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Authenticity is the Only Personal Brand

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The successful Freelance consultant is acknowledged as an expert and leader in his/her chosen field  by clients,  colleagues and competitors.  This Freelancer has superior skills that are accompanied by integrity;  s/he can be trusted to meet or even exceed expectations.  This individual commands respect because s/he is highly competent,  reliable and credible,  that is to say,  authentic.

Authentic is an adjective that’s thrown around a lot these days and perhaps suffers from overuse,  but I agree with leadership development specialists who assert that a truly effective leader is highly skilled,  trustworthy,  respectful,  communicates well and is unafraid to be him/herself.  A leader embraces the genuine self,  strives to develop and present  the best self and does not waste time trying to be someone else.  For those reasons,  leaders are often considered charismatic and they inspire great loyalty.

Les McKeown,  CEO of Predictable Success,   an adviser on organizational growth and author of  “Predictable Success: Getting Your Organization on the Growth Track and Keeping It There” (2010),  has shared three phrases that will telegraph your authenticity and leadership ability to others.   At some future meeting,  it will make sense for a leader to make at least one of these statements:

“I have nothing to add.”  The confident leader is not in love with the sound of his/her own voice and does not feel compelled to weigh in on every matter.  A leader intuits when everything that is relevant has been expressed,  respects the well-reasoned opinions of others and allows others to take center stage and shine every now and again.

“I don’t understand what you mean by…..”  Authentic leaders admit knowledge gaps and ask for information that will clarify,  so that they can grasp the subject under discussion and promote good decision-making.  They are not driven by a need to appear  expert in all things.

“I recommend that we…..”  A leader recognizes when it is time to make a decision,  whether or not all the facts are in hand.  Usually,  all the facts can never be in hand,  but a leader knows when we must move forward and either take advantage of an opportunity,   head off a crisis,  or cut losses.  An authentic leader takes responsibility to put resources and reputation on the line and make,  or advocate for,  a decision or action.

Role models can be inspiring and show us the way,  but at the end of the day we must be ourselves.  We must be willing to embrace what we believe in,  acknowledge our priorities and articulate our values and vision.  To do so takes confidence,  which is yet another attribute of a leader.   An authentic leader has no desire to present a false  “personal brand”  that may seem trendy at a given moment.  A real leader knows that authenticity is the only worthwhile personal brand and that its value is timeless.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Business Resolutions for 2013

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Becoming a successful Freelance consultant requires any number of competencies,  in addition to a dose of good fortune.  First,  one must be able to position oneself as an expert in one’s field.   Second,  one must know how to sell that expertise to potential clients.  To create the conditions for success,  it is necessary to maintain expertise in order to maintain credibility;  meet and build relationships with those who will hire or refer you;  promote oneself and the business by being visible in the business community in which one operates;  manage  business finances;  and stay optimistic,  focused and disciplined.

It’s a tall order.  Since we’re at the start of a new year,  I respectfully offer you a few suggestions that you may want to adopt as resolutions that will get you rolling in 2013. 

1.  Make money

Sounds like a no-brainer,  no? Still,  you must get into the no-excuses  mindset and lead your business to profitability.   Review your business model.   Re-evaluate your pricing.   Nurture your referral network.   Keep an eye on expenses.   Figure out which self-promotion activities are most effective in making you visible in the circles that connect you with potential clients and noteworthy peers.  Develop business practices that will encourage clients to give you repeat business and make referrals for you.

2.  Invest in professional development

Education keeps you at your professional peak and introduces you to new and better solutions that you can offer to your clients.  Seek out online courses,  check out the business best-seller lists and select titles that address your business challenges and /or attend a seminar or two.

3.  Connect with influential peers

Get to know other Freelance consultants or other small business owners,  including those who offer products and services that complement your own.   Think about creating an informal advisory board and support network that gives you inspiration and encouragement when you need it (and remember to give as good as you get).  You may find a new referral partner.  You might find partners with whom you can develop mutually beneficial programs for clients or peers,  like a webinar.

4.  Re-evaluate how you promote your business

Social media is here to stay,  so confirm that you’re using what reaches your target audience.  LinkedIn is where you start.  If your clients follow Facebook, Twitter,  Google +, YouTube,  etc.,  then establish your presence and keep the content fresh and relevant.  Budget the time for face-to-face activities such as volunteer boards,  participation in charity events,  speaking at conferences,  mentoring programs and teaching courses.

5.  Value your personal life

Work not only hard,  but also smart.  Establish boundaries and unless you’re on deadline,  give yourself time off.  Take vacations as budget allows.  Stay in contact with friends.  Go to the gym.  Learn how to speak a foreign language or how to arrange flowers,  if that’s something you want to do.  Live your life to the fullest.

Happy New Year and thanks for reading,

Kim

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Four Rs for the Holidays

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Freelance consultants usually have to grapple with downtime that is imposed upon us during the Christmas holiday season.  After the first week in December,  it can be impossible to drag a project to the starting gate.  Clients will either shift into party mode or year-end mode and concentrate on wrapping up their own projects before December 25.  Unless the client is facing a January deadline ( thank goodness I’ve got one of those this year,  even if the project is miniscule),  they will put the brakes on things until after the first week in January and there isn’t a blessed thing we can do about it.

But time is our most precious resource,  unrecoverable when wasted.  So the question is,  how do Freelancers make hay during the Holidays?  In fact,  there is no reason that the Holiday season should be less than productive for your consultancy.  I offer here a few suggestions of activities that will pave the way to a stronger and more satisfying New Year:

Reflect

Use the Holiday season downtime to reflect on the events of the year,  professional and personal.  How do you feel about how things turned out? Did you recognize good opportunities?  Did you have the moxie to create still more opportunities? Were you able to overcome obstacles,  or dodge adversity?  Did you achieve you financial goals? Did you pick up any good clients?  Did you get repeat business? Did you enter into any good relationships?

Take an inventory of your year.  Make a list of what you consider to have been your major accomplishments of 2012.  What fell into place for you,  what ambitious plans did you initiate and carry out? How did you reward yourself for your achievements? How did those achievements impact how you feel about yourself and your abilities? Look for patterns of behavior that put you on the path to either success or frustration.  Find the lessons and make note of what you must and must not do again in the future.

Reposition

Once you’ve taken stock and accounted for successes and missteps,  you will be ready to incorporate the wisdom into repositioning yourself,  or otherwise refining and polishing your image.  While you’re at it,  take an objective look at your website,  your LinkedIn page and other social media and  your printed marketing collaterals.  Recite your standard elevator pitch out loud and listen to how it sounds.  If someone walked up to you and gave you that spiel,  what would be your reaction?

Do your marketing materials and elevator pitch address the concerns of your clients and prospects as we approach 2013 and the Fiscal Cliff? Are you relevant? Maybe it’s time to tweak and present you and your skills in a way that will remind clients that your value proposition remains valuable.

Reconnect

The Holidays can be the perfect time to arrange to cross paths with prospects and former clients with whom you would like to forge or renew relationships and get them thinking about ways to do business with you.   If you read last week’s post,  you may have already sent greeting cards to former clients.  There may still be time to make the rounds of selected late season parties,  where you might get an introduction to a prospect you’ve been trying to meet since first quarter.  Check the websites of the more selective networking organizations and see where you might roll the dice.  Even if you don’t meet The One,  you might meet Another One,  who might be less elusive and ultimately more valuable to your bottom line.

Relax

By all means,  unwind and enjoy yourself.  Spend quality time with family and friends,  but earmark some time to be alone as well.  Dolce far niente,  as the Italians say—it’s nice to do nothing,  as least once in a while and we owe that to ourselves.  Catch up on sleep,  schedule a massage or facial if you’ve got the budget.  Downtime is important as a way to reduce stress and recharge our batteries,  which has a positive effect on our resilience and creativity.  When January rolls around,  you will be ready to take it on in style.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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You Like Me. You Really Like Me!

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Everyone likes to do business with people they like and when given a choice,  we avoid doing business with people we don’t like.   Marketing expert Rohit Bhargava claims that in some instances,  likeability can trump professional  expertise in business situations.   In his 2012 book,  “Likeonomics: The Unexpected Truth Behind Earning Trust,  Influencing Behavior and Inspiring Action”,   he explains how we all can become more likeable ourselves.

In “Likeonomics”  Bhargava,  who led a marketing team at the global ad agency Ogilvy,  where he worked with clients such as Intel and Pepsi and who now teaches global marketing strategy at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.,   discusses why some companies  and people are more believable than others and why likeability is integral to being trusted,  obtaining and retaining customers and making money.   He reveals five characteristics that make businesses and individuals more likeable to clients and customers:  Truth,  Relevance,  Unselfishness,  Simplicity and Timing,  neatly embodied in the acronym TRUST.

 Likeability  differs from niceness.  Those two adjectives have similarities,  but if you think about it,   you’ll realize that they are not exactly interchangeable.  For example,  nice people don’t like to upset anyone or contradict the prevailing opinion.   To avoid rocking the boat,   nice people  may not always tell the truth.  They like to go with the flow.

Nice people prefer to gloss over the uncomfortable truth because they loathe confrontation and don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings .   Nice people want to liked.   Don’t get me wrong,  I like nice people.  I like people who don’t want to hurt my feelings.  The problem is,  nice people are often shallow people.  In my experience,  nice people do not have a backbone,  they definitely don’t have your back and in fact,  nice people are not ashamed to stand by and watch your enemies stab you in yours.

On the other hand,  likeable  people usually value the truth.   In fact,  likeable people can sometimes be rather blunt as they point out the truth of a situation.   Likeable people tend to be transparent and for that reason  they earn trust.  According to Bhargava,  trust and believability are at the foundation of being liked.  They are the basis of our most successful relationships.

Bhargava goes on to say that likeability is not the exclusive domain of extroverts and neither is it a personality contest.  Likeability is about being warm and approachable,  not about being chatty and outgoing.  When one is warm and approachable,  it is not necessary to engage in nonstop small talk in an effort to win someone over.

To be likeable,  all you have to do is be receptive to whom you meet and open to the conversation you’re having.  Be interested in the person you’re speaking with.  Listen and respond accordingly.   Believe it or not,  an excellent way to convince others that you are a great conversationalist is to listen and let the other person talk.

Bhargava further recommends that you keep your marketing message and sales pitch simple because that’s what people will respond to best.   Simple is easy to understand and navigate and evaluate and that is very important to busy people  (like you and me!).   When speaking,  limit  technical jargon and  fifty dollar words.  Don’t try to impress clients and prospects with your stunning vocabulary and encyclopedic knowledge.  Instead,  use clear and simple language,  to ensure that your message is understood and no one feels confused or intimidated  (this is not to be confused with dumbing things down).

Finally,  be honest and transparent about the services and products that you offer and your ability to meet the client’s needs.   As badly as you may need a contract in order to pay your bills,   it is far better for your professional reputation to turn down a contract if you know you cannot do the job.   Honesty demonstrates integrity,  creates respect and goodwill and will persuade that client to bring you in at another time to discuss a project for which you are qualified.

“Likeability is a skill—it is something we all universally can work on get better at”,  notes Bhargava.   Like the saying goes:  People do business with people they know and like.  They do more business with people they trust and respect.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Get Your First Impression Right the First Time

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Congratulate yourself.  You were lucky enough to get a good referral from one of your clients and you’ve been invited to meet with your newest prospect.  Because you’re smart enough to know that first impressions set the stage for success in any relationship,  you want to get this right. 

Allegedly,  there is research that shows a prospect will decide whether he/she might be willing to work with a Freelance consultant within five seconds of their initial encounter.   To get the most of those precious few seconds,  why not do some preparation to make sure that your first impressions do the job for you—and not on you!

Keep fit

Good health gives you a glow that makes you appear more attractive and competent.   It’s not necessary to emulate a runway model or ironman triathlete.   Just follow some sort of fitness regimen that suits you,  whether it’s 3-4 hours/week at the gym,  biking or walking to work,  or maybe playing in a softball or volleyball league.  Regular exercise brings many benefits,  including more restful sleep,  decreased levels of stress and higher self-esteem.  

A diet that includes plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables and modest amounts of protein and carbohydrates,  about 60-100 ounces of water each day and limited alcoholic beverages  is the other half of a good fitness regimen and will make you look alert and capable.  Top it off by getting seven to nine hours of sleep each night and abstaining from nicotine.

Visual signals

Like it or not,  everyone makes snap judgments based factors such as looks,  weight,  hair,  jewelry,  make-up,  facial expression and more.   Be sure your visual signals  communicate that you are the type of person your prospect will want to do business with.  Always look sleek and professional,  neither too casual nor overly formal.  If possible,  find out what the company dress code norms are before  your meeting.  However,  even if the company dress code is jeans and polo shirt,  you must do a little better  (think business casual in that instance).

Good greeting

Your greeting consists of your smile,  your words and your handshake  (or bow, as appropriate).   A smile conveys that you are pleasant and approachable.   The words you choose for your greeting should be appropriately formal and never too informal.   Your handshake should be firm and neither limp nor crushing.   Lastly,  make sure that you use the appropriate honorific:  Mr.,  Ms.,  Admiral,  Captain, etc.,   to demonstrate that you’ve done your homework and know how to address your prospect.

Smart agenda

A huge part of  first impressions hinge on whether you seem confident in yourself and what you have to offer.  Your prospect will sense whether you are prepared for the meeting,  or if you’re just winging it.   Therefore,  it’s important to know what you’d like to accomplish in the meeting.   A few days before the appointment,  start jotting down possibilities and come up with three or four reasonable meeting objectives.   Preparation radiates a poise that communicates credibility and competence.

Rehearse entrance

Now that you have all the components for creating a winning first impression,  give yourself the benefit of a dress rehearsal.   Practice how you’ll enter the room  (or if the prospect comes to you,   how you will stand and greet him/her),  how you will express your greeting and how you will shake hands or bow.   Rehearse it until you are comfortable with all aspects,  including the goals of your meeting agenda.  If possible,  videotape it and critique.  Good luck!

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Charisma and the Way You Say What You Say

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Is it my imagination,  or are people called upon to do much more public speaking now as compared to 20 years ago? I had a 15+ year career in sales and that kept me talking all day.   In addition to sales calls,  there were company meetings and I was frequently called upon to give presentations and participate in the whole give and take.   But  there was no need to be  “on”  and repping a brand 24/7.   In fact,  human beings didn’t consider themselves a  “brand”—we had reputations.   We had off hours, during which time we could relax without feeling anxious about it.   That was then.

Now I’ve got the Freelance consulting thing going on and demands to stand and deliver have about doubled.   Networking plays a major role in business development for the self-employed and business owners.   I do some teaching and occasionally speak to a local business group,  to demonstrate my credibility and promote visibility.

These days,  we’re all out there self-promoting and doing all that we can to attract new customers,  retain current clients,  obtain venture capital,  get a job or a promotion,  get our child into the  “right”  school and generally look like we are a valuable asset to those who are holding the goodies we desire.   For obvious reasons,  the ability to communicate well has never been more essential.  We need to learn how to inject some charisma into our presentations.

Charisma means a special gift in Greek and charismatic speakers have the unique and valuable gift of connecting with their audience and persuading them to grant the speaker their trust and loyalty.   Charismatic speakers are able to make their audience understand,  buy in to,  identify with,  get excited about and remember the cause and message that they addresses.   Charismatic speakers are adept at painting vivid word pictures by judiciously weaving stories and anecdotes,  humor and metaphors into their presentation in a way that causes the audience to align with them and their goals and opinions.

We all come by at least some of this naturally.   We all use metaphors,  rhetorical questions and other turns of phrase on a regular basis.  We can learn to become more conscious of our natural speaking style and ability by practicing speaking techniques when chatting with friends and family.   In time,  you’ll be able to comfortably inject some charisma when called upon to speak to a group.

Metaphors  are an excellent way to explain and illustrate a message and can persuade a skeptical audience to understand and embrace a new concept.   Martin Luther King, Jr.  displayed his mastery of the use of metaphor in his 1963  “I Have a Dream”  speech,  when he likened the US constitution to a  “promissory note”  that guaranteed the inalienable rights of life,  liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

 Contrasts  often combine reason and passion.  They clarify the speaker’s position on the subject by comparing it to its opposite.  In his 1961 inaugural address,   President John F. Kennedy spoke the immortal words,  “Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.”  Benjamin Franklin noted that  “Content makes poor men rich;  discontent makes rich men poor.”  Similes  also compare and contrast,  as Muhammad Ali did when he famously announced that  “I’ll be  floating like a butterfly and stinging  like a bee.”

Then there is the use of story telling.   Stories can be where to use Analogy,  which points to the similarities between two things and on which a comparison can be based.   For example,  if your purpose is to build confidence and loyalty in a group and rally the members to face a difficult challenge,  the story you present may summarize when yourself or a group of people  (e.g. Londoners during the bombing in World War II)  pulled together,  kept their spirits up and faced the challenge with courage and resolve,  eventually prevailing.

Charismatic speakers are compelling and memorable.  Their skill is formidable,  but not entirely unattainable.   With practice,   we can learn to paint the picture for the audience,  frame the message,  influence priorities,  win confidence and portray ourselves as a leader.

Thanks for reading,

KIm

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Find the Leader Within

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This is the last post in the leadership series and I hope you’ve found it beneficial.   I hope that you were moved to recall key moments in your professional and personal life where you’ve stepped up and revealed yourself as a capable leader and also moments where you could have handled things a little better.   Some are born leaders,  but for most of us,   honing leadership skills is an ongoing process.   According to Katherine Tyler Scott,   Managing Principal of Ki ThoughtBridge leadership development specialists in Indianapolis, IN,   “All things being equal,   the best of the best leaders will have emotional intelligence,   self-awareness,   self-management,   social skills and motivation”.

They Are Change Agents

A Senior Program Officer at the Ford Foundation for 10 years,   Linetta Gilbert has doled out millions of dollars to worthy causes world-wide.   Primarily responsible for grantmaking in Gulf Coast states,   the 62-year-old New Orleans resident helped fund the reconstruction efforts after Hurricane Katrina and spent significant time listening to what grantees thought about change,   at times provoking them to higher ideals.

“Sometimes people are in positions of influence because they hold certain credentials or know the right person,   but they are not necessarily committed to the mission”,   Gilbert notes.  “I try to get inside their heads about their own leadership.   I expose them to opportunities to refine their skills,   recommending books,   conferences and training sessions.   I urge them to think about who they are,   what’s next and who in their organization is being groomed to keep the agenda going”.

As a grantmaker,   Gilbert understands that judgment is a quality of leadership that must be honed.   “You have to learn how to read reality truthfully”,   she says.  “It is not something people are born with.   You have to have opportunities to develop and ask yourself,  Is this real? Or is it only real from my perspective’?

In 2010,   Gilbert was invited to co-lead the newly formed Declaration Initiative at  The Ford Foundation,  which aims to eradicate deep  poverty in the United States within the next 15 years.   “I believe that leaders must have a higher power call upon,   some larger connection outside of work,”.   That source,   Gilbert says,   is her power.

They Begin With the End in Mind

Six months into her job as Executive Director at Safe Shores–The DC Children’s Advocacy Center,  a not-for-profit agency that works with abused children,  Michele Booth Cole was tasked with negotiating with the District of Columbia to acquire a new building for the agency.  “We wanted a space that would serve families and be more child-friendly”,  says the 46-year-old.  “The idea was to own the building”.

But when DC officials told her that owning a building was out of the question,  Cole had to reassess.    As she weighed her options,   she realized that her ultimate goal was to secure a larger space and decided to make a counter-offer.  Her organization would lease the new space from DC,  but Safe Shores would have to play a central role in its design.

Cole’s proposal was the turning point in the negotiations.  “Taking a flexible approach allowed the project to move forward and demonstrated a willingness to cooperate on our part”,   commented Cole.   “We had our eyes on the higher goal of serving children in a facility that was worthy of them”.   In 2011,   Safe Shores moved into a newly renovated 37,000 square foot building.

According to Katherine Tyler Scott,  Cole’s ability to focus on the agency’s mission was a key factor in using her power.   “A leader who is self-aware and knowledgeable of the organization’s core values can successfully guide key decisions and enable that organization to be prudent under pressure”.   Cole adds  “Power is about sharing leadership and cultivating others to get things done with a real sense of excellence”.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Leadership In Action

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What does it take to be an effective and respected leader?  You must be willing to embrace your strengths,   account for your weaknesses,   believe in yourself and your ideas,  be resourceful and be humble.  This leadership series showcases women,  but the lessons revealed are gender neutral.

They Reinvent Themselves

Sheila Brooks,  56,  grew up poor in Kansas City, MO.   Her parents instilled in her and her sister a value for education.   Brooks admits,  “I’m very demanding of myself.   I set a high standard of quality and excellence”.   After starting out as a news reporter,   she became an Emmy Award-winning news producer.    She then went on to found a video surveillance company in Maryland,   where she won contracts with local police departments and high-level security agencies.   In 10 years,   her business had 73 employees and annual revenues exceeded $1 million dollars.   Then September 11, 2001 happened.

Brooks lost 60%  of her business as demand evaporated.   Clearly,  it was time for a new strategy.   In response,   she created a board of advisers for her company and drew upon her experience in broadcasting to redirect the business to web casting,   media placement and  advertising services.   “Strategically figuring out where we needed to go took courage and determination.  You have to be a risk-taker”,   Brooks says.

Today,  Brooks is once again contemplating her next move.  “My goal is to sell the business in the next seven years.  We must always know when to reinvent ourselves.   We have to be willing to re-engineer”.

They Collaborate

In 2010 Danielle Torain,  then 27,  was both law student and full-time employee.   One week before exams,   she was asked to coordinate the citywide response in her hometown of Baltimore to a national grant competition designed to provide educational services to low-income neighborhoods.   The timing was lousy,   but Torain nevertheless met the challenge and sprang into action by contacting private,  not-for-profit,   government and philanthropic institutions.  “The goal was to bring together organizations that don’t normally interact to share wisdom and resources and plan the course of action”,  Torain says.

As a result of her efforts,   49 public and private agencies collaborated on a proposal that was submitted with 58 letters of support from city and Maryland state officials.  Ginny Clarke,  President and CEO of Talent Optimization Partners of Chicago,   applauds Torain and describes her as a leader who has  “the ability to empower others,  get the best out of them and give them what they need to be successful”.

They Are Servant Leaders

Whether it originates from spirituality or a belief in the social good,  there is power in recognizing a purpose greater than oneself.   Elizabeth Horsey,  54,  is a social worker at a Philadelphia children’s hospital.   Being a social worker in a medical setting requires both resiliency and authority.  “I have to think of words of encouragement to ease the pain of the children and parents I work with.   I’ve learned to advocate in the midst of those who disagree.   I am able to point out people’s strength when others see weakness”.

Leadership development expert Katherine Tyler Scott,  Managing Principle of Ki ThoughtBridge,  the Indianapolis, IN based leadership development company,   notes that while technical skill is important,   it is not the ultimate characteristic of a good leader.  “It takes personal security to be able to stand in that place of conflict,  where people differ,   and still be able to listen respectfully,   question yourself,   and still come out whole”,   Scott notes.   She continues,  “Such leaders have done enough inner work to make their outer work effective”.

Thanks for reading.  To those in the US,  have a happy and safe July 4.

Kim

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Are You A Leader?

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Happy Summer!  It’s the time of year when Freelance contracts may wind down and we find ourselves with more free time.   At this time of year,   I like to focus on professional development.   I read business books,  attend a conference or two and do what I can to make myself a more effective Freelance consultant.   Leadership is an ongoing interest of mine,   regardless of the season.   Over the next  three weeks,   I’ll share with you the stories of 10 women who exhibit characteristics that high-functioning leaders share.

They Take the Initiative

In 2011,   real estate broker Sharon McLennon,  51,  was an incoming board member for a real estate trade organization.   At her first board meeting,   the need for an updated organization website was discussed and it appeared to McLennon that a consensus to commence work had been reached.   Yet  three months later,   work on the proposed website had not begun.  “I became frustrated by the fact that nothing had been done on a relatively simple project”,  McLennon recalled.   At board meeting number 3,   she announced  “We’ve got our current website,   the new content’s been written,   we’ve got our designer—I just need the board to approve this project and we can get this up and running now”.   Surprised fellow board members gave the green light and the new  website was unveiled two months later.

They Help Others Achieve

Ten years ago at age 45,   Kimberley Greenfield Alfonso quit her corporate job as Senior Region Director at a Fortune 100 company to care for her then 3-year-old visually impaired daughter.   She soon found herself wondering  now what?  ” I was so connected to being a corporate woman.  I had gotten to where I wanted to be.   I had arrived”.

Alfonso eventually realized that she knew many women in their 40s who were likewise at pivotal points in their lives.   Some were marrying,  becoming pregnant,  or divorcing.   Others were making decisions around starting a business or becoming stay-at-home moms.   The women needed help laying a foundation for their second acts.   Alfonso decided to lead the way.

A master networker,   she invited 65 of the most accomplished women she knew to meet at her Washington, DC-area home.  The purpose was to get the women to meet each another,   share experiences and stories and  discover resources they could offer one another.   Alfonso continued to host meetings and her group came to be known as The Butterfly Club,  which holds quarterly meetings in Greater DC where women discuss their latest business or philanthropic ventures.

They Fight for A Good Cause

Attorney Francesca Allison,  30,  learned the importance of giving service from her parents,  who were both ministers and who founded a not-for-profit arts and cultural enrichment organization.  Allison says she attended law school to change the world and she looks for opportunities to do pro bono work.   Recently,  Allison has handled an appeal case based on a provision that allows children in Georgia to receive Medicaid benefits,   regardless of their parent’s income.

She represented an appeal for two children,  a 12-year-old who has a debilitating bone disease and a 10-year-old who was born with no eyes and extreme hearing loss.   She spent nearly 200 hours  (think five, 40 hour weeks)  securing affidavits from teachers,   physicians and therapists.   She drove long distances to visit the children.   In previous decisions,   the Georgia court had denied the children Medicaid benefits,  but thanks to Allison,  they prevailed on appeal.   Allison commented,  “This case required an attorney who would not only do what was necessary,   but was willing to sacrifice”.

I’ll be back with  more  leadership qualities you’ll want to nurture next week.  Thanks for reading,

Kim

Professional Development , , 6 Comments

Buff Up Your Business Writing Skills

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Freelance consultants are called upon to do quite a bit of writing.  When we meet a professional contact we’d like to know better,  we send an email to schedule a time to meet and talk further.  We write proposals that help us obtain assignments.  We write press releases,  our bio,  our LinkedIn summary,  thank you letters and sometimes diplomatically written reminders for payment from slow-paying clients.  Some of us write articles,  blogs and newsletters,  too.

Nevertheless,  many of us are a little insecure about our writing ability.  Writing is an important skill.  Written communication helps one to advance and achieve business goals.  It reflects our expertise and our etiquette.  Good writing gets things done,  but it’s not necessary to emulate Pulitzer Prize winning novelists when called upon to express oneself in writing.  All you have to be is a good technician,  not a literary star.   Buff up your writing prowess by following a few easy-to-follow tips:

Purpose     Be very clear about what you must communicate.  A proposal must describe the services that you will provide and persuade the client of your ability to provide those services  (i.e., sell).  When your proposal is accepted,  you write a letter of agreement.  An email might document a meeting or conversation,  or provide follow-up info that was requested.  A press release gives pertinent info about an event or an announcement,  that is expressed in a way that will interest the target audience.

Bullet points     Help yourself complete and organize your message by jotting down the important talking points.  For example, the bullet points of a proposal will describe the services you will provide and benefits that will be derived.  Presenting information in bullet points makes for easy reading and retention.

Format     Once you have your information complete and logically organized,  you might decide to use your bullet points to form paragraphs,  or present the information primarily in bullets.  If you choose the latter,   you’ll want to write at least one opening and one closing paragraph,  so you’ll come across and friendly yet still professional.  Thank you letters,  however,  are generally written in paragraphs and not bullets,  because they are personal and call for a warm and friendly style,  even in business.  Long and ornate sentences are never necessary,  or even desirable.  Clear and simple sentences always work best in business communications.

Edit     Make a draft of what you must write and then begin to edit your work.  After an initial edit,   I like to let my writing rest for a while and then return to it.  Stepping away for even an hour helps me to eliminate wordiness,  provide clarity and continuity,  improve my word choices or add something important that I’ve forgotten.

The task of writing need not be intimidating.  We write when we have a purpose:  to say thank you,  request or recommend a certain action,  announce a decision,  submit a proposal.  Writing is all about being understood and getting results.

Thanks for reading,

Kim