Yellow Dog Consulting

Sales & Marketing Consulting for solo-preneurs.

Networking with Yellow Dog in May!

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mayfourth-500x375I don’t know about you but 2013 is moving right along. I can’t believe it’s already May! Based on last months newsletter my May is a little lighter than usual (did I scare you all away?) BUT there are a few great events going on worth checking out, including people continuing to ask me to speak!

Friday, February 8th

NWEN Breakfast Buzz

You know how much I love NWEN breakfasts. Great networking, great people, great inspiration. If you are a startup, NWEN is the place to be! This one’s in Seattle so I am more likely to skip out, BUT this month is Jim Sinegal, the retired CEO of Costco. They’re in the neighborhood, gotta represent!

Thursday, May 16th

eWomen Network Luncheon

As most of you know I’ve been a big fan of eWomenNetwork for a LONG time and the speakers scheduled in 2013 do not look to disappoint! If you can’t join the luncheon but want to check out eWomen let me know, they have smaller events throughout the month.

Tuesday, May 21st

Authentic Selling: Growing your Business When you THINK you Hate Sales

The fine folks at NWEN have invited me to speak to startups about growing your business without feeling like a sellout. It’s an early evening event and promises not to disappoint!

Hank is still recovering from his birthday vacation and we have some other trips going on this month, but with the sun shining more and more I’m sure swimming and some dog park networking will be happening, holler if your pup needs you to go networking!

The Bad Speaker Issue

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imagesI was at a luncheon recently and during the structured networking portion I ended up with the speaker in my group. As each person gave their elevator pitch the speaker kept looking away as if she was looking for someone and was clearly not interested in what we all had to say.

Having done some speaking in my life I know the most helpful thing before you speak is to learn about your audience, directly from your audience. Knowing your audience in advance means you can tweak your speech in the moment and make sure your audience gets what they need from you. Listening to your audience when you have the chance means they’re more likely to engage with you during your presentation, and buy your up-sell package at the end of the event.

Not paying attention while you have that chance means I’m writing this blog post while you’re speaking.

Happy 7th Birthday Hank!

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"Hulk"
“Hulk”

Today is Hank’s 7th Birthday and Yellow Dog Consulting wouldn’t be what it is without him.

In the fall of 2007 my husband and I decided that wanted a dog. After dinner with friends who have a GREAT retriever we decided that a larger breed would be a good fit for us. So, we started paying attention to all the rescue groups and shelters in the Puget Sound, and one afternoon in October my husband found “Hulk” a big yellow lab who had been transferred from the Kittitas Shelter to the Seattle Humane Society.
I was there Saturday morning when the shelter opened and went right to check him out. He was sick with kennel cough and was laying in his kennel and very mellow. And HUGE. What was I thinking? My dad was up visiting so we went to play with Hulk and check him out. Even then I was calling him Hank. I decided to check out another dog, who was way too much energy. As I was going back, they were putting Hank back in the kennel, and I asked to see him again. I was hooked. We adopted him, and they had to keep him until Tuesday because he needed to be neutered and micro chipped (all included in the ridiculously low adoption fee) so that October we adopted an 18 month old yellow lab who was found on the side of the road in Ellensburg that wasn’t neutered or microchipped. We figure he’s a farm dog that got lost, I think he was just trying to find us.
We’re glad he did, he changed our lives. And now on his 7th birthday we get ready to celebrate the 2 year anniversary of Yellow Dog Consulting, which all started because I adopted a dog to hangout with him, not pay for a dog walker and dog sitter and to never see him. I needed to not be in my car and be out with a leash and my lab, and it was one of the best decisions of my life!
Happy Birthday Hank!