Sharp Skirts

Lessons Learned: Know When to Say When

Posted on 02. Sep, 2010 by Carla Thompson

The startup experience is the very definition of roller coaster, as most of our readers can attest. One week you’re on top of the world and the next you’re wondering what the hell you were thinking. This is especially true when you’re working toward a deadline for a major upgrade or launch. The hundreds of little pieces that must be in place – and work seamlessly together – are enough to drive even the most sane among us batty. And so it was that I found myself in a prime spot for lesson-sharing yesterday.

I won’t bore you with the nitty details. We were supposed to launch the new site yesterday and didn’t. As launch situations go, we were relatively lucky. We didn’t have press coverage hitting or a large contingent of folks waiting for a new product. We’re not Apple after all; people aren’t sleeping on my doorstep to become Sharp Skirts (yet!). But adhering to deadlines is important in any business, both internally and externally. The trick is knowing when to say uncle. When is it okay to delay a deadline? At what point does it become detrimental to your success?

These aren’t easy questions and the answers are seldom black and white. But here are a few issues to consider when making go-or-no-go decisions. I know they helped me come to a decision yesterday that I’m confident was best for the company.

**Revenue.  Are current customers waiting on you? Or will you lose customers by rushing product out the door? This is a relatively easy one to answer: which will cost you more money – delaying or rushing to meet the deadline?

**Reputation. The hardest question to answer: which will hurt your company’s image more – putting out a half-finished product or missing a deadline? The key lies in your definition of ‘half-finished,’ as well as the state of your sector overall. If you have the technology to unseat Google, get that sucker out there on a blank white page. If you’re competing against Martha Stewart, polish the heck out of your site and take your time.

**Consensus. Do your employees/contractors keep dropping hints about the luxury of time? Or are they proclaiming the brilliance of what you’ve created together? Don’t make this decision alone – ask opinions of those close to the product. Chances are good that a common answer will emerge.

**Gut. In the end, that’s really all it is. You know your company and your product better than anyone on the planet. And you know what you can live with. Process the above considerations, make a decision, and don’t look back. That is perhaps the most important point of all – trust in your decisions and keep moving forward.

Well Said

Posted on 27. Aug, 2010 by Carla Thompson

I loved this quote so much, I had to take a break from working on the new site (next Wednesday!) to share it with you. Write it down on a post-it, stitch it on a pillow, tattoo it on your arm.

Be fearless. We can’t waste time worrying about if we are not smart enough, skinny enough, or charming enough. It’s not about us; it’s about the world we seek. We’re going to have to be bold if we want to build it.

Emily May, entrepreneur

The Man Problem

Posted on 23. Aug, 2010 by Carla Thompson

When we first started thinking about Sharp Skirts, The Man Problem came up often, primarily from a business perspective. By positioning the site and its real-world meetings as solely for women, were we limiting our potential? Was it smart business to exclude 50% of the population from day one?  There have been many men that have helped me along my career path; I certainly didn’t want to ignore the value they could add to the community.

The issue faded to the background as we launched the alpha site and began building an audience. Then two conversations occurred in rapid succession, reminding me we need to plant a flag in the ground: an online discussion on the Austin tech site Door64 and a telephone conversation with an accomplished businessman.

You can read the Door64 thread here but the gist is that a September Offline event, listed as for-women-only, raised some male hackles. The point being made was that men could never get away with this sort of thing, holding a male-only event; that women would raise all manner of protest around it. Why do women get to be exclusive while men are denied that right? Further, what’s so necessary about excluding a chromosome? Can’t we all just get along? [...]

Reading List

Posted on 13. Aug, 2010 by Carla Thompson

Yikes. I just realized we haven’t written anything all week. Don’t fret, Sharp Skirts. The lull is due to all the work we’re doing for our September 1st launch of the interactive community – including a re-invigorated blog. Hopefully you’re all on vacation and haven’t noticed. Here are some good links to dig into in the meantime.

–Once again linking to Seth Godin, do not miss his list of fundamental elements in building a business. My favorite: “Match expenses to cash flow–don’t run out of money, because it’s no longer 1999.”

–If you don’t have an executive summary for your company, write one now. It will come in handy in all manner of situations. For an excellent tutorial on writing one, check out Guy Kawasaki’s advice.

–Silicon Valley denizens should check out this list of the area’s 25 most powerful entrepreneur organizations. We love that the first one is the Anita Borg Institute, which does wonderful work for women in business.

–Heard about TEDWomen? I am super excited to be going and will be sharing every minute of it with you guys. But I’m reasonably certain I won’t be seeing CV Harquail there. What do you think? Is she right, wrong, or somewhere in between?

How Not to Network

Posted on 05. Aug, 2010 by Carla Thompson

By Joanne Sperans, Volo Coaching

We all know how important networking is, especially if we are working on our own as consultants or entrepreneurs. Once we leave the corporate environment, our world of contacts can easily shrink, and networking is critical to meeting people with whom we might do business. These days there are networking opportunities galore, between social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn, and in-person events like Chamber of Commerce meetings, Meet Ups, and Sharp Skirts Offline. Whether you’re an extrovert who enjoys meeting others or a bit of an introvert like me, it’s important to make the most of your networking experiences. Here are a few “don’ts” I’ve picked up along the way that can hopefully help you. [...]

Highlights from Offline Austin

Posted on 30. Jul, 2010 by Carla Thompson

I was talking to a friend on the phone this morning, raving about the success of our Sharp Skirts Offline meeting Wednesday night. And I inadvertently made a statement that gets to the core of the Sharp Skirts philosophy. When you get a group of women together and ask them to talk about their businesses – the careers they’re building with their own money, sweat, and brains; the ideas that they’re finally taking the leap on – the energy in the room is stunning.  Connections emerge, ideas take shape, and conversations coalesce. If I had the wherewithal, I’d hold these every week.

We’ll be posting video of the panel in a few days so stay tuned – it was a great discussion. In the meantime, I wanted to share a few highlights that emerged.

–Were we issuing an award for the Sharpest Skirt of the night, it would no doubt go to panelist Julie Gomoll, who shared publicly for the first time the story of LaunchPad Coworking and its demise. Her story of “failure” so inspired the room that we had several requests for an Offline meeting devoted solely to this topic.

–One of the most populated sub-groups was that of the fashion-focused from New York. We have several transplants who are building fascinating businesses in this sector (another possibility for a future meeting?). Be sure to check out Nichole Wright’s Fashion in Flight event coming up August 19th here in Austin.

–The mix of career phases was perfect, representing every segment from kernels of an idea to established businesses. One thought for a future meeting would be to hold breakout sessions devoted to each phase, to better triangulate on issues and challenges.

–Last but not least, we had an attendee from Mexico who expressed interest in starting a Sharp Skirts group in her country to encourage women entrepreneurs. I love it!

Our next meeting will be in September so stay tuned. And to Sharp Skirts in other cities (and countries!), hold that thought. We’re working furiously to get you started.