Mary Ellen Bates, Keynote Address, Conference for Entrepreneurial Librarians

1. From Employment to
Librarian of Fortune
Mary Ellen Bates
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Conference for Entrepreneurial Librarians
10 March 2011

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Jessica Hagy is very funny. See thisisindexed.com for these and
other fun graphics.

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5. The Thrills and Chills of
Entrepreneurship

6. The Thrills
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The Chills
 Flexible schedule
 Work from home
 Your clients love you
 You love your boss
 24/7 schedule
 Live in your office
 You have to find clients
 You make all the
decisions

7. The Thrills
 You can try anything
 You can turn down
work
 Can be lucrative
 Pride of ownership
 You only have X hrs/yr
 You have to find the
work
 Ca$h flow
 Life-long marketing
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The Chills

8. Skill sets of
info-entrepreneurs
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9. Skill sets of info-entrepreneurs
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professionalbusiness
entrepreneurial

10. Entrepreneurial skills
• Tolerance for risk and ambiguity
• 100% client-focused
 Constantly learning what your clients
want now
• Move out of employee mind-set
 100% responsibility for all aspects of your
business
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11. Entrepreneurial skills
• Strategic perspective
• Self-discipline, self-confidence
• Self-starting
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12. Business skills
• Be able to:
 View yourself as a business
 Close a sale
 Talk about money
 Say "no"
(You can learn these skills!)
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13. Business skills
• Think five years out
 Is your business name timeless?
 Are you taking short-cuts?
 Do you look like a start-up?
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14. Professional expertise
• Research or other service skills
• Network of colleagues
• Investing in prof development
• ID opportunities to add value
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15. Things I wish I'd known...
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16. Learn to love uncertainty
• Embrace ambiguity
• 100% client-focused means open to
anything
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17. Self-management
• Time management
 Just 1,000 billable hours/year
 Procrastination management
• Budget management
 NEVER exceed a budget
 Perfection is the enemy of good (enough)
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18. Cash flow
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19. Cash flow insights
• Have 6 months' living expenses
• Don't fund operations w/ credit
• Learn to talk w/ clients about $$$
• Set your rates as someone in business,
not just starting a business
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20. Employee or independent?
• Are you still marketing yourself?
• Are you working for multiple clients?
• Do you control your work flow,
schedule?
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21. Form an advisory board
• A board of mentors:
 who you respect
 who understand professional service
companies
 for feedback, insight & advice
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22. Marketing plan
• Tangible goals
• Simultaneous marketing efforts
• Evaluate monthly
• Try Test each approach 100% or not at
all
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I  marketing..... NOT!I  marketing..... NOT!

24. Friends Don't Let Friends Cold-Call
Why I don't believe in cold-calling
for info-entrepreneurs
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25. Marketing for introverts
• Work the social media
• Write a blog
• Write an e-newsletter
• Stay in touch
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26. Be creative...
• Find obscure holiday
• Snail mail cards to all clients
 International Respect for Chickens Day
 Queen's Birthday
 Groundhog's Day
 Shameless Promotion Month
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27. • Speak in front of your clients
• Volunteer with your clients' assn
 Member-facing job!
• See yourself as a brand
 Mary Ellen Bates ™
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Marketing for introverts

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29. The Imposter Syndrome
If they only knew how ___ I am...
Once they find out I don't know this...
99 compliments, and all I hear is the
1 criticism
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30. De-fusing the Imposter Syndrome
• Take feedback gently
• Look at yourself as a third-party
• Learn self-appreciation
• Let go of knowing it all
• Fake it 'til you make it!
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Mary Ellen can be reached at
303.772.7095 or
mbates@BatesInfo.com
www.BatesInfo.com
Blog: Librarian of Fortune.com
See BatesInfo.com/tips for free monthly
e-newsletter
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