Tina Gleisner

Women's Networking in NH - How Many Groups?

Here I sit trying to sort out 2 women's groups in NH that I'm not very familiar with, and honestly it's a struggle understanding them all. The good news is, we've got so many choices ... and they're all becoming much more active in helping their members showcase their businesses. The challenge though, is sorting out which ones to join (in addition to your professional and local business groups like the chamber) and even then, you still need to decide which meetings to attend.

I decided to start the list of groups, at least those I'm aware of. PLEASE everyone, help me complete the list with any groups you know and I've missed.

• 4 Walls 1 Roof, Bedford - 1st Thur, breakfast
• 4 Walls 1 Roof, Portsmouth - 3rd Wed, dinner
• Business & Professional Women (BPW), Nashua - 3rd Thur, lunch
  
  • Have heard there are BPW groups in Londonderry and Haverill, MA
• eWomen Network, Portsmouth - 3rd Thur, dinner
• New England Women's Network, Manchester area - 3rd Thur lunch (Pam Oliwa) 
• New Girls Network (Sherrill StGermain)
• Seacoast Women's Network (SWN), Portsmouth - 3rd Tues, dinner
• Southern NH Women's Business Network, various evenings & locations (Manchester area)
• Women's Business Center (WBC), based in Portsmouth, multiple meetings across southern NH
• Women Inspiring Women, maybe 2nd Thu, dinner
• Women's Rural Entrepreneurial Network (WREN), multiple meetings across northern NH

Would love to hear from everyone about the following:

• Would you like to create a shared Women in NH calendar where we could put all of our events to help with scheduling?
• Should we consider opening up our various business showcase events to members of other women's groups, as we're all trying to support women owned businesses?
• What other ideas do you have for collaborating across multiple womens groups in NH?

Everyone can simply add their comments below, and that way we can all participate in the conversation. Thanks everyone

Massachusetts Conference for Women

Called a friend earlier this month and learned she was exhibiting at the 2007 Massachusetts Conference for Women so in typical fashion, I volunteered to help so I could learn more about events and exhibiting. The conference brought together an amazing group of high powered women who have succeeded in a wide range of professions, as business owners and employees.

A great format to give you many different perspectives on any topic - each session was comprised of 4 panelists plus a facilitator. Here is the list of amazing women (mostly) speakers, many of whom are authors and/or published nationally.

My favorite speakers include:

• Rene Syler, anchor of CBS News' The Early Show and author of Good Enough Mother: The Perfectly Imperfect Book of Parenting
• Liz Lynch, founder of the Center for Networking Excellence and author of 102 Secrets to Smarter Networking
• Rosalyn Taylor O'Neale, entrepreneur and founder of Barnes, O'Neale & Associates. She's an internationally acclaimed keynote speaker, educator, and author of 7 Keys 2 Success
• Catherine Kaputa, founder of SelfBrand, a NYC based brand strategy firm and author of U R A BRAND! which I'm reading right now

 

Great Inspiration for Great People

For all of you committed to networking, you already know that in addition to group meetings ... the most effective relationships include 1-1 meetings to really get to know people. These meetings tend to be held in public places like restaurants. Today I had a great meeting! Deb Sarhanis, someone I first met at one of her very creative "ladies nights out" almost 2 years ago. We took a 2 hour walk at the beach and it was wonderful so not only can you meet people, you can get your exercise too!

Deb shared a great motivational talk with me, that I immediately wanted to share with you. Here it is and please feel free to share your thoughts (easy to add your "comments" any time) after reading.

It's All About Perseverance

P ... Positive people persevere
E ... Eliminate excuses
R ... Reinvent yourself
S ... Surround yourself with successful people
E ... Energy and enthusiasm
V ... Verbage is how you talk to people and share your Vision
E ... Exercise your mind and body
R ... Reactivate, rejuvenate ... think of all the "re" words that give you positive thoughts
E ... Enjoy the journey as it's your life, you're in control so why not do what you enjoy!

Make Time for Your Highest Priorities

Like many entrepreneurs, the list of things I'd like to do grows faster than the time available to make things happen. Four years into managing my business, I'm re-learning what it means to delegate, mentor and hold people accountable for their actions. I recall taking this step with my first line managers in "corporate" and implementation at My Handyman is different but I'm optimistic this will free up my time and provide more satisfaction for my employees, as they develop new skills.

Some tips I received from a friend and fellow member of the NH Real Estate Investors Association, Oscy Cadran, are proving helpful as I work to change my personal habits. Oscy sends out these great weekly notes to remind people he's there to help when you need a mortgage. He recently sent this article ... "The Weekly Review, A Strategy for Success" and it works!

Each week, as work winds down, make an appointment with yourself to assess how you've been doing. David Allen, the best-selling author of Getting Things Done, calls this a weekly review, which he believes is critical to achieving the results you desire.

The weekly review is more than a chance to step away from the distractions of the office, it's also a time to catch anything that might have otherwise slipped through the cracks. Schedule an uninterrupted block of time every week, and use it to evaluate and process your activities.

Allen suggests that you begin by collecting everything that belongs in your inbox. Gather all loose papers, scribbled notes - empty your mind by writing down all the things that you haven't dealt with yet. The next step is to process your inbox.

If an item doesn't require action, trash it, file it as reference material, or add it to your "someday maybe" list. If an item does require action, go ahead and complete it if it takes two minutes or less. If it requires more than 2 minutes, delegate it or defer it and create reminders so that it won't be occupying your thoughts. Review your deferred and someday-maybe action lists. Mark off all completed tasks. Integrate selected actions into your plans for the coming week. Schedule any next steps, such as meetings, in your calendar as needed.

Check your delegated tasks lists - are they getting done? Do you need to send out follow-up reminders? Go through your projects. Remember, any tasks that require more than one step qualify as projects. Assess their progress. Do you need to rethink the stages involved? Determine what the next actions are. Review last week's calendar. Are there follow-up activities you've neglected? Sort these the same way and decide on the next concrete action. Prepare for next week's calendar.

Now that you've regained control of your working environment, take a little time to be creative and bold. Shift from the micro to the macro. Brainstorm. Capture as many off-beat ideas as you can. When the ideas stop flowing, get up, stretch, and look at those wild musings. Are they worthwhile? Take them back to your inbox and determine if they are actionable or not. Don't forget to schedule your next weekly review!