The Gift of Your NAWBO Membership
Holiday sales are up, national unemployment has dropped, and indications are that we will avoid a double dip recession. The recovery, while in motion, is projected to be a slow one with ongoing bumps along the way. Uncertainty is the sign of the times, and as many of us have already learned, we need to rethink how we do business.
In this morning’s LA Times there was a telling story about two luxury entrepreneurial businesses in Italy that are experiencing the global recession in very different ways. One was a 25th generation, 500-year old family Italian ceramics business that sold to very high-end retailers in the US such as Neiman Marcus. Proud of their tradition and comfortable with their past success, they were caught off guard by the depth and length of the recession. Their beautiful hand crafted products appealed to a small market segment which appreciated their traditional artistry and could afford them. As a reaction to the recession, this business down sized tremendously from 75 hand painters to five. On the verge of extinction, only now are they experimenting with new materials, styles and considering new markets. A few miles away another luxury cashmere clothiers business were able to anticipate the market shift from their tried and true US and European customer base and penetrate China and other emerging countries. They updated their styles to more contemporary ones and as a result are flourishing.
The good news about uncertainty is that we have the opportunity to consider things that we may not have considered in more certain and predictable times. It can actually serve as an inoculation against complacency. Jim Collins in “Good to Great” speaks of the industry giants who rested on their laurels and are now extinct. The ground is fertile for innovation, new relationships and alliances. Telescopic visioning – being able to look ahead, anticipate, or, as Steve Jobs was able to do, create a new market – is a key factor to survival and success.
The gift of NAWBO is that we have a community to provide the environment to stimulate such thinking. Not the support in “a hang in there this will blow over soon” kind of way which fosters complacency instead of action, but rather a “have you considered marketing this aspect of your business/product/service which really has no competitors out there?” sort of way. NAWBO member and past president Susan Johnson talks about being open to opportunities as they present themselves as a primary reason she became the CEO of not one, but three successful companies. NAWBO members are terrific at seeing opportunities and sharing their vision with others.
So as this holiday season unfolds, remind yourselves of the gift of your NAWBO membership. We have many members who cite NAWBO as an important part of their growth to double and triple digit multimillion dollar success. They serve as inspirational and persevering role models for those members who are not as far along the journey as they are. We are known by the company we keep. NAWBO is an organization that strives to position Orange County women business owners to build their power, passion and profits for success, and once achieved, mentor others to do the same.
Be sure to join us on January 10th to hear Lucy Dunn, President of the Orange County Business Journal, talk about “The State of Orange County: An Economic Overview and Forecast.” Click here for more information about this and other NAWBO events.
Happy Holidays!
Maureen Rhyne, Ph.D.
NAWBO-OC 2011-2012 President
President, Heritage Associates, Inc.
NAWBO-OC opened the holiday season with our annual Holiday Mixer. This informal dinner allowed friends to mix and mingle.