Pauline, owner of Lilla P, who we have been featuring all month through our inFOUCS program has generously offered all IGCers 20% off your entire purchase for the next 2 weeks!!
To redeem please enter IGC20 at checkout on http://www.llillap.com/ (valid from 5/17 - 5/31)
Also, we hope you are planning to join us at the private tour and talk at Pauline's showroom in the meatpacking district next Wednesday, May 26th from 3-5pm. to rsvp please send an email to us at igcrsvp@gmail.com with LILLA P in the subject.
In the meantime, catch up on some of the LILLA P conversation we've been having on the blog:
(picture of the 4th floor since the new space isn't quite ready yet!)
We are so thrilled to announce that we are growing and will now be offering FULL TIME monthly membership options starting June 1st! Better yet, the new space is on the 3rd floor of our existing building!
These FULL-TIME memberships include access to either a permanent personal work space or furnished office. Both options have unlimited 24/7 access and all-inclusive pricing and offer everything you need to get your work done without the hassle of setting up your own office or making a long term commitment.
Our DEDICATED DESK membership provides you with a personal work space within an open, curated office, while the PRIVATE OFFICE membership offers a beautiful, furnished office in a great city location and in the company of other women entrepreneurs.
Click here for further details and a list of all the cushy amenities.A floor plan is available upon request.
Please email Amy if you are interested in either of these offerings: amy@ingoodcompany.com
For more than a decade, New York based fashion line LILLA P has developed a coveted market niche by taking fashion’s most iconic creation, the classic cotton tee shirt, and flirting with its styling, construction, and fit. Built around a modern rethinking of that iconic silhouette, Lilla P has grown into a busy Meatpacking District design studio with a devoted retail following for expertly tailored knitwear.
Both hilarious and sharp - Pauline is not to be missed!
Join us for a private gathering at her showroom. Pauline will be talking about her story, the brand, its history and future, and lessons learned along the way.
WHEN: May 26th, 3-5pm WHERE: LILLA P showroom - address will be provided RSVP: igcrsvp@gmail.com
In the meantime, you can follow them on Facebook and watch our blog for snippets of our conversations with Pauline.
The workshop (which is for intermediate and advanced social media users) will cover:
- Why the traditional marketing rules cannot be strictly applied to social media marketing. - How to find and create strategic joint venture (JV) relationships using social media. - The 3 components needed to ACT (attract, convert, transform) new clients online and how to apply those concepts and tools to your business.
In addition to recent updates and applications for Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, Shama will address the marketing pros/cons of new applications and tactics e.g. GoogleBuzz, Plancast, Foursquare, new website tools, video blogs as well as offer insight on the future of social media, websites and online marketing in general.
This event is open to the public but there are very limited tickets.
WHEN: May 25, 2-4pm WHERE: IGC, 16 West 23rd Street, 4th Floor COST: $35 without book/$49 with book REGISTER
With April comes a new inFOCUS business! We had a great time with Meredith Barnett of The Inside Source and StoreAdore last month and this month are excited to be featuring BottleRocket.
BottleRocket has effectively changed the experience of shopping for and learning about wine with their innovative store layout, friendly and knowledgeable staff members, integrated educational approach, and outstanding customer service.
Starting April 1st we will be posting a series of excerpts from our conversations with Tom Geniesse, founder and business creative extraordinaire!
As always, we will round out the month with a private gathering and "behind the scenes" peek at the featured business.
On April 21st, BottleRocket has graciously invited IGC members to join them for a tasting, tour, and talk.
It is a great way to kick off spring with your IGC companions!
WHERE: BottleRocket 5 West 19th Street (b/w 5th/6th avenues) WHEN: April 21st, 5:30-7:30pm RSVP: Pls send an email to igcrsvp@gmail.com with BOTTLEROCKET in the subject
Last week I attended a wonderful talk by Nancy Ancowitz about her book "Self Promotion for Introverts". According to all assessments I have ever taken, I am an off-the-chart extrovert. That is to say, I am energized by being around people.
An article by Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen states that "extroverts are interested in what's happening outside themselves: their surroundings, people, noises. Extroverts don't tend to enjoy spending time alone, and they get their energy from other people. A significant extroverted personality trait is that energy flows outward.
But as it turns out, I am in two significant relationships with introverts - my husband and my business partner. And that is why the book is so fascinating for an extrovert.
Perhaps my unconscious choice of partners was more deliberate than I thought - they both listen to me! That being said, they are both very social (as far as introverts go) and that is probably why we get along. In other words, they can both keep up with me.
Some of my takeaways were to let the introverts in your life speak! That means for me to shut up. Introverts prefer to think before they speak. So sometimes, they need a minute to organize their thoughts. That does not mean that their silence is an opportunity for me to start talking again.
Oh yea, and while I am at it, they do not really like to be interrupted either. I find that since I like to think aloud, I often dictate a conversation that I think they should have. How annoying! I am going to work on letting my introverts think for themselves. Chances are, they give more thought to what they want to say that I do at times.
Finally, a great take away for me was to be aware that I have certain style preferences and introverts have different style preferences and that we should work together to meet half way.
Thanks Nancy, great book for all of the introverts & extroverts out there!
We are thrilled to announce that we have confirmed a book deal with Portfolio, which is Penguin’s business imprint! We couldn’t be more excited about this new direction and to be in the company of so many other great books at Portfolio!
Our launch into this new stage was made official by this clip in Publishers Weekly this morning, listed under "Machinist Closes Two". (Thank YOU, Alexandra!)
Our book, tentatively titled, GOOD COMPANY: Entrepreneurship for the rest of us, offers women new thinking and sound advice about what’s really important when building a sustainable, rewarding and enjoyable business – by their own definition.
As we do in our consulting practice and through the In Good Company Workplaces, the book will focus on helping you determine what decisions and business direction is best for YOU based on your goals and needs.
There are so many reasons that we are totally pumped to be writing this book.
We have learned so much from the all women we have worked with over the last 5 years, and it is thrilling to have a vehicle that can share so many of those lessons.
And just as the workspace was one solution to pool resources, share knowledge, and create community, the book is another exciting avenue to accomplish these three goals with a larger group of women entrepreneurs.
We are also really looking forward to complementing the many startup resources out there by engaging in meaningful conversation about what’s important to think about as entrepreneurs after you’ve gotten launched. What are the keys to success in year 1, 2, or 10?
We, ourselves, have been hungering for a book that not only addresses the building business stage but that also highlights a wide range of ventures that are diverse in industry, size, goal, and location and that exhibit a variety of models of entrepreneurship.
GOOD COMPANY is scheduled to come out at the beginning of 2012. But in the meantime, we will be engaged in active conversation on this blog and twitter! We want your input and can’t wait to hear your thoughts.
We will be asking questions about your experiences, solicit feedback on our ideas, and updating you on the interviews and conversations that we are having!
Our March inFOCUS program spotlights the fabulous Meredith Barnett, who brilliantly transitioned from entrepreneur to intrapreneur. With a professional background that is equal parts business, fashion, and media, Meredith has found many creative homes for her talents to flourish.
She is currently editorial director of The Inside Source, a digital style magazine presented by eBay about trends in for shopping fashion, home & garden, collectibles and more, and is also co-founder of Store Adore, a personalized, web-based guide to the best boutique shopping around the country and online.
What we love about Meredith & her story:
* She recognizes that smart and style go hand-in-hand, And as you’ll see, she is able to expertly mix business and beauty. Case in point: her resume boasts both a Harvard MBA and a plumb editorial job at Lucky Magazine.
* She is a keen trend spotter who can easily read both the marketplace and industry landscapes.
* She is a master re-inventor. When the economy tanked at just the wrong time, Meredith was able to steer her business to safe ground while simultaneously obtaining another professionally challenging, innovative, and enterprising positions.
* She is candid and insightful about the nature of both the publishing and retail industries and as both models continue to change, she is eager to be at the front of the pack when it comes to figuring out what works best.
We were thrilled when Eden Abrahams of Clear Path Executive Coaching approached us nearly two years ago with the hope of using In Good Company as research site for her Masters’ Thesis. She was interested in looking at the process of “becoming an entrepreneur” for women.
We are so pleased that her results support the importance of peers, as this was obviously our entire premise and hope in starting In Good Company Workplaces back in 2007. Further, her study shows that safe space, collegial relationships, peer learning and truth speaking all seem to be critical elements in the process of “becoming an entrepreneur”.
Thanks to Eden for sharing the results with us. More about the research can be found on her website, in addition to an excerpt of findings listed below.
**** From “A Room with a Crew: How Coaching and Peer Support Are Experienced by First-Time Entrepreneurs”:
Three new and noteworthy findings also emerged from this study:
1. The normalization of negative feelings related to agency, including isolation and inadequacy, is one of the most important takeaways that participants gained from their association with In Good Company peers.
* The ability to see one’s struggles in the context of a universal reality (i.e., these are obstacles that most entrepreneurs routinely encounter in the early stages of building their businesses) rather than as failures due to individual shortcomings, is extremely difficult to do in isolation.
* Without access to peers, mentors or coaches who have first-hand experience with the situation and / or emotional state an entrepreneur is facing, or at least an awareness of typical elements of the entrepreneurial experience, a core ingredient in the “normalization” process is missing.
2. Both formal and informal peer-to-peer coaching interactions have the potential to foster significant – possibly transformational – learning, which is often a powerful catalyst for professional development.
* In Good Company initially appealed to all six study participants as a solution to largely practical problems (e.g., the need for affordable office space and network expansion opportunities), but became something much more vital and affirming, largely on the strength of their affinity for and relationships with other women in the community. Participants’ interactions with other members, both casual and structured, helped them to acquire tangible knowledge, skills, behaviors and new contacts that they considered valuable from a bottom-line perspective.
3. The ability to simultaneously engage in provisional role playing while observing others inhabiting their roles – all within a safe space – functions as a kind of protective scaffolding for individuals whose identities are in flux or evolving.
* Work occupies a central place in adult life and in shaping individuals’ identities. Supportive, information-rich professional environments, where individuals can safely experiment with new behaviors while observing and selectively emulating their peers, help to strengthen and reinforce professional identities that are newly emergent or still in flux.
****
We are so excited that this research mirrors our experience and hypothesis. Too often we find that women who have decided to work for themselves end up working by themselves. We believe that there is no reason to go it alone or reinvent the wheel. Peers and collaboration are the keys to success!
We are Adelaide Lancaster and Amy Abrams. We run a community and workspace for women entrepreneurs in NYC. This blog helps us share interesting news on small business ideas, models, resources, and innovation with our members and other entrepreneurs.
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