Clementine delivering her custom flower arrangement

The result? A pleasant surprise and lots of praises for a job well done!

Here’s what Deborah had to say about Clementine’s wonderful floral arrangement:

“I first saw Clem’s floral arrangements on her table at the ETS graduation and was thrilled to see such style and color sense – not to mention experience her personal charisma.  Wow! I immediately wanted to help her grow her business!  What better way than to spruce up my totally B-O-R-I-N-G hallway at home with a new and dramatic floral arrangement.  Clem carefully questioned me about my tastes and expectations and began choosing some possible vases which she photographed and sent to me.  I wanted a “light, summery look” and the porcelain basket with a slight Asian flair was perfect.  We talked about airiness, which was important, and the fact that I love cherry blossoms.  Here’s what she came up with!  When I saw her walking gingerly up the path to my home with this GORGEOUS arrangement, I couldn’t help but clap and cheer!  I love looking at it both from the stairs as I descend, and when I enter the hallway from the front.  WHAT A DIFFERENCE such color and lightness makes! Of course  I’m going to want a different one for each season….”

Beautiful addition to the entryway! Deborah Blank and Clementine Simmons

Clementine will soon be joining our Grow My Business program and it will be a wonderful thing to see her grow further and blooms in her business endeavors.

The exhibition will feature the paintings of the late Emily Johnson Bain, a teacher and art educator who spent much of her career in Louisiana and Texas. Mrs Bain’s daughter, Carolyn Bain, is working with A Show of Hands organizing a showing of her mother’s work.

A  Show Of Hands is a delightful gallery in Alexandra’s Del Ray arts district located on 2301 Mt. Vernon Ave. Co-owners Pat Miller and Maria Wasowski have created a shop that represents the diversity of local artists by providing them with a venue to showcase and sell their unique, handcrafted artwork. They continue to be wonderful supporters of EWI.

There will be beverages and light food, CDs, Mardi Gras beads, and who knows what else? Free-of-charge for all. Pass the word on and see you there!

The Incredible Women at the IRC, with EWI’s Jami McDowell
(Community Partnerships Intern, fourth from right, top row) and
Mary Louise Marino (Outreach & Operations Manager, third from left, top row).

The EWI calendar has been full of opportunity with community partners for info sessions, marketplaces, speaking engagements, outreach exhibits, and home parties. We are thrilled to be there for every single one of them. We get to meet the most wonderful people – many doing truly meaningful work, others willing to share their talents and expertise in volunteering with us, and still others striving for better livelihoods for themselves and families.

A huge thank you and warm shout out to Melissa, Erica and Jaclyn at the International Rescue Committee (IRC) for inviting us to their Job Fair, Info Session, and upcoming World Refugee Day; Elizabeth Bruce and Giselle Cohen at Centro Nia Family Center; Hoda Fahmy at the Muslim Community Center’s Modest Beauty Day event; Ashley Lawson with DC+acumen, Nina Golding at Interfaith Works, Nancy Stark for the WVEC Conference at Capital One, and Synthia Woodcock-Dang and Rosalie Smith for hosting the most lovely home parties.

We love getting out and about and meeting new people. Do you know people or organizations that you think we should be in contact with? Are there any immigrant or low-income in your group that have passion, determination and a business idea? Drop us a note. We’d love to hear from you.

Many thanks to all who contributed to Empowered Women International through the online giving event: RaiseForWomen hosted by The Huffington Post, The Skoll Foundation, and Half the Sky Movement.

With your support, so far, we raised $2,293, and a gift of exposure from HuffPostImpact through their Facebook and Twitter accounts (see the prizes below).

The campaign will continue until June 6, and the next bonus challenge started at today for $4,000. Here’s the deal…

The charity that raises the most by May 27 @ 12pm ET will get an additional $4,000.  

Please share our link http://www.crowdrise.com/GiftFreedomandOpportunity/fundraiser/empoweredwomenintl with your friends and help us meet our goal of$15,000 by June 6. 

Many thanks for all your support and dedication to the cause of Empowered Women International.

Learn more about the prizes here. http://www.crowdrisepromos.com/raiseforwomen/index.html

The April 17 Spring2Action online philanthropic and giving event was a day filled with excitement, energy and dedication. The whole Alexandria community came together to raise money and left a lasting and meaningful impact on all of the non-profits involved during the event.

Perhaps the most important footprint this special day left was none other than here at the headquarters of Empowered Women International. With the help and support of everyone involved we were able to raise $30,497 and won an additional $2,850 in prizes from ACT for Alexandria.

This huge milestone for EWI and the women in our Entrepreneur Training for Success was recently documented in a letter Marga Fripp wrote to the editor in Alexandria Times, which was laster picked up by the Nonprofit Roundtable e-Newsletter. The letter, “When city residents get together good things happen,” highlights the mission of EWI and what it stands for, and expounds how people with similar visions coming together can accomplish huge results in a single day. With ACT for Alexandria’s meticulous work, our contributor’s relentless support, and our wonderful board members, volunteers, and staff we have made great strides to make the world a better place leaving a lasting legacy and a community of change-makers.

Marga Fripp on the Montgomery College publication

From simply wishing to find ways to integrate, to helping and teaching other women to pursue their creative talents, then to founding Empowered Women International, Marga has mobilized and transformed hundred of women into savvy business women and community leaders. Her determination, passion, energy, and creativity has helped her and EWI succeed throughout these past ten years and beyond. Her story never ceases to amaze and ignite interest; she is the ultimate embodiment of success, accomplishment and hope. Her story is a quintessentially American story.

We thank the Montgomery College for including our Marga into their publication and a huge shout out goes to all the people who work tirelessly towards EWI’s success!

Photo courtesy of Ernesto Rivera, to learn more about him go to his personal blog:

http://ernestoarivera.wordpress.com

The program will begin at 6pm and end at 8pm. Get ready to find out your money color is and how to rock it, hear the story of the “2 Benjamins” and get some free gifts! There will also be opportunities to buy signed copies of the book at the event.

Admission is free and you can bring your friends along, but please take a second to RSVP at

http://ourfinancialcoach.com/events/

All participants introducing themselves in the beginning.

The ETS Networking and Power Coaching Class is designed to show students the personal and professional journeys of successful women entrepreneurs. The session was formatted to address topics ranging from successful careers and businesses, to networking strategies, sales strategies, effective leadership, and overcoming fear and developing confidence.

ETS participants listening attentively to our four panelists

The first part of the session included a panel discussion with each panelist talking about their own strategies, drawbacks, and the secret ingredients they used to become successful. The women also addressed candidly the financial strategies they used to get where they are today. From knowing how to fund their businesses, to getting loans, to using savings, all were important and required savvy and quick thinking to launching their business.

All our panelists (starting second from left) Hope, Kate, Shirah, and Joanne. Shirah inspired students by sharing her personal story. She said she became an entrepreneur the day she declared to herself and the world that she was an Independent Consultant.

The second part of the session consisted of a small group activity in which students had to interact and ask questions to guest speakers and their peers. They spoke of networking, marketing, being effective personally and professionally, overcoming barriers, and most importantly, being an active member of the community at large.

Joanne, power coaching a small group (from left to right), Julie, Joanne, Gabriela, Angela and Sarah.

The last part was exchanging ideas, learning from each other, and reporting back to the rest of the class about what they learned, sharing handouts, teaching tools and resources. The greatest inspiration was the welcoming embrace of the guest speakers and their stories.’ A growing sense of motivation was apparent, to walk the line and reach that end zone, regardless of any drawbacks and barriers.

Kate (second from left) intently listening and power coaching (from left) Tyesha, Annette, Tenisha, and Kira.

Again, thank you Hope Katz Gibbs of Inkandescent PR and board members Kate Campbell Stevenson, Shirah Cohen, and Joanne Clark, who tirelessly galvanize the entrepreneur spirit of our ETS students. Also a huge shout out to our Entrepreneur Coach and Program Manager Alexia Muchisu ,who spices up our ETS classrooms, and our instructor Sharmila Karamachandani, who is constantly sowing the seed of knowledge to our ETS students and beyond. Much love to all of you from the EWI Team!

By Hanna Yamir, Program Associate Intern

By Howard Feinstein, EWI Board Member

A weekly blog for EWI students and graduates, passing along news, events, articles of interest, and tips on growing your business.  We are all on this journey together, and no one – certainly not yours truly – has all the answers.  Accordingly, I hope you will periodically contribute your ideas and news to this forum, c/o khfeinstein@verizon.net.

Monday, May 13 — Today I would like to focus once more on the overriding importance of customer service.  I was again reminded of how crucial this concept is to a growing, successful small business by a piece in last week’s Washington Post by Thomas Heath, entitled “Wash, rinse, ka-ching! Repeat.”  The article is on the Post’s weekly Washington Business page in the first section; this page appears every Monday.  Make this page a Monday morning habit, and you will regularly discover ideas and inspiration which you can use in your own business.

The piece tells the story of two sisters, both working mothers, who started a local hair salon – a highly competitive business to be sure, but one in which nurturing customer loyalty is the path to success.  Rather than paraphrase the story, here are some quotes from the owners, Stacy Dabney Ramirez and Lindsey Dabney Cabrera:

— “Presentation is your first impression.  I care about how the sugar is put in the jar.  I care about what the bathrooms look like.  I care about how things are placed on the shelves.  I try to remember people’s names when they come in.”

— “When asked why clients choose a certain salon, the top reasons have nothing to do with their haircut.  It is 90 percent customer service and 10 percent technical.  So we are invested in the customer service, although I don’t overlook the technical.”

— “We send clients handwritten thank-you notes, tossing in a $5 Starbucks gift card.”

Now, let’s think about that:  the key to the success of this start-up business, by the owners’ own admission, is not that they are necessarily Nobel- Prize-winning beauticians, but rather that they bend over backwards to make every customer feel special and appreciated.  As I have been emphasizing in this blog from its beginning, you may develop the perfect product or service, but unless you treat your prospective and continuing customers like royalty, you are not going to succeed in the demanding Washington market.  Make people feel wanted, and they will eventually form that 20% of your clientele that brings in 80% of your business.

Don’t take my word for it – ask some of our successful EWI graduates.  And the next time you are at the EWI office, ask Marga and Mary how they acknowledge our contributors, partners, teachers, trainers, hosts, etc.  Best of all, it takes very little in terms of time and cost.

Best wishes and keep in touch,
Howie

Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence is the leading national not-for-profit provider of resources, business education and community support for women entrepreneurs seeking to grow micro-businesses into million dollar enterprises. Count Me In has inspired tens of thousands of women to take control of the potential of success by providing a wealth of virtual tools and resources, live competitions, and a variety of peer exchange platforms all designed to help women business owners substantially and sustainably
increase revenues and create new jobs.

Jami McDowell (Community Partnerships Intern), Kate Campbell Stevenson (EWI Board), and Charmelle Clark (Spring ETS Student). Not show but in attendance were Dianne Lorenz (Chair, EWI Board), Lizzie Clark (Spring 2012 Grad), Winter Walker and Rashunda Bailey ((Fall 2012 Grads)

Women Veteran Entrepreneur Corps (WVEC), an exciting new business growth initiative for women business owners who are veterans or spouses/domestic partners of veterans. WVEC targets women looking to grow their small businesses quickly and sustainably, ready to create new jobs, and contribute to economic growth in their community.

The morning started with a wonderful introduction by the keynote speaker as well as the Founder and President of Count Me In, Nell Merlino. Nell provided wonderful insight and encouragement for being strong leaders and moving forward with the sometimes daunting task of starting a new business. During the afternoon, the participating WVEC participants presented their business pitch to a panel of judges.

The women were critiqued and given some wonderful advice and feedback by Heather Cox, Executive Vice President of U.S. Card Operations for Capital One Financial Corporation’s domestic credit card business. The women were competing with their pitch to be able to participate in the Count Me In Business Accelerator Program, a 9-month curriculum designed to help women business owners with $50,000-$150,000 in annual gross revenues reach $250,000+ within 18-36 months. This program is FREE to all Awardees and valued at $3000. Designed and delivered by People Biz, Inc., the program utilizes an effective combination of group coaching and training in business education, expert support and peer accountability.

At the end of the day, all women were winners of the Business Accelerator Program which was a pleasant and well deserved surprise to all that made the effort!

By Jami McDowell, Community Partnerships Intern