Why Business Women Should Wear Earrings

The following is a true story. It happened to me. It came back to the forefront of my memory because of my recent networking experience. When networking, one has anywhere from 30 to 60 seconds to give a "commercial" about their business. It's also known as the "elevator speech" in some networking circles.

When one does a lot of networking, one recognizes the need to change things up in order to sound interesting. I attended a meeting a couple of months ago where Jeff Klein, a local network marketing guru, gave us a presentation on making our elevator speeches more memorable. Most people give their name, company name, what it does, what they do, and ask for your business. After a few of these, the yawn factor sets in. The collective mind of the room begins to wander. Hence the need of giving an effective elevator speech and that often begins with a story.

Here's my story that I used the other day (although 30 seconds is simply NOT long enough to use this story effectively ... I needed 60!):

Once upon a time in a land far away, I was the manager of information systems at a Beverly Hills CPA firm. It was April, a busy time for CPAs, a very, very busy time. Not only are the 1040 tax returns due on the 15th, the first quarter payroll tax returns are due by the end of the month. Needless to say, workers in CPA firms put in a lot of long hours during the month of April. And because of the long hours, workers at CPA firms dress for comfort during that time.

We're talking jeans and t-shirt comfortable. There are some periods of time when even appropriate business casual has to fly away in the face for the need of comfort. Comfort = productivity, productivity is the single most important goal for CPA firms in April. But I digress (which I did NOT do in my elevator speech).

A guy comes in to sell us a computer thingmabob. I don't remember exactly what it was, but it was something in which the firm was interested enough that I took the time to talk to the guy. Unfortunately, he spent his entire elevator speech time, which was much longer than 60 seconds, talking to my boobs.

He did not make the sale.

There are two lessons to learn from this real-life story:

#1. Gentlemen, if you want to sell to a lady, look her in the face! Don't talk to her boobs. And trust me, guys, I was NOT provocatively dressed.

#2. Ladies, no matter what the setting, no matter what is going on in the office, dress in a way to focus attention to your FACE. And of course, the single best tool you have is a pair of noticeable earrings. Noticeable, not extravagant. But even with jeans and t-shirt, there are earrings that are appropriate that will keep the focus where it belongs.

These particular earrings sold a long time ago, but they are a good example of what you can wear with business casual. They are understated but pretty. And they will do the job of keeping the focus on your beautiful, intelligent face.

Dressing for Success

I attended a networking event last Friday late afternoon. I was one of 15 vendors to have a show and tell table and it went very well. Over 100 business people attended the event.

I came home rather puzzled, though. I was somewhat surprised at the way some people dressed, especially those representing their businesses at the show and tell tables. Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I did not understand why someone would come to a late afternoon event representing their businesses wearing the clothing one would wear to a picnic or to watch their kiddo play soccer on a Saturday morning.

What really made this strange was that last Friday was the day after the news broke about Sarah Palin's $150k image makeover price tag. Whether one agrees campaign funds should have been spent or not, or whether that much should have been spent or not, whatever ... the bottom line was that there was a perceived need to have Ms. Palin look more vice-presidential. Unique thought? I don't think so.

Personally, when I heard the news, I secretly was clicking my heels with excitement. It was bringing to national focus the concept that image dressing does matter and for someone like myself, who designs accessories for the businesswoman, that is a good thing.

I know business attire has changed over the decades, "business casual" dominates the scene in a lot of arenas, but business casual does not equal jeans + t-shirt + sneakers.

There seems to be three basic categories of business attire: casual, conservative or formal, and cocktail. In my line, I have different pieces for the different settings. And there are pieces that could fit in any of the settings, like the necklace above. Because it is made of fire-polished Czech glass faceted roundel beads, there is enough bling it could stand up to any cocktail setting. But when worn under a tailored blouse that has a collar with the three strands peeking out from the v-line of the blouse opening, it would look fabulous with a jacketed suit that is the conservative assemble, or the blouse that is worn with casual slacks in the casual setting.

Any way you slice it, what we wear to any situation says a lot about how we feel about that situation. Being well-dressed and groomed for business says "I am confident" and gives the impression of authority and validity, which are critical for success. When someone comes to me in a business setting well-dressed and groomed, not only are they making that statement about themselves, they are also telling ME that I am worthy of their respect. That's a good feeling.