New Year’s Eve Returns in June to Benefit the American Cancer Society at the Long Island Hospitality Ball

The 2013 Long Island Hospitality Ball benefiting the American Cancer Society will be held on Monday, June 3 from 7 to 11 p.m. at the Crest Hollow Country Club. Considered the New Year’s Eve for Long Island restaurant and nightlife employees, more than 2,500 guests are expected to strut their stuff and enjoy the evening. Those in the industry see the fashion and style of diners and party-goers every day and this is one of the few nights they get to enjoy themselves while dressing to impress! Last year’s attire ranged from elegant ball gowns to bright-colored mini dresses to high-end printed two-piece ensembles.

The next Long Island Hospitality Ball will be held on Monday, June 3
at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury.
For ticket or donation information, contact Marie Cimaglia, American Cancer Society, at (631) 300-3460.
For information about sponsorships, contact Keith Hart, The Hart Agency, at (631) 752-1053.

Entertainment highlights the evening with featured acts from well-known DJs to live bands including Big Shot with guest appearances by members of the Billy Joel Band. Restaurants and catering entities dish out signature summer specialties such as Besito guacamole and Sage Bistro Moderne salmon tartare. Featured nightclubs and bars as well as wine and spirit sponsors complete the event with cocktails. Tickets are $100 per person (or $150 at the door) and may be purchased at http://bit.ly/2013LIHBtickets

The 3 Golden Rules of Planning a Business Event

Remember the one Golden rule? Many of us have taken it to heart and practice it faithfully.  Other “Golden rules” exist as guidelines, to inspire better actions, to frame your mindset. Regardless of your objective, “rules” exist and can be quite practical. The following are 3 of the very best Golden Rules for planning a business event.

Golden Rule # 1. Know How You Will Measure the Event’s Success

The reasoning for doing this is two-fold: Have the goal in mind from the start so that you are conscious of how to make that happen. Defining a specific outcome should apply to even the smallest business event.

Golden Rule # 2. Direct the details specifically to your target attendees.

Once you know who you want to attend, many options will be up for grabs. Choose the venue that appeals to the audience…. the agenda (panel discussion, roundtable, speed-anything, structured presentations, should please them as well as anything served.  If you don’t intend to invite the entire free world, focus on  who your target audience member is.

Golden Rule # 3. Research the date and time before announcing.

Make sure you check the date on many holiday schedules- school, general, religious. What will be most convenient for your attendees?  Know what their general schedules might be. For example; is it easiest for the event to occur during work hours, lunch, after work, before the work day, or over the weekend?

Trust these Golden Rules to make your business event successful. These are tried and true and found to work. Follow them and then your ultimate success will be more likely and the results far more satisfying.

Networking: If at first you don’t succeed… by Robyn Hatcher, SpeakEtc.

Our charming and beautiful speaker at last night’s Image of Success Networking Series has an arsenal of key techniques for us professionals to know when it comes to “working the room”. She refers to this as “Lessons Learned from Sticking it out When You Feel Like You Have Two Heads!“.  We at Fashion Societé especially adhere to Lesson #5, but recognize that are all important!

For a sole proprietor, marketing is always a challenge. Recently,  I closed an extremely lucrative deal to create and deliver a training workshop for a  large corporation.  I did not get offered this job as a result of Facebook, LinkedIn, twitter or any other media outlet. I got it through good old fashioned face to face networking. As I’ve mentioned before almost 99% of my work comes from networking. But this particular networking connection almost didn’t happen since I  almost left the event prematurely in an “I hate networking” funk.

I had really been anticipating this event. It was being hosted by a woman’s organization I had just rejoined and it involved shopping – one of my all time passions. But something felt off as I entered. I ran into two people I knew right off the bat but I felt like they both kind of dissed me.  And it went downhill from there. It seemed as though everyone I made eye contact with quickly looked away thinking they could find someone better to talk to. Had I had grown a second head or something? Was I wearing the wrong dress/shoes/makeup? I watched other people chat and exchange cards while I could only manage a few fleeting encounters.

I had really been anticipating this event. It was being hosted by a woman’s organization I had just rejoined and it involved shopping – one of my all time passions. But something felt off as I entered. I ran into two people I knew right off the bat but I felt like they both kind of dissed me.  And it went downhill from there. It seemed as though everyone I made eye contact with quickly looked away thinking they could find someone better to talk to. Had I had grown a second head or something? Was I wearing the wrong dress/shoes/makeup? I watched other people chat and exchange cards while I could only manage a few fleeting encounters.

I battled my inner evil twin – I’ve named her Clarice –  who kept chattering very negative thoughts in my head. She was encouraging me to leave and avoid further embarrassment and failure. I convinced my evil twin that we needed to stick it out a little longer, and possibly this was a test of our confidence. Overcoming this would be good for us, I told her. I promised her that even though we seemed to be striking out socially, we were in a designer clothing boutique…. we could do something we are very skilled at – SHOP!  Evil twin was appeased.  And wouldn’t you know it, while waiting to try on some dresses, I started chatting with a woman who had an immediate need for someone to deliver a presentation skills workshop.

Five lessons I learned from this experience:

1.       If at first you don’t succeed… don’t leave!  Our evil twins – read fears – can be very powerful. I very easily could have given in to her and chalked this event up as a failure. But instead, I revised my expectations and decided I would stay long enough to meet just ONE more person. (and try on one dress)

2.       Don’t make it about finding the most effective connections. Make it about connecting effectively. Once I quieted my evil twin and I stopped worrying about whether people liked me or not I could focus on just being me and concentrate on finding people that I could like.

3.       When you feel like you have two heads, it may be all in your head. What allowed me to stay at the event was reminding myself that my perception of what was going on might not be accurate. Were people really ignoring me or did one or two small things push the button on an old negative self-talk tape?

4.       And even if you DO have two heads…Own it! I don’t know why I wasn’t connecting with people at first. I don’t know why or if the people I knew were really dissing me.  But once I turned off the negative tape and replaced it with a positive one, I was able to say… “Wow… it’s unfortunate that there’s something getting in the way of me connecting but I know that this isn’t a reflection on the valuable person I know myself to be.  And finally…

5.       Shopping cures all ills!

Robyn Hatcher, not Clarice, wrote this post, not as much as a lesson in perseverance or in overpowering your evil twin or as proof that shopping always saves the day. She wrote this because often, people treat going to networking events as a sort of Supermarket Sweeps – how many cards can I collect before time runs out.  But remember, networking is about creating relationships not filling card files. Realizing that it’s quality over quantity makes a huge difference to your experience and ultimately to your bottom line~.

Introducing “40+ Women to Network with Today on LinkedIn”

I'm one of forty plus women selected by the Women's News Bureau!

I’m proud to be one of forty plus women selected by the Women’s News Bureau to follow on LinkedIn today.

The Women’s News Bureau (http://womenpartner.org) has gathered over 40 women for you to network with today on LinkedIn to help you maximize your membership.  Read their news snippets and invite them to connect.  Then strike up a conversation about collaborating to introduce each other to your respective clients.

Now that Fashion Societé is going Co-Ed….

Networking opportunities between the sexes abound so here are 5 spot-on points we love about exchanging business cards from Bags to Riches’s Linda Hollander:

5 Pet Peeves about Business Cards

NAFE member Linda Hollander, the Wealthy Bag Lady, is a 20-year entrepreneur and author of the best-seller, Bags to Riches: 7 Success Secrets for Women in Business. She teaches entrepreneurial women about small business success and is the founder of the Women’s Small Business Expo. Here are her suggestions for creating a professional and effective business card.

Business cards are your chance to make a brilliant first impression that will either lead to profits or frustration. When a person views your business card, you want them to know immediately about what you do, if you can help them, and how they can contact you. Sounds simple, right? Here are some of the most common mistakes:

1. CROSS-OUTS WRITTEN OVER IN PEN. The most egregious mistake! If your phone number or email has changed, please print new business cards. Don’t use a pen to cross out and write the current information.

2. CONTACT INFORMATION IS MISSING. A card with no physical address brands you as a teeny tiny micro-business. If you’re a home-based business, I don’t recommend giving the address of your house – but there are alternatives. Private mailbox rental locations are great because they also accept packages. You can get a post office box, or use a friend’s office as a physical address. When I read your business card, I also want your phone number, fax, web site and email address. Without your email, you look like a dinosaur. If you have a web site, don’t just list it – give people a reason to go there (free report, articles, tips, etc.)

3. MORE THAN 3 PHONE NUMBERS. Too Much Information. Choose the best phone numbers to reach you. I don’t list my cell; I forward my calls to my cell phone if I’m out of the office. If you’ve read my book, Bags to Riches, you know that I’m not a fan of the combination phone/fax. If you’re serious about your business, invest in a dedicated fax line.

4. FONTS THAT ARE HARD TO READ. Fancy fonts for your logo are great, but please choose a standard font for the contact information on your business card. Arial and Times Roman are clean and convey credibility. Another common mistake is colored type too light to read. I’ve seen yellow type on a white background too many times to count. One more point: the difference between a professional designer and a hack is the use of negative space. A beginner crams too much information on the card, creating clutter.

5. NICKNAMES. The name on the top of the card says Elizabeth “Betty” Jones. I have no idea what name to use. Am I crossing the line if I use your nickname? Is Betty only for your close friends? Which name do you prefer? Please pick one name and use it on your business card.

ALWAYS carry your business cards. Your business cards won’t work unless you do. (If you meet people who don’t have their business cards, ask them to write their contact information on the back of yours.) Now, go out there and network!