Today was spent at the Reagan International Trade Center. A HUGE building here in DC.
Devora Zack, Networking for People who Hate Networking — great BINGO intro game for groups — very interactive.
Karen Mills, Administrator, US SBA spoke on the SBA’s initiatives to make money available for small businesses and especially women owned businesses — to help reinvigorate the economy. Did you know that the SBA has online small business contracting course especially for women? www.sba.gov — then look up small business classroom — and then find the class for women. Proposed rule changes will enlarge the categories of procurement that have 5% women goals from 5 to 83.
Virginia Littlejohn honored with Legacy Award — a past National President of NAWBO and early advocate for women in business in DC reminded us that it was 1986 when women businesses were beginning to be “recognized” as not just a hobby — and not until 1988 till women could get their own loan.
Dr. Terry Neese honored for her work with NAWBO in the early years and as founder of WIPP.
Claire Shipman (ABC news) and Katty Kay (BBC) coauthored Womenomics: Write your own rules for success. Book sounds great — has numbers and studies to show that: 1. Boards that have at least 3 women on them — the companies outperform other companies without women on their boards 2. Changes in the workplace that allow for balance improve productivity by 40% 3. Catalyst and Goldman Sachs and Guardian Life studies back up power of women in the workplace and women business owners.
Favorite quote(s) of the day:
- If you run a business and you are not involved with politics — then politics will run your business
- There is a special place in hell reserved for women who don’t help other women — Madeline Albright
NAWBO-Columbus member Shelley Menduni was the first speaker during the December luncheon. Shelley is the owner of Professional Imagery where she works with individuals and companies as an image consultant.
Shelley started off with this interesting fact: People form opinions and make decisions within the first 5 seconds of meeting you. So the question is, What kind of first impression do you make? What kind of impression do you want to make?
While there are three factors in developing your presence (visual, nonverbal, and vocal), the visual component makes the greatest impact. As you’d market a product or service, you must “market” yourself with a good brand.
She reiterated how important color was, saying that you should find colors that make you feel good about yourself. Wear a color you feel good about, and people are sure to notice!
Christina Getachew and Shelley Menduni during the fashion show.
Your personal style is also important. Finding clothing that is appropriate to your body shape and fits you well is essential. Wear clothes that flatter your body, not camoflauge it. She commented, “dress the body that you are today, not what you hope to be tommorrow.”
And lastly, she explained that a professional woman needs to know how to apply make-up properly. It should look soft, natural, and professional, and work with the color pallete that is appropriate for not only your makeup, but your clothes as well.
Shelley ended with a great quote: “The greatest discovery a person can make is that it is possible to alter one’s life by altering one’s attitude.”
After’s Shelley’s presentation, three more NAWBO members presented a fashion show of wonderful professional cloths. Christina Getachew of Substance, Donna Musilli of CaBI, and Sue Kantor of The Carlisle Collection provided an array of styles and explained how to match different colors, styles, etc.
