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WIPP Membership Makes a Difference

By Mary Schnack

Branding is often thought of as the logo, corporate colors, and packaging of a product or company, but it extends to much more. It is everything that tells the public who you are (or who you wish to be) as a company.

Think of the brand as a person--who she is, what she believes, how she acts.  Think of the corporate image as the clothes, hairstyle and figure or how she looks. That's why YOU as a business owner are part of the creation of your company brand.

It doesn't matter what size your business is, how small, your revenue or how many employees, YOU are a brand.

What else is part of your brand? It's how firm your handshake, how thorough your follow through, how quickly you respond, how aggressive your sales pitch.....Do you speak with a smile? Do you have a powerful voice? All of these things say something about you and about your business.

It's organizations you join, media you advertise in, how you reward your employees, where you meet with clients....all of these things add to or detract from your brand.

Yes, the organizations you join says a lot and can be a significant part of your brand. Being a member of WIPP matters for your brand. I am proud of my WIPP membership and it is part of my brand. It shows that I'm involved with a top level business organization. It shows that I am astute about policy and matters that affect small business. It shows that I have more of a "worldly" vision rather than a tunnel vision of just my own business.

Join WIPP. Get involved. It's good for your brand.

I just finished a week's visit in Indiana with my Mom (88 years old) and I don't want anyone else to go through what she has been through the past 3+ months.  She told me on Wednesday, August 5, 2009 that she had been getting some threatening phone calls and seemed really scared.  Naturally, I jumped on a plane to be with her that night from Sarasota.  I can't remember ever hearing her sobbing like that on the phone -- AND, I never had a longer flight than the one that night.

She had been going through what police term as "psychological terrorism."  Starting on April 30, 2009, she has had an International Terrorist Organization (untraceable out of Nigeria) trying to extort money from her.  They threatened that unless she did what they said, they were going to put her in jail, kill her or worse.  So, she was terrified and followed their instructions - said nothing to anyone.  She finally became so frightened that she wouldn't answer the phone or the doorbell.  They told her that if she told anyone, they would definitely pay her and the person she told a visit.

Long story short, she lost over $18,000 by sending personal checks and Western Unions/Money Grams.  She was so embarrassed and scared that I am surprised she didn't have a 3rd stroke.   When we went to the bank and got records of all her checks and cash withdrawals, the bank tellers all told me that they thought her withdrawals were strange, but they didn't say anything to her or anyone else.  Even the people at the grocery store where she was going 2-3 times a day at the end to wire money thought it was strange, but they didn't say anything.

We have all the addresses, phone numbers and names of those who were involved -- TX, FL, Jamaica -- and nothing can be done.  Everything is fake.  They even sent her fake certified letters from the Texas Agency for the Protection of the Elderly.  I know it is fake because I called the phone number on the letter (from my cell phone) after researching it online and found it (convincingly) existed.  Then " they" started calling me on my cell -- until they figured out that I knew their game and wasn't going to play.  This is professional -- don't doubt it for a minute.

The police are getting 12-15 calls each week from the elderly about these kinds of threats, even in my little hometown.  AND, those are from the ones brave enough to report it.  If anyone you know could be vulnerable, please tell them to confess to SOMEONE -- their priest, their family, their friends -- SOMEONE.   Tell them their perpetrators are most likely out of the country, even though they can describe their homes to them exactly, thanks to Google Earth.  Many of the older generations don't realize how technology has changed and how much we can see and do anywhere in the world because of computers.

It is criminal (literally and figuratively) what people will do for money.  Please, please -- call your loved ones and warn them.  I talk to my Mom practically every day -- and the days I don't, she gets a message from me.  I never noticed the change in her demeanor even after daily conversations for the past 3+ months.  If they don't tell you,  you may never know.  Until it is too late.

As women small business owners in a very troubled economy, we strongly oppose card check legislation which has the potential of imposing additional labor requirements on our businesses.   we are working night and day to keep our businesses afloat and our employees working - so we can ill-afford to have the additional challenge of worrying whether or not our employees are seeking to be unionized.

We work closely with our employees and do everything we can to keep them safe and producting.   WIPP, on behalf of our members, ask the Congress to accomodate small business concerns with respect to this legislation.   This is not the time to create uncertainty among small employers

    I am really impressed and hope that all our WIPP members look into this great opportunity .  Intuit has made it possible for small businesses to win $30,000 in business grants and financial software and services by sharing their stories and advice for other small business owners.   In these tough  times, we need to help one another and share our stories - what is working for us and strategies to survive and grow in these difficult times.   For a quick peek at the judges selected and the rules and eligibility requiresments, check out the small business united site. 

I am very excited about a great project that I will be judging as part of the competition panel.  The "Hot Mommas Project" is an award-winning leadership project raising self-efficacy of women and girls through exposure to role models.  The project produces case studies demonstrating the full range of factors influencing a woman's success.  At the finale of the case study competition, educators and others will be able to look at submitted cases online.  The project aims to produce the world's largest women's case study library.

If you are interested in participating in the project or nominating a dynamic female role model over the age of 18, please contact The Hot Mommas Project team at support@hotmommasproject.org.  Winners will be announced on International Women's Day, March 10, 2009.

This project has been creating a tremendous amount of buzz so stay tuned for more information through various social networks such as Twitter and Facebook!