Another day off to recharge and reflect: I visited Washington Irving’s home at Sunnyside, just north of New York City. Lovely day immersed in history, literature, and the fresh air of the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail.
 

I was amazed how much I have in common with him — we both love nature and the ability of architecture to enhance nature. He designed his home to emerge from the landscape, which I love. And he was collaborative, working closely with a neighbor, artist George Harvey, to design this beautiful place.

Now recharged, I’m gearing up for a busy fall during which I’ll be on the road speaking as well as crunching the numbers from Ventureneer’s most recent research project. Here’s what’s on my calendar for the next few months: 

• Finish up the fielding of our social media survey, which will give insight into how different segments of the small business market use social media and compiling the data so we can see what each segment can teach the other. Take the survey! We want to hear from as many people as possible and just taking it makes you eligible to win an iPad2.

My partner in this effort, Maisha Walker of Message Medium, and I will be sharing the results in a whole host of ways: speaking engagements, ebooks, online trainings. 

• My first speaking stop is a workshop at The Center for Nonprofit Resources in Toledo, OH. It’s for nonprofits that want to launch a social enterprise. Social enterprises, nonprofits and social media: My three favorite subjects!

Maisha and I are looking for speaking engagements so we can share the survey results. We’ll be comparing how nonprofits, socially responsible small businesses, women-owned businesses and minority-owned businesses view and use social media and other online marketing tactics.

If you want us to speak in your community or for your association, let me (geri at ventureneer dot com) or Maisha (maisha at messagemedium dot com) know.

• On Ventureneer expect to see new, very focused resources and training for both nonprofits and small business:
  • best practices and how-to online training based on the results of the survey
  • interviews and presentations by authors who have insights and inspiration to help you thrive as a business while making a positive social impact.
  • best practices and how-to ebooks, free for you to download, also based on the up-to-date findings of our research.

I’m going to miss those summer excursions! But I’ll still have my bike rides along the Hudson River and in Central Park to keep me energized. And, you know, this survey is energizing, too. I’m eager to see the results and develop refined sector-specific guidelines. Opening new doors is always exciting.

How are you gearing up for the after-summer onslaught of work? What did you do to recharge this summer?