Show Notes

• Archived Blog Post

  Date / Time: 12/4/2008 7:58 PM UTC

  Meet Networking Guru and authors George Fraser and Sonya Lowery
  

  Synergy Energy!

  George C. Fraser, CEO George C. Fraser is Chairman & CEO of FraserNet, Inc. He is considered by many to be the new voice for African Americans and one of the foremost authorities on networking and building effective relationships. Mr. Fraser is the author of two books: Success Runs In Our Race; The Complete Guide to Effective Networking in the African American Community (a critically acclaimed bestseller) and Race For Success; The Ten Best Business Opportunities for Blacks In America (selected as one of ten best business books of the year by Booklist). Both were published by the William Morrow Company. Mr. Fraser is also the publisher of the award-winning SuccessGuide Worldwide: The Networking Guide to Black Resources. He is the founder of the annual PowerNetworking Conference, the largest gathering of Black professionals, business owners and community leaders. A popular speaker and author, George C. Fraser’s inspiring talks on success principles, effective networking, wealth creation, business ethics, and valuing diversity, are as popular among corporate professionals as they are among college students. His views have been solicited by CNN and the Wall Street Journal. Over the past decade, the prestigious publication, Vital Speeches of the Day, has selected, reprinted and distributed worldwide, four of Mr. Fraser’s speeches--a first for any professional speaker in America. UPSCALE magazine named him one of the “Top 50 power brokers in Black America”. Black Enterprise Magazine called him “Black America’s #1 Networker” on a cover issue. Personal growth “guru” Stephen Covey called Mr. Fraser a “masterful teacher.” TV host and journalist, Tony Brown called him a “visionary with the rare combination of leadership and management skills.” Mr. Fraser is featured in the New York Times-bestseller, Masters of Networking, along with Colin Powell. Mr. Fraser attended New York University and received his executive training at the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree of Humane Letters from Jarvis Christian College. Mr. Fraser has been married to Nora Jean for over 30 years. They have two sons, Kyle and Scott.  www.FraserNet.com

   

  Pam Perry is a high-powered bundle of energy and information. When she speaks and writes people listen and read. Her marketing and public relations insights are not only very effective but empowering as well. Her spiritual based networking principles of sharing and partnering are right in line with what is needed in everything from small church ministries to large corporate entities.

   

  Pam knows how to help people network for customers using marketing, public relations and a soft sell over the hard sell. I too am an advocate of the soft sell.

   

  Soft selling entails getting information to identify problems in a friendly, conversational tone, then devising solutions using the ideas and information that you are willing to share.

   

  Our mutual friend, Sonya, a graphic designer, describes her business as “helping to make people look good on paper.” She spends her networking time brainstorming with her customers on how they can improve their business cards and other graphic images used to represent their firms. One of Sonya’s favorite questions is, “If you could wave a magic wand, how would you enhance your graphic image today?” The answers often open up conversations that result in more business for Sonya. But she never presses, nor does she attempt to close a deal on the spot. She simply arranges for a more convenient time and place to expand the discussion and, ultimately, the size of the sale.

   

  The key concept that Pam teaches us here is, when networking for business, never make the hard sell. Instead of trying to make money, solve problems and know that later, the cash will flow your way. Of course, if you find yourself giving away more than you are getting back, you might have to fine-tune your style of problem solving.

   

  Thank you Pam for writing this gem of a book….a must read for anyone serious about succeeding in business. 
                                - George Fraser, author of "Click" and "Success Runs in Our Race."

   

   

   

   

   

  Don't settle: live the life you want with these 5 steps

  Black Enterprise,  March, 2008  by Marcia A. Reed-Woodard

  SONYA A. LOWERY HAD A GOOD LIFE--BUT SHE WANTED MORE. HER dissatisfaction prompted her to make pivotal changes in her persona] and professional life. Three years into her marriage and a budding graphic design enterprise, she left both her husband and her business partner.

  "My life was okay, but I knew I could have more," recalls Lowery. "I wasn't excited about what I was doing and I was constantly torn between doing what I wanted and adhering to what others wanted me to do." Today, 38-year old Lowery is president of Solaris--House of Fine Graphics, a Greenbelt, Maryland-based design firm she launched after the split.

  "We all have an innate drive to fulfill our desires," says Karyn Pettigrew, author of The Invitation: The Secret to Creating Your Best Life (Highest Good Publications; $6.95). "But we have to choose whether we want to support that drive or suppress it."

  The Chicago-based life coach and business consultant maintains that those who sup press it suffer in ways that include living with increasing regrets and experiencing feelings of discontentment, anxiety and even depression.

  "When we settle for less than what we want, we're living less of the life God intended for us to have and we're unhappy," Pettigrew says. "However, when we embrace who we are and pursue what we want, we experience joy, happiness, peace, and contentment, making it easier to deal with obstacles we encounter in getting it and move beyond them."

  Lowery agrees and recalls that while the divorce and business closing were difficult, the changes allowed her the freedom to rediscover her creativity and reignite her childhood passion.

  "Creating your best life doesn't necessarily mean making monumental changes," reminds Pettigrew. She recommends implementing these small adjustments, which can yield big results:

  * Outlook. Rethink your frame of reference or modify your stance.

  * Attitude. Establish how you will feel despite the circumstances.

  * Response. Determine what response you will exhibit.

  CHANGE IS GOOD

  Pettigrew insists that everyone can create their preferred life. Here's how:

  1 Find your truth. Look deep within your heart and identify what is important to you. Determine your values, likes, dislikes, and desires. Lowery realized that she cherished her independence and felt best when she made decisions on her own terms.

  2 Trust yourself. Listen to your intuition. Regardless of what others think, pursue the life you dream of having. Lowery acknowledges that despite having fears associated with single parenting and entrepreneurship, she always believed in her ability to build a business and take care of her children.

  3 Be responsible. Take steps that move you toward your preferred life. Seek out information. Secure resources. Solicit support. Lowery took charge of her career aspirations by networking more.

  4 Stay focused. Concentrate on what you want and those things that will allow you to achieve it. Lowery refused to spend time working at jobs other than those that built her business. "If it wasn't graphics, I wasn't doing it,--no matter how bad I needed the money," she recalls.

  5 Be intentional. Make deliberate, impactful efforts to further your progress. Early on, Lowery volunteered to design marketing materials to gain exposure. She also created opportunities for herself such as writing a book, The Secret Language of Business Cards (Jordan Maxwell Publishing; $14.95).

   

   

  Sonya A. Lowery
  Author - The Secret Language of Business Cards
  (And what your brochure is saying behind your back)
  O  30...  • 
  www.SolarisCorporation.com
   

   

   

  SONYA A. LOWERY

   

   

  For over 10 years, award-winning graphic designer Sonya A. Lowery has helped to change the way the world views small businesses. Lowery has exposed an overwhelming trend in the small business community in particular. She found that they were spending little or no money on branding and it was having a negative effect on their bottom line. Right or wrong, Lowery found that the strength of a business is often judged by the strength of its image.

   

  In 2005, Sonya A. Lowery wrote a book to help struggling companies called The Secret Language of Business Cards (and what your brochure is saying behind your back). Since then, she has had an overwhelming response to her book and her message and has been featured in Black Enterprise Magazine; The Washington Post; Tony Brown’s Journal TV show; The BE Report TV show; The Bev Smith Show, and Smart Money Magazine, and has made other countless radio, television, and newspaper appearances. It was obvious that Lowery had struck a nerve.

   

  Sonya Lowery’s “tell it like it is” attitude has made a difference in how many companies present themselves. Entrepreneurs are seizing the information in droves. They are beginning to realize that consumers simply overlook companies with “home-made” marketing materials and go elsewhere.  Lowery asks the tough question, “Would you buy from you?”

   

  At the age of 38, Sonya Lowery is the single mother of two boys, ages 12 and 7.  She finds time to run her business, write books and articles, speak around the country and run a household. Lowery attended the University of Maryland at both the Eastern Shore and College Park campus’. She received her formal design education at Corcoran School of Art in Washington, DC.
  
  Her real education though came from many years of watching new business owners “do it all wrong.” She knew that in order to make a difference, she would first have to find a way to help them discover their “Branding Magic.” Sonya began to offer advice and council and discovered a tremendous need along the way.

  
  

  I just started my business and I don’t have a budget for marketing and graphic design. Why can’t I get by with my perforated business cards and self-designed brochures until things pick up? The truth is things won’t pick up for you if you continue to show a lack of interest in your own company. How do you expect people to invest in your company when clearly you haven’t’ invested in it yourself. Your image is the first thing that potential clients come in contact with and it’s what they use to consider trying your company out. Consumers buy when marketing materials make them feel good about their purchase, and a lot of that “feel good” comes from the branding. So if you’re using perforated business cards or self-designed and printed brochures, you are setting people’s expectations very low for what they will experience in using your services. Do yourself a favor, find out what all of the dos and don’ts of self promotion are (in my book of course). Follow those guidelines and create an image that exudes success; your business will pick up sooner rather than later

  • Tags:
  • George Fraser
  • Sonya Lowery
  • Click
  • Power of Parternship
  • Extraordinary Relati
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