10 things every entrepreneur should know or do

1) They are not born, they are made. I was an average student in school. I wasn’t on the honor roll. I didn’t play sports. I wasn’t the most popular. However, I managed to figure out at an early age what I was good at and stuck with it.


2) There is not a pile of grants for small businesses waiting to be claimed. This is an ever-present myth. Yes, there are grants out there for specific programs that file under specific categories. There is not a lump some of money, readily available for someone with a brilliant idea, sitting in a locked vault allocated from the federal government to your state. If so, everyone wouldn’t be looking for investors and bank loans. There are small business grants that state and federal agencies offer and financial programs that assist entrepreneurs.

3) You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Some of the wealthiest entrepreneurs in this world took something that already existed and made it better.

4) Don’t look for the end of the rainbow for at least three to five years for a brand-new start up. The average start up takes about that long to see real profit. During that time most of the cash goes back into the company. You might want to keep that side job.

5) Smart ones include advertising dollars in their budget. Today you can do a lot for free and word-of-mouth never goes out of style. Still, the right ad, at the right place, at the right time, can do wonders.

6) Intern, intern, intern or get a mentor. If you haven’t done it. Do it. Some places will take an intern no matter the grade or if they need college credit. I once did an internship after college where my fellow interns were double my age. If you can’t intern, do a fellowship. These are basically some of the only situations where people will show you how they run their company; share their protocols and everything they know for FREE.

7) Volunteer to join local boards and committees. You will learn how to run and structure an organization. The financial literacy you gain is second to none and you’re doing something for the community.

8) Some days you will wonder why you aren’t working for someone else collecting a regular salary without the headache.

9) You will experience a brilliant moment when you remember exactly why you went into business for yourself.

10) The only thing more depressing than having your venture fail is looking back at your life and wondering why you never exhausted every avenue or put every blood, sweat and tear into it. This is your dream. Go big or go home.

Meat and potatoes never hurt anybody

Is it just me or are we constantly worried about time? What time is the meeting? How long is the event? Where will we be inserting the keynote speaker on the timeline in the program?

If time was a meal, we’d consistently be serving hors d'oeuvres. I always go for the entrée. Whenever I meet with a client, I always ask that they schedule me for a time that is convenient for them. Not when they have 15 minutes to spare, but a bulk of time for genuine conversation. I think it is a waning feature nowadays.

I’m not trying to squeeze anything out of you. Neither am I interested in giving you a spiel. I am meeting with you to learn more about your organization, its needs and you as a person and member of the community. Sure, I am going to tell you about what we offer at The Lioness Group and our mission. However, I am going to tell you about it and a host of other things and if you decide you would like our services, fantastic – I’m ecstatic. And if you don’t, that is OK, too.

Trying to blurt out what I do in 10 minutes is not only a disservice to the professional services I provide, but a waste of our time. If my services are worth having, than offering it is enough. Talking a million words a minute and pressuring you into a deal should make the ears perk up on anyone. It should also tell you that they are interested in your cash and not the value of your company.

I like to work with people who care about the success of their organization, their employees/clients/consumers and community outreach. All are interlinked to the success of the other. All of these I hope to touch on in conversation. The fleeting 10-second sound bite is not my cup of tea. Maybe some like the little appetizer sprinkled with insincere rhetoric. But I prefer the meat and potatoes.

To plan or not to plan



Do you have the future in your sights?

 I am one of those entrepreneurs who fell into my company – if there ever is such a one. I never thought about owning a business. I did not search for business opportunities and yet, here I am. My first client referred me to another, then someone else called me about a thing, then that thing was noticed by another and so on.


I did not have any start up capital. I did not have a business plan. Though I was certified in business planning nearly a decade ago, everything I am learning I am learning on the job. I have my successes and my slips and I have the plaques and bruises to prove it. However, talking to others about how they got their business ventures going got me thinking about planning. How effective is it? How do you weigh short-term and long-term goals?

Planning is crucial to executing a great idea. That is a no-brainer. Yes, I am one of THOSE people. I admit it. I have a vision board – two to be exact. I have a short term one (present to one year) and a long-term one (ten to fifteen years from now). I set long-term goals, but I complete them in stages. I see where I want to be in three months, nine months and two years from now. I then decide what I need to do every day in order to be where I need to be in three months. I look at my week in units. The last day of the week, Saturday, I briefly reflect on whether or not I completed any tasks that make my three-month goal a reality. Trust me, there are off weeks. Working in short-term bursts keeps me from looking too far ahead and wondering how long I still have to go.

Everyone is different. I honestly think if I had started off by writing a business plan, I would have quit this business owner gig a long time ago. Taking my time and learning and growing at my own pace has allowed me to shape The Lioness Group into its unique niche. If I had sat down and typed out what I thought a writing and media services firm should look like, it would not have been what I currently have. Being different means doing what others have not done and stepping out is frightening. I wouldn’t have been able to write down what I wanted to do, because I didn’t know what I wanted to do until I started to do it. (Whew! Did you catch that?) Slow, steady growth has enabled me to find my strengths and what makes my brand what it is. Take the time to work in the field you are attempting to become a leader in. Know what it feels like to be in the shoes of the worker bee, the queen bee’s assistant and, ultimately, the queen herself. Be a consumer of the same services you hope to provide. Being on the other side of the glass can do remarkable things when it comes to determining how you want to treat your clients.

I am not encouraging anyone to not have a business plan. It is a necessity. I am in the throws of working with Williams Business Consulting to finally complete my business plan. I must say, it’s a lot easier to write after being in business for more than a year. I don’t have to use estimates. I can use facts. The bonus of having a plan is when you are having those off days; the ones where you are wondering why you started this in the first place. You can open up that plan, refocus on your mission and get right back on track. But don’t be afraid to wander out of the guidelines every now and then. Leave room for the unexpected. Fore it is the only thing that has catapulted me on my path. The irony is what we think is unexpected is often a result of choices we have made, both good and bad.

The Power is in Your Hands

The first time I worked in a mentor capacity, I was Assistant Managing Editor at Reminder Publications. Through Minnechaug Regional High School’s School to Career program, overseen by the amazing and talented Paula Talmadge, each year a high school student would intern in our news department.

These students would come in willing and ready to absorb all they could learn each day. Errors led to discoveries, nerves strengthened to confidence and each story led them to become a part of the news team family. One of the greatest rewards in participating in the program, on my end, was that each student reignited my passion for news.

Each time they figured out a way to track down a source or finally nail their lead, you felt a piece of their victory when their story went to print. You remember how good it feels, because you can recall being in their shoes.

Last week I had the pleasure of talking to students at New Leadership Charter School on entrepreneurism. It was wonderful to hear about their dreams and hopes for the future. Two students hoped to start a wedding planning company. It gave me great satisfaction to tell them they were on the right track. In order to gain experience, they have been planning whatever they can, including school activities and events. After we did a brief exercise that is designed to learn more about your strengths and weaknesses and to access your needs, the two young ladies discovered that what one lacked, the other excelled in, which makes an excellent partnership. It would allow the two be able to focus on different, yet equally important, functions of their future company.

After we went through my Power Point presentation, munched on snacks and muddled over some of the press and marketing materials I brought them, I also shared with them that often people have a certain idea of what an entrepreneur is. I explained to them that an entrepreneur is YOU. It is a person who sees where there is nothing and creates something. It is a person who looks at a product or service and says, “How can I make that better?”

I explained to them that I wasn’t the best student in high school and I had a son at the end of my senior year. But, what saved my future is there was one thing I knew that I loved doing – writing. I had no idea how I was going to make a living at it, but I knew I would. I had veered off my path, but was determined to get "write" back on. So I went to college, worked, interned, and interned some more, and the most important thing I ever did was LISTEN. I have always admired and respected people older than I. And until this very day, when they talk, I listen. I take their advice, learn how they do things, what works, what doesn't and then I do it my way.

I can name numerous people who have made a difference and impacted my life in a substantial way. People who don’t even have a clue they did. Here are just a few: Laurie, a mother of four children who worked with me at The Avenue when I was 23 years old. She told me I could start my own business one day. She was right. Thanks to her, I attended the Center for Women & Enterprise in Rhode Island.

There is a gentleman I never met face-to-face in the early 2000s. We spoke on the phone for about 10 minutes. I don’t even remember his name. He told me to call The Republican and say he sent me. After a series of phone calls and an interview, I got my first paying freelance job writing for the Plus section. Gosh, my articles were horrible. However, Cynthia Simison was kind enough to let me gain some experience.

Later, when I worked at The Reminder, G. Michael Dobbs would listen to our story ideas and give us permission to write them – no matter how out there they were for a weekly newspaper: i.e. “Mike, can we go to the Mojave Desert to track local Marines as they prepare for war in Iraq?” Yes. “Mike, can we drive down to Connecticut in the wee hours of the morning and cover the Michael Ross execution?” Yes. “Can I ride a bus with hundreds of citizens who are going to rally at the New England Congressional Delegation?” Yes. “Mike, can I go to Thailand for a month to write a piece on Group Study Exchange?” Yes. “Can I cover Bill Cosby?” Yes. “How about Grant Hill?” Yes. “Dick Gregory?” Yes. Sorry Jim Carey, but Dobbs is the true “Yes Man.”

Today I encourage you to pay it forward. Even if you did not have someone in your life that helped you get where you are, be the first to turn around and lift up a young person behind you, and then nudge them forward in your own, unique way. Maybe you may know a good resource for them; maybe you can offer advice on a particular subject – it may be as simple as showing them a little love and respect. It all makes a difference.

Don't Be Afraid, Go Out On A Limb

Fear can be crippling. In order to see our businesses flourish, we have to take calculated risks. However, it is often easier said than done. Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending the 4th Annual Next Level Development Conference for Women of Color hosted at The Sheraton in Springfield, Mass.


The brainchild and vision of Kimberly Robinson Williams, the conference exists to promote the career and personal development of women and people of color across professions, industries and levels of experience. Audra Bohannon, Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion for Global Novations, presented one of the workshops titled, “Efficacy: Success Strategies for Career Success.” It was brilliantly put together and I was quite pleased to learn that I have been on the right track when it comes to my career.

Then we came to the portion of the program that asked us to write down things we have always wanted to accomplish but still have not. That was easy, too. But then she asked, “What can get in the way?” And that is where I got the first chink in my armour. The things I have accomplished and are known to be great at, well, they come naturally to me. Currently, there are only a few things that make me weak in the knees (Not actually true. If I were to list all of the animals, creepy crawlers and reptiles that turn my blood to ice you’d be reading a book not a column). Since I believe in the practice what you preach motto, I am going to so that I can be held accountable by you. Give me a microphone and place me in front of an audience and my throat will lock. I begin to sound like I inhaled a can of helium. It’s not that I am not prepared to speak or that I am not knowledgeable on the subject. I just begin to wonder what the thoughts are behind all of those roving eyeballs.

Oddly enough, I have spoken to classes, organizations and civic meetings – some have went better than others. However, my worst experience with public speaking took place when I was in Thailand participating in Group Study Exchange, a program sponsored by Rotary International. For six weeks I travelled the country with my other team mates, practically (in my mind) making a fool of myself at every club meeting. I’d be fine leading up to it. I’d even feel quite calm, but one second before I opened my mouth my palms would start sweating and a death grip would seize my vocal cords. My favourite joke on the subject comes from Jerry Seinfeld. He said, "The number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Number two. That means most people would rather be in the casket than doing the eulogy."

The Next Level Conference encouraged me to think about fear. Sometimes we’re willing to take a backseat to it rather than follow our hearts. While I believe most people will admit they have a fear of failure, I think it actually comes back to worrying how others view your failure. For example, I fail at things all the time. I’ve slipped on winter ice in my drive way before or put on my shirt backwards. Heck, one morning during my high school days I made it half a block before I realized I hadn’t combed my hair that morning. Did I care about many of these mishaps? No. Why? No one was around to witness them.

Going out on a limb in clear view is scary. We’re vulnerable and visible. The funny thing is that when we fear doing what we want to because of how we may be perceived, we not only miss out on a fantastic opportunity to grow, but we wind up with that feeling that I refuse become friends with, regret.

When I left the conference that afternoon, I left with one mission in mind: Over the next three months I am going accept all of the speaking engagements I had previously turned down. I am going to tiptoe to the edge of my comfort zone, open my arms and take a leap of faith – and I don’t care who is watching. Someone once told me that whatever people think of me is none of my business anyway.

One Click and it Spreads Like a Virus

As an entrepreneur, are you a business owner or a brand? Either way, you represent something. Last week I was invited to an amazing professional development opportunity for women. Hosted by Mary Fallon, of Garvey Communications, there was a great topic on social media and where the line of business and personal is drawn.

For many years I put off utilizing social media. Heck, I didn’t even get a steady cell phone until 2009 (Long story, but sometimes I actually LIKE being unreachable). When I began to use Facebook,I never associated with business contacts on it because at that time I was still a reporter and wanted to keep socializing with city and/or town officials to a minimum. When I started The Lioness Group I thought creating two accounts would be beneficial. I had my business profile and then I had a personal profile. It was easy at first - checking to inboxes, building both networks. However, the more connections I began to make, the longer it took me online.

A few weeks ago I had enough – I contacted all of my friends and associates on my business profile and said that I was merging everyone into one account. Why? It not only was too time consuming, but what did I truly not want my business associates to see on the other personal Facebook account I kept? Nothing.

The Lioness Group and my name are not two separate things. They are one. I am The Lioness Group. I am the brand. I represent my company wherever I go at all times. If people looked at themselves as unified with their business and/or employer, it might cut back on all of the trouble some employees find themselves in when they post far too personal information on social media networks.

Writer Ron Callari wrote an amazing article on the situation for inventorspot.com. In the piece Callari writes, “Be careful what you tweet, Flikr, YouTube and update - less you want to reduce your chances of getting hired or landing your next client. Social media is now officially the extension of one's resume. It adds another layer for discovery by prospective employers and companies. After all, who knows you better than your social networks?

“Austin Carr in a Fast Company analysis reported that "employers are on longer just searching Google for information on applicants - they're commissioning companies to do professional social media background checks." To that point, a Proofpoint study indicated that 8 percent of companies have already fired "social media miscreants."

The study also uncovered the following infractions:

• 17 percent disciplined an employee for violating blog or message board policies

• 15 percent have disciplined an employee for violating multimedia sharing / posting policies

• 13 percent of US companies investigated an exposure event involving mobile or Web-based short message services”

Still don’t believe? Take Scott Dutcher, head of the Colorado Animal Protection Bureau, for example. Under the Twitter account name Skinnyhorse, abcNews10 reported that, “He called himself an ‘unapologetic American’ who was ‘anti-animal rights.’ In one tweet he urged his followers to ‘take our country back’ and in another he sarcastically called on people to "eat more polar bears.’ He also went after people he deemed to be too much in favor of animal rights.

‘Success over animal rights is the best revenge!’ he wrote. ‘Meat is in higher demand, more entries, spectators in rodeo, etc...’

Those kinds of tweets brought forward the wrath of many people in favor of animal rights. An online petition is currently encouraging people to sign their names in order to try to get him fired. There's even a Facebook page devoted to getting him out of the job. The local head of the Humane Society of the United States called his behavior ‘appalling.’”

Be aware of what you post online. You have to be aware of what you’re doing. As I shared with the professional development group that morning, my motto is I never post anything online that I wouldn’t want my mother to see.

Have We Had Lunch Yet?

I have a weird rule – every week I have lunch, coffee or dinner with someone I do not know. I have met entrepreneurs, financial advisors, pastors, teachers, investors, writers, restaurateurs, designers – the list goes on and on.
While I have not tallied it up thus far, I can safely say that I have met over 70 new acquaintances – some have become friends – in the last several months. At the end of 2010, for the first time, I will attempt to tally them up for the year. You see, it has never been about the number. I am going to tally it up to prove a point. These are genuinely people that I thought to myself, “I would like to get to know her” or “Jeez, what he does sounds so interesting. I am going to reach out to him to learn more.”

Believe it or not, people welcome meeting YOU, yes, YOU! I have yet to meet one person who has refused a meeting. And do you know why that is? People want to build new relationships just as much as you. I’m not talking about the superficial exchanging of business cards to build a rolodex. I mean learning about why they do what they do and caring to know about their families, interests and contributions.

Sure we all hope to do business with someone, but it goes beyond that. Before I even think about working with someone, I try to get to know them. Maybe we might not make a great business partnership, but you may be a heck of a bowling partner. Maybe we initially met for you to learn about my services and it turns out you don’t quite need them yet. However, through conversation, it could be revealed that you are just the person to fill a vacancy on a committee I’m familiar with.

Not everyone fits in one box. You’ll never know the true potential of a relationship if you don’t approach it with an open mind. So get rid of those old, washed up notions of networking. People are as interesting and unique as the stars in the sky.

Stay tuned for my 2010 tally in December … and if you haven’t thought about it, you should: Have we had lunch yet?