A New Business In Sacramento

The Keystone Experiment – Speed Dating for Business

2009-02-27T18:16:33Z

I went speed dating last night.

I’m actually very happily married, and yet my wife sent me off with her blessings. So what’s up with that?

If you’ll recall in the previous two articles (The Keystone Experiment, and The Keystone Experiment - An Open Invitation), I joined the Sacramento Metro Chamber as part of my “Keystone Experiment” to see if I could leverage all that’s available to me as a new member to promote my business, the Bay Area Search Engine Academy. These articles chronicle the steps I took to market in this economy. Hopefully they will demonstrate some things you can do for yourself whether you join a Chamber or use them elsewhere.

Speed Dating for Businesses

The Metro Chamber had a mixer last night hosted by Mandango’s Bar and Grill on Fulton Avenue. Wanting to meet some local businesses, I drove up from Livermore to check it out. Like all mixers I’ve been to, the owner put out a nice spread of some really yummy food: quesadillas, mini pork buns, homemade spicy potato chips, pasta, and so on. They had a beer tasting counter set up to one side, and mini fruit “martinis” at the door. So far so good, and I'm liking it!

I’ve never personally been speed dating, but from what I see on TV (and everything on TV is true, right?), there’s a similar process going on here. It’s just less regimented than true “speed dating”. The goal for most people who come to mixers is to meet as many other businesses as possible in the two hours you’re there. Tools of the trade here include a stack of business cards, your 30 second “infomercial”, and some courage to stick your hand out to meet new people.

How does it happen? You either get approached, or you approach someone you don’t know, stick your right hand out and introduce yourselves. Simply ask the other person, “What do you do?” They will tell you their “infomercial”, and hopefully ask for yours. You may exchange business cards, but the key here is to be polite and never try to “close the deal”. You’re merely meeting new people, and if it makes sense, meet up later to discuss business. At that point, you may shake hands, part ways and look for other new people to meet. These exchanges usually don’t take more than a couple minutes or so, unless you really connect and decide to chat some more.

When I’m at the Livermore Chamber of Commerce mixers, I like to connect people I know with new people. Because I’ve been to enough of them, I probably know a good chunk of those who attend. I’ve even been helping a young woman, Laura, who recently graduated from college meet businesses owners. Laura's business card has her title listed as “Prospective Employee”, which always gets a chuckle.

30 Second Infomercial

Those of us who have been to many mixers in the past know that a pro needs to have quick infomercial that describes your business at a high level with a hook. It must be practiced well so it rolls off the tongue, and not have any sales-speak. Tall order for 30 seconds, right?

Since my company offers workshops to businesses, if I just tell people, “I sell SEO workshops to business owners,” that’s boring, and most people will wonder what the heck “SEO” is? Whatever it is, they probably don’t want or need it, and certainly don't want to come to a workshop about it.

Instead, I tell them, “I help business owners who are struggling to market themselves in a down economy by teaching them the proper techniques for getting listed on Google. My clients love it when their phone rings because they were found on the search engines!” That’s far more compelling. It also opens the door for them to ask more questions if they're interested. If it’s not a situation that fits them, then that’s fine, and I haven’t tried to “sell” them anything.

Mixer Results

I met some really interesting people last night. Will they turn into attendees at my workshop? I don’t know, I didn't ask. Many people asked for my business card, which is good. I met a personal chef, marketing people, two Web designers, a financial advisor, a fitter for “lymphedema and vascular garments”, a maker of edible table arrangements, commercial bankers, and so on. All of them are very friendly, and hopefully I’ll run into them at future mixers or elsewhere.

The point of all this is that if you own a business, you have to “work” the tools given to you. If you join the Metro Chamber, business won’t just walk in the door. You have to use it and leverage it. Hopefully it’ll work for me, and as I said before, “Time will tell.”

Next Time - The Ribbon Cutting

You’re still invited to attend the grand opening and Ribbon Cutting ceremony on Monday. Please comment below if you plan to attend.

Monday, March 2, 2009
10:00 – 10:30 a.m.
Courtyard Marriott Midtown
4422 Y Street
Sacramento

By the way: Bring your business cards, stick out your right hand, and practice your 30 second infomercial on me!

The Keystone Experiment - An Open Invitation

2009-02-15T19:14:55Z

The time and date is set, the place is picked, food and beverages have been ordered. Now we just need people at the party. (See “An Open Invitation” below.)

Late last month, I wrote about how as a new business in Sacramento, my first priority was to join the Sacramento Metro Chamber and use their tools to the fullest to build my business. The Metro Chamber has a long list of tools in their arsenal to get publicity for their members.
However, simply joining is not enough. Business owners must actively use these tools and work them into their marketing plans. My goal is to utilize as much of it as I can, document it here for Internet posterity, and hope that others can learn from it too. This series of articles for the Sacramento Press will continue to document our use of the Metro Chamber’s tools and how well they worked for us.

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

One of the first things a new business can do after joining their local Chamber is to have a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, which according to Wikipedia, “is a public ceremony conducted to inaugurate the opening to the general public of a new building or business.” In the ribbon cutting, friends, colleagues, perhaps public officials or dignitaries come to the opening ceremony, say a few words, and then cut the ceremonial ribbon to indicate that the business or building is officially open.

I have been to many ribbon cuttings in my home town of Livermore. As an Ambassador to our Livermore Chamber of Commerce, it’s my job to welcome the new business, show support, and try to introduce others to that business. Similarly, I got a phone call from one of the Metro Chamber Ambassadors, Gene Coughlin. He offered his support in whatever way he could to help make it a success. It’s always nice to have a friendly voice in a new town.

Where Should the Ribbon Cutting Be?

Many businesses that have a ribbon cutting, will typically have it in their office space or store or someplace related to them. They get the opportunity to show the attendees what their business is all about, and talk a little about it.

However, because the Bay Area Search Engine Academy doesn’t have a physical presence in Sacramento, I contacted Alanah Fink at the Courtyard Marriott Midtown, which is where the Academy workshops will be held in March. They were thrilled to have the ribbon cutting at their hotel. This of course, gives them an opportunity to show their facility off, which is a win-win for both of us!

An Open Invitation

I would personally like to invite readers of this article to attend the ribbon cutting so you can see what it’s all about. My only request is that you let me know that you’ll be there by sending me a note. I’m planning for about 25 people, but we need to plan for a larger crowd please (coffee and pastries will be served).

Bay Area Search Engine Academy Ribbon Cutting
Monday, March 2, 2009
10:00-11:00 a.m.
Courtyard Marriott Sacramento Midtown
4422 Y Street (map)

I hope to see you there, and personally meet you. It should be lots of fun, and of course, being ever the networker, please bring your business cards to pass out to others you might meet there!

Next Time

Attending a Metro Chamber Mixer

The Keystone Experiment

2009-01-27T00:38:46Z

I’m a new business owner. Actually, I’m not all that new. I have had a Web consulting business for nearly four years, after having “retired” from corporate life. Last year, I decided to start a second adjunct business, and one key target market area that I wanted to grow into was Sacramento. So I decided to hatch an experiment, and this article will be the first of a series of articles about my experiences. It may document a success or two, or maybe it won’t, depending upon the outcome.

Time will tell.

Background

To give you, the reader a bit of background, I’m a computer technologist coming from a twenty-one year history of working in a corporate environment with data centers, programmers, servers, and Web technology. I chucked a stable paycheck and my cube (a lá Dilbert) a few years ago for entrepreneurship, and a tiny shared office in downtown Livermore. I love it, and I’ve never looked back!

The new business is called the Bay Area Search Engine Academy, but despite the “Bay Area” name, the reality is that the business also spans into Sacramento, down to Fresno, and Santa Cruz. We teach workshops to business owners so they learn how to market themselves on Google.

This series of articles, however, isn’t about my business. It will be about how I can break out of my local neighborhood, Livermore, and hopefully build a new business and foster relationships in a city that I usually travel past, rather than to.

First Steps

As an avid member and Ambassador of the Livermore Chamber of Commerce, it seemed logical that the very first place I should go to in Sacramento is the Sacramento Metro Chamber as a keystone to my presence here. Interestingly, there’s another article that just got posted yesterday about someone else’s experience with Metro Chamber. Perhaps she’ll invite me to her mixer at some point too.

The Livermore Chamber boasts that they are the fifth largest chamber in the Bay Area, and it has, according to the San Francisco Business Times, 820 members (last year’s stats). The Chamber CEO, Dale Kaye, and I meet regularly and she’s present at a lot of functions I attend. The Livermore Chamber staff (8 people) are all friends of mine because we interact on a regular basis. I know probably 2/3 of the 50 Ambassadors too.

The Sacramento Metro Chamber, on the other hand, has at least three times the membership, it’s the second largest chamber in the state, has a whopping list of 450 volunteers and an org chart that makes it look like a small corporation. I’m not sure when the Livermore Chamber was originally formed, but Metro Chamber was formed in 1895, essentially to help with the winter flooding and build the levees around the city.

That Was Easy!

There was no question that I wanted to join Metro Chamber. Especially with its reach of nearly 3000 businesses, it’s a bargain at a few hundred dollars for the opportunity to connect with all these people! So my application and information went off, and Bob Welton from Member Services welcomed me in. Easy.

They hold a monthly orientation to the Metro Chamber which I attended a few days later. There, Matt Mahood, the CEO, gave a presentation to us about what the Metro Chamber is all about, opprtunities for us business owners, and how they help business by working to support legislative candidates who are pro-business, and even work to get pro-business legislation passed.

The orientation was standing room only, packed with forty-one business owners, employees and various chamber personnel. Being a veteran networker, of course, this was a prime opportunity to, well, network! Business cards are after all, the cheapest form of advertising available. I met some new contacts, and who knows, maybe we’ll do business at some point. (I subsequently took some time to meet the very friendly staff of your very own Sacramento Press, and hopefully built some new friendships.)

The Grand Experiment

So what’s this grand “experiment” that I’m hatching? My ultimate goal of course is to fill my workshop in March. Can the Metro Chamber help me reach my goals, and how will I track it? As this experiment unfolds, I’ll be filling you in on these details. Although, I have to admit, it feels a bit personal, because, what if I don’t reach my goals? There it will sit in Internet eternity for all of you to read.

Alas, as I said earlier, time will tell.

Next Time

The Ribbon Cutting!