A.     Overview

-          Sherry outlined the overall purpose behind the Round Table

B.      Introductions

            We each introduced ourselves to the group informally

C.     Elevator Pitches

1.      Kathryn

·         pitch: design fabulous and functional Web sites, and specialize in revamping sites that are stale and dated

·         impressions: much too short, people want to know what redesigning their site will do for them

·         emphasize that Zoonini works with client to develop a unique site that will work for them & fit their unique needs, add that she also works with clients to help develop their Web site text

2.      Sandra

·         prior to meeting, received recommendations through the Yahoo group that she should remove or de-emphasize some of the “I”s in her pitch, found it difficult to do

·         pitch: helps people become debt-free and financially independent, provides free financial-needs analysis, explains strategies to employees during lunch-and-learn seminars in the workplace

·         feedback: try to connect with the audience more, we want to get the sense that you really care about your clients; play with the order of your pitch points, put the free offer at the end to leave people with a tantalizing free offer in their minds

3.      Jennifer

·         wanted to present her pitch as if to a music distributor since that’s her current target audience

·         pitch: singer-songwriter who’s produced own album, which is being very well received and recently won a gold parents’ choice award

·         impressions: what do distributors want to know about you? That your music is sellable and marketable, so emphasize how well it’s selling already just via self-distribution – “there’s a demand for my music already”; some people want to buy the CD but don’t want to buy it online, need a wider audience through a distribution company; don’t be afraid to emphasize the award – go for the big gold sticker on the CD case!

4.      Connie (new participant, friend of Jennifer)

·         just moved here from Kingston, originally from Vancouver

·         looking to start a part-time business

·         has MBA, skills in marketing & business development

·         would like to teach business skills to immigrants who are new to Canada, including the cultural & practical aspects of doing business in Canada; helping people who were already in business in their own country do business here

·         could offer workshops, courses, manuals; not sure where the money is yet

·         brainstorming ideas: teaching at CEGEP, university; consulting with government-funded groups for immigrants; workshops at YES; other possible niches – sensitivity training (multiculturalism), consulting for companies bringing in or sending employees from/to other countries

·         no elevator pitch yet because hasn’t fully developed business idea yet

5.      Sherry

·         pitch: Web site to bring together many resources for women entrepreneurs, group to allow women to network with each other in-person and online

·         impressions: too practiced; need to make a personal connection between WENS and your own experience, why did you create the group?

·         second attempt (without reading): founded WENS because when looking to start a business she found online resources scattered all over, decided it would be helpful for her and other women if as many resources as possible were brought together in one site. Networking group was outgrowth from that, allowed her to meet all kinds of women with similar entrepreneurial interests.

·         second impressions: huge improvement, the pitch was brought to life and had a much bigger impact on the audience, was much easier to follow and enjoy.

6.      Mary-Evany (new participant, met Sherry at YES Conference)

·         moved back to Montreal a year ago

·         was a PR executive, has background in business/psychology/education

·         looking for new opportunities

·         strengths: multilingual, well travelled, passionate about people, negotiation skills

·         roadblocks encountered: lack of Canadian experience, needs to make more contacts

·         challenges to overcome: how not to let negativity get you down, how to get confidence back

·         ideas: read motivational books, work on changing attitude, find support groups, find a focus/niche based on what she loves to do most

·         no elevator pitch because business idea not developed yet

7.      Francesca

·         pitch: midlife maestro, orchestrates transitions in people’s lives by helping design a structure for them

·         impressions: very strong, clear and catchy, not sure what “design a structure” part means

·         challenge: how do you convince people to get professional help rather than just buy a self-help book

·         idea: teach course at Champlain College to get people interested in pursuing the next step via coaching

D.     Wrap-up

-          With about 40 minutes left in the allotted time, we discussed whether or not to move on to the USPs and decided to put them off until a future meeting.

-          We discussed whether Sundays were still working for everyone or whether we wanted to consider moving meetings to a weekday evening. Consensus was that Sundays were still best for most people.

-          We discussed other ways of proceeding with future meetings, such as having each person bring an issue that was facing them, but it was decided that continuing to have “themed” meetings where each of us would approach the same topic, would benefit the group the most. We decided that Prospecting for Clients – how to get new clients – would be the next meeting topic, as it’s an issue relevant to most of us.

-          We listened to some delightful tunes from Jennifer’s CD.

Don’t Forget! We are continuing our discussion and brainstorming session all this month through our Yahoo Chat Group! Participate today and NAIL DOWN your elevator pitch before our next meeting!