My friend Edward Patrick Phelan, Jr. died today. It was an unlikely friendship by any measure. We were introduced by an exterminator Julio. Back in 2005, Julio pleaded with me to go with him to see an older man living in Beverly Hills who needed help. He explained he was called to his home to…
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A Secret About Sub-Contracting in the Supplier Diversity World No One Wants to Talk About
Have you ever heard the words “I’m just trying to be helpful and tell you how it REALLY works?” When a marketing agency person on the other end of the phone said these words to me during a recent conversation about a sub-contracting “opportunity”, I knew in my gut it was bunch of horsesh*t. As…
Where to Begin in Federal Contracting
My dear entrepreneurial friends, do you know the government is expanding opportunities for certified woman-owned businesses to get into federal contracting? This means if you have a product or service the government buys, there are opportunities to grow your business. And if you follow me you know that I often say “it takes just as…
How to Find New Customers Using Market Research
It’s the start of the New Year and within our company we’re getting ready for a strategic planning retreat to focus on future growth and what we need to do to get there. Key to that is revenue and profitable growth – either from current customers or new customers. As a business owner, it can…
Top Four Tips to Get Contract Opportunities
“Good luck is when preparedness meets opportunity.” I don’t know who coined this pearl but I’m a believer! It pretty much sums up recent opportunities I’ve had to meet corporate buyers wanting to do business with both woman-owned (WBE) and minority-owned (MBE) businesses. As a result of meeting with Supplier Diversity officers at conventions put…
Why It’s Important To Hire Slow and Fire Fast
Recently while speaking about lessons learned as an entrepreneur at the California Women’s Conference, those of us on the panel were asked about dealing with employees who aren’t working out. The discussion prior to the question was about us as women, and generally speaking, how we treat our employees like friends or family. And when…
3 Ways to Become a More Efficient Business Owner
Every entrepreneur has the same amount of time. So why do some appear to get more accomplished than others? I’ve asked several who have grown successful companies in a very short time and some of their ways include the following. 1. Use software -> today so much is available either via apps or software to…