I’d NEVER be doing what I’m doing today.

What are some of the top books you’ve read that have made a personal difference to you and influenced you and why?

The bible, anything on NLP (Dr. Charles Faulkner and Richard Bandler) and anything on the human mind.

I’ve read and or listened to hundreds if not thousands of books and really couldn’t pin point which ones.  But they’ve made me who I am.

Many people ask me how to get a great mentor.  The best and brightest minds in the world are free for inspiration – you can find them all at the library.

What’s the most exciting thing that’s happening right now?

My new show – Burn My Mortgage.

What is your key piece of advice to any female considering becoming an entrepreneur?

Think of yourself as a corporation – whether you’re employed, self-employed or a blend of the two. I have worn all hats and know if I have any success right now, it’s because of that philosophy  which I wrote my last book on.

You don’t know when one of your clients might offer you a dream job or when your boss may be your client 10 years from now.

When it comes to entrepreneurship, know what you’re getting yourself into.  It can be the most rewarding step in your life but for many, it’s also their biggest failure.

I’ve become a realist and so many individuals don’t really think through going out on their own. If you’re willing to work for 10 or 20 years to become an “over night” success, then do it.  But know yourself.  If you want to go home at 5 and have the weekends off, you might be best to work for someone else.

You can find out more about Kelly at www.kelleykeehn.com

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Angel Pui is the CEO of MyWeddingMatch.com, an online marketplace for weddings. This Vancouver entrepreneur has an insatiable appetite for innovations and new business ideas. Before stumbling into the wedding industry, she was a successful fashion designer studying in the UK.

While she was sewing zippers on custom-made wedding gowns, she had the light-bulb moment of creating a new web solution for weddings. Angel loves a good challenge and thrives on wearing multiple hats on a daily basis.

I was lucky enough to strike up a friendship with Angel after attending a Passion and Purpose workshop last year where I was introduced to her by another talented friend and entrepreneur. Since then Angel and I have had several get togethers discussing strategy, life, dating, pitching, investment, product management and more.

What I love about Angel right now is her focus and momentum. Not only has she gained funding, fantastic investors and great advisors, but she knows where she’s heading and what she wants to achieve.

She’s also a workaholic who’s intent on finding better work/life balance….. I guess that’s why, as I type, she just took on a contract to create six new designs for Earl Jeans!

The Pitch of a lifetime

Back in November Angel was up on stage pitching her company at Fusion 09 – an event designed to bring Canada’s top digital media ventures to the attention of leading investors in North America and beyond.  She kicked some serious butt and made the top three.

I met her straight after for dinner and she was just buzzing. We discussed every aspect of the forum and competition, how she felt, how she prepared and what her strategy was.

I was so impressed I said you have to write a blog post on this for WomanzWorld. Finally she has. You can read it here  and watch the five minute video below to see Angel in action.

By Angel Pui

As an early-stage entrepreneur, whenever you leave the bat-cave for air and sunlight, you are almost always pitching. Whether it’s on stage with life-changing VCs, in a boardroom with a sales lead, or convincing your spouse not to leave you because your pursuit is deemed crazy, the pitch will determine your future.

1. It’s all about the packaging – If you’ve ever bought a bottle of water for $3, you’ve participated in proper packaging (or timely location). Your presentation determines your product’s first impression and perceived value. Your amazing business idea is intangible, so materialize the thought that solely resides in your head into a vision you can share.

Stunning slides – especially your first one – are worth the time. Your audience will most likely have a few minutes to look at your first slide before you go on stage or answer the conference call. Whether you like it or not, that’s the slide they will give the most attention to, so set the tone that speaks volume about your personality. All following slides should have a consistent theme to solidify your branding.

2. Pitch Yourself - Founders should always pitch their own presentations – even if someone else is a better speaker. You can improve presentation skills but you can’t artificially inject passion. This is your baby, no one else can convey the vision like you can, so don’t hire the nanny to breast-feed your newborn. Pitch solo, it’s difficult enough to hold someone’s attention, let alone stumbling to sync up the presentation. It’s often clunky when presenters talk over one another and have that awkward pause (hmm… are you going to take this one or should I?).

3. Tell a Story – It’s much more compelling in your own words. Forget the standard packing lists of competitive advantages or market analysis…etc. It’s going to come off like an accountant showing pie-charts of your monthly expenses. Imagine a friend asking you about your brilliant new idea, what would you say in 5 minutes? Record yourself and speak freely – that’s the speech you should go with because it will flow with the most logical sense and people resonate with one core idea. It will also be the most natural to you. The real you will seep through and when it comes to closing a sale or making an impression, people remember your personality, not your mission statement.

4. We need to break things – Tell me it’s durable and I will immediately drop it on the ground. Remember that episode of Dragon’s Den with the indestructible bear-proof garbage can? One of the 190-lbs dragon immediately jumped on top of it – and broke it. End of pitch. Let that be a lesson to you. (And if you are selling bear-proof garbage cans that cant withstand human, even a perfect pitch won’t save you from lawsuits.) After explaining your price point and revenue model, your whole audience will come up with reasons why people wont buy it – it’s annoying but we do it all the time. It’s human nature to challenge things. Before the doubt lingers, shatter the critic in them by following up with bullet-proof research.

5. So What? – Each one of your slides should answer that question with one solid point. You wrote the content so if you cant even answer it, how can the audience (with their blackberrys blinking)? No fillers allowed! What? You are afraid of having too much time? In that case, end early and have a break. Every word in your presentation is taking up valuable time so don’t fill it with technical jargon, or fancy words. “I think…” or “We believe…” are empty calories that are distracting. “We are trying to…” should also be avoided. Trying means no, Oprah said so. You are not trying, you are doing it. Be concise and interesting.

6. Cut The Fat – Just because Guy Kawasaki said you should have certain topics, doesn’t mean you need them all, pick the ones you are good at. It’s much more powerful to have a solid pitch with only 8 points than a watered-down pitch covering everything. Every presenter thinks they will make $50 million in a few years, put the magic 8 ball away and skip the 500% growth chart. Highlight your strength and focus on your story. Your only goal here is to be interesting and inspiring. Turn them into a believer and they will ask you numbers after. Get to the next stage of the game.

7. Be Sexy – I’m not talking about the high-heeled boots, yet. Explain what you do in the first 30 seconds. Successful people with great time management skills will walk out of your pitch because they have better things to do. Use the first minute of your presentation wisely. Make an impact right away and summarize the 3 main points of your pitch – if nothing else, you might change their mind about answering your email in the future. Sense of humor and personality are key when delivering your speech, you are most likely one of many presenters, stand out. Even though your speech is well planned, it shouldn’t come out mechanical. You just happen to know it so well, but it should come out the same as your conversation with friends. Plan your jokes ahead of time and gauge your audience – turn it up or down depending on the vibe.

8. Practice your timing – If you are given 5 minutes, make sure your pitch ends 4 minutes and 45 seconds. If you are on stage, they will most likely time you rigorously with a buzzer. Personally, I go off on a tangent whenever I ad-lib, people tend to over-explain when they are nervous. Make sure your speech is written out, so it forces you not to over elaborate on some points and go over your given time. Practice no less than 30 times so you can edit the sentences that have words you trip over.

9. Visualize - Just like athletes before a big game, see your victory. A dress rehearsal might even be necessary (Yes, that’s right, you just realized this is written by a girl). Imagine yourself being called up, going on stage, clicking on the remote and dont forget to time yourself. Your last few runs should always hit the same time you’ve planned. This will increase confidence and ensure you are just that much more comfortable presenting publicly – because let’s be honest, anything helps at this point.

10. Wear High Heels – This tip is strictly reserved for the ladies. While it’s important to look your best, having a kick ass business model, being in market and showing traction might just be the most important tip of all.

Pitching is difficult, especially to introverts like myself. However, with planning and practice, it’s a skill you can definitely improve on and it’s the most important skill to have – whether you’d like to secure a round of financing or close a sales lead. Good luck and great success!

My Wedding Match is happy to announce, since presenting at The Fusion Forum in November (and winning the Top 3 Award , we have secured our first round of financing from W Media Ventures and various other angel investors. You can also read this on Techvibes.

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Part Five of the Sassy Sunday Series: Where I aim to inspire you to be an Evolutionary Entrepreneur.

It’s a fantastic day when you happen across a resource that is solely focused on helping female entrepreneurs get access to money. Springboard 2000 Enterprises does exactly that.

What’s more it’s run by a bunch of impressive female co-founders who clearly figured that women-led businesses should be receiving more than just a measly 1.7% of the billions in venture capital being invested back in 1997.

Especially given that in 1997 women ran 9 million businesses with revenues of $3 trillion and a work force of 27 million. Why shouldn’t we be accessing way more of that equity?

Research showed that the growth rate of women-led businesses was twice the rate of their male counterparts and the industries they were choosing to enter were the “non-traditional sectors” such as finance, manufacturing and technology. However women were not accessing the equity capital necessary to finance these non-traditional businesses so Springboard came to the rescue.

SpringBoard recruits, educates, showcases and supports women-led high-growth businesses as they seek venture capital and grow. The co-founders include Kay Koplovitz, Amy Millman, Denise Brosseau, Cate Muther, Jim Robbins, Andrea Silbert, Debra Filtzer and Karen Bixby.

The entrepreneurs involved with Springboard are the newest faces in the world of emerging growth enterprises and, certainly, the first wave of women to launch non-lifestyle businesses and finance the launch of their businesses via the equity markets.

Springboard companies have raised capital, grown their businesses, expanded their networks and made new business connections thanks to being involved with Springboard. Their impressive results speak for themselves:

• 383 women entrepreneurs at 18 venture forums hosted in 8 markets in the USA and Israel.
• Over $4 billion in equity capital, grants and strategic investments raised.
• 7 Springboard companies listed as publicly traded companies since July 2004.
• 25% merged or were acquired.
• 80% of Springboard companies continue to grow as independent or part of merged entities.
• 2/3 of Springboard alumnae are serial entrepreneur and have graduate and/or professional degrees.
• Most have launched new ventures, become investors or returned to the corporate world. Springboard alumnae are global leaders headquartered or doing businesses in China, India, Singapore, Israel, Ghana, Germany, England, Switzerland, Sweden, Taiwan among others.

5000 women entrepreneurs leading software, technology, new media, consumer & business products, bio & life sciences industries have participated at Springboard Forums, Workshops and Equity Matters Seminars.

5000 investors, financiers and business development professionals have actively participated in Springboard programs and recruiters, coaches, screeners and attendees.

Springboard is all about enhancing your ability as an entrepreneur, to connect with their peers, other entrepreneurs with a similar growth profile, business leaders, trusted advisors and investors.

That’s what I love to hear.

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It dawned on me this week just how amazing entrepreneurs are for putting up with relentless shit.

Further interesting reading can be found here by Brad Feld on the complexities of VC Seed Investing. Go conquer!

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“As a market, women represent a bigger opportunity than China and India combined. So why are companies doing such a poor job of serving them?  Women now drive the world economy.” – Harvard Business Review

Worth our weight in Gold

After reading some key facts about women and money the other day on the Womens Enterprise website I just had to swipe them and rewrite in into this post.

Every self respecting woman needs to know this situation has just got to change.

Did you know

Globally, women control about $20 trillion in annual consumer spending, and that figure could climb as high as $28 trillion in the next five years. Their $13 trillion in total yearly earnings could reach $18 trillion in the same period.

Yet women feel totally under served. Businesses need to smarten up and start catering to our needs especially in the Financial Services industry which is the least sympathetic to women, according to a Boston Consulting Group survey from 2008. And the one in which companies have the most to gain if they can change their approach.

The scary thing is, we might have the spending power but we’re still well below par on the earnings front. Imagine how much bargaining

Source: Harvard Business Review

power we’d have as a market if we were actually paid what we were worth?

Did you know

• Women on average earn 63 cents for every dollar that a man earns. For that reason, women need to be extra careful about investing.
• On average, women spend 11.5 years of their working–age years outside of the workforce. This contributes to lower income levels and lower levels of retirement savings for women.
• A staggering 87% of the poverty–stricken are elderly women.
• After earning lower salaries for fewer years, women’s CPP benefits are much lower, on average, than those of their male counterparts.

The good news….

• There are over 9 million female-owned businesses in the U.S. generating more than $2.3 trillion in annual revenue.
• Women start their own businesses because they want to do something they love, they want more time and energy for family and personal activities, and they wish to help others through their work.

Money Matters

• Money and finance are definitely issues that go beyond gender and upbringing. There are both men and women who manage money well, and who don’t. A person is a person, not a gender; we are individuals.
• But generally speaking, when it comes to managing money and investments, there are distinct differences between men and women.
• Women see themselves as less likely to be risk takers than men are. A study found that 31.8% of women labelled themselves conservative investors, compared with 21.7% of men. (Source: CondeNast)
• Women take more time to investigate before they invest than men do. One study found that women spend 40% more time researching a mutual fund before they invest. What’s more, they tend to be less impulsive and less inclined to act on a hot tip than men do. (Source: CondeNast)
• Women are less confident in their investing abilities than men. Only 55.7% of women feel confident about their investing abilities versus 64.4% of men. (Source: Long Island University)
• Women invest online more than men do. The rate of investing online is growing faster for women than for men. (Source: Forrester Research)

Luckily organizations like the WomensEnterprise.ca exist. They help women to succeed in business with ‘real-world’ training and workshops in a number of essential subject areas required to run a strong and successful business. More importantly they offer empowerment lending with unique business financing that provides loans and ongoing business advice. Plus much more.

Make sure you use these resources that are all around you to ensure we get what we’re entitled to in this world – we’re worth our weight in gold.

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