I woke up one morning this week to be pleasantly surprised to learn that I had been named to the esteemed Cindy Ratzlaff‘s “Binders full of women: Top 18 women for business advice” list. Accredited for marvelously marketing the infamous “South Beach Diet” book, Cindy is a legend in the publishing world. Her current masterpieces are marketing companies she founded, “Brand new, brand you” and “Red carpet strategies”, with fellow female marketing phenoms Lisa McKenzie and Francine Allaire.
I am honored and grateful to be included in such acclaimed company. Thank-you Cindy!
(The following article was taken from Cindy’s website: www.cindyratzlaff.com)
Every entrepreneur should have binders full of women (and men) who are resources, teachers, strategists, leaders, contacts and potential partners. Social media provides the digital version of a binder through Facebook Interest Lists and Twitter Lists. G+ has circles and Pinterest Boards. We’ve got Evernote to capture and save links, sites and notes and digital contact lists on our mobile devices that act as simple Customer Relations Management, or CRM, tools.
Here’s a peek inside just one of my personal “binder,” my Top 18 Top Women to Follow for Business Advice. Each of these women share their expertise, advice, resources and opinions so freely that you’ll feel like you’re getting a mini-MBA just by adding them to your stream. These are in no particular order and every one is provides such valuable information, guidance and inspiration, I recommend you take time to visit their websites and see if what they talk about will help you grow your business.
Top 18 Top Women to Follow for Business Advice
Marie Forleo Marie’s YouTube Channel, Marie TV, has nearly three million views and is a great example of matching the platform to the messenger. Marie was made for TV and she delivers her business advice in such an accessible way that you leave her channel thinking “Yes, I can.” Marie isn’t just a pretty face. She has the chops to back up her advice with real world results. She’s an author, a highly sought after speaker and her A-List address book is the envy of the industry.
Ali Brown When you follow Ali Brown you don’t just get Ali Brown–which would be amazing enough. You get Ali Brown’s whole team. Ali was featured on ABC-TV’s Secret Millionaire but she doesn’t keep her strategies on business a secret. She pays it forward by gathering the best coaches and teachers around together in one spot and consistently sharing top notch information and motivation for women in business. While some of Ali’s business coaching is available only through private programs, she makes a lot of high quality trainings and advice, free and available to everyone. Recommended for any level entrepreneur.
Mari Smith Mari lives her message as the relationship marketing pied piper. Mari shares so many strategies and resources that you can discover something new every day. She answers questions, tackles new tools, hosts regular free webinars and has more positive energy than anyone I know. Mari’s tips, strategies and techniques are perfect for beginners and advanced marketers alike. Her heart-centered, cheerleader style delivery makes learning fun and the quality of followers and friends in her various social circles are a fantastic an added bonus. Following Mari Smith is like getting your M.S. (Master’s in Social).
Sally Dedecker lives and breathes the book publishing business. Her deep knowledge of the industry means she understands the ramifications of every change in this rapidly changing industry. Sally is the driving force behind UPublishU, the new self-publishing education day at BookExpo America. She’s smart, connected and if you’re an author, reader or publisher, you’ll want to put Sally on your radar to keep up to date and in the know about the evolution of e-publishing, self-publishing and traditional publishing.
Lena West is a force of nature. She’s a powerful speaker and appears regularly on the Spark & Hustle Tour with Tory Johnson. She talks regularly about the art of influence; how to create it and how to use it to grow your business. She knows what’s she’s talking about and has been featured in major national media like The Wall Street Journal and CNN.
Pat Fortin Mussieux is an author, speaker and coach. Pat models the “if I can do it so can you,” philosophy, sharing her own personal story in a funny, inspirational way. Pat has a laser focus that can help you cut years off your learning curve just by watching, engaging with and taking to heart the pearls of wisdom she shares every day. I want to be Pat when I grow up.
Shelly Kramer in her own words is “a marketing/digital strategist, geek, tech lover, idea generator, gadget addict, WWF-loving, wordsmith-y kinda gal.” THAT is why I follow her on Twitter. A like-minded digital soul sister, she has an insatiable appetite for what’s hot, what works, what’s new and how it all works together. She’s my geek girl crush and she’s got mad skills.
Francine Allaire has a business pedigree that makes her my secret weapon. She’s a partnership genius who understands that the fastest path to business success is knowing how to create a winning opportunity for both parties in a business transaction. Francine has the ability to look at a challenging business problem and see the clear path from the starting block to the bank. She’s able to take complex concepts and strategies and pull out the plain language and make me understand it. Whether she’s guiding CEO’s to make better choices or revealing the values of collaboration to entrepreneurs, when Francine Allaire speaks, I listen.
Anita Campbell is the founder and CEO of Small Business Trends and her flagship site is a treasure trove of information for any kind of small business from start up to growth phase. Her newest venture, Biz Sugar, is my secret timesaving strategy for finding and sharing great business tools and tips quickly and easily every morning on Twitter. Anita saves me time, points me to valuable information and makes it easy for me to share that information with my followers. Three cheers for Anita who makes my day easier just for knowing her.
Ronda Wada wins my Woman to Watch award. Her intuitive business coaching helps women uncover “The Business in Your Soul™.”Ronda is developing her own brand and brand extensions as she’s helping others do the same, teaching women to tap into and trust their own intuitive guidance, helping them filter the noise and find their true voice and modeling what it looks like to take action and create success when purpose and passion meet forward motion. She’s the next break out star in motivation and inspiration for women in business. Follow her now. Thank me later.
Suzanne Evans will have you on your feet yelling her signature phrase “Hell yes!” She’s a speaker, motivator, coach and an inspiration. She knows only one way: forward. She doesn’t believe in no and she does believe creating five and six figure incomes is possible even in a down market. Just following Suzanne will raise your serotonin levels and you’ll find yourself smiling as this funny, smart drill sergeant challenges you to be all you can be.
Fauzia Burke understands what it takes to hang up your own shingle. She created FSB Associates after a successful career in book publicity with legacy publishers and turned her focus to new media opportunities for authors at exactly the moment when print was disappearing and national TV and radio opportunities for authors were few and far between. Fauzia built on the massive skills she’d developed in book publicity to become one of the premiere web marketing agencies for books and authors. A frequent industry speaker and a HuffPo blogger, Fauzia and her team are influence connectors for books and authors.
Pam Brossman is the creator of She Experts. Pam harnessed the power of video to create her brand at breakneck speed. She had a vision and she used video marketing as the jet fuel to get that vision out of her head and into the world with such clarity that following Pam is like following a map. Watch, learn and replicate to save yourself time, money, frustration and burnout. Be sure to take your vitamins because Pam is moving and shaking and you’ll need every ounce of energy you can get.
Susan Hobson brings the discipline and strategies she used as an elite athlete to her coaching practice focusing on mental performance. Susan played with the National Women’s Hockey league and holds 4 post graduate degrees and certifications. She understands the psychology behind success as well as the strategies to achieving it and this is one amazing woman. So if you want to get to your goals faster and sustain your business success for your entire career, get on board the Susan Express.
Lisa Sasevich teaches high impact sales conversion strategies for entrepreneurs. She specializes in helping business owners create irresistible offers and getting clients to say yes, on the spot, without being a sales-y over-the-top pushy person. This is a valuable skill and she is the mistress.
Rachael Jayne Groover is an international speaker, author and the creator of The Art of Feminine Presence. Rachael Jayne believe feminine intelligence is an asset to be embraced as women build powerful, purposeful and profitable businesses. She’s a nurturing and encouraging voice guiding women in uncovering their own voices.
Lara Galloway is the Mom Biz Coach and I follow Lara for her time management brilliance. Lara is a work at home Mom who manages to build a large and influential following while still having a quality life. She’s my super hero. She tweets, posts, speaks, coaches, partners and still has time for a life. And she’s funny and nice, qualities I value above almost all others.
A. Michelle Blakeley is the founder of Simplicity Inc. Just Googling her name to make sure I had the right link to her website gave me a brand new visibility tip, leading me to a nifty tool called, Vizability. Enough said. If a Google search for Michelle gives you a new tool to make your digital life simpler and more efficient, stop everything and add her to your lists.
I have many Binders Full of Women and I’ll be sharing more of these lists in the near future. These 18 women to follow for business advice bring strategies, branding, marketing and success tools, tips and techniques into my social streams every day. Let’s expand on this list as a service to one another. Who do you look to on a daily or weekly basis for quality advice and information to get to and stay at the top of your entrepreneurial game?
