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July 2012 |
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Do you know where your next sale will come from?
 Join us for a session lead by Elizabeth Allen of MarketSmartz. She will introduce you to a revolutionary entrepreneurial sales system designed to deliver clarity and predictability to your sales pipeline providing you a step-by-step review of a process designed to deliver urgency and intentionality to your efforts. Whether it's just you, you just hired your first sales person, or if you need to get everyone across your organization synchronized, this system will provide a turnkey method you can implement immediately to drive sustainable results.
Women's Business Center 8527 Bluejacket Street, Lenexa, KS July 10, 2012 - Sales Accountability 8:30 - 10:00 am $15 fee to attend - Register online now! |
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SmartConnectKC Networking
Wake up and meet me for coffee!
Join Luann Feehan of Smart Connect KC along with OneKCforWomen for a cup of coffee as you network with other entrepreneurs. Make new friends and build your business. This month's event is sponsored by: Gail's Harley-Davidson�
 Friday, July 27, 2012
8:30 to 9:45 a.m.
$10 Hosted at:
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Department of Labor hosts resource forum
July 12, 2012 - Kauffman Foundation Conference Center
The Department of Labor will host a free half day resource forum to introduce you to the various agencies in our area who can help you unravel the laws and regs that DOL is responsible for enforcing. These include wage and hour, OSHA, Federal contract Compliance, and social security. For more information or to register, call Jacqueline Midkiff at (816)-285-7001.
Read more details here
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FastTrac� New Venture for Women
Fall dates announced!
Women-owned businesses now form a third of all businesses and women are starting businesses at a faster rate than men. Ready to take the plunge, but want to be sure you have a game plan for success? Join with other women to research, get feedback from subject matter experts and peers, and develop relationships that will last well beyond the class. This 10 week hands-on course will begin September 13th and help you determine the feasibility of your business idea and develop a plan of action. Click here to complete an application
Class size is limited to 30 participants
Classes meet Sept. 13, 20, 27, Oct. 4, 11, 18, 25, Nov. 1, 9, 15
Fee: $450
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WEN Fall job fair is October 2, 2012
2:00 - 5:00 p.m. - Sheraton Crown Center
This year's Spring job fair featured 40 local and regional employers and over 400 job seekers, all graduates of WEN's training program. 
The event is free for all job seekers.
Companies interested in participating in the job fair can find registration information at www.kcwen.org
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Small firms (between 20 and 499 employees) provided three-quarters of the net employment growth since the end of the economic downturn. (SBA)
When asked to list the top reasons they went into business, men listed financial gain as their number four reason. Women listed Altruism as their number four reason and financial gain was number nine. The top two reasons were the same for both men and women, power and autonomy, although in reverse order. (Noam Wasserman, Harvard Business School)
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Not for women only:
Men are welcome at almost all of the seminars and networking events held at the WBC.
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The Women's Business Center
The Women's Business Center offers mentoring, resources, and consulting to women in the Kansas City Metropolitan area who wish to become an entrepreneur or who are currently operating their own business. Through business consulting, classes, workshops, networking, and peer mentoring the WBC is the key to running a successful business for Kansas City's women.
Find out how the Women's Business Center can help you. Click here to learn more!
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Notes to Self increases distribution
Laura Schmidt, owner of Notes to Self, the most affirming socks you will ever wear, has added 40 new stores to her distribution network.
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HC Staffing Solutions adds second business line
Michele Atchity, co-owner of HC Staffing Solutions, a company focused primarily on providing temporary staffing to pharmacies and dental practices, has added a second business line, Sales Pro Staffing & Consulting. Sales Pro Staffing can assist you in finding or vetting your sales staff as well as helping you analyze performance to maximize your sales function.
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New site, Fully Feline launches
Karen Harrison launched Fully Feline on June 15. This digital magazine and online resource caters completely to cats and their people. Take a look at: FullyFeline.com, you too may become a cat person!
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Swoon Cookie Crafters announces thier summer selection
Swoon Cookie Crafters announces their summer selection! We love it when clients come bearing gifts. Sofia Hudson and her partner Lauren Wendlandt dropped these off the other day and I snapped a picture before they were consumed. Note the WBC logo cookie, my personal favorite. Check other designs at their website .
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Garza's Goodies Grand Opening
June 14, 2012
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Share the good news
Are you a Women's Business Center client or volunteer? Something exciting going on in your business? Let us know if you have added a major product or service line, expanded your territory or won an award. We will help you spread the word.
Email [email protected]
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Frankie & Jules: Thriving during a down economy
 When Julia Rice decided she wanted to make a career out of selling really cool women's clothing and accessories, she was well prepared. She had grown up in a family of business owners, so working for someone else wasn't top of her list. She graduated from Kansas State University with a degree in Marketing and Retail Management and along the way got as much "hands on" experience as possible by working for several different retail clothing stores in both sales and management positions.
In 2006, "Frankie & Jules - Fashion Forward Attire" became a reality. The business got its start selling clothing lines at an annual Holiday Mart and other shows, as well as at parties in private homes. The business grew rapidly. In 2008, when she decided to have a "bricks and mortar" location, her dad, who is a builder, helped her find and remodel a unique building in southern Johnson County just a few blocks south of 151st St & Quivira Rd. Her business has continued to grow. In 2010 when so many businesses were struggling to keep their doors open, Julia had her best sales year ever. She believes that some of this was due to her unique destination location. Women could take a short drive, find a reasonably priced item, and feel like they had a little get-away. Other things that helped were using Facebook as a way to show new styles, and store promotions. Frankie's was named Best New Boutique by 435 South Magazine in 2010, great free publicity.
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Tips for searching for an effective salesperson
When it comes to sales professionals, it" takes one to know one". Unless you yourself have a strong background in sales, your chance of hiring the wrong person is high. You should put a lot of thought into the search process, and be honest with yourself about your ability to recognize a good salesperson. Enlist the help of others with a stronger sales background to assist you in screening the candidates. Richard Atchity , who has managed sales programs for multiple major organizations offers these tips:
Here are some traits possessed by quality sales professionals that you should look for in candidates: Confidence, Integrity, Creativity, Tenacity, Intelligence, Compassion, Patience. Passion, Motivation.
In addition, effective salespersons usually rate highly in the following skills: Listening skills, Communication skills, Relationship building skills, Consulting skills, Closing skills, Administrative skills, Time management skills, Negotiation skills, Computer skills
Some things to keep in mind as you go through the search process:
- Ask open ended questions that will allow you to rate candidates on the skills and traits above.
- The old adage, "you get what you pay for" applies when it comes to sales professionals. If you can't yet afford to lure away an experienced salesperson, be prepared to do some training and developing.
- Don't head in to the hunt with a stereotyped profile of a good salesperson. There are many different successful selling styles. Don't automatically gravitate to the flashy, fast talking type.
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News from the Women's Business Center |
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Microloan Update
Justine PETERSEN has hired their first Kansas City based employ, Mindy Curphy. Mindy has previous experience in microlending and will be the primary contact for the microloan program at this point. She can be reached at [email protected] or (816)-210-7672. The Women's Business Center will continue to offer business consultation to the individuals in the program as well as continuing to raise funds for the loan loss reserve fund and helping with other administrative duties.
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First Step class a success
The Women's Business Center in partnership with the Small Business and Technology Development Center at UMKC co-sponsored a summer session of the First Step program, which focuses on feasibility plan development for microenterprise. Thirteen potential entrepreneurs are working their way through planning for business startup and are scheduled to graduate July 17th. These businesses may use the microloan fund to jumpstart their businesses.
A second class will be held in the Fall. This class is open to men and women and will be held at 4747 Troost Ave. Participation in this class is based on income levels. Please contact Dorothy Browning for additional details or click here to go to our website.
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NOTE:
If you are having trouble reading the small print in this newsletter, click to view as a web page (top of email). Then, hold down the ctrl key while hitting the "+" key to increase the size as you need. To return to normal viewing, hold ctrl key while hitting the "-" (left of the "+" key)
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 Funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. All opinions, conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA
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