Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com February 20, 2017 • Hartford Business Journal 15 BIZ BOOKS Tips for female entrepreneurs who want million-dollar businesses "M illion Dollar Women: The Essential Guide for Female Entrepreneurs Who Want to Go Big" by Julia Pimsleur (Simon & Schuster, $16). According to National Women's Busi- ness Council, women-owned businesses employ 8.9 million and, despite the difficult U.S. economy, have added almost 2 million jobs since 2008. Pimsleur bundles her business experience (Little Pim — a foreign language learning system for children) with that of other women and men who have grown their ideas into million-dollar businesses. Here's some advice from the women: Pimsleur: "People like to board a train that's leaving the station." Having an idea or concept isn't a business. Neither is a business plan that speaks to only what you plan to do. People want to see something tangible before they'll give you their commitment. They see that commitment when you're doing something, not waiting for others to come onboard. Pimsleur "left the station" with a Little Pim instructional video pilot. She showed it to people in her network. A connection literally paid off. Her mother's yoga buddy became an investor and, with her experi- ence in early education, helped Pimsleur establish educational-commu- nity connections. Chantel Waterbury runs Chloe + Isabel, a $100 million- plus business, which sells jewelry online through a network of women micro- entrepreneurs. She thought outside the box by combin- ing her knowledge of the jewelry business (acquired while working for Macy's and Target) with a market- ing channel similar to that of Avon Products. Her advice for dealing with potential investors: Find your voice. Investors want different things and make suggestions; you can't please them all and remain true to your vision of the company. You have to be willing to push back and explain how their requests don't synch with your plan. You'll lose some investors, but those that do come onboard will understand your vision. Brittany Hodak's and Kim Kaupe's company, ZinePak, makes custom-interac- tive products that appeal to music fans. Their sales at Walmart alone exceed $30 million. Their thoughts on work-life balance: Starting a business means that scale will tilt toward work, not life. You have to explain the importance of what you're doing and the time involved. When people know why you're "absent," they understand. That said, entrepreneurship doesn't mean you ignore life priorities. Stephen Covey of "7 Habits" fame told me that when he was on the road he made time to talk with his wife and nine children every day, and he adjusted his work schedule around his children's school events schedules. Pam Wolf, CEO of New York Kids Club, and Carrie Kerpen, CEO of Likeable Media, weigh in on productivity: As a business grows, there are too many daily decisions for one person to make. As the owner, you must realize that you're not the smartest person in the room. Learn how to trust the people you hired to do their jobs. Del- egation involves letting them use their judgement and skills. This engages their ownership of their jobs, and builds the organization's expertise much faster than command-and-control. Also, practice "Well done is better than perfect." Striving for perfection when work-world circumstances change rapidly wastes time — time that could be spent on other projects. After two decades on Wall Street, Debo- rah Jackson founded Plum Alley, a crowd- sourcing platform for women's projects and companies. She sees crowdfunding as a first step to really understanding the business you're in. Why? A campaign tests your mar- keting plan. It has to convince prospects to invest (pre-order) products. If it doesn't convince them, it's time to reexamine your target market. A successful campaign will also impress venture capitalists. Advice to readers: As you read each chap- ter, complete the chapter's "Million Dollar Exercises" in the appendix. Use the complet- ed exercises as a quick reference guide. n Jim Pawlak is a nationally syndicated book reviewer. Jim Pawlak THE RAINMAKER How to re-think a great elevator pitch By Ken Cook T he elevator pitch is that pressure packed 30 seconds to 1 minute where your future success lies in someone else's hands. Fig- uring out what to say and how to say it, so the other party is at least interested in continuing the conversation, can be a challenge. The assumption with most elevator pitches is that a com- pelling and excit- ing description of a business or oppor- tunity is what makes the pitch interesting and engaging. This is important, but it is not the heart of a great elevator pitch. I contend that the most engaging part of a conversation is the person making the pitch. If the person is not interesting or engaging, then what they are saying will be either half-heard or not heard at all. Therefore, if you want your eleva- tor pitch to be engaging, totally enwrap yourself into what you are saying. Show the passion behind the person, and the business. If the other party finds you inter- esting, then they will be motivated to con- tinue talking. If the other person cannot connect with you, then what you are offer- ing is devalued to a commodity. Let's consider a few scenarios where elevator pitches are used. Salespeople prac- tice their elevator pitches because they fre- quently meet people at networking events or similar types of meetings. Entrepreneurs practice their elevator pitch because they are always looking for something, be it new cus- tomers, investment capital, or partners who can help them succeed. In both of these scenarios, think about the person on the receiving end of the eleva- tor pitch. If you are at a networking meeting, would you buy from someone who imme- diately starts telling you how wonderful their product or service is? If you are an investor, would you put your money with someone who talks about how their prod- uct will change the industry and their sales will increase? The probable answer in either scenario is no. People, when they first meet someone, are usually most interested in who they are meet- ing. Who is this person? Where are they from? What is interesting about them? If you want a great elevator pitch, start with you. What can you say about yourself that is at least intriguing, reflects your per- sonality, and is informative? For example, take the salesperson at a net- working event: "Hi, I'm Ken. These types of events are uncomfortable for me. How about you?" Break the ice with something person- al, and in this case, showing a vulnerability. Then maybe follow up with an easy question. For example: "What are you hoping for from this event?" This question engages the other person in terms of their goals and aspira- tions. Albeit, goals and aspirations on a small scale, but goals and aspirations nonetheless. At least it is not about products. When you are an entrepreneur in front of potential investors or customers, talk about passions and what drives you. Describe why you are pursuing a product that you think will change an industry. Enable a customer or an investor to connect to you; after all, that is who they are buying. Customers and investors need to believe in the person first. Without that, they won't even consider the product or the company. Bottom line: In both scenarios the conver- sation will eventually get around to business. But the elevator pitch was the first step in that business relationship. Make the pitch a good one by personalizing it — give the other party a strong personal reason to continue the conversation. n Ken Cook is the co-author of "How to WHO: Selling Personified," a book about building business through relationships. Ken Cook ▶ ▶ As a business grows, there are too many daily decisions for one person to make. As the owner, you must realize that you're not the smartest person in the room. ▶ ▶ If you want your elevator pitch to be engaging, totally enwrap yourself into what you are saying. Show the passion behind the person, and the business.

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