Jen Evans

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• I started an online video media site focusing on women tech entrepreneurs and their companies. although i'm reaching my target audience, it's growing slowly (less than 500 at the moment). i want to go after sponsors, but know i need to grow my base. I've been thinking about expanding it into a network. what would be some good first steps to build out such a network though?

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    Partnership with an organization that has a lot of women tech entrepreneurs as their members, and I’d also suggest some LInkedIn ads targeting women who have founder or CEO in their title. Good luck!

• Hi Jen! I'm the co-owner of a clothing company in Toronto. http://dreamlandapparel.com. One of our biggest values is, and always has been building a strong community. We've recently been talking about giving our "cheerleaders" and customers a brand name "dreamers" We're hoping that this will help our customers feel a stronger association with our brand. Do you have any experience with doing something like this? Any advice you can offer to help us create a tighter/stronger community?

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    Love this idea! I would suggest that you socialize this idea with a few customers to start and see how they react, and then engage the larger community in a discussion. Great looking site!

• I need a mentor, where can I find one?

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    Someone who you admire who has achieved things similar to what you would like to achieve. Generally someone you already know is best. Ask if they’d be open to informal mentoring, maybe by email, to start, and if the chemistry is good you can go from there. There are also formal mentorship programs through organizations like CWC and Wired Woman. Good luck!

• Does a personal klout score matter for me as I try to build my online business?

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    Personally, I find Klout to be a bit of a red herring. Influence is entirely contextual and not based on activity or follower volumes (although I will admit I am not entirely familiar with Klout’s algorithm or the recent changes that have users unhappy). We see that microinfluence is a more powerful dynamic than mass-follower influencers, who generally have a lot of people vying for their attention.

    So depending on your business (eg if you are in entertainment or consumer packaged goods) Klout might matter to your prospective customers or audience, but there are alternate routes (including PeerIndex, with which I am also largely unfamiliar) to establishing your, well, clout! Good luck.

• What mobile consumer behaviours have you seen emerging that have surprised you?

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    Great question. I was amazed by a recent study that showed the emotional relationship smartphone owners have with their devices. Here’s a blog post talking about some research from Microsoft on device love. (cl) http://www.gomonews.com/your-mobile-device-phone-web-browser%E2%80%A6-secret-lover/

• What do you tell a client who comes at you asking for more twitter followers? Is there a strategy you use to grow the following at a sufficient pace for the client?

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    Connect it to business outcomes. What is the purpose of those followers on Twitter: a new support channel? marketing engagement and research? content sharing? once you can concretely say what those followers will experience and what value it delivers to the business, your approach will become clearer. Good luck!

• We are a startup that is just launching in beta this week. We have had a Facebook page for months, but are having a hard time getting members of our target market to "like" our Facebook page. Our target market is moms, so they are definitely on Facebook. No one is seeing the content marketing that we are churning out. We have had very little success with Facebook ads. Should we try to do a sweepstakes to get people to "like" the page? Any other recommendations? Thanks.

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    Talk to some moms. Take them out for coffee. Listen to what they have to say about your presence and your content. And then act on that feedback. This is a classic scenario of disconnection from an audience and you need to bridge that to gain traction. Good luck!

• Jen, I have a startup which is currently being develop. A "Pre-launch" sign up Web page is up this weekend. Launching in January. My question is, should I go full bore to market it now in order to gain as many sign ups or should I take a slower pace and ramp it up to full bore once we are closer to launch time? My gut tell me there are many advantages to gaining the max number of signups now but others have suggested holding off for a bigger splash when launch time come around. Your thoughts?

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    As much critical mass as you can garner before public launch is a good thing. It’s a fine balance though because if you get people to sign up and can’t deliver anything for weeks and weeks you’ll lose interest. Timing is critical. You can mitigate this by communicating with people during the pre-launch period. Good luck!

• Do you ever meet with young entrepreneurs in Toronto? I would love to pick your brain about somethings. I would certainly buy the coffee!

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    Absolutely! I was fortunate enough, and still am, to get counsel advice and feedback from far more accomplished people than me, and I think it’s really important to give back. Email me at jen.evans at Sequentiaenvironics.com and we’ll set something up.

• How do you push yourself forward during those "lows" period in building sequentia environics?

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    Oh, such a great question. There are many, many long dark teatimes of the soul moments as an entrepreneur. When I first told my parents I was starting a business they asked me why I didn’t go get a job. :) For me it is about taking the moments of breakthrough and accomplishment and using those as motivation and leverage to get to the next one. If you are not the kind of person who can draw on your own energy and inspiration, even when the rest of the world seems to be saying it’s hopeless or it can’t be done, then you will find entrepreneurship challenging. Having a great support system helps a lot too. Most of all – keep things in perspective. Non-attachment to outcomes may be the entrepreneur’s greatest gift. Good luck!