Shameless Plugs

Maxine Tatlonghari, Shop Vanity Girl 

Top 7 things I love about SMARTY:

1. The women ROCK. It’s a generous community of savvy babes who are launching cool projects and businesses.
2. It makes you step up. You realize that success comes when motivation is stronger than excuses.
3. The Foundation Course will propel you forward faster than you thought possible.
4. I realized I wasn’t crazy. Women launch differently than men, and that’s OK! Be organic but be smart. Set up the structures you need so you can do the stuff you like.
5. Done is better than perfect. I would have never launched Vanity Girl with my home-made blog and e-Bay store if I had waited for my e-commerce site to get built. And subsequently, I sold 20 vanities nationally in my first month!
6. I became a socialite. With women like Alaia Williams and Laura Roeder in my Foundation group — I got viral. FAST.
7. The ongoing offerings/programs through membership are AMAZING. It’s equal parts motivation, education and networking.

And finally, we can’t ignore what Amy Swift brings to the table. It’s clear that she has a strong vision to bring the best educational opportunties to us (think USC, UCLA, etc) in a format that addresses the challenges that real life female entrepreneurs face on the ground.

Nina Storm, The Art of Articulation 
“I just want to give some feedback on the Monday night Brain Circles group. It was a fantastic experience, during which I literally had a breakthrough in terms of next steps that I need to take in order to effectively grow my business. I came away from the evening with the following:

1. Clear steps and “homework” as assigned by Amy, which will help me to take crucial next steps towards developing my services, market outreach and income goals. For the most part, these were steps which had not yet occurred to me, so it was invaluable in that regard.

2. Tons of constructive, positive feedback on my services, marketing strategies and visibility strategies.

3. Inspiration, support and wisdom from the other, extraordinary women in attendance.

Amy is excellent at breaking your issue down, pulling out core objectives and talking you through next steps. It was an incredible amount of forward movement in just 3 hours! I recommend it highly to any of you who are struggling with a “road block.”

Marty Stevens-Heebner, Rebagz Eco-Chic Handbags 
“My life has been transformed by being involved in SMARTY and through working with the extraordinary women who are a part of it. SMARTY isn’t just an organization – it’s a movement of women entrepreneurs who are determined to transform the business landscape by working cooperatively rather than competitively. SMARTY’s creator, Amy Swift, because of her extraordinary leadership, focus and creativity, is a force of nature. Like sunlight, she illuminates the terrain around you in your life and work so you can see where you need to go. Like wind catching the sails of a ship, she propels your business forward on its journey. And like rain on a dry field, she helps you and your business germinate and nourishes it as it reaches for the sky.

Thank you so much, Amy, for all the momentous changes in my life you’ve helped facilitate.”

Jenny Yerrick Martin, Momentum Advantage 
SMARTY is an amazing organization led by Amy Swift, a dream-catcher and gifted business articulator/developer and her like-brained leaders, and made up of a self-selected group of highly-motivated, professional, and creative entrepreneurial woman. At the first event I attended, as someone’s guest, I felt I had found “my people.”

The Foundation Course helped me turn my vague idea for a business based on my writing skills and my years of hiring experience into the solid beginnings of my career consulting, and resume, cover letter, and bio-writing business, Momentum Advantage Career Services.

The on-going membership gives me access to all of the like-minded Smarties through the Yahoo group, teleseminars, and in-person meetings, and provides practical advice and inspiration by presenting experts in business and marketing in a variety of different formats.

As I add a second business to my growing empire, Your Industry Insider, a web-based provider of information and products pertaining to entertainment careers for students, recent grads, newbies to the biz, I couldn’t imagine doing it without the support and resources of SMARTY.

Shari Berkowitz, Power Pilates 
SMARTY is exactly what I’ve been looking for. I own 3 businesses and am approaching the 4th and 5th. When I feel a void in my life and a need, I create what it is that I’m looking for; a new business if born. SMARTY filled a void for me this time! I’m grateful that I was able to find it rather than create it! You see, I’ve wanted community with like-minded people; my peers. I’ve wanted a forum for discussion for entrepreneurs where we can assist each other with just an ear or with advice. I’ve wanted a group where I could grow with other people. With Amy Swift’s leadership, SMARTY gives me this and so much more! And there’s one more thing that’s great for me: I am used to being the leader, but’s very special being able to be led. Amy’s ability to seek out what our group needs and open herself up to each one of us as individuals is vital. SMARTY is exactly where I need to be.

Summer Bellessa, Eliza Magazine 
The major benefits of this stellar group of women is their ability to encourage and focus your efforts on what would be your most plausible business idea, to see your individual role in the world with a clear marketing viewpoint and to take the steps to get you to the next level. You are surrounded by women who are a cut above other groups, smart, creative, educated, connected, eloquent, dynamic and inventive. They are doing things, not just talking about them.

The events hook you into inspirational power women (sometimes men) and practical workshops to apply the wisdom of those speakers.

The foundation course gives you every thing you need to go to the next level: an expert to lead, a team of cheerleaders and helpers and a path to forward movement.

Alyson Wilson, Online Startup Consultant 
The party’s at SMARTY. My experience with the Foundation course, its insightful participants and, of course, hostess-with-the-mostess (and then some) Amy Swift defined my project’s next steps indelibly. And the panels always offer the perfect cocktail of accomplished speakers, apropos discussion and a roomful of other smarties—I say, “Cheers!” to that.

Sahara Damore, Heart is Hot 
When I first heard of SMARTY, I actually said to myself, “Ugh, another stuffy business group”. Well, I could not have been more WRONG thankfully. I was greeted at my first mixer by none other than Amy Swift Crosby. Need I say more?! She had me at hello! And I have not looked back since.

What I had at that time was an idea. And because of the SMARTY program and the women involved, I now have a thriving product based business that continues to grow leaps and bounds. The foundation course truly set the stage for me in my personal development as a business owner. The resources available through the group were (and are still) priceless. Being part of SMARTY is more than just getting wonderful information and feedback about advancing my business though. It’s about women supporting each other to participate in re-building the economy, and having the confidence, strength and resources to do so. If you are serious about following your passions and being completely cheered on to do so, SMARTY is certainly for you.