Women's Business Network

	Superior Visions Second Season Gets Underway
	Do you want to network your way to bigger sales in your business? Do you need to know how to access money for your business in today’s changing economy? If you said yes to either of these questions than you need to join us for this year’s Superior Visions Networking Series. Superior Visions is an educational and networking series for women in business and is a partnership between the Women’s Business Network at Northeast Entrepreneur Fund and the Small Business Development Center at UW-Superior. Our mission is to provide a forum for women business owners to come together to network and be supported by their peers. Our first season served over 85 women who were educated on marketing, sales skills, organizational skills, and business planning. Speakers are women business owners themselves that bring to the table their own expertise and experience. The events are held on the UW-Superior campus. *Setting your Priorities* will kick off this season with Jen Bertsch owner of Moxy Coaching. Priorities keep our decisions in line with what is important to us. Simple, right? Then why do we get stretched so thin? What are your priorities? How often do you review them? How do you use them to make decisions? Gather on November 10th to hear about, share, and discuss with professional coach Jen Bertsch how women in business can enjoy life at a deeper level when their priorities are clear and current. The morning starts with informal networking between 7:15 and 7:30. Breakfast is served at 7:30 and the program will begin at 7:45 ending at 8:30. Cost is $18.00. Please see our website www.entrepreneurfund.org for a complete listing of events. To register call our partners at UW-Superior at 715-394-8351 or go to www.uwsuper.edu/sbdc
	Look for Survey Soon
	Business owners, particularly women business owners, have unique needs when it comes to education, networking, and support. Here is your chance to tell us what you need. You will soon receive a survey via email. Please take a few moments to tell us what you think of our current services and what programming you would like to see in the future. We thank you in advance for your feedback.
	The Positive Image: How to Present a Positive Image for You and Your Business
	The Women’s Business Network at the Northeast Entrepreneur Fund and the Laurentian Chamber proudly present Mary Smestad, owner of Positive Solutions Services. Mary brings with her over 30 years experience in the service industry. Her goal is to assist individuals to cultivate a positive outlook of themselves and their positions by realizing their individual worth. During this informative hour Mary will share her tips on how to create professionalism in the workplace, present a positive image, and improve communication and more. Date: Thursday November 19^th 2009 - 12:00 Noon to 1:30p.m. Location: T Squared 302 Chestnut St., Virginia, MN. Cost: $15.00 Laurentian Chamber Members - $20.00 for Non-Members Lunch and Materials included. To reserve your seat contact our partners the Laurentian Chamber of Commerce at 218-741-2717 or email: admin@laurentianchamber.org. You can also register on the website: http://laurentianchamber.org. Click on the Events Calendar link then the November Professional Development link
	Recession 101: CHILL
	Driving up highway 53 towards Virginia there is a billboard that says, “Recession 101: Chill…panic feeds recession.” Business owners have a unique position when it comes to a struggling economy. No one can downsize you. No one can cut your hours. You can choose to take the opportunity to grow while others give up. Attitude plays a key role in anyone’s success. The following story reminds us that as business owners we have a choice. We can choose to participate in the recession or rally against it.
	The Gardener's Badge Story
	A landscape gardener ran a business that had been in the family for two or three generations. The staff was happy and customers loved to visit the store or to have the staff work on their gardens or make deliveries. For as long as anyone could remember the current owner and previous generations of owners were extremely positive happy people. Most folk assumed it was because they ran a successful business. In fact it was the other way around... A tradition in the business was that the owner always wore a big lapel badge, saying Business Is Great! The business was indeed generally great although it went through tough times like any other. What never changed however were the owner's attitude and the badge saying Business Is Great! Everyone who saw the badge for the first time invariably asked, "What's so great about business?" Sometimes people would also comment that their own business was miserable or even that they personally were miserable or stressed. Anyhow, the Business Is Great! badge always tended to start a conversation, which typically involved the owner talking about lots of positive aspects of business and work, for example: The pleasure of meeting and talking with different people every day The reward that comes from helping staff take on new challenges and experiences The fun and laughter in a relaxed and healthy work environment The fascination in the work itself, and in the other people's work and businesses The great feeling when you finish a job and do it to the best of your capabilities The new things you learn every day - even without looking to do so The thought that everyone in business is blessed - because there are many millions of people who would swap their own situation to have the same opportunities of doing a productive meaningful job, in a civilized well-fed country, where we have no realworries. And so the list went on. And no matter how miserable a person was they'd usually end up feeling a lot happier after just a couple of minutes listening to all this infectious enthusiasm. It is impossible to quantify or measure attitude like this, but to one extent or another it's probably a self-fulfilling prophecy. If asked about the badge in a quiet moment the business owner would confide: "The badge came first. The great business followed." Source: www.businessballs.com
	Featured resource
	One of the best decisions you can make is to learn how to be a good decision-maker. This requires commitment, understanding, and skill. It will be worth the effort. Are you a good decision maker? Learn the 10 steps to making good decisions for your business. http://www.sba.gov/smallbusinessplanner/manage/makedecisions/SERV_GOODDEC.html Good marketing is critical to the success of your business. Marketing has many dimensions, including market research, customer service, advertising, targeting, packaging, pricing, e-marketing, and others. Investing in a good marketing plan will generate excellent returns. Click on the link below to learn more than 100 tips to market your business. http://www.sba.gov/smallbusinessplanner/manage/marketandprice/SERV_100MIDEAS.html This information and more can be found at www.sba.gov. For similar topics select the SBA Small Business Planner.