Saturday, May 28, 2016

Become a WEGG Warrior

For those of you who currently export or desire to, Women Entrepreneurs GROW Global (WEGG), a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization offers monthly webinars that are no charge on how to take your business global.  Full disclosure:  I serve as the Executive Director of WEGG so I'll be on the webinars with you.

Learn more:  WEGG Webinars  Sign up for the next one on June 8th.  Become a WEGG warrior.

Saturday, May 14, 2016

How Opening a Business Can Be Surreal

According to the Center for American Progress, black women comprise 13 percent of the female population in the United States.  Between 1997 to 2013, the number of companies created by black women nationwide grew by nearly 258 percent — and the trend is growing in Shreveport-Bossier City, Louisiana.

The [Shreveport] Times recently sat down with four black women entrepreneurs driven by past experiences, hardship and unique circumstances.

Learn more about their stories:  Four Inspirational Women You Should Know

Screenshot courtesy:  Suite 9 1 Six (the business of one of the four women interviewed in the article)

Saturday, May 07, 2016

Tips On Landing Government Contracts

Gloria Larkin (pictured) is president of marketing consulting company TargetGov and author of The Basic Guide to Government Contracting and The Veterans Business Guide: How to Build a Successful Government Contracting Business.  In addition, she is the past National Procurement Committee co-chairwoman for Women Impacting Public Policy.

Below Larkin shares two main points on how to land government contracts:
  1. One piece of paper can accomplish more than an expensive, glossy brochure by precisely pinpointing what a company’s abilities and offerings are and how they can benefit a customer.
  2. Capability statements (word-heavy documents) help create critical first impressions and define business strategy while appealing to three layers of decision-makers: Small-business representatives, contracting officers and program managers.
What not to do?  Larkin adds:
"Don’t use pretty pictures of people smiling, because they don’t say anything to your target."
Read the article:  Business owners soak up advice on landing government contracts