Wednesday, May 23, 2012

You've Gotta Hustle to Turn Your Passion into Small Biz Profit

so fun mtg @shop4style and @cdroogan today!  Turn passion int... on Twitpic
I had such a great time attending yesterday's Spark & Hustle Conference. I met some fantastic fempreneurs including Cassandra Droogan -- who's about to launch an exciting new boot called Pysis, designed to help you "protect your shoes in style!" -- and Donna Casali with Stella and Dot.

Plus, there were great, actionable messages on how to grow and scale your business from fellow CRAVE New York City entreprenesses including host Tory Johnson, Sarah Caplan from Footzyrolls, Laura Geller, and Liz Lange. And, I cannot forget to mention the awesome finale by real estate "Shark" Barbara Corcoran.

The best tips I learned to put some more spark into my hustle were:

  • People will buy from you if YOU are telling your story. You are the best spokesperson for your own brand.
  • Don't get comfortable in business -- always be seeking out what's NEXT, what's NEW. Stay current!
  • Stay in touch with your customers -- especially when there's a service issue. Your response/follow-up can turn product or service "haters" into your best evangelists.
  • When you get too busy doing things -- and it can be a detriment to your business -- ask for HELP!
  • Be great at failure -- don't feel sorry for yourself too long when things don't pan out as you had planned. Be resilient and keep moving forward!