The value of a network specifically for women?

We are often asked: “Why women only?” “Don't male entrepreneurs need a community or a flexible place to work?” “What is the value of connecting to a network of women?”

All very good questions!

We conceived of in good company workplaces based on a need that we had identified among our consulting practice clients (women entrepreneurs). We found that they experienced many degrees of isolation while forming and running a business - physical, mental, emotional, and in some ways spiritual. Truly unable to find an existing solution, we extended our business and sought to offer an answer to this isolation problem by providing a comprehensive place where these women were able to work, meet, and learn together (- hence our tag line "work.meet.learn").

In some ways IGC was born because "necessity is often the mother of invention", but we also did a lot of research to validate our thinking. We continued to focus on women because that was “our niche” and because we knew that all these challenges rang true for them. The truth is, we connected to so many women that shared this experience and validated this need, that we didn't feel it was necessary to expand the concept to men.

So, in short, the answer to all of the very valid questions is that it's entirely possible that men have many or all of these needs too, but we choose to cater to women because they are the customer we know!

Now on to the question of the value of a women only community.... We strongly believe that it is important to connect to communities that are relevant and valuable to you and your business. Some of you may find that means connecting to several communities, while others may find that there is one community that meets all of your needs. Birds of a feather flock together, so our advice is to know what kind of bird you are, and then find your flock!





posted by Amy
image courtesy of the word lily blog

Clothes --> Food!

With the help of IGC Member Joan Reilly, IGC is hosting a clothing drive run by Wearable Collections, which is a VERY cool non-profit who is bothered by the fact that every year 386 million pounds of perfectly good but unwanted clothing and textiles enter the NYC waste stream, making up about 6% of the total waste in New York City.

In response, Wearable Collections has dedicated themselves to solving this problem by getting unwanted clothes out of landfills and into the hands of those who need them. AND, what's more is that for each pound of clothing donated, they will donate 5cents to your desired charity. (Joan, who is focused on helping IGC to make a local impact, has selected the NYC Food Bank as the recipient of IGC members' bounty!)

This is a win-win-win-win initiative. You can get rid of things that you don't need and want, wearable collections distributes the clothes to people in need around the world, the city benefits from less waste in the waste stream, AND the proceeds are donated to another very deserving charitable cause! whew - I mean, is that all?!

So far, this relatively new organization has diverted nearly 1Million pounds of clothing from landfills. Help them! IGC Members have until May 15th to participate by bringing their unwanted clothes& textiles to the office. Others can either start an initiative in their own building (WC is co-op approved) or visit one of the drop off centers.

I wish I could say that this was IGC's planned Earth Day initiative, but truly all the credit goes to Joan! So for more questions about the partnership (or for help actually deciding what items to donate and what items to keep or repurpose!) contact Joan Reilly - lifeofreillyorganizers@verizon.net.

posted by Adelaide

a little unorthodox, a little unexpected, a lot innovative

The latest issue of Inc magazine pays tribute to its 30 year anniversary with a few lists of 30 items.

One “Don’t You Wish You Thought of That?: America’s Weirdest Businesses” is particularly amusing and, as it promises, it profiles business ideas that seem at the outset outright bizarre.

The list ranges from drive-thru strip joints to prosthetic testicles for neutered dogs to narcotic-detection dogs for sniffing out teens’ rooms to Sarah’s Smash Shack (a business we have written about before) which offers catharsis through china & glass destruction in a safe environment.

(This list actually came in handy during my stint at jury duty this week by keeping several of us entertained during one of our deliberation breaks – Thanks Inc.!).

Reading through this made me laugh imagining how all these business ideas were concocted. Did each one start as only a half-serious idea in the founder’s mind? I also wondered how many discouraging remarks each founder had to endure throughout their start up process. And what are their 15 second pitches like? What are the founder’s professional backgrounds like? And isn’t it funny that even if the business itself is outrageous that the founders still need to worry about mundane business tasks like accounting and customer communications and inventory? At the end of my musing, I realized that no matter how unorthodox and unexpected, I probably still have a lot in common with these business owners, or at least we’d have a lot to talk about (perhaps unlike my fellow jury members).

Another list that I love, of course, is the Business Owners Book Shelf. I was excited to realize that I own or have read many of these books (obviously these are not always synonymous!)...including of course my favorite Small Giants . Perhaps this is good fodder for our entrepreneur book club? We will have to see!

posted by Adelaide

Shout Out from Time Out!

In last week's "Make Money/ Save Money" edition of Time Out New York, In Good Company was listed alongside some great "shared space" peers in an article entitled Your Office Away From Home, including Brooklyn's 3rd Ward & Brooklyn Creative League and Manhattan's Rose Tech Venture Incubator and, of course, our favorite Paragraph!

We are so glad to be recognized as key resource for the self-employed!

Thanks to Jodi Glickman of Great On the Job for modeling!

posted by Adelaide

See Erin Rock - BabyCakes CookBook Commercial!

Erin McKenna rocks. And now you can watch her rock. Seriously, you can.



As you may remember, we hosted Erin, of BabyCakes NYC, for one of our In Good Company Conversations back in October.

During our conversation she talked about her upcoming eponymously named BabyCakes Cookbook, which hits stores on May 5th.

In anticipation, Erin created just about the most rockin' cookbook commercial you could ever imagine! Check it out.



This girl is cooking and making moves. Entrepreneurs take note - this is a small business owner to continue watching!





posted by Adelaide

TMI: Sharing as a Mom Business Owner

In the last Mom/Business Owner Affinity Group we discussed how much information is too much information when you run your own business and have family responsibilities. While this discussion was a long overdue, it was well received as there seems to be blurred boundaries on what is appropriate.

As a mother and a business owner, I have found it odd when a woman who I do not know well at all has scheduled an appointment only to tell me at the last minute that she cannot find a babysitter and she cannot make it. I completely understand this predicament; however, sometimes I find it strange that the information is shared. From my perspective, she needs to cancel or reschedule the meeting but to me the reason is irrelevant. She is a professional and I give her the benefit of the doubt that she makes decisions that work for her and her business.

I know, STICKY subject! I am sure for some of you, the hair on your neck just raised.

Our final group conclusion was that you really need to do what works best for you, but, we also identified a few things to think about:

* When might you benefit from sharing personal information, for example, perhaps the person you are speaking with was a sports nut and would be really interested to know that you coach your kid’s soccer team

* When might it be detrimental to share too much personal information? Could you alienate someone? Make them feel uncomfortable? Put yourself at a disadvantage?

* When might sharing personal information strengthen a professional relationship?

Is less more?

My own perspective is that you do not need to apologize for having a family and a business. Rely on the fact that you make the best decisions you can based on your priorities and just set realistic expectations for your clients, customers and yourself!

posted by Amy

Creatures of Comfort

I have noticed that there are a log of things that we do in our business because that is "the way we have always done it" read: routine. I challenged myself to examine my routines and determine if how I was doing it "the way I always did it" was effective or could I figure out at better way to do that activity.

A highlight of my findings: I highlight emails in my inbox to be in the marked as unread status when I need to deal with something but do not want to deal with it at the moment. I found that I re-read and highlight and unhighlight the item approx 10 times before I deal with the issue at hand. I procrastinate - there I said it. Wow! What a total waste of time! I have decided to allow my self to mark as unread 1x and then each day I need to allocate 30 minutes to go through all of the alleged "unread" messages and deal with them.

I challenge you to think of something you do in your business out of routine and see if there is a way you can do it differently and ultimately more effectively. Being a creator of comfort can lead to stagnation and impede your ability to innovate. Get uncomfortable and get out of your own way!

posted by Amy

And just a touch of Attitude...

IGC member, Joan Reilly of Life of Reilly Organizers recently sent me this article from Crain’s NY about Betty Zimmer of Bath Junkie. The article was awesome. Admittedly, I had not heard of Bath Junkie before but reading the article left me itching to visit the new store in New York and anxious to meet the entrepreneurs behind the curtain. Bath Junkie concept is simple and compelling – safe (for you and the environment) bath products designed by you (add scent and color). The concept is also proven – there are already 70 Bath Junkie retail outlets around the country. However, the article focuses on octogenarian Betty and sister-in-law Judy’s (also the franchisor) courageous decision to open a new store in one of the toughest retail markets (NYC) in the toughest retail climate (um, now…in case you hadn’t heard).

The interview highlights and questions Betty & Judy’s drive and determination to succeed despite the economy. And clearly, they are ready for the challenge of wooing cash-strapped, cautious customers. The website touts slogans such as “the economy stinks, you don’t have to”. And the personality doesn’t stop there! The website is littered with other catchy-hip phrases and slogans, which is both refreshing and unexpected. With this kind of energy and chutzpah, how can you resist conspiring to help them succeed?!

ps, new NYC location is on Mulberry between Prince & Spring.

posted by Adelaide

Need Seasoning? Pass the Mentorship!

Traditionally, we think of mentors to be those that are older, wiser, and have gone before us. However, now, many companies, including Walt Disney, are looking to partner more "seasoned" workers with younger workers who offer a different set of desired skills and expertise, for example technical knowledge. You might say these older workers are thereby receiving a little seasoning of their own.

This got us thinking about how it might be helpful to reframe mentorship...Perhaps it would be better to segment our "development needs" and find mentors who are accordingly suitable rather than look for "the whole package" or a carbon copy of your desired future self.

Instead of trying to identify where you want to be a few years down the line, locate someone similar, establish contact and a relationship, and twist their arm to give you lots of free advice and time, we could all focus on matching various mentors with our varying needs. The former seems daunting and a tall order, the latter seems actionable and pragmatic.

Instead of "Who do I want to be like", we can ask "Who can best teach me to have difficult conversations?" or effectively manage a project? or be more comfortable making an initial sales call? (Of course these are prompting me to ask myself what skills I would like to get mentoring around....what about you?).

What might it look like to work with these folks? Could it be a simple as casual correspondence? A few coffees? Can we engage with people who aren't even aware that they are mentoring us? What about those that even don't know us? (For example can I learn to interview better by listening carefully to Terry Gross?)

I would imagine that these answers will vary alongside each of our learning styles, but regardless it does feel quite exciting and liberating to think of all the people that we can very specifically learn from.

It is important to distinguish between bartering and the type of mentoring that I am suggesting...because there is a big difference.

With bartering you are exchanging your ability to do something for someone (very often it is something that you would otherwise get paid to do) in return for their willingness to do something for you. While, on the other hand, mentorship is about teaching skills and abilities. Mentees should have learned something new in the process that they are now able to leverage and employ. They leave the relationship changed, different, and more "seasoned".

And there is an equally large difference between services you should pay for and places where you can look for mentorship. On the one hand, there is no need to learn to do everything yourself (keep the accountant and the tech consultant for example!), and on the other, there are things that you should learn to do yourself and learn to do them right, by using a professional.

For goodness sake, don't ask for mentorship from someone who would otherwise get paid to share the expertise you are seeking. And make the necessary investments by hiring professionals where it seems appropriate...but I'd encourage you to think of a couple things that you want to improve and can learn from others...think about what they are and who can help and how. Consider how you can "season" yourself with the experience and wisdom of others...

Ecko-ing Success

Admittedly, Mark Ecko is a cultural icon that I admire and find intriguing. A white Jewish guy who has cemented himself as a central hip-hop/pop culture figure with a competitive business empire. He got his start as a graffiti artist (in 8th grade) and has spent the time since then growing his brand and market presence. What started as t-shirt art has now become a veritable lifestyle company rivaling the likes of Polo and Sean John (both companies that Ecko admires and learns from).

Ecko's story is found in an interview in the March issue of Inc. Magazine. What I love about this interview is that you can clearly see some of the thought processes behind key decisions at the Ecko company - for example the origins of the Rhino logo, and ruminations over the company name. He plainly talks about his initial aspirations and how he got started (love that he mentions writing his first business plan!).

Additionally, Ecko talks about how the message and meaning of his brand has really driven the direction of the company. His growth has been fueled putting the 'Ecko' spin on current events and by engaging the public in a manner reflective of the Ecko brand - thought-provoking, revealing, publicly informed and influenced.

What is interesting is how dramatically these brand-building, public discourse activities have impacted Ecko's retail growth though there is often no obvious link.

Ecko also discusses the decision to appeal not to the editorial fashion community, but instead to the "buying community". He wisely states "The gatekeepers aren't the goalkeepers"...Seems worth thinking about...

* Who are your gatekeepers?
* Who are your goalkeepers?
* Who do you try to appeal to?
* What drives the growth of your business?
* What fortifies and advances your brand?
by Adelaide