BIG CHANGES - Memberships, Spotlight Tables & Prize Draw

Dear XXXXX, We have some exciting changes being made right now! Please make sure to read this email all the way to the end and let me know if you have any questions.  SPOTLIGHT TABLE CHANGES We now will have only 1 Spotlight Table available per meeting starting on the May 9th meeting. Spotlight Tables will have 15 minutes to present about your business, how you got started and/or your passion. You will have a 6 foot table to set up a display of your products and/or services. Price has increased from $20 to $27 and this is a limited introductory offer. The price will probably go up in a few months but it depends on how often and quickly they sell out. PRIZE DRAW CHANGES We will continue to do this on a quarterly basis. Instead of just a cash prize option, the winner will have a choice of one of the following. Once a prize has been selected, it cannot be selected again until the remaining options are exhausted.  FREE Cash Prize (about $50 value) FREE Spotlight Table ($27 value) FREE Featured Membership ($55 value) FREE Paid Membership ($35 value) MEMBERSHIP CHANGES This is going to be rolled out very soon. The membership dues will be increasing and we will have some new membership levels as well. This is more of a heads up announcement so please don't do any of the changes now. I will send out another email once everything is done and ready for people to upgrade.  All levels (except the free one) are changing and I will disable auto renewals for all the old membership levels. You are welcome to wait until your membership is coming up for renewal. However, what I would LOVE is if you can update your membership to the appropriate level that works for you sooner rather than later. I need you to do this EVEN IF IT IS BASICALLY THE SAME LEVEL YOU WERE AT BEFORE. The system that I use isn't as smart as I want it to be so I have to do it this way to make it work. Normally, you can't change your membership until a month before your renewal date. I am going to remove this limit so you can update your level sooner than that. There is no way to prorate the membership so what I will do INSTEAD is push out your renewal date for a year plus whatever the number of months left on your current membership. I will also give you an extra TWO MONTHS as a thank you for updating. See the example below the new membership descriptions.  There will still be a FREE MEMBERSHIP which is assigned after someone attends our meeting for the first time. Free Members get invites to our meetings and other events. They also have to manually renew their membership (log into your account and click a few buttons) every 6 months. They can do this as many times as they want for now. Eventually, people will not renew and then they are removed from the database.  The PAID MEMBERSHIP will have a new name! It will now be called the BRONZE MEMBERSHIP and the new cost is $39 per year. This is only a $4 increase since 2018 which was a year after I first implemented dues. The perks remain the same at this level which is access to the Spotlight Tables, listed in our membership directory, and a discount on a travel consultation fee.  The FEATURED MEMBERSHIP level will now be the SILVER MEMBERSHIP! Again, all the perks remain the same which are the same as the Bronze level PLUS you get to publish a web page on our website. It remains on our website until you decide not to stay at this membership level. It serves as your digital business card and we use it when we refer people to your business. This level will now cost $59 per year.  NEW LEVEL! If you want to eliminate your per meeting fee of $5, this is the level for you! It is called the GOLD MEMBERSHIP and it has all the perks of the previous levels but this one INCLUDES all the meeting fees for the year. I calculated that we have about 22 meetings per year which equals $121 for the year in meeting fees. If you attend at least 66% of the meetings over the year, you will save money with this membership level! Plus, our organization will save on credit card processing fees as well. This membership level will only be $119 per year.  NEW LEVEL! If you want to eliminate your per meeting fee of $5 AND you want to be a Featured Member, this is the level for you! It is called the PLATINUM MEMBERSHIP and will cost just $139 per year.  I will also revamp my admin membership levels and costs as well but they have already been informed of these changes.  EXAMPLE: You are currently a Paid Member. Your renewal date is March 10, 2023. You want to stay at the same level with the same perks as before. You will log into your account and follow the steps for changing your membership level. You will select the Bronze Membership and pay the membership fee. This should automatically set your renewal date to 1 year from the date you pay. Let's say you updated it on June 1, 2022 so your new renewal date will be June 1, 2023. This leaves 9 months extra that was already paid for. I will add two more months to this so your new renewal date will be May 10, 2024. Trust me, it is a good deal. :) Let me know if you have any questions about anything! ~Monica~

Last two tables at our Fundraiser on Mar 19 now open to non-members!

Dear XXXXX, We have two tables open for our Fundraiser event on March 19th. Tables are now available to non-members for $45 a table. Paid members are still $35 a table.  If you are already registered to attend as a guest, you will need to cancel your registration and sign up for a table instead.  I have updated the list of vendors on the event registration page but please let me know if the business you will be showcasing is different than what I have listed.  BUY A TABLE! ~Monica~

Spring Stop & Shop Fundraiser - Vendor Tables Available to Paid Members

Dear XXXXX, Registration is now open to our paid members for the Spring Fundraiser on March 19th. Previously, our Featured Members had access to sign up and that time period is now over. As long as you are current on your dues, you should be able to sign up for a table. If you have registered as a guest, you will need to cancel your RSVP and then it will allow you to sign up for a table.  We have 4 tables sold so far out of 12! Thank you to these people who signed up so far! Kathy Miller - Kathy Miller Art Heather Pybas - Usborne Books & More Eileen Paul - Pampered Chef Let's fill those tables and then start inviting people!  ~Monica~

New Text Msgs & Are You Coming Tonight?

Hi XXXXX, I am transitioning Virtual Assistants again so my tasks are getting far behind again. This should improve soon! The application I was using to send text message reminders wants me to upgrade to a monthly plan which I don't want to do and I no longer have access to any of the messages or credits I had with them. I am trying a new service which means you will see a new phone number for our text message reminders. My apologies if you have opted out of this service previously! Let me know your feedback on this new service.  I would like to invite you to our first official meeting of the year! Last meeting was our holiday party which was lots of fun but not really a "meeting". ;)  Cost is $5 and free for first time guests. Just have a member RSVP for you! Jan 24 @ 6:30pm at Inspark Coworking in Lynnwood See you soon! ~Monica~

Spring 2022 Stop & Shop Vendor Info

Dear XXXXX, Heart to Heart Networking is excited to announce our first vendor event in several years. Our last event was Nov 2019! The date for this year's event is Saturday March 19, 2022 and more details are below.  We are excited to partner with Domestic Violence Services of Snohomish County for this fundraising shopping event. Part of the event cost will be donated and we will have a list of items DVS needs for vendors and guests to bring to the event. Typically, it is items needed for the shelters like personal grooming items, towels, bed linens, socks, underwear, etc. We will share a list as we get closer to our event date. As a vendor, it is up to you if you want to donate a portion of your sales to DVS. Vendors will be asked to invite their clients and friends to this event. RSVPs are not required for attendees but it is helpful so we can plan how much food/drinks to provide. Vendor tables will only be open to paid members! Our Featured Members will have access to purchase a table at least 1 week before the other Paid Members. Free Members will not have access to participate as a vendor. Please upgrade your membership if you wish to participate.  There are two tables that have a much larger space so they cost more than the other tables. They are high tables and cannot be moved so you can only stand next to these spots. You can use one of the tall chairs to sit next to these tables.  Large/tall table size is approximately 8 feet by 4 feet - COST $60 (2 available) All other tables are about 4 feet by 2 feet - COST $35 (10 available) For more information and to sign up for a table, please visit our event page which will also be used to invite our guests to this event once the vendors are signed up.  https://www.hearttoheartnetworking.com/event-4573078 ~Monica~

Holiday Reminders & Bunco Invite

We have our first bunco game this Tues Nov 16 at Inspark Coworking. There is still time to RSVP online! It is our first in person fun event in a long time so please join us. It is easy to play and we will teach you on the day how to play. Appetizers will be supplied and some beverages. NO WINE or ALCOHOL at this event. Cash prizes will be handed out! 2021 BUNCO Anniversary Party Also, Domestic Violence Services  (DVS) is collecting items that kids can shop for their moms this holiday season. We have done this many years in the past so please donate new items that moms might enjoy receiving as a gift. DO NOT WRAP. Please bring anything to donate to Bunco or our last meeting in Nov. You can also make arrangements to connect with Joy Ingram. Donations must be received by Dec 10th! Finally, I have some polls that I would love your feedback on in our Facebook group. Please stop by and contribute!  Oh, did I mention we have a new H2H Prize draw until the end of the year? We are collecting $5 to attend our meetings and half will be set aside for someone to gift them some extra Holiday Cash. We have $27.50 in the pot right now. Two more meetings to cash in and entries are given for people who show up, bring guests and more! Nov 22nd IN-PERSON Meeting - 4th Monday Dec 13th IN-PERSON Meeting - 2nd Monday ~Monica~

Back to Virtual Meetings STARTING NOW

Dear Monica, Well, as you have probably heard by now that WA State will be going into a modified stay at home order. This is the main reason we will now go back to 100% virtual meetings. Our event calendar should now be updated to reflect this. You will get the link to the Zoom meeting once you RSVP. The Happy Hours will continue as scheduled. Nov 23rd Virtual Meeting - 4th Monday Dec 14th Virtual Meeting - 2nd Monday I was working on moving back to virtual only meetings before the news hit today. I have been discussing this with the Admin Team as several people were not comfortable with the social distancing and mask wearing practices that were happening (or not happening) at our last in person meeting. I am guilty of these complaints as well so don't feel like I am singling out one or two people. We, as a group, need to do better if we are going to go back to in person meetings. I am responsible for everyone in that room and it will come back on me if anyone get sick from COVID-19. Plus, I will feel extremely guilty if that ever happens.  Personally, my family will be video calling our family during Thanksgiving in lieu of gathering in person. I bought my Thanksgiving dinner from Dream Dinners so check them out as an option. Or, order dinner from Shawn O'Donnell's this year! I feel terrible not being able to support them by hosting our meetings. I will continue to order take out food from them in the meantime. Let's do our part by staying at home. There is an end in sight. We just have to do our part until we get there.  ~Monica~

IMPORTANT RSVP Updates Based on Last Night's Meeting

Dear Monica, Thank you to everyone who came to our meeting last night! You ladies sure threw me for a loop. :) I had 3 people show up without the correct RSVP. I also had two ladies RSVP late for a total of 5 people extra to juggle. I didn't have my usual helper to check in people so I was all on my own to do everything. Since I was only expecting 7, I didn't think I needed help but boy did I! There will be changes again to how you RSVP to our meetings... I tried to set up a virtual zoom at the same time as our in person meeting and it didn't go as well as I hoped. It also made it confusing for the people who thought they were rsvp'ing to the in person meeting when they in fact RSVPd for the zoom meeting. So, thank you to those people who helped with this experiment but going forward, the only virtual meetings will be our happy hours. I apologize for not explaining this better at the meeting but when you pay me $5-10 to attend, it includes a beverage like Coke, lemonade, tea or coffee. You must ask for your beverage at the bar and our server will bring it to you. If you want wine or beer, please pay the venue directly for this option. I am also going to change the beverage RSVP to needing it 24 hrs in advance as well. If you RSVP late or show up at the door, it will now become $10. Once I give my headcount to the venue, it becomes more work for me to update them later to add more seats. Usually, the venue sets extra places for us but since the last two meetings had less people than we expected, the venue didn't add extra seats this time. I will be padding our headcount in the future so we have more room. We have few enough people to maintain 6' away from each other but when we have to add 5 extra seats at the last minute, it means that everyone who is already seated needs to move a little. However, their previous spot has been contaminated and the safety protocols are now compromised. This is just not ideal. Also, the venue handed out meals without checking with me first. Again, since we only expected 7 people and 6 meals, it was supposed to be an easy distribution. All the things that could go wrong, seemed to go wrong last night. Thank you to those people who helped me!! We made it work and PLEASE don't feel like you can't come to our meetings or that you will need to eat upstairs if you arrive without an RSVP. I am sharing this information with you so there can be a better understanding about the extra work involved and why I need to charge more if you cannot RSVP more than 24 hrs in advance. Let me know if you have any questions!  ~Monica~

Nov H2H Newsletter - IMPORTANT UPDATES!

Heart to Heart Meeting Reminders for the month of November HEART TO HEART MONTHLY NEWSLETTER For November 2020 Hi Mieko,  Are you reading my newsletters? It seems that people have missed the fact that we are now meeting IN PERSON at Shawn O'Donnell's again! We started this in Oct and the attendance has been low (less than 10) so there has been plenty of space for social distancing. We can have a max of 26 people so if that ever happens, we will sit a little closer but still safely.  Another experiment we are doing this month is the option of doing a VIRTUAL meeting along with the IN PERSON meeting. We are still working out the best way to handle this and enable you to participate. Your feedback is hugely helpful.  In order to do the IN PERSON meetings, we absolutely MUST HAVE YOUR RSVP at least 24 hours in advance. If you RSVP with less notice than that, the only option for you is to order a beverage. Dinners must be prepared ahead of time so if you don't RSVP and PAY in advance, we cannot provide dinner for you.  If you show up without RSVP'ing in advance, you MUST still purchase a beverage option but instead of $5, it will now cost you $10.  Right now, there are TWO DIFFERENT EVENTS to RSVP for. The first is the IN PERSON event where you can purchase a Spotlight Table if you are a paid member and they aren't already sold out. The second event is the VIRTUAL event and you must RSVP if you want to get the Zoom link emailed to you. I have had to change how the events are set up as there are challenges with having only a certain number of Spotlight Tables sold and also to make sure we do not go over our maximum capacity at the venue.  I had to make the Spotlight Table option only available with a purchase of a dinner. If you don't or can't eat the dinner, please message me and I can refund you the difference.  The free Virtual Happy Hours continue for now. In Nov, these are happening on a Monday evening when we don't have a regular meeting. In Dec, they will be on Tuesday evening. I presume these will continue on Tuesday evenings after the new year.  I am sending out text reminders to our paid membership database. You can opt out but make sure your cell phone is entered correctly in your profile on our website. You can edit your profile on the website or through the Wild Apricot Member app.  Stay in touch by using our Facebook Group. It is the quickest way for me to communicate things to you and for you to stay in touch with each other.  ~Monica~ Learn More: Member Dues Learn More: Member Perks

Sept H2H Newsletter

Heart to Heart Meeting Reminders for the month of September HEART TO HEART MONTHLY NEWSLETTER For September 2020 Hi Mieko,  I have big news to share so are you ready? We are moving to in-person meetings starting in October! There are some requirements we will have to abide by and it will change how we will need to RSVP from now on. First, I will collect payment for dinner/beverages prior to each meeting and there will be no entry unless you RSVP in advance. More details are below.  We will continue to have our Virtual Happy Hours on Wed evenings on the weeks we do not have our regular meetings. We will only have one in Oct due to my trip to Mexico! Stay in touch by using our Facebook Group. It is the quickest way for me to communicate things to you and for you to stay in touch with each other.  ~Monica~ Learn More: Member Dues Learn More: Member Perks

July H2H Newsletter

Heart to Heart Meeting Reminders for the month of July  HEART TO HEART MONTHLY NEWSLETTER For July 2020 Hi Monica,  Here we are again, a few months after the last newsletter, I finally am doing a new one. So much for every month getting these out! We are still doing our meetings virtually via Zoom. This will continue until Snohomish Country is in Phase 3. Spotlight Tables continue to be half price and turnout is OK. This also means our bunco games are suspended until this time. Does anyone have another way we can celebrate our anniversary virtually?  We will not have our Storm Suite at their Everett game on Sept 20th as planned. All games will be held elsewhere so our deposit will be moved to their 2021 season. Let's hope we can use it then! Our Wed Night Happy Hours are still continuing. We will not have one next week as I will be in Vegas celebrating my friend's birthday. Otherwise, we are still hosting them as a casual way to get together and see what is going on. Some great connections are happening during these meetings! Finally, I encourage you to stay connected with each other on our Facebook Group. You can share your own virtual event, a sale or promotion you are holding or just something funny you saw. I have received messages from people that say they are not active with comments or likes but check the group regularly for ways they can help support their local women owned businesses. Make sure you are posting so they can help you out! ~Monica~ Learn More: Member Dues Learn More: Member Perks

May H2H Newsletter

Heart to Heart Meeting Reminders for the month of May  HEART TO HEART MONTHLY NEWSLETTER For May 2020 Hi Monica,  I wrote a Newsletter for April and then forgot to send it. Whoops! I also wrote a newsletter in March but called it the February Newsletter. Whoops again! I just can never get these things right. :) Things have certainly changed over these last few months. All our meetings have been converted to virtual meetings via Zoom. It is free to use and you can use your phone or computer to tune in. They have mostly been successful and we are getting a decent turnout. We still have Spotlight Tables and they are half price while the meetings are virtual. A new thing I have implemented is a Monday Night Happy Hour on the nights that we don't have our regular meetings. This is just a short and casual way for us to stay connected during the pandemic. Starting now, I am moving them to Wed nights and the next one is on May 20th. These will continue until people stop showing up.  Another change has been our Bunco Anniversary party. It was originally scheduled for April but then I moved it to June but this would be the day after their supposed open date. Our venue cannot open until Phase 3 which, at the earliest, would be June 16th.  So, now we have pushed it out to Aug 19th which was already on the calendar for a regular bunco night. I will open up the RSVPs when we get closer to the date just to make sure the venue is up and running. Once we go back to in-person meetings, there will be some restrictions based on the health department guidelines. We probably will never have a serve yourself buffet again so I will be curious what our plated options will be. We will most likely need to sanitize our hands upon entering the venue as well. We also may need to still practice some social distancing which will affect how our seating arrangement will be handled. It is a whole different way of interacting with people again!  Finally, I encourage you to stay connected with each other on our Facebook Group. You can share your own virtual event, a sale or promotion you are holding or just something funny you saw. I have received messages from people that say they are not active with comments or likes but check the group regularly for ways they can help support their local women owned businesses. Make sure you are posting so they can help you out! ~Monica~ Learn More: Member Dues Learn More: Member Perks FEATURED MEMBER Here is a great way to increase exposure for your business. It is like a digital business card that you can share with your network. You provide us with an article about you and your business and we will publish it on our website. You can use 500-1200 words, up to 5 images, and unlimited text links. Content is subject to approval. This is great for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and will remain on the site indefinitely. Your article will be shared on Facebook, highlighted in our monthly newsletter and highlighted on the homepage of our website as well. You can participate by upgrading your membership and it costs just $55/year! A free revision comes with each year that you renew. View Past Featured Members Rae Ann Hall Featured Member Marcia Sears Featured Member

IMPORTANT: Setting up a test Zoom meeting on 3/16!

Dear Monica, Due to the new guidelines that Snohomish County has instituted to restrict gatherings of 250 and fewer people, we are considering moving our meetings to virtual meetings instead. Please read the information regarding the new guidelines from Snohomish County: https://lynnwoodtoday.com/snohomish-health-district-issues-its-own-orders-related-to-covid-19-and-smaller-gatherings/ I am happy to work with Shawn O'Donnell's on the social distancing issue as that is really the only problem I see with our room set up that we normally do. However, we might be forced to cancel anyway since we currently only have 12 people registered for our March 23rd meeting. Tracey has been kind enough to let me borrow her Zoom account to test out using it for our virtual meetings. Please join us for our test meeting on Monday March 16th at 6:45pm (see info below) and if we can make it work, I will set up a Zoom for our March 23rd meeting. I will be monitoring the situation on a weekly basis to see which meetings will be in person and which ones will be virtual. Before I upgrade my Zoom account, I would like to come up with a plan on how we can use Zoom on a more regular basis even after this crisis passes. I would love your ideas on how we could incorporate virtual meetings to our schedule. We had talked about creating some sort of mastermind meeting but that never materialized. Or maybe we expand our "Discussion Topic" time to a separate virtual meeting? Let me know your thoughts! Tracey Warren is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Topic: H2H Test Zoom Meeting Time: Mar 16, 2020 06:45 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/4839371729 Meeting ID: 483 937 1729 One tap mobile +16699006833,,4839371729# US (San Jose) +19294362866,,4839371729# US (New York) Dial by your location +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 929 436 2866 US (New York) Meeting ID: 483 937 1729 Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/afqhGJquf ~Monica~