Due to limited seating capacity, pre-registration is highly recommended for all events at www.yescircle.org.

Peer Advisory Group
Monday, August 12, 2002 - 7pm

This inspirational, motivational, high energy gathering is at the heart of YES!Circle's mission to connect like-minded entrepreneurs in a positive, supportive environment. Here's what some participants are saying:

"Thank you for the encouragement. I am getting some thoughts down on paper as a result of Monday's Yes!Circle. What a fantastic experience. I am very sincere when I say, I have never experienced anything like it before."

"It was amazing to have everyone's energy, enthusiasm and creativity focused on MY ideas!"

Distinguished Speaker Series Event with Best-selling author Dan Pink
Monday, August 26, 2002 - 7pm

Dan Pink is the author of Free Agent Nation, provocative and acclaimed book about the rise of people who work for themselves. Named one of the best business books of 2001, Free Agent Nation is a business bestseller in the United States and has been translated into Japanese and Korean.

A free agent himself, Dan's last real job was in the White House, where he served from 1995 to 1997 as chief speechwriter to Vice President Al Gore. Dan's articles, essays, and book reviews on business, work, and pop culture have appeared in Fast Company, The New York Times, The New Republic, Salon, Reason, Slate, and other publications.

Visit Dan's website http://www.freeagentnation.com/ to learn more about his work and to read exerts from Free Agent Nation. Copies of the book will be available for purchase.

Table of Contents

Dreams Aired, Gremlins Canned

Entrepreneurs are known for their bright ideas - and bright ideas are known for their Gremlins. You may not be familiar with the term "Gremlin", but most anyone who's dared to dream has met one. Gremlins are those naysaying, sabotaging voices in the back of our heads, reminding of us of what we can't/shouldn't/mustn't do. This time, we found antidote (at least a temporary one) to Gremlin chatter - lock him in a box!

Meet the Peer Advisory Group, a regular YES!Circle event, skillfully facilitated by the founder and Success Coach Margarita Rozenfeld. This inspirational, motivational, high energy gathering is at the very heart of the YES!Circle's mission to connect like-minded entrepreneurs in a positive, supportive, safe environment.

After unanimously affirming community guidelines of confidentiality, open-mindedness and mutual respect, each member got an opportunity to voice their dream and name the Gremlin that was holding them back. After writing a Gremlin message on a slip of paper, it was ceremoniously discarded in a box. While the Gremlins were a diverse bunch, every head nodded in empathy and understanding as each fear was read aloud. From consultants to writers, members expressed their concerns about scarcity of time, finances, resources and support.

With the bad guys imprisoned in a box, the group's passions and dreams got a chance to play in the open. Members had an opportunity to openly discuss their entrepreneurial dreams and ask the team for advice in achieving their goals. The rest of the group truly listened and offered their encouragement, wisdom and thoughtful advice in response. We helped each other clarify vision and goals; gave constructive feedback on ideas, and shared networking resources, specific business leads and points of contacts. With Gremlins locked away, it was easier than ever to envision all the possibilities!

The meeting was concluded with "gifts and wishes," where members shared their take-aways and hopes for the future. Positive, inspired words filled the room. Comments included thanks for the support, enthusiasm and ideas and wishes to return for more of the same!

Table of Contents

Write On - The Ins And Outs Of Publishing

Here's what you need to be a published writer: good ideas, plenty of discipline, some contacts, and determination (not necessarily in that order). A little luck doesn't hurt either.

The four panelists at the June 24 Learning Lab offered insights on each of those aspects as well as personal stories and advice. Members received an overview of the publishing industry, a foray into self-publishing, networking advice, and publishing success stories - all from the people who have been there and done that. All agreed that the publishing world is tough to break into, and even the bestsellers don't always get the attention they deserve at bookstores. However, if your passion is writing, a writer career is often a matter of persistence and... persistence!

Dodge Fielding described the publishing industry, explaining how a manuscript makes its way from the author to the consumer. There are several ways to publish: through a major publishing house, a niche or a special interest company, a vanity publisher or self-publishing. Each option has its strengths and weaknesses. A major house has money and pull - but most of it goes toward the top tier authors. Dodge discouraged vanity publishing, but expressed that self-publishing is a viable option.

Steve Shafarman, an author and executive director of the nonprofit Citizen Policies Institute, went the self-publishing route after exploring the other options. He recommends writing regularly, even if only for practice, for anyone considering a writing career. With a well-defined market and strategy, it's possible to make a good profit through self-publishing.

Iris Portny, board member of Washington Independent Writers, shared a wealth of resources for writers (listed below). Her advice included networking in and out of writing circles. Paid opportunities may be waiting in alternative arenas or places the writer may have worked in already. Many professional groups need newsletters and brochures written, as do other nontraditional outlets. Opportunities are infinite!

Abby Wilner, co-author of the New York Times bestseller, Quarterlife Crisis, discussed the mainstream publishing world. Armed with a unique, catchy concept and a how-to book on proposal writing, she recruited an agent, a publisher and a book contract in a record time. Her work helps young people in their twenties and early thirties deal with major life issues. Abby has since expanded her book's theme - Quarterlife crisis - into a website and founded the National Association for Recent Graduates (www.narg.org). She suggests that aspiring authors have a well-written proposal and a pitch that trumpets the book's uniqueness and marketability.

Table of Contents

Resources For Writers

Web:

• WIW - Washington Independent Writers
  (www.washwriter.org)
• WRITERS CENTER - library, writing classes, networking events
  (www.writer.org)
• WNBA - Women's National Book Association, for men & women, DC chapter
  (www.wnba-books.org)
• CULTURAL ALLIANCE - workshops & job bank for small businesses; nonprofits
  (www.cultural-alliance.org)
• FOUNDATION CENTER - finding grants
  (www.fdncenter.org)
• WASHINGTON AREA LAWYERS FOR THE ARTS - legal workshops and clinics
  (www.thewala.org)
• WASHINGTON BOOK PUBLISHERS - all volunteer organization including publishers, editors, writers, etc. (Programs are often listed by WBP members on the e-list DCPUBS (a freestanding list for publications professionals based on yahoo) and WIW-L (a list run by WIW but open to everyone. How to access list is on
  www.washwriter.org)
• MID-ATLANTIC PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION or, nationally, the PUBLISHERS MARKETING ASSOCIATION - professional association of small, independent and self-publishers. MPA puts on excellent conferences each year in Baltimore and, this past year, at the Charlottesville Festival of the Book.
• NWU - NATIONAL WRITERS UNION. - "Guide to Freelance Rates & Standard Practice" booklet
  (www.nwu.org)

Books:

• How to Write a Book Proposal by Michael Larson
• How to Enter Screenplay Contests and Win by Erik Joseph
• The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing by Tom and Marilyn Ross
• The Self Publishing Manual by Dan Poynter
• How to Publish & Promote Online by M.J. Rose and Angela Adair-Hay
• The Screenwriter's Bible by David Trottier
• 2002 Writer's Market by Writer's Digest Books
• Writer's International Guide to Book Editor's Publishers and Literary Agents by Jeff Herman

Table of Contents

Member Spotlight On Catapult Consultants
Catapult Consultants is a web design and development company that specializes in working with nonprofit organizations and small businesses. Catapult is a small socially-conscious firm whose clients include: Christian Children's Fund, WWF International and the National Museum for Women in the Arts.

Table of Contents

Survey Says

The latest poll's responses to the question:
What motivated you to become a business owner, free agent and/or entrepreneur?

• My heart and soul
• Independence
• Job loss/Layoff
• Dissatisfaction with the mainstream jobs I had over the years.
• Excitement about the opportunities open to microbusiness as a result of the telecom meltdown
• An idea for a web site.
• To create work that I love to do and has meaning for me. Believe we all have a purpose of life and that purpose can be fulfilled in work. Also found the corporate environment too constricting for me.
• To have more control over what I was doing
• Passion

Table of Contents

Opportunities

Here are additional exposure possibilities! Although all are welcome to take advantage of these opportunities, YES!Circle members get the first dibs!

Write an article for our Newsletter!

If you have an idea for an article of interest to the YES!Circle community, we would love to read it! Please submit a brief summary of the article to the editor@yescircle.org.

OR

Share what you know (and love) best with the world - facilitate a Success Lab! Please submit a workshop proposal to Margarita@yescircle.org.

Please contact us with your questions, suggestions and inspired ideas.

YES!Circle
Margarita Rozenfeld
703-989-8016
Margarita@yescircle.org

Table of Contents