Posts Tagged ‘Make Mine a Million’

Making More Million $ Businesses

Friday, October 16th, 2009

I have never told you the story of the origins of Make Mine A Million $ Business.  It started with a woman named

Beatriz Ramos

Beatriz Ramos

Beatriz Ramos with an animation business called Dancing Diablo in Brooklyn.  She received a micro loan from Count Me In back in 2002 when we were making loans, and at the time she had a bigger business than most applicants: $250,000 in revenue and she employed about ten people.  She was new to America from Venezuela.  She couldn’t get financing to expand as fast as she was getting business; she had won the contract to color in the animation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and needed more computer equipment fast. CMI made the largest loan we had ever made to Beatriz at the time for $25,000.  We introduced her to American Express OPEN as well.  They extended a line credit to help her keep up with her business growth.

We figured out there were many more women out there like Beatriz…beyond start ups, with a good business who needed help solving problems and keeping up with growth. Make Mine a Million $ Business was our response to women like her.  Beatriz was on hand at the National Press Club in DC when then-Senator Clinton kicked off the Make Mine A Million $ Business program in 2006.

Secretary Clinton

Secretary Clinton

We have awarded Make Mine a Million $ Business Awards to over 200 women and will honor even more at our next event in February.

I was with Beatriz again last night - she was filming a conversation between me, Gina Stern, founder of d_parture Spas and Marie Cordon Rodriguez, founder of ByOEarth. The three of them were leaving on a trip for Cleveland to introduce Maria to Jamie Melvin, founder of Sansi Technologies. We had all been together the week before in Washington DC with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s Pathways to Prosperity Conference to promote women’s business growth in Latin, Central and North America.

Gina Stern

Gina Stern

Maria company is an organic red worm fertilizer business.  She is traveling to Cleveland to meet with Jamie, who is a friend of Gina’s who owns one of the largest worm farms in the US. Maria is meeting with Jamie to learn how she can expand her business and help make her family farm more green, efficient and productive and do the same for farms all over Guatemala.  Maria is one of four sisters and by developing her worm she hopes to show her father that she will be a great choice to take over and expand the family farm.

Beatriz is filming the journey to Cleveland to show other young women entrepreneurs just how much they can do together to grow there businesses and have a lot of fun doing it. Stay tuned for video of the Maria, Gina, Beatriz road trip and the expansion of Maria’s worm business in the coming weeks. Secretary Clinton, thank you for getting us all together to grow bigger, greener businesses.

Believe in you
Nell

Getting Help to Build Your Business

Saturday, August 29th, 2009

In the past several years, I’ve coached a good number of other coaches, consultants, healing and wellness practitioners, and small business owners ways to build their community, develop a powerful speaking platform, get their books published and read, and launch successful programs.

I believe that as coaches, private practitioners, and small business owners, many of us were not fully equipped or prepared when we launched our businesses to do what it takes to build them profitably and successfully; instead, we had a “build it and they will come” mentality that didn’t generate results because it wasn’t aligned with powerful business-building strategies.

One key step that helps you build your community, attract great customers, and expand your marketing reach is to develop and deliver impactful seminars and workshops in your professional niche that educate and enliven your community, customers, and clients.

If you’re interested in developing seminars and workshops that really work – and sell – below are six key steps to launching them successfully.  These are essential actions that I’ve learned — the hard way — through my own years of development as a national women’s work-life expert and speaker:

1)       Identify the specific area(s) to focus on in creating your seminars

2)       Determine which programs you truly want to offer, versus those you think you “should”

3)      Build your community and audience through partnership, affiliation, and relationship

4)      Price your seminars so that you achieve a targeted audience and make money (and when to offer programs free)

5)      Title your seminars so they stand out and grab the customer

6)      Brand yourself and your business so that you are differentiated from the competition, and able to name and claim your “sweet spot” 

 

The key is to understand what truly holds you back from delivering successful programs and services, and move forward to overcoming these obstacles.

 

Entrepreneurs need straight talk and practical help to build your businesses successfully.  The Make Mine a Million Dollar Business programs and community give you just that – real, hands-on support to develop, and implement, effective strategies that work for you and your company.  Thanks M3! 

To support the cause, I’m launching a new teleseminar program created specifically for coaches, consultants, small business owners and private practitioners, called Developing Powerful Seminars that Work - and Sell.  Hope you’ll check it out.

 

Don’t wait until it’s too late to get the help and support you need.  Reach out today – to M3, a powerful business mentor or consultant, a business-building community or entrepreneurial network of your choice.  It’s just an email, phone call or meeting away.  It’s in your “vortex” to be wildly successful (as Abraham-Hicks says), and it’s up to you to claim it!

 

Wishing you many happy breakthroughs,
Kathy