Corporate Partner Corner
Special benefits and offers from our corporate partners for NAWBO members.
President’s Message | February 2020
Dear Members:
February is the month of love and passion, whether it’s for the ones we hold dear to our hearts or for the pursuit of goals that make us excited for living a full life.
Our recent “Huge Gets” with Kristi Yamaguchi, Olympic gold medalist and Dancing with the Stars celebrity, and Brandi Chastain, two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup champion, makes me realize how passionate I am about NAWBO’s mission and the importance of our sisterhood. NAWBO is driven to empower and propel women to become successful in our professional and personal lives. We truly strive to bring the best of the best to our monthly programs, so we can be inspired to be the best version of ourselves whether it’s in our business or home life.
Our collaboration with the San Jose Sharks on February 10th featuring local celebrities, Kristi Yamaguchi and Brandi Chastain, along with Jill Wesley, a talented speaker coach and strategist, Dr. Joan Oloff, a popular podiatrist and pioneering shoe designer, and our very own NAWBO member, Toni Julian, who is a renowned health advocate and sports nutritionist, will prove to be an epic event. We have already gained a lot of excitement and momentum, and we hope you can join us for this special time. Please visit www.nawbo-sv.org/events to purchase tickets. You can also consider becoming a corporate sponsor at the Bronze $250, Silver $500 or Gold $1,000 level. Let’s go for the Gold!
Coming down the pike, we have March events to look forward to: 1) Taste of Italy for International Month at Total Wine, San Jose; 2) Corporate Sponsorship Luncheon at Silicon Valley Capital Club; and 3) Kendra Scott fundraising at Santana Row. For April, we will feature our signature event, Crystal Chair Award Gala, on April 21st. Three women business owners will be honored for the following categories: 1) Crystal Chair Award – Lifetime Achievement; 2) Business Woman of Distinction; and 3) Woman Business Advocate of the Year. Please think of women you’d like to nominate and honor, and look out for the call for nominations through our NAWBO email notifications.
Currently we are seeking business owners to serve on committees and serve on our Board for our new fiscal year beginning July 2020. We’re still in the early part of the year where we’re committed to our new year’s resolution and goals. Right? You can start with our upcoming Crystal Chair Awards Gala event which attracts over 100 attendees. You can help us create and execute another successful event, as we really could not do this without dedicated and hard-working volunteers who help support NAWBO and its board members. Please reach out to Maxine Goulding, our event planner extraordinaire, who can be reached at events@caspecialoccasions.com , call her at 404-838-9737 or you can see her personally at one of our upcoming NAWBO events.
May you live your life full of love and passion, and we hope NAWBO helps enhance your life experiences at work and at home as we are better together!
Warmest regards,
Flordelisa Harris
President’s Message | January 2020
Dear Members:
We are looking forward to working together to help renew and revitalize our new year’s goals for 2020! As a chapter, we have many accomplishments that we can be proud of and thankful for. Yet, we still have many areas that we can work on, such as advocacy and mentorship, to make our chapter stronger and better for years to come. We hope we can count on you this year, whether it’s to serve on our board or committee, or simply attend and participate in our monthly programs.
Highlights of 2020 will bring us the following:
Leadership Development Workshops/Conferences:
- February 6th at Albuquerque, New Mexico
- April 23rd at French Lick, Indiana
- June 1st at Washington, DC
Crystal Chair Awards Gala at Silicon Valley Capital Club on April 21st
- Crystal Chair Lifetime Achievement
- Business Woman of Distinction of the Year
- Business Woman Advocate of the Year
NAWBO CA Propel Conference at Citizen Hotel, Sacramento, CA on May 4th
NAWBO National Women’s Business Conference “Brave Is” at Austin, TX on September 21st
Member & Corporate Sponsored Workshops & Presentations
- March 17th at Capital Club in Honor of Corporate Sponsors
Empowered & Educational Topics, Speakers & Panelists
- January 21st at Capital Club
- February 10th at San Jose Sharks
- May 19th at Capital Club
- June 16th at Capital Club – New Board Installation
We appreciate you taking this journey with us in reinvigorating and refreshing our mission to propel women business owners in their personal and professional lives. Clearly, we can accomplish bigger and greater things together, and we look forward to your continued help and support through 2020.
May the New Year bring you good health and prosperity!
Warmest regards,
Flordelisa Harris
Planning an Event: A Bird’s-Eye View
by: Maxine Goulding, California Special Occasions
Any event you host or endorse is a direct reflection of your business or company. Before you start planning an event and sending out invitations, you need to know a few things about the meeting industry in general. What exactly is the effort needed and guidelines surrounding the production of a successful event?
Why hold an event? What is your objective?
- To build brand awareness – It’s focused time you can utilize to build brand awareness around your business with target audiences.
- To humanize the business – It’s a good time to thank customers and clients for their support and offer to answer any questions they have or help them in some way if you can. People buy from people, so make sure your business real and authentic.
- To provide networking opportunities – It’s an excellent way to meet like-minded individuals in your industry, and you never know where those relationships may lead!
- To fundraise – For non-profit and charity organizations events are a perfect way to do drive fundraising efforts. They offer a controlled and focused environment for you to spread the word and incite empathy and curiosity in attendees.
- To launch a new product or service – New products or services can be showcased in a fun and upbeat atmosphere! A time for demonstrations or give away samples. It gives your potential customers a chance to interact with your product or service in person.
Awards ceremonies are a very common type of event to hold, and a fantastic way to recognize your team or others for their hard work. Recognition is always appreciated, and usually makes for a more loyal team.
- To offer a face-to-face communication experience – Today we live in a digital world where we are losing that personal, human interaction. The feeling of being in front of someone; having a conversation and sharing a laugh, can’t really be replicated online.
The 3 Questions Your Website Needs To Answer
I have some bad news. Nobody cares about your product or service.
What?! It’s true. They don’t care about your product. They care about what your product can do for them or get them. For something to add value, it needs to do one (or more) of these things:
- Save someone time
- Make someone money
- Teach something
- Add joy
The Benefits of Google My Business & How To Optimize Your Listing
- It’s free!
- Get your business to show up in the local 3 pack
- Increased credibility
- More reviews = more business
- Control, index, and display pertinent business information
- Interact with potential customers and manage your online review reputation
- Curate customer photos, videos, and other user-generated content
- Gather insights regarding how your customers are arriving on your site
How to Optimize Your Listing
- How customers are finding your business (direct vs. discovery vs. branded searches)
- Where on Google your customers are finding your listing (Search vs. Maps)
- The actions your customers are taking on your listing (Visiting your site, clicking on directions, browsing the photo gallery, calling you)
- Total phone calls and time when customers are calling
President’s Message | December 2019
Dear Members:
During this holiday season, I would like to wish you and yours a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy Hanukkah!
Undoubtedly, this is a very special time of year where we look forward to being with family and friends, attending holiday get-togethers and parties, and sharing in the joy of giving and receiving gifts.
We invite you to join us at NAWBO Silicon Valley’s annual holiday luncheon on Tuesday, December 17th at the University Club of Palo Alto. You’ll have a chance to mix and mingle with old, new friends and friends you haven’t met yet while experiencing one of the finest lunch buffets and beverage service. Once again, the Peninsula Symphony will add to the festive atmosphere by playing some of our favorite holiday music. Won’t you join us for some holiday fun and cheer? Please feel free to bring a friend too!
As 2019 comes to a close, we have many reasons to feel joyous and thankful about our chapter’s accomplishments:
1) NAWBO National 5 Star Advocacy Award
2) Leadership Development Workshops/Conferences at Scottsdale, Arizona and Washington, DC
3) Crystal Chair Awards Gala at Doubletree Hotel, Campbell
- Hannah Kain, Crystal Chair Lifetime Achievement
- Monika Miles, Business Woman of the Year
- Cathy Smith, Woman Business Advocate of the Year
4) NAWBO CA Propel Conference “Choosing to Own It” at Citizen Hotel, Sacramento, CA
5) NAWBO National Women’s Business Conference at Jacksonville, FL
6) Member & Corporate Sponsored Workshops & Presentations
7) Empowered & Educational Topics, Speakers & Panelists
8) NAWBO Honorees for Women of Influence:
- Randi Ross, Secretary & Membership Director
- Elvie Teodoro
We appreciate you taking this journey with us in reinvigorating and refreshing our mission to propel women business owners in their personal and professional lives. It is clear that we can accomplish bigger and greater things together, and we hope you consider joining our board for the new fiscal year 2020!
May you enjoy this special time with your family and friends!
Warmest regards,
Flordelisa Harris
President’s Message | November 2019
Dear Members:
SPECIAL NOTE: NAWBO Silicon Valley would like to take this opportunity to thank our men and women across the state in their effort in combating fires and power outages helping thousands of people and want them to know they are tremendously appreciated.
Congratulations!!! Our chapter was recently honored at the NAWBO National Conference in Jacksonville, Florida for achieving the 5 Star Award. We thank Griselda Quezada-Chavez and Eugenia Lunden for accepting this award on our behalf. This award represents our dedication and hard work in our local advocacy efforts, and we were one of nearly 60 NAWBO chapters in the country to receive this.
Our October 22nd event was sponsored by Perkins Coie LLP in Palo Alto, and their legal experts did a phenomenal job in educating us about upcoming changes in laws that would affect our businesses. The top ones to look out for are the California AB 5 (aka Dynamex) and the Consumer Privacy Protection Act (CPPA).
AB 5 would limit the use of classifying workers as independent contractors rather than employees by companies. CPPA requires businesses that collect, maintain or sell personal information to notify consumers and would disclose the information and business use of information, which allows consumers to opt out and have personal information deleted. Please look out for any updates on AB 5 and CPPA in our upcoming newsletters.
Next month, we look forward to an educational and interesting topic on Money Matters and Finance… We are thankful to Bank of America and Merrill Lynch for sponsoring this event, and we hope you can join us!
Our annual holiday luncheon is set for Tuesday, December 17th at the University Club of Palo Alto, so please mark your calendar now. We will have a delightful afternoon of the finest cuisine and beverage service while being entertained by the infamous Peninsula Symphony. Because of our successful fundraiser last year for Dress for Success, we will collaborate with them once again and we look forward to your participation. More details will be shared in our events calendar and upcoming newsletters.
Many thanks for taking this journey with us in reinvigorating and refreshing our mission to propel women business owners in their personal and professional lives. It is clear that we can accomplish bigger and greater things together!
Warmest regards,
Flordelisa Harris
President’s Message | October 2019
Dear Members:
Fall is upon us, reminding us that change is imminent with temperatures decreasing and leaves falling from the trees. It’s a wonderful time to reflect on our summer vacations and look forward to the beauty of autumn leaves. With NAWBO, we’re constantly changing and resetting like the seasons to help our members become empowered in their businesses and we hope you’ve taken notice!
On September 17th, we were honored to have Cindy Chavez, Santa Clara County Supervisor, and Madison Nguyen, Executive Vice President of Silicon Valley Organization, spearhead our conversation about “Women in Politics”. It was a perfect evening to learn, talk and share about women in politics and how they’re changing the political world in increasing numbers from a local to national scale.
The evening was a reminder of our past advocacy efforts, and how we must keep moving the needle toward other milestones for women business owners. Just over 30 years ago, NAWBO helped in the passage of HR 5050, allowing women to qualify to take a business loan without a male counterpart. Last September, we celebrated NAWBO’s success with SB 826, requiring CA publicly-held companies to have at least one woman on board by the end of 2019 and more in the future. Simply put, we just built an unlimited number of tables and have an open invitation for many women to join us! Our founder, Susan Hager, believed in bringing your seat to the table, and if you don’t have a table, build one. Then bring other women with you.
On October 22nd, we look forward to an educational and interesting topic on laws that will impact our businesses in 2020. We are grateful for Perkins Coie LLP, an international law firm that is known for providing high value, strategic solutions and extraordinary client services, for hosting this upcoming event in Palo Alto so we can stay informed and be proactive! We hope you can join us and please feel free to share with others, as you don’t need to be a NAWBO member to attend this special occasion.
Our board of directors continue to be a dedicated and hardworking board of volunteers bringing together impactful and worthwhile programs and events, and we encourage you to get involved and become a committee member to strengthen our NAWBO sisterhood. We cannot do this on our own. By joining our leadership team, you become part of the women business owners who help make positive changes in our communities and beyond.
Warmest regards,
Flordelisa Harris
President’s Message | September 2019
We are off to a renewed fiscal year with our recent achievement of the 5-Star Advocacy Award provided by NAWBO National, due to maintaining and achieving benchmarks that drive our chapter’s success in advocacy!
Our chapter incorporated advocacy awareness and efforts throughout last year’s programs, such as “How to Build and Join Corporate Boards”, and the celebration of HR 5050 and SB 826. Also, we were involved in NAWBO California’s Annual Propel business conference in Sacramento. This year, we plan on building upon our unique ability to engage and educate our members regarding legislation that impacts your business. At this time, we are closely following AB5, which is also known as Dynamex. Businesses must use the “ABC test” to figure out whether a worker is an employee versus an independent contractor.
We had an invigorating and educational event last month with our local Fashion Disrupters’ panel experts: Taylor Jay, Dr. Joan Oloff and Chalisa Prarasri. It was great to have these successful business women share their journey and provide useful tips in reaching your goals and never feeling discouraged.
On September 17th, we look forward to “Women in Politics” where we will hear from Council member Pam Foley, District 9; Madison Nguyen former Vice Mayor of San Jose; Maya Esparza Council member, District 7; and Cindy Chavez Member of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. You can join the conversation with these influential women to help shape our communities, businesses and lives.
Next month, Perkins Coie law firm will host our event in Palo Alto, and we’ll have a chance to learn about laws that will affect our business in 2020. We have so many more exciting topics up ahead that are sure to keep you engaged with NAWBO and its members, so please look out for future communications.
Although we are very lucky to have a dedicated and hardworking board of volunteers bringing together impactful and worthwhile programs and events, we encourage you to get involved and become a committee member to strengthen our sisterhood. We cannot do this on our own. By joining our leadership team, you become part of the women business owners who help make positive changes on a local, national and global level.
We look forward to our journey in strengthening our NAWBO chapter so we can accomplish great things together!
eNewsletters: Are They Still Worth it?
by Roberta Kiphuth, Detati Digital Marketing
Is newsletter marketing is worth the time and effort? Do people even read them anymore?
The answer is YES!…but…they need to provide value.An e-newsletter can be a great tool for building trust and expertise. But make them educational, funny, interesting, and not sales-y.
Build Your List
Ensure that you only send to contacts who have proactively requested (signed up for) the newsletter. Not only is this a best practice, but it is a legal requirement. All group emails sent need to provide an unsubscribe option.
Creating the Content
Good content requires planning. Consider your readers interests and how they access their email. Provide useful and engaging information they look forward to getting. Have at least one original piece of content. People subscribed to YOUR newsletter so make sure they have something to better understand and connect with your business. If you “curate” content, make sure you are giving proper credit. Most businesses are sending the same newsletter to everyone. Create or adapt your content to be more relevant for each segment you have.
It is helpful to plan ahead and create a content calendar. Outline the content or topic you want to showcase each month. Keep in mind that industry events, conference, and current news can all be options for content.
Design
Keep a Regular Rhythm
Make It Easy to Share
Opening Dialogue Through Compliance Training
- Make it a fun event. Since these sessions are mandatory, find a way to shift the attendees’ mindset. Hosting a Lunch ‘n’ Learn will instantaneously generate a better mood. Almost everyone enjoys a free meal and the opportunity to hang out with colleagues.
- Look for a superb qualified trainer. Participants will not recall everything they hear, but they most certainly will remember how they felt during a learning experience. A facilitator that engages the audience, shares personal stories, and brings relevant examples will have a lasting impact. Stay away from lecturers – this is a perfect topic to be practical and non-judgmental.
- Include a variety of real-life case scenarios. Participants need to recognize themselves, thoughts, and potential behaviors in what they are hearing. Customizing your sessions to the audience, industry, and level is key to producing results.
- Focus on the desired behaviors. And stay away from scare tactics!Over the years, I have seen trainers share horror stories in classes I have audited. These may momentarily seem interesting, but they won’t do much to create a positive work environment nor to impact how people act. Ensure that your trainer understands your company values and supported behaviors.
I invite you to think about these guidelines to provide a learning experience that goes beyond covering standard material. After all, the goal of this requirement is prevention and creating a respectful workplace for everyone involved.
Article written by Eugenia Lunden, Founder & CEO, Lunden International LLC, a premier firm that creates innovative training solutions to promote the growth and retention of talented professionals.
President’s Message | August 2019
Welcome to NAWBO Silicon Valley’s 2019-2020 fiscal year! Our new and refreshed group of board members are eager and ready to serve you. We’re already gearing up for<
The Fashion Disrupters on August 20, Women in Politics on September 17, and Legal Experts on October 15.
As a second-term President, I’m humbled by this opportunity to be a servant leader for NAWBO, especially being surrounded by smart, ambitious and talented women business owners. I’m thankful for what I’ve learned from the last fiscal year and build upon that to bring our chapter to the next level. We invite you to join us in making our chapter successful, whether it’s attending our monthly events comprised of panel experts/keynote speakers and dinner, joining our annual signature event − the Crystal Chair Gala − or an offsite corporate sponsored networking event.
- Flordelisa Harris, President, Immediate Past President, Corporate Partnership Director
- Donna Sooter, President-Elect & Treasurer
- Maxine Goulding, Vice President of Special Events & Projects, Communications Director
- Randi Ross, Secretary & Membership Director
- Eugenia Lunden, Marketing Director
- Griselda Quezada-Chavez, International Affairs Director
- Melissa Grimshaw-Vargas, Program Director
- Vandana Agrawal, Public Policy Director
We will miss Jennifer Dizon, who served in various board positions such as chapter president, treasurer and liaison director. However, Jennifer has graciously offered to continue providing us with advice and guidance, so we can certainly count on her NAWBO lifetime experience. We’re so grateful for her generosity!
Our goals for this year will be to increase Membership and Corporate Partners, and we will do so by engaging with our members. As a hardworking board, we want to encourage working members. In return, we will focus on spotlighting and highlighting advocacy opportunities, both for new and current members. We will ask for volunteers to help in various committees, so we can create a succession plan of incoming board members. We will think and act like connectors and networkers − whether it’s at one of our NAWBO events or through other events we attend, so we can increase and surpass our membership and corporate partnership goals.<
Our passion to serve NAWBO and our wide background of experience and knowledge will lead us into reinvigorating our mission and goals for 2019-2020. With our highly revitalized and motivated board members, we look forward to an exciting and energized new year with our amazing members!
Reach Your Audience Beyond Translating Your Training Sessions
Professional development is known to be one of the top markers for employee retention. When bringing a superb program to your diverse workforce, how can you ensure that the learning goes beyond the classroom? Oftentimes attendees will nod in agreement, mainly out of being polite to the enthusiastic presenter. But if your learners come from varied backgrounds – diverse countries, races, ethnicity – they may not be getting the knowledge gems that are being conveyed.
Here are three guidelines to ensure an inclusive learning experience:
- Use global examples. Oftentimes trainers cite sitcoms or use what they believe to be commonly known phrases like “Every cloud has a silver lining,” which do not resonate with audiences outside of the U.S. Pop culture references should be relevant and kept to a minimum. Materials must be designed with content that is representative of universal issues, containing neutral use of linguistics, and with cases that are relevant to a general audience.
- Confirm that the trainer speaks the language and understands the audience represented. Hire an instructor who is proficient in recognizing, understanding, and acknowledging cultural sensitivities. The correct use of language is one component of a great session. But as important to achieving results is knowing how to read the cues of comfort, discomfort, and appropriateness of what is being shared.
- Find a genuine way to relate. Including personal experiences and stories in the delivery consistently increases engagement and information retention. These must be selected with care, confirming that they are powerful but not offensive.
Covering these fundamentals will allow participants to learn at a deeper level because practical application comes from involvement rather than lectures. And to appreciate the richness of a learning moment, learners must first feel comfortable, respected, and acknowledged for their uniqueness and value.
Article written by Eugenia Lunden, Founder & CEO, Lunden International LLC, a premier firm that creates innovative training solutions to promote the growth and retention of talented professionals.
Workplace Words that Wound
Divert Disaster, Delete That Email and Dialogue
While email has made workplace communication efficient, there are times when face-to-face conversations are needed. At these times, defaulting to email is risky and may result in workplace nightmares.
When Technology leads to trouble
Who doesn’t love moving issues, problems and grievances off of a work desk? While auto correct protects us from grammatical errors, there is no technology discernment checker that alerts us when emailing is inappropriate and a conversation is necessary. Email is your enemy when communicating concerns about behaviors or performance issues. Never email a colleague when you are in conflict.
While confident of your ability to hide your frustration and anger, it’s next to impossible to compose a message presenting your case without releasing emotions. Sending email when you are angry or frustrated invites gossip and misunderstanding to move in and multiply. The words we compose while facing a computer screen, we would never say to someone in person.
Email Limitations and Liabilities
Email is devoid of context and human beings communicate through body language, expression and voice. Tone is difficult to interpret and easily misinterpreted without hearing the inflection of someone’s voice. Yes, it can be challenging, awkward and difficult to talk to others about concerns, performance gaps and needed improvements. Even so, defaulting to email in an attempt to prevent coming across frustrated and
angry is risky and dangerous. Instead of averting conflict, you may unintentionally, while undiscerningly, start a workplace war.
In Closing
Email is a powerful and useful business tool when used for the right purpose. When addressing behavior concerns or performance issues, communication via email is igniting a wick attached to dynamite. Avoid an explosion, blow out the flame, walk away from your computer and towards the person with whom you have a concern, and divert disaster by dialoguing.
President’s Message | May 2019
Silicon Valley is known for its championship teams such as the most recent by Golden State Warriors as 1st in the Western Division and San Jose Sharks as 2nd in the Pacific Division. We’d like to think that NAWBO is a top-notch Silicon Valley team of women business owners too. In our mission to help propel women entrepreneurs into economic, social and political spheres of power in Silicon Valley, nationally and globally, we’ve created many wins for women to champion their personal and professional lives.
A couple of our NAWBO members who recently won and were honored at the Silicon Valley Business Journal for the top 100 Women of Influence in Silicon Valley on May 16th are the following:
Randi Ross serves as our Membership Director for Recruiting and is co-founder of Lucross Holdings in 2017. Randi is the first family member to attend college, and she immigrated from Saigon as a 6-year-old who withstood the childhood trauma of witnessing a father that was abusive to a mother who refused to leave the marriage.
“I have been very determined to ensure that I am independent and have options as a hedge or insurance policy against setbacks. This includes the strategy of diversification in building my company.” Her advice is to always push the boundaries of your comfort zone to improve yourself!>
Elvie Teodoro is the founder and executive director of NorCal Academy of Performing Arts, owner of Evergreen School of Music & Arts (ESOMA) and president of South County Homes. She is a proud Filipino-American immigrant bringing music and arts to our children and youth. Being first means being a leader in her community to help and support those who are last to rise up to be their best. Running multiple businesses is not without challenges, but it has its special rewards. Elvie’s advice is to love what you do and maintain the energy and focus in embodying each organization’s vision and values!
Our success and efforts are not by one person, but by a collective group of volunteers who are committed and passionate servant leaders. As we close the end of our fiscal year of June 30th, we ask that you think about joining our winning NAWBO team and volunteer as a board member or committee chair, so you too can become that servant leader you’ve aspired to. If you’re interested, please let me or one of our board members know, and we’d be happy to discuss the position(s) in more detail. A request for nominations will be forthcoming shortly.
We appreciate your wholehearted support and passion for NAWBO, as we continue on this journey in unifying Our Voice of over 10 million women-owned businesses across the country!
Warmest regards,
Flordelisa Harris
Two NAWBO-SV Women Included in Top 100 Women of Influence
Randi Ross co-founded holding company Lucross Holdings in 2017 with the theory of using diversification for financial security. It’s a strategy that comes from a very personal place.
Elvie Barron Teodoro Founder and Executive Director, NorCal Academy of Performing Arts, A 501(c)(3) nonprofit Charitable Organization Executive Director, Owner of Evergreen Studio of Music & The Arts (ESOMA) President/CEO South County Homes, Inc.