The Signs of Business

picture via @evvgirlgeek

Last night was the first annual “What Every Geek Girl Wants” Evansville Girl Geek Dinner. Clad in purple, these high-powered women flexed their geek muscles while being treated to a delicious catered dinner, bags of swag, gorgeous jewelry, ebook readers, and all the geeky camaraderie for which double-X chromosomes are famous.

AmeriStamp Sign-A-Rama had two team members who made it to the event, Laura Porter and owner, Debbie Valiant.

Here are some of their thoughts:
Q: What was the best thing you learned at “What Every Girl Wants”?
DV: There are so many intelligent, ambitious women in our community.
LP: There is a wealth of information about “geeky” technology and ways to use it for marketing your business. And, better still, social media technology enables “ordinary” girl geeks to connect with those authors and experts and have one-on-one conversations with them!! If you don’t consider yourself a girl geek, hang out for a little bit and you’ll become one!

Q: Who was one person you met that has the potential to challenge you to be a better person?
DV: Amy Thomasson, Janet Effron, Martha Osborn…
LP: This is one of several networking opportunities through which I have met Tracy Zeller. She is a phenomenal business woman who surrounds herself with women who utilize the latest technology and marketing philosophies to grow her business. Thinking on her feet when faced with competitive gift cards, Tracy offered double their face value of they redeemed the gift card at her store instead. She won the hearts (and probably lifetime business) of hundreds of women with that genius thinking. Also, Amber Embrey is a young woman who, as an employee, took it upon herself to create First Federal Saving Bank’s online presence (Facebook, Linked In, and [I think] Twitter). She’s thinking outside the box of “traditional” banking marketing.

Q: Any geeky trends that really stood out to you?
LP: I had heard about “bumping” iPhones to exchange contact information through Linked In, but haven’t seen it in action. I wasn’t the area of the room where they were doing it, but I heard about it from one of the other “girl geeks” who had just learned how to do it. Now, I’m intrigued and plan to learn how to do that before my next networking opportunity so that I can share it with others!!

AmeriStamp Sign-A-Rama also promoting the use of QR codes so that through signs, brochures, window decals, and many other printed items, businesses can provide information to their patrons. Individual sales reps can also take advantage of their “off-duty” hours by making the QR codes, and thus the information, available to smart phone users 24/7.

One of the ladies whom I’d met before, talked about her project designing online learning. When most people think of e-learning as it’s often called, they think of mundane click-through multiple choice courses that challenge you to stay awake while taking it! Without divulging details, this woman is designing what I called “word problems on steroids”. They are courses with realistic scenarios from today’s business world, designed to be a more practical, effective training tool than most currently available. I left wanting to talk to this woman more.

Q: What was your favorite part of the evening?
DV: The energy.
LP: This was our holiday party, so it wasn’t as structured as many of our meetings. There was not a guest speaker, so we had plenty of time to talk with each other and get to know each other better. I met a few new people and learned a little more about others I’d already met before!

Q: Why do you think it is important for a group like this to exist in Evansville?
DV: The support and encouragement to learn about technology is vital to the future growth of Evansville. That it comes wrapped with Tracy Zeller jewelry is brilliant.
LP: Women and technology haven’t traditionally gone hand-in-hand. There are some VERY exciting, intelligent women in this area!! It’s great to have an organization that allows them to showcase their talents, build relationships with other women, and share their expertise and enthusiasm with other women!! To paraphrase the words of one woman at the event, when you surround yourself with bright, intelligent women, your light can’t help but shine brighter.

Q: Any other thoughts on the evening?
DV: Evansville was the 5th city in the country to apply for membership into the Girl Geek Dinners association. [Ed. note: There are currently 15 US chapters along with about 50 International chapters]
LP: I had a blast!! The evening ended too quickly!!

We love our girl geeks! Special thanks to Dana M Nelson for organizing and supporting our community. Also check out the facebook page to get connected for future events.

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