NAWBO Award Nominations accepted through March 31,2010

Since 1998, NAWBO-VC has been recognizing outstanding women for their contributions to business or the community.  Awardees will be publicly acknowledged for their accomplishments at an award luncheon on May 21 at Spanish Hills Country Club in Camarillo. 

Annual Bravo Awards

Friday, May 21, 2010

11:30 AM - 2:00 PM

Spanish Hill Country Club

Camarillo, CA

Bravo Award Categories

Woman Business Owner of the Year

·         Recognized as a successful entrepreneur whose achievements are outstand

·         Must be in business for a minimum of 2 years

·         An outstanding role model for other women to emulate, exhibiting the qualities of integrity, perseverance and the ability to overcome obstacles

·          

Trailblazer of the Year

·         Has blazed trails for other women to follow

·         An outstanding role model

·         Personal philosophy supports the NAWBO vision and mission statement

Emerging Woman Business Owner

·         Demonstrates entrepreneurial efforts to either start or grow a business featuring an innovate product or service

·         Has owned and operated current successful business for no more than 3 years

·         Exhibits the ability to respond to and overcome challenges to the business concept or the creation and growth of a business

·         Demonstrates the potential for long-term success and growth of her business

Youth Advocate of the Year

·         Has committed her time and energy to the development of youth programs

·         Demonstrates leadership as an advocate for the needs of youth

NAWBO Member of the Year

·         A member who has demonstrated an ongoing commitment to the chapter and who has consistently give of her time and resources to the betterment of NAWBO-VC

·         A member who has demonstrated support and strength of NAWBO’s vision and mission statement

·         A member who has strengthened the image and role of NAWBO in the public and private sector

Education Advocate of the Year

·         Consistently strive to improve educational opportunities and programs

·         Is committed to the advancement and development of student leaders

·         Motivates students and educators to be their best

Community Advocate of the Year

·         Demonstrates leadership as an advocate for the betterment of the community

·         Brings people together for the common good of the community

·         Exhibits integrity in and unwavering commitment to community advocacy

Corporate Leader of the Year

·         Has been recognized as a leader in their industry

·         Has created opportunities at the corporate level for women employees

·         Has created business opportunities for women business owners

·         Is an outstanding corporate role model

e-mail Robin Martino at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Submitted by: 

Name:  

Phone:

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Nominee Information:

Name:

Title:

Company:

Address:

E-mail:

Your relationship to nominee:

Business acquaintance:

Professional Organization Member

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Narrative:

Please submit a summary of 500 words of less describing this nominee's business and or community accomplishments as it relates to the nomination category above.  You should provide specific examples of information illustrating how this nominee has distinguished herself among her peers as it relates to leadership skills, innovative ideas, and /or proven ability to execute.

Leading A Workshop: Lessons Learned by Sydney Laurel Harris

On  Saturday, 30 January, 2010, I gave an introductory Alexander Technique (AT) workshop for sixteen people at the lovely home of Vicky Rathje’s, owner of “In the Know Resources”.  It was a wonderful occasion for me and in fact the workshop proceeds contributed $351 to the Breast Cancer Fund.  Also, the feedback from the participants was very positive. 

The workshop was a success, yet, when it was over I felt slightly subdued, even somewhat discontented. For some reason, it became clear that it was hard to allow myself to celebrate the success. To deal with these feelings, I decided to list everything about the workshop that went well and everything that could have gone better or that I wanted to go differently in the future.  I then formulated some lessons that I thought might be useful to me, and therefore to others when giving workshops or thinking about giving workshops:

Take care of yourself:

Long before flight attendants told passengers to put their oxygen masks on first before helping others, Alexander Technique teachers were trained to pay attention to their own use* first and continue to attend to their own use while teaching others.  It is important for an AT teacher to use him-/herself  well because the teacher’s use has a qualitative direct influence on the touch used in guiding our students.  The additional benefit for the teacher is that it provides self-care.  An  Alexander teacher is most effective in teaching the Technique when s/he uses him-/herself well. In this respect, I was successful in January’s workshop.

* Use refers to the manner in which a person moves and uses their whole body, in whatever they are doing.

However, in another quite basic way, I did not take such good care of myself.  Snacks & drinks were provided for the participants, but I didn’t partake.    Similarly, break times were provided for the participants, but I continued to work with individuals during these times.  It’s therefore understandable that I may have felt a little depleted after 6 hours (including the travel and set up).  Even good use is not enough to prevent exhaustion when one overextends oneself.

Don’t Over Teach

Though the temptation and “pull” will be great, you don’t have teach everything you know in one workshop.  A workshop on the Alexander Technique, like most workshops, can only scratch the surface  In fact, the whole point is to leave your participants wanting more, as well as understanding there is much more to learn.

Insight itself may be, in a sense, out of time, but the learning effort to arrive to true insight is a process that takes time, and often the more complex something is, the more time and attention it takes.  We live in such an instant gratification world that it’s often necessary to remind participants/students to not have unrealistic expectations, nor to be impatient with themselves.  Obviously, therefore, it is important that I too am patient and have realistic expectations.  One cannot, and should not therefore attempt in four hours, to do more than point the way toward, i.e., give a flavor of, the hard earned insights that took years for me to learn.

Don’t “End-gain”:

This is another AT term. End-gain means focusing on the end instead of the means-whereby.  I didn’t really try to compress years of understanding into four hours, but I was focusing on wanting everyone to “get it”. The workshop was composed of primary points backed up by one or more activities each.  I wound up dwelling too long on some activities and participants while short-changing or omitting other intended activities of equal importance and value.  More importantly this imbalance caused a loss of connectedness with my full audience as the workshop progressed, because my attention had been diverted by segments of interest that distracted from accomplishing the intended full program.

Limit how many points you want to get across:

Some research has shown that retention and understanding diminishes when you present more than seven key points.  Five is probably an ideal number to present.  I didn’t cover more than six, but I had at least three more that I thought I had wanted to cover when the workshop ended.  Next time, I will have this in mind when I prepare a workshop. Ironically, the workshop was called “Less is More with the Alexander Technique”!

Incorporate different learning styles:

We all have different learning styles.  Based on Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Theory,    there are linguistic, musical, logical-mathematical, body-kinesthetic, spatial-visual, interpersonal & intrapersonal intelligences. For this reason, it is beneficial to present material using techniques that are, at a minimum, visual, auditory, and kinesthetic.  Hurrah, I used five (visual, auditory, kinesthetic, interpersonal and intrapersonal)!

For more information on learning styles go to Learning Success Institute http://www.learningsuccessinstitute.com/

Well, that’s five of the lessons learned from teaching the workshop in January.  I’ll save others for the next article.

Sydney Laurel Harris

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

www.alexanderusa.com

805 644-7845

I'm Your Friend so I will tell you

What are normal expectations in a friendship? You can, and should, absolutely expect that your friend would want to spend time with you. You expect empathy and sympathy when you are hurting. You expect your friend would want to celebrate your good fortune. And you expect your friend to tell you when you have spinach in your teeth, because a friend who loves you should want to boost your esteem in the eyes of others.

A friend is someone who regards you with affection and trust, has your back, and supports you. She  honors her commitments and is loyal and trustworthy. She keeps your confidences and would never hurt or harm you deliberately. If a misunderstanding leads to hurt feelings, she apologizes. A friend takes care of you after “procedures.” She does favors without keeping score. It's a given that, over an extended period of time, all favors will balance out.  
 

Can you imagine two people who don’t like each other being friends? Obviously there can be no friendship if there is mutual dislike because friendship is reciprocal. There can be no friendship if two people have never really had the chance to build a relationship. True friendship comes when we spend time together, share experiences, and give each other support. Companionship is what friendships are based on.

When someone professes to be your friend but they don’t behave in any of the ways mentioned above, she may never have been your friend at all. She may have been using you, and only pretending to like you. She may just be a simple acquaintance. Know the difference between someone you call friend, and someone who is an acquaintance. It could possibly save you sadness later. Putting yourself out to someone who doesn't know how to reciprocate and hasn't proven any sort of friendship can lead to an awful lot of disappointment. (More about that in future columns.)

Most of us, at one time or another, have had that one person in our lives that we saw through rose-colored glasses. The person who everyone else thought was bad news, and told us so. For whatever reason, we really wanted her friendship. Oprah often refers to Maya Angelou's quote "When a man tells you who he is, believe him." The same can be said in friendship.

You really have the right to expect certain things from a friend. And then there are the things that you should never expect because they will certainly lead to major disappointment. What are those things? We all have our opinions of course, but some truths are universal. It’s my humble opinion from years of observation, the number one expectation that will let us down time and time again. . .is coming up in the next column.

Special thanks to my sister Judi who contributed to this column and reminded me about that really great quote.

The 3 KEYS to getting what you want...

Key 1: Let go of your "Mistaken Identity."
What is a Mistaken Identity? A Mistaken Identity comes from myths and mis-labels you might have grown up with:

You have to be better than everyone else.
You're not as good as everyone else.
You have to give 100% to everything you do.
Good grades lead to success in life.
If you don't go to college you won't get anywhere.
Forget your (talent or interest)—you'll never make it (as an artist, musician, firefighter...).
It's not possible to get what you want.
Don't have unrealistic expectations.
You have to be a good reader and good writer to get anywhere.
Wait your turn.

I'm only average.
I'm a troublemaker.
I'm the class clown.
I ask too many questions.
I'm a daydreamer.
I'm lazy.
I'm too quiet.
I'm too noisy.

Your Disposition is the aspect that tells the world who you are. A quick way to determine your Disposition is to consider the following and choose the line you identify with the most:

a. Entertain/Move/Do
b. Manage/Organize/Plan
c. Question/Experiment/Invent
d. Bond/Talk/Relate
e. Wonder/Think/Create


Does one of these make you think, Yes, that's me! I wish I could spend most of the day doing that...

Now let's look at Modality. Modality is the aspect that helps you process incoming information in the way that works best for you. Complete this statement: I learn and remember best when I can:

a. see it
b. draw it
c. discuss it
d. hear it
e. interact with it
f. read it
h. write it

Your Talents are those gifts you were born with. Whether or not you are interested in pursuing them, they are things that come easily to you. Make a list of your Talents. Hint: Talents come in all forms so think beyond art, music, and sports. A person could have a talent for gardening, doing puzzles, talking, working with animals, negotiating, re-arranging furniture, telling jokes...

And, finally, your Interests are those things that you love to do, things that you are passionate about. An Interest is not necessarily a Talent. It is good to recognize that Interests can be the most motivating factors in your life. Make a list of your Interests.

Your choices in these four areas tell the truth about YOU —the REAL YOU! The real you needs to come out for success to happen. Knowing about your True Identity rekindles your spirit and you become ready to move forward by identifying what you want and taking action steps to make those things happen.

Celebrate who you are! Enjoy knowing the truth about you!

Key 3: Use your "Power Traits" to give yourself what you need and want.
How do you Use your Power Traits to get what you want?

Look at the choices you made in Step 2. These are your Power Traits.

If you chose #a for Disposition, your Power Traits are to entertain, to move, to do. If you chose #c for Modality, your Power Trait is to talk it out when receiving information. Your Talents and Interests are additional Power Traits.

Get your Personal Blueprint for Success—order your Personal Success Profile NOW!  This link will give you $5 off your profile

Choose one of our Power of You Now! Programs

 The Good Wife's Guide

by Debbie Puente, Female Friendship Examiner

This was how to be a good wife, circa 1955. After reading this, you will wonder if women were sedated back then. Wouldn't it be fun to re-write "The Good-Wife's Guide" for 2010? My revised version will be coming soon! (And please, feel free to contribute.)

The Good Wife's Guide

* Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal ready, and on time, for his return. This is a way of letting him know you have been thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they come home and the prospect of a good meal (especially his favorite dish) is part of the warm welcome needed.

* Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you will be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair, and be fresh looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people.

* Be a little gay and a little more interesting for him. His boring day may need a lift and one of your duties is to provide it.

* Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives.

* Gather up schoolbooks, toys, paper etc and then run a dustcloth over the tables.

* Over the cooler months of the year you should prepare and light a fire for him to unwind by. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift too. After all, catering for his comfort will provide you with immense personal satisfaction.

* Prepare the children. Take a few minutes to wash the children's hands and face (if they are small), comb their hair, and if necessary change their clothes. They are little treasures, and he would like to see them playing the part. Mimimize all noise. At the time of his arrival eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer or vaccuum. Try to encourage the children to be quiet.

* Be happy to see him.

* Greet him with a warm smile, and show sincerity in your desire to please him.

*Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first. Remember- his topics of conversation are more important than yours.

* Make the evening his. Never complain if he comes home late, or goes out to dinner, or other places of entertainment without you. Instead, try to understand his world of strain and pressure and his very real need to be home and relax.

* Your goal: try to make sure your home is a place of peace, order and tranquility where your husband can renew himself in body and spirit.

* Don't greet him with complaints and problems.

* Don't complain if he comes home late for dinner or if he even stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through that day.

* Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair, or lie down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him.

* Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice.

* Don't ask him questions about his actions or question his judgement, or integrity. Remember he is the master of the house, and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him.

* A good wife always knows her place.

Holiday Party Ice Breakers and More

by Debbie Puente, Female Friendship Examiner

You're the first of your friends to arrive at the party and you know exactly one person, your hostess. The party seems to be freakishly quiet. What should you do?

If you've arrived just a tad bit too early, then ask the hostess to give you a job. Perhaps you could grab a tray of appetizers (or a tray of Jagermeister shots...depending on what kind of party this is!) then walk around the room, and offer your name stating your relationship to the hostess. Start the conversation by talking about the food, then asking others "How do you know the hostess?" Be interested in their answer. When you show an interest, people feel important, and everyone wants to chat with someone who acts interested in them. If you’ve met the person before, ask her what she's been doing since the last time you saw her.

 What Matters Now

Permission marketing guru, Seth Godin invited about 70 of today's leading "big thinkers" to write a 200 word essay with a single word title.

Here is an amazing compilation of ideas.  You will want to read this in several sittings.  There are so many kernels of wisdom that you will want to ponder each one.

What Matters Now: get the free ebook

by Seth Godin

Now, more than ever, we need to shake things up

Now, more than ever, we need a different way of thinking, a useful way to focus and the energy to turn the game around. I hope a new ebook I've organized will get you started on that path. It took months, but I think you'll find it worth it the effort.

Here are more than seventy big thinkers, each sharing an idea for you to think about as we head into the new year. From bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert to brilliant tech thinker Kevin Kelly, from publisher Tim O'Reilly to radio host Dave Ramsey, there are some important people riffing about important ideas here. The ebook includes Tom Peters, Jackie Huba and Jason Fried, along with Gina Trapani, Bill Taylor and Alan Webber.

Here's the deal: it's free. Download it here. Or  Can we get this in the hands of 5 million people? You can find an easy to use version on Scribd as well. Please share.

 3 ways to feel less lonely during the holidays

by Debbie Puente Female Friendship Examiner

Companionship, camaraderie, and friendship—we actually have an innate need for it.  For those who feel lonely during the holidays, this time of year can be a time of additional stress. We want to feel connected. It’s vitally important for our sense of well-being.

Perhaps this is a good time to turn acquaintances into real friends. Acquaintances are simply casual friendships. They are your neighbors, co-workers, people you see at the gym or at your volunteer job. They can also be your favorite barista or cashier. Sometimes they’re old friends whom you have lost contact with, only to run into them, recall your past experiences fondly, and want to renew the connection.

This is also a good time to turn relatives into real friends as well, especially if you have camaraderie already. Why not share some fun experiences and alleviate each other’s loneliness?

If you’re feeling insecure or shy about this, think of it as a fun challenge to push yourself a little. Think about gaining a new friend as receiving a new gift.

Another way to ease feelings of loneliness is to reach out. Pick up the phone and call that old friend you ran into last month. Reaching out not only strengthens bonds but can also help you feel more connected and less lonely.

A third excellent way to feel less lonely during the holidays is to donate your time to a cause you believe in. It’s a proven fact that helping others will fill you with love and pride. Think about it this way—you’ll be connecting with others who share your passion while you immerse yourself in the true spirit of the holiday season.

For more on the importance of feeling connected, please read:

People Who Need People

Acquaintance to friend

According to Entrepreneur Magazine buying local is a top 10 trend for 2010...  good news for local businesses

Demand is exploding for locally grown and made products--which means more support for mom-and-pop stores. The dividend: For every $100 spent at a locally owned business, $68 comes back to the community. Only $43 recirculates from national chain stores.

The "buy local" ethos has its roots in the farmers markets movement: There are almost 5,000 farmers markets across the country, the result of more than 5 percent annual growth for the past five years, according to the Department of Agriculture. Nearly 60 percent of consumers say they try to shop at a farmers market. Wal-Mart and Safeway recently added "Locally Grown" sections to their produce departments, and the USDA launched a "Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food" marketing campaign.

Programs that promote community shopping, like Buy Local Orlando, are also popping up all over the country. About 40,000 Orlando shoppers have participated since May. "We like to appear that we're not just consuming for the sake of consuming," says Don Boudreaux, an economics professor at George Mason University. "It makes us feel good to show that we're socially conscious." 

Our motto at In The Know Resources is “do what you do best and hire or find someone to do the rest.  Hiring a virtual assistant can free up your precious time to focus on planning and money-making activities rather than the day to day minutia that gets you bogged down and distracts you from the “big picture”.

Finding the right assistant is key to lightening your load rather than adding to it.  Hiring the wrong person can create more work than it alleviates.

1.    Eliminate 80% of the applicants by creating a “hidden” screening test in the application.  Interviewing applicants can be a time consuming process, screen out the ones who don’t pay attention to details by putting a set of instructions in the application process;   If they are to e-mail their resume give them a specific subject line, ie:  20 hour/wk virtual assistant job.   If they or call, tell them to respond between 9 and 11 on Monday or Tuesday.  If they respond with Looking for a Job, or call at 3:00 pm on Wednesday, you’ll know right off they don’t pay attention to details.

2.    Ask for samples of their work.  You will get an idea of their personality, style and intelligence by seeing what they chose to represent themselves.  You may be surprised how many people won’t be able to write a cohesive sentence or don’t have anything to share to support their stated qualifications.

3.    Find out what hours they're available. Just because an assistant is virtual, it doesn't mean that you can’t specify the hours you want them to work. If you need someone to make phone calls for you, or communicate in “real time”, make sure you are in agreement before you start.  If you just need someone to do writing for you, then it doesn’t matter.  Before you get too deep into the discussion, make sure you are both on the same page.

4.    Don’t commit to full-time right away.  Give several one-time tasks to make sure you like their work.  As you feel more comfortable with their skills, (and delegating, if that is a problem for you) add more to their task list.  Let them know if you are hiring on a probationary basis.  Specify how long and what your expectations are.  Let her know that this will also give her an opportunity to evaluate the position.

5.    Use the internet to do a quick check.  Google her name, see what comes up.  You may find postings of her work online.  Do you like her “vibe”?  How does she write, is it professional, fun, creative, informative. 

When you hire help, it is important that you are decreasing your workload, not spending more time on managing and instructing than it would take to do the job yourself.  Spend some time upfront to find the right assistant and you will be glad you did.