All about action: Woman entrepreneur to offer nuts and bolts of

Tory Johnson was sitting on a million-dollar idea, but didn't realize it.

Many businesswomen just starting out want to focus on developing their product or service - anything but selling their product," Johnson said. "Yet, where there are no sales, there is no business.""It is the feat factor: They spend a lot of time crossing their 't's' and dotting their 'i's' and it is planning, planning, planning. I'll ask someone how long they have been planning and they say, 'Oh, a year.' That is not planning, that is stalling."Like the name of the conference, "Spark & Hustle," Johnson is all about action.A business starts with an idea, a dream, a goal - that spark, Johnson said."But it takes sales too," she said. "And most women do not like to sell, especially when it is something for themselves. We are so much better at selling someone else or something else.""It is about learning the tips, tricks and tactics to start a business," Johnson said."Or they want to turn a $200,000 business into a $400,000 business - the common theme from New York to L.A., or in Tulsa - no one wants to be getting a pink slip while supporting the family," Johnson said.The conference is practical, Johnson said.In her conferences, she covers the basics, including mistakes that women make when launching a small business, ways to watch profits grow, ways to start a business without any money and how to use social media to start or grow a small business.While Johnson has been all over the U.S., she arrived in Oklahoma for the first time this month.Next year, Johnson plans to hold conferences in Los Angeles, New York, Dallas, Chicago, Boston, Orlando and Atlanta.Sadly, she said, people are tempted to over-think the process.Morrison, determined to bring Johnson to Tulsa for a conference, enlisted friends to send encouraging notes to Johnson on Facebook and Twitter.Whether women want to turn a $40,000 business into an $80,000 business, the fact is people want to be in control of their finances, Johnson said."This is nuts and bolts on making money and what to do when you sit at the kitchen table and decide to start," she said. "There are not a whole lot of theories. This is about making it simple and making it happen.""They just need to pull the trigger and do it," Johnson said."I talk to women all over the country and there are so many common threads that bring us together," Johnson said. "Wherever they are from, women have the great desire to make money for their family: Maybe it is to make up for a too small paycheck, or maybe their spouse lost their job, or there was a divorce, or the kids are in college and need money."Johnson is coming to Tulsa on Feb. 10 to 12 for a conference at the Hilton Tulsa Southern Hills. Johnson will be in Tulsa because Cindy Morrison, a former television news anchor, benefited from an Atlanta event.Yet an obstacle Johnson sees in women - and men - with kick- starting their business is procrastination.Today, Johnson is CEO of Women For Hire and a Good Morning America workplace contributor. She tours the country with her conference tour called "Spark & Hustle.""There is something to be said for planning, but there is only so much planning you can do. People are creating a five-year plan and they've not made a dime yet," Johnson said. "It is so hard to know what will happen in five years, or what will happen a year from now."Johnson was suddenly fired from a job she loved. With twin babies, she needed to make a decent living to support her family. In 1999, she started a women's career recruitment services business in the corner of her bedroom. Her goals were simple: to make a living and help other women find jobs.What Johnson has seen repeatedly is that people might have a terrific idea, but take too long to launch it.

"This is nuts and bolts on making money and what to do when you sit at the kitchen table and decide to start," she said. "There are not a whole lot of theories. This is about making it simple and making it happen."