WRITING IN THE SHARK TANK

Source: Tina Lawson,
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ddfic/1030695200/

On Monday night this past week, my team and I finally passed what's been rumored to be the biggest hurdle in our University of Iowa MBA program: The Venture Capital Fair in the "Capstone" class, Strategic Management and Policy. Over the previous three weeks, my team had worked the hours equivalent to a full time job creating a business plan, complete with a tactical plan and pro forma financial statements. The numbers did not go well and we ended up having to get $750,000 from VC Fast Eddy, but in my world - the Word World - it was a resounding success.

The Friday night before, I watched the TV show Shark Tank for the very first time. I'd been told it was similar to how the VC Fair goes. That's right - I had nightmares. So I turned to what I know to work out the details: Words. Our entire team made sure the written part of the Business Plan flowed smoothly and seemed to be authored by one person rather than four chunks thrown together, which it was in reality. We did the same thing with the slides to go with our presentation.

Since I'm the only one with the flexibility thanks to my work-at-home schedule, I worked on some details the day of the fair. I printed a sign with our logo for the door, reworked a handout that tied directly to key phrases in our presentation (Goal: BE XXX), and created name tags.

My goal with all this was so that at least with the weaknesses in our plan, we would be memorable and give the impression that we tried hard and knew how to handle the "business." And it worked. Though we ended up having to invite Fast Eddy to our investment team, everyone we talked to gave us great reviews on our presentation.

The lesson? When presenting something to potential buyers or investors, don't forget the details that will help you standout. Sure, it would be best to have a stellar plan and a stellar presentation, but when you know you are weak in one area (those numbers killed us from the beginning), at least make sure you don't end up with both a weak plan and a weak presentation.

May the sharks in your tank always be friendly,
-The Wordsy Woman

"JUST PUSH PUBLISH" - Thoughts about #SocialBrand14

Source: My best reminders are on the board in front of me.
"Just Push Publish" ~ Nick Westergaard, Brand Driven Digital

Last week, I attended Social Brand Forum 2014 put on by Nick Westergaard and his team at Brand Driven Digital. And since I am a student in the University of Iowa's MBA for Professionals and Managers program, I got to go for $95. I definitely got my money's worth. Here's a run down of what went on in case you missed it and want to plan on going to #SocialBrand15 October 15-16, 2015.

Because I had to get my son off to school Thursday morning, I missed the pre-conference workshop with Ann Handley and Nick so I arrived shortly before the Welcome at 1:00. Immediately I knew this would be a fun event - there was mention of prizes, hash tag wars, and encouragement to get out and use our technology devices during the event(!).

Ann Handley from Marketing Profs was first to take the stage. When she said, "The future of content is writing," I wanted to stand up and cheer, but I tweeted instead. I was so inspired by her talk on using words in the marketing setting, I bought her book, Everybody Writes, the first thing during the first break - perhaps even before I used the restroom, I don't remember. I was even bold enough to ask her to sign it.

My boldness continued when I stood up in front of the 300 or so people there to ask the next speaker, Joe Chernov, a question. He talked about inbound marketing statistics so I asked him if there was any industry or business for which inbound marketing wouldn't be appropriate. Neither he nor Ann could think of anything. (More good news for me in the content angle.)

At the end of the day, I was planning to skip the Infusionsoft Opening Reception at Backpocket Brewing, but then I decided that a free beer sounded good. So I went, opted for the Blonde, had some snacks, and sat down. Luckily, a friend I knew from Davenport rescued me and invited me to sit around the fire pit with him and some others. I ended up having nice conversations with him and a few ladies sitting nearby.

Friday's edition was sort of a rollercoaster filled with laughter and tears, but it was no less enlightening. The one and a half days gave me tons of information, but the greatest gift it gave me was time to sit and think about nothing other than the Wordsy Woman, taking what I heard and turning it into my own ideas.

My biggest ideas? I need to use the "content" keyword more. And I think where I fit into the whole content/inbound marketing/social brand world is through my creative writing experience. I can use it to help marketers of all kinds, whether working in agencies or marketing for their company, use creative writing techniques to make creative killer content.

To your social success!
-the Wordsy Woman