CCPA

Center City Proprietors Association of Philadelphia (CCPA), a premiere small business association in Center City is proud to announce the tenth anniversary year of its successful lunch series: Lunch with the CITY’s LEADERS. This series engages the business community with highly respected leaders who consistently promote civic responsibility, economic commitment and cultural responsibility to the Greater Philadelphia region.

On February 18, 2010, David L. Cohen, Executive Vice President of Comcast Corporation will kick off the 231st luncheon as a five time guest of honor (RSVP HERE).  Mr. Cohen’s first time speaking at a Lunch with the CITY’s LEADERS was on June 21, 2001 at The Prime Rib, when he was partner in and Chairman of Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP.

“We are excited to launch the tenth year of Lunch with the CITY’s LEADERS and celebrate a series dedicated to showcasing the ideas, insight and personal stories of some of Philadelphia’s best and brightest leaders,” said Ben Frank, CCPA Executive Director.  “Over the years, David L. Cohen has generously discussed groundbreaking developments in business, politics, entertainment and technology with CCPA’s members and friends.  He has been very inspiring.”

“Anyone with a business that can benefit from stronger relationships with area business and government leaders should attend CCPA’s lunches with city leaders, one of the best opportunities in the city to make important connections,” shared Dan Muroff, Principal of Muroff Government Strategies, LLC and a CCPA member.  “The lunch series has provided an exceptional opportunity to build existing relationships and to develop valued new ones.”

CCPA extends special thanks for the continuing support of the speakers, hosts and sponsors of Lunch with the CITY’s LEADERS including the 2010 sponsors:  Bank of America, KYW Newsradio, Margolis Edelstein and Rosemont College.

“Bank of America is proud to continue its support of CCPA and this lunch series,” said Tom Woodward, Pennsylvania State President and Philadelphia Market President.  “We are especially glad that the series offers small businesses and non-profits access to Philadelphia’s leaders and influencers, and in such an intimate setting, that may otherwise be difficult to experience”.

Recently, Bart Blatstein and Honorable Michael A. Nutter joined CCPA for their second and fourth Lunch with the CITY’s LEADERS, respectively.  Other recurring distinguished guests have included: Lynne Abraham, Meryl Levitz, Sharon Pickenson, David Yadgaroff, and Derrick Gillman.  In addition, Honorable Edward G. Rendell, Bill Giles, Chaka Fattah, Dr. Arlene Ackerman, Timothy Rub and Steve Sabol were also past speakers.

By Irina Baranov, Director of Marketing, Council for Relationships

In November, CCPA president emeritus Krista Bard invited Matthew and Terces Engelhart to Philadelphia for an event that promised to be fast, furious and juicy… and indeed it was.

The Engelhart’s intention for the day was to influence, empower and create leaders who are ready to make a difference in the world, and ready to build sacred commerce and sacred communities.  They came to Philadelphia to give a small group of people an experience, filled with ideas that would alter the rest of their lives.  They asked people to share openly – particularly the difficult things.. the things that they didn’t particularly want to share.. to stretch up their hands and step out of their comfort zones, which is the only way to create something new.

The following are key points from their workshop:

Businesses can be the places where people “wake up.”  They are the new ashrams.
There is no absolute “truth” in business (or in life) – just particular viewpoints.  All we need to do is try them on for size and see if they fit.
Whatever experience we are having (good or bad), we are creating it.  We can always exercise power in choosing what kind of experience we wish to have (personal and professional).

The Engelharts have created a very successful business by creating communities of amazing, caring human beings.  They actually try to talk people out of working for them during the interview process.. they explain that if they come on board, they will constantly be pushed to confront what/who they’re afraid of being.. on a daily basis.  But the end result is a committed, passionate, caring group of people who make Gratitude Cafe what it is.
One of the major factors of success (personal and professional) for their employees is the fact that they all get daily “Clearings” (which is a $250k budget line item!) – clearings are done daily for everyone and consist of a 3-5 minute conversation where two people are fully present, with the following questions/statements: 1. “What is distracting you (or missing or wrong) right now, that’s keeping you from fully enjoying the present moment?” 2. Reflect back – “this is what I heard you say..”  3. “What does it feel like for you when this is happening?” 4. “Tell me what you love about your life”  5. “I’d like to acknowledge you for..” (sincere noticing/compliment – not necessarily related to what they said, just truly stated from a very ‘present’ place).

An alternate clearing experience is the following:
1. What do you want to be forgiven for?
2. What do you want to acknowledged for?

The goal of the listener/clearer is to be a Zen mirror, with no reactivity and no solutions (when you start fixing or helping someone, it automatically moves their thoughts/feelings/issues into “problem” mode vs. just passing clouds).

Listening is the highest form of loving.  It is empowering.  Let people have their experience, and let it pass.
The only place you can give/receive love is in the present moment.  The Ego cannot give/receive love – it only lives in the past (regret, remorse) or in the future (anxiety, anticipation).
There’s nothing – nothing – that can’t be healed.
Shift from an evidence-based world (he stole, therefore he is a thief) to a faith-based world (he is a loving human being who is wounded).  Send the message – “there’s nothing you can do that will make me stop loving you.”  Don’t give up on people.  Your job is to see in someone what they can’t see in themselves.  If you see what’s wrong, “wrong” shows up.. but if you go from faith and see (sincerely) brilliance, then brilliance starts to shine.  People tend to “show up” exactly as we create them in our minds.
Get passionate, act.  What’s a big enough vision to get you out of bed every morning, all lit up?
Your level of involvement in your community will determine everyone’s level.
Failure is OK.  All it means is that you played a “big game”.. that you went all out!
There are 4 basic tools that the Engelharts shared:

1. Clearing (see above)

2. Acknowledging (can be done spontaneously, by asking someone what they’d like to be acknowledged for, or asking someone to acknowledge you – this is not a “norm” of our culture, but it can be cultivated/practiced and has wonderful benefits).  We restore love by acknowledging.  The best way to acknowledge is to focus on the being (thank you for being so thoughtful), which elevates a person’s sense of self.  We can actually start calling into being the qualities that we’d like to see present from someone else.  When we affirm into presence the unseen, it tends to show up.

3. Apology.  A leader always takes 100% responsibility and apologizes first.  It is the only place where real power resides (self-responsibility).  We can take responsibility not only for what we say/do, but also for where it lands.  An apology is different than being sorry – you don’t have to be sorry – just responsible and owning your part of the created situation.  An apology will always free and elevate you, regardless of what the other person does with it (accepts, rejects, ignores, etc).  You can even apologize to someone who you think has wronged you, for judging them as bad/incomplete/etc.. (i.e. “I apologize for being untrusting of your awakening process and not loving/accepting you unconditionally.  I am no longer committed to that.  I am committed to experiencing you as the extraordinary person that you are.”)

4. Making a request.  Operate your relationships (personal and professional) from a standpoint of integrity.  Make straightforward requests and truly give the receiver of the request to say yes, no or counteroffer.  Remember that a no is not a personal statement.  It is simply someone else’s inability to meet your request right now.  You have to develop the ability to both hear and deliver a clean “no,” so that you can have the freedom to give a clean “yes.”

More information about Terces and Matthew, their journey, and Cafe Gratitude can be found at www.cafegratitude.com

by Audrey Julienne, Raison d’Etre

I had the pleasure to present today the monthly Business Meets Technology Brown Bag Braintrust about Email Marketing Does & Don’ts. If you missed it, here’s a summary of what was discussed.

Why Email Marketing?

It’s affordable: Email marketing is an easy way to stretch a tight marketing budget. Unlike direct mail, email marketing requires virtually no production or postage costs.

It’s effective: You can turn your customers into loyal customers. By staying in touch with them you make sure they remember you when they are in need of the products or services you provide.

It’s immediate: Email communication can generate an immediate response. A quick last-minute announcement or special can instantly drive more sales.

It’s measurable: Unlike most marketing options, email marketing is measurable. Most email marketing services allow you to easily track who opens your emails and what links they click on. You actually know who is looking at your messages!

It’s easy: Email marketing services make it easy for you to create professional-looking campaigns with no design or expertise.

Does & Don’ts

Gathering email addresses

DO: Invite people to sign-up themselves, check for email fraud

DON’T: Gather emails here and there and add them to your list

List management

DO: Segregate your lists and by interest and provide information via email based on that information

DON’T: Send a lot of information about everything to everyone

Frequency

DO: Adapt your frequency to your message and your audience

DON’T: Send as many emails as possible

Email Settings:

DO: Turn the permission reminder on

DON’T: Write lengthy email subjects with plenty of words like “Win” or “Free”

Look & Feel

DO: Design an inviting and branded email

DON’T: Write miles and miles of copy about several subjects without separating them in articles

Content

DO: Keep your content clear to the point, relevant to your audience and interesting

DON’T: Gather a bunch of specials and promotions, sent randomly whenever there is enough info to fill

Analytics

DO: Refer back to the analytics of the sending software

DON’T: Ignore the numbers and assume that people will call if they’re interested in something

What’s next

DO: Adapt your content to what your audience reads, clicks, respond to

DON’T: Send emails without getting feedback from your audience once in a while

This is a very simple summary, a lot was discussed around the table, if you have any specific question you can contact me here or  put them in the comment section.

We’re talking about a real estate leader here… the man owns most of hipster neighborhood Northern Liberties!

Bart Blastein, principal at Tower Investments, Inc. gave a good story from his childhood in Northeast Philadelphia: “When you grow up in the Northeast, it’s another world. They even have their own airport”, his first investments and successes: “I knew how to invest money at 23. I took my earnings and I bought a Porsche”, to his risk-taking deal “Most men do stupid thing when they’re in mid-life crisis” that conducted him to create Northern Liberties.

An enlightening story about the launching of Piazza at Schmidts and the double-murder that could have killed the place but instead create instant buzz, and the support shown by his tenants. And finally, as the audience tried to pick his brain on real-estate investments, some genuine advice: “Trenton, Norristown & Camden are dumping grounds. Not good places to invest.”

If I heard it right, keep on looking North. Temple and east of Temple is the way to go, and there is no better time to invest. So if the economic shake-up didn’t leave you without cash-flow… you might want to listen to Bart Blatstein.

By Audrey Julienne, Raison d’Etre

A great attendance yesterday for the premier “Marketing Meets Technology” Brown Bag Brain Trust Series. Keith Scandone from interactive agency O3World did a great job at discussing the blogging phenomenon and answering the audience questions.

As a follow-up, here’s a list of resources that were discussed, or mentioned yesterday:

Buy a domain name:

• www.godaddy.com
• www.mydomain.com
• www.register.com
• www.pacnames.com
• www.docalmdomains.com

Figure out a blogging tool:

• www.typepad.com
• www.wordpress.com
• www.blogger.com

Register your blog:

• www.feedburner.com
• www.technorati.com
• www.google.com
• www.yahoo.com
• www.msnsearch.com
• www.dmoz.com

Give people ways to share your content:

• www.stumbleupon.com
• www.digg.com
• www.reddit.com
• www.twitter.com
• www.friendfeed.com

And finally, a great resource for all your questions on social media: www.mashable.com!

If you have any questions, feel free to post in the comment section. We’ll be happy to answer them.

By Audrey Julienne, Raison d’Etre

www.flickr.com/photos/dullhunk

On Wednesday, September 16, 2009, David Neff, from Neff & Associates, presented a Brown Bag Braintrust titled: Staying Alive: Advertising in Today’s Market. Here are a few tips that David shared with us, and that, as a marketing professional myself I would give to all my clients!

Tip #1: Have a budget!

Whether it’s $500 or $500,000, commit to a marketing & advertising budget for the year. Once you determined this envelop it will be easier for you to come up with a strategy that is based on return on investment, not opportunity.

Tip #2: Consider Public Relations

Very valuable because of the 3rd party endorsement they provide, Public Relations are a tool to considerate especially when your marketing & advertising budget is under $20,000.

Tip #3: Set-up goals

If you’re a business-to-business service: cultivate a list of companies that you would like to do business with and spend your marketing and advertising dollars in that direction.

Tip #4: Cultivate relationships

Whether it’s clients or customers, they have to like you before they hire you.

Tip #5: Be creative

Find the new and different angle that will make you unique in your market place, or hire someone to help you do that!

By Marlene Talasnik, Simplified Living LLC

The Old Girls’ Network (herein known as the “OGN) is a group of Fabulous Women who want to do business with other Fabulous Women (and perhaps even a few lucky men).  Their gatherings are never couched as “educational” or “motivational”.  Rather their mission is to shamelessly network, exchange ideas, referrals and support amongst a sisterhood of Fabulous Women.

The founder is Linda R. Lane, a Registered Representative of securities and investment advisory services offered through MML Investors Services, Inc., a  Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (hereinafter known as MassMutual) subsidiary and Insurance Representative of MassMutual and affiliated companies.  When not sponsoring/attending a myriad of networking events she is at her office on 1814 Route 70 East, Suite 350 in Cherry Hill, NJ or reachable by phone @ 1.856.504.8299 or email @ lindalane@finsvcs.com.  Her e-mail address motto is… You can’t predict, but you can prepare.

The meeting is held monthly at Andreotti’s Viennese Café in Cherry Hill, NJ.  A fee of $12.00 (cash only) is collected at the door and is used to cover the expenses of a wonderful buffet.

Presentations are not the norm so I felt blessed when I was given an opportunity to speak.

After a round of “30 second” introductions and a buffet the presentation commenced.  The topic of the day was “Doing Whatever It Takes to Make a Living in a Depressed Economy.”  Below you will find the highlights of the presentation given to thirty (30) Fabulous Women.

The Presentation

I told them my name, profession & a thirty (30) “elevator speech” on Simplified Living, LLC.  Then, I proceeded to explain that in today’s economy, my business would be considered a “niche” market.  And, “niche” market providers are considered “luxuries”.  Knowing that , it was my job to do whatever it takes short of being obnoxious or breaking the law, to become a “necessity”!

How to Make Yourself a “Necessity”?

First was to identify who is your “bread & butter”! (Mine is the elderly who wish to remain in their own homes or the adult children thereof who are responsible for their affairs).  And, then think how you could reach out to them using the least amount of resources (in terms of time and $$).  My answer was: NETWORK/NETWORK/NETWORK!

Network/Network/Network

I explored the $$ factor by explaining that many networking groups let you attend a certain amount of events at no or a slightly higher price without a formal commitment.  I encouraged them to check them out.

Where to Network?

I implored them to not go to any old event… that if the connection was too tenuous to their business mission… don’t waste their time or $$.

Once You Attend…Do You Know How To Behave?

I quoted Linda Lane’s philosophy during this segment. First, know what you do and be prepared to be able to say it succinctly in a minute or less!  And, never leave an event without at least two (2) business cards that you intend on following up on and do it!

Did You Know That There Is Networking Protocol?

At this point, I shared that I had volunteered to be an “ambassador” for the Center City Proprietorship Association (hereinafter known as “CCPA”).  I defined “ambassador” as being someone who is counseled to answer all questions pertaining to an organization and try to steer individuals to join.  Then I started to share tips learned during Todd Cohen’s “Guerilla Tactics” presentation.

When Do You Approach?

I told them to study a room.  First, look for the people that are standing or sitting alone and approach them!  Often these people are shy or uncomfortable with networking.  I assure you they would be thrilled to be approached.  Next I admonished them to never interrupt two (2) people whose body language indicates that they are engaging in a conversation and would not welcome your intrusion.  Then, I told them what to do with groups of three.  I suggested that they study their positioning.  If the positioning suggested they were receptive to someone joining them… by all means go over… pick one and with an outstretch hand and your best smile say… hello my name is “x”… and the rest will follow.

What Do You Say?

I told them not to drone on and on about their business or try to give a hard sell…it is a definite turn-off.  I shared my approach which is to ask people to tell me about themselves/businesses first.  This way, I can get clues about how to explain what I do and ascertain if there is any synergy between us.

What about Business Cards?

Only give a business card if you are asked for it!  Otherwise, the person will feel obligated to take it and will trash it when you’re out of sight.

Networking Follow-Up

The first rule is “timely” and “selective” follow-up is crucial… with “timely” defined as within two (2) to three (3) days of your initial contact… and “selectivity” defined as don’t run out and send a “canned” e-mail to everyone you’ve met.  Rather, create specifically tailored letters.  I shared my litmus test for “selectivity”.  It boils down to this… if I have difficulty formulating an e-mail… it is indicative that I should not be reaching out to this person!  I implored them to make it short… that the goal of an e-mail is to obtain follow-up (either on the phone or in person) for mutually benefit business. Unless this person has specifically stated a desire for information to deduce if they wish to become a client, don’t write a manifesto and include all sorts of attachments!

The second is give without expectations.  Be gracious with your information.  Try to remember how truly wonderful it felt when someone provided an unknown networking organization; a rolodex contact or a lead?  Your time will come and they will remember your generosity!

Social Networking… Does It Make A Difference?

Then I switched gears to discuss the topic of social networking… you know Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn.  As a Boomer, I said I had difficulty seeing the relevance of all but LinkedIn and then had my reservations about that! I asked how many presently used it… what they used and… if they thought it was worthwhile using. Most didn’t see the relevance of it. Then I shared what a recent college grad shared told me… it can make plenty of difference! He said as little as a tweet a week would put you other people’s radar screen.  At the very least, it can tell what direction your business is going (which may not be the same as your colleagues/prior clients’ recollect).

Turning Leads Into Paying Customers… What Are You Willing To Do?

With my ten (10) minutes of allotted time coming to an end, I turned to the subject matter of how to turn a lead into a paying customer.  My answer was… it depends.  I posed this question… would you rather compromise on issues such as price/time/mileage etc. to get business or be inflexible and risk losing it? I implored them to compromise and let the customer know… not only will they be appreciative… you’ll have additional cash flow!

It is my sincerest wish that you have learned something that you did not previously know prior to reading this blog.  And, that you will be gracious enough to share it with people who are in your rolodex.

Each week, CCPA will salute an article of interest found by one of the bloggers. This week:  “5 low-cost ways to market your freelance business” by Susan Johnston – The Urban Muse.

Susan Johnston is a freelance writer who covers topics including business, lifestyle, and careers.

These days marketing is more important than ever. Even freelancers who’ve relied on a steady stable of clients for the past several years are feeling the need to diversify. The work is still out there, but it takes a more work to find it. Here are some strategies to help you reach new clients. Read more.

Each week, CCPA will salute an article of interest found by one of the bloggers. This week:  “3 Things” by Valeria Maltoni – Converation Agent.

Valeria Maltoni helps businesses understand how customers and communities have changed marketing, public relations, and communications – and how to build value in this new environment. As a marketer with 20 years of experience, 10 of which online, she specializes in marketing communications, customer dialogue, and brand management. Valeria has come to define modern business as a long and open conversation. Conversation Agent is recognized among the world’s top online marketing blogs.

One of the secrets to becoming successful at anything in life is persistence. We can all work hard for a while. Head down, putting in long hours with an eye to an end goal. Why is the goal important? Because in order for us to visualize getting there, we need to know where we’re going.

Setting goals used to be easier in marketing: Read More

Following last week’s meeting and in the light of our members’ survey, CCPA defined its final brand promise.

We promise:

To Make Small Business Easy
In-person and online, CCPA offers a variety of resources, events, contacts, benefits and discounts – all at a great value. Our team of board members, volunteers and staff are eager to help make doing business in Center City more fun, affordable and easier than ever.

A Community for Growth
CCPA offers exceptional opportunities for professional and personal growth through educational workshops and seminars; online resources and contacts; access to business, cultural, political and industry leaders.

A Place to Know People, not Just Meet People
CCPA provides the connections, events and setting (venue) to get you involved. We are an approachable way (network/community) to make the personal contacts you need and want, through a variety of intimate networking opportunities such as Lunch with the City Leaders, committees, task forces, braintrusts and an ambassador program.