Join Us 10/20 in Chicago for Our 3rd Annual Global Small Business Forum

Good afternoon Corporate America Escapers!  I wanted to let you know about a Forum my company is hosting on Friday, October 20, 2017 at 16 E. Pearson Street in Chicago from 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Central time.  It's our 3rd Annual Global Small Business Forum, sponsored by MB Financial, GlobeTrade.com and Center for International Business Loyola University Chicago. The forum helps entrepreneurs like you and small business owners take their companies global.  This year's theme is e-commerce and what a lineup of speakers we have.

Two in particular you won't want to miss:

1. Andrea Sreshta, co-founder of LuminAID.  LuminAID was featured on ABC’s Shark Tank in 2015, received offers from all 5 Sharks, and made a deal with Mark Cuban, the company’s first investor.
2. Jennifer Bayon, Vice President of International Sales for Paris Presents.  Jennifer leads the brands’ business development in over 60 countries, outside the United States.

Here's the full lineup of outstanding speakers.  And we have an amazing group of local partners on this!

I hope to see you there to meet up in person!  To learn more and to register, visit:  http://www.globalsmallbusinessforum.com.

Women Entrepreneurs Who Work Tirelessly to Help Other Women Entrepreneurs

The Greater Stockton (California) Chamber of Commerce has selected Gillian Murphy (pictured), a champion of local entrepreneurs, as its 2017 ATHENA Award recipient.  Ms. Murphy is a long-time advocate of small business and a mentor to female entrepreneurs throughout the area.

About ATHENA International:

ATHENA International is a non-profit organization that seeks to support, develop and honor women leaders through programs that we administer in partnership with ‘host organizations’ from local communities. These programs inspire women to reach their full potential and strive to create balance in leadership worldwide.

To attend the luncheon at the Stockton Golf and Country Club (11/16/17) or find out more about the ATHENA Awards, visit stocktonchamber.org/athena-awards/ or call (209) 547-2770.

Congrats to Ms. Murphy!

Go Offline, Make Friends, and Find Mentors

A new website -- aiming to give women a safe platform to help them meet like-minded women face-to-face -- was created by a husband-and-wife team from Toronto and is helping women find their own "elletourage."

What is "Elletourage?"  You must visit their website.

"What we [the husband and wife team] hope is you'll meet online and then you'll take that conversation offline and become friends wherever you are," co-founder Sam Chung told CBC Toronto.

Learn more here.

Be Honest About What You Want in Life

Before starting her own company DB+co, Debra Bednar-Clark was the global head of strategy and growth at Facebook, and spent time as Microsoft's director of US market strategy and engagement.

She told Business Insider that figuring out whether you're ready to leave a job starts with being honest about what you want.

Here's what else she said:

"I think one of the things that it can be really easy for us to do is build a career we think we should do instead of one that is really aligned with who we are in that moment."

Read more ... + explore Debra's great little blog here.

Screenshot courtesy of DB+Co

The Cupcake Junkie

Opening her own cupcakery -- the Cupcake Junkie -- was something Robyn Selders always wanted to do but never thought would happen.

For the past five years, Selders had been teaching the Read 180 program at Woodlawn Middle School. But in 2016, she didn't feel "the butterflies" that usually came with the start of a new school year.

That life became routine.

Her new life plan was simple:  sell cupcakes like she had been doing for the past three years, substitute teach and drive/deliver food for Waitr. That would be enough to pay her bills.

Learn more here on how it all worked out.

What Can Women Entrepreneurs Learn From Other Creative Women Entrepreneurs? Plenty.

Bet On the Business, Not on Your Life

There are challenges on the road to business success.

We’ve all heard stories like this. Maybe you have a friend who started a business and went into serious debt like me [Chad Boyda]. Or an uncle who let his business destroy his marriage. Or a ruined friendship after a partnership didn’t work out.

In the article below, Chad shows you what he learned about starting a business the hard way, and how you can do it without experiencing the same hardships he did. He covers four key points:

1. Proven techniques to come up with great business ideas
2. How to validate your business ideas before spending a dime
3. Four ways to scale your business with maximum return and lowest risk
4. How to NOT fail in business

Read more ...