Business
You Need an Elevator Pitch
Image by robinsonsmay via Flickr/Creative Commons |
Yesterday after stuffing myself with turkey, dressing, macaroni & cheese, greens, and yams, I somehow resisted slipping into a food coma and started chatting with my dad about my future. During our talk I announced that I had plans to start my own business, sort of. I saw his face light up. My father, who’s always been my biggest cheerleader, was eager to know more. So I started to tell him a bit about See Jane Write and how I had plans to transform my little networking group into a non-profit organization. “OK, tell me what it will do,” my pops asked.
I had an answer, a very looong and detailed answer. As I was explaining what See Jane Write has done in the past and what I hope the group will do in the future I felt I was rambling. My father listened intently, hanging on my every word, and showed how confident he was in my future success, but that’s because he’s my daddy. If I were pitching my idea to a potential sponsor or to a woman I hoped would be part of See Jane Write I would have been tuned out after my first few sentences, I thought.
Immediately after this conversation I decided I needed to draft an elevator speech for See Jane Write. Chances are you need to draft one for one of your project as well, whether it’s a business you hope to start, a blog you recently launched, or a book you’d like to publish.
An elevator pitch, as I’m sure you know, is a brief speech that you can use to spark interest in your organization, project, or idea. Obviously, it should last no longer than a short elevator ride of about 30 seconds — hence the name.
An elevator pitch should answer three important questions — WHO, WHAT, and WHY — and should state a goal. Who are you? What do you do and what problem do you seek to solve? Why is your organization/project/idea unique? Explain your short term goals.
Here’s what I’ve come up with:
See Jane Write is an organization for women writers of Birmingham.
It offers free programs, such as workshops and panel discussions, to help fiction and non-fiction writers sharpen their skills and to help women writers learn how to promote themselves and their work.
This group also strives to build community among women writers through social media and networking events.
My hope is to register See Jane Write as a non-profit organization within the next year so that we can be eligible for grants that will allow the group to do even more for local women writers and launch a program for teenage girls interested in writing careers.
Clocking in at 39.1 seconds, it’s a bit long, but I think it will do the job for now. Feel free to leave tips for improvement in the comments.
What’s your elevator pitch?
Cross posted at The Writeous Babe Project.
Reaching for a Helping Hand
Image via Flickr/Creative Commons |
I don’t like asking people for help.
My parents say I’ve been this way since I was a child. I’ve been called “fiercely independent” and I carry this label around like a trophy; I wear it like an “S” on my chest.
But sometimes, actually oftentimes, two heads are better than one. Sometimes I need help.
A member See Jane Write recently wrote a blog post on this very topic. In her post she stated: “One of the biggest lessons I learned when it came to goals is that to achieve you have to know when to ask for help.”
My fellow Jane went on to challenge the other ladies in the group to post their goals on our Facebook group page so that we could help one another realize these dreams. I often write about my goals on my blog and mention them on various social media outlets, but usually for the sake of accountability, not for assistance.
But that changes today.
I have a major goal for 2013 and I need help! Next year I would like to take all the steps necessary to make See Jane Write an official non-profit organization. I have such big dreams for this group. I want to offer more programs, a conference, and a writing camp for girls. But to do these things I need money and sponsors, and to get money and sponsors I need my group to be a 501(c)(3). But the very idea of this is so overwhelming it makes my stomach hurt.
So I’m asking for help.
Now, it’s your turn. What’s your major goal for the next year? Leave it in the comments so I and the other women of See Jane Write can give you a helping hand. And I leave you with this: