When Is It Better To Give Than Receive in Business?

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time to share visual for business sponsorship. 5 tips to decide if your business should be a sponsor

With the holidays approaching, the question of how much your business should give to sponsor worthy causes comes to the forefront – and may provide a basis to create a sponsorship budget for 2015. Maura Raffensperger, founder of Your Chief Simplicity Officer, and a proud Elite Member Sponsor of the National Association of Women Business Owners, Ventura County (NAWBO-VC) knows this dilemma well after 17 years in business. “Like many business owners, I am frequently asked to sponsor non-profits;” says Maura, “It used to be hard to say ‘No’, but I have found answering five key questions makes the decision easy, and creates a ‘win-win’ for both of us.”

Maura offers these 5 tips to help simplify your business sponsorship decisions:
    1. The organization aligns with your values.
      NAWBO, for example, is ‘a cohesive community of women business owners sharing best practices and support for each other’ which is a great fit for my mission statement and business and personal values.
    2. The organization has a written sponsorship policy.
      What do they expect of you? Are there multiple types of sponsorship? Pick the best fit.
    3. There is a responsive contact within the organization for sponsors.
      In a non-profit, this person may change every year. Do you know how to contact them? Do they get back to you? Ideally, you would like to build a relationship with this person.
    4. You will take advantage of most, if not all, of the sponsorship benefits.
      You may think they just want your money, but they want your participation, too. If your sponsorship includes seats at a banquet, for instance, they want to see those seats filled. You can be creative, and offer the tickets to clients, employees, or a student who might benefit, but it is your responsibility to make sure there is not a lonely empty table with your company name on it.
    5. They want to recognize you – make it easy for them.
      Respond promptly with their initial requests for your logo and company description, so they can add you to their promo materials and website.

You are free to publish and repost this content as long as long as you attribute to Maura Raffensperger and link back to this post.

As part of my sponsorship of NAWBO-VC, I am the title sponsor for their November 20th meeting and I would love to see you there. Click here for more information and to register. Use Promo Code MAURA to receive a 10% discount on your (non-member) registration – if you register by Monday, November 17!

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Did You Design Your Business, Or Did You Let It Re-design You?

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Your business plan is the blueprint for your businessWhen I was a teen-ager, I wanted to be an architect. My father, unusual for his generation, assured both his daughters they could have a career in whatever field they desired. Of course, to him – literally a rocket scientist for NASA – that meant a science-based career, and  in high school I was the only female in my architectural drawing class, and one of only three in my physics class. By the time I was applying to colleges, I had decided on pharmacy as my career, but I never lost my love of good design.

Which is why I spent Saturday happily touring 17 demo homes in the Solar Decathlon (there were 19, but my husband started whining after 5, and I could only park him at the food court for so long…). Not familiar with the Solar Decathlon? It is an extraordinary event that occurs every two years, and challenges collegiate teams to design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient, and attractive. The winner of the competition is the team that best blends affordability, consumer appeal, and design excellence with optimal energy production and maximum efficiency.

One of the fun parts of the Decathlon is the way the teams are judged. Of course they are judged on architecture, market appeal, and energy balance, but they also need to host two dinner parties and one movie night for neighboring teams, who award the host team points based on the quality of the meal, ambiance, and overall experience. The point is that the homes have to be livable, which is one measure of good design.

Which brings us to your business. Does it feel livable to you, or are you working 24/7? Do you flow through your days with ease, or are you constantly encountering obstacles (especially the same obstacles over and over again…)? How often do you mutter “There has got to be a better way”?

Whether or not you have a formal business plan, your business must also be designed to be livable. The good news is that the problems can be fixed — by implementing the principles of good design. In a business, this starts by analyzing where the problems are, why the problems occur, and then designing the solutions. It may not be your area of expertise, but it is mine, and together, we can transform your business. I have several options of how we can work together; call me and we can discuss what would be the best fit for you.

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Overwhelmed at Work? Take a Hike

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Overworked businesswomanEver find yourself with so much to do that you become paralyzed? There are so many choices, you can’t decide where to begin, so you end up doing nothing? The tendency is to think you need to work more, but the reality is you need to take a hike.

In my case, that would be an actual hike, but you can do something different – as long as it gets you out of the office. Some form of exercise is ideal, however.

Why does this work? Because, when you are not surrounded by multiple things you could work on, your mind will whirl away without distraction. And eventually there will be clarity.

If you’ve ever had a great insight while in the shower, you know this works. And it’s not because you force yourself to think about work; it’s more because you aren’t, and your subconscious has a chance to problem-solve.

But for me, hiking is the spark that opens my creativity, and even the seed for this post. This summer, I’ve been training to climb Mt. Katahdin, the high point of Maine.  Last Sunday’s hike was hard work, and additionally my thoughts raced with all I needed to do, both personally and professionally, to be ready to leave for my upcoming trip to Maine.  Not for the first time, I pondered why hiking generates such great problem-solving. For one thing, hiking is repetitive, and does not require my total focus, allowing my brain to work on other things. And I think that because you can’t immediately act, being removed for the moment from your office, etc.,  you are forced to take the next step – the one we often resist -and plan how to get it all done.

I was at peace by the time I reached the top of the mountain I climbed last weekend.  Find the activity that brings you peace & sparks your creativity, and make sure you schedule it into your week.

P.S. Katahdin will be my 42nd state highpoint. There is actually an entire group of people whose hobby is attaining the high point of every state, and we even have a yearly convention. For more information, visit www.highpointers.org

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