July 21, 2010 Event Recap: The third speaker series event featured a panel discussion on Tips for Low Cost Marketing.  Three local women spoke about their experiences in different industries.  The panel consisted of Doreen Landis of Chestnut Hill Cafe, Jennifer Baker of the Mayor’s Office of Special Events (Moose), and Sherry Harry of Tamanend Winery.  All three gave konwledgeable insight on how to market your business effectively and efficiently.  Jennifer talked about the importance of writing press releases.   She gave hints on what the media outlets look for, what makes a quality press release, and presented a press release outline.  Doreen focused on the importance of getting involved with the community and using word of mouth promotion.  Sharry spoke about not spreading yourself too thin.  Keep in mind who your target audience is and focus on servicing the locations that make sense to your budget and business.  Event pictures can be seen in our photo gallery.

May 7, 2010 Event Recap: The second speaker series event featured a panel of local women who answered questions the following questions on social media.  Why do I need to use it?  Doesn’t it take a lot of time?  How do I get started.  Anne Kirby of Not Bad Design, Kae Kohl of the Kiwi Marketing Group, and Kelly Watson of Wordwise Marketing all brought their expertise to the table.  Kae opened the session with statistics on and benefits of social media.  She also stressed the importance of having a social media plan.  Anne followed with examples of how your online reputation can be enhanced or harmed via social media.  Kelly focused on blogging, and all three ladies talked about Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. The attendees subbmitted questions in advance of the event, all of which were addressed.  The topic is so broad and the presentation so well received that the next series event to be held on Wednesday, July 21st will focus on low-cost marketing, some of which can be achieved through social media.  Event pictures can be seen in our photo gallery.

March 5, 2010 Event Recap:  The Women’s Business Center at Community First Fund premiered its new initiative, a bimonthly speaker series on the First Friday in March.  The event, held at Community First’s Lancaster office, featured entrepreneur Liz Martin, the owner of Martin Insurance Agency.   She spoke on the importance of “Networking to Build your Business.”  Nearly thirty attendees, most of whom were women entrepreneurs from all over Lancaster County, discussed how networking has impacted their business and personal lives.     Liz Martin focused on how networking can be intimidating but offered tips and hints to get comfortable with the process.  She presented talking points to the entrepreneurs that have helped her in networking situations.  The audience was then broken up into smaller groups to discuss what networking meant to them. An open discussion then followed as people shared their experiences with the entire group.  Event pictures can be seen in our photo gallery.