'Polished, Poised, Prepared': Confidence Tips from Women Entrepreneurs

Image credit: heidinazarudin.com

When you are a business owner, it doesn't matter how much funding you have, where your college degrees are from or whom you network with if you are not confident about your ideas.

At the end of the day, if you don't have faith in yourself and your business, you will most likely fail. Despite constant rejection and doubt, successful entrepreneurs are always able to find confidence from within. If you don't have unwavering faith in your idea, no one else will either.

As a fellow business owner, I understand that it can be challenging to silence the self doubt, especially when you are faced with a big decision or are constantly barraged by naysayers.

My fellow young female entrepreneurs always inspire me with their uncanny amount of determination and fearlessness. They aren't going to let anyone get in the way of their dreams. Here are some things we can learn from these ladies about finding your confidence:

Admit what you don't know. If you are aware of the things you don't know, then you have a lot more faith in what you do know. Part of owning your own business is being able to hire people to compensate for your weaknesses. No one expects you to be good at everything. If you have a good team, where everyone excels at a certain skill, you will gain more confidence that your ideas will be executed properly. 

Do your research. When going into meetings with potential investors, clients or customers, make sure you really know what you are talking about. You have to know the ins and outs of your industry.

Melissa Thompson, CEO and founder of TalkSession, shares how she finds her confidence before a big meeting with investors: "I spend a lot of time studying the market. I make sure to stay educated about the legal part of the equation as well as the practice and business portions. [Since I am not a doctor], I compensate by subscribing to medical journals, actually reading them, and engaging in conversations with industry specialists."

Heidi Nazarudin, blogger at The Successful Style and president of Blogger Babes, said, "My confidence is a mixture of style and substance. Knowing that I look amazing and that I have done my homework for the task at hand is a great confidence booster -- in other words, polished, poised, prepared."

Don't pay attention to any disadvantages. One of the first questions that I always ask Gen-Y female entrepreneurs is if they feel that being a woman is a disadvantage. Everyone I have spoken with so far has said "no."

Andi Atteberry, founder of blingsting, writes, "I don't put any energy into wondering if I have different challenges than any other leader or business owner because I am female. I think at the end of the day, if you are good at what you do, that's all that matters."

Just because they don't like your business, doesn't mean they don't like you. For entrepreneurs, the line between personal and professional is blurred. When someone rejects your business idea, it can feel like a personal attack because of all the time and energy you invest. Shop-Hers' founder, Jaclyn Shanfeld, explains how she gets over rejection and maintains her confidence: "I have thick skin and I'm able to separate myself from the opinion of others. I'm humble and passionate about what I do. A 'no' can't take that away."

Realize from the beginning that there is more to you than just your business. This way being rejected won't feel so harsh, and you can bounce back faster.

The author is an Entrepreneur contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.

Rebekah Epstein

Rebekah Epstein is the founder of fifteen media, an agency that works exclusively with PR firms to streamline media relations in a digital era. She specializes in business, lifestyle, fashion and beauty.

Study Shows Most Customers Make Purchase Decisions In the Store

By: Jim Tierney

Most customers ultimately make their purchase decisions in the store, according to POPAI’s 2013 Shopper Engagement Study. The study found that 76% of customers surveyed indicated that they make their purchase decisions in the store.

POPAI officials are working on another wave of research with the help of SmartRevenue, Shopper Sense, and Eye Faster. The team will interview 2,800 mass merchant shoppers across the United States.

“In our groundbreaking 2012 Shopper Engagement Study we provided new insights, but also recognized the need to understand more about the shopping trip and shopper mindset,” Popai President Richard Winter explained in a press release. “Within this second wave of research we will dive deeper into what the role displays play in the in-store decision-making process as well as drivers of unplanned purchases in the mass merchant channel.”

The next study will also provide a broad understanding of general merchandise categories as well as grocery items that are found within most of today’s mass merchant stores.

“While technology and data analytics provide more answers than ever before, it remains essential to understand purchase behavior at the critical moment of decision," SmartRevenue CEO John Dranow said. “The POPAI study, which meticulously and authoritatively identifies what percentage of the purchase decision is made in-store, serves as an essential and invaluable guide to marketers and merchandisers as they allocate their resources for maximum impact and return on investment.”

To complement the robust data set of shopper purchases, POPAI is also working with Eye Faster to conduct eye tracking for a subset of shoppers in the field.

“Eye tracking can reveal new information and insights that are hidden in plain view of most other conventional research techniques,” Kirk Hendrickson. Co-founder & CEO of Eye Faster, said. “By revealing visual activity, the shoppers are not consciously aware of and therefore cannot or do not want to express, patterns can emerge leading to clearer insight and stronger understandings of shopper behavior. In this study Eye Faster adds deep insights from the shoppers own point of view by focusing on the path-to-purchase, category shopping behavior and display engagement.”

Fieldwork for the study will be completed this year with findings and analysis available in early 2014.

5 Ways to Make Your Product Sell Itself

We are creatures of habit. American families, on average, buy the same 150 products over and over again, which make up 85 percent of their household needs, according to research out of Harvard Business School. So how can you get people to take a chance on your new business and become loyal customers?

The trick is helping customers overcome their initial hesitation and making your new item speak to customers in a relatable way.

Here are five ways to help your product sell itself in a crowded marketplace:
1. Broadcast your advantage. What makes you better than everyone else in the industry? Be clear with customers from the start. Perceived advantage is built on factors like greater prestige, more convenience, superior effectiveness or better value for the money.

Even cleaning products, the most mundane of all consumer necessities, can win using this theory. For example, Mr. Clean Magic Erasers solved the problems that previous spray-on liquid cleaners claimed to, with the added advantage of not damaging the paint on walls as competitors' products did. The brand made this ability to remove touch marks without damaging walls clear through a TV ad campaign that demonstrated the product at work. This provided positive reinforcement to consumers before they made their purchase.

2. Fit into your customer's routine. How much effort is required for customers to make the transition from a current product to yours? If the cost is more than its relative advantage, most people won't try the new product. Febreze seems like one of those success stories -- and it is -- but even P&G can make mistakes with their branding, as was the case with Febreze Scentstories. In 2004, the company launched a $5.99 scent "player" that was reminiscent of a CD player with five scent discs that changed every half hour. Consumers were confused. They couldn't tell if the product played music, freshened air or did both. Not knowing how or why they would use it, they didn't.

3. Work right out of the box. When building new products, don't add work for the buyer. Make your product work as intended the first time out and every time thereafter. A kink-free garden hose, for example, should be kink free the first time and the hundredth time; a children's toy should be easy to assemble; and you should never expect a busy mom to spend more than five minutes figuring out how to use a new slow-cooker. 

4. Make benefits easy to spot. The more evident the perceived advantages, the more your product will market itself. For example, the clear plastic packaging of 3M's Command line of removable hooks allows you to see and understand how the product enables you to hang and remove a hook without leaving a hole in the wall.

5. Let customers try it out. Tea bags were first used as giveaways so that people could sample tea without buying large tins, vastly improving the "trial-ability" of brewed tea, and eventually tea bags. Samples, giveaways and store demonstrations are tried-and-true techniques for risk-free experimentation. If you can't afford to give your product away, offer a tempting discount or "buy one get one" deal. Depending on your product and core customer, you can use sites like Gilt.com or Travel Zoo to make enticing offers.

Local products or services benefit from actual social interaction: an informal gathering in a home where guests can "play" with the product or try the service, a farmer's or open-air market where consumers can touch and taste what you're selling and meet you. The easier something is to try, the faster customers will want to buy it.

Debra Kaye

Debra Kaye is a brand and culture strategist and partner at Lucule, a New York-based innovation consulting firm. She is author of the book, Red Thread Thinking (McGraw-Hill, 2013).

Five Social Media Tricks Every Entrepreneur Should Know

“It’s 2012, and people don’t buy what you do but why you do it. Social media helps companies of all sizes expose the individuals behind the brand, humanize it and build influence,” says Amy Jo Martin, founder and chief of social media consultancy Digital Royalty and author of social media book Renegades Write The Rules, released this week.

Martin, who has 1.2 million Twitter followers herself, works with celebrities like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Shaquille O’Neal and corporate brands like Hilton Worldwide and FOX Sports to get the most out of their social media networks. She believes entrepreneurs are especially poised to gain from social media because it provides easy access to potential customers and partners, facilitating free marketing and market research and efficient customer service.

  

How can entrepreneurs leverage platforms like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn? According to Martin, these are the top five social media tricks every entrepreneur should know.



Humanize Your Brand
Across platforms, social media allows a brand to connect with customers in a more personal way. “The key is not to just advertise the business,” says Martin, who believes the best way to grow your following is by sharing valuable content. Her formula for a good content balance is to share education, information, inspiration, exclusives and entertainment. It’s also a good medium for storytelling. For example, rather than tweeting a photo of an ad, share a YouTube video of a real customer using the product to show how it works. Furthermore, Martin recommends being very responsive to others and contributing to the conversation in your communities.

Conduct Budget-Friendly Research
If you’ve built up a decent following and relationships with people, you’re then able to ask questions and get feedback. “Instead of allocating a large part of your budget to formal research studies, you get data in high volume quickly,” says Martin. You can tap into your consumer base in real time, asking a question about their product preferences or which holiday offer they’d prefer. The trick to getting feedback is offering it, she says. “If you are often replying, then others are more likely to reciprocate.”

Provide Efficient Customer Service
Companies in retail, service and hospitality industries were among the first adopters of social media for efficient customer service. Southwest Airlines often tweets if there is a flight delay, and shoe retailer Zappos has a separate customer service Twitter account that is manned around the clock to respond to comments. “You need to be present and acknowledge mentions,” say Martin. “Then customers know the brand is listening.” She recommends setting up alerts for the brand name and product names, and responding to both positive and negative comments.

Build Relationships With Reporters
“Social media provides an avenue to build relationships with media outlets and have an ongoing relationship with reporters,” says Martin. The simplest way is to follow individual journalists and pay attention to their interests and their requests. For example, if a business reporter frequently posts about the Yankees, engaging with them about baseball is a non-threatening, more personal way of connecting. Additionally, reporters often take to social media to find sources. Martin once noticed a reporter’s tweet, asking if anyone knew how best to adapt to the new Facebook timeline format. She responded, and the reporter and camera crew were at her office interviewing her within three hours.

Crowdsource Product Development Ideas
Having your audience play a role in developing a product or service does a few things: it engages them with your brand, instills a feeling of ownership over the final product and taps into their collective wisdom to create a better result. Martin says it’s as simple as asking questions on your platforms and using the community as a sounding board. Some screenwriters, for example, have used Facebook to ask what background music they should use in a scene they’re working on. Martin worked on a crowdsourcing campaign for DoubleTree by Hilton that asked, “What are the little things that enhance your travel experience? #LittleThings” It got a ton of response, so paid off as a publicity tool. They also analyzed the trends and implemented many of the suggestions, so it ultimately helped create a better service.

Jenna Goudreau,