Pay It Forward, February 2011

It has been a tough transition back from the beaches of St. Thomas to the frozen tundra that is New England.  I am thankful for the opportunity to soak up some sun to get me through the next couple of months.  I am especially thankful that Elizabeth Pineault and her husband Steve were the winners of the Caribbean Vacation with the Prez because they were excellent guests and embraced the local color with me.  Keep your fingers crossed that January of 2012 might find you as the winner of the contest! 

The results of the SSWBN survey are in and show that we continue on the right path. 

§         Seventy-nine percent (79%) of those polled agree that the Network provides good social networking opportunities and is a place to build trusting relationships. 

§         Seventy-three percent (73%) agree that we are a good place to promote members’ businesses and a good value. 

We received a good cross section of responses from members.  About a third –31.5 percent — have been members for less than a year and an equal percentage had been members for 5-10 years.  Sixty-eight percent (68%) are business owners, while the rest (32%) work for a larger organization.  SSWBN has always been a great place for new business owners to network. 

§         Forty-eight percent (48%) of the respondents are solo entrepreneurs, and 25 percent of them report two to ten employees. 

§         Eighteen and a half percent (18.5%) report having more than 100 employees, which indicates that SSWBN is also a good value for larger companies. 

The impact of the slumping economy has adversely affected businesses nationwide.  However, our poll indicates that 81.5 percent of our members grew or expanded or experienced financial growth in 2010.  Almost a quarter of them — 23.9 percent report a 10-20 percent increase and 17.4 percent report a 21-30 percent increase. 

How to interpret these numbers?  It could be that SSWBN is blessed with businesses that are recession proof, have savvy owners or have just been lucky.  A better explanation is that our members’ businesses are doing well because of their involvement with SSWBN.  They are networking, helping each other, providing referrals and cheering each other on. 

If you are one of the businesses that experienced a decline, reach out for help.  Are you targeting your market effectively?  Is your 30-second introduction memorable, confident and concise?  Are you using social networking tools to your advantage? 

If you answered “no” to any of these questions, ask for help from a member who is experiencing success.  I have always found that I learn more from my failures than my successes;  but it is easier to learn from these experiences when you have input from trusted allies. 

Happy to lead with fun and humility, 

Janet
Dirty Deeds, Done Dirt Cheap
Dirtydeedsddc04@hotmail.com 

Pay It Forward Tip for February: Are you one of those businesses that experienced financial growth or expansion in 2010?  Can you remember when you first started your business and faced so many challenges?  What better way to honor those that helped you when you were starting out than by reaching out to some of our new members!