Corporate Partner Corner
Special benefits and offers from our corporate partners for NAWBO members.
President’s Message – August 2017
Wow! NAWBO is making changes Locally, Nationally and Internationally. It’s exciting to see our organization stretch and grow from many angles. What’s new and what’s coming…
NAWBO Silicon Valley
We heard you. So you’ll be happy to know NAWBO Silicon Valley is having its 2nd Annual Crystal Chair Award event next year – March 20, 2018 (mark your calendars). You’ll see and hear detailed information coming in our Newsletter and monthly meetings. We will also be asking our members to get involved in any way they would like to participate.
NAWBO Silicon Valley wants to hear from its members and what better way to get your opinions and suggestions than from short surveys (very short) surveys. We want to understand what we can do to improve our meetings and programs. We are here to help.
NAWBO National
NAWBO national conference
OCTOBER 15-17, 2017
This year’s theme is “Together We Dare.” As women business owners, we’re naturally “daring” individuals. After all, we took a huge leap in starting our own businesses and continue to dare every day-to break boundaries, push limits, change the status quo, work together, attempt the unexpected, be authentic and create our magic. We simply look at the world differently and see opportunities in obstacles. Join NAWBO’s inspiring community of women entrepreneurs as we dare together to reach new heights in our lives, our businesses, our communities and the world. There’s no limit to what we can do when TOGETHER WE DARE! To register and get more information, see the National Conference 2017 section below.
NAWBO International
FCEM conference in Rome
NOVEMBER 20-22, 2017
FCEM is non-profit, non-governmental, non-political and non-sectarian organization whose activities at the national and international level are aimed at promoting women’s entrepreneurial initiatives and reinforcing national associations of women business owners. FCEM is the acronym for ‘Les Femmes Chefs d’Entreprises Mondiales’, or World Association of Women Entrepreneurs. Today, the FCEM network includes over 60 countries across five continents and one member from each country of which NAWBO National is a member. Global is emerging and our world is shrinking. Doing business internationally is a faster way to grow your business! See the International Affairs section below for more information.
Sincerely,
Maxine Goulding
NAWBO Silicon Valley – President
Rainmaking – Mid Year Accountability
By Monika Miles, Miles Consulting Group
Welcome to July – just past the midpoint of 2017! If you’re the kind of woman business owner who likes to pause and take stock of where your company is at a given time – this is a good time of the year to do it. Many of you know me as a state tax consultant. But I recently expanded my business to include training aimed at helping other professionals who sell their services to build their pipelines. In this “Rainmaking” side of the business, I talk to my participants frequently about accountability. If you don’t stop and periodically review key indicators in your firm like progress toward your sales goals for the year, the progress (and potential lagging points) of longer projects, your collection rate on receivables, and your rate per hour (or profitability of fixed fee projects, if applicable), then how will you know when it’s time adjust? This is particularly important for those in the businesses of selling services – like accountants, attorneys, and consultants. Our inventory is time. So the question is, are you on track with your inventory management?
Building a sales pipeline is one of the areas that truly requires regular review – much more frequently than just at the midpoint of the year. But, if you haven’t been regularly reviewing it or honestly engaging with it, this is a good time to get re-energized. “The year is half over?” OR “The second half of the year is just beginning!” So much of what we do when we lead service businesses is to find ways to motivate ourselves every day to keep up the good work. That includes combining a positive mind-set with accountability.
So, what are some of the things we might consider measuring at this critical, mid-year point? Hopefully you have created a strategic plan, on paper! For those of you who have created it in your minds, this may be a little harder. But don’t despair – you can do this too. And this will be a good opportunity to actually put it on paper, or into a spreadsheet.
3 things I recommend that service providers evaluate at this critical mid-year juncture:
- What is your sales goal for 2017? And where are you with respect to that number? The sales goal is projected revenue. It is the amount represented by signed contracts, or projects truly already in the revenue pipeline. Ideally, at the beginning of the year you would have projected by month or at least by quarter, how much revenue you’d earn throughout the year. Many businesses are cyclical, so this number may not be ratable. But take a moment to review your 6 month numbers. If your revenue does come in fairly evenly during the year, are you halfway there? If much of your revenue comes in during the first quarter, do your remaining anticipated client projects make up the difference? If not, regroup and re-evaluate what you’re doing (or not doing) to build your pipeline. Are you getting out there and meeting face-to-face with your network and people who refer work to you? If you are a thought leader, are you seeking out speaking engagements or writing articles that will allow you to touch many people? What about blogging, or guest blogging?
- How many new clients did you want to add this year? Are you halfway there? This benchmark is similar to revenue, and just may be a different way of looking at it. Many of us break down the revenue number into a formula. For example, if our stated revenue goal from new projects for the year is $100,000 and our typical project averages $5,000, we’d need to engage 20 new clients over the course of the year. If you haven’t landed 10 of those by June 30, evaluate why. Are you getting to the right people who can make the decision to hire you? Are you able to close the projects when you have an opportunity to get to the table? Or are you not even invited to propose? If the latter, a quick re-evaluation is necessary. Most people will not be able to close every proposed piece of business that comes their way. But, hopefully, you have a reasonably good closure rate when you do get to the table. It’s important to know your business and to know what a successful average closing rate might be for your industry. Be honest in your evaluation. If you sell higher end consulting, your closing ratio may be lower than someone who sells a cheaper product. Do some math, and during the mid-year evaluation, be honest with yourself about why your closure rate may not be as good as you hope. And if you needed 20 new customers to hit your revenue goal, make sure you are honest with yourself about what it will take to make up the difference in the next 6 months.
- Did you have plans this year to increase your rate per hour, or your profitability per hour (which might be even more important!) Hopefully one of your goals this year was to make money by working smarter, not necessarily by working harder. If so, it either means being more efficient with the time you spend on client projects or raising your rates. As consultants who are paid for our services (often by the hour), consider some different pricing options. Do you have varying rates per hour for different types of projects? Do you have a minimum revenue number per project before you’ll even take it on? People call me sometimes with “one off” questions. Back in the early days, I often gave away answers for free, thinking that I’d make the investment and then, someday, those companies would grow and become a big client. Well, guess what? Not everyone will grow, and not everyone will become a great client. So if, even at their early stage, I can provide a good service for an hour or two of my time, and get paid, why wouldn’t I? So, I have taken a different approach with potential clients who really just have a few questions. If I can truly provide a service that requires a little of my time, but delivers them incredible value, I will bill them. (We agree on this ahead of time, of course.) But I’m no longer shy about this being a two-way street. A client who receives good advice for a fair rate will at the very least appreciate you, and will also likely refer you. So, don’t give away too much of yourself, whether to a prospect or an existing client. Make a conscious evaluation of the time you spend with prospects who may never become clients. Consider your business model and whether an hourly billing model is serving you. Would a flat fee for specific projects be more beneficial for both you and your client? It’s a good time to re-evaluate and maybe try it out on your next engagement.
And as you do this mid-year evaluation, don’t forget to give yourself some kudos for your accomplishments so far! Congratulations on getting to the halfway mark. I’m excited to be here!
Monika Miles is the Immediate Past President of NAWBO Silicon Valley and is President of Miles Consulting Group, a firm specializing in multi-state tax consulting (sales tax and income tax) for middle market businesses. Her clients include technology, manufacturing, software and SaaS based companies doing businesses across state lines. When she’s not assisting clients with multi-state tax issues, she passionately shares Rainmaking strategies with other professionals. If you are interested in learning more check out Monika’s webinar series on Rainmaking coming up in August.
President’s Message – July 2017
Thank you for the great honor of being installed as your President of NAWBO Silicon Valley. I accept this role as a great responsibility to continue to create, communicate and implement the organization’s vision, mission and overall direction.
The NAWBO Silicon Valley Chapter was founded in 1988 as a 501(c)(6) organization which supports and empowers women business owners. As the world changes around us, we are continually assessing the needs of our members and adding events and programs that support the development of today’s women business leaders.
With that said, the 2017-2018 NAWBO Silicon Valley Board of Directors had their first Board Retreat and have come up with some exciting plans to help support our Mission. They will continue to invite stellar keynote speakers, create exciting programs and provide business education. I am looking forward to seeing these plans unfold, so get involved, attend meetings and build relationships. Invest in your business future and beyond!
Also, I would like to take a moment to recognize your new Board of Directors for 2017-2018:
- Monika Miles – Immediate Past President/Corporate Partner Director
- Flor Harris – President-Elect/Interim Secretary
- Jennifer Dizon – Treasurer Director
- Griselda Quezada Chavez – International Affairs Director
- Karen Hebert – VP Membership/Interim Communications Director
- Vandana Agrawal – Public Policy Director
- Toni Julian – Programs Director
Thank you for placing your confidence and trust in me and our Board of Directors to serve you.
Sincerely,
Maxine Goulding
NAWBO Silicon Valley – President
President’s Message – June 2017
Dear Members,
As I write this I am frantically preparing to leave on a much needed vacation. But, before I go I wanted to let you know about something exciting. We have a new website! Go check it out at nawbo-sv.org. This beautiful new representation of our chapter has been a long time coming. So we hope you like it as much as we do. The new site is modern, mobile, and packed with useful information and resources. So, check back often as we intend to be updating information regularly to provide you with relevant content to delight, inform, and engage you.
A special thanks to our VP of Communications, branding strategist Karen Hebert of The Oya Group and corporate sponsor Roberta Kiphuth of Detati Digital Marketing for their efforts in making this a reality!
NAWBO Silicon Valley was well represented at the recent Silicon Valley Business Journal’s annual Women of Influence event. Our own Toni Julian was an honoree at this year’s event. And many of our members and alumnae of the prior classes of WOI were in attendance to cheer her on. Judging by the cheers coming from the crowd, I can proudly say we were among the loudest!
The WOI event showcases 100 women in Silicon Valley annually. Honorees are women from industry, non-profit, business owners, and other areas. Only a small percentage are women who truly own their businesses. And that got me to thinking – we should all raise a glass to ourselves and each other. Because who is a woman of influence if not an owner of her business? Every day we influence the lives of our employees, our clients, and our families. In general, we tend to work harder with less and have to work smarter to be recognized for our achievements. And yet, most of us wouldn’t trade what we do for anything else. So, in the spirit of Women of Influence, stop and congratulate yourself, for you are awesome!
Speaking of awesome, I’d like to use this, my last President’s message, to thank my Board of Directors who have worked so hard over the past two years to make this organization a success. I proudly hand the gavel back to Maxine Goulding and the incoming board to take us to the next level!
Thank you to all of our members for your support of our organization. We are here to help each other, educate, have a voice in public policy and enjoy each other’s camaraderie. If you’ve been joining us regularly at meetings, thank you! If you haven’t joined us in a while, come on back and be part of something great. Hope to see you all at our June meeting.
Thank you for allowing me to serve you as President these past two years!
Fondly,
Monika
Hood & Strong LLP : 100 Years Young and Still Going Strong
San Francisco, February 1, 2017: – It’s a banner year for one of San Francisco’s leading public accounting firms, as Hood & Strong LLP marks its 100th anniversary and celebrates with other Bay Area companies who also have reached the rare centennial milestone.
On February 8, 2017, Hood & Strong will welcome more than 200 business, community and civic leaders in honoring fellow centenarians and the enduring role these companies continue to play on the thriving Bay Area business stage. Hood & Strong is holding the event at the Italian Athletic Club in North Beach—which also just reached the century mark—and promises a San Francisco-themed evening attended by a “who’s who” of local dignitaries and elected officials.
“We’ve been doing business in San Francisco since 1917, and instead of just celebrating among ourselves, we thought it would be great to honor others who share our legacy of success and sustainability,” said Robert Raffo, managing partner of the accounting and business consulting firm. Hood & Strong reached out to more than 150 other centenarian businesses to help celebrate the milestone, including organizations that have been clients of the firm for almost 100 years.
“Walter Hood and Addison Strong opened the firm’s doors at 625 Market Street in 1917 to serve the financial needs of growing San Francisco businesses and individuals,” said Raffo. “Just like today’s entrepreneurs, Walter and Addison saw a need and filled it: growing companies and individuals who were creating great wealth, but not being served by the established firms of the day. Many household names that are still thriving—Levi Strauss, Wells Fargo, Adhesive Products Inc., the Olympic Club and Guittard Chocolate—were among the firm’s very early clients. The billing rate for partners was $20 a day, and $1 per hour for staff. Yes, times have changed!”
What hasn’t changed, Raffo noted, is the firm’s and San Francisco’s focus on philanthropy and giving back to others. To further honor the firm’s legacy, Hood & Strong staff have initiated a year-long “100 Acts of Kindness” program, which will coordinate philanthropic activities throughout the year to help the underserved. The initiative kicked-off in January with a food drive for the San Francisco Food Bank, and will continue with other acts of kindness throughout the year.
Partner Darlene Hall is spearheading the 100 Acts of Kindness initiative. “Volunteer service has been a priority for the firm since its inception, and as we mark our 100th birthday we are expanding our impact and providing more coordinated opportunities for the firm and our employees to participate and give back.”
“We wouldn’t have made it to 100 if we were just about the numbers,” said Raffo. “Hood & Strong is dedicated to building on our 100-year legacy by continuing our commitment to our clients, our communities and our staff. We are grateful for this opportunity.”
About Hood & Strong LLP
Hood & Strong LLP was founded in 1917 and is one of Northern California’s oldest, largest and most respected public accounting firms, providing audit, business advisory, tax, and information technology services to nonprofit organizations and privately held businesses. Hood & Strong maintains offices in San Francisco and San Jose, but serves clients across the Bay Area, throughout the U.S. and around the globe. http://www.hoodstrong.com/
EDITOR’S NOTE: Media are welcome to attend the February 8 Centenarian event. It begins at 5:00 p.m. and concludes at 8 p.m. at the Italian Athletic Club, 1630 Stockton Street, San Francisco. Free valet parking is available. RSVP to Jen Gainza, jen@mackenziesf.com.
What’s New in Public Policy
This year’s National Advocacy Day will be Tuesday, June 13. I hope you will consider joining us for what promises to be the best experience yet as we continue to strengthen and expand our role in the advocacy arena of Washington D.C. We have saved your seat at the table where decisions are made so please plan to show up to represent yourself, your employees and your fellow women business owners.
Please see the links below for more details and to register.
Additionally, we are proud to host our first annual NAWBO Academy for Public Service on June 14 in Washington, D.C. This day will bring together the information and questions you need to select and follow the best path into public service for you. In this curriculum designed just for NAWBO members, we will discuss: Running for office; Working on a political campaign or for a political party; Serving on a government task force or board; and
- Representative Pat Tiberi (R-OH)
- Representative Tim Ryan (D-OH)
- Representative Anna Eshoo (D-CA)
- Representative Barbara Comstock (R-VA)
Silicon Valley Business Journal Mentoring Monday
NAWBO-SILICON VALLEY was well represented at the Silicon Valley Business Journal Mentoring Monday event held on April 3 at Villa Regusa in Campbell.
Not only did we have a display table where our executive administrator, Marit Fox, was able to talk about NAWBO to several visitors but Monika Miles and Maxine Goulding were mentors.
President’s Message – April 2017
Along those lines, Maxine Goulding and I participated as mentors on NAWBO’s behalf in Biz Women Mentoring Monday on April 3. This event was held in 43 cities across the country on that day, so we were part of a national event aimed at mentoring – in a very unique setting. 30 mentors sat at individual tables, and had discussions with up to 9 different mentees (in short 7 minute sessions). The format is like speed-dating, but for mentoring! The experience was rewarding for me – as I believe that I was able to give some meaningful advice (or at the very least – food for thought), to several of my mentees. And I hope that the mentees who came to my table walked away with something of value. In theory, a 7 minute mentoring session isn’t really enough to develop a mentor relationship. But we did invite many of these women to come to a NAWBO meeting and check us out!
Because I believe that nothing happens by accident – this season is also our membership drive time! If you’ve been a recent guest of NAWBO and liked what you’ve seen, or you’re a former member who is ready to come back and re-engage, we invite you to do so. Come check out our upcoming April and May meetings. April is our corporate partner recognition luncheon and is a great opportunity to meet with our sponsors in an intimate setting. May is an evening event at Maggiano’s featuring speaker Kathleen Ronald. (Kathleen was a former NAWBO-SV member before she moved to Southern CA several years ago. We are excited to welcome her back.)
Finally, I’d like each of our members to think about how YOU can help to make a difference in the life or career of a fellow business woman. One way is to serve on our local NAWBO-Silicon Valley board. We are currently accepting nominations and looking for “a few good women”! If you’re interested, please reach out to me, Maxine Goulding or Pam Hedblad. And we might be reaching out to you. So, if you’re tapped on the shoulder, please consider the invitation to join us. It takes a village! We are each fabulous women business owners, but we continue to be Better Together!
President’s Message – March 2017
Dear NAWBO Members and Friends,
If you attended our Crystal Chair Awards Gala in February, I hope you enjoyed the elegance and camaraderie of this gala event to celebrate women business owners in Silicon Valley. The evening was the culmination of much planning, teamwork and dedication to excellence. Sounds a little bit like what we women business owners do every day in our businesses! It was about celebrating the history of NAWBO-Silicon Valley, celebrating this year’s award recipients and recognizing the talents of women who have been courageous enough to bring their chairs to the table over the years to empower other women business owners.
An event like this is possible only with the help and dedication of many people. I’d like to thank our sponsors who donated money, time and often their own sweat equity to making the event a huge success. Thank you to our key financial sponsors – Hood & Strong & Farmers Insurance, California Special Occasions (Maxine Goulding and her event team set a beautiful table), The Oya Group (Karen Hebert created all logos and brand feel for the gala), Brand Via (Sam Brown for the beautiful pens and related swag), Loring Ward/Werba Rubin (Aaron Rubin for the beautiful venue downtown), Copa Design (Jason Saldana and his team for our printed program and signage), Abbott Stringham & Lynch (wine sponsor), and Miles Consulting Group (flower sponsor). We also had a couple people who helped us capture the feeling of the event. Thanks to Erika Svensson of With a K Produktions for her videography and Roberto Gonzales of Nueva Foto for the photography. We will be sharing the photos and video from the event in the next month or so. We’ll let you know when it’s ready.
The event also would not have been the same without our inspirational keynote speaker Madison Nguyen, former Vice Mayor of San Jose, and our emcee the fabulous Janice Edwards. Thank you to our NAWBO National CEO, Jen Earle for making the trip to join us in celebration and share information about our national organization.
Big congratulations to our award winners: Carla Cobb Davis of BizBox Technology won The Crystal Chair Award for lifetime achievement.
Sandy Jamison, Tuscana Properties won The Woman of Distinction Award.
Vandana Agrawal, BringMax won the Woman Business Advocate Award.
Finally, thank you to our many raffle prize donors for adding some fun to the evening as people vied for prizes including beauty packages, wine baskets, a tea basket, Sharks tickets, and even a 7 day getaway vacation! And to our table sponsors who proudly displayed their companies in the event space. And to our many NAWBO members who assisted during the event to make it appear seamless!
When the NAWBO-Silicon Valley Board brainstormed this event, we wanted to create an event with meaning and purpose that would become an annual celebration of women business owners in our community. The name “Crystal Chair” is in honor of NAWBO’s founding President, Susan Hagar who said “Get a seat at the table or build your own table, and make sure to include other women.” In looking out over the crowd of women business owners, Past Presidents of our chapter, sponsors, guests and family members, I felt a huge swell of pride in this organization, our community and the things that we accomplish together as an organization of women business owners. If you enjoyed the event, please reach out and help me to thank our board members Maxine Goulding, Jennifer Dizon, Pam Hedblad, Karen Hebert, Flordelisa Harris, Griselda Quezada-Chavez, and Vandana Agrawal, and our administrator Marit Fox. And tell your friends about NAWBO and the energy of the women in the room.
Fondly,
President’s Message – December 2016
Happy Holiday season to you and yours!
This time of year always seems to be incredibly hectic! We’re shopping for gifts, decorating our homes and attending many holiday parties. Oh, and never mind that as women business owners we are also still running our businesses, trying to finalize year end projects, and sending out client gifts and cards.
Our NAWBO board has been working very hard this year to deliver amazing programs and networking events. I hope that one of your resolutions will be to join us for more of them. Might I suggest that you right now mark your new 2017 calendars with a recurring appointment for the 3rd Tuesday of the month, from 6:00 – 8:30pm, and call it “NAWBO Meeting placeholder”! In January we’ll be talking about your health and wellness to kick off the year. In February, we’ll be celebrating in gala fashion our Crystal Chair awards – which symbolizes and celebrates NAWBO women bringing their chairs to the business table so many years ago, and still today. And in March, we’ll recognize international Women’s Business Day.
A major premise of our organization is public policy and being better together – both for our individual businesses and in the larger scheme of our communities and our country. In that spirit, we are also preparing again for the annual NAWBO California – Propel Your Business Conference in early May 2017. I hope you’ll consider attending that as well. It’s an amazing gathering of NAWBO members from all ten California chapters and includes great speakers and the opportunity to connect with your state legislators. Join us in Sacramento. Part of the fun is in the carpooling!
If you’re like me, you’ll probably do a little reflecting at this time of the year before the calendar turns to January. Many good things happened for me in 2016. And hopefully to you as well. So, I encourage you to look back on 2016 and ask yourself – how did I do? And not be too hard on yourself. Celebrate the victories, and ask yourself how you can learn from the setbacks. Maybe ask yourself, “If I could change one thing for 2017, what would it be?” And then, raise a glass (of whatever you’re drinking this time of year), and give yourself a toast. From one business owner to another, here’s looking at you girl!!
From myself and the entire NAWBO-Silicon Valley Board of Directors, we wish you a very happy holiday season. See you all in 2017!
With fondest regards,
Santa Monika
PS – Remember, click to your calendar now….and mark those 3rd Tuesdays!!
President’s Message – September 2016
Dear NAWBO-Silicon Valley Members & Friends,
Our leadership group has asked me to serve another year, and I’m excited to do so. Thank you for the opportunity to lead this wonderful organization again in the upcoming year, which began on July 1. Thank you to outgoing Program Director, Beatrice Schultz for her fabulous service this year in creating our wonderful programs. And please help me in welcoming to the Board our new Program Director, Flor Harris and our new Public Policy Director, Vandana Agrawal. These ladies join Maxine Goulding (Past President), Pam Hedblad (Secretary/Treasurer), Jennifer Dizon (Membership Director), Karen Hebert (Communications Director) and Griselda Quezada-Chavez (International Affairs Director) in the leadership of our organization.
In the spirit of a fiscal new year – I think it’s only fitting to have a new theme. My theme for this year is “Better Together”. What does that mean? And what does it mean for you? Our board of directors will be reaching out to the members of NAWBO-SV to inquire how we can enhance the value of your membership AND how you can help us become even stronger with your increased participation. Sure, we appreciate your dues, but we really want to see more of you – at meetings and special events. Why? Because you add ideas, expertise and experience when you participate at events. Your presence helps encourage other women business owners to show up and to be part of something special. Because we are better together.
NAWBO is an organization founded on the premise of public policy and establishing a place at the table for women business owners. We still do that – at the national, state and local levels. The women who established this organization over 40 years ago blazed a trail for us. And now it is our opportunity to carry that torch and continue blazing the way for ourselves and those that will come behind us. Are you in?
For the first time in many years, we will be hosting a “Signature Event” this fiscal year – in February of 2017. It’s planned to be a gala-type event honoring those who have helped women business owners establish that place at the table. We have a cool and creative theme around it, which we will unveil to you in August. There will be several opportunities for our members to volunteer to be a part of this very special event – including various areas to recognize your business, get in front of sponsors, be nominated for prestigious awards, and to be part of this inaugural event. There’s a reason you joined NAWBO-SV and we’d like to see our entire membership group have a stake in making this event a success and in enhancing the value for each of us to making our entire organization better together. So, don’t wait to be asked (although we will ask!) – if you think you can help make our signature event a huge success, reach out to a board member and share your enthusiasm and willingness to lend a hand. Trust me – you will want to be part of this.
In addition to our Signature Event, we also have really fabulous speakers lined up for this year, along with the continued networking events which our membership has requested. Stay tuned to the newsletters and website for information on how you can help re-invest in NAWBO-SV this upcoming fiscal year to help to continue to make us Better Together!
Fondly,
Monika Miles, 2015-2016 President, NAWBO-SV
President’s Message – April 2016
Dear Members and Friends of NAWBO-SV,
Much is happening in NAWBO National, NAWBO California and NAWBO Silicon Valley along with other Chapters.
Last month several of our NAWBO-SV members participated in the Bizwomen: Mentoring Monday, hosted by the Silicon Valley Business Journal at Villa Regusa in Campbell. This event was the first of its kind and the beginning of an annual tradition that brings women together in a casual, fast-paced coaching atmosphere. This event took place in 43 cities on the same day which means at least 200+ women were coached in every market or 8,000+ women across America, from Albany to Hawaii.
Our NAWBO-SV members that were mentors for this event included; Monika Miles, Maxine Goulding and Ruth Stergio (Ruth was also the keynote speaker). Other ladies that were mentors and have been involved with NAWBO-SV are; Marilyn Ritter, Karen Mathews and Linda Popky. As you can see we had a strong NAWBO presence.
We are getting prepared to join our NAWBO National’s Boot Camp and NAWBO California’s Annual Propel Your Business Conference in Sacramento (April 26 – 28). Before the conference begins on Monday, NAWBO National will be holding their Leadership Bootcamp on Sunday, 4/26. So you have the opportunity to attend two conferences while in Sacramento. Details: www.nawbo-ca.org .
NAWBO-SV is diligently working on a networking event for Tuesday, April 21st. It’s going to be a fabulous event with some activities that will be entertaining and fun for all. We will have food, beverages, an Opportunity Drawing (three gifts to be given away), important announcements and plenty of networking. Our host, Bridge Bank, has invited Maria Arias, owner of Betsie’s Boutique to come and display her wonderful items at the event.
I do hope you join us at any or all of these events.
To your success!
President’s Message – January 2016
Dear Members,
Happy New Year! I hope this finds each of you reflecting on your successes of the year just passed and planning for the prosperity ahead in 2016. Yes, of course, the PLAN! As unique, independent and creative business owners, we all have our own ways to do that. We’ve been coached that the plan must be in writing, be manageable, include our vision, etc. And in the end, we will each create it in our own unique way. Our guest speaker for our January event was Kristy Royse who shared how to put together our personal strategic plans. And with any luck at all, those will also tie into what we want for our businesses!
When we started the NAWBO fiscal year 6 months ago, the board sat down and put together a one-page business plan for our chapter. And we also talked about “Who Moved My Cheese” – that famous little book about getting out of your comfort zone today so that things don’t get stale tomorrow. As we reach the midpoint of our year, it’s a natural time to evaluate how it’s going! Overall, we’ve received good comments about the quarterly themes and our venue change. But we are always looking for additional feedback. So, please, tell us how you think it’s going. I also challenge you to spend a few minutes wearing your NAWBO hat and imagining what types of things you can do as a chapter member and future chapter leader (we’re always looking for additional ideas on the board) to bring additional value to our membership. Every one of you adds something special to every meeting. There’s nothing more satisfying to me than to look around the room at one of our events and to see people really engaged with each other. Thank you for continuing to bring your energy, enthusiasm and talents to this group.
You’ll have plenty of opportunity to do so this quarter. Our theme for January through March is “Commerce”. That topic, of course, can conjure up many different things. And it will for us as well. I mentioned Kristy’s topic on a personal strategic plan. In February, we will have a networking event sponsored by GoDaddy (but no keynote speaker). The evening will have some great opportunities to meet fellow members and guests and some fun twists and fabulous prizes. Finally, in March, we’re featuring another field trip! Long-time member Hannah Kain of ALOM Technologies is hosting us at the company’s Fremont location. The meeting’s theme will be networking around international commerce and will feature some special guests around that topic.
Thank you for your membership and for all you do for this organization. Now, go finish up that plan and get moving on generating your numbers for 2016! It’s only 300+ days until Christmas!
Fondly,
Monika Miles, 2015-2016 President, NAWBO-Silicon Valley
Justice Ginsburg’s Warning To A Dysfunctional Nation
Submitted by Maxine Goulding, California Special Occasions
I read a very interesting article about the work that Justice Ginsburg has accomplished over the years and why she is so passionate about it. She gives a bit of history of how women, pay (we still only make 78% of what men make), and LGBT rights for all have
changed over time.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been a national figure for at least half of her life. As founding director of the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project, Ginsburg probably did more than any other litigator in the nation’s history to abolish sex discrimination and gender stereotyping. Read the full article here.
President’s Message – November 2015
Dear NAWBO-Silicon Valley,
Yes, it’s here – Q4! Is it cliché to say that the years go by so much faster as we get older? Yes, it is, but yes they do! I’ll admit that I’m never fully ready to embrace Q4 yet, in early October, but by Halloween, I’m all in. And as Thanksgiving approaches, I really do take stock of what I’m thankful for. So, readers, you’ve missed my whole melancholy shift into the new quarter, and now I’m ready. Much has happened since my last President’s message, so I’d like to recap what you’ve missed if you haven’t joined us at NAWBO-Silicon Valley in a while!
September – Five of us from NAWBO-Silicon Valley attended the NAWBO National Women’s Business Conference in San Antonio. The conference was inspiring in many ways. Many of us participated in a leadership training series, where we shared chapter best practices with chapters across the country. We also had a variety of interesting speakers addressing our group – from Presidential candidate Carly Fiorina to Texas Governor Greg Abbott on the political side, and inspiring keynote speakers Leigh Ann Tuoey (of “The Blind Side” fame) and Bonnie St. John, the first African American to win Paralympic medals in ski racing. NAWBO-Silicon Valley was also instrumental in engaging 22 women from Mexico as AMMJE’s (the Mexican equivalent of NAWBO) delegation to the conference. Our own Griselda Quezada-Chavez almost single-handedly hosted these ladies during the 3 day conference and was instrumental in forging partnerships with their organization on a national basis as well as locally. NAWBO-Silicon Valley is the only US chapter with a direct partnership with AMMJE and their Cabo San Lucas chapter. Well done!
September – Here locally, we rounded out our first “themed quarter” of “Communications”. Our September speaker was Cynthia Riggs, and she presented to us about building your own One-Page Business Plan.
October – Our October speaker, our very own Past President and current Secretary/Treasurer, Pam Hedblad, spoke with our group about “Take Action to Pump Up Your Financial Fitness”. Pam shared some great tips about how to put more money into savings and retirement planning and how to just make smarter decisions about money. Her presentation was a great way to kick off our theme this quarter – “Finance”.
November – There are many exciting things going on this month, some directly NAWBO related, and some being offered to us as member benefits from outside organizations:
- Speaker Hilary Hendershott will be presenting about 7 Steps to Turn Revenues into Profits and Personal Wealth.
- We have been asked to participate in an SBA sponsored event called InnovateHER where innovative businesses can compete for cash prizes.
- NAWBO Members have been invited to participate in Inc. Magazine’s Vision 2020 event in SF on 12/3. Contact us for the registration code if interested.
- Small Business Saturday – following Black Friday (on Saturday 11/28) the event encourages shoppers to spend money at local small businesses – like your fellow NAWBO members’ stores, for instance.
Thank you to all of you who’ve been to our meetings recently. And a special invitation out to those of you who haven’t joined us for a few months. We miss you. And you’re missing out on some good programs and networking! I know that the holidays are soon to be upon us, so I hope to see you in November and December before ALL of the craziness hits. The board has been working very hard on your behalf to keep the quality programming coming. Please judge for yourself and offer them a huge thank you in the process.
See you all soon!
Fondly,
Monika Miles, 2015-2016 President, NAWBO-Silicon Valley
President’s Message – September 2015
Dear NAWBO-Silicon Valley,
As we turn the calendar to September, I can already smell autumn in the air. When I take my morning walks, I feel a nip in the air and the smell of garlic wafting up from Gilroy. It’s also that time of year when I have the “reality checks” with myself about my business. Summer is almost over, and we’ll soon be in the fourth quarter of the year. If you’re like me, you might ask yourself if you’re hitting your projected revenue numbers, or meeting your other goals, and what adjustments you need to make NOW in order to finish off the year with a bang. Our September speaker, Cynthia Riggs, might be able to help you with just that. Ms. Riggs will be presenting on “The Fastest, Easiest Way to Write Your Business Plan”. As business owners, we all have a plan – right? Even if yours is already crystal clear (of course it is!), please join us on September 15 to share your comments and ideas to help other business owners hone theirs. There are always gems to be found at a NAWBO – Silicon Valley meeting.
Speaking of gems, we had an amazing meeting in August. Staying with our quarterly theme of “Communication”, we arranged for a networking event at the Santa Cruz headquarters of our corporate partner, Plantronics. As the leader in telephone headset development (and the headset that made the first trip to moon with Neil Armstrong) and a long-time supporter of our organization, we thought an event like this would fit nicely into our Communication theme! After many of us arrived over the hill in style, courtesy of a limousine provided by NAWBO member Jen Jaciw of Lone Star Limousine, we were treated to a nice evening at Plantronics. From the patio wine and cheese reception, to the dinner (and famous cobbler dessert), to the wonderful presentation on Communications by Judi Hembrough – everything was first class. The company had also promised us that they would be drawing for a very nice gift to one of our members or guests. At the end of the evening, we were surprised yet again as everyone who attended received a Voyager Edge headset, courtesy of the company. A special thank you to Dave Huff and his entire team at Plantronics for the hospitality!
I’d also like to welcome two new members that have joined in the last couple of months. Welcome to Monica Duarte and Yvonne Urness. And also a thank you to renewing members Marit Fox, Katherine Winkelman, Pam Hedblad, Christine McHale, and Mary Hiland. Investing in yourself by joining or renewing your membership is a gift you give to yourself. And we’re excited to have you in the room!
In addition to our meeting on September 15th, I also hope to see some of you in San Antonio, at the National Women’s Business Conference – our national NAWBO conference, later this month.
And finally, we’re excited to share that the quarterly theme for October, November, and December will be on Finances. We are honored to have two of our very own members – Pam Hedblad and Hilary Hendershott presenting in October & November, respectively.
Enjoy the dog-days of summer and the smell of garlic in the air (or on your fries at that last series of baseball games). I look forward to seeing you and hearing about your plans for Q4!
Fondly,
Monika Miles, 2015-2016 President, NAWBO-Silicon Valley