The Invisible Mentor

Posts Tagged ‘Twitter’

This week nine cities around the world, including Toronto, are celebrating Social Media Week 2011. From the session Business 3.0 – Strategies and Tactics that can be leveraged to help small companies grow their business and brand here are five tips.

Panellists

Chris O’Neill: Country Director, Google Canada

Jonathan Lister: Country Manager, LinkedIn Canada

Carissa Reininger: Founder & President, Silver Lining

Sean Stanleigh: Editor, Your Business, Globe & Mail

1. What are your objectives? What do social and digital media mean to you? Create a social and digital media strategy then build relationships and share.
2. Play with the platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook to understand what they can do.
3. Find out who the influencers are and get them to help you spread your content.
4. Be clear about what you do, who you do it for, figure out the best way to do it then seek the best tool to help you do it more efficiently.
5. If you are selling consulting services and higher priced products you are in the relationship business and you have to take the online relationships you build, and build them further offline. That’s the only way you will make a sale.

How can you use this information? What do you have to add to the conversation? Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right hand side) by email or RSS Feed.

Related articles

• Social Media Week … or Weak? [Matt Hodkinson] (ecademy.com)
• Social Media Week kicks off today, find out how you can get involved (thenextweb.com)
• Social Media Week Seeks Innovation With Multi-City Approach (mediabistro.com)

Whether or not we want to admit it, each of us is a salesperson. We are constantly selling to our bosses, colleagues, spouses, children, family, firnds and so on. In a recent webinar, “The Top 11 Transforming Sales Trends for 2011,” Josiane Feigon, CEO, Telesmart Communications shared 11 transforming trends for this year.

11 Transforming Trends

Smart Trend #1: Customers are Mad as Hell!

Customers are very frustrated these days and are tired of being pushed or prodded. Because they have access to so much information, they are very knowledgeable and do their research. They want a new relationship, more control over purchasing decisions and want to learn in bite-sized pieces. This doesn’t spell the “death of the salesperson,” all it means is changing the way you interact with, and care for your customers.

Smart Trend #2: Nurture & Engage

Research says, “9 out of 10 buyers say that when they are ready to buy, they will come looking for you.”

The sales cycle is longer these days, so while waiting there are several things you can do to nurture and engage them, which include providing the following:

• Webinars
• White Papers
• How-to Guides
• e-Books
• Blog Posts
• Presentations on Slideshare
• Newsletters & e-Zines
• YouTube Videos
• Podcasts
• Case Studies/Success Stories
• Industry Research

Smart Trend #3: Social Surfing Beats Setting Appointments

Research says, “8 out of 10 IT decision makers say word of mouth is the most important source when making buying decisions.”

People make decisions based on what others say about you. Join the conversation on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and on industry related forums.

Smart Trend #4: Your Social Graph- New Job Security

Testimonials matter, so does peer reviews and customer case studies. Nowadays it’s about how many people like you. Create Google Alerts for you and your company so you know what’s being said about you. Ask your satisfied customers to write recommendations for you on LinkedIn and Yelp. Listen to conversations about you on Twitter using the @reply and search functionality. Make sure that you have a presence online.

Smart Trend #5: Write On

Writing is now a mandatory skill so write up! Comment on blog posts, join discussions in forums and in LinkedIn group discussions, have a tweet stream on Twitter and write your scripts for your YouTube videos. Text appointment confirmations since most people have mobile phones. So hone your writing skills, craft good subject lines so your emails get read.

Smart Trend #6: Hey Coach, Watch This!

The sales cycle is longer, the sales process is very different and customers are more enlightened and knowledgeable, so sales managers have to be more realistic in their expectations and they have to spend time motivating the sales force.

Smart Trend #7: The Hip and Hungry Boomer Reps

Because of the economy, there is a lot of available talent. Don’t overlook the more seasoned professionals for younger ones.

Smart Trend #8: Data Grows Up

There is so much information out there that people are overwhelmed and have started to data cleanse. How do people really use data? There are lots of sales intelligence so there is no reason to be uninformed about your customers. Create Google Alerts, join in the conversation on LinkedIn, use Hoover’s Online, and Insight Research Group.

Smart Trend #9: Call Activity Gets a Makeover

Stop counting the amount of calls made, instead spend some of that time creating an online presence and being part of a community of like-minded people on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Smart Trend #10: Going Mobile

You need to understand how to deliver information the new way. More people are using the iPad. It’s time to collaborate and include.

And today, more people are using QR (Quick Response) codes. According to Entrepreneur Daily Dose published by Entrepreneur Magazine, “You should think of a QR code as an easy-to-create, two-dimensional bar code that can be scanned by a smart phone to instantly and effortlessly share targeted content online with minimal exertion by the end user…. But the really cool thing about QR codes is that any business, start-up or entrepreneur can create them online themselves, and in many cases, can do this or free (see Kaywa and ZXing for more information).”

LinkedIn now allows you to use  PingTags, a service that lets you connect to your LinkedIn Profile and generate a QR code for people to scan, says Chris Brogan from CrossTech Ventures.

Smart Trend #11: Virtual Salespeople

Not everyone is in the same office. Many people work at home or in remote locations, so create virtual meetings throughout the sales cycle.

How can you use this information? What do you have to add to the conversation? Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right hand side) by email or RSS Feed.

Additional Reading

PINGTAGS Adds QR Code Access to Your LinkedIn Profile by Chris Brogran

Using QR Codes to Promote Your Business by Entrepreneur Daily Dose

Interviewee Name: Susan Murphy

Company Name: Jester Creative Inc.

Website: http://www.jestercreative.com

Avil Beckford: Tell me a little bit about yourself.

Susan Murphy: I live in Ottawa, Canada with my husband, 3 cats, and 1 dog. I’m an entrepreneur, a writer, and a teacher. But mostly, I’m a storyteller.

Avil Beckford: What’s a typical day like for you?

Susan Murphy: A few years ago, my business partner and I made the decision to get rid of our office and work remotely. Our team also works remotely, and it’s the best decision we ever made for the company.

As a result, I have a lot of flexibility in my days. Typically I start the day off with a big, warm mug of coffee and my laptop or iPad. I read through the morning headlines, check in on Twitter and Facebook and say good morning to some friends. I then usually compose a blog post or two, for my own personal blog at suzemuse.com, or for one of the other blogs I contribute to (Workshifting.com and Thoughtwrestling.com).

I try to schedule meetings for late morning or early afternoon, so I can work in lunch and errands midday without affecting the flow of what I call the “real work” in the morning and afternoon.

My “real work” time is focused on projects like client work, working on our television show, or prepping for classes and speaking engagements.

I teach at the local community college a couple of nights a week as well as some online courses, so my evenings are usually made up of either teaching commitments, events, and of course, some social time with family and friends, too.

Avil Beckford: How do you motivate yourself and stay motivated?

Susan Murphy: I love to work hard. I’m not afraid to work hard, and since I’ve been self employed (going on 8 years now), I’ve not had a difficult time staying motivated. When you are solely responsible for your own income, it pushes you to keep bringing in new opportunities. Lack of money is a big motivator!

But mostly, I try to surround myself with people and ideas that are inspiring. I watch successful people and study how they work. Then, I try to bring what I learn into my own environment. Watching other people succeed is a great motivator.

Avil Beckford: If you had to start over from scratch, knowing what you know now, what would you do differently?

Susan Murphy: I would have way more confidence. I’m a shy person by nature, and I tend to not give myself enough credit for my experience. I’ve been working in media and communications for 22 years, but sometimes I still feel like I’m a kid just starting out…like I have so much more to learn. And I realize that in many ways, I do.

However, if I had the chance to do it over, I would have done more to overcome my fears and shyness sooner, to make the most of the opportunities that have been presented to me.

Avil Beckford: What’s the most important business or other discovery you’ve made in the past year?

Susan Murphy: I think the thing that’s been the most apparent to me this year is the real power of what’s possible when you work and collaborate with other people.

I’ve learned both sides of collaboration too, because there are times when it works and times when it doesn’t. I’ve worked on some great blogging projects, and some awesome web and video projects this year, where the team was tight and there was a lot of trust, and the ideas and work just flowed. However, I’ve also had some situations this year where trust and respect went by the wayside, and collaborative efforts broke down.

When trust leaves a relationship of any kind, business, personal or both, it can be very damaging. Unfortunately, not every collaboration is going to work out, because not everyone has the same level of trust and integrity.

I guess the important discovery for me was to realize that it can, and will be both ways, and that we should focus on the positive collaborations, and know when to let things go if it’s not working out.

Avil Beckford: What’s one of the biggest advances in your industry over the past five years?

Susan Murphy: Well, hands down it has to be the emergence of the social Web. As I mentioned before, I’m a storyteller. I started my career by helping people to tell stories using video, by helping people produce TV shows that were important to them. I moved into the Web world in 1997, and continued to help people tell stories by building an online presence. But when I first got involved in the social part of the web – things like blogging, podcasting, and of course, Facebook and Twitter – the way people told stories began to evolve again.

I was like a sponge back in 2007 – absorbing everything I could about this new, social, online place. I contributed, I got to know people, I learned, and then, I started to really understand how to use these social tools to help people tell their stories.

I’m still a storyteller, at the root – but now, I have a whole lot of new storytelling tools at my disposal.

Avil Beckford: What are the three threats to your business, your success, and how are you handling them?

Susan Murphy: I try not to focus too much on threats, other than being aware that they are there. I prefer to move my business forward on the positive. If I feel threatened, I’m fearful, and I don’t think that’s a way to run a business.

But I suppose the biggest threat, if there is one, is the one that we all have – what if business dries up? What if the downturn in the economy hits hard? Being in a marketing-related field, we’re well aware that marketing budgets are often the first things to be cut. So, to counteract that, I think it’s necessary for companies to continue to be diverse – don’t just pigeon-hole yourself into one specialty. Use all of your skills and experience to find ways to help people.

That’s why, not only am I a TV producer, but I’m a consultant, a web site designer, a teacher, and a writer. I even do HR and recruiting work sometimes, because I have a background in that. I move my work in and out of where it needs to be for me to be always expanding, and growing.

Avil Beckford: What’s unique about the service that you provide?

Susan Murphy: Jester Creative prides itself on being a one-stop media production company. We build web sites of all sizes and complexity. We design print layouts. We write copy. We run marketing campaigns. We do training. We produce videos, and make television shows. We help our customers design and create and manage all of the media they make.

A lot of companies only provide one service or another – just web design, just video production, or just social media consulting. What sets us apart is that we do it all. We deliver fully integrated media campaigns on as small or as large a scale as our customers require.

Avil Beckford: What do you observe most people in your field doing badly that you think you do well?

Susan Murphy: I think by far, the thing I see done the most poorly is anything to do with social media. First of all, I believe that social media in and of itself is a buzzword, and because it’s a buzzword, there are lots of businesses out there who are trying to take advantage of the trendiness of the term. They are trying to build entire businesses around teaching people how to make an @ reply on Twitter, or create a page on Facebook, and charging way too much money for social media consulting services that are mostly bogus and not based on any real best practices or experience.

We don’t need to be teaching people how to get more followers on Twitter, in my opinion. We need to be teaching people how to become better communicators in this new era of communications.

People don’t need to be taught how to upload a video to YouTube. It’s one button – labelled, “Upload”. I think most people are smart enough to figure these things out. Given a bit of time and the self-motivation, anyone with a laptop and an Internet connection can figure out how to use Twitter. What they may need more help with is using it to communicate well.

Avil Beckford: Describe a major business or other challenge you had and how you resolved it. What kind of lessons did you learn in the process?

Susan Murphy: Back in 1994 I had the worst year of my life in terms of my health and personal life. In addition to the end of a significant relationship, I ended up quite sick more than once for 3 different, and fairly serious ailments. I spent much of the year either not working or only working part time. The worst of it was, I was only 24 years old.

Until that point, I’d always been very healthy. But I was working 100 hours a week in a very stressful environment. I had no distinction between my personal life, my friendships, and my work. In short, I was way out of balance, and at just 24 years of age, it had caught up to me. My body literally shut down, forcing me to stop suddenly, and take stock of where I was at and where I wanted to go.

It was a turning point for me, because I realized that everyone has a physical and emotional limit to what they can do.

I spent a good chunk of time over the next year or so healing physically and emotionally, and I came out on the other end of the experience a much stronger person with a sense of the direction I wanted to take with my life.

Though I would never wish sickness or heartbreak on anyone, these are often the times in our lives when we learn the most.

Avil Beckford: Tell me about your big break and who gave you.

Susan Murphy: I was just out of college, 19 years old, and ready to take on the world. Only the world was not quite ready to take me on yet, apparently. Two years of broadcasting school, and there was not a job in sight. It didn’t help that the same year I graduated, both the CBC and CTV had just gone through rounds of layoffs. The future didn’t look so bright in my industry.

I discovered that the local community cable channel was looking for volunteers to work on productions, so I signed up. I quickly realized that this was a great way to get experience and to meet new people. Since I didn’t have a job, and I was still living with my parents at the time, I dedicated 40-60 hours per week to working on productions. One day, I was giving one of the staff producers a ride home, and he asked me if I was aware of a job placement program being run by the provincial government, where I could work at the station 40 hours a week for 4 months with pay. I signed on immediately and was accepted to the program. I was immediately taken under my boss Andre’s wing. He taught me everything he could about producing shows.

About 1 month into my placement, Andre got a promotion to Executive Producer. Suddenly, he had far less time to devote to producing his shows. He figured, since I was already basically doing the job, that I might as well step in and run the shows. He gave me a shot, trusted me with 7 programs that meant a lot to him, and set me off and running. I did so well that 3 months later, when my placement ended, I was hired full time. Andre was the person who believed in me from the beginning. To this day, 21 years later, he and I are still very good friends. I am forever grateful for his support and friendship.

It just goes to show that one must seek out and grab onto opportunities when they come their way. Even if the opportunity doesn’t mean a paying job at first, if it’s in line with your path, then it’s vital to grab hold. You never know where the path will take you.

Avil Beckford: Describe one of your biggest failures. What lessons did you learn, and how did it contribute to a greater success?

Susan Murphy: I once made the mistake of trusting the wrong person too much. Although things were fine for the first little while, I started to feel suspicious that the person was not being truthful. Instead of terminating things when the red flags went up, I ignored the warning signs and continued. Ultimately, the bottom fell out of the relationship, all trust was gone, and it wound up being a very expensive mistake, both financially and emotionally.

I’ve learned that it’s one thing to give people the benefit of the doubt, but it’s another entirely to throw caution to the wind and blindly trust, especially when entering a business relationship with someone that you don’t have a history with. Trust and respect are to be earned, and take time to build. If you see red flags, heed the warnings and get to the bottom of it. Even if it means saying “no”, you’ll be better off in the end.

Avil Beckford: What has been your biggest disappointment in your life – and what are you doing to prevent its reoccurrence?

Susan Murphy: To be honest, I spend so little time focusing on disappointment that I can’t answer this question. Everyone makes mistakes, and I’ve made several. I’ve had hard times like everyone else, but I can’t look at things with regret and disappointment, because then I could never move forward. My advice is, when bad things happen, work as diligently as possible to pick up the pieces and carry on. Harbour no regrets. Forget about being disappointed. Take the lesson and move forward.

Avil Beckford: What’s one of the toughest decisions you’ve had to make and how did it impact your life?

Susan Murphy: The toughest decision for me was finally quitting my full time job to start my business. Jumping off the cliff into the unknown was very frightening. Many things had to be put on hold financially. My husband had to sacrifice a lot and take on a second job.

There were many times when I wanted to give up and go back to my old life. There were lots of sleepless nights. But eventually things started to turn around, and now, 7 years in, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I’m grateful to my husband, my family, and my friends for sticking it out with me on this journey.

Avil Beckford: What are three events that helped to shape your life?

Susan Murphy: Getting my first job, marrying my husband, and starting my business.

Avil Beckford: What’s an accomplishment that you are proudest of?

Susan Murphy: I am a very shy person by nature. I’m most proud of the ability I’ve gained to stand up in front of people and teach and speak. It’s something I would have never dreamed of doing 20 years ago.

Avil Beckford: How did mentors influence your life?

Susan Murphy: Through all the iterations of my career, mentors have been there. I watch, listen, and learn from them on a regular basis. And now, with the Internet, our mentors can be anywhere. I have friends that I only know online who influence me and teach me things on a daily basis. It’s a remarkable thing.

Avil Beckford: What’s one core message you received from your mentors?

Susan Murphy: Above all else, be yourself.

Avil Beckford: An invisible mentor is a unique leader you can learn things from by observing them from afar, in the capacity of an Invisible Mentor, what is one piece of advice that you would give to readers?

Susan Murphy: Don’t spend too much time getting caught up in the method and the process. Spend the most time on using your natural talents and abilities to create great things.

How can you use this information? What do you have to add to the conversation? Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right hand side) by email or RSS Feed.

Like all the other Skinny On books, I received The Skinny on Networking: Maximizing the Power of Numbers by Jim Randel to review. The objective of The Skinny On series of books is to provide concentrated learning by extensively researching a topic, distilling the salient facts, and presenting them in a “progression of drawings, dialogue and text intended to convey information in a concise fashion. The book which can be read in less than two hours is presented in slides, two to a page, and 267 of them.

Networking is an important topic because success, happiness and personal fulfillment depend on the quality of your relationships. I consider The Skinny On Networking a good introduction to networking. I do no think that it’s possible to learn everything about networking, even the most important aspects from one book. Jim Randel highlighted some important aspects of networking that many would not think about. I have included some of these important points.

According to Randel, The Skinny on Networking: Maximizing the Power of Numbers is “about creating and maintaining your network.” And his definition for networking is “developing and utilizing relationships with other people…it is any activity that helps you to develop relationships with others…and is about increasing depth and breadth as a person…Successful networking entails identifying and asking your WHO to help you meet your WHAT.” The author includes 10 activities to clarify and support what he means by networking.

1. Staying in touch with people you have already met
2. Meeting new people
3. Doing research to find the person(s) who can assist you
4. Using online resources to identify someone you know who knows someone you want to meet
5. Increasing social capital
6. Entertaining and helping others – creating a desire for reciprocity
7. Building positive word of mouth
8. Marketing your expertise
9. Joining groups that foster natural connections
10. Asking for introductions and referrals

To achieve astounding success in life requires the use of your human capital (knowledge, skills, expertise and experience) as well as your social capital (the resources you have access to through your personal and professional networks). You create social capital by establishing, building and nurturing relationships. It’s important to invest in the relationship by giving something of value to the person before you start to make withdrawals by making requests. The longer you have known someone and the more time you have spent investing in the relationship, the more social capital you have created with them. Building social capital is a lifelong activity, and it’s also important to build social capital before you need it. You can lose social capital by asking for too much too soon.

Steps to Successful Networking

1. Tap into family, friends and acquaintances because they have connections that you are not aware of
2. Always be specific about what you want so that the person knows exactly what is required of them, and always give them an out just in case they may be uncomfortable filling your request
3. When making a request, make it clear that you are willing to reciprocate when they require your assistance
4. Use all tools available to you, both offline and online (LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook)
5. Successful and savvy networking is very hard so make it an ongoing process
6. If you are shy or an introvert, use a connector to help you connect to people you’d like to meet
7. Create diverse networks of people, some who are very different from you – step outside your comfort zone
8. When you meet someone, put the spotlight on them, most people like to talk about themselves so give them the opportunity, and listen to what they are saying
9. Within 24 hours of meeting someone who you find interesting, make notes about them: how you met her, what she does, what you learned about her during the conversation
10. Keep in contact with your networks

Most of us, including myself know about popular social networks like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, but Randel includes four others that I have never heard of. I recommend that you read The Skinny on Networking: Maximizing the Power of Numbers, but keep in mind that it’s a very good introduction so you will not learn everything about networking. Despite the size of the book, you will pick up a few tips like I did. As usual, Jim Randel includes the books he referenced, as well as some quotes from them. The inclusion of books referenced throughout the Skinny On series of books makes it easy to decide which other books to read on the subject matter.

Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right side) by email or RSS Feed.

Note: The copy of The Skinny on Networking that I received is a pre-publication copy.

Additional Resources to Assist With Online Networking

Make Your LinkedIn Profile Work for You

Use LinkedIn Effectively

Write Your LinkedIn Profile for the Future

If you are a blogger, Top 10 Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Blog Using LinkedIn

50 Power Twitter Tips

My Best Twitter Advice

How to Prospect Using Combined Power of LinkedIn and Twitter

When I think of Diane Danielson, Brave, Bold and Pioneer come to mind. I always learn from each interview that I conduct, but there were many lessons in this one and I’m sure that you’ll agree. Some important lessons are: make sure that your career suits your personality, separate your emotions from the facts, figure out your passion and what you are good at and be at the forefront. And be flexible because your life doesn’t always turn out the way you expect, but change often brings lovely presents so be open.

Tell me a little bit about yourself.

I am the founder of the Downtown Women’s Club, which is a women’s business network and career website. I’m also Vice President of Business Development for a social media consulting firm called Convengine. I try to combine the two because a lot of what I do at the Downtown Women’s Club is the social media strategy and a lot of our online networking program. I’m also recently remarried, I have four kids and a huge dog and I live outside the Boston area.

What’s a typical day like for you?

They differ from day-to-day but some days I spend the entire day giving several speeches, mostly talking about social media, networking and the different skills you can learn. And other days I’m doing a lot of writing online and doing some strategy consulting for clients. It does vary from day-to-day but it’s a nice mix and I like the idea that there are different days for different things.

How do you motivate yourself and stay motivated?

To make sure that I stay motivated, every day I mix in some fun projects and fun for me is creative writing, so if I’m having a big accounting and bookkeeping day, because I’m a small business, the Downtown Women’s Club is run by a couple of employees and we all do a little of everything but I always make some time for something that’s really motivating like writing, or speaking and the speaking really does motivate me when I go out there and actually get to meet people.

If you had to start over from scratch, knowing what you know now, what would you do differently?

I would be better at delegating things and I would have spent my money more effectively with the Downtown Women’s Club when I was building the company. There was a lot of stuff that I couldn’t control, we built technology that was later cheaper and that’s usually typical with technology, but I also spent some money in areas where I probably could have figured out cheaper alternatives. I did some traditional marketing things that didn’t have as much bang for the buck. I think it’s just something you learn from experience. Anyone who starts a business knows that you are going to make these mistakes along the way and mine weren’t costly but those are stuff that I would definitely do differently.

What’s the most important business (or other) discovery you’ve made in the past year?

I’ve gotten more cognizant that people are afraid of change, and a lot of what I do in social media and forcing women to network and learn technology, is a big change, and they are going through a scary time right now and my important discovery is that their reluctance, it’s not that they are dismissing it, there is this fear of change and I have had to figure out how to help them through it, and I think for me that is a big discovery because I used to walk around thinking why people don’t get this.

What’s one of the biggest advances in your industry over the past five years?

Clearly it’s social media and social networking, it’s just huge – facebook, Twitter. People still discount how big it is but it’s not going away and it’s something that has changed every business model. I don’t think that anyone can name a business model that social media and social networking doesn’t affect in some manner.

What are the three threats to your business, your success, and how are you handling them?

1. The economy in general. We ask people to join but they are wondering if they should spend the $49 here, or is that four cups of coffee at Starbucks, or whatever it is. People are questioning where to spend their money, but on the flip side people are spending their money more wisely. They may see that investing in their career is a good thing. I’m trying to explain how this has long-term dividends.
2. Our competition is always a threat in some manner, and I try not to see it as a threat because everyone does it a little differently, they have their own style, but that’s always a threat.
3. The other thing is being able to scale appropriately because sometimes we get caught when we do not have enough staff, we need to staff up more yet we do not want to bring on more people until we can be sure that the growth is continuous. It’s a big guessing game, and trying to make the big decisions and being aware of what’s out there and how we try to handle it is being open-minded about what can affect us.

What’s unique about the service that you provide?

At the Downtown Women’s Club we were always at the forefront of social media and social networking. We were the only club that was on email 10 years ago when we were founded so we always had this little edge and we’ve always attracted people who are interested in pushing into new areas. That’s very unique. And on my social media consulting side I’ve partnered with Lena West who is phenomenal and is a social media guru, and what we offer that’s unique, and I think some of it for me for my clients is my marketing background. I’m not coming from a technology standpoint, I am coming to social media from marketing and I understand the technology thoroughly, so that’s a unique mix.

What do you observe most people in your field doing badly that you think you do well?

I think that I’m a little less ego driven than others. I don’t want the Downtown Women’s Club to be Diane Danielson’s club even though I founded it. I try to really empower local directors and try not to have my face be the face. We went through a phase where I was the face because that’s what everyone was doing and I decided that that doesn’t work.  I try to step back out of it. I think that that’s something a little different and it empowers other people to make the Downtown Women’s Club their own. When we start a local chapter the local director is the person who is in charge and makes the decisions.

Describe a major business (or other) challenge you had and how you resolved it.

One of the challenges we had two years ago is that we used to get a lot of website traffic from LinkedIn because we were listed as one of the first LinkedIn Groups and they actually posted a link to Downtown Women’s Club page from their group’s page. So we were always on the front page so if someone went to LinkedIn Groups they would see the Downtown Women’s Club so we had huge traffic, and then two years ago they corrected that, as they should and made it more of a directory so it was always different, and all of a sudden our website traffic went down. I was ready to shut down the shop. I was ready to close the Downtown Women’s Club, I mean, oh my God we’re not getting that website traffic. But what I did, I went and looked at the numbers and tried not to be so upset about it, and sat down and said before we shut down, let’s take a look at what’s going on here. And what I found out was that there was another site that I didn’t know very well, and it was facebook that was sending us a trickle of traffic, we didn’t put any effort there but it was converting into paid members at a higher rate than any other place, so I took that little bright spot and said let’s grow that bright spot and see if we can make it up, and within four months we were back to where we were with the LinkedIn traffic. We found that we got a lot of traffic from LinkedIn but it wasn’t converting to paid members. That was a big challenge.

What lessons did you learn in the process?

1. Before you throw in the towel, separate your emotions and focus on the facts. If 100 people are coming from facebook and 50 are joining as paid members, that’s more important than having 5,000 people of which 50 converted to paid members.
2. Work in small increments and say if things do not improve in three months then we’re done

Tell me about your big break and who gave you.

I don’t know if it was necessarily a big break, there are no overnight successes, but there have been lots of people throughout my career, even when I was in a bad situation as an attorney early on, or in real estate companies, there always seemed to be people who I call my guardian angels. They just showed up out of nowhere and gave me some advice and helped me through a bad position. I can think of a single mom who helped me out when I first became a single mom, I haven’t seen her in 10 years but she came into my life when I needed her and then she moved on. I have had people take me aside and say, “Here’s what you need to do with your career.” I’ve had these wonderful mentors, men and women that for some reason I got their attention without me even noticeably trying. I think by being outspoken people came along and picked me out and said “here.” So there have been many breaks and thanks for people who look to help younger people.

Describe one of your biggest failures. What lessons did you learn, and how did it contribute to a greater success?

I was not a good attorney, but I was in a very tough place, and when my boss left for another firm he left me holding the bag and so I got fired. I thought that my life was over. I actually remember thinking that I was going to step in front of a bus or something because I couldn’t believe that I just got fired. I thought that I was such a good employee and some of it was my fault because I was not the best attorney. I mean I was better than average but it also didn’t fit my personality and I really thought that my life was over. I’d gone to law school and I was in debt for law school. I looked around and felt sorry for myself and I interviewed with other law firms and it dawned on me that I didn’t want to work in another law firm, so I started looking around for jobs that were in marketing and sales and I found one and had a great run. I had fun being VP of marketing in the commercial real estate industry. It was one of those things where I felt it was the most horrible point in my life and I ended up finding a career that was wonderful.

What has been your biggest disappointment in your life – and what are you doing to prevent its reoccurrence?

Not having more children when my son was younger. Of course now I have three step-kids who are wonderful and we have a wonderful house, but I did feel that I missed out on doing the big family thing, because it was just me and my son for eight years.

What’s one of the toughest decisions you’ve had to make and how did it impact your life?

Getting divorced while pregnant and it impacted my life because I embarked on being a single mom for eight years. I remarried when he was eight years. That was a tough decision because to walk away from a marriage that wasn’t working, and clearly neither of us wanted it to work anymore. That was a tough decision and I’m not sure that I had a choice. Even to this day I still refer to myself as a single mom and I think that I’ll always identify with single moms even though I’m remarried and in a wonderful family situation. I’ve developed a strong community with some of the best people that I’ve met.

What are three events that helped to shape your life?

1. Getting fired from being a lawyer. I have many friends who say they were glad that I worked at such a tough law firm because I would not have done all the things I’ve done for women in business had that not happened.
2. Becoming a single mom. It forced me to be a better mom and I suppose had I been married I would have had a nanny and all that other stuff but by making that choice because my son was in a weird situation, I would have to be the all round parent. That changed my view on a lot of things and I discovered that I was a pretty good parent, hopefully my son will agree with me. It also forced me to seek out flexible employment situations and make choices that were different than I otherwise would have made. I always thought that I would have been a big executive and head of a major company. Now I’m running a small business because it allows me to be entirely flexible for my son.
3. Discovering social media. I’m not good working at home alone because I like interacting with people and social media made it less lonely. It kept me going, it provided me with a skill set that was at the cutting edge, I started blogging back in 2003 for the Boston Globe. And now social media affects everything so it means that I was able to join my friend’s consulting business. For me it ensures employment going forward and it ensures me helping people going forward.

What’s an accomplishment that you are proudest of?

The Downtown Women’s Club. The fact that we have 12,000 women involved in it and finding help and value in it, and doing any bit we can do to help women to get ahead. On some days it’s really tough and I wonder why I do this but I’m still really proud that it exists.

What can you learn from Diane’s experiences? Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right side) by email or RSS Feed. I created a Mini Learning Toolkit and you can grab a copy by clicking here.

About Diane Danielson

Diane K. Danielson is the founder and chief social media strategist for the Downtown Women’s Club, a professional network and career website.  She is the author of The Downtown Women’s Club Beginners Guide to Facebook ebook (2009), the co-author of The Savvy Gal’s Guide to Online Networking (or What Would Jane Austen Do?) (2007) and Table Talk: The Savvy Gal’s Alternative to Networking (2003).  Diane blogs for www.womensDISH.com, and Entrepreneur magazine and serves as a workshop leader and social media coach for companies, non-profits and individuals.

She is a former vice president of business development for Spaulding & Slye Colliers, a vice president of marketing for Meredith & Grew, Inc./ONCOR International, and an environmental attorney.   Diane is a graduate of Colgate University and Boston College Law School.