|
President's Corner
This year’s annual dinner is going to be nothing short
of FABULOUS! Our speaker is Mary
Cantando,
Author of “The Women’s Advantage.” It’s a
compilation of personal insights by women into what
it takes to start and manage a successful business.
We are hoping some of the women featured in the
book will attend the dinner and our goal is at least
100 guests. It’s a great opportunity to meet some
truly dynamic women, network and see and be seen.
Plan now to have booth or have your business
featured at the dinner by way of a donation.
A big undertaking like the annual dinner needs lots of
support from our membership. This is a call for all
volunteers. There are lots of committee possiblities,
and ways you can help, including : Sponsorship,
door prizes, expo booths, promotions, decorations,
programs, awards and registration. If you are able to
help in any way, even for a couple of hours, please
contact Lori Shephard, of Simply Scrumptious.
Lori’s e-mail address is shepardlm@earthlink.net.
Thanking you in advance!
And don’t forget that, beginning in August, our
meeting time changes to 6:00-8:00.
| Meeting Update |
 |
|
Open House and Golf Outing
No business this month because of our Open
House format. Though there was a deluge during the
event, some hardy souls played through it, and
others, spent time with old friends and some beer....
Those who attended had a wonderful meal prepared
by Lori Shepard, Simply Scrumptious.
Because there was no real topic this meeting, I am
taking the opportunity to include this business
challenge here, passed on by Stacia Pitcher.
The only reason a business does marketing is to
persuade people to buy their product or service. Its
that simple.
You need to persuade people that shopping
with you is a great idea. Make it simple and
straightforward.
Create a list of 15 reasons why people should
shop at your store or use your service.
Can't think of fifteen reasons-- ask your
employees, mother, customers, business neighbors,
friends. Write it down. A list in your head can't be
used! You've got to get the message out. If your
customers don't know why they should be shopping
with you, they just may go somewhere else.
Here are 5 different ways to use your list:
- Post it above your desk to keep you focused
on the important part of your business
- Include it in your training manual and teach it to
your employees
- Turn it into a bag stuffer and put one in every
bag that goes out of your store
- Put it on the back of your business cards
- Create a series of articles in your newsletter--
explain one reason each issue.
|
| Upcoming WBO Events |
|
|
Monthly Meeting, Tuesday, August 1,
2006
Jennifer Leach, Key Bank-- "Are You
Ready for That Next Step? Or Planning for the
Financing Needs of Growth"
Monthly Meeting, Tuesday, September 5,
2006
 Fall
Wine Tour, Sunday, October 8, 2006
Visit with friends and enjoy our van as we travel
to the local SE Michigan vineyards- Lone Oak, St.
Julian, Cherry Creek, and Sandhill Crane. Cost is
$25
per person. Come, enjoy the colors, company, and
taste the wines!
Annual Dinner Meeting and Expo,
October 24, 2006
|
| Opportunities |
|
|
Interested in looking your best?
Contours Express, the "better idea in Women's
Gyms", is providing a Special for Life if you
sign up July 1-31, 2006. Just $15 a month FOR LIFE
with a one time enrollment fee of $199 due at signing.
If you are interested, call Contours Express, 734-761-
8663.
The Michigan Brewers' Guild Summer Festival,
July
21-22, Riverside Park
in Ypsilanti, is seeking non-profit partners to
provide volunteer services in exchange for a financial
contribution.
If you represent a non-profit organization, this is
for you!
Services/volunteers needed for:
Festival Set-up and Tear-Down, Daily Clean-up,
Table Stewards, Beer Pourers. Training will be
provided where necessary. If you are interested in
exploring this opportunity, please contact Rene Greff
at rene@arborbrewing.com or at 480-2739.
Lake Forest Golf Club is one
of the Sponsors, and the venue, for the
SafeHouse
Center Fundraiser, September 15, 2006. The
funds from this event go to support the 24 hour
emergency response capability of SafeHouse.
For
additional Sponsorship opportunities, starting
at $250, get your name in print and more, while
supporting a very worthwhile Women's organization,
or to register for the event, contact Gilda Johnson of
Lake Forest at 734-994-8580 or SafeHouse at 734-
973-0242 or look it up on the web at
www.safehouse.org.
The Nancy Ray Award is given to support
entrepreneurial women who are starting their own
businesses. WBO has provided a downloadable
application for this award. So, if you qualify, please
apply! Criteria:
- You must be open for business
- You must have been in business for less than
two years
- You must be predominantely (51% or more) a
women owned business
- You must submit a Nancy Ray Founders Award
Application (found on the WBO site)
- You must submit a copy of your Business Plan
Your completed application, along with your business
plan, should be sent to Nancy Ray Founders Award,
WBO, PO Box 1936, Ann Arbor, MI 48106.
Deadline:
October 8, 2006.
The recipient of the award will receive one year's
membership in WBO of Southeastern Michigan. The
award will be presented at our Annual Dinner, this
year on Tuesday, October 24th.
You do not
have to be a current member to apply.
Think Local First has extended the deadline
through July 31, 2006 for businesses and individuals
to be listed in their new directory which includes
information, articles, and business listings to help
residents make the decision to support locally owned
businesses. Ads are available for $125-$250
For
membership and ad information, contact Lynn Liston,
734-761-8431 or lynn@townandcountry-errands.com
or go online at www.ThinkLocalFirst.net.
The Women Business Owners of Southeastern
Michigan is a member of the Ann Arbor and
Ypsilanti Chambers of Commerce. Our agreement
with them allows our members to participate in
meetings and events at member prices.
In forming the strategic alliances
with the Chambers, WBO's intent is to offer an
opportunity to our members to attend
Chamber events to determine the value and benefit
of the Chamber to them, and to provide the
opportunity for them to promote their business's
products and/or services without incurring the higher
expense of a full Chamber membership. We provide
an affordable method for our members to do their due
diligence about the value of Chamber membership
with minimal cost.
Individual WBO members do not
become members of
the Chamber, the organization is. Our members do
not participate in discount programs or member
owner/employee plans offered by the Chambers.
|
| Spread the Word – Lynn Liston, Town & Country Errands, LLC |
|
|
The Busy Woman’s Best Friend
Is this your typical summer weekend? Shop for
groceries; return library books; take dog for shots;
buy, wrap and mail gifts and cards; trim shrubs, plant
and weed flower beds; clean out the garage and
deck; prepare, cook and serve the food for a
backyard B-B-Q; clean up after the party. Wish you
had more time to just relax. Collapse into bed.
Or do you dream of this? Sleep late, enjoy a leisurely
breakfast among the beautiful planters on your
immaculate deck, do a little Yoga and meditation,
play with the dog in your neatly trimmed back yard,
read a book, enjoy some thank you calls from the
recipients of gifts you’ve sent, have a long soak and
take your time dressing while someone else sets up
your B-B-Q; greet your guests and spend your time
enjoying their company while someone else runs the
grill, serves and cleans up. Enjoy a nightcap and
head off to bed feeling smart, resourceful, organized
and most importantly- relaxed!
You now have a choice. Founded in 2005 by Lynn
Liston, Town and Country Errands is a Personal
Concierge Service focusing on individuals, families
and small businesses.
What is a Personal Concierge Service?
In its simplest terms, a personal concierge service is
a business that gets things done for you that you
don’t have time to do yourself. While you are at
work or attending to important personal activities,
your personal concierge is taking care of all the little
details of life and giving you back control of your own
time. You decide what you want the concierge to do
for you so that you can choose to spend your hours
doing what you value most, whether that is quality
time with the family, enjoying a night out, being a
guest at your own party, or just taking a vacation
knowing that your home is secure and your pets are
lovingly cared for. A personal concierge gives you
peace of mind and the time to enjoy it.
Like many baby-boomers, I have spent my life
re-inventing myself on a regular basis. From
teaching of Philosophy to college freshmen, running a
custom dressmaking business, coordinating social
event programs, writing and editing, and of course,
the long parallel career as a computer customer
support consultant, manager and analyst. I always
knew that one day I wanted to have the perfect
career utilizing all of these creative and business
skills. I founded Town and Country Errands in 2005,
when my opportunity to realize this dream arrived a
bit early.
What convinced me to open a personal service were
these statistics from a survey:
- 75% of women surveyed reported that they
are actively trying to improve the balance between
work and other elements in their lives.
--source: SHRM, January 2002
- Employees with more demanding jobs
experience:
- Greater level of stress
- Poorer coping skills
- Worse moods
- Less energy off the job
All of which jeopardized their personal and family well
being. --source: SHRM, January 2002
I’ve been in that 75% bracket and know how it feels
to have more important personal demands on my time
than one person can fulfill. In opening Town and
Country Errands, my goal is to help other working
families benefit from their exciting careers and lives
while minimizing the stress created by an over-loaded
schedule.
At Town and Country, we say, “it’s not the things
that we do for you, it’s what those things mean to
you that counts”. So, I hope that in living my
dream, I can help my clients fulfill their own.
|
| Business Challenge |
|
|
See this month's Meeting update
|
| New Members, Please welcome... |
|
|
No one new this month. Perhaps some of our
golfing visitors will be joining soon.
Note: If your listing is not in the WBO Member
Directory on our website, or there are changes to
the listing that need to be made,
please contact Hillary Handwerger or Lisa Hudy with
your newest information.
|
| 2006 Member Discounts |
|
|
TLCI, Website Design, Development,
Consulting, SEO, Marketing, 12% off, 662-0154
Healing in Motion, JB Myofascial
Release, 25% off,
913-4816
Helping Hands Computer Solutions, Computer
and Business Support, 10% off, 995-6875
Contours Express, Women's Fitness, $100
off, 761-8663
Cafe Marie of Ann Arbor, Breakfast/Lunch
Cafe, 20% off, 662-2272
Ann Arbor Diet Center, Personalized Weight
Loss Services, 10% off, 327-2800
University Bank, Banking/Insurance, 1 year
free membership, 741-5858
AFFILIATE OF
NAWBO
|
|
|
|
|
|
WBO members meet monthly, on the first Tuesday
of the month at Lake Forest Golf Course.
Please join us. Meetings will start at 6:00
beginning with our August event.
Find out more....
|
|
