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MarketingIdeaShop BRAINY Tidbits

The ezine with brainy ideas & resources
for marketers & small businesses


This newsletter brought to you each Tuesday by
Lois Carter Fay & The Marketing Idea Shop
http://www.marketingideashop.com
mailto:lcf@marketingideashop.com


Issue 33 - January 13, 2004
Reading time: 10 minutes

Circulation:  1372


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PLEASE FORWARD ~~~ WITHOUT CUTTING ~~~
to anyone who can use a few timely marketing
and creativity tips to improve their business.


Welcome to all our new subscribers!


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IN THIS ISSUE

1.   Success Secrets of Women Business Owners
2.   Quote of the Week
3.   101 Marketing Tips: What is Marketing?
4.   Resources for Entrepreneurs and Marketers
5.   A Little Marketing Fun
6.   Smell the Coffee


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1.   Success Secrets of Women Business Owners


When I first started in business more than 13 years ago, I
was an unemployed, recently divorced woman with no credit,
no money and no computer. Getting a computer was essential
to my business, but I needed such a little amount of money
that no bank wanted to work with me.

Of course, I didn't have a clue about banks. Not being a
business major or someone who was fascinated with the ins
and outs of money, I didn't realize that each bank had a
specialty or that banks can't make money on small loans. So
of course they don't want to lend small amounts of money,
and they certainly wouldn't want to work with a woman in my
situation.

Luckily, I did find a small, community bank that was
willing to lend me the money to get a computer, and just a
couple of years later I succeeded in buying additional
equipment and a company car.

Over the years, I focused on absorbing every bit of
knowledge available to me about running a business, using
business tools and software, sales and marketing, and the
special concerns and needs of women business owners.

In fact, I was a chapter president for Wisconsin Women
Entrepreneurs-Milwaukee (WWE), president of the statewide
WWE group, and later a two-term president for the National
Association of Women Business Owners-Southeastern Virginia
chapter (NAWBO). Through these organizations and my own
business I have helped hundreds of women create and grow
businesses.

Despite unbelievable odds, women are starting businesses
and succeeding with their ventures every year. The numbers
are really astronomical. According to the Center for
Women's Business Research (2003):

--> 10.1 million firms are at least 50% owned by a woman or
women.

--> Forty-six percent (46%), nearly half, of all businesses
are at least 50% owned by a woman or women.

--> Between 1997 and 2002, the number of privately-held
majority or 50% women-owned businesses grew by 11%, more
than 1.5 times the rate of all privately-held firms.

--> One in every 11 adult women owns a business.

--> More than 18 million workers are employed by a woman
business owner.

--> One in seven workers is employed by a woman-owned
business.

--> Women entrepreneurs generate nearly $2.3 trillion in
revenues to the U.S. economy.

--> The number of women-owned employer firms grew by 37%
between 1997 and 2002, four times the growth rate of all
employer firms.

--> One in five women-owned businesses is owned by a woman.


--> Eighty-six percent (86%) of women business owners use
the same products and services at home as they do in their
businesses. (A very powerful buying market, don't you
think?)

And yet, many women finance their businesses on their
credit cards because banks deny their requests for credit
or the women are too afraid to apply because they don't
know how to write a business plan.

I've found that one reason women are denied credit is that
they don't know how to talk to and market themselves to
bankers. Typically, when a man goes in to ask for a loan,
he projects confidence and is rather close-mouthed. The
banker asks, "How many contracts do you have and what are
your income projections?"

The man replies, "I have five contracts and projected
revenue this year of $2.5 million." Now, he may have only
three solid clients, plus one that he hopes to close that
afternoon, and one that is rather "iffy." When the banker
approves the loan subject to confirmation that he has five
solid contracts, the man scrambles to close those last two
deals, and he generally manages to close at least one. So
the banker is happy.

A woman, on the other hand, will reply, "I have three solid
contracts and I expect to close a big deal this afternoon.
Plus, there's a pretty good chance that another company
I've been courting will sign up before month's end. My
income is about $700,000." (Way too much detail!)

And the banker hears, "I have three clients and only
$700,000 in revenues."

Now, the woman will go out and close the first deal, as
well as the second in a very short time. And it's likely
that she has given the banker bottom-line (profit) figures
instead of revenues. So she may be in a much better
financial position than the man in the example above, but
she hasn't communicated her true financial position to the
bank, has she?

This is just one of the differences between women business
owners and men business owners. I'll be writing about many
other differences as I gather information and write my next
ebook, SUCCESS SECRETS OF WOMEN BUSINESS OWNERS, due to be
published in late spring. In the book, I will profile a
variety of women business owners, discussing their secrets
to success and providing excellent models for the rest of
us.

I've already received many, many nominations of women
business owners, but I'm still looking for more--especially
women who are in nontraditional businesses. If you know a
woman business owner who you think is fabulous, please
nominate her for inclusion in my ebook. I prefer women who
have been in business five years or longer. Send me an
email at
mailto:lcf@marketingideashop.com?subject=WBO_Nomination to
nominate her.

And watch for my announcement as it gets closer to
publishing time. I'll offer a pre-publishing deal on my
insightful ebook, SUCCESS SECRETS OF WOMEN BUSINESS
OWNERS.

In the meantime, if you need to put that business plan
together to get a loan, you'll also need a marketing plan.
Pick up a copy of my ebook, MARKETING PLAN ESSENTIALS:
ONLINE & OFF, to help you do that. This ebook has over 100
pages and 100 links to terrific resources. You can download
it and be reading it in minutes. Learn more about it here:


MarketingEssentials.htm

Or if the link is broken, here's a smaller one:
http://tinyurl.com/3gy2a


Or, BUY IT with one click:
http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/javanof.asp?MerchantID=41484&ProductID=1485157


Or if the link is broken, here's a smaller one:
http://tinyurl.com/3cegr


And remember, you can always call me at 800-203-8660 or
540-289-3840 to order offline.


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2.  Quote of the Week

"Brrrrrit!"
~~This means, "Come here now!" in cat language, in honor of
and as explained by Rajah, the cat.
(Trust me...you'll understand this later.)


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*~*~*~*~*Marketing Tool for You*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


"How to Be a Kick-Butt Publicity Hound!"

Joan Stewart and media magnet Tom Antion have really done
it this time. In this breakthrough ebook, they reveal all
the little-known secrets of generating millions of dollars
in free publicity that can propel you and your business to
Superstardom! Start 2004 out right. Buy it now.
Downloadable, so you can be reading it in minutes.

Read more about it or buy it here:
http://www.marketerschoice.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=81064&uwww.publicityhound.com/publicity/publicityhound.htm

Or if the above link is broken, use the little link:
http://tinyurl.com/394tr

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3.  101 Marketing Tips: #22 Marketing

Just What Is Marketing?
by Robert Grede


Marketers do not create needs. They create wants. Needs are
inherent in our society (food, clothing, shelter, love,
esteem, and so forth).

So how does a marketer do this? You need food, but I may
try to convince you to satisfy that need with a McDonald's
hamburger. You need clothing, but I persuade you to buy an
Armani suit. You want esteem? How about a BMW?

Marketing is the satisfaction of needs. Good marketing
turns those needs into wants, the fulfillment of those
needs with a desire for YOUR product.


©2003 by Robert Grede. Robert Grede is the author of NAKED
MARKETING - THE BARE ESSENTIALS (Prentice Hall) and an
acclaimed speaker.  To find out more:
http://www.thegredecompany.com or order his book through
Amazon. Look it up by name under "books":

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/marketingidea-20

or http://tinyurl.com/zj6y



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4.  Resources for Entrepreneurs and Marketers

--> Are you a woman business owner who wants to sell to the
federal government? Here's a gateway to help you do that:

http://www.womenbiz.gov/


--> The government is putting a great deal of effort into
women business owners. Whether you are a man or woman, you
will find tons of great information on this site:

http://www.women-21.gov/index2.asp


--> Here's another government-funded site for women
business owners. Check it out:

http://www.onlinewbc.gov/docs/market/


--> Do you make money on the Net? Or would you like to do
it? Here's a site that's focused on helping you improve
your "digital woman" business:

http://www.digital-women.com/


--> I might as well round out the WBO resources in this
issue. Here's another site with loads of free information
to help you run your business better:

http://www.womanowned.com/


--> You don't have to be a woman to take advantage of this
great opportunity. Tom Antion, one of the few out there
making a bundle on the Net and considered by many to be an
Internet guru, is doing it again. He's holding his famous
"ButtCamp." And you can go. What's a Butt Camp, you ask?
It's a one-day seminar where you learn to make money just
like he does, sitting at home on your rear end in front of
your computer. And he's only doing three live seminars in
the first quarter this year--in Virginia Beach, Va.,
Portland, Or., and St. Louis, Mo. Space is limited so sign
up now. Tom's seminars fill quickly. And the cool thing is,
graduates can attend any future ButtCamp for F*REE so you
can always keep up with the newest techniques and
strategies. I attended his three-day Internet Marketing
Retreat and it's the best investment I've ever made in my
business. And this program is MUCH less expensive, so go
for it!

Read more about the program here: 

http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/aftrack.asp?AFID=97748&u=antion.com/buttcamp.htm



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5.  A Little Marketing Fun

Top 10 Signs You Work in Marketing
from http://www.clean-funny.com

Self reflection lessons for marketers

10 - You lecture the neighborhood kids selling lemonade on
ways to improve their process.

9  - You get all excited when it's Saturday so you can wear
casual clothes to work.

8  - You refer to the tomatoes grown in your garden as
deliverables.

7  - You find you really need PowerPoint to explain what
you do for a living.

6  - You normally eat out of vending machines and at the
most expensive restaurant in town within the same week.

5  - You wear gray to work instead of navy blue to make a
bold fashion statement.

4  - You know the people at the airport and hotel better
than your next door neighbors.

3  - You ask your friends to "think out of the box" when
making Friday night plans.

2  - You think Einstein would have been more effective had
he put his ideas into a matrix.

and

1  - You think a "half-day" means leaving at 5 o'clock.



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6.  Smell the Coffee...

Boo! Sunday wasn't a very good day. First, my 11-year-old
cat died. No, not Abelgirk, the recently diagnosed diabetic
cat I told you about before. This one has been very healthy
all along, but lately Rajah was acting a little sluggish. I
thought she was finally starting to show her age. But then
she began having problems breathing. I took her to the vet,
but they couldn't find anything wrong. She was breathing
just fine when she was examined. A week or so later, she
seemed to have a pretty severe upper respiratory problem,
so I took her back to the vet last week Wednesday. It turns
out she had a large tumor in her lung. By late Sunday
morning she was gone. I was glad she didn't suffer long,
but it was a very sad day for us all.

Then, we rooted for the Pack and they lost in overtime.
Double bummer. :-(

But life goes on and there are always good things
happening. Last night, my niece Roni came in very excited
because she can now do a flip all by herself. She's
becoming quite the gymnast. (She doesn't get her agility
from me. :-)

I also had a wonderful time visiting my daughter in
Milwaukee. We went to a local bar and had a fish fry. It
was pretty nostalgic. Virginia doesn't have fish fries and
we don't have corner bars, so it was fun being a
Wisconsinite again.


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MORE PRODUCTS

I encourage you to visit the Marketing Idea Shop website
for lots more information. Plus, you'll find a lovely
picture of me there! Remember, we are constantly adding new
products to our store.

http://www.marketingideashop.com



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THE FINE PRINT

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Reprinted from "MarketingIdeaShop BRAINY Tidbits," a F~REE
ezine from Marketing Idea Shop and Lois Carter Fay
featuring brainy ideas and resources for marketers and
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Published by:
Lois Carter Fay, APR
Founder, Marketing Idea Shop
and President, Strategic Business Partners

Lois Carter Fay is a writing and marketing expert with a
bunch of gray hairs (no, not from worrying...it's just what
comes with experience). Strategic Business Partners is a
marketing consulting firm with ideas and strategies to grow
your business. Marketing Idea Shop is an online resource
for marketers and small businesses with lots of brainy
marketing ideas for you.

411 Rainier Road, Massanutten, VA  USA 22840
Voice 540.289.3840 or 800.203.8660
lcf@marketingideashop.com
http://www.marketingideashop.com

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