Bootstrap Babes

Networking For Dollars

Conferences Cost, But They Pay For Themselves

I know, I know. Airfare prices are jacked up, hotels are overpriced, you can only get gas in exchange for your first child and food prices are out of this world. Still, if your industry has a conference, you need to bootstrap your way there now and then. The Bootstrap Babes bit the bullet last week to attend the 2008 Conference of Handcrafted Soapmakers. (Yes, among our many other talents, we also make beauty products!)

Here we are paling around as business colleagues, friends and sorors. Oo-oop for DST!! (If you don't know what that means, click here to learn more about our sorority.)

We're on a budget, but that doesn't mean we can't scrape together the funds needed for some good old fashioned networking, which always translates into dollars. Here are a few ways networking can work for you personally, professionally and financially.

3 Low-Cost Ways to Put Your Biz in the Spotlight

Marketing Pro Mia Jackson Offers Advice for Bootstrappers 

Mia Jackson

When you need to increase visibility for your company but have limited funds, coming up with creative publicity ideas can be challenging. So this Bootstrap Babe turned to my good friend Mia Jackson, president of DORO Marketing Services, LLC in Bethesda, Md., for advice. In addition to great marketing and publicity campaigns for her corporate and small business clients, Mia snagged some premium national exposure for her own company in USA Today and on NBC's Dateline.

Mia offered these three tips:

1. Woo Your Weekly Locals!

"I bet that you pick up that local weekly newspaper or magazine in your grocery store, by the transit stops along your commute or sometimes delivered to your door," says Mia. "Find the editors and writers who focus on your area of expertise and send them your pitch. Make sure that they know you're available for the expert opinion or a quick quote when they need one. And don't forget the radio giveaways. Hosts love to treat their loyal listeners."

2. Blog Your Way National

"Internet tools can spread your message in a measured, precise way. But stick to your area of expertise," she cautions. "If you're selling toothpaste, sure your blog can talk feature topics like sugar, braces, and choosing a dentist. Don’t talk about the new car you bought. Train your users to come to your blog, newsletter or website as their handy, reliable information provider." 

I couldn’t agree with Mia more. You're reading our Bootstrap Babes blog now, aren't you?!

3. Community-Minded Marketing

"Join with other small businesses to sponsor a little league baseball team or the new mirror for the ballet school," she recommends. "What better way to use your marketing dollars? You benefit the community, give to causes you believe in and grow your company. The parents and potential customers will love you for it.

"Remember -- consistency and follow-through is key!"

That's great advice!

We want to hear from you -- what are some ways you raised your company's visibility without spending a lot of money? Post your comment and tell us about it!

Wine and Dine Your Clients without Breaking the Bank

5 Easy Ways to Stretch Your Client Entertainment Dollars

Meeting and entertaining clients is a necessity if you're in sales or a service business. (Shoot, every entrepreneur is in sales!)

But what to do if you're on a tight budget?

Here are my five tips to save on meeting your clients over food: 

1. Remember that lunch is cheaper than dinner, and coffee is cheaper than lunch.

2. Become a regular at one or two local spots. That way, the wait staff gets to know you and is more likely to give you great service and the little extras that stretch your dollar further and impress your client.

3. Donate to your local public radio station and get a MemberCard. In 170 U.S. cities, this card will get you two-for-one entrées or admission at local hot spots –- there are more than 12,000 participating restaurants and entertainment venues, including opera, theater, and golf.

Marketing Lessons from the Girl Scouts

What Entrepreneurs Everywhere Can Learn from Cookie-Hawking Girls

It’s Girl Scout cookie time! Seeing the Brownie and Junior Girl Scouts set up to sell cookies in front of my local grocery store conjures up great memories for me. Camping, sing-alongs, and lasting friendships. I learned a lot from selling cookies – perhaps that’s what planted the seed of entrepreneurship in me at an early age. 

But as I approached the grocery store, I saw these little girls in a different light. They were enormously successful at what they were doing. That’s when I realized the Girl Scouts were employing some simple marketing rules that all of us grown-up entrepreneurs could learn from:

1. Start with a great product.
If you’ve ever tasted a Girl Scout cookie, you already know they’re absolutely delicious. If you haven’t, beware of those Thin Mints! Ain’t nothing thin about gobbling them down by the box-full – you can’t eat just one! But I digress… The product is phenomenal and the price is right. 

Make sure you’re selling what people want to buy, and not just selling what you want to sell!

2. Tell your story.
The girls at the selling table were quick to tell me about all the great things they did with their troop and how my purchase would support their activities. 

Every business, product or service has a unique story. What’s yours? Share your story and your passion with your customers and build loyalty.

Hillary Clinton's Campaign Bootstrap

Putting Hillary's Marketing Tactics To Work For Your Small Business

After living in Barack's shadow for several weeks, Hillary delivered the mother of all bootstraps Tuesday when she won in 3 of the 4 Super Tuesday states. She may not have to bootstrap her campaign financially, but she sure is bootstrapping it when it comes to keeping up with Barack.

Some political pundits say that Hillary's Super Tuesday modus operandi was to simply throw everything she had at a wall and hope that something stuck. I see a more specific strategy at work, one which I think can help you market your small business more effectively.

Big Marketing Bang, Little Marketing Bucks

Bootstrap your way to professionally printed marketing materials!

Need to boost your brand with beautiful business cards, brochures, postcards, and other marketing materials, but have a limited budget?

Don’t be tempted to save money by cutting quality! Your brand is important to your business, and giving out cheap, homemade-looking materials will make you look like an amateur. That may be fine for a hobby, but when you are trying to do business, the “I printed these business cards myself at home on cheap tear-off sheets and you can see the perforated edges” scream I’m not a real professional! Can you afford for that to happen? 

You have other options. Instead of cutting quality and damaging your professional image, look at low-cost printing solutions like VistaPrint.

At VistaPrint, you can get 250 quality business cards -- full-color on 100-lb. cardstock -- for just $19.99 plus shipping.

But it gets better!

VistaPrint regularly offers discount coupon codes that can save you up to 80% off selected items. With one of those codes, those 250 business cards drop from $19.99 to only $3.99!

29 Websites To Help You Market Your Small Business

These Links Keep Me On Track Personally and Professionally

Leapin' Links! It's leap year and that means that today, 29 is everyone's favorite number. What a great opportunity to tell you about the 29 websites I visit most often as a small business owner who also manages a home. I rely on these websites to help me grow my business and manage my life, and because they are well maintained and aren't run by people sitting around collecting Google ad checks and pooling affiliate programs. These sites are not listed in any particular order.

1. Feedburner: to brand, track and promote my blogs

2. 124rf: because I get inexpensive royalty free photos for my marketing materials

3. Picnik: because I edit photos for free

4. Washington Post: my hometown newspaper; I love Michelle Singletary's "Color of Money" column

5. New York Times: because if it's in the Times, I should know about it

6. USA Today: I check the Money and Life sections first

7. Indie Business Blog: my other small business blog

8. Entrepreneur: obvious (and because I'm featured in the February 2008 issue, page 22)

9. ProBlogger: the best copywriting resource in the world

10. CopyBlogger: the other best copywriting resource in the world

11. Sparklist: because they host my weekly online email newsletter (at least for now)

12. E-Commerce Diva: the other Bootstrap Babe, and an e-commerce genius

13. Cooking Light: because my family expects me to cook; lucky for them, I like to cook

14. Typepad: because that's where this blog is hosted

15. Wordpress: because that's where my next blog will be hosted

16. Working Mother: because that's what I am (and I'm going to be featured in the May 2008 issue)

17. Family Life: because it helps me be a better wife and mother

18. Seth Godin: because he's funny and smart

19. Oprah: because she's smart and funny

20. Indie Business Radio: the best small business show ever

21. Suze Orman: because she encourages me to be a good steward of my finances; Suze needs a blog -- cute scrapbook though

22. Matt Cutts: because he works for Google and shares their secrets

23. Charlotte Observer: because I live here

24. Knowledge At Wharton because I secretly wish I'd attended their business school and because the bi-weekly online research publication is useful and informative

25. SCORE: because there's tons of free tips and mentoring

26. iTunes: because I'm trying to figure out how to use it

27. Black Enterprise: because it focuses on my people and I'm trying to figure out the best way to get in it; all suggestions welcome

28. Alicia Keys: OK, well, I really don't visit the site much but I think she's awesome and everyone should know about the great things she's doing with her life

29. Duct Tape Marketing: great small business snippets and strategies

What are your favorites and why?

Poor Economy Doesn't Have To Affect Your Bottom Line

No Worries If You Focus On Your Customers

Want to virtually guarantee that your business will thrive in tough economic times? Focus on your customers and cut the fat. And, oh yeah, give away some free stuff. Take Starbucks, for example.

Yesterday, the company announced a major restructuring which will result in the elimination of about 600 jobs. Of course it may have been planned for a while, but let's face it, we've all cut back on our lattes so we can put gas in the tank. But look closely at the announcement and you'll see the basic steps you need to take to not only survive tough economic times, but to thrive in them. Let's have a closer look.

1. Give Away Free Stuff. The announcement states that the company will offer free WIFI for customers beginning this spring. It's always irked me that Starbucks did not offer this when even the smallest mom and pop coffee shops did.

2. Discontinue Stuff That's Slowing You Down. Starbucks started offering warm breakfast sandwiches a few years ago. My opinion, they tasted awful. But I digress. Assuming they were trying to compete with fast food restaurants that serve breakfast sandwiches fast and efficiently, they failed miserably. The announcement says that the company is going to discontinue breakfast sandwiches so they can focus on what they do best -- keep those barista's busy making your $6.00 cup of coffee.

3. Cut Costs. Of course the bottom line is that Startucks needs to cut costs. You should follow suit. Cut out any and everything that does not adversely affect the quality of service you provide to your customers. Don't even buy a paper clip if you don't really need it.

Give away free stuff, discontinue products that get in the way of your core offerings and cut costs to the bone. Do this and you'll hardly even notice