THE BIZ PANEL

experts for entrepreneurs

Mind Over Money Event

The Biz Panel is back and this time, it’s all about money.

Now that tax season is (almost!) behind us, or you at least filed for an extension, you’ve seen the numbers for 2010. Are you satisfied with the amount of money your business made last year?

Do you want 2011 to be a better year for your business? With the 1st quarter of 2011 already over with, now is the time to make the changes that will increase your income.

As entrepreneurs and freelancers, wrestling with money in all areas of your business can be draining…

That’s where we come in!

This quarter, we’ll give you tips, tools, resources, guidance and advice for how to:

find it by building launch revenue

preserve it by bootstrapping

create it through monetization

manage it through systems and organization

produce it through marketing, PR and online presence

and budget it to take you further.

It has been said that two heads are better than one, and well, we’re bringing you four!

(plus a bonus!)

Five minds

Five experts

Five opinions

Five areas of expertise

all working for you.

For full details and to RSVP: http://mindovermoney.eventbrite.com

Join us on April 5^th for some face time!

We know how busy you are – you’re running a business after all! Most, if not all of you, want to GROW your business. Our goal as an organization is to help your business GROW and this event will help you do that.

We will spend some time talking about strategies to help you make the kind of connections you need to grow your business. After that, we’ll have time for everyone to introduce themselves and their businesses – a chance to share who you are with other passionate and supportive entrepreneurs.  Then there will be plenty of time to mix and mingle so you can get to know each other. We’ll also be raffling off some resources to help you grow your business once you walk out the door.

You won’t want to miss it!

Light snacks will be available. Additional food and drinks are available for you to purchase.

Don’t forget to bring plenty of business cards!

Know another business owner or entrepreneur who could benefit from this event? Invite them to join us! The more strong connections we all make, the more our businesses grow.

Details:

Tuesday, April 5^th, 2010

7:00pm to 9:30pm

Dolores Restaurant

11407 Santa Monica Blvd

Los Angeles, CA 90025

Cost: $10 per person.  All Mogul, Key Player and Associate Members attend this event for free.  For details: http://bit.ly/tecbenefits

(Guest post by Marianne Emma Jeff )

Did you know it takes 3,000 – 4,0000 people who know what you do for you to have a steady stream of clients, customers or opportunities? Facts change pretty fast so the number may even be higher by the time you read this. Did you also know that it takes 25 – 28 interactions with the SAME person before they actually get out their wallet! Building your business is about building relationships. We all know that but do you know how to build a business relationship? Most people don’t and this is a big reason their business is stuck.

Business Networking Tip #9

Are you calling people and inviting them to coffee and then never hearing back from them? People you meet can be gun shy of giving up their precious time to have coffee, especially if there is only a loose agenda of “getting to know each other’s business.” Instead, try inviting them to an event you are going to that you think would be valuable to them. This makes it less intimidating and if you pick a great event then they will be very thankful to you afterward. Find lots of GREAT events at The Entrepreneur Connection. Coming up this Thursday the 14th at the Coloft I will be encouraging some GREAT networking and sharing some ideas on how to get unstuck with your business and expand your network, visibility and your profitability. Reserve your spot NOW at invite a new friend by sharing this link http://breakthruwithmarianne.eventbrite.com/.

Thanks to CoLoft and HP ProBook 4425 for sponsoring this event!

A lesson in networking without the yuck factor from Beth Andrus, Founder of MiniBizBuzz.com and TEC Member.

Networking Without The Yuck Factor from Beth Andrus on Vimeo.

To learn more about Beth, check out www.minibizbuzz.com – she also shares a free chapter from her great book, The Essential Business Handbook.

September Calendar of Events for The Entrepreneur Connection

Thursday, 9/9 – Back to Business Essentials – Pasadena

Summer is interesting time for most business owners. Kids are home from school, families are planning vacations, and all anyone really wants to do is lay down by the pool and relax. Unfortunately, we all know that there’s still plenty of work to get done!

If you’re ready to get out of the summer slump and get back to business in a powerful and effective way, you won’t want to miss this workshop.

For full details and to RSVP: http://backtobizessentials.eventbrite.com

Monday,  9/13 – Get Clients Now Discussion Group – Free

Our next round of our Get Clients Now discussion group starts on September 13th. We connect on the phone from 9am to 10am on Monday mornings. If you want to join us this time around, email us ASAP so we can give you the scoop and get you signed up in time. Group runs for 5 weeks, at which time participants decide if they’d like to continue for another round. Some of us have been going since January! This powerful marketing mastermind group is perfect to the entrepreneur who needs to get things done and have support and accountability along the way.

Send an email to info@theentrepreneurconnection.com expressing your interest and we’ll get back to you. We have six people participating, so we have spots for up to 4 more people.

Tuesday, 9/14 – Women, Money and Power Workshop – Brentwood (TEC Member Event)

As an experienced financial professional, Mogul Member Brittney Castro focuses her practice on understanding the unique challenges women and their families face, and providing personalized guidance that puts their goals first.

Please join Brittney Castro, Vice President, LPL Financial Advisor, for a complimentary seminar titled, “Women, Money and Power,” on September 14th from 6:30 p.m.- 8:00 p.m. at her office in West Los Angeles and learn how to empower your hidden financial personality and take control of your financial future. For full details and to RSVP visit: http://womenmoneypower.eventbrite.com/

Thursday, 9/16 – Speed Friending Event – Santa Monica (TEC Member Event)

We’re celebrating Friendship Month in the Los Angeles area on September 16 and you’re invited to join us in an evening Speed-Friending. Join us at Exhale Spa, by the pool, to expand your circle of local friends in a fun & meaningful way!

Speed-Friending is an organized evening where women from the Greater Los Angeles area will participate in a guided process of fun and meaningful sharing in multiple small groups to introduce women to potential new friends. It’s fulfilling, easy and super effective. Come meet the other adventurous local women who know value of expanding their circle of local girlfriends!

For full details and to RSVP: http://exhalefriends.eventbrite.com

Monday, 9/20 – Mastermind Monday Lunch – Los Angeles

Looking for opportunities to network during the day? Want to skip all the traffic?

Join us for Mastermind Mondays – focused, high impact networking.

Want to test out a new marketing idea? Wondering how you can fill your pipeline? Just want to make some great new networking contacts? Come join us! We’ll get to know each other as we spend time focusing on the question, concern, or challenge each person has to share. http://mastermindmondays.eventbrite.com

Tuesday, 9/21 – Breaking Thru in Your Business: From Good to Great - Santa Monica

Professional Success Coach, Marianne Emma Jeff (The Breakthru Queen) shares concrete tools, insights and simple strategies to empower you and your business forward thru the Breakthru Cycle.  Come for a fun, interactive, information packed evening and leave motivated, full of ideas to move your career or business from Good to GREAT!

For full details and to RSVP: http://breakthruwithmarianne.eventbrite.com

Thursday, 9/30 – Entrepreneur Startup Challenges Event: Attracting & Engaging Customers
Learn how to attract more customers now! — Presentations will be given by nationally publicized marketing, business systems, and public relations experts on how to attract and engage yoru msot profitable target customers. You will see real examples of what is effective and what is failing to attract customers today in a stuggling economy. Topics of discussion will focus on marketing strategy, startup business systems, and ways to act now with social media marketing.  Full details and RSVPs coming soon!

As you can see, we have a JAM PACKED month of great events! Start RSVPing and marking your calendars now!  If you’ve been considering one of our TEC member packages, now is a great time to join! For details, check out:  http://bit.ly/tecbenefits

Creating a blog is a great way to promote yourself and your business—in addition to driving traffic to your website, regular blog entries are an opportunity for you to showcase your expertise in your field. But as with everything on the Internet, people must be able to find your blog before it becomes useful for you or for them. Below are a few tips for optimizing your WordPress blog for search engines. I’m focusing on blogs powered by WordPress because it’s the most popular blogging system and can be easily customized with a variety of plugins for search engine optimization.

Search Engine Optimization Tips For WordPress Blogs

• Take advantage of all the plugins available for WordPress by installing one devoted to search engine optimization. One of the most popular is the All-in-One SEO Pack, which optimizes your post titles for search engines and generates meta tags. It has automatic features for beginning users as well as many options for more advanced users.
• Change your Permalink Settings (found under the Settings heading on the WordPress Dashboard) so the URLs for your blog posts contain keywords instead of the default question marks and numbers. A good choice is the custom URL structure “/%category%/%postname%/”, which tells WordPress to put the post’s category and name into the URL. This is important because search engines use the URL to help determine your page content and relevance. When you publish a post, just make sure the category and post name are words or phrases that people will search in order to find your content.
• Make sure the WordPress theme you choose keeps the blog content close to the top of the page. Search engines often scan only the first third of the page before moving on, so you want to choose a theme that places content near the top and sidebars and footers closer to the bottom.
• Write your posts with keywords in mind. Choose words and phrases that searcher will use to find your information, and use them several times within your post. There are WordPress plugins that can help you monitor your post’s keyword density as you type, like the Keyword Statistic plugin.
• Add a social bookmarking plugin that will allow your readers to submit your posts to their favorite social media websites. There are WordPress plugins available that will allow your readers to share your posts on sites like Twitter, Facebook, Digg, Delicious, StumbleUpon, and more. The OnlyWire plugin allows you to automatically syndicate your blog content to the top social networking sites.
• Browse the available SEO plugins for WordPress for additional ideas and features.

There are many more ways to optimize your WordPress blog for search engines, but these are a few simple, must-do tips for every blogger. Take full advantage of blogging’s benefits by following these basic rules to ensure your blog is search engine friendly.

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Yiana Palacios, owner of Design Leap a small business design company empowering small business owners to create a strong brand. Design Leap offers a full range of print and online services; using a friendly approach Yiana guides her clients through the entire development process, answering questions and providing suggestions. Understanding the challenges of small businesses she’s there to scale her client’s needs and grow with the company.

Are you on Twitter and Facebook? We are!

Here’s what’s coming up for The Entrepreneur Connection this month:

Tuesday, May 11th 
Enhancing Your Email Marketing with Social Media – 9:00 AM – Online
Webinar sponsored by RatePoint

Wednesday, May 12th
Lunch Time Power Hour Call – “100% – Bringing balance, joy, fulfillment, and SUCCESS into your life using the 100% tool” – 12:00 PM
(Free call by TEC Mogul Member Marianne Emma Jeff)

Saturday, May 15th
Saturday Morning Mastermind – 9:30am – The Healthy Bean, West Hollywood
Cost: Associate, Key Player, and Mogul Members – Free; General Admission – $10
Join us for a morning mastermind-style meetup. We know many of you can not make our evening meetings and have been looking for a weekend alternative. Maybe you can make the evening meetings, but you also want to meet the weekend crowd – nothing wrong with that! This will be a great time to get to know members and have them learn about YOU, as each one of us will have a few minutes in the spotlight to share about ourselves, our businesses, what our current challenges are, and what the perfect referral for us would be. How can we help you make your business better? Let us know!

Monday, May 17th 
Mastermind Monday Lunch – 12:30pm – Buddha’s Belly, Los Angeles (near the Grove)
Cost: $20 Early Bird until 5/10, after that $25 per person. Associate, Key Player, and Mogul Members receive 20-50% off the ticket price
Looking for opportunities to network during the day? Want to skip all the traffic? Join us for Mastermind Mondays – focused, high impact networking – on the third Monday of every month. Want to test out a new marketing idea? Wondering how you can fill your pipeline? Just want to make some great new networking contacts? Come join us! We’ll get to know each other as we spend time focusing on the question, concern, or challenge each person has to share.

We’re also finalizing the details on a fantastic speaker event that you won’t want to miss. Make sure to join our mailing list so you get all the details!

We’re excited about tomorrow’s event – Building Your Media List – Yes, You Need One! with Lizzy Shaw of Lizzy Shaw Public Relations.

We’ve been around for a while now, producing events and creating a community for local entrepreneurs to connect and build their businesses. Each event is a success because of the great people that show up (members and guests alike), and we’re thrilled that the group continues to grow.

Our event on Thursday is an exciting one because it shows how many people out there support us, believe in our mission, and want to help us make entrepreneurs more successful. We have sponsors and donors who represent companies of varying sizes and industries.

We’re excited and proud to have Tungle as our sponsor for this event!

Tungle.me makes scheduling meetings easy–across organizations, calendar systems, and time zones.  Tungle eliminates costly double bookings, frustrating time zone mishaps, and the endless back and forth emails and phone calls of finding a time to meet.  Tungle.me is a free personal scheduling application that syncs with Outlook (with or without Exchange), Google Calendar, Apple iCal, Entourage for Mac and Lotus Notes.  Tungle.me does not require meeting invitees or visitors to a user’s Tungle.me page to sign in or register to schedule meetings. Tungle.me also supports scheduling meetings on-the-go with Tungle.me for iPhone – which is super helpful for all you networkers out there!

And, as a final – but super important – note, the Tungle.me staff is fantastic. Big thanks to Marc Gingras, Erin Lariviere and Jonathan Levitt!

We have raffles and giveaways from these amazing companies:

• RatePoint
• Rachel Abroms Studio
• John Kelly Chocolates
• Bee M.D.
• WebGem Network
• PrintingForLess.com
• Lynn Hirshfield (author or Girls Gone Green)
• Besame Cosmetics
• Klean Bath + Body
• CoLoft

Thanks again to these fantastic companies for their support!

Join us on Thursday night for a great presentation by Lizzy and some fantastic networking with entrepreneurs from around Los Angeles! RSVP here.

We love our members because they are always creating great things in the world. We have so many great experts who are passionate about what they do – and they are great at it!  Here are two quick updates from Mogul Members:

What difference would it make to your life if you could give 100% everyday, without burning out? Success Coach Marianne Emma Jeff has been pondering just that and came up with three powerful and insightful questions.  She is on a mission to ask 100 people her three powerful questions.  If you can spare 10 minutes to answer three questions go to https://my.timedriver.com/TT6TM to set up a ten minute time slot.  As a thank you she will send you a complimentary copy of her new e-book “100 Days of 100%” after the call.

TEC Mogul Member Susan Baker (www.escapehatcher.com ) wrote a blog post that we think you should check out. It’s called “Networking is Good for the Soul,” and she lists a couple of other great organizations that you can network through: http://bit.ly/aFNZBK