Now is the time to get your business finances under control

As a business manager of an independent business, you put tremendous amounts of time and effort into running the company. But how do you make sure you are not just running in place?

Profit Mastery® will give you the insight to immediately make more and keep more of your hard-earned money. This hands-on workshop is designed to take the mystery out of the numbers and give you practical financial tools and perspectives to help make better business decisions and get better bank credit lines.

Profit Mastery® will allow you to become more Bank-Able and increase the odds of getting that line of credit you deserve to run your business.

This 16-hour workshop is presented by Steve LeFever and conducted by Village member, Howard Howell. It will be presented in 8 sessions, from 7-9 a.m., starting Tuesday, November 11 through Friday, November 14 and the following week Tuesday, November 18 through Friday, November 21.

Mention this blog posting when you register and receive a $100 special Village discount!

THIS FRIDAY ONLY: A Grande Sized Publici-Tea

Village Charter Member and Eastside PR maven Nancy Juetten is teaming with nationally-celebrated "Get Booked on Oprah" expert Susan Harrow to offer a Grande-sized Publici-Tea™ on October 17th. For more information and to register (hurry!) please visit Nancy's site.

Full Circle Moment

I called Nancy Juetten to register for her Grande Sized Publici-Tea™ on Friday. She referenced a conversation we'd had a few weeks ago, during which I suggested she offer her fantastic Publici-Tea™ tips and wisdom in bite-sized tidbits, as I often feel too busy to read much more than a paragraph at a time when her blog posts, to which I subscribe, hit my inbox. Additionally, that morning I had resolved to cease chatting on my cell phone while driving. In the absence of my usual commute gab-fest, I popped in an audio CD. I mentioned to Nancy that I would much prefer her savvy PR advice to Pride & Prejudice for the tenth time, and suggested she consider offering CDs with a 1/2 hour programming format so that people can listen to them on-the-go.

Today Nancy told me that she percolated those suggestions* into a new idea: Publici-Tea™-TO-GO!, a do-it-yourself (DIY) publicity gift bundle delivered in a hot pink tote box. It's filled with tea, chocolate, biscotti, tips, and tools to help recipients learn how to get known as an expert, pitch an article the media can’t resist, and use other resources to earn their own publicity.

Nancy was further inspired (by the hot pink box!) to donate 10% of the Publici-Tea™-TO-GO! proceeds to Northwest Hope & Healing. It was when she got to this part of the story that the hair on my forearms began to rise. Northwest Hope & Healing is an organization founded by one of my all-time favorite people, Christine Smith.

I met Christine several years ago at Seattle Athletic Club - the day her girlfriends organized a 5-years-in-remission celebration at the club. Christine, a mother of two young children at the time, was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 32. During a low-point in her struggle, she received a much-appreciated care package from a friend. That gift inspired her to create "Healing Baskets." She started Northwest Hope & Healing in 2000. It's mission is to provide financial assistance to patients in need, for non-medical support services such as child care, meal service, transportation, and emergency rent. In addition, their signature “Healing Baskets” filled with items such as a teddy bear that can be held during treatment, soothing hand lotion, herbal tea, hard candies, and handmade cards or notes of encouragement) are assembled and delivered, at no charge, to newly diagnosed breast cancer patients.

I was thrilled to hear Nancy's story, and of her decision to benefit Northwest Hope & Healing. Although it's be several years since I've seen Christine, I've thought of her often and wondered how I could help increase awareness of the amazing things she's doing to help women fighting cancer. Now, inadvertently and through Nancy's benevolent burst of creative enterprise, I have!

It's this kind of synergistic connection, which I witness so often at the Village, that makes me feel we're creating something very special here. For more information and Nancy's (much better) version of this story, click on this link.

Amy Centers
Marketing Director, The Village Bellevue

*I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the plethora of helpful tips, advice and suggestions I've gleaned from Nancy's generosity over the past six months. Her kindness has resulted in a nationally syndicated article in which The Village Bellevue was prominently featured, increased attendance at our net-parties, member referrals and many other good things.

New Must-Have Marketing Tool

Brian Crouch, of 123 Social Media, introduced me to an incredible find last week. The very talented Mark Smith, who just launched his new business, Splainers, creates original, attention-grabbing 3-4 minute marketing movies. What impressed me about Splainers was its commitment to the "Wow" factor, so important in our media-saturated world, as well as its compelling, story-driven creative approach. Spend a minute checking out the sample video on their home page and you'll see what I mean.

Mark Smith, founder of Splainers