Well - I went to an event at The Hard Rock Cafe at Yankee Stadium sponsored by WCBS 880 News Radio - and low and behold - the evening included an Elevator Pitch Contest!
Let me back up - I have been invited to different networking events that WCBS has had in the past, and this was the first one I was able to attend. Couple that with it being at the new Yankee Stadium and my car practically drove itself to the event. There was an excellent turn-out and great contacts to make, so I smiled and started working the room!
About an hour into the event, I hear a voice that sounded like "The Great and Powerful Wizard of Oz" meaning a voice over the microphone and no one in sight!! Well, I worked my way down into the lower part of the room and there was Chad Lopez doing his thing. He welcomed everyone, acknowledged different companies that has tables there and announced the Elevator Pitch Contest. Needless to say, I was very excited about having a chance to pitch S1 at this event.
Happily, I was one of the people selected - and I won the contest! The prize - a free round of a 60 second commercial on WCBS 880 News Radio! How amazing is that!?! Not only does S1 get this very costly advertising for free - they want me to do the voice over for the commercial.
In deciding the best route to go, we are going to modify the voice over for our TV commercial and focus on the Checkpoint Friendly Laptop Bags and Backpack - adding that corporate branding is available for custom orders.
This is why it is so very important to have your Elevator Pitch down cold no matter where you are. You never know when you will have a chance to pitch the who, what, where, why, when and how of your company - and when the chance arises, you want to always be on top of your game.
I will keep you posted as to when we will be on the air! So remember - we are S1 - The CLEAR Advantage!
See why we are S1 - The CLEAR Advantage!
S1 Checkpoint Friendly Laptop Bags
S1 Checkpoint Friendly Laptop Bags
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Motivation
As a business owner it is easy when you are busy to loose track of time because you are so immersed in day to day routine of meetings and conferences and business calls. But what happens on those few and far between days when you are not really motivated at all??? Thankfully that does not happen to me often, but when it does, it is a real quandary. How do I push through on those days when I just want to send calls to voice mail and take a nap? Well - today being one of those days - I made calls, sent out emails and orders and samples and decided to blog on the subject because we all go through this from time to time.
I think that sometimes we need to give ourselves permission to not work every moment of the day. I have always given my kids one or two "mental health" days from school. Since they were never the kids that faked being sick [like my brothers and I did] they rarely missed school. Once in a while I would wake them up and one of them would come out to me on the couch and I could tell by looking at them that they just needed permission to take the day off and sleep. They never abused it and understood that staying home also meant staying in after school - and if they were willing to do that - I KNEW they needed the day off!
Today I want someone to give me a mental health day and say, Dori - just take the day for yourself, go have a manicure and perhaps a glass of red wine and come back tomorrow. Unfortunately, calls needed to be made and emails sent and things done - so I feel like I did when I was still doing theatre professionally and once in a while I had one of those shows where I was "phoning in" my performance. I was there - but not there at all.
That is why the computer is a great thing - emails can't have a blase tone, tweets can be honest and blogs don't always have to be about sales and marketing and business building - sometimes they can just reflect the mood of the day or of the moment. So that is why I am sharing this with you - it is alright not to always be happy and peppy and bursting with life - you can be tired and uninterested and still get things done. Sometimes the contacts you make on a day like today are the ones that eventually put the motivation back in your day.
To all of us out there that have muddled through the days that we didn't want to be at the office at all - Congratulations - we did it anyway!!! So as Linda our fabulous webmaster says - GET MOTIVATED even if you are not and just do it!
I think that sometimes we need to give ourselves permission to not work every moment of the day. I have always given my kids one or two "mental health" days from school. Since they were never the kids that faked being sick [like my brothers and I did] they rarely missed school. Once in a while I would wake them up and one of them would come out to me on the couch and I could tell by looking at them that they just needed permission to take the day off and sleep. They never abused it and understood that staying home also meant staying in after school - and if they were willing to do that - I KNEW they needed the day off!
Today I want someone to give me a mental health day and say, Dori - just take the day for yourself, go have a manicure and perhaps a glass of red wine and come back tomorrow. Unfortunately, calls needed to be made and emails sent and things done - so I feel like I did when I was still doing theatre professionally and once in a while I had one of those shows where I was "phoning in" my performance. I was there - but not there at all.
That is why the computer is a great thing - emails can't have a blase tone, tweets can be honest and blogs don't always have to be about sales and marketing and business building - sometimes they can just reflect the mood of the day or of the moment. So that is why I am sharing this with you - it is alright not to always be happy and peppy and bursting with life - you can be tired and uninterested and still get things done. Sometimes the contacts you make on a day like today are the ones that eventually put the motivation back in your day.
To all of us out there that have muddled through the days that we didn't want to be at the office at all - Congratulations - we did it anyway!!! So as Linda our fabulous webmaster says - GET MOTIVATED even if you are not and just do it!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Flexibility
You have to keep an open mind as you are building your business.
When S1 began, our only focus was on schools and keeping them safe while we raised funds and awareness for security. As our company expanded, so did our mission - why stop at keeping our schools safe - why shouldn't every public arena have bags that make it easier to enter through security and assist as the safety personnel monitor large crowds. And the company keeps on growing.
Out come our Checkpoint Friendly Laptop Bags and Backpack, meeting all Federal TSA guidelines and incorporating the S1 clear features to further enhance the checkpoint friendliness of the bags. Well - here is where the flexibility came in! Why stop there - why not make a line of checkpoint friendly bags that don't have any clear features - they still focus on the safety aspect of keeping your laptop secure and making airport travel simpler - but for those out there that don't "get" the clear features and that the "clear" isn't what makes it checkpoint friendly - lets just do a line of bags for all.
Well - the flexibility came into play today when I received the first set of samples of the laptop bags that do not have the S1 clear features - and LOVE them!!!!! I really wasn't sure how I would feel - but my daughter said it all when she said - "Hey mom - they still keep you safe and make it easier to get through security - so S1 is still doing our job!" Out of the mouths of babes...not that she is a baby anymore - but she's my baby - but that's another story!
As we expand our businesses our vision of what our business is all about needs to grow with it - or we get lost in the trees before we can enjoy the forest. Let your mission take on a life of its own; stay true to what you believe it and never give up. For me, failure was never an option. No matter how hard the road became, I know I am doing the right thing and will keep on staying true to S1 because we are The CLEAR Advantage!
When S1 began, our only focus was on schools and keeping them safe while we raised funds and awareness for security. As our company expanded, so did our mission - why stop at keeping our schools safe - why shouldn't every public arena have bags that make it easier to enter through security and assist as the safety personnel monitor large crowds. And the company keeps on growing.
Out come our Checkpoint Friendly Laptop Bags and Backpack, meeting all Federal TSA guidelines and incorporating the S1 clear features to further enhance the checkpoint friendliness of the bags. Well - here is where the flexibility came in! Why stop there - why not make a line of checkpoint friendly bags that don't have any clear features - they still focus on the safety aspect of keeping your laptop secure and making airport travel simpler - but for those out there that don't "get" the clear features and that the "clear" isn't what makes it checkpoint friendly - lets just do a line of bags for all.
Well - the flexibility came into play today when I received the first set of samples of the laptop bags that do not have the S1 clear features - and LOVE them!!!!! I really wasn't sure how I would feel - but my daughter said it all when she said - "Hey mom - they still keep you safe and make it easier to get through security - so S1 is still doing our job!" Out of the mouths of babes...not that she is a baby anymore - but she's my baby - but that's another story!
As we expand our businesses our vision of what our business is all about needs to grow with it - or we get lost in the trees before we can enjoy the forest. Let your mission take on a life of its own; stay true to what you believe it and never give up. For me, failure was never an option. No matter how hard the road became, I know I am doing the right thing and will keep on staying true to S1 because we are The CLEAR Advantage!
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
The Power of Twitter and On-Line Marketing!
I am completely amazed at the power of Twitter. The spectrum of people that you find tweeting back and forth is remarkable. Believe me, when Theresa - S1's Director of Finance - asked me if I was on twitter - I knew what a powerful tool this really is. If you knew Theresa and her lack of web-based marketing knowledge, you would understand. Needless to say, she was very happy to see that I am happily tweeting away.
As we launched our Checkpoint Friendly Laptop Bags I was checking on Google to see where we were ranking on the search engines imagine my surprise that all my blogging regarding the launch landed S1 fourth on the list! My blog - not our website - but my blog.
The power of On-Line marketing is literally right at your fingertips and there are great people out there to connect with that will be happy to walk you through things as you get started.
I was sharing information with a class at Gateway Community College in March and was amazed that to so many they don't realize that the www is for world wide web! The saying, "It's a small world" has never been more true than now.
The most important thing to realize is that we don't need to know it all - there are plenty of people out there that can share their knowledge with us - and believe me - they are happy to help.
So those of you on Twitter - my name is Dori_S1_Bags - follow along as we travel the online road together!!!
As we launched our Checkpoint Friendly Laptop Bags I was checking on Google to see where we were ranking on the search engines imagine my surprise that all my blogging regarding the launch landed S1 fourth on the list! My blog - not our website - but my blog.
The power of On-Line marketing is literally right at your fingertips and there are great people out there to connect with that will be happy to walk you through things as you get started.
I was sharing information with a class at Gateway Community College in March and was amazed that to so many they don't realize that the www is for world wide web! The saying, "It's a small world" has never been more true than now.
The most important thing to realize is that we don't need to know it all - there are plenty of people out there that can share their knowledge with us - and believe me - they are happy to help.
So those of you on Twitter - my name is Dori_S1_Bags - follow along as we travel the online road together!!!
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Love What You Do!
As entrepreneurs we get caught up in the day to day running of our business while we juggle all the other responsibilities in our lives. For me that is my 3 children and all that is happening in their lives and trying to get a life for myself.
Each new day I am excited to see what is going to happen today - because you never know what the new day will bring. I was able to talk to my children, get a couple of our clear backpacks into great hands, go to a fabulous lunch and learn with The E-Circle (check out their blog on my sidebar) and then make my daughters softball game. Now, here it is 10:04 pm and I am writing this as I watch a ballgame because I had to share the cartoon S1's designer, Mike Samuel created.
Mike is the owner of Mike Samuel Graphics and is an amazing designer and has created many a logo that has branded some of the most recognizable companies. Just to name a few - The History Channel, A&E, Sears, VH-1, Nickelodeon and my personal favorite - the Keep America Beautiful symbol of the Native American man with the tear coming down his face! Needless to say - he is a great artist that knows how to convey what you are in his logo.
On the other hand - he is also an amazing illustrator who has a quick mind that always keeps me laughing. My office has cartoons from Mike World all over it and for the first time - I am sharing them with the public. I have uploaded a cartoon that is one of the reasons I love working with my partners in S1. I had called him from the road to ask him to create a banner ad for our checkpoint friendly laptop bags and I received that - which is also here - along with this cartoon and I had to put it up everywhere I could.
As hard as we all work in our respective businesses, we need to remember to laugh lots and never take it too seriously! Enjoy the brilliance of Mike - I know we do.
Each new day I am excited to see what is going to happen today - because you never know what the new day will bring. I was able to talk to my children, get a couple of our clear backpacks into great hands, go to a fabulous lunch and learn with The E-Circle (check out their blog on my sidebar) and then make my daughters softball game. Now, here it is 10:04 pm and I am writing this as I watch a ballgame because I had to share the cartoon S1's designer, Mike Samuel created.
Mike is the owner of Mike Samuel Graphics and is an amazing designer and has created many a logo that has branded some of the most recognizable companies. Just to name a few - The History Channel, A&E, Sears, VH-1, Nickelodeon and my personal favorite - the Keep America Beautiful symbol of the Native American man with the tear coming down his face! Needless to say - he is a great artist that knows how to convey what you are in his logo.
On the other hand - he is also an amazing illustrator who has a quick mind that always keeps me laughing. My office has cartoons from Mike World all over it and for the first time - I am sharing them with the public. I have uploaded a cartoon that is one of the reasons I love working with my partners in S1. I had called him from the road to ask him to create a banner ad for our checkpoint friendly laptop bags and I received that - which is also here - along with this cartoon and I had to put it up everywhere I could.
As hard as we all work in our respective businesses, we need to remember to laugh lots and never take it too seriously! Enjoy the brilliance of Mike - I know we do.
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