Subscribe to News10 Tips In 2 Minutes - Women Making A Difference - June 6, 2010 - Segment Five
Betsy and Renee recap the five clichés associated with success that they want to not simply dispel, but create new and dynamic meanings more relevant with the modern era of business. First is the idea of promoting yourself, a task that many people find embarrassing and awkward. A better approach is changing the concept to “developing your own personal brand,” realizing that you will continually need to update and reinforce your brand, thinking about issues such as “What am I going to stand for?” and “How am I going to create that impression?” Next is the concept of networking, which some think is a tacky term since they’re not going to receptions and networking events just to meet people. However, networking should really be redefined as “relationship building,” so think of your time that you spend networking as building relationships and consider that meeting someone is only the beginning of that process. The third cliché is the notion of looking for mentors, which is not just about identifying some “wise old person” who’s going to advise and direct you. Instead, it should be redefined as “mentor moments,” which might be a phrase someone uses, a story they tell, an observation about how they lead, and they can happen any day, at any time. Fourth is the cliché of making a profit. Certainly, making a profit is always the bottom line in business, but there are actually three bottom lines that need to be considered: One, being impactful in your community by giving back and making a difference; Two, being sustainable as a green business; and Three, making money as a profit. The final cliché needing to be redefined is never using the concept of thinking ‘outside the box’. It makes strategic thinking seem frivolous, and in reality, you have to get past that comfort zone, as it’s a normal part of leading in business and making your business successful.
2Minutes&More with Betsy Berkhemer and Renee Fraser airs every Sunday at 1pm on KFWB NEWS TALK 980. Tune in for a full hour of tips for business success.
Women Making A Difference - June 6, 2010 - Segment Four
Caller Heather O’Connor, Chief Accounting Officer at DreamWorks Animations and the Women Making A Difference winner for Executive Excellence, talks about the characteristics she believes are important for a high-functioning executive. Chiefly, Heather considers motivation, a strong sense of community, and a creative environment as the most important characteristics an executive can possess. As Heather explains, when you bring a strong sense of doing your best, however that gets formulated in your day-to-day work, it really helps your sense of focus and motivates the people who report to you. A good mix of exuding personal warmth and setting a strong example as a credible and reliable leader is the ideal way to keep people motivated, says Heather. When you say something, they understand you are being sincere in what you’re saying and that you take your job seriously, but they also realize it’s important to have a little fun and warmth in their jobs, no matter what position they are in. Lastly, Heather advises executives to do a bit of listening to their guts and trust what they think their ultimate objective is, and not sell themselves short. More importantly, even if they feel they are challenged with a situation that might be bigger than they can handle, it’s essential to realize they don’t have to do it alone.
2Minutes&More with Betsy Berkhemer and Renee Fraser airs every Sunday at 1pm on KFWB NEWS TALK 980. Tune in for a full hour of tips for business success.
Women Making A Difference - CEO Interview - Giselle Acevedo, CEO of Para Los Niños - June 6, 2010 - Segment Three
Interview with Giselle Acevedo, CEO of Para Los Niños and the Women Making A Difference Awards CEO of the Year
Betsy and Renee speak with Giselle about the philanthropic legacy of Para Los Niños and how the agency has evolved today into a powerful force for change. Para Los Niños was founded by Tanya Tull—a mentor of Giselle—in 1980, after reading about the plight of children on Skid Row in the Los Angeles Times. The organization was originally focused on child care for families in downtown Los Angeles, with Tanya pulling together some of her friends, $5,000, and a board of directors to open the first child care center right on 6th Street, an old warehouse that had been an eyelash factory but at the time catered to about 47 children. 30 years later, the agency has expanded to provide a range of what Giselle calls “fully integrated education and social services,” serving about 9,000 youth, children, and families each year. Currently, the agency operates 7 child development centers, a preschool, 3 charter schools, 12 elementary afterschool programs, a youth center for teens located on Skid Row, a mental health center, a work force investment program, a foster care program, and social services in the area of child abuse and prevention.
Giselle observes that people think of a non-profit almost pejoratively, and she very often reminds people that it’s really a business, but to be really successful, you have to be thinking about it as a business with a lot of heart leading to a mission. As a CEO, you have to always make sure that you’re aligning your intellectual beliefs with your actions, and you have to sleep every night knowing who you are and how you lead. In the nonprofit world, Giselle explains, there’s a greater amount of accountability, as your shareholders are your funders, your donors, the people in the community, and you have to make sure you’re not only managing with excellence, but that you understand the community you’re serving, who your population is, and that you’re measuring everything you’re doing. That’s why Para Los Niños has a program—Expectations To Outcomes—in which they measure when a child comes in, when they leave, what kind of services they’re getting, and what their success rates are across all their multidisciplinary approaches.
Giselle shares that the transition from running a for-profit business to directing a nonprofit was a humbling experience in many ways. She notes that, when you’re giving away the money, it’s very different than when you’re asking for it, mainly in that everyone responds to your phone calls. Nevertheless, Giselle has learned to ask for the money because she knows the children deserve it, and if she’s not doing that, then she’s not doing her job. This is a really hard time for nonprofits, Giselle notes, and many people have had to make tough business decisions, no matter what their heart said, because they knew it was the right business decision for the long term viability of the agency. To stand in the face of children and families and say “this program no longer exists” has been very painful, says Giselle, and her friends at other nonprofits have all experienced the 30% drop in giving the industry is currently suffering. For information on the work being done by Para Los Niños, visit the agency’s website at www.paralosninos.org.
2Minutes&More with Betsy Berkhemer and Renee Fraser airs every Sunday at 1pm on KFWB NEWS TALK 980. Tune in for a full hour of tips for business success.
Women Making A Difference - June 6, 2010 - Segment Two
Caller Marty Stevens-Heebner, founder of Rebagz, discusses the innovative nature of her business model with Betsy and Renee. Rebagz specializes in making handbags, wallets, and other carry-on items out of recycled materials, with three distinct lines that are all made under fair labor conditions. The first is the Juicy Hand Woven line, which is made using hand-woven recycled juice packs designed to look like colorful confetti; the second is the Rice Sack Graphics line, which incorporates recycled rice sacks that already have amazing graphics printed on them; and the third line is the Statement Makers line, which is made using coated recycled paper and recycled PET plastic for the straps. Marty likes to say you can’t be eco-friendly if you’re not human-friendly as well, since you’re really not taking care of the environment if you’re not taking care of your workers, providing them with a very good living wage and working conditions. All Rebagz products are designed in the Philippines, and Marty has traveled there 5 times to visit the workshop, ensuring that all the conditions are up to standard. Marty also notes that if anyone is thinking about outsourcing to another country, you can go to the World Fair Trade Organization, which has listings of organizations that they have certified in different countries that actually do treat their workers well. For anyone interested in purchasing Rebagz handbags, they are available at Fred Segal stores in Los Angeles. They are also sold in a couple hundred boutiques around the country and online at www.rebagz.com.
2Minutes&More with Betsy Berkhemer and Renee Fraser airs every Sunday at 1pm on KFWB NEWS TALK 980. Tune in for a full hour of tips for business success.
Women Making A Difference - June 6, 2010 - Segment One
Betsy and Renee begin their salute to the winners of the Los Angeles Business Journal’s Women Making A Difference Awards by speaking with caller Janet Halbert, CEO of Hurdle Jumpers and winner of the Volunteer of The Year award. Hurdle Jumpers is a charity that provides comfort kits to cancer patients, as well as patients who are newly diagnosed and about to start chemo/radiation treatment. There are two kits available to patients: a chemo kit and a radiation kit. According to Janet, the patient comfort kits contain the products she needed to help her with dry eyes, dry mouth, and dry skin. Additionally, they private labeled a relaxation CD, bought a humor book, and compiled a collection of Janet’s survival tips to include. Janet started the charity four years ago after she spent a year battling cancer and realized there were no comfort kits, meaning she had to march off to the drug store or ask a friend to do an errand for her every time she suffered a side effect. She decided that when she got well, she was going to make sure there was a kit for every patient going through that experience, so they wouldn’t have to reinvent the wheel like she did during her treatment. By training, Janet is a business consultant and CPA, but she spends about 15 hours a week as a volunteer managing/organizing the program, which is run primarily by volunteers of all ages. The kits are distributed directly to patients through oncology practices or cancer treatment centers, and all over-the-counter products are nationally recognized products donated by consumer health companies who believe in their mission and in doing good corporate community service work. For more information on the work being done by Hurdle Jumpers, visit their website at www.hurdlejumpers.org.
Betsy and Renee also speak with Patricia Gracia, Founder/President of PowerMedia Group and winner of the Rising Star Award. PowerMedia Group is an advertising/PR agency that specializes in all-inclusive Spanish language campaigns. Patricia started the business in 2001 after she finished her degree in public relations at UCLA, with the motivation that she was born to be an entrepreneur and feeling that she needed to set an example for her kids as a woman and a mother. Patricia also notes that there are 45 million Hispanics in the United States currently, but in 2010, they are close to reaching $1 trillion in buying power.
2Minutes&More with Betsy Berkhemer and Renee Fraser airs every Sunday at 1pm on KFWB NEWS TALK 980. Tune in for a full hour of tips for business success.
