Ideas To Deals

Inspiration and Motivation At The Columbus Chamber Small Business Summit

by Michael Bowers

I wanted to share some thoughts about what I expect to gain from attending the upcoming Columbus Chamber of Commerce Small Business Summit and Awards. The Columbus Chamber awards event has been showcasing the accomplishments of local small businesses since 1984. I actually ran this program from 1999 - 2004. What always struck me about the nominees and the finalists were the back stories we didn't know. I remember one business that had their facility totally wiped out by a fire. It would have been easy to call it quits but they persevered. With the help of other community businesses, including competitors they came back stronger then ever. There are thousands of stories like this that inspire and motivate small business owners to reach new heights.

www.columbus.org

 It is truly the passion and commitment of the small business owner that allows a business to succeed. This year the Columbus Chamber will be recognizing nine exemplary small businesses owners for their accomplishments. They include:

Lisa Huang, president of Advanced Engineering Consultants
Wayne “Skip” Stringfield, owner/president of Coalesce Software, Inc.
Otto Beatty, III and Brian Brooks, co-owners of E.E. Ward Moving & Storage Co. LLC
Mohan Viddam and Sanjay Dudaney, CEO and president, respectively, of Halcyon Solutions
Parker MacDonell, principal of Invergarry Partners
Pamela Springer, president/CEO of Manta Media
Debra Jasper and Betsy Hubbard, co-founders of Mindset Digital, LLC
Michelle Kerr, president of Oxford Consulting Group, Inc.
Michelle Galligan, CEO of ViaVero Consulting

Normally hearing the stories of these businesses would be enough to get me to attend but this year the Columbus Chamber will also be presenting two panel discussions designed to help businesses attain higher levels of success.

The first panel is Building a Breakthrough Brand.  Branding and marketing experts Bev Bethge, Ologie; Lynn Blashford, White Castle; Ryan Vesler, Homage and Artie Isaac of Vistage Columbus will discuss what does it take to standout from your competition, transform into a recognizable brand, and create a following of loyal customers and clients. 

The second panel is Innovation: Lessons from Startup Entrepreneurs. Todd Whittier, Left Channel; Shawn O’Reilly, Robert Gregory Partners; Bob Sheehan, BMW Financial Services and Brooke Paul of the Founders Factory will discuss how to focus on innovation and run your business like top entrepreneurs.  

The Columbus Chamber's Small Business Summit will take place on November 13, 2012 at the The Renaissance Columbus Downtown and will run from 8:00 - 1:00. I would encourage you to participate and attend this event as it will allow you to gain knowledge, motivation and inspiration from those that are showcased at the event.

I look forward to connecting with you at the event, be sure to look me up. I'll be blogging and live Tweeting from the event and hanging around the Ohio SBDC booth. 

Innovation is? Small Business

 by Michael Bowers


I recently attended Innovate Columbus. The event, which is part of the Columbus, Ohio Bicentennial "IdUS" celebration, looked at where we are as a community and where we can go. The event was focused on innovation and creativity as the pathway to the future. The speakers were a "who's who" in community building through innovative thought and actions, Richard Florida, Jeff Dyer and Sir Ken Robinson. 

Kendra Hovey posted a review of Innovate Columbus at TEDx Columbus, check it out for a great program overview.

Much of the discussion revolved around how communities should embrace and encourage innovation as a driver of economic growth. Richard Florida spoke of the importance of transforming cities and creating a greater sense of "community" that will lead to economic growth. Developing "community" brings together business, creative and students allowing ideas to generate, combine/recombine to create important innovation. This environment allows us to to see connections between seemingly unrelated things that will lead to more innovative ideas.

It is important to develop what Jeffrey Dyer called "discovery behaviors" of "Questioning, Observing, Experimenting, and Networking" which will allow us to actively question the status quo and be more creative. This creativity helps develop and challenge ideas leading to new perspectives. These new perspectives can be shared and developed through networking and connecting with other people and other ideas. This is the root of creativity and creativity leads to innovation.

So where do we find this creativity and innovation? Sure a lot of it comes from large institutions and universities and is often rooted in technology but that is only part of the equation. It is critical that we all recognize the importance of small businesses in our communities as it relates to innovation. Small business owners are what makes up the heart and soul of the community. There are about 27 million small businesses in the United States and these are some of the most creative people you will ever meet. To these entrepreneurs 
business growth is more than the quarterly report. It's their day to day. It's their blood and sweat. It's their life. It's ManCans Candles, developed by a 13 year old, to both address a need in the candle market but to also give back to those less fortunate in the community. It's Bebo Naturals developed by the sisters that decided to produce and sell baby food made from "organic" ingredients the way you'd make it in your kitchen, but without all the fuss. It's Developmental Math Group created by the retired teachers that have taken their knowledge and expertise in math and created a learning tool that will help children build their knowledge base and position them for future academic success.

What the typical small business owner does on a daily basis is about being proactive, creative and innovative. They are about making things happen. Small business owners are the innovation experts. They seek out and develop new ideas all the time because if they don't their business will die along with their dreams. They turn ideas into businesses that build and grow communities.

Small businesses are the innovative force that leads to economic growth.

Where To Find Capacity Building Resources For Your Small Business

by Michael Bowers

I was asked to participate in a panel discussion on where small businesses can go find resources to help them grow at the Mayor's Small Business Conference and Expo. Access to resources and assistance can in many cases be the difference between success and failure. Mentors and advisors that have "been there and done that" can help the entrepreneurs avoid the typical mistakes that plague small businesses. While there are a number of sources for assistance I would recommend you look at public resources first. Why? Because like I said in the discussion, "You have already paid for services from public organizations, like the SBA and the SBDC when you paid your taxes. If you aren't taking advantages of what these governmental programs have to offer you are leaving money on the table." Having said that here are a few resources that you should look into to help you build your business.

Consulting, Advising and Mentoring ~ This piece is critical to any business. New business owners often know their product and service but when it comes to business they don't know what they don't know. It is important to get someone to connect with to help and support the efforts to grow your business. Here are three public groups to look to for support:

Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTAC) are focused on helping you navigate the mysterious waters of selling to the government.  PTAC services include bid preparation assistance, bid-matching services, military specifications, one-on-one training, product and procurement histories, help with information resources, and trade events where Ohio firms can meet government buyers. 

SCORE is a nonprofit association, supported by the SBA, dedicated to helping small businesses get off the ground through education and mentorship. SCORE is a network of 13,000+ "volunteers" that provides their services no charge or at very low cost. In central Ohio you can connect with SCORE at www.scorecolumbus.org.

Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) are a national network of business advisors located at leading universities, colleges and state economic development agencies, and funded in part through a partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration. Approximately 1,000 SBDC service centers are available to provide no-cost business consulting and low-cost training. At Columbus State Community College we have multiple centers to provide specific, targeted business assistance. We have a Core SBDC to provide traditional business assistance. We also have a manufacturing focused center, an international trade center and a Latino SBDC.  All of these centers provide no cost consulting, training and access to needed business resources. Click here for a complete overview of the SBDC.  In Columbus and Central Ohio you can connect with the SBDC at www.sbdccolumbus.com.

Funding ~  Let's be honest there is still a credit crunch for small businesses. You could probably get $250,000 to buy real estate easier that to get $50,000 for working capital. Here are a couple of public programs that might be able to help you get the money you need.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) is not in the business of making bad loans but rather making loan requests from good businesses "bankable".  The SBA doesn't make direct loans. They work with banks and other financial institutions to guarantee a portion of the loan to allow banks to either reduce their down payment requirement or extend their terms. How that helps you is that it leaves more money in your pocket that you can put toward your business.

The primary SBA loan products are:

• 7(a) Guarantee is made by commercial banks with a guarantee provided by the SBA. You will not go to the SBA for this loan. If you qualify for a loan from the bank they may require a guarantee to straighten their position. 
• 504 is a participation loan typically made by a Certified Development Company or a bank along with the SBA. Provided mostly for real estate and equipment the lender would provide 50 percent of the capital, the SBA 40 percent (fixed rate) and the borrower 10 percent. 
• MicroLoan Programs  are small loans used typically for equipment or working capital. Typically these loans are made by SBA designated intermediaries that understand lending from a community development angle. These groups not only make loans but they also provide training and technical assistance that helps prepare the business to get and deploy the funds.  In central Ohio the designated micro-lender is the Economic Community Development Institute (ECDI).

One other, non-loan, SBA program that can help your business grow is the 8(a) Business Development program. The 8(a) is basically a multi-year program that will help small and disadvantaged business compete in the marketplace. It provides mentoring to help selected business owners grow customers and revenue as well as helping these companies gain access to federal and private procurement markets.

State and local resources ~ Most states, and some municipalities, have economic development loan programs focused on helping small businesses. While these will vary from state to state the common thread is that they are designed to support job creation and we all know that it isn't large companies that are the job creators, it's small business. Here are samples of some of the programs available in Ohio.

• 166 Loan is similar to the 504 in that is a participation program between the bank (50 percent), the State (40 percent) and the borrower (10 percent). The nice part is the the state portion is priced at 2/3 of prime rate. There is a job creation or retention requirement with this.  Within a three-year period, of one job is required for each $50,000 of 166 loan proceeds. 
• Ohio Minority Direct Loan Program is similar to the 166 but focused on certified Minority Business Enterprises. The program can fund up to 40 percent of a project with a commercial lender funding 50 percent.
• Collateral Enhancement is similar to a guarantee program where the borrower and the lender contribute between 3 percent and 6 percent into a reserve fund. The State also contributes to the fund to cover potential bank losses in case of default.
• Grow Now is a program that allows the borrower to lower their interest rate by up to 3% on their loan up to $400,000. There is a creation or retention of at least one full-time job or two part-time jobs in the State of Ohio for every $50,000. 
• Technology Investment Tax Credit is a tax credit that is applicable to "technology enabled" businesses seeking angel investment. As an enticement for Ohio investors to invest into qualified, technology-based Ohio companies this program reduces the investors state taxes by 25 percent on the amount they invest in these companies.
• The Innovation Ohio Loan Fund makes loans to Ohio technology companies that don't qualify for conventional loans due to technical and commercial risk factors associated with the development of a new product or service. This loan typically follows private equity funding but is much more flexible in what it considers qualified collateral. 

So given all that is available, that you have already paid for, make sure you check them out and use them to help you take your business to the next level.

Five Ways I Stay Up With Business Trends

by Michael Bowers

As a business owner you MUST keep up on the trends and news affecting your business. You need to really understand your business and customers and stay on the cutting edge by knowing what is new and next. Oh yeah, you also have to do your work and live the rest of your life. So how do you pull this off? Here are five ways I stay up on the latest and greatest.

5. Books ~ Books by leading experts are important to help you refine and improve your business process. Books like the Lean StartUp and Marketing in the Round can give you ideas on how to look at your systems and approaches to help you operate more effectively. I look at books like taking a class and other sources of information more like updates. Books can provide great ways to run a business but can become stale so staying plugged into the author on-line can help you freshen up the content. 

4. Internet Search ~ Sure I search when I need something but I use search for educational reasons too. I allocate certain time to just searching topics I need to know more about. When I do this I find a number of sources, both written and videos, that really help me become smarter. As my wife says "Google is our friend". 

3. Podcasts ~ I am relatively new to the podcast game but this has become a major source of information to me. I use Stitcher to find and stream fresh content to me each morning as I drive to work. I primarily stream WSJ, tech and marketing podcasts and it really gets me up to speed and what is going on. It also helps me make conversation and small talk on topics I typically wouldn't know much about.

2. Blogs ~ Blogs are great ways to stay on top of new ideas and real-time information. I set my reader up to follow business thought leaders and industry experts. This information is fresh and tied to what is happening in the economy right now. Blog posts tend to be quick hit information so I can stay up on what is happening in my down time using my phone. 

1. Twitter ~ Twitter is a great source of business information. The beauty of twitter is that it really augments what I see in blogs. I have set up lists to stay on top of posts and tweets from business experts. For example I can follow Spin Sucks in my reader but by following Gini Dietrich on Twitter I not only get content she has written but content from people she is reading. This creates a really great source of information. Plus Twitter is very mobile friendly.

Efficient, effective and informative that's how I like to get information.

What do you use to stay informed?

Five Things You Can Learn About Business From Watching Football

by Michael Bowers

So last weekend was the first weekend of the college football season and the start of my favorite time of year. I watched bits and pieces of a lot of games but most of my Saturday was spent watching the Ohio State game and the Alabama game. I have been an Alabama fan since I was a kid. I actually went to the University of North Alabama to play football because I was to small to play at Alabama (turns out I was to small to play at North Alabama too but it turned out to be a great school). I  became a Buckeye fan when I got my Masters degree from The Ohio State University and married a Buckeye fan. Clearly these are my favorite two teams. After watching both teams play I started thinking about the parallels that business has with football. Here are five things I came up with that you can take from football and apply to your business.

Put The Past Behind You Because It Was "Bad:" If you follow sports at all you know that the Ohio State football team has had a tough year or so. They had to make huge programmatic changes to recover by bringing in a new coach and a new attitude.

Entrepreneurial Lesson ~ As an entrepreneur there will be times that are tough and you may even have to blow up what you have done in the past and start a new. Recognize lessons learned, take corrective action and move on.

Put The Past Behind You Because It Was "Good": Alabama won the National Championship last year. It doesn't get any better than that. However, they needed to be careful to not let the success go to their heads. This is a new season with new challenges and new opportunities. 

Entrepreneurial Lesson ~ The success of today can be fleeting if you don't keep innovating. Go ahead and celebrate a win but be prepared to put it behind you and keep moving forward.

Have A Game Plan: Successful sports teams have a game plan they develop before the game that drives what plays they run. This is based on experience, knowledge and research. Teams don't just show up at the stadium and play they prepare. 

Entrepreneurial Lesson ~ Prep, research and analysis relating to things that will impact your business such as customer wants and needs, the economy, competition, etc are critical to your success. Always be looking for competitive advantages that you can work into your game plan to improve your business performance.

Make Adjustments: You always hear about teams making halftime adjustments. Ohio State looked horrible in the first quarter but they didn't panic. The coaches looked at what they were doing wrong and made in-game adjustments that allowed them to have success the remainder of the game. 

Entrepreneurial Lesson ~ Always be willing to learn from what you are doing and make adjustments that will allow you to be more successful. In business changes can be minor adjustments or a major "pivot". Being tied to your way of doing things if they aren't working is a recipe for failure.

Team Success Is Dependent on Individual Execution:  Success in football is dependent on everyone doing their individual assignments properly. When that happens the plays typically work. Success on a play is determined by which set of players, the offense or defense, executes all of the parts of the play the best. 

Entrepreneurial Lesson ~ People that are strong in their particular areas of the business and executing their tasks at a high level is what will make a team succeed. If you are building a management team for your business be sure to look for people that complement each others strenghs and covers for weaknesses. Most importantly always make sure everyone is executing at a high level.

I'm sure there are a lot more things but there are also a lot more games to learn from this year. Let me know if you saw your team doing anything that can make your business better.

What Are The Real Sources Of Business Financing

by Michael Bowers

 I saw an interesting post recently on Small Business Trends by Scott Shane about sources of small business financing.  Below you will see a chart that Mr. Shane created using U.S. Census data showing sources and percentages of use by small businesses to grow their businesses.

Source: Created from data from the Survey of Business Owners, U.S. Census via smallbiztrends.com.

If you have read Ideas To Deals much or heard me speak on business financing these findings won't surprise you but for the rest of you please take heed. Financing is a process that follows a continuum. The ability to obtain financing flows from funding vehicles available to early stage, high-risk ventures to banks that typically want to deal with established, low-risk businesses. Understanding where you are on this continuum and working the available sources will make you more successful in obtaining capital. 

Below you will see the Funding Continuum.  

 

As you look at the continuum you'll see it makes sense. At the start-up phase, when there is the most risk, where will you be most likely to get capital? The first capital in is from "You" then from the people that know and trust "YOU" the most, friends and family. Friends and family may not even know, or care, anything about the business they just know you and want to help you out. As you move up the continuum the level of due diligence increases. You will need to have a business plan with defensible projections when you speak to investors. You will more than likely need product and early customers to get the attention of venture capitalists. To go to banks you better be able to show that you have a good business now and don't really need money to sustain current levels of growth but if you get this piece of equipment or building (collateral) you can grow to the next level.

Trying to jump levels when you are not ready will, much more often than not, result in failure. So are you just stuck? Not necessarily. What you have to do is try to move yourself as far down the continuum as you can, even if you are not really there yet.

First, you also need to have a business plan. It needs solid, correct assumptions relating to the projections and have the answers to whatever questions someone might ask. This takes work but I have seen a good, well thought out, story make a difference.

Second, you need to be creative and bootstrap yourself to a level of less risk. This is what you see happening in the graph. People using personal saving, credit cards, home equity to build the level of the business before they ask other people for money based on the credibility of the business. 

Third, you need to get paying customers. While you need to think strategically and focus on where you are going and what the future state of revenue and customers will be, you have to live in the present. If you had a million dollars you could build scale quickly and have a lot of customers but if you have limited resources focus on getting the first paying customer then focus on getting the second paying customer and so on. You'll be amazed how much validation paying customers gives you. Also, revenue is the least expensive capital you are going to find.

Finally, don't give up. Being realistic and understanding what it takes to build a business and get funding will allow you to make better decisions and get where you are going faster and stronger.

Twittering On Vacation ~ Yes Please

Here we are, August. Time to get your vacation in before the kids head back to school.

So do you do it?

Do you Tweet while on vacation?

I guess this gets back to the discussion of if you should disconnect for a while to relax and recharge while on vacation. With our over-connected email, twitter, Facebook (add your favorite social media network here) world we need a break every now and then. So why not leave the social media for when I get back from vacation. What have I got to say that is all that important? Maybe a lot.  Hey if you are a brand manager for a larger company maybe you can just get someone to fill in but if you are a small business owner that has worked to build a social media presence for your business taking a week off from your social accounts could be an issue. First, you may not have anyone that can simply step in. Your voice and your insights are expected by your followers. You hear all the time where people see their Klout scores drop while on vacation because they are not engaging and active (not that I am that big a fan of Klout). On the other side of the argument do you really want to spend what is supposed to be your down time glued to your computer or your phone? So what to do? 

How about a little bit of both.  Social media doesn't have to to be a 24-7 activity. Sure you need to generate activity and engage but I would assume you have systems in place so you can step away and get work done and this should not be that different. 

Here are a few tips to think about to help you get your Tweet on during your vacation.

Plan your time: Look at what you are planning to do during each day of your vacation and plan some time that you can set aside to check on your accounts.  Plan a few short windows during the day where you can respond to activity and questions. This should be time where you are not encroaching on your family activities. It's really not cool to be sitting on a bench with your iPad while your family is riding Space Mountain.

Schedule your tweets: You are probably already doing some of this. Get into your reader early in the morning and set a few tweets to go out during the day. This will keep activity going while not being to taxing your downtime.

Get buy-in: Let whoever you are traveling with know that you are going to need to do some social media during the vacation. Let them know how you plan to do this and get their buy-in. Once this is agreed upon stick to your commitment. Don't over do it and start to encroach on others time with you.

Include your followers in your vacation: I saw an article in the Wall Street Journal where it talks about how Eva Chen, beauty editor at Teen Vouge, handled her social media. First she alerted her followers that she was on vacation then throughout the trip she tweeted photos and tweeted about activities she thought were interesting and that her followers might like. The nice thing about this is that is helps to humanize the person and better connect them with their followers. 

Put the social back in social media: When we talk about relaxing and recharging this can include your social media.  After awhile everything gets a little stale. You never know, you may have a little more downtime during vacation where you can just engage with followers not take things so seriously. You might be able to try some new things that when you are pushing your business forward you can't get to. 

Have Fun! Hey you are on vacation. Vacations are supposed to be fun and relaxing. Your social media activity shouldn't be allowed to ruin your good time and time with family. Let your social media be a part of your fun and not a chore. 

How Is Your Branding?

Have you got your bases covered when it comes to your small business branding? What are you doing? Logo ~ check. Business cards ~ Check. Website ~ Check. So you're good right? Not even close. You probably have a level of continuity to your brand on the items listed above but there is a lot more to focus on.

What image and perception are you trying to create for your prospective customers?Remember, you don't own your brand your customers do. You set the stage and do everything you can to help people see the brand the way you want them to see it. However, at the end of the day how they see your brand is up to them. So if you don't really work to project the right image of your business in "everything" you do all of the good things could be wreaked by the 5% of things you missed.

Let me give you an example. Let's say you work to create a level of professionalism and polish in your digital presence but your print material is run off on an old copier and is crooked and grainy on the page, the bad will pull down the good.

Let's try another one. Let's stay with the high-end on-line presence promoting a workout facility. When the customer visits your facility it is in a rundown building your brand will be impacted. It doesn't mean that your facility isn't workable or that your services aren't good but you have set one impression on-line and a different with your facility. It's all related.  If you position the workout facility properly on-line and set the expectations as to the venue you would probably get more business. Because there is a disconnect you could lose business.

Remember, branding is ANYTHING and EVERYTHING you do in your business. Don't forget the little things because they are as important as the big things.

Want To Know Your Customer? Look Them In The Eye

by Michael Bowers

I recently attended an event called "The Way Forward: Destination Columbus." This was part of a community effort to communicate and continue to refine the Columbus, OH branding efforts. There were the obligatory speeches as well as facilitated discussions at each table. What the organizers hoped to accomplish was to communicate what had taken place relating to the community branding efforts and obtain feedback from the attendees regarding what the branding meant to them and what they thought might be missing or needed to be enhanced. Overall it was a pretty good event and I am glad I attended.

What I took away from the event, outside of the discussion about Columbus, was the value of human interaction. The team working on the Columbus branding has been working on this for a while now and could just keep pushing this effort forward and not worry about "checking-in" with the community. They could have solicited feedback through the use of technology and implemented the campaign. Over the 13 years I have been working in the economic development space in Columbus I have seen numerous branding efforts that did just that and didn't succeed. This effort is different. The team working on and implementing this effort values the feedback and creating comminuty buy-in. To that end they knew it was important to get people together so they could discuss the effort face to face. It is one thing to respond to a survey but there is something special that happens when you actually talk to someone. There is a synergy that is created when people can discuss and explore issues. Through conversation ideas can be generated that would never had come to light through the use of a one-way survey tool.

As a small business owner you should make sure you are doing the same thing. Get out and talk to your customers. To many people rely on email or social media and are surprised when they lose a customer. These tools are fine for quick updates but are not enough to really understand their needs and create customer loyalty. To really understand what is going on and how you can help your customers you need to sit down with them and talk face to face. I would recommend committing to meet face to face with a certain number of people each week. Do this with existing and new customers as well as prospective customers. This will result in more loyalty to you and your company, increased referrals and new business with that customer given that you really know them and they really know you. Because you have taken the time to meet with them they will view you more like a trusted resource not just a vendor trying to sell them. 

The basic rule is treat customers like you would want to be treated, only better.

Build Your Business Through Public Speaking (or kill your business, whichever)

Once you begin to reach a level of success as a business owner you will start to get calls asking you to be a speaker. This can be a great way to get the word out on your business. It can position you as an expert. Think of public speaking as one to many networking.  Having said that most people can't just show up and be an effective speaker. As a matter of fact if you aren't careful you might hurt your business or at least your personal reputation. As much as I try to avoid it there are times where I find myself sitting in an audience listening to a presentation that is just terrible. This can be due to a number of factors, some that are out of the control of the speaker , but to be honest it's usually the speaker.

Here are some things I have had speakers do to me as a conference producer:

• I instructed a speaker to make the presentation interactive. He started his presentation by saying " Mike told me to make this interactive but there are some things we need to cover first". The "covering first" part took 83 minutes and the interactive part was seven minutes at the end. Fail!
• A woman was doing a presentation in a ballroom with a large screen behind her showing her slides. She had the slides in a different order than she thought so she spent the entire presentation with her back to the audience reading the slides. Impact? Fail!
• I asked for the presentation in advance so we could pre-load it. I never got it so I ask them to bring it on a jump drive so I could load it before we started. They agreed. They showed up with a Mac, in a PC environment, without the connection cord and decided to connect to the internet and work though an on-line set of activities. So we scrambled and got everything working then the sites they were going to access didn't work properly and they had no presentation as back-up. Fail!

I'm going to give you nine tips that I think are critical to you succeeding as a speaker. Keep in mind I am not a professional speakers I've learned some things from years of watching bad presentations. 

Pre-Presentation

• Why you are there ~ Really understand what the meeting sponsor is looking for. Don't let them off the hook and give you a vague idea of expectations and outcomes. Make them help you deliver a great presentation.
• Who is the audience ~ It is critical to understand the type of people/businesses that will be there. Use this knowledge to build a presentation that will appeal to this group. When you get to the venue on the day of the presentation ask to look at the registration list. You may know specific people that you can use to taylor your presentation or maybe you will find some people there that will cause you to take out a story or two.
• What is your message ~ You should have a clear message you are trying to convey. Once you understand this you can build everything else around this message. To many people string together random thoughts that don't lead the audience anywhere. 

Presentation

• Slides ~ 
  • Test the audio/visual in advance. If something doesn't work while you are on stage it will reflect on you regardless of who's fault it is.
  • During the presentation, don't make yourself say, "I know this slide is hard to read". If it is hard to read change it.
  • Don't use font that is to small. Guy Kawasaki recommends that you take the age of the oldest person in the room, divide it by two and there is your font size. If you don't know that use a minimum 24 point, Arial font.
  • Don't go into a PowerPoint trance where you are staring at the slides and reading every bullet point. Reading slides, in my opinion, is the biggest sin of public speaking. Slides should support the spoken words. Slides are good to keep you on track and emphasize points but you need to know, "I can read" so I don't need you reading to me.
  • Either know/print the slide progression or get a confidence monitor so you know what is coming next.
• Body Parts ~ 
  • Feet: Get a good base and maintain balance. Don't shift from one foot to the other.
  • Arms: Try to keep your arms relaxed at your side. Don't cross your arms. If you want to gesture move your whole arm from the shoulder. Don't karate chop. 
  • Hands: Don't point with your finger. Don't ring your hands. Don't put your hands in your pockets. Don't cross your hands in front of you. Don't put your hands in a praying position unless you are speaking in church.
  • Eyes: Don't scan the audience. Try to find a set of eyes, focus on them for five second, move to another set of eyes. Try to reach everyone. If it is a large room try to point your attention to the back of the room at times so you make everyone feel included.
• Movement ~ Have you ever watched a presentation where the speaker was constantly moving? It is exhausting. Speak from spots. You can go from spot to spot but when you get to the spot stay there for awhile before you move again. Movement can be great for adding variety and emphasis but you have to pick a spot and stop.
• Speak to all learning styles ~ Understand that there are different types of learning styles. Try to hit each one every five minutes.
  • Visual learners: Want fast pace, pictures, visuals and gestures.
  • Auditory learners: Not a lot of notes, medium pacing, pleasing tone of voice.
  • Kinesthetic learners: They need to connect. Slow your pacing and use slower pacing with small but intense gestures.
• Stuff ~ 
  • Props: Don't carry stuff around as a security blanket. Carrying pen, cards, water, etc is distracting unless there is a need for you to have it.
  • Podium: Don't hide behind the podium. Get out and engage your audience.
  • Stage: If there is a stage use it. Whoever has brought you in to speak has gone to the effort of making sure there is a stage to make you the focal point, let them. I know people like to move amongst the audience but depending on the size of the audience the speaker can get lost. 
  • Microphone: Don't walk out and say "Can everybody hear me without the mic?". If you are given a microphone there is a reason. Also, many people have hearing problems. I am one of them. I have about 25% hearing in my right ear. So when you get up and don't use the mic it is hard for me to hear. Just because you ask I may not say anything so you won't know if everybody can hear you without the mic.

Closing the Presentation

• Control closing Q&A ~ Questions at the end are not mandatory. There is nothing worse than asking if anyone has questions and there is total silence. Not getting questions is often reflective of your presentation. If you want to take questions you should lead the audience towards questions. One thing that I have done is pass out index cards and ask people to jot questions down as they think of them. You can then collect them and address them either throughout the presentation or at the end. Another idea, if you have a small enough group is to ask for their questions up front, write them down then make sure they are addressed before you are finished. Or you can do the presentation, wrap and be done.
• Have a closing slide ~ When you are finished your last slide should have your contact information on it. Typically this will be left up after you are finished. Use this to reinforce your brand and provide your contact information. 
• Make yourself available ~ Sometimes this is possible but making yourself available to the audience following the presentation, and before is important. For business owners speaking at local events being available is the key to networking. This is where you will make your connections. It is really just as important if you are a keynote at a large event. I have put on seven Ohio Growth Summit programs and the keynote presenters and speakers that were a part of the event and not just a speaker were the best. Susan RoAne, Jim Caterucci, and Carrie Wilkerson were so engaged in the event that I think they knew all the attendees names before they left. Chris Brogan sat right in the audience, engaged and spoke to attendees and took what was said before he spoke to customize his presentation to the audience.

There are a lot of other things you need to do or at least keep in mind if you are doing a presentation but these will get a long way. Preparation and connecting your presentation to the audience is the biggest thing. Really work to understand what the audience wants and work hard to deliver it. Don't assume that just because they are there they will connect with what you are saying.

Fianlly, if you are new to public speaking you need to practice. Consider participating in your loacal Toastmasters group or some opportunity to get used to being in front of people. 

Bad presentation style and technique will trump bullet points every time.