I want to thank all those who participated in our survey this past week. We have had incredible response that we will be sharing with you. 

If you have not been able to reply - we still need 180 more respondents. We are combining these results along with the information we gathered on the coaching coach tour to complete a research paper that has been requested by several levels of government.  If you would like to have your say - please take 3 minutes to complete the survey here.

This week:

• How do you spell SUCCESS?
• Are you a WOMM Momma?
• "Farmer takes a wife" - when reality becomes unreal
• Excuse me, your customer is waiting, and waiting, and waiting.....
• Members - what they did!

Business Coaches - please take note: If you are a member, and offer business coaching or consulting please contact me in the next week.  We will be hiring coaches across the country for special services beginning in September.

Alaska Trip : We still have several spots available for the ALASKA Cruise.  We will be offering 4 mornings of training on the cruise - at no cost to you! An intensive "Is it your wiring, or are you coming unglued?", "What do they really really want - Are you giving your client what they want?", "Your  relationship with your money matters" and "How to know what your (yes your) business needs to succeed".  And don't forget - we will be watching for the whales!

Have an abundant week!

Mandie and the Roaring Women Team

P.E.R.S.I.S.T.E.N.C.E. + D.E.T.E.R.M.I.N.A.T.I.O.N. + P.A.T.I.E.N.C.E almost always spells success and will certainly also spell profit!  So before you wonder if there is a light at the end of that long dark tunnel consider the following statistics:

1 -3 years in business----------- 34.7% chance of being profitable
3-5 years in business------------62.1 % chance of being profitable
5-7 years in business------------70.6% chance of being profitable
7-15 years in business-----------92.5 % chance of being profitable

Winston Churchill reportedly gave a speech with two words in it repeated over and over again.  NEVER QUIT. 

Calvin Coolidge said: Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press On' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.

Consider one of our first members, Heidi Cowie.  Heidi started her counselling business from her home office.  She quickly learned that growth in her industry would not happen without a lot of effort on her own part. (After all no one really wants to admit that they have a problem.)

Heidi hit the streets. (literally)  SHe went door to door to door to every Doctor's office she could find to let them know of her services. Slowly but surely business came her way.  But Heidi did not stop there.  She pushed forward - determined to find other ways to build on her success.

She took courses, put up a website, wrote a book, did speaking engagements, press releases and eventually had enough business to move out into a 'Real' Office.   She networked, got her name out there.  If there was something to learn about business Heidi 'went' for it.  Heidi never quit.

If you asked Heidi - she would tell you about discouragements, frustrations, uncollected bills, botched orders she received, unscrupulous business people - along with her business growth.  Heidi's business is now just over 4 years old.

Heidi Cowie has learned how to spell success.  It took persistence, determination and patience to get where she is today.  And Heidi will be the first to also tell you she is not very patient.  But she KNOWS how to spell success.

Never Quit.  Never, ever, ever, ever, ever quit.  Never.

Send us your story about how you have practiced patience, determination and persistence!

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Did you know that there is a Word of Mouth Marketing Association out there?  Womm stands for Word of Mouth Marketing.  And you can join their association for $1,000 a year to learn how to use word of mouth marketing as a strategy for increasing your sales.

Or you could come out to a Roaring Women Dinner Meeting for $45.00 and try word of mouth out for yourself.

What exactly is Word of Mouth Marketing?  It is giving people a reason to talk about your product or services - and making it easier for that conversation to take place.  And it is not just about marketing.  But the strategy is simple:

• Offer a good product. 
• Respect your customers.
• Treat people well and they will do your marketing for you.

Consider my old hair dresser.  The very first time I went in to see him - he could see I was upset. And I needed a change.  He asked me if I liked red or white wine - poured me a glass and gave me a great cut.  I told hundreds of people about him - and often plan my trips back to the Hamilton area around hair cut time. (3,000 miles for a haircut?)

There is much more to WOMM than just getting people talking about your business - but the basic steps are that you have to be 'out there' letting people know who you are.  Be interesting.  Make people happy.  Earn trust and respect. Make it easy. (from Word of Mouth Marketing by Andy Sernovitz.

TO DO THIS WEEK: Start each day with the question - what is interesting about what I am doing?  How can I give people a reason to talk about me?

Have you done something to create a buzz? Tell us!

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I could not believe my ears.  (or my eyes for that matter)  I watched and listened in horror and then disbelief as ten city gals spoke about why they wanted to be considered for the 'wife' of a farmer.

It was the reality show, "Farmer takes a wife".  10 Girls from across the USA were headed to a farming community to compete for the position as wife - and you know the rest of the reality show story. One by one they get eliminated.

After watching as they winced when they stepped their high heels in cow pies, and squirmed and screamed while near mere chickens, I chucked at the silliness of it all.

What left me with my mouth dangling open was however were unrealistic the expectations of farm life, the farming community, and even the farmer himself. (One girl who was asked to leave - called the farmer cheap and refused to leave without a departing gift. ) And then I began to think.

Business in itself is a reality show. How many of us enter the business world with no real idea of what to expect? How many hours should we be working? What is appropriate dress wear?  How much should we spend on advertising or marketing?  Do we get brochures or a website or both?  And if we are not careful we may find ourselves stepping in a different type of cow pies - high heels and all!

One by one, some of us will  be eliminated form the reality show of business.  Unreal expectations and lack of knowledge can grind us down until we slink back into a job.  How in the world can we be better prepared?  Not all of us can afford to attend school for several years and emerge with an MBA. (and still sometime no knowledge of what to expect)

I cannot stress how important mentors and coaches are.  I learned from the recent survey that you have a better than 50% higher chance of success - if you have a coach or a mentor.  In most cases they both save you time and money.  Which interestingly enough are the top 2 challenges businesses have.

On our recent coaching coach tour - we had the opportunity to meet with over 500 women in business. Many of the issues they faced were solvable. They just needed help navigating the waters of business. 

This fall for members we will be putting together special smaller meetings for those who wish to move their businesses forward.  So keep your eyes and ears open.  And let's cross the finish line together!  No woman left behind!

This week consider looking for a mentor or coach to help you get past the bumps and  make your ride faster and smoother!  View all our coaching packages here.

-------------Testimonial------------

Hi Mandie,
I wanted to thank you for your excellent coaching over the last several months. Because of your guidance, accountability, and expertise I have been able to move my business to a new level in a very short time. I appreciate your down to earth and realistic approach. Your step by step teachings on how to strategize, and make solid plans has been very beneficial for me. Because of your coaching I am staying on track with implementing all the different steps for my new and exiting projects for the fall. I have been coached before by other people and I know the difference on how I am moving forward this time with your professional approach. Thank you so much, and I am looking forward to our next session! Jeanine Crombé, B Ed, CUG, EFT-CC, EFT-ADV, Advanced EFT Practitioner. For upcoming EFT Courses please visit www.EFTforlife.com

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I recently read that Microsoft took 10 years to follow up with a phone call for a customer.  10 years!  I think I would have been embarrassed to call back after 1 year!

How many of us leave our customers waiting... and wondering if we really care?  Do you send follow-up mail, email or call your customers after their appointments for service?  Do you ask them if the service was adequate?  Do you remind them that it is time for their next appointment or let them know you have missed them?

We have all heard that it costs as much as 10 times more to get a new client as it is to keep a client we already have But how much time do we budget to do this?

Most business owners are unaware where to begin when it comes to follow-up.  We have a great workshop you can view on your computer to learn how you can best follow up!  We have reduced the price until June 6th to $19.99.  AND all our workshops are guaranteed. If you do not feel you learned anything we will refund your money.  Order here

A New Service

There is a new service available through Roaring Women, called Customer Tailgate.  This service will begin by offering follow-up phone calls for businesses, wanting to remind clients of appointments, or just to check up on them to see how they are doing.  The cost is a simple $2.50 per call.  All you have to do is supply the list to call and Customer Tailgate Client Service representative will make the calls and supply you with a written report!

Contact us through email here to speak with us about your needs!

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As a result of last week's newsletter, some of our members got motivated!

"I went to a Speed Money Seminar in Vancouver with some top internet marketers and have been studying and planning non-stop since then. I expect to get a new website and marketing program put together within the next 30 days if not sooner".- Sharon Hoehner

"I opened up your newsletter with the challenge far too late in the evening to make calls but as I was cleaning out my e-mail in box that night I came across an e-mail from a year ago this month from a Realtor that I had met with about my Real Estate Staging services. I reminded her of our meeting a year ago at coffee and to check in and see how things were going… letting her know I was still here. She thanked me and said she'd keep me in mind. Not only did she give me a referral for staging a clients home within four days of my e-mail to her, but I got the job!
Thanks for your newsletter, the challenge and the reminder that just doing one thing can build my business!"
~Sandi Gregory, details (Redesign and Staging)
www.detailsRedesignAndStaging.com

Hi Mandie
As requested, let me share with you the ways that Changing Gears is being socially responsible.

Monthly, Changing Gears is being proactive by providing a paperless magazine. We call this our complete monthly content change to our 19 categories.

Also, and even though we are not an environmental organization per se, we do provide many links in our Resource Directory to Canadian sites dealing with environmental issues and try to promote responsibility through our articles with ideas about simple everyday things that we can do to make us feel good and have an impact.

On the Changing Gears website in August 2007 our theme was Gearing You to Enviro Responsiblity. In March 2008 we completely themed it once again to Environment and called it Get Healthy. Go Green. Featured on Financial Strategies was Mark Swartz’ article on Locating an Employer that is Ethical. Here is the link to it: http://changinggears.ca/articles/financial/fin41.html

We have 19 categories which completely change every month. Two of them are Community Living and Volunteering Counts. Each of these make suggestions every month on what we can do as Canadians in our own communities and make a difference. Thanks for asking about we do to help others.
Sincerely,
Barbara Kennedy
Founder & President
Changing Gears Inc.
www.changinggears.ca

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