Chase and LivingSocial Mission: Small Business $250K Grant

[Toni Hogan]

Hi All,

Thanks to a program sponsored by Chase and LivingSocial called
Mission: Small Business℠, your support could translate into a $250,000
grant that would help promote economic empowerment through
entrepreneurship. But we need at least 250 votes at
missionsmallbusiness.com. If you haven't already, please visit
www.missionsmallbusiness.com and search/vote for "The Office
Connexion".

Thanks a quarter-million.

If anyone else has entered their space/company please reply here so
that we can vote for you as well.

TH!

[Jenifer Ross]

W@tercooler has also applied!

Thanks for voting for us as well... we are in Tarrytown, NY - almost half way to 250 right now, so getting there!

Thank Coworking Community! - and good luck Connexion!!

Jen Ross

TH!

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Jenifer Ross

Owner

W@tercooler

21 North Broadway

Tarrytown, NY 10591

www.watercoolerhub.com

jen...@watercoolerhub.com

914-332-1400

914-261-1470 c

facebook + twitter: watercoolerhub

[Toni Hogan]

You are halfway there now. :-)

TH

On Jun 17, 10:02 pm, Jenifer Ross <westchesterwatercoo...@gmail.com>
wrote:

> W@tercooler has also applied!
>
> Thanks for voting for us as well... we are in Tarrytown, NY - almost half
> way to 250 right now, so getting there!
>
> Thank Coworking Community! - and good luck Connexion!!
>
> Jen Ross
>

> On Sun, Jun 17, 2012 at 1:35 AM, Toni Hogan <t...@theofficeconnexion.com>wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > Hi All,
>
> > Thanks to a program sponsored by Chase and LivingSocial called
> > Mission: Small Business℠, your support could translate into a $250,000
> > grant that would help promote economic empowerment through
> > entrepreneurship. But we need at least 250 votes at
> > missionsmallbusiness.com. If you haven't already, please visit

> >www.missionsmallbusiness.comand search/vote for "The Office

> > Connexion".
>
> > Thanks a quarter-million.
>
> > If anyone else has entered their space/company please reply here so
> > that we can vote for you as well.
>
> > TH!
>
> > --
> > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
> > "Coworking" group.
> > To post to this group, send email to cowo...@googlegroups.com.
> > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
> > coworking+...@googlegroups.com.
> > For more options, visit this group at
> >http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en.
>
> --

> *Jenifer Ross

> Owner
> W@tercooler
> 21 North Broadway
> Tarrytown, NY 10591www.watercoolerhub.com

> jeni...@watercoolerhub.com

> 914-332-1400
> 914-261-1470 c
>
> facebook + twitter: watercoolerhub
>

> *

[Geoff Mamlet]

It's great to see that all three of you, Office Connexion, W@tercooler and Club E, have cleared the bar with more than 250 votes. Cambridge Innovation Center is also participating, with more than 250 votes.

Another coworking center, MojoCoworking, in Asheville, NC, isn't nearly there, and could use everyone's help. Please go vote for them!

The judges have 12 grants of $250k to parcel out, so let's hope they decide to make a big statement about supporting coworking, and give awards to us all!

Geoff

Cambridge Coworking Center

Cambridge Innovation Center

On Saturday, June 23, 2012 12:59:29 PM UTC-4, Kevin Marshall wrote:

Please consider voting for Club E in Tucson, AZ

[Mojo]

Hello Geoff and others,

Thanks a ton for your support of Mojo.  I actually only heard about the Chase thing about a week and a half ago, so I logged in and registered but never had time to complete the profile form.  Too busy with construction on our new 4,500 sq ft space (and this big project in London that our marketing agency just won).  Since I didn't complete the online form I never even activated any social media or invited people to vote.  

Congrats to those who've made it into the next level - I wish you all luck.  And, thanks again for thinking of Mojo Co.  Good luck.

I tried to attached a photo to this post to give a view of our construction.  We'll be posting more info in our newsletter coming out next week if anyone is interested in seeing more, please register here

Cheers,

Craig

[Alex Hillman]

For all of you who are in the running for this grant, some food for thought:

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2012/07/all-we-need-is-250-votes.html

-Alex

-- 

/ah

indyhall.org

coworking in philadelphia

On Thursday, June 28, 2012 at 5:07 PM, Jeff McMahan wrote:

PLEASE VOTE 4: www.RealSeat.com

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[Toni Hogan]

yeah, so...I think this might fall short of a few facts.

TH

On Jul 3, 6:22 pm, Alex Hillman <dangerouslyawes...@gmail.com> wrote:
> For all of you who are in the running for this grant, some food for thought:
>

> http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2012/07/all-we-need-is-250-vo...

>
> -Alex
>
> --
> /ah
> indyhall.org
> coworking in philadelphia
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Thursday, June 28, 2012 at 5:07 PM, Jeff McMahan wrote:

> > PLEASE VOTE 4:www.RealSeat.com(http://www.RealSeat.com)

>
> > On Sunday, June 17, 2012 1:35:33 AM UTC-4, Toni Hogan wrote:
> > > Hi All,
>
> > > Thanks to a program sponsored by Chase and LivingSocial called
> > > Mission: Small Business℠, your support could translate into a $250,000
> > > grant that would help promote economic empowerment through
> > > entrepreneurship. But we need at least 250 votes at

> > > missionsmallbusiness.com (http://missionsmallbusiness.com). If you haven't already, please visit
> > >www.missionsmallbusiness.com(http://www.missionsmallbusiness.com) and search/vote for "The Office

> > > Connexion".
>
> > > Thanks a quarter-million.
>
> > > If anyone else has entered their space/company please reply here so
> > > that we can vote for you as well.
>
> > > TH!
>
> > --
> > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group.

> > To view this discussion on the web visithttps://groups.google.com/d/msg/coworking/-/XS_U3Y5aPxQJ.
> > To post to this group, send email to cowo...@googlegroups.com (mailto:cowo...@googlegroups.com).
> > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+...@googlegroups.com (mailto:coworking+...@googlegroups.com).

[Tom Brandt]

What is it missing?

---
twb
Sent from my Phone of i

> To post to this group, send email to cowo...@googlegroups.com.
> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+...@googlegroups.com.

[Toni Hogan]

It assumes the entrants believe that just by getting the requisite
votes they will win a grant.
It assumes that once entrants receive at least 250 votes they will
THEN have to complete an application for the grant, and many that
won't be able to do so.

The program rules are very clearly stated. If anyone believes that by
simply getting 250 votes they will win a $250K grant, that might be
the fault of the entrant and not the sponsors.

Once the votes have been received and validated, there's nothing else
for the entrant to do but wait. The application is done at the start
of the process before the entrant begins to solicit votes. (you can
find ours on our website) Sure, chances might be slim but I believe it
gives serious business owners another opportunity to look at their
goals and business plans. While many might not have mustered up 250
votes, they have revisited their vision and will hopefully move
forward with a renewed commitment to do everything they said they
would do if they received the grant. This goes for those who did get
the required number of votes as well.

2cents,
TH

On Jul 4, 7:29 am, Tom Brandt <twbra...@gmail.com> wrote:
> What is it missing?
>
> ---
> twb
> Sent from my Phone of i
>

[Alex Hillman]

That's not quite the point that the post was making, nor the reason I brought it up. Seth's among the most expert marketers in the world, so I'm pretty sure he considered the rules of the grant contest before posting - and his point wasn't the problem with the rules, it was with how people choose to operate within those rules.

As community-focused efforts, its common practice to "call in favors", be it this google group, to an industry partner, to another coworking space, within our coworking spaces, etc. The problem isn't in asking for those favors, it's in how they're presented. Truth be told, I've been guilty of this in the past so this isn't me pointing fingers but instead taking an opportunity to look at how we can do this better in the future.

From the post:

"One significant way around this: have the outbound messages of the tribe be about more than the grant. Figure out how putting in the effort to help your local organization actually strengthens ties, instead of weakening them. The pursuit could be even better than the prize if you establish the right groundwork."

This is what stood out to me, and what might have been missed because of how close it was to the end. In fact on opportunity was in what you've gone on to outline, Toni:

Sure, chances might be slim but I believe it

gives serious business owners another opportunity to look at their

goals and business plans. While many might not have mustered up 250

votes, they have revisited their vision and will hopefully move

forward with a renewed commitment to do everything they said they

would do if they received the grant.

Framing the initial ask with that purpose in mind sets a path for different potential outcomes instead of the single outcome of "having enough votes for a chance to win".

Rather than:

"Chase & Living Social are having a sweepstakes, your votes could help put us in the running!"

or 

"Please vote 4 ____________"

You can lead with a "why", an intent, and a purpose that brings the people you ask closer together even if you don't win the grant. Invite people to be a part of something bigger and have their vote just be a step in that journey. Their buy-in not only makes it easier for you to achieve the desired outcome, but tends to lead to a multitude of other positive outcomes that you couldn't have predicted or asked for.

p.s. this isn't really about the Chase/Living Social sweepstakes, either :) 

This is an example of how we engage our communities in general, and the opportunities we miss all too often.

-Alex

 

-- 

/ah

indyhall.org

coworking in philadelphia