Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Personal Qualities of an Entrepreneur

Gender discrimination and pay inequities in the corporate world cannot be underestimated so women might as well choose the path of business ownership for these reasons and more. Further, having control over your destiny is a mighty powerful motivator.

Becoming an entrepreneur requires numerous personal qualities regardless of gender. All entrepreneurs are:

Bold, daring, cReAtIvE, calculated risk takers, INNOVATIVE + autonomous

The profile of women entrepreneurs is not necessarily different from our male counterparts. What's noticeable is the contrast in managing style ... other than that ... pretty similar.

For my women readers, may you start a business in 2010. Best wishes for a happy and successful year.

Photo credit: Laurel J. Delaney, lake front at Rogers Park, Illinois, U.S.A., from The Official Escape from Corporate America Blog

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Monday, December 21, 2009

Women Business Owners Know How To Create and Be Creative

New research forecasts women small business owners will create 5+ million new jobs by 2018, while creating a far more inclusive workplace environment through their distinctive management approach.
Based on the Guardian Life Small Business Research Institute’s projections, women-owned small businesses will generate more than half of the 9.72 million new small business jobs expected to be created, and roughly one-third of the 15.3 million total new jobs anticipated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics by 2018. This projection is striking, given that women-owned businesses currently account for just 16 percent of total U.S. employment.

The Institute’s projections are based on a rigorous analysis of converging factors, including the faster growth rate of women-owned businesses vs. male-owned; higher college graduation rates by women vs. men; the predicted growth of industry sectors and occupations dominated by women; and The Guardian Life Index: What Matters Most to America’s Small Business Owners.

Friday, December 18, 2009

A Thorough Human Being

Maybe I should surprise you and begin with "Big Women" or should I say "Strong Women." Thoughts come to mind about big women because it's the complete opposite of Louisa May Alcott's classic novel, "Little Women." But the real reason for bringing this to your attention is to focus on one of the characters, Josephine "Jo" March, the chief protagonist of the novel based on Ms. Alcott (pictured above) herself.
Jo is a tomboy and the second eldest sister at fifteen. She is very outspoken and has a passion for writing. Her bold nature often gets her into trouble. She is especially close to her younger sister Beth, who tries to help her become a gentler person. At the beginning of the book, she is employed by her Aunt March as a companion, but when Beth becomes ill, Amy is sent in Jo's place. Jo cuts off her long, chestnut brown hair — "her one beauty", as Amy calls it — and sells it to a wig shop to get money for her mother to visit their father, a sick Civil War chaplain. She refuses the proposal of marriage from family friend Laurie (despite many letters sent to Miss Alcott to have them married), and after Jo moves to New York, later meets and marries Professor Friedrich "Fritz" Bhaer.
Quite simply, Jo was and will forever be remembered as an entrepreneur and a thorough human being. Here's one of her famous remarks:

"Look at me, World, I'm Jo March, and I'm so happy."

If you have a chance, watch (review here) the original 1933 B/W classic "Little Women" movie to experience a couple of hours of warm and fuzzy feelings. I think I've seen it at least three dozen times and plan to watch it again this holiday season.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

2010: Go Your Own Way

As you pave the way to success for yourself, pay a visit to Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation (pictured) for additional ideas:
The Kauffman Foundation is working to further understand the phenomenon of entrepreneurship, to advance entrepreneurship education and training efforts, to promote entrepreneurship-friendly policies, and to better facilitate the commercialization of new technologies by entrepreneurs and others, which have great promise for improving the economic welfare of our nation.
See, you are not living in a vacuum. The world is working with you to get that business idea off the ground!

Learn more here.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Let the Truth Be Told By a Scholar About Women Entrepreneurs

Maria Minniti Ph.D. (pictured), holder of the Bobby B. Lyle Chair in Entrepreneurship at SMU’s Cox School of Business, proves to us that studying women entrepreneurs sheds light on entrepreneurship and wealth creation, employment choices, human capital, labor market dynamics, family dynamics and employment, business creation and peace, to name a few.

Women’s businesses tend to be smaller and to grow less than those owned by men. But do those tendencies really convey the nuances inherent in female entrepreneurship and its full impact across the globe?

A couple of highlights from Professor Minniti's research:
• Women are involved in entrepreneurial activities out of two primary reasons — opportunity and necessity.

• Countries which have healthy and diversified labor markets or stronger safety nets show a more favorable ratio of opportunity to necessity-driven women entrepreneurs.

• Only recently has the link between peace and female entrepreneurship been appreciated; it could represent a very significant source of stability in some of the most unstable areas of the globe.

• On average, women seem less networked than men and, in some cultures, have access to fewer social resources.

• Minniti notes that "women are very strong at negotiating, achieving goal-congruence, and consensus-forming.”

• Self-satisfaction is more important to women that financial profitability and growth; and of course, family considerations are very important in women's jump to self-employment.

• How institutions promote or discourage female entrepreneurship should be studied for its policy implications.
Read more here. And to request a copy of Dr. Minniti's forthcoming paper, “Gender Issues in Entrepreneurship,” go here:

Click to email (Partial email = @cox.smu.edu)

Tuesday, December 08, 2009

When You Go With What You've Got; It Can Become Something Great


That's a quote from 30-year old Norah Jones (a favorite of mine) and I am inclined to agree with her. She's taking her entrepreneurial musical talents in a whole new direction (in her new album, "Come Away With Me," she plays the guitar).

Daring? Yes. BOLD? You bet. Will it pay off? I don't see why not.

We all have to update our talent constantly, go in new directions, launch fresh ideas and take chances in life to become who we are meant to be.

Is that your plan, too, for 2010?

Pictured: Norah Jones (the top one is her new look!)

Friday, December 04, 2009

We Interrupt This Blog To Bring You a Male Entrepreneur: Sir Richard Branson



"If you can run one company, you can run just about any company." ~ Richard Branson

Motivation comes in all shapes and forms. Capture something from this video to spur you on to starting your own business!

Tuesday, December 01, 2009

Leave the Rat Race for Entrepreneurship

Today I did a Google search on:

leave Corporate America

The purpose was to put myself in the shoes of many folks who intend to do just that in 2010 (and of course, it's something I did many moons ago). Below is what I discovered. Are you feeling this way?
Have you ever thought of leaving the rat race before becoming a rat? I worked in Corporate America many years and I don't believe that ...

My decision to leave corporate America crept up on me slowly. It wasn't some lightning bolt of revelation that vividly popped into my brain one morning ...

Corporate America is stealing your life and paying you to give it to them. Quit and start a business!

Incorporate every step listed above before you leave corporate America, and success is guaranteed. Many blessings upon you with preceding ...

Several former financial services and insurance company meeting planners talk about starting their own business—even during a recession.

When I finally decided to leave corporate America the first thing I had to do was determine what my basic needs would cost. I was pleasantly surprised to ...

Would you like to leave Corporate America? Have you thought about what it would take for you to leave Corporate America?

An ideal situation for many people is to leave corporate America and run a home based business. There is no boss breathing down your neck ...

No limits: how I escaped the clutches of Corporate America to live ... Luckily for me, a series of events led me to leave Corporate America back in 2005 and I am now trying to help other passionate and creative people like ...
Need assistance with your idea? Get in touch with a SCORE counselor who can help you live your dream of entrepreneurship!