From WPO Chicago Happy New Year!

©2019 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Happy Holidays From WPO Chicago!

©2019 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

How to Support Women Entrepreneurs

There is much discussion and debate about how to support female entrepreneurs — and rightly so.

Currently, women-led businesses are less likely to survive, despite evidence that their startups are often highly successful. New analysis by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) shows that if women and men around the world participated equally as entrepreneurs, global GDP could ultimately rise by approximately 3% to 6%, boosting the global economy by $2.5 trillion to $5 trillion.

So how do we support women entrepreneurs?  Three areas:  improve access to credit (financial capital) or provide training to help women build new skills (human capital) and give them access to networks.

Read more about the trillion-dollar opportunity in supporting female entrepreneurs.

Standing Out From a Sea of Dudes

Nicole Kendrot turned a problem into a business opportunity. In her case, the problem was student loans–not just the amount of debt, but managing the payments. Her solution: to design a mobile app to track multiple loans and gamify the payback process so users can earn cash incentives. And like many startup founders before her, Kendrot came up against two more hurdles: time and money.

Here are a few ways women entrepreneurs, like Ms. Kendrot, say they’ve tackled the particular challenges they face in the startup world.

Take a Break and Then Get Back At It This Holiday Season

This past Black Friday was expected to once again be the largest shopping day of the season, followed by the last Saturday before Christmas.  And this year, there is a mad scramble between Thanksgiving and Christmas — but with six fewer days.  So that means customers will have less time to shop and retailers will have less time to woo them.

For busy business owners like you, it also means you better grab your break and then get back at it.  Besides, you deserve a break!

Read more about how this year we have less time to spend this holiday season.

How Women Business Owners Grow Their Businesses

Many women business owners never think their business will become a million dollar company.

“I never really thought I would be,” confessed Kahn, whose company [North Shore Children's Therapies] achieved that milestone in 2017. “I am more on a passion driven mission to helping kids and I don’t think that, for me, there is any sort of number to get to with that.”

Learn what other business owners said about running a million dollar company.   Oh, and an interesting fact:  the fastest growing businesses are run by women and people of color.

Product-based business? Service-based business? Try experience-based business.

Most of us know the difference between a product and a service-based business.  But what about an experience-based business?  What's that about?  Think of producing a product or providing a service but making it memorable.  Got it?

In a 1998 Harvard Business Review article, “Welcome to the Experience Economy,” authors B. Joseph Pine and James H. Gil­more identified experiences as an entirely distinct economic category. “An experience is not an amorphous construct; it is as real an offering as any service, good, or commodity,” they wrote.

According to a McKinsey study of U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis data, experience-related spending in recent years grew more than four times faster than spending on goods.

Find out why and what this means for your business.

Raise Your Game in 2020 By Reading Business Books!

©2019 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

At strategy+business, they "believe one way to stand a little higher than your peers is to spend some time mining insights from the large number of business books that are published each year. Whether they are distillations of theory or detailed playbooks, heavily documented historical investigations or futuristic manifestos, a stack of good books (or a queue of e-books on your reader) can provide a boost."  They go on to say, "Reading tests your priorities and exposes you to new ideas. And, because business books in particular tend to focus on best practices and phenomenal success stories, they spur us to think about how we can raise our game."

Here's to great reads and raising your game in 2020!

Best Advice for Overcoming Failure (Video)

Holly Whitaker, founder of online recovery school Tempest, and Kate Ryder, founder of health care company Maven, share their advice on what helped them succeed through failure, self-doubt, and countless business challenges.

Watch video.

Always Be Willing to Learn

Five women business owners talk about what inspired them to start their business, lessons they thought would have been beneficial at that time, and maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

A common theme among their answers and advice for up-and-coming entrepreneurs is to never stop learning.  Always be willing to learn.

We Just Aren't Cracking the Glass Ceiling

The good news is that there are more women in top-level positions at U.S. businesses than at any other point in history. But a study has found that many women face the biggest obstacle to reaching the top of the corporate ladder early in their careers, with fewer women than men getting the opportunity to take their first step into management.  [I believe that is why a lot of women start a business, to avoid being held back.]

There are still big problems getting there, and the biggest, according to a new report from McKinsey & Co. and Lean In, isn’t even breaking through the final “glass ceiling.”

Making Time Management Your Organization's Priority

To stop wasting a finite resource, companies should tackle time problems systematically rather than leave them to individuals.  That's according to Frankki Bevins, a consultant in McKinsey’s Washington, DC, office, and Aaron De Smet, a principal in the Houston office.

They go on to say:

While executives cannot easily combat the external forces at work, they can treat time as a precious and increasingly scarce resource and tackle the institutional barriers to managing it well. The starting point is to get clear on organizational priorities—and to approach the challenge of aligning them with the way executives spend their time as a systemic organizational problem, not merely a personal one.

Read the entire time management article here.

New Board of Directors for the Women Presidents' Organization

The Women Presidents' Organization (WPO), a peer advisory group for leaders of multimillion-dollar companies, has announced new members to its Board of Directors and Advisory Board, each for a two-year term.

Board of Directors

• Kerrie R. Heslin, Esq., Partner, Nukk-Freeman & Cerra, P.C. Employment Attorneys, Chatham, New Jersey
• Cardiologist Dr. Barbara Hutchinson, M.D., Ph.D., FACC, President of Chesapeake Cardiac Care, Annapolis, Maryland
• Sandy Marsico, Founder and CEO of Sandstorm Design®, Greater Chicago area
• Hetal Parikh, President, Rangam Consultants, Inc., Greater New York City area
• Nicolette A. Jacobs, Director/Partner – Financial Services Assurance, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Cape Town, South Africa

Advisory Board

• Dawn O'Connor, Master Productivity Ninja for Think Productive North America, and Facilitator WPO Canada, Calgary I and II
• Mindy C. Meads, LPC Holdings LLC, and Facilitator WPO Zenith I Group (average annual revenue $246 million, aggregate annual revenue $4.4 billion)
• Jayne H. Huston, MBA, LPBC, Business Coach/Vice President, ThistleSea Business Development, LLC, Facilitator WPO Harrisburg and Lancaster Chapters
• Linda Graebner, Managing Partner, LSG Associates, Oakland CA, and Facilitator WPO East Bay

Congratulations to all!

Bounce!

When you run a growing business, some days are good and some days are awful.  The key to achieving success is developing resiliency or the ability to bounce, no matter what comes your way.
To bolster your spirit and boost your inner strength, give these resilience quotes a read—and then carry on, or bounce :-)!

The Desire to Build a Female Internet

The serial dating entrepreneur, Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd, wants nothing less than to “change thousands of years of behavior” between men and women. But first, she has to get a lot more women (and men) to see things her way.

She says:

“We’re not one of our competitors that’s just trying to hook people up,” says Whitney Wolfe Herd, the 30-year-old CEO of Bumble, the online dating platform where women have to initiate potential interest. “We’re trying to say, ‘Let’s change thousands of years of behavior. Globally.’ Do you see why this is so challenging?”

See how Whitney wants to change the world or at the very least, create equality.

16th Annual WPO Chicago Summit 2019 on Artificial Intelligence Rocked!

There are so many people to thank who contributed to the success of our 16th Annual WPO Chicago Summit 2019 on "Artificial Intelligence:  What It Is and Why It Matters for Your Business," and if I fail to mention anyone, please pardon my oversight.

WPO Chicago Steering Committee Members:

• Chaoran Jin, Keystone Capital
• AJ Goehle, Luci Creative
• Teri Sharp, American Precision Supply
• Xza Higgins, Parent & Co.
• Ralph Jacobsen, IBM

Speakers:

• Sue Hallen, IBM
• Ann Yeung, Northwestern Mutual
• Dale Miller, Visionati

Other important people who contributed to our winning program:

• Sally Roessler, IBM
• Laura Fairman, Blue Canvas Inc.
• Tomi Jane DeTorres, Women Presidents' Organization
• All our sponsors, especially IBM for hosting our event in their magnificent Innovation Center!
• All our members who participated in the program!

We look forward to seeing everyone again at next year's 17th Annual WPO Chicago Summit!

Photos courtesy:  ©2019 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Are You (Unintentionally) Sabotaging Your Business?

The following article by Stefan Theme, William Barclay Harding Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, is complicated (5-minute read) yet it is insightful when it gets to the 10 points that can lead to sabotaging your business.

1. “Insist on doing everything through ‘channels.’ Never permit shortcuts to be taken in order to expedite decisions.”
2. “Make ‘speeches.’ Talk as frequently as possible and at great length. Illustrate your ‘points’ by long anecdotes and accounts of personal experiences.”
3. “When possible, refer all matters to committees, for ‘further study and consideration.’ Attempt to make the committees as large as possible — never less than five.”
4. “Bring up irrelevant issues as frequently as possible.”
5. “Haggle over precise wordings of communications, minutes, resolutions.”
6. “Refer back to matters decided upon at the last meeting and attempt to reopen the question of the advisability of that decision.”
7. “Advocate ‘caution.’ Be ‘reasonable’ and urge your fellow conferees to be ‘reasonable’ and avoid haste, which might result in embarrassments or difficulties later on.”
8. “Be worried about the propriety of any decision — raise the question of whether such action as is contemplated lies within the jurisdiction of the group or whether it might conflict with the policy of some higher echelon.”
9. “To lower morale and with it, production, be pleasant to inefficient workers; give them undeserved promotions. Discriminate against efficient workers; complain unjustly about their work.”
10. “Hold conferences when there is more critical work to be done.”

The lesson here, says Theme, is that some of the biggest threats to organizational performance can and do come from within.

Could that be you at your firm?  Read the entire article at MIT Sloan Management Review.

What's Your Victory Hour?

Do you have a particular hour when you wake up and feel more energized and productive?  Robin Sharma thinks we all do and the earlier we rise the better to find your victory hour.

I [Scott Bedgood] blazed through his [Robin Sharma's] newest book, The 5 AM Club, in a few days before speaking with him. Told in parable form, the story features four central characters: The Spellbinder, The Homeless Man/Billionaire, The Artist, and The Entrepreneur. Through the course of the book, the Artist and the Entrepreneur go through a complete life change due to the teachings of The Spellbinder and Billionaire characters. The main point of their lessons is, of course, that the two should get up at 5 a.m. and structure their days according to Sharma’s formulas.

For a lesson or two on how to exercise, reflect, and grow, study up on whether joining the 5 AM Club will change your life.

Are You a Spanning Leader?

According to Wanda Wallace, a spanning leader is a manager who, rather than leading from deep expertise, are adept at managing outside of boundaries.

Ms. Wallace has learned that specialist employees can resist a boss who knows less than they do. But working through a pain point can turn things around.

For example, maybe you are a sharp finance CEO working with a team of creatives.  Or, perhaps your strength is marketing but you must manage a group of engineers to get a client project off the ground.

So when employees cry out for expert leadership but you as spanning leader know you can’t provide it, how can you make things work?

Read on to find out.

REMINDER: 16th Annual WPO Chicago Summit 9/12/19

16th Annual WPO Chicago Summit 2019

Please join us for our exciting 16th Annual WPO Chicago Summit on Thursday, September 12 on "Artificial Intelligence (AI):  What It Is and Why It Matters for Your Business" and hosted at IBM (71 S. Wacker Drive) from 1:30-7:30 p.m. Central Time.  This event is a private event for members and sponsors only.  We have a great lineup of outstanding speakers:  Sue Hallen, IBM, Ann Yeung, Northwestern Mutual, and Dale Miller, Visionati.com.

Special thanks to our dynamic Steering Committee members highlighted in the graphic for their assistance on this program and to our wonderful sponsors to WPO!

To find out whether your business qualifies for WPO membership, visit here.  If you are interested in becoming a WPO Chicago chapter member, send me [Laurel Delaney] a LinkedIn invite and we'll get the dialog and process going.

Mia Allen Moves the World and Helps Others

Rose Pallets Vice president and co-owner Mia Allen (pictured) joined the Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO Chicago) and the International Association of Women (IAW) because she felt a need to connect with growth-oriented women execs and business owners. Through her involvement, she is able to share business expertise and learn from fellow women business leaders.

She recently sat down with Guy Gruenberg to discuss her participation in these organizations and how it has benefited the company, her employees, and her customers.

Read the interview:  How Women Executives Move the World and Each Other

Fav program through WPO Chicago?

"I really enjoyed the Women Presidents’ Organization Chicago Summit last fall at Radio Flyer’s home office on Chicago’s west side. The program was focused on building a great company culture. All of the women in attendance were there with the same purpose—to learn from each other and gain ideas to foster employee happiness for better company performance.  And, I must admit, it was pretty cool to get a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the making of one of childhood’s most beloved icons—the Little Red Wagon."

What It Means to Be a Female Entrepreneur in Today's Digital Environment (Video)

Women Entrepreneurs Who Dominate the World

A look at a whole new era of businesswomen from around the world.

Today, women are sitting side by side and establishing their businesses as household names in a variety of industries, including publishing, technology, fashion, broadcasting and beauty.

Here are 15 women business owners worth noting and to be inspired by.

If You Could Only Sense How Important You Are

©2019 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Once in a while I stumble upon a book that absolutely turns my mind around when I least expect it.  In this case, it's The World According to Mister Rogers and by Fred Rogers who helped a lot of people lead the most remarkable life they ever imagined.  So many wonderful stories, anecdotes, and insights that we can all learn from, especially this one:

"If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to the people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person."

That's exactly how we feel about our WPO meetings.

Do You Battle Impostor Syndrome?

What is imposter syndrome? It's having unproductive thoughts about yourself and your capabilities.  Here's what Kat Ambrose at Fast Company wrote after she had reached a milestone in her freelance writing career:

Seemingly out of nowhere, negative thoughts and voices popped up. You don’t deserve this. You had someone help you. This doesn’t count. You don’t know what you’re doing. You’re not a writer.

Ambrose was experiencing impostor syndrome, the belief that one is inadequate, a failure, or a fraud despite proof of success.  She goes on to say that impostor syndrome shows its ugly head in three different facets of entrepreneurship—in client work, when growing business, and in professional development.

See what else she unearthed and determine whether you fall into any of these gnarly traps.

Entrepreneurship Can Be Tough; Here's How to Simplify the Journey

David Bayer sets out to help you see that creating a successful business isn’t mysterious.

You want to create more impact, more income, more joy and a business and life you love? It turns out there’s an algorithm for that.

Read more about David's fundamental principles that underlie every successful business.

Photo by Gaelle Marcel on Unsplash.

Tips for Attending the WBENC Conference

One of the biggest conferences for women owned businesses to sell to major corporations is coming to Baltimore. What do you need to know to make the most of it?

Liz Whitehead offers 6 tips for women business owners attending the WBENC National Conference and Business Fair.

How Women-Led Companies Must Attract the Workers They Need

A recent survey of female entrepreneurs conducted by the Women Presidents Organization and EY shows that women-led companies around the world aren’t offering the progressive benefits programs necessary to attract the workers they say they need.

The survey included more than 303 women in 25 industries across 26 different countries.  Some of the findings are as follows:

• Less than 60 percent offered employees maternity leave and only 51 percent offered parental leave. About 25 percent offered flexible working arrangements, such as telecommuting, or tuition reimbursement.
• Despite this, more than 35 percent regarded recruitment and retention of talent as the biggest obstacles they faced in scaling their companies.
• More than 40 percent said that having top managerial talent is essential for them to be able to make big strategic decisions and work on what’s next, instead of being mired in day-to-day operations.

Learn more how many women-led companies' benefits programs fall short.

Photo by You X Ventures on Unsplash.

Do You Make Up Your Own Rules As You Go Along?

As a business owner, do you make up your own rules as you go along?  Here's one woman business owner's take on that notion.

This concept was incredibly empowering to me nearly eight years ago when my sister and I began our company [Matchmakers in The City] in Beverly Hills.  Growing up, I would always question the status quo: I would (respectfully) question the authority figures in my life and ask why particular rules were in place.

Read more about three pieces of advice that she was glad she didn't take too seriously.

Photo courtesy Andrew Neel on Unsplash.

Women Business Owners Find Their Economic Voice

A number of policies from the current administration and the recent explosion of restrictive state legislation aimed at women’s reproductive rights have galvanized women business owners and demonstrated the power of their economic voice.  After all:

Women own more than 11.6 million businesses in the U.S., employing nearly 9 million people and generating $1.7 trillion in sales in 2017. Women are also more likely to launch businesses than men, with the number of women-owned businesses growing 114% over the last ten years.

As this article touts, "... it’s encouraging to see female leaders embrace the power of the purse and vote with their business."

Explore more on how female business owners find their economic voice.

Photo courtesy Alice Donovan Rouse on Unsplash.

WPO Chicago Wishes You a Blessed Memorial Day 2019

WPO 50-Fastest Women-Owned and Women-Led Businesses 2019

Every Businesswoman Has Her Own Secrets to Success

Every successful woman has her own secrets, and her own key ingredients to her success.  Plus, everyone defines success differently.

As a female entrepreneur, I’m [Ashley Stahl] always on the look out to connect with and learn from incredible women who have cultivated their own amazing brand, business, and name for themselves. And thanks to the digital age we live in, I’ve met many of my friends and business inspirations on Instagram ...

Read more to discover 11 inspiring female entrepreneurs to follow on Instagram and the key to their success.

Super Success at the 22nd Annual Women Presidents' Organization Conference 2019

©2019 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Congratulations to Dr. Marsha Firestone and the entire Women Presidents' Organization team (pictured) for hosting another super successful annual conference held in beautiful Charlotte, North Carolina.

The conference encouraged WPO members to share business strategies and experience with other successful women from all over the world, as well as learn from interactive seminars and speakers.

We look forward to next year's conference held in gorgeous Montreal April 29-May 1. Mark your calendar now.

To learn more about WPO and apply for membership, visit: https://www.womenpresidentsorg.com/

Two Leading WPO Chicago Members Discuss How to Pay It Forward to Enable a Business to Thrive

As the Chicago Chapter Chair for the Women Presidents’ Organization, a peer learning organization for female business owners running multimillion-dollar businesses, I have the privilege and opportunity to facilitate monthly business meetings.  One topic that always pops up is “what should we be doing to pay it forward for others?”

Two leading [WPO Chicago] female entrepreneurs (pictured L-R:  Kim Robinson and Sandy Marsico) weigh in – one with a focus on her employee relationships and the other with a focus on making an impact for people.

Read:  Small Acts, Big Impact (originally published at Thrive Global)

How Genuine People Radiate with Energy and Confidence

In the following article, originally published on LinkedIn Pulse, Dr. Travis Bradberry unveils 12 unique habits that cause genuine people to radiate with energy and confidence.

Learn more about checking your ego at the door and putting your phones away here.

Photo by Michael Dam on Unsplash.

People Metrics Are Hard to Get Right

It is difficult at best to measure something as complex as a person for potential.  Yet we strive to achieve this very same thing every time we hire someone.

On the one hand, a good psychometric test can easily outperform a résumé scan and interview at predicting job performance and retention.

Read a clip here on whether we can really test people for potential.

Women Finding Business Opportunities at Any Age

Jewelry and accessory business owner Sally Mack always surrounds herself with smart successful women.  She said that if she can start a business, SallyMack, at 58 years old, any woman can find opportunities.  

“If I could help through whatever little things that I’ve accomplished in my business for somebody to go out there, a younger person, for them to see it can be done and for them maybe to start it sooner than I started, oh my God, that’s the biggest gift — the biggest high of anything I could possibly ask for,” she said.

What's your idea of the greatest gift?  Read more about women leading successful businesses.

Are You Connected With Your People?

Multiple surveys and articles mention “people skills” as one of the most important leadership traits. A major part of people skills is related to communication skills.

In a research study of 195 leaders in 15 countries over 30 global organizations carried out by Sunnie Giles (and reported in an HBR article, “The Most Important Leadership Competencies, According to Leaders Around the World"), communication was a major theme across the top 10 competencies.

Learn more about the 6 proven strategies to be an effective connected leader who communicates well with people.

Photo courtesy:  Amy Hirschi on Unsplash

Burnout. Depletion. What to do about it.

How can you take care of yourself so that you have the time and energy to support your team? What steps do you need to take to reduce your stress level? And what actions can you take to improve your team members’ well-being?

Burnout.  Depletion.  What to do about it.  It starts with making your own health a priority.

Photo courtesy:  Kristopher Roller on Unsplash

WPO: Ideas. Advice. Mutual Support

A group for local business executives offers ideas, advice, and mutual support.  It's called the Women Presidents' Organization.  Take, for example, Becky Pfundheller who started her own company in 1992. Today, Analytical Food Laboratories has 45 employees at its 25,000-square-foot facility in Grand Prairie, generating $3.8 million in revenue and performing tests as Pfundheller puts it on “anything you eat or ingest or put on your body—food, pharmaceuticals, dietary supplements, personal care products."

As she grew the company, Pfundheller was introduced through a friend to the Dallas chapter of the Women Presidents’ Organization, a business peer group for women CEOs, presidents, and managing directors of multimillion-dollar companies.

She joined a 15-member group that, under strict confidentiality, kicks around each other’s most difficult business decisions. They’re questions such as: “What should I do with a key employee who needs to be let go but who knows a lot and will be difficult to replace?” And: “Should I buy out my partner?” And: “Is it time to expand and open new locations?”

Read more about her experience here.

Photo courtesy:  Amy Hirschi on Unsplash

Improve Yourself in Business and in Life

Who doesn't want to improve themselves in every area of life?  I constantly wish I would laugh more, take myself less seriously and, here I go again, be far more helpful to others with business growth.  What about you?  If you are in the same league, indulge yourself to a couple of good books to open your mind from authors who cover everything from organizational growth, to how to stand out, to the making of a manager.

Read more about how to live a better life, improve yourself and your business, and achieve success faster.

Leading Up: Women Presidents' Organization 2019 Annual Conference

Come one, come all to our Women Presidents' Organization 2019 Annual Conference:  "Leading Up" held at The Westin Charlotte, in Charlotte, North Carolina, May 1-3, 2019.

Read the news.  Learn more about the program schedule.  Register here.

Hope to see you there!

If You Could Find a Way to Turn Back Time

If you could turn back time (remember the famous Cher tune?) and change your approach on running your business, what would you have done differently in your 20s?

From taking advantage of having no strings attached and seeing the world to raising your hand and asking questions, here is advice from 5 successful women business owners that they wish they would have taken in their 20s.

Women Business Owners Offer Sound Advice

I've captured all the sound advice – 16 insights – provided by women business owners in the article, "Meet the women driving Worcester's renaissance and the advice they have for aspiring business owners," by Melissa Hanson.

Here's a snapshot of what they have to say when asked what advice they would give to aspiring business owners.

1. Make sure you have a solid plan and then make sure you have a solid backup plan. And do your research and talk, network...And don't be afraid to put your ideas out there. 
2. I think the biggest thing is finding your cheerleaders, your champions, your people that are going to believe in your vision. Finding people who are going to be in your corner but that are going to challenge you and encourage you to really consider everything before you go into business is going to make you that much stronger.
3. Just do it. Always be prepared. Go in there knowing what you're talking about.
4. I would say, make sure you have a plan. Some sort of plan. Do something that you love. If you love what you're doing, you will make it a success.
5. You normally know the truth in your gut. So, if you know you're a hardworking person who's willing to sacrifice and willing to give up time and willing to kind of lose the financial part of it at first -- cause it's really difficult to make money in the beginning -- then you just have to really trust yourself. It sounds cliche, but everyone can give you an opinion but at the end of the day they're not going home with your problems. 
6. It takes a lot of will. Like unrelenting will. Get your will in order and make sure that you're doing something you're absolutely in love with and passionate about. Because there's going to be plenty of times where really crappy things are happening but if you're in love with the whole thing of what you're doing you're much more accepting of it as part of the process.
7. Just go for it. I think that all young women out there and even older women...I think that they just have to understand that they just have to do it anyway because time will pass. 
8. Really think it through and talk to other business owners to understand what's going to keep you up at night and the challenge of employing people and keeping people employed. 
9. It's not always easy and you have to do it for the right reasons. Do it because you love it and because it fits your lifestyle. You've got to surround yourself with like-minded, good people. Pay them.
10. You need a sounding board, whether it's friends of somebody who's done it before you. Do your research and talk to people. 
11. Just do it. Just start. You've got to start somewhere. Get involved and reach out. Go to a city meeting, go to a cultural coalition meeting. You've got to start building that team right off the bat.
12. There's no definites and I mean that in the sense of, talk to a lot of people, get information from a lot of people, but also know that there's a lot that you have to filter out. It's just kind of a matter of following your heart and your gut.
13. My biggest thing that I think helped was not really having a backup plan. There was no, "if it doesn't work out." This was always what was going to happen. 
14. Be transparent. Be honest with each other. If you're doing it with a partner, or even if you're doing it by yourself, figure out what your comfort zone is and be willing to go beyond what because you are always stronger than what you think you are.
15. Do the research. Do your homework. Do as much of it as you can. Talk to as many people in the industry, research your market, research your industry. Run the numbers. Have a business plan. Talk to the bank. Get financing and have three months worth of financing in the bank on top of everything you need for buildout, because those are the biggest mistakes people make.
16. Go for it.