Tips and Tricks from Successful Chicks

I recently attended a networking event with Ladies Who Launch (LWL) in Nashville. The event was Tips and Tricks from Successful Chicks. It was held at a salon in an affluent area that opened up a year ago. The owners of J. Bang's Salon are mother and daughter. The daughter, Julie is a hair stylist who always dreamed of owning her own salon and her mother already a business owner, decided to partner with her to help make Julie's dream a reality.

Several women turned out for the event and shared their stories of success in their own line of business. There was great food, wine and women networking together and learning from one another. With all the standing on high heels all evening, it led to some very sore feet but it was all worth it.

Ladies Who Launch focuses on women interested in becoming an entrepreneur or those who have already launched a business and want to be connected with other women not only to learn from them but to teach and support others. I met the director of the Nashville chapter, Sheilah Griggs, several months ago and she is one incredible woman. A single mom, business owner and very dedicated to LWL and the women involved. There are many chapters throughout the country if you are interested in learning more or attending the local events. Check it out when you get a minute. You'll be glad you did.

Administrative Assistant's Day - Yesterday

Administrative Assistant's day was yesterday and I did not have my gift in hand for my assistant. I felt terrible that I had to tell her I did not have anything for her. It wasn't because I forgot about it as I mark it on my calendar each year - it was simply bad timing. I ended up traveling for a couple of days and then asked my daughter to pick up the gift I wanted while she was out and about so I thought I was covered.

But unfortunately even though she attempted to do so, she was unable to which left me empty handed when I acknowledged this day to my assistant. Meredith does a wonderful job for me making my day easier by handling so many different tasks. She's organized, gets things done on time and does an outstanding job of the tasks assigned to her. She is an example of having great work ethic as she cares about her job, the output of her work and accomplishes a lot in her day.

She has just started climbing her pink ladder to success as she is a new graduate but with her skills, work ethic and professionalism - I can guarantee she will climb many rungs on her ladder. Thanks Meredith for all you do.

April – Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Sexual violence according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention refers to sexual activity where consent is not obtained or freely given. Both men and women unfortunately can become victims of sexual assault at some point throughout their lives. Although both sexes are victims, the majorities are women and the person responsible for the assault is usually someone they know. It can be a friend, family member or even a co-worker.

When we think of sexual violence most of us probably think of physical contact of some sort, but there are other types as well which include sexual harassment, threats or peeping. Susan Lee-Titus’ story (click here for March 2009) speaks to her own personal experience of sexual assault and what her healing process was and how she survived this horrific experience. “On a December night at 7pm, in an aerobic dance class, I was raped, beaten and held hostage at gunpoint for two hours.”

Signs Your Job May Be in Jeopardy

With the unemployment rate so high this year and many workers losing their jobs finding it hard to land another one; you may be wondering if your job is secure and if your company will be around for years to come.

There are five signs to look for that may indicate your company is in trouble.

1) Lack of growth in the company – Sales are stagnant or down with very little interest from new customers

2) Dissatisfied customers – Current customers are more dissatisfied with the product than satisfied

3) Employees – People that have been there for a long time and are very connected with the inner workings of the company are starting to jump ship.

4) Layoffs – The company has had more than one layoff in the last twelve months

5) New Product Development – No new products on the horizon or very little time and money being invested into research and development

Even if you see these signs in your company – don’t panic and quit or stop doing the best job possible; instead be wise and plan for the possibility that you may lose your job in the future if things do not turn around. Update your resume and start looking at job postings that may be of interest to you and if asked to interview – then do so. It doesn’t hurt to interview to see what the job market is looking for and the salary associated with it. The last thing you want to do is find yourself ‘jobless’ and wishing you had done something to prepare for it even though the signs of a company in distress was evident.

Failure: Try to Please Everyone

Holding a management position in a company naturally requires one to make decisions throughout the day, everyday; with some decisions easier and more routine than others. Unfortunately there will be people that will be disappointed with the answer they are given and may feel that the company or manager is not being fair or does not understand their view point on the subject.

Women more often than men, try to 'please' everyone most of the time. We want to make sure everyone's okay and happy with life or with us. For some women it's a struggle to get over that but it's necessary. You will never please everyone all the time so stop trying. It's not good for you or anyone else.  This attitude is carried over to the workforce where 'no' is not something they want to say very often. This typically leads to becoming overworked and stressed out. However, there are times when 'no' must be the answer in the best interest of the company.

No one likes to hear 'no' when requesting something especially if they are passionate about it. But in order for you or a company to be successful - it is necessary to do even though it may not be well received. The reality is no matter what decisions you make, there will always be at least one person that does not agree with it because you simply cannot please everyone all the time. But keep in mind, the decisions you make should always be in the best interest of the company.

Words of wisdom from Herbert Bayard Swope, "I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure--which is: Try to please everybody."

Back in the USA

It seems like it's been so long since I've written a blog which it has I suppose - a little over two weeks. I went on vacation to Italy and was hoping to write a blog several times and share with the Pink Ladder reader's information about the towns, people and experiences. However, little did I know that high speed Internet is not readily available in all the places we visited.

It was there I realized how we have become accustomed to and dependent on high speed internet to perform our job functions, to look  up the weather or to research data for one thing or another. Even though internet was available in the hotel and villa - it was slow and you needed to pay for 30 minutes at a time. We stayed in one place that had an internet cafe' which was free wireless but it kept logging us off and never did send an email. In the larger cities in the modern hotels, you will find high speed internet, but we were mostly in the Tuscany area where Chianti Classico is served in every restaurant and winery in the region.

It is a beautiful country with so much to see and do. The picture above is a street in Siena, Italy during the evening hours. If you ever get the opportunity to visit Italy or wonder where to go on the next vacation - I highly recommend it. Now that I'm back in the U.S. and have high speed internet at my fingertips - I will be blogging once again several times a week.