Up Cash Creek Without a Paddle.

Even when business is good there’s still a change of running out of cash flow. You have to always be prepared for a slow in sales or a surge in expenses. One of the keys to balancing your cash flow is to get your clients to pay on time. This can seem like a nightmare, but is absolutely essential to a successful business.

Here are some tips to speed up the payment process:

·       Always send invoices on time and adjust your records for potential audits.

·       Learn how the client processes payments on their side and find out precisely where to send invoices.

·       Find out who’s in charge of processing orders and payment, so you know who to contact if needed.

·       Have a follow-up procedure in place, just in case.

·       As a last resort, call your contact to ask questions.

·       Always make sure your invoices are correct before sending them out.

You also need to make sure your cash flow is protected. You can do this by:

·       Always know which accounts need paid and when.

·       Negotiate with your suppliers for the lowest cost possible.

·       Have a bank contingency plan in place.

·       Build your own inventor network.

These are all great ways to protect the cash flow of your business and prepare for fish transitions and slow sales. These last few lessons are all about finding and catching your big fish clients. These clients are essential to your success and your need to take the time to work through each of these steps carefully and correctly for the best success.  If you need more help in these areas, just contact me and we will help you with business and the transformation of your business.

Welcome to a World of Extremely Wired Woman

It’s a crazy tough world out there and women networkers in the technology field in Canada now have a new group to network with. Called Wired Women, the organization is a new networking group that focuses in on helping women in the technology field grow their business, their networks or their careers and it has now has branches open now in Toronto and Vancouver.

Network, educate and mentor are three words that have guided the volunteer networking group Wired Woman since its inception and symbolize and remain the pillars of the organization.

Wired Woman’s mission is to create an environment that encourages women to explore opportunities in technology, science and new media and to build successful careers that will allow them to become a driving force in these expanding sectors.

If you are finding it a challenge to meet people in the technology, science and new media sector then Wired Women helps you network. The group’s intention is to attract as many talented, interesting women in technology as possible, to grow our community and to provide forums for everyone to interact without the barrier of an annual fee.

At regular events, seminars and social functions Wired Women provides members and volunteers with real opportunities to gain exposure to an industry that otherwise can seem intimidating and confusing. It helps women to grow their network, meet interesting people and make lifelong connections.

Wired Woman also runs regular workshops, seminars and events to educate and empower women in the technology sector. We also provide training, support and resources to help our members learn more about the many opportunities available. Volunteering for Wired Woman also provides an opportunity for members to gain hands on experience, add to their resumes and to learn more about their industry.

The mentoring comes in when you need help crafting your career path or for someone to talk to who is in the industry? Wired Woman members are invited to apply to join a 6-month mentorship program. Aimed at women entering or re-entering the work-force, it is designed to help women who need career guidance.

Mentors meet with mentees at least one hour, monthly, for the duration of the mentoring relationship. This career mentorship experience is enhanced with networking events and education workshops.

You can follow Wired Women on Twitter, and join the Wired Woman groups on Facebook (Wired Woman Society) and LinkedIn (Wired Woman).For more information on Wired Women check out their website at www.wiredwomen.com
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Kensel Tracy is the Marketing Coach with the Corporate Coachworkz Inc. in Chelsea Quebec and is President of Business Over Breakfast Clubs (BoB Clubs) of North America. If you have an interesting story contact him at Kenselt@sympatico.ca

Associations Need to Market Too

A marketing professional I have admired for some time time, is Mr.Jim Mintz a co-founder of the Centre of Excellence for Marketing in the Public Sector. Jim has been on the leading edge of public sector marketing most of his marketing life.
One common misconception Jim always points out, is that public sector organizations feel they don't need to market. Jim's article below, shows you; if you are an association, that you need to market too.

Assocations Need to Market Too -- by James Mintz
A number of years ago, I was asked to make a presentation to the Ottawa Chapter of the Canadian Society of Association Executives on the topic of marketing for Nonprofits with emphasis on Associations. My contact at the CSAE felt that marketing should be a major focus of Associations but was rarely applied to any significant degree.
At that time, I looked at some of the key functions of an Association and make a connection between marketing and these functions.
Here are some of the areas where I felt that marketing is relevant to an Association.
• Defining what product/program/service an association can offer to its clients as well as getting customers/clients to buy or use programs/products/ services i.e. sales strategies
• Revenue generation, including fundraising, alternative revenue strategies through sponsorships and affinity programs and commercial partnerships
• Advocating/lobbying policies to key stakeholders e.g. government
• Training staff to be client friendly
• Executing attitude/behaviour change campaigns e.g. social marketing/public education/outreach
• Executing integrated marketing communications campaigns: direct/database marketing, advertising, promotional activities, on-line/digital marketing, event marketing, exhibiting/trade shows, public relations publicity, education materials, print, videos etc.
• Enhancing the image and branding of an association
• Marketing campaigns to retain existing/find new members/volunteers
• Communications programs to existing membership (newsletters, e-letters etc)

As you can see, many of the principles that were applicable over a decade ago are still very much aligned to today’s nonprofit environment. It is also clear from our recent research that Associations face even greater challenges such as demands for improved service delivery under tight budgetary constraints, the number of new associations resulting in enormous competition for people’s time, attention and dollars and a need to improve communications and services with clients, constituents/stakeholders, volunteers and donors. Thanks to Jim for his comments above.

So you can see, when it comes to marketing your product or service, it really does not matter what industry or public sector environment you are in. At the end of the day the main point is; are you communicating with your audience, are you promoting or developing your brand, are you generating business, ( leads, new members, selling product) and are you moving your organization forward? Too often communicators and marketers believe that they don't need to be marketing all the time. They think they can just put the organization out there and it will be found. As you can see from Jim's article above, that it's important for every organization to consider marketing all the time.

Thanks to Jim Mintz for his comments in this post, Kensel J. Tracy, is a business coach and Senior Partner with the Corporate Coachworkz Inc.