Over the last number of years there have been many instances where an organization received negative press, some justified and some unfounded. There are various reasons for these attacks ranging from mismanagement of operations and funds by executive staff members to incorrectly associating a legitimate charity with an illegitimate one. These reasons, as well as many others, all have one thing in common; they attack the image of the entity. I was associated with a major national non-profit organization for many years on its Board of Directors and we had to deal with the effect of poorly run copycat charities many times over my terms of service. There is nothing more devastating than having to deal with negative press because of something you had nothing to do with and have no control over. Most well run organizations will have disaster recovery plans ready to do damage control covering various circumstances ranging from negative publicity to loss of funding because of terrorist activities.

The image that a non-profit entity projects is directly related to the funding that it receives. There is such a glut of charities in the world today, covering all imaginable causes from animal rights to disaster assistance that it becomes very difficult to be able to decide what a worthy cause is. A charity needs to have a purpose and mission that tugs at the hearts of the general public and needs to present that image in a positive fashion to elicit the donations needed to continue to function.

How to do this is not always an easy thing. In the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11 many worthwhile charities suffered as everyone’s focus turned to the victims of the attacks and to rebuilding and fighting terrorism. It has taken a lot of time and effort for many charities to regain their foothold in obtaining a portion of the donated dollars. The building and enhancement of image is accomplished through the use of well constructed and managed web-sites, a good public relations team, positive press and all of the options which are regularly used by for-profit businesses. The big difference is that a non-profit may have a more saleable “product” based on what it is that the charity does. It is more of an emotional issue and there is a lot more that you can do to effect the emotions of the public.

What many people forget is that charities are businesses and for the most part should be run as a business. The “products” that are offered by a non-profit organization are better than those offered by for-profit companies. The image projected and the packaging of the “product” is all-important in the survival of the charitable organization. A non-profit entity needs to have the right people in place to assist in the creation and projection of that image. The image needs to be managed properly and not abused or the image of the entity and the purpose for which it exists will suffer and possibly not be able to recover.

Jeffrey was very active in the Make-A-Wish Foundation from 1984 until 2000, serving for three years as the Treasurer and three years as the Chairman of the Audit and Investment Committee of the National Foundation. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Suffolk County where he served as Chairman of the Board for his final two years of his term.

Jeff concentrates in the area of tax planning and feels that it is essential to provide all of his clients with personalized service. He has extensive expertise in non-profit accounting with Make-A-Wish and numerous other not-for-profit organizations. He has also been published in The Real Estate Finance Journal, a national publication, where he co-authored an article on the redevelopment of contaminated land sites (brownfields). Jeff also guest lectures at seminars on various business and financial topics.

Often it’s our presentation skills that can make or break a sale, regardless of the quality of our product. The good news is that we all can possess the keys that will give us access to the presentation skills that will close sales.

If you feel you could improve on your presentation skills, think back on a young man who actually stuttered when he spoke. During one key speech, he fainted. Yet we all remember Winston Churchill as one of the greatest orators of all time. What was his secret?

After analyzing presentations I have made around the world, I have discovered the “secrets” that have made my presentations a success. Let me share them with you:

* Begin strong. Grab them right away. As a salesperson, we only have those first few critical seconds to make a lasting impression. Perhaps start with an impressive statistic or a rhetorical question. When I teach presentation skills, sometimes I’ll ask my group, “How many of you want to make more money?” Then I allow a little time to go by, and say, “Fine, stick with me for the next hour and I’ll help you learn how to ask for it.”
* Have one theme. The mind can take in only so much information at one time. Make sure not to give your audience information overload. Develop a structure, with up to three main points, and back them up with support that revolves around one central theme.
* Use simple, action-oriented language. Simple is not elementary; what you’re doing is making it easy to understand and digest. Keep in mind my acronym E.A.S.Y.:
E — Enthusiasm and Energy are key; be alive and vital when you present.
A — Articulate your message. Clarity is essential.
S — Simple, Short and to the point. I believe in the K.I.S.S. principle–keep it short and sweet.
Y — Your audience–focus on them. This also helps take the focus off your nervousness and inhibitions.
* End with emotion, appeal to what matters most–hope, pride, love, profit–paint a word picture that your audience can see by the words you draw.

Keep in mind that it’s not always what you say, it’s how you say it. Probably the most neglected aspect of a person’s image is our voice, yet the quality of our voice will have a profound effect on how we’re perceived.

Research tells us that when we present, several things are taken into account by the receiver. Our voice inflection and modulation accounts for 37%, our appearance 55%, and what we actually say is only 8% of our message.

When you’re preparing for your next presentation–whether it’s a sales call, a meeting with your team, or a presentation to your boss and higher management– keep these 10 survival skills in mind:

1. Act excited and eager to share your information. Dale Carnegie always said this was critical to taking the “stage”. Plus it will come from a place of passion.
2. Use evidence and research to call for action. Know at least 150% of what people might ask. Keep extra visual aids in your bag to bring out during questions, when they’re really paying attention.
3. Be animated, while being yourself. It’s hard enough to remember all that you need to, so develop your own style. It’s great to emulate others, just be the real you when you present.
4. Be aware of your hands and gestures. Your body is the number one visual aid. Practice in front of a mirror, watch your face and your gestures. Also, don’t be a talking head behind a podium. Develop natural and graceful gestures. Maybe walk around a bit to create a more relaxed relationship with your audience.
5. Vary your voice pattern. Also use pauses to add drama, suspense, and to make a point. Watch television for examples. Even everyday news is better communicated with an effective presenter.
6. Keep your posture straight and natural. This takes practice, and the payoff is total confidence and control.
7. Know your audience. Sometimes it goes beyond basic research. For example, dressing appropriately for your audience could impress them. You’ll have a more conservative look if presenting to a “Wall Street” crowd. Or you might be more casual in front of a creative group in the entertainment field. Of course, my rule is to always be professional and tasteful.
8. Relate to your audience with your eyes. It’s been said that the eyes are the windows to the soul. Look at people when you present. The rule of thumb is to look at one person for at least three to five seconds, or as long as it takes to make a complete thought.
9. Be organized and prepared. As a salesperson you have a destination–to close a sale. When you have a road map, you increase your chances of getting there. It’s amazing how much more confident we feel when we know our material and are organized. Prepare, and rehearse. Rehearse means to “re-hear” your presentation.
10. Know how to answer questions and objections. And do it in a non-defensive way. We must always remain, as the commercial used to say, “never let them see you sweat.”

Have a positive feeling about what you’re presenting and project to your listeners the value and significance of the radio station that they’re tuned into all day long- WII-FM–What’s In It For Me!

* Executive Summary (you write this last)
* Statement of Purpose
* Business Description
* Products/Services Description
* Marketing Plan
* Operating Plan
* Management Team/Personnel
* Financial Plan
* Supporting Documents

Through the combination of these sections it should be clear why this business is a real opportunity worth pursuing. The reader should get a clear understanding of what the business is, from how it makes money and operates, to the ways it will get customers to make purchases, and the costs of operating the business.

Why you are writing it
Business plans can be written for a number of reasons, from making sure that the business partners have a clear and mutual vision of the business, to a tool for developing a new strategy. Therefore, in the statement of purpose, you declare the purpose of the plan. Perhaps it is “to seek $150,000 in funding from a Small Business Administration bank loan” or “to create a strategic plan to expand into a larger store location”. Some of the common reasons why people write business plans are:

* To obtain sources of funding, whether it’s a business loan or equity investment
* To help the entrepreneur and management team focus or explore a new idea
* To communicate the entrepreneur’s vision of the company to the entire company
* To sell your company to customers, suppliers and investors

The statement of purpose reminds you why you are writing the plan, which helps you determine what information to keep and exclude in the business plan.

For example, Adriana was interested in opening a hair salon after working several years as a hair stylist. She was in the fortuitous position of having friends and family who wanted to give her money to realize her dreams to start the salon. Although her investors did not require a business plan, she wanted to create one. Adriana felt that writing a business plan would help make sure that everyone investing in the business clearly understood how she would operate the business and decrease the likelihood of the investors having false expectations.

Adriana also wanted to have a clear sense of how much sales she would need to sustain and then grow the business. Having spent most of her time focusing on creating good customer service and staying current in the latest styling trends, she knew that she didn’t feel really strong with figuring out the money side of the business.

The resulting business plan reflected Adriana’s reasons for writing the plan. She viewed writing the business plan as an opportunity to flush out her concept as well as improve her business skills. Once the business was up and running, she knew that she would find it hard to find the time to learn basic accounting. Therefore, she really took the time to learn how to do a detailed sales projection and financial assumptions.

When it came to the management section of the business plan, Adriana chose not to go into much detail regarding her background and only briefly mentioned her previous experience. She did not need to demonstrate her expertise as a hair stylist: the investors had already observed her work. Adriana did, however, want to draw attention to her skills at growing and maintaining a steady clientele. Included in the appendix was a client chart that listed all of Adriana’s current clients, the average price tag of each customer’s visit and the frequency in which they used her service. She thought that when she had moments of self-doubt, she would find it comforting and confidence boosting to have a list of her business accomplishments thus far.

Adriana also used most of the section to describe her responsibilities in the new business. This allowed her to think through what her job description would be. Given her situation and purpose of the plan, writing a management section with extensive information on Adriana’s experience might not have been the best use of her time and energy.

Keep in Mind Your Audience
Knowing the purpose of the plan is important because then you also have a better idea of who might be the reader. In Adriana’s case, she knew exactly who would be reading the plan and tailored the document accordingly.

A reader who is a bank officer or venture capitalist will need to have certain information in order to decide whether or not to provide funding. For example, if you are writing a business plan for a bank loan, you are writing for a lender who wants to make sure that your business is strong enough to pay back a loan on time in each month. When in doubt about your plan, always ask yourself, “If I put myself in my reader’s shoes, is this answering the question that I have. Is it easy to understand and find in the business plan?”

How can you find out the information that the reader is seeking? If you’re going to a bank, most banks have helpful information on the small business sections on their websites. Another source of information is the Small Business Administration’s website (www.sba.gov). You can also look at books on business plans at your local library. Another thing is to do it the old fashioned way and just ask!

So what do I write?
The statement of purpose itself should be brief, often ranging from one to four sentences. It can be as simple as “MY COMPANY seeks a $150,000 Small Business Administration bank loan in order to grow the business into a profitable enterprise. The owners have invested $100,000 of equity to start the consulting business.”

In this case, you are laying on the table what you want as well as what you are bringing to the deal. After giving some thought and time to the purpose of the business plan, you will move on the business description section of the plan. More on this will soon follow. Happy writing!

As I began to think about this “image thing,” I remembered back to a seminar I attended a few years ago where the speaker relayed to the group that only 12% of communication is verbal. Could that really be true? The remaining 88%, she said, are non-verbal “messages” along the lines of what you are wearing, your haircut, your makeup, your tone of voice, your facial expressions and even your attitudes. Wow! I began thinking that this image thing is in fact important. “And it doesn’t stop at physical image,” she said. For entrepreneurs, image includes the look of your business card, your web site, your marketing materials and even how professional your voicemail sounds. It’s true — I know of a number of service professionals who combine family and work voicemail messages and I think it somewhat dilutes their professionalism.

Now that I think of it, a literary agent client of mine told me that hiring an image consultant was the best investment she ever made in her herself and her business. She learned what types of clothes suit her, what colors to wear, and even how to have her hair cut. I think I might actually consider it for 2004 — how about you?

I’d love to hear what you have to say on the subject of image. Happy New Year from the Work/Family Balance Trenches!

Background

According to Anne-Marie, there is not much difference between creating an advertising campaign for a business and developing a career transition strategy. She worked for many years as an advertising account executive and found the same tools she had used to help business owners promote their businesses are the skills she now uses to assist those in career transition.

In 1999 she was invited to work in a non-profit organization called the WISH Program. She helped displaced homemakers reenter the workforce by leading workshops and providing individual career counseling and résumé development. During this period, she reconnected with her passion for writing, which she recalls was something she had done since childhood.

Before she knew it, she was revising her friends’ résumés and they were recommending her services to their friends. Anne-Marie realized that her true path was to become a career coach, and she got training and the appropriate certifications to work as a résumé writer, a career management coach, and an interview professional. She considers herself a people person, who likes to use her creativity to help others.

The business – First Impression Career Services

The name’s idea came from her husband, who is also Anne-Marie’s greatest supporter. Anne-Marie notes how important it is to cause a good first impression in all stages and areas of a career transition: “With your résumé, you have 10 seconds to catch the employer’s attention. In these days when ASPs are scanning resumes, you don’t even have 10 seconds. Your résumé must contain the right information and key words.” Resumes, cover letters, thank you notes, and the ability to network and perform well on interviews need to be refined, so that one can have a chance of a second interview and a real job opportunity.

First Impression Career Services (FICS) helps clients with all aspects of a career transition, and it offers different coaching programs tailored to its clients’ needs. Anne-Marie mentioned that many of her clients say they aren’t sure what they want to do with their lives, but she inspiringly says that everybody knows it: “It is a matter of listening to your inner voice, and having someone to give validation, to say you can do it. Go follow your dream.”

Relocating the business

Anne-Marie started her business twice within a year, it started in Brooklyn in November 2001, and then when she and her husband bought a house in Westchester she had to relocate the company. In Brooklyn she got business right away because of her network. Only two weeks after the company opened, The Training and Employment Council in Brooklyn invited her to deliver a workshop to fifty job specialists on the art of résumé writing. That event allowed Anne-Marie to build a considerable clientele and she began receiving her clients in the living room of her apartment.

When Anne-Marie and her husband moved to Westchester on 09/29/02, she relocated the business and was able to have an office at home. However, she didn’t know anyone there, and it took several months for the business to get started. She joined networking organizations, associations such as the Eastchester Chamber of Commerce, local e-lists, and BNI to start meeting people. Meanwhile, her clients in Brooklyn wanted to meet her in person, so she became mobile, seeing them at first in Starbucks, until she decided to rent an office space in Manhattan once a week.

Business Plan

Anne-Marie had a business plan when she first started the business in Brooklyn, but she also hired a business coach, who advised her to write her “Credo” instead of a business plan. It took six weeks to write it, and it became her slogan. It helped her determine who her clients were, and if she was ideal for them. Anne-Marie said she didn’t feel the need to write a business plan, since she is a believer in goal setting, and she proves it. Her recent goal of organizing six workshops is happening, and when this interview took place in December 2003, she had already put together three of them.

Partnership

Although Anne-Marie has no partners, she considers her friend and colleague Jacqui Barrett, a true partner in her business. Jacqui is also a professional résumé writer, who lives in Kansas City, Missouri. They share an accountability relationship, where they speak once a week, share goals and support each other. “It’s a mutual relationship, I consider her very much a business partner, as if we entered into a legal agreement.” Anne-Marie recalls many situations in which Jacqui helped her, including when Anne-Marie’s mother was severely ill last year. She has also supported Jacqui in several circumstances, including Jacqui’s success in earning the Master Résumé Writer credential.

Difficult Gaps

Anne-Marie remembers that her most difficult gap wasn’t with the marketing of the business itself, but with her own self-confidence, trying to keep positive and keep going, and trusting that she wouldn’t take her family to financial ruin. Networking and setting up the website helped the business to become mobile and get to the next level. FICS also draws business from the web, and Anne-Marie has plans to improve the website, so that it can become a resource for everyone in a career transition, to get information, pull off articles, find relevant links and get help. (See link at the end of this article)

Another challenge Anne-Marie and many other entrepreneurs especially with home offices face is balancing work and family. She is a self-confessed workaholic, and she loves it. Yet, sometimes she feels guilty for not being able to give enough attention to family and friends, and she’s still trying to find an acceptable balance, especially since, and I quote Anne-Marie’s wise words, “the business needs to be constantly fed and nurtured.”

Advice

Anne-Marie advises entrepreneurial women to do a lot of research, and to understand the process of selling a product or service. In addition, she offers the following advice to those who are considering starting a business venture: “Look at what other people are doing, and what it takes for them to be successful and ask them how they did it. Put together a good team, and do something you love. It may take two to three years before you show an income. It’s an investment. Have the right strategy in place, do your research and contact an accountant.” Anne-Marie Ditta

Lessons learned

By having to relocate and start over, Anne-Marie realized she was too dependent on only one network back in Brooklyn, and she won’t do that again. She gave an example of companies that went out of business soon after a major client took its business elsewhere.

Nowadays, Anne-Marie constantly attends events and creates workshops to increase her network and promote her business. She summarizes other actions she has taken to achieve success and gives invaluable words of advice: “Treat your business like a turnpike, and know that you need to have different arteries feeding your business. Be prepared to take it mobile, in this age of e-commerce, there is no reason why you can’t do that. Be flexible and don’t be dependent to only one source!”

For more information about Anne-Marie Ditta and First Impression Career Services, visit her website at www.firstimpressioncareerservices.com.

Background

Bridgette Raes embarked on a career in fashion design after obtaining her degree from the Fashion Institute of Technology. Despite the glamorous trappings of her career, from her participation in important events to trips to Europe, Bridgette wasn’t completely satisfied with her work. After a few years in the industry Bridgette realized she wanted more from life, and set out to find a way to combine her love for fashion and style with her interest in making a difference. She found what she was looking for in the field of personal style consultation. She recently went back to FIT to study image consulting, and in September 2002, after ten years as a fashion designer, founded Bridgette Raes Style Group.

The opportunity

Bridgette had learned from her years in fashion design that while most designers realize how challenging it can be for women to get dressed and determine their style, they don’t do much about it. She no longer could overlook women’s cry for help to figure out their image and style. As Bridgette explains, “Our image and clothes are powerful communicator of who we are, what we want, our goals, how we can achieve them. This is something that shouldn’t be ignored.”

Her ten years of experience, along with subsequent training in image consultation at FIT, gave Bridgette the key to her achievements. Bridgette’s instructors at FIT were fashion industry professionals in the business for over 20 years and successful business owners themselves. By paying attention to what they had to say and at the same time taking in consideration her own personal experiences, Bridgette was able to create her own business concept and mission.

The service – Bridgette Raes Style Group

The current crop of makeover shows featured on the airwaves right now, from series such as Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and Extreme Makeover to the makeover features on The Oprah Winfrey Show, are an indication of the public fascination with and interest in personal image development. During our interview, Bridgette mentioned people’s tendency to regress back to their previous image behavior following those makeovers, since there is no education and no long-term change in a makeover subject’s point of view.

In her own business, Bridgette helps her clients to establish lasting changes in their mindsets through a 5-step program she developed. Her program assesses a wide range of aspects of each client’s life and tastes, from her life and goals to her preferred colors. She helps her clients improve their wardrobe by guiding them through each step of wardrobe selection, from understanding what pieces do or do not work for her client to helping them shop. Bridgette also offers smaller programs as well as workshops. She has a roster of trusted professionals to whom she refer clients who need more help in areas such as makeup application, organization, and personal coaching.

The Business

Bridgette recalls that she was naïve as she first started out on her business; she believed the phone would start ringing without much effort. She knew she had a skill, but didn’t know how to market it. She later hired a business coach, who helped her gain more focus through creating a 5-year plan that includes specific goals of what she hopes to accomplish.
The business coaching, along with a few business classes she took at FIT, helped her to more effectively identify her client base and market her services. It opened her mind and changed her perspective on the business and how she presents herself. Building her business took time, and at first Bridgette continued to work part-time as a freelance designer while marketing and growing Bridgette Raes Style Group. But in May 2003 her business had expanded enough for her to work at it full-time, and today it continues to flourish.

Gaps

The main challenges Bridgette Raes faced were learning how to become known, how to be taken seriously and how to sell her service. She remembers that many years ago she worked as a salesperson and had a great ability to sell products, but selling personal services was a different story. Joining networking groups, offering workshops, setting up her website and writing a weekly e-newsletter, are some of the steps Bridgette has taken to grow her business.

A look at the future

Instead of moving to different areas of style, as she envisioned at first, Bridgette wants to keep focusing on her core competences to continue making a difference in women’s lives. With that in mind, she is in the process of writing a book. She wants to help women revolutionize their relationship with themselves, saying, “It’s time for women to take the driver’s seat, and ask what fashion can do for them.” She shared with me her love for what she does, and how being able to make a difference in people’s lives makes her feel good.

Advice and lessons learned

At the end of the interview, Bridgette had a few caveats for prospective entrepreneurs. She pointed out that should you wish to start your own business, you should be prepared to receive criticism and negative feedback from people who do not believe in your ideas, giving as an example how some friends wouldn’t consider her decision to leave a 6-figure salary a wise step.

In her own words: “I really believe that when you follow your heart, you do what you are suppose to do, and you follow what’s right for you, the universe will take care of you. That’s why I really believe it worked for me, because I jumped into something I was suppose to do with my life.” She went on to say that you should surround yourself with supporters, and people who believe in what you are doing.

Realizing one’s weaknesses and getting help are lessons Bridgette learned the hard way, as it took her a while to hire a coach and take lessons to really be able to develop her business.

To end this article, I leave you with more inspiring messages from Bridgette: “Every day there is a lesson, allow yourself to learn, to let go, know that it’s going to work out. Sometimes it is out of hand, you are going to have to trust that it’s going to happen.” Bridgette Raes.

Read Bridgette Raes’ article “Dressing the part” by clicking here.

For more information about Bridgette Raes and her business, visit Bridgette Raes Style Group

When I first learned about Career Change Network I immediately embraced the concept, as I have been through a few career changes myself and could have used the service it provides. During this interview with Justine Reichman, I learned that the business is a success, mainly due to her innovative ideas, the niche she targets, and the fact that there are many people struggling to go through career transitions.

Justine Reichman got her undergraduate degree from American University, Washington DC, in Public Communications with a minor in Sociology. After graduation she worked in advertising and public relations. Ms. Reichman created promotional campaigns for companies such as Olympus and Procter & Gamble, and then did independent business consulting, advising companies on how to market their businesses and how to start strategic alliances.

Last year, while at the movies, she came up with the idea to create a networking group for people who are in a career transition. Two weeks later she was hosting the first event. The Career Change Network was launched in September 2003, and the number of events and members increase each month. It offers networking events for people interested in changing a career or industry, and speakers from different fields who can help people involved in a career change. Ms. Reichman’s goal has been to provide an informal setting where people can come together and gain insight from each other about different industries and careers. The business offers three levels of membership for a yearly fee, and those who aren’t members can pay at the door and still attend the events. Because she faced some career transitions in her own life, Ms. Reichman is knowledgeable about the tools and resources that people need to tap into, when considering what to do with their careers. She is not a career coach or a resume writer, but has created affiliations with several organizations and professionals that can give additional assistance through the Career Change Network.

As soon as she created the concept, Ms. Reichman jumped into it without writing a business plan. However, as the business began to grow, and as different ideas continue to develop, a business plan was devised. She knows that while the market, the marketing strategy and the clients may change, and businesses go through different challenges, the ideal situation is to be constantly updating the business plan. Ms. Reichman keeps revising it to adapt and include new business opportunities and new strategies.

Although in the beginning Ms. Reichman considered having a partner, she didn’t find anyone committed and motivated enough to join her project. However, she considers her web designer who created the website and its image a partner, since without him the business would not have blossomed. The site traffic has increased exponentially, and recently the two added a feature to accept membership payments online.

Currently, Ms. Reichman is expanding the business and creating corporate events. Last year she partnered with Citi-Habitats with an event tailored towards people interested in careers in real estate. In the Spring she is leading an event for City Sites. Ms. Reichman is always looking for ways to grow her business outside Manhattan, and in March she is having the first international event in London.

I asked Ms. Reichman what she thinks the best strategy is when a person wants to change careers, and her response was to be confident to what one is doing, and to be an expert on something: “If you are a jack of all trades, people won’t come to you. When you have a niche, people look to you for information. Excel within a niche and people look to you as a resource. The best thing is to identify what you want to do, and be an expert on it, and show people you can do it.”

In sum, Ms. Reichman considers herself lucky to have found her dream career and to be able to achieve success and to grow the business at the right pace. Yet, she points out that some people contact her only to ask for favors, a job, a contact, without offering anything in return. She believes in helping and sharing information with others, but she is also concerned about protecting her contacts, and suggests that you should be careful when sharing resources, and that you should surround yourself with people that you trust.

Ms. Reichman’s final thoughts and advice: “Focus, stay driven, and do not get distracted or you lose it all.”

Career Change Network hosted its first event in August 2003, and in January 2004 it’s having five events.

Update note from the editor:  This business has been closed.