I am a man from china, and i represent the largest manufa...

I am a man from china, and i represent the largest manufacturer of cast steel shot, ect.you are welcomed to our web:www.kai-tai.com.cn. fortunately i visit your blog, and here could you kindly introduce me some way to find the list of your country's companys. And you could help us to find an agent of your area. ths for your kindly reading my mail. best regards , yours faithfully, george, tel:+86-543-4262157 ...

I am all too familiar with this fenomena. I operate a vid...

I am all too familiar with this fenomena. I operate a video production company, and in addition to producing promotionals for businesses and new product launches, we also routinely videotape seminars and company events. Very often, people who I know just slightly, will invite me to an event, and then "by-the-way" will ask if I can bring my videocamea and record the event free of charge for them! I have never learned how to decline without feeling bad about it.

I can't make it to this event, but please remember me whe...

I can't make it to this event, but please remember me when you have an womens event in New York.I just started my business and it's very hard for me to network with other women in New York City.

It is one thing to be made homeless by and act of God lik...

It is one thing to be made homeless by and act of God like Katrina, but quite another to be made homeless by unconscionable greed. If someone told you that Texas was an ADR state and that you have to go to the TRCC for RCLA and SIRP because you know longer have the DTPA and you will end up in AAA. Would you have any idea what they mean? This is the acronym abyss; consumers find themselves? if they are the victim of bad builders. ADR, Alternative Resolution state? you no longer have seventh Amendment rights. TRCC Texas Residential Construction Commission?New agency, that so far has only meant delays and regulated the consumer retroactively, but not the builder. RCLA Residential Construction Liability Act or Requires Considerable Legal Assistance. SIRP State Inspection Resolution Process?you must write your check to file a complaint. ($350-$650) DTPA Deceptive Trade Practices Act?an act that protected homebuyers from deceptive trade practices, which was nullified by the passage of TRCC AAA American Arbitration Association, A demented collection agency that works at the behest of the builder. A process that is not cheaper than the court is not fair and is not equal. Without bad builders the repeat clients like my builder, Stature Construction Company, AAA a non-profit agency, would not post incomes in access of 83 million a year. Our Builder Stature Construction/Tremont Homes: Most recently Mayor White, at the agenda meeting in January said the city would not enter into any more contracts with anyone associated with the companies presented. These companies were led by, or in some way affiliated with Jorge Casimiro, Thomas Thibodeau and Armad Al Banna. . z Councilwoman Ada Edwards held up a file on these different companies, last year and again at the January agenda meeting, it contained complaints she had received on Casimiro and his associates. She stated these were complaints about this unscrupulous builder in her district. Mr. Norman Chapa, was an agent on many of these companies and a director. He is presently awaiting sentencing on federal charges, which he pleaded guilty. Mr.Chapa was head of the warranty division for the developers of Hydepark my subdivision, and others. Mother Jones, national magazine did a seven page expose on Casimiro and friends. They also spotlighted Mr. Casimiro?s lawyer, William Samuel Chesney, the third, esquire, not answering truthfully. People Magazine gave Casimiro the honor of being listed under "Contractors from Hell." Casimiro has outstanding judgments filed with the court that remain unpaid, see Barbara Luke Jones v. Stature. There are numerous liens and subcontractors that remain unpaid. According to court records, in civil court there have been over 50 cases involving Casimiro and cohorts. Mr. Casimiro is also involved in a lawsuit with five of my neighbors, who do not have arbitration clauses. Casimiro is also being sued by Great American LLoyds Insurance Company v Stature.(#2003-16820.) Speaking of our subdivision, Hydepark Jorge Casimiro in sworn testimony states: "project damage includes roofing systems...resulting in water damage, penetration to interior of the units, the interior units damage includes sheet rock, insulation, wall studding, electrical wiring, and boxes, plumbing, A/C duck work, flooring... both wood and carpet and interior painting". This man is on the Harris County Housing Authority and still allowed to build in Houston. Mr. Casimiro further states he was aware of this damage in 2001 and sold us our home in 2002. Is this not fraud? Casimiro is suing the roofer and also many of the subcontractors. Stature v Aztec Roofing. I find it particularly upsetting that they refer to my house, # 34 in their case? to point out major defects, and use as exhibits, my letters begging them for 29 months to fix my house. Casimiro and cohorts use arbitration to hide from responsibility. We are being denied our seventh amendment rights. We have no access to a trial by jury. Casimiro?s Lawyers have unbelievable experience due to the numerous cases they have had to defend. Judge Kent Sullivan has just compelled us back into arbitration, after our case was dismissed by the arbitrator. We were dragged though the AAA process for eight months and were dismissed. How many times can you be taken to AAA against your will? Stature Consturction/ Casimiro filed on us. Mr. Casimiro uses the American Arbitration Association to silence victims. See Stature v Keith Kidderman. There were three other cases involving Casimiro and Chesney going at the same time. Chesney did not like the way an arbitrator, Marcy Higbee was ruling during one case, so he took it back to court to get his way. Stature?s lawyers have the option of going back and forth from court to AAA, but we have no options. We continue to be punished, for not buying and shutting up. (There has been a doubling of Home ...

When I started Virtualtech Web Site Design and Promotion ...

When I started Virtualtech Web Site Design and Promotion in 1997, I had little to no experience or knowledge of the Internet and websites. I just thought it was a business I could get into. My first sales call was to a business associated I had worked with on a number of Chamber of Commerce functions. I met with Sean of Balloons Over Letchworth and convinced him he needed a website. Well, he agreed and wrote me a deposit check on the spot. I was so excited, until I got back to my office and realized I now had to create a website. I had purchased a copy of FrontPage, but had not learned to really use it yet. Well, talk about a crash course. I taught myself what I needed to know as I went and designed a website that my client was pleased with. Thus I launched my first website. That was almost ten years ago and Balloons Over Letchworth is still a client today. They are one of over 200 clients, located in 23 states. Not bad for someone who still does not like computers.

Funny thing -- on minding your own business -- that was o...

Funny thing -- on minding your own business -- that was one of the names I had first came up with. Then, I thought it was a bit too cavelier for my HR B2B consulting business. My first official long-term client has been my greatest reward. They discovered me through an article written in a business section about my business, in a local paper. I was so absolutely furious over the caliber of this article -- and the misrepresentation of my business and pertinent information -- that I was ready to SUE! A personal crisis took over my attention that same week (terminal illness of a pet) and away from the paper. Ironically -- that is how my longest term client found me, and kept me, and has since evolved into even more referrals for business. Am I still angry - I sure am. But I'm too busy these days to waste the time being furious and now just focus on my business. I've learned though not to trust (learned more than on just this occasion) what a newspaper person says they will print, or promises to omit -- cannot be trusted. I learned the hard way.

Well, let?s just say I have been a serial entrepreneur al...

Well, let?s just say I have been a serial entrepreneur all my life. Ever since?at about the age of 8.. I set up a card table and sold shells to the tourists on Balboa Island in Southern California . (Nevermind that I had bought them by the bagful at the local shell store) Yes?She Sold Sea Shells Down By The Sea Shore.

Fast forward an undisclosed number of years to 1990 in San Diego. I lived in a large apartment building, and one day, in exchange for immediate attention to an issue I had with my apartment, I offered to hook up the wiring for the manager?s second phone line. (My varied work history included two years as a Bell Systems telephone installation technician).

She took my up on my offer so I went back to my apartment, rummaged around for some tools and went to work. She let me into the service room and I was faced with a whole wall of wire & termination blocks that I had not worked with for twelve years. I managed to find the wires I needed, as well as the new dial tone without disconnecting anyone else in the building (that I knew of).

Soon after, I had people knocking on my door to put in their second lines?for roommates & home offices. The manager was referring me! Meanwhile, the VP position I had just taken three months before was eliminated and I did not like the option I was given. So, with opportunity literally knocking on my front door, I bought some phone tools and went into business.

If anyone reading this in San Diego remembers a woman in overalls and a pink toolbox that installed their phone, that was me!

I joined Leads Club after my first visit netted enough business to pay for the enrollment fee. That started my love affair with networking. I sold that business after 5 years, but stayed in Leads Club almost another five with subsequent businesses.

For the last 4 years I have published a networking event calendar which has grown into The San Diego Networking Guide. I also teach networking and relationship-building skills with a workshop called The Link System.

The moral of this story is to, as Joseph Campbell said??Follow your Bliss??. Do what you love, notice the opportunities when they are presented to you?.?then NETWORK your way to the top!

Until Our Next Connection,

Mindy Selinger
http://TheLinkSystem.com
http://SanDiegoNetworkingGuide.com
760 788-9524
...

I was the secretary to the president of a court reporting...

I was the secretary to the president of a court reporting firm -- I was all of 23 years old. My boss was very mentor-ish and when I said that "someday" I might be interested in moving up into the marketing department he said: "tell you what -- do some work on your own time (i.e. no pay!), and if you get any clients we'll promote you into the sales and marketing department." With no training from the company, and never having taking any sales or marketing classes, I had just my wacky ideas to fall back on. I opened up the huge Martindale Hubbel directory (a listing of all of the attorneys in the Country with information about their education, the firm they work at, etc.), and started to scan through it. My eye was drawn to one attorney because he had the same birthday as I did - -January 19th. Not knowing any better, I picked up the phone right then and there and cold called him. I, literally, said to him: "I'm a secretary, but my boss said if I got any clients he'd promote me into marketing. I called you because you and I have the same birthday, and I figured we had something in common!" After a stunned silence, he burst out laughing. It was so obvious that it was not a sales pitch, but an honest request that he couldn't resist. He was my first lunch appointment (I brought the director of marketing of my company along to help me -- the client was aware it was my first lunch and I was being trained, and seemed to find it charming). He became a valued client and followed me to the next company I worked for, and then when I started my own court reporting business in 1997 he was my first client there, too. Now every year on "our" birthday we have lunch. It's been 17 years since that cold call!

I decided to start a designer purse selling business. My...

I decided to start a designer purse selling business. My father's caregiver told me that he wanted to be my first customer. I thought he was just being polite. My first 100 purses arrived and I told him I had my first customer, a neighbor woman. He told me that it was an old Phillipino tradition that the first customer for a successful business must be a man. So naturally, I sold him the first bag. He was right!! Business is good.

My first gig was something that evolved out of a combinat...

My first gig was something that evolved out of a combination of desperate need for more household income and the desire to stay home in a continuing attempt at de-stressing toward becoming successfully pregnant. Having ploughed the grueling field of family social work (the community-based kind, not the lovely office-based sort) for 15 years, I knew that I had to bail in order to finally get pregnant. It worked, but I continued to have problems with miscarriage. In 1996, I began corresponding with a group of women online, all of whom were struggling with similar fertility issues. I found that my background in medical social work was a plus that allowed me to translate some of the more technical stuff on the Web for my Internet friends. I was sort of the go-to girl for finding and understanding medical mumbo-jumbo. Then, totally by chance, I was perusing PC Magazine, an issue containing a write-up on Internet-based jobs (which were wild, wacky, and trail-blazing at that time), and I learned about the then brand-new About.com. I conjured up a job as an Infertility Guide -- which I already was for my friends -- and sold it to the company. Well, 'sold' as in convinced them to hire me. I eventually turned the About.com Infertility site into one of their prime sections, creating and developing the content and community from scratch. By the time the Dot Bomb hit and I left the position for greener pastures in 2002, I'd grown the enormously active community to thousands of registered members, some of whom stick with me as I continue my journeys across the Internet. It's kinda funny -- I turned my personal travails into a new and very rewarding career. Oh, and I finally had that baby, too.

I had been laid off and decided I was going out on my own...

I had been laid off and decided I was going out on my own - as a process improvement consultant, helping companies implement the quality standard ISO 9001. I told all my friends about it, and started developing a suite of packages I would offer. Then, I got a phone call from a registrar friend (he's the one who decides if someone can get - and stay - registered to the ISO 9001 standard), who says that someone is in deep doo-doo and is going to lose their registration (this is VERY BAD news), and could I help them? I walked in to a tough situation in many ways; was able to turn around the company, win over my naysayers, and launch a successful consulting career (www.mcdcg.com) all through someone believing that I had the 'stuff' to pull this company's bacon out of the fire! I'ts been 11 years, and I've never looked back - I love what I do and I do it well.

Great article! Postcards and placing small ads in local ...

Great article! Postcards and placing small ads in local publications have been great for my business. I've also gotten a lot from sponsoring events around the Chicagoland area. It's a great way to get the word out without having to spend too much money. Thanks for the suggstion about the church bulletin. I've thought about doing that, but I never followed through. I'll contact the sales rep early next week to place an ad. Thanks, again.

Excellent post Lynn. Even though I use things like pens ...

Excellent post Lynn. Even though I use things like pens and magnets in an existing business, I'd forgotten to order some for the new one and this list reminded me!

Excellent post Lynn. Even though I use things like pens ...

Excellent post Lynn. Even though I use things like pens and magnets in an existing business, I'd forgotten to order some for the new one and this list reminded me!

Excellent post Lynn. Even though I use things like pens ...

Excellent post Lynn. Even though I use things like pens and magnets in an existing business, I'd forgotten to order some for the new one and this list reminded me!

May I ask your opinion about a business?

May I ask your opinion about a business?

Excellent post and you really are very observant; however...

Excellent post and you really are very observant; however being entrepreneur isn't just opening a business. In fact opening a business has nothing to do with it. An entrepreneur is a person who through innovative development changes industries, creates new ones, or creates new products or concepts. They usually are terrible business people because they are more centered in process of their discovery and pushing their dream. Now with that said people who open or start a business can have the spirit of entrepreneurism, after all they are starting off on their own quest and in a very real since are pioneering real frontiers in their lives. This is especially true of most women who take the plunge. So thus you find hesitation, fear and reluctance to take that final step. It is big and it is scary. Planning for success will help to eliminate that process and make the business jump much easier and certainly help to promote the eventual success of the venture. This include drawing up your own business plan or using someone?s business opportunities that are already proven successful .

I think your writing is interesting. Whoever taught you ...

I think your writing is interesting. Whoever taught you about elevator speeches did you an injustice. I teach small business owners, mostly women and minority owned how to become successful. One of the key marketing concepts is to understand your business in a way that when you network yourself, you are not fumbling over words. We do not teach a script, but an understanding of her own business. Prepared in such a way that when asked "what do you do?", the entrepreneur can respond in a relaxed, non-intimidating and comfortable manner. An 'elevator speech' is a shorter version of any speech or presentation. One must practice her speech daily before the presentation. But never read from a 'script'. I give presentations regularly, short and long, I practice, practice, practice and never read from a script. So don't leave the elevator speech at home, learn it, practice it. Know thyself and your business. Listen, respond and be engaging. And most importantly, enjoy. 'If you are not having fun, you are doing it wrong.' Chris ...

Hi Liz, I find that your contribution to the blog are in...

Hi Liz, I find that your contribution to the blog are inspirational indeed. However motivated some of us women may be, regardless of geographic boundaries, there are a million of us or more out there for whom it might be a mind-bending thought to take the plunge. Hence, a few success stories would help a lot in getting our entrepreneurial juices flowing about the kind of businesses other women have established and learn from their successes and failures. Who knows, it might help spin off ideas to start similar or related ventures. Thanks.

Hi Liz - welcome to the AllBusiness Blog Center!

Hi Liz - welcome to the AllBusiness Blog Center!