Last Sunday I read a great article in the New York Times about what NOT to say to someone who is ill and offered suggestions of helpful things to say instead. A week earlier, a friend sent me an article about what NOT to say to someone who is adopted. Both of these were fantastic articles and they made me think about the number one thing NOT to say to a business owner - ”I know exactly what you should do”.  There are a few variations of this statement (“I have the best idea for your business,” “you would be crazy not to,”or the “I have READ MORE »

When we asked Allison Hemming, founder of The Hired Guns, during an interview for our upcoming book what advice she had for other entrepreneurs she said to read The Corner Office column in the Sunday Business Section of The NY Times. It was something that I occasionally did. Since talking to her I make a concerted effort to do so more frequently.

A couple of weeks ago they featured Robin Domeniconi, an SVP at the Elle Group. She had lots of good things to say about trusting your gut, trusting your peers, and not being afraid to be vulnerable.

There was one READ MORE »

I recently heard a story from a business owner about negative feedback they received via email. This savvy business owner is also my friend Georgia Varidakis, an incredibly talented jewelry designer. Right after the holidays, she received a nasty email from a dissatisfied customer (and one who had purchased several pieces from her over the past year). She was not bothered by  the customer’s dissatisfaction, rather it was the harsh and insulting tone of the email that really got to her. When she was relaying the story, she said that she felt like this individual had no regard for the fact that there READ MORE »

Check out my guest post for SharpSkirts.com on the lessons I’ve learned about our copycat issue:

Last month I encountered a problem that I’m not able to resolve. Frustrated, I’ve wondered whether I should change the way that I approach business in order to avoid a duplicate bad experience.

Here’s the short version: a woman in Ireland stole our name, tagline, and web text for her very similar company. Her initial splash page and Facebook page made her business look like another branch of ours. This kind of copycatting is the exact reason why we have a trademark – to protect consumers from confusing imitations in the marketplace. Unfortunately, our READ MORE »

It was not the first time I have heard it, nor will it be the last. It’s what Adelaide and I have come to call “the bad business pick up line” and it goes something like this. I receive a call from a business owner who is interested in something we have to offer, namely space (a commodity in NYC) or our captive and dynamic community of women entrepreneurs (an even more precious commodity that we value immensely and protect dutifully). They start will flattery, “your space is amazing” or “the women I met were so cool.” And then they move onto READ MORE »

It’s been said that there is no such thing as a totally new idea. We agree.

We also believe in drawing inspiration from the marketplace, which we did this in the creation of In Good Company. We felt that women business owners needed a better alternative to working ad hoc at the local Starbucks, in various hotel lobbies, or between the shelves of the nearest Barnes & Noble. We were also inspired by some community-oriented businesses that we saw, such as Paragraph   – a space for writers on 14th Street. During our planning phases we contacted the owners of Paragraph, told them of our READ MORE »

I always find it so strange when I am giving someone a compliment and they do one of the following:

1. Try and talk me out of it

2. Argue with me

3. Tell me that “I am just saying that” and insinuating that I don’t really mean it

I consider myself to be very genuine, especially when it comes to giving compliments. But the usual response is always so shocking and I find myself repeatedly saying “just say thank you.”

There READ MORE »

There comes a time in many business relationships when it just isn’t working out anymore. Either you no longer want to work with your client or you sense that your client many need a different resource/service/etc. They say breaking is hard to do. Yes, it is uncomfortable and something that you would like to avoid altogether.

Enter email, texting, voicemail. It is amazing to me how people use and abuse these forms of communication especially when it comes to the break up. If you have had a relationship with a client, even a tenuous one, emailing, texting or leaving a voicemail to break READ MORE »

(photo courtesy of Julien Lanthier)

I say that I don’t like competition, at least in its traditional sense. I hate keeping score even when playing board games and I am not motivated by the thought of beating others out to win something. I hate watching championship games because I always feel so sad for the team that doesn’t win but that gets stuck in the midst of their opponent’s victory celebration. (Last fall I was the only person in Philadelphia who had sympathy pains for the Tampa Bay Rays when the Phillies won the World Series).

It is an READ MORE »

It is important for entrepreneurs to continually conduct research and established businesses (often in the same or similar industries) are a treasure trove of useful information and data. However, we unfortunately find that these potentially useful relationships and conversations are often fraught with awkwardness and even deception and frequently result in burned bridges and bruised egos. Aren’t these competitors? Why would they talk to me? Why should I talk to them?

Some professionals we know would never dream of engaging with another person in their industry by asking them for information or sharing ideas. And that is fine – everyone has to do READ MORE »