Women in business ask me every day how to promote themselves so that job opportunities and other offers will come their way. I say start by looking in the mirror and being honest about exactly who you are and what you have to offer. In other words, you can't expect others to buy what you aren't selling?

First, it is important to make connections along the way in your career and in your life. You just never know how important or how powerful someone you meet will be later in your life. Stop looking at the people at the top as the only people who can help you. Everyone you meet you eventually turn out to be your champion.

Second, be true to yourself and let everyone you meet know exactly who you are and what you stand for -- the world is much smaller than it seems and a lie or even a small misrepresentation will come back and bite you....I promise!

You will learn that you just never know how someone will come back into your world - at what time or place -- so be proud of yourself now and of your performance today. The truth matters -- your reputation matters - your choices matter -- your decisions matter -- you will be judged by all of it.

Which means you can make a mistake because we all make mistakes; that's life. But, when you make a mistake you must own up to it and make it clear that you made a mistake and, more important, lessons were learned.

People remember bad deeds and good deeds, so be memorable but for the right reasons.

A first impression is made in 7 seconds. Ask yourself what type of a first impression you want to make? Now, make the decision to work on that impression. You have complete control over this part of your life. But, you must take it seriously. Are you a person who shows up early, on time or almost always late? People catch on to this very quickly. Being tardy means unreliable, and unreliable means undependable and not promotable or sometimes even unhireable. Think about what people see when they see you inaction. This is how you market yourself as a woman in business.

My advice to women in business is to give first and expect to get later. Ask yourself what you can do to help another person. How can you extend yourself?  You'd be surprised what you can do to help another person, but you won't know until you ask. Just making others feel comfortable is a start. Making new friends is a big step. But you have to take the first step if you want to be successful. Just being friendly won't do it. You need to follow up and stay in touch. You need to make sure that when you have an opportunity to show what you can do you show up early, spend time talking with many people and listen to what others have to say. What you have to say is not as important as listening to others. Listening to others will build your network and build your connections and build your brand. Brand is what marketing you is all about.

This may sound simple, but listening is the key!

Most of us spend 99% of our time thinking about ourselves, so let the other person talk and you'll get a lot of information and not worry so much about what you are going to say.

The point of marketing yourself is to let others know what you can do for them and for the companies they work for. So, live in the moment and be open to the opportunity that could change your life.