Jessica Watson to receive Spirited Woman Rising Award (Baltimore, MD)

MORTON’S THE STEAKHOUSE AND MYCITY4HER.COM™ ANNOUNCE  THE WINNERS OF THE “SPIRITED WOMEN OF BALTIMORE” AWARDS AT ANNUAL POWER LUNCH

“Spirited Women of Baltimore” Power Lunch, Benefiting the American Red Cross of Central Maryland, Takes Place Wednesday, August 17, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

2011 Winners are Katherine Pinkard Bowers and Jessica Watson both of Baltimore, Spirited Women Rising; Debi Katzenberger of Glen Burnie, Md., Spirited Woman in Balance; and Amy Michelle Gross of Owings Mills, Md., Spirited Woman of Baltimore

Tickets are $50 each if purchased by August 10 and $65 if purchased after August 10, or at the door.

Visit www.MyCity4Her.com, call 410-327-9090, or email m@mycity4her.com<mailto:m@mycity4her.com>  or cm.mba@mortons.com  to purchase tickets or for more information.

(Baltimore, July 22, 2011) – Morton’s The Steakhouse and MyCity4Her.com announce the “Spirited Women of Baltimore” award winners to be celebrated at a Power Lunch to be held on Wednesday, August 17, from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m., at Morton’s The Steakhouse located at 300 S. Charles Street, Baltimore.

Tickets to the luncheon, which consists of a choice of Morton’s chicken Christopher or single cut filet mignon, mixed field green salad, mashed potatoes, sautéed garlic green beans, and Morton’s double chocolate mousse cup with fresh berries for dessert, are $50 each if purchased by August 10 and $65 each if purchased after August 10, or at the door. Proceeds from ticket sales benefits the American Red Cross of Central Maryland.

“The ‘Spirited Women of Baltimore’ award winners encompass all of the ideals of the American Red Cross – volunteerism, generosity, sacrifice, preparation, compassion, sensitivity and humility,” according to Monyka Berrocosa, CEO of MyCity4Her.com. “This annual event was created as a means to raise awareness and provide continued support to the Central Maryland Chapter of the American Red Cross. As the 2007 winner of Morton’s The Steakhouse’s ‘Women of Spirit’ award, I wanted to continue this award and partnership with the American Red Cross in addition to honoring local women in our community who have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to volunteerism and service.”

The 2011 winners are: 

Spirited Women Rising (tie) – Katherine Pinkard Bowers and Jessica Watson, both of Baltimore

This award recognizes an up and coming, young woman who is starting to make her powerful mark on the Baltimore community and/or the business world.

Katherine Pinkard Bower
Katherine Pinkard Bowers is an active member of the American Red Cross of Central Maryland’s Young Professionals Committee and has led initiatives including a high-profile fundraising Gala at the B&O Railroad Museum. She was recently elected to the chapter’s board of directors, making her one of the youngest board members in the organization’s 106 year history. She is also a member of the Johns Hopkins University’s Homewood Museum Advisory Council; a founding member and chairwoman of “Giving Back to Baltimore,” a women’s charitable giving circle; as well as involved with the Association of Baltimore Grantmakers.

In her personal life, Katherine is a nationally-ranked equestrian. Currently, she is pursuing her M.B.A. at the Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School while working for PNC Financial Services Group.

Jessica Watson
Jessica Watson is passionate about, and actively shows her support of, other women in business. She is a manager for B’More Creatives, a networking group for women in the creative profession, and is involved with the Marketing Director’s Support Group. In her spare time she volunteers with Tyanna Foundation. Her most recognized accomplishment has been her role as the driving force behind the “A Day in the Life” Baltimore Design Conference, which welcomed nationally renowned speakers and artists to Baltimore. The first of its kind in Baltimore, this event continues to foster opportunities for growth and collaboration, as well as rejuvenate the creative spirit that thrives in Baltimore.

Jessica is a successful local entrepreneur and owns her business, JWatson Creative, s a full service graphic design and marketing firm built upon a strong foundation of delivering high quality creative work that will produce results for their clients.

This summer 2011, she co-founded a coworking space Federal Hill to offer affordable office solutions to other entrepreneurs.

Spirited Woman in Balance – Debi Katzenberger, Glen Burnie, Md.

This award honors a working mother who is successfully juggling all that life brings her—family, career, all the while engaging in spirited endeavors, such as community service, mentorship, and philanthropy.

Debi Katzenberger, a full-time working mother and grandmother, is the creator of the Kami’s Jammies program at the Casey Cares Foundation. She initiated this program after her own nine-year-old granddaughter, Kamryn, passed away from complications of leukemia. Kamryn felt special when she wore new pajamas instead of the gowns given to her in the hospital, and Debi wanted to pass this symbol of joy and normalcy onto other sick children by providing new sleepwear and monthly pajama parties to pediatric patients on extended hospital stays.

Since 2007, the program has been implemented at 20 Maryland hospitals and Debi has collected 8,000 new pairs of pajamas. Throughout the program’s growth and success, she has managed to maintain a full-time job, overseeing 30 employees at CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield.

Moreover, Debi has volunteered for Casey Cares about 15 hours a week for the past four years.

Always thinking about how to further improve the lives of hospitalized children, she was instrumental in Casey Cares receiving a grant to create Casey Cares Care Packages, which are tote bags with information regarding the child’s disease, a new pair of pajamas, a thermometer, water bottle, toothbrush, playing cards, journal, etc., to make the stay in the hospital easier for patients and their families.

Spirited Woman of 2011- Amy Michelle Gross, Owings Mills, Md.

This award celebrates an accomplished, spirited woman who acts as an example, leader and mentor in her community and profession and has done so for some time. This woman encompasses a variety of ideals, including volunteerism, generosity, sacrifice, preparation, compassion, sensitivity, and humility.

Amy Michelle Gross works as a program director at the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation. However, her professional accomplishments are offset by a heartfelt commitment to community service, volunteering and family. She has volunteered with numerous organizations, serving as a member of the Art in the City Event Committee, a volunteer leader of community planning and outreach for The Associated, as well as vice president of Art With a Heart. She has taken on many career-related leadership roles on professional boards and organizations including the Association of Baltimore Area Grantmakers and The After School Institute.

Most significant is her involvement in mentoring. After participating in the United Jewish Communities’ Advancing Women Professionals local group mentoring initiative, she organized a peer mentoring group of women professionals who meet regularly to share professional insights, help each other strategically problem solve and to support one another’s career development.

At the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, she has developed strong partnerships with Maryland’s nonprofit sector, as well as those in Washington, D.C., and Israel. She has initiated such projects as the Baltimore Jewish Leaders Assembly and Acharai and the Shoshana Cardin Leadership Development Institute. Before coming to the Foundation five years ago, she was the Director of Community Initiatives at The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore.

All of this year’s nominees will be acknowledged and recognized at the luncheon. The event begins at 11 a.m. with registration and networking, followed by lunch at noon, and the program where Spirited Women award winners are honored.

To purchase tickets, or for more information, visit www.MyCity4Her.com , call 410-327-9090, or email m@mycity4her.com <mailto:m@mycity4her.com>  or cm.mba@mortons.com <mailto:cm.mba@mortons.com> .

The event is sponsored by The Law Office of Jane Frankel Sims, LLC, Estates & Trusts. Media sponsors are The Baltimore Business Journal, Fox 45, and WomanTalk Live. Additional partners include Lynne Brick’s Women’s Health & Fitness, Being There Senior Care, LLC, and Planet Fitness.

6 Tips for a Better Networking Experience

We all have to do it right? You are your own sales person when it comes to your business, so sometimes a good way for prospects to find you is for you to be out and about, present and active in the professional community. But there are so many events to go to, and its difficult to squeeze them into an already busy schedule or to include all of them in your budget. So, how do you maximize the resources you have, get the most from the events you attend, and get a return on your investment? We’ve got 5 easy tips for a better networking experience.

6. Set Reasonable Goals: Until they perfect cloning and you can be in multiple places at once, let’s just accept the premise that you may not be able to make all the events that are available to you. So, maybe set a goal for how many events you want to attend in a month. Anywhere from 2-4 is a great start. Setting a goal will allow you to put time in your schedule, be selective with what events to attend, and plan ahead.

5. Set a Budget: Some events are free, but others require an out of pocket expense. While there might be a price tag involved, there could also be a good return on your investment based on the type of the event or the people attending. With this in mind, it’s a good idea to set a monthly budget and to choose events wisely. You can mix up your events between one or two that cost money and one or two that are free mixers/networking happy hours.

4. Play it Cool: Be more interested in conversation than making a sale. You’ll find that people will gravitate to you more if you just be yourself or pick a current interest topic to talk about. Sometimes people who introduce themselves and immediately want to sell themselves can push people away. Conversations, connections, and experiences are what attract people to become interested in who you are and what you do. Letting this unfold naturally over appetizers and a drink is the perfect way to put yourself out there and make a good impression.

3. Don’t Over Indulge: A networking event is generally not the time to make a mad dash for the food table or to go through a few rounds of drinks to the point where your judgement/response time is impaired. Eat and drink in moderation, and if you happen to connect really well with a couple other attendees, let the evening continue by inviting them out for a drink or food afterwards.

2. Keep in Touch: Don’t wait for someone to reach out to you after a networking event. If you really want to stay connected, get their business card after talking with them, and then follow up with them via email the next day. This is not an opportunity for you to sell directly to them, but more a way to say that it was good to meet them and you would like to connect with them again. Connect with them on LinkedIn to keep the lines of communication open. That way you stay in their news feed and they get updates about what you’re doing.

1. Know Where To Look: Events are occurring everywhere and some searching on your part can prove to be very beneficial. You can find these events by searching within your immediate circle of professional colleagues. You can also use sites such as meetup.com to be a part of groups and join events where people gather based on common interest (professional, personal, etc). You can also search eventbrite.com to find out what events are occuring locally in your area. And you can look up the events of professional organizations and media outlets (such as Baltimore Business Journal, SmartCEO, Urbanite Magazine, etc).

This winning combination of choosing the right events, making the most of your time at them, following up, and planning accordingly will greatly enhance your networking experience.

Portfolio Spotlight: TheWAIREHOUSE

We are very pleased to introduce the new brand and identity for theWAIREHOUSE, a new and exciting business venture for Baltimore-based, lifestyle photographer John Waire. TheWAIREHOUSE is a dream of connecting with people in a meaningful way, by creating and delivering what matters. It’s not so much poses and planned events as it is the every day moments that take your breath away and stay in your heart forever.

Within the past couple of months we have worked with theWAIREHOUSE to get to the heart of their business, so that we could build a brand around it. We are excited to watch theWAIREHOUSE grow and thrive and we welcome the first steps to what lies ahead for this company. JWatson Creative developed the logo, brand, business cards, marketing materials, and website (see below for examples). We are looking forward to a continued professional relationship with theWAIREHOUSE and can’t wait to see all phases of this dream become a reality.

Website:
http://www.thewairehouse.com

Facebook: 
http://www.facebook.com/thewairehouse

Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/thewairehouse 

Design That Works: JJAAKK Design Etc

We came across the website for JJAAKK Design Etc and fell in love with the warm color palette. Here are the reasons why this design works:

• Very clean, minimalist design that makes it easy to find the information you are looking for.
• Large panel display in the center to highlight recent work.
• Completely warm color palette but good contrast between dark and light colors
• Site is very well organized and not overbearing with information

Floating Away with Dimitri Markine

In our recent search of all things creative we stumbled upon this photo that immediately played to the fantasy of floating or being carried away. Almost like Mary Poppins but in a more romantic way. Upon further research, we discovered this photo was by Dimitri Markine (blog: 
http://www.blog.dmitrimarkine.com/
) and we became fascinated with the fantasy and comedic elements he incorporates in some of his photos. A couple more are featured below.

Dimitri was first exposed to using a camera when he was only 7 years old. At that age you could often find him playing with his grandfather’s film cameras. In his dynamoc work he mixes his popular photojournalistic style with a twist of traditional and fine art approach, greatly inspired by fashion. Also check out his photos from India, they are breathtaking.

 

 

 

5 Ways to Build Your Brand Online

Businesses are always looking for ways to stay in the minds of their clients and target market. Many of us forget that our website or online presence is a living and breathing organism. Meaning that it needs to stay fresh and have new content in order to keep people coming back and to stay afloat in the market. However, from the standpoint of the busy business professional, sometimes updating anything online falls to the bottom of the list (if it makes it there at all). The following are 5 easy ways to build your brand online:

1. Use social media to your advantage: Everyone pushes Facebook and Twitter for ways to immerse yourself in social media. If these outlets are not for you, that’s okay. Many businesses are now using LinkedIn to create professional and meaningful business connections. There are several professional groups that you can join (ones that are relevant to your industry or relevant to your target market). You can sign up to receive notifications of the different discussions occurring within the group, or you can log in once a week to browse through what’s going on. Providing relevant comments and feedback (be genuine, no self promoting) is a great way to earn the attention and respect of your groups.

2. Update your site regularly: You want people to come back to your website, but if there is nothing new there, what’s the catch? This is exactly why several businesses are getting into blogging, because it allows them to provide new/relevant content without having to always update their website. This will also allow you to establish yourself as a leader in the industry, building trust and credentials. Trust us, your future prospects will take notice. If you’re commenting on industry blogs or posting your own articles on relevant topics, it will drive interested parties back to your website. Blogging can seem overwhelming because it’s something that needs to be updated consistently. But you can keep it under wraps by setting up a schedule that fits into your lifestyle and sticking to it. You can also keep it up by providing relevant feedback to industry events verses coming up with completely new content.

3. Submit your ideas/reviews to other sites/blogs: The more you put yourself out there the better. If you already have a professional opinion or advice on a particular topic, why not submit it to an industry blog or online magazine? Generally speaking, many of our clients see a boost in traffic to their website when they are featured on another site that links back to them. When readers find value in what you have to say, they generally want to find out more about you online. If you can lead them somewhere where they found out more about you and could sign up for your newsletter, even better.

4. Google Analytics is your friend: Seriously, why aren’t you doing this? Google Analytics is FREE and it’s easy for a web developer to insert it into the coding of your site. Within a few weeks you have hard core data about who is accessing your website. You know where your traffic is coming from, in terms of geographic location, as well as how people are getting to your site (through Google, Twitter, Facebook; what search terms are being used, etc). Knowing is half the battle. As you review the data, you’ll start to generate ideas about what your next steps are. It may be running an ad-words campaign based on how people are currently finding your site, or it may be expanding your reach to a new geographical location based on the number of visitors you get to your site from a certain area.

5. Interact with your customers: Super easy to do, but often overlooked. If you have your online social media accounts, make sure your clients/customers know about them. Include the icons in a highly visible area on your website. If you have an email signature consider adding the links to one or two of them in there, or at the very least saying “Find us on (insert social media option here).” Encourage your customers to find you online and to write you there too. Then stay on top of responding and interacting.

Portfolio Spotlight: GFPD Brand

We had the opportunity to create the full brand for GFPD (Global Foundation for Peroxisomal Disorders) — our favorite kind of project! The mission of The Global Foundation for Peroxisomal Disorders is to help children and families faced with a diagnosis of a Peroxisomal Biogenesis Disorder (in the Zellweger Spectrum of Disorders) and to assist family members and professionals through educational programs, research, and support services.

We started with their logo (featured above), where we had the foresight to explore color options and expand our view of what would be the cornerstone for the GFPD brand. This was followed by their website, letterhead, business cards, and marketing brochures. As you can see, the GFPD has a very professional look, which remains consistent across their print and web materials. This reinforcement strengthens their brand integrity and compliments the work they do.

Visit their website
Join their Facebook cause
Follow them on Twitter 

Design That Works: Vitamin ID

We recently came across this Vitamin ID site and thought it was fantastic. As the site came up on our screen we instantly fell in love with the human connection it made. Here’s our expert opinion on why this design works:

• The Human Factor – you instantly connect with the gentleman being featured on their site. You kind of want to learn more about his story and what they’re advertising.
• Flow of Information – after that connection is made, your eyes flow down to “build a pack” and “take the survey,” which are the two call to action items for the site.
• Natural Color Palette – reinforces the brand and the product, which is advertised as all natural. The colors definitely give the site and the company an organic feel, and that kind of feel leads to thoughts of caring and responsibility on behalf of the company.
• Clean and Easy to Navigate – this site is very clean and straight forward. It’s a natural site without the use of organic textures (such as soil, hemp, canvas, etc). Because of its well organized design, its very easy to find the information you’re looking for.

Constructional Feedback: We’d love to see the same color palette and natural feel carry over into the online store and the blog components.

Impressive Pencil Art by Jennifer Maestra

Jennifer Maestre creates stunning sculptures out of pencils. Yes, you read right: pencils!

Her work is hard to describe and difficult to compare with anything else that I’ve seen before.

She was originally inspired by the form and function of sea urchins:

“The spines of the urchin, so dangerous yet beautiful, serve as an explicit warning against contact. The alluring texture of the spines draws the touch in spite of the possible consequences.”

Read a full interview with the artist

Visit her website

Less is More: Is Your Message Getting Through?

Have you ever found yourself lost on a website, confused by an advertisement, or wondering what a person is really offering when you look at their business card? It is our professional opinion that, at the present moment, we are on an information overload. Throughout the day you are exposed to advertisements everywhere you go, from your radio, television, drive to work, magazines in the checkout line, and the list goes on and on. In a world where advertisers and businesses are constantly competing for your attention, how do you stay in the mind of your customers? How do you make them look twice? How to you peek their curiosity and entice them to learn more?

Our philosophy when it comes to design, advertising, and target marketing is:
Less is More.

Here are the TOP 5 MISTAKES that small businesses make and how you can learn from them to stay in the game.

Overcrowded Business Cards: Do you really need to list all your products, services, mission statement, etc on your business cards? Good grief, by the time you get it all on there, the font is at 6pt and we need a magnifying glass just to read it! Business cards have about 2-5 seconds max of being in front of someone, before they make the split decision to hold on to it or place it in the recycling bin. Keep the information on your cards simple, be creative, and give just enough for someone to say “Really?” and ask you for more information.

Overcrowded Websites: So we go to your website, and a video starts playing or sound starts playing (if you’re a multi-tasker that has several browser windows open, finding out where the noise is coming from is not a fun game). In addition to the video, there’s things flashing, there’s text everywhere, and there’s multiple drop down menus. Good grief! How is anyone supposed to find what they need on your website? Consider the concept of less is more. Keep the most valuable information on your site, in a way where it is easy to find and navigate through. Consider a blog or a newsletter for your frequent updates so they don’t clutter your site. Give your viewers a reason to actually contact you for more information.

Multiple eNewsletters/Emails: This is absolutely ridiculous around the holiday season in particular, and can cause patrons to unsubscribe from your newsletter. Pick a schedule for your newsletters and stick to it to establish some consistency. Daily posts/updates are better for Facebook and Twitter, instead of for your newsletter.

Really Long eNewsletters/Emails: Some newsletters run on FOREVER and are not necessary. In many cases if a viewer sees as lot of text, it’s discouraging. That means they can’t read it immediately, and they put it aside for later (we’re sure many of you are aware that in some cases, “later” never comes). If you have a long article, provide a preview in your newsletter, link the rest to a blog post. Give your readers the power to choose, and allow all of the items in your newsletter to be seen.

Serial Social Media Posting: So your customer logs onto their Facebook page, and they see a post from your business page. Fabulous! They want to check out the link. But wait! They are immediately distracted because you’ve sent out 5 additional posts within a span of seconds/minutes! What do they click on? You do know that Facebook gives users the options to hide the postings from those who they are connected to, at their own discretion right? Space out those posts and give your fans a chance to actually digest what you’re putting out. Consider creating a running Word document with your posts if you are doing them all at once. Then you can copy and paste them into Facebook on a timed basis. Suddenly, you’re getting comments and feedback. Good for you!

As you go through your own marketing materials, or make plans for future campaigns, remember that simplicity is key and less is more.