How Opening a Business Can Be Surreal

According to the Center for American Progress, black women comprise 13 percent of the female population in the United States.  Between 1997 to 2013, the number of companies created by black women nationwide grew by nearly 258 percent — and the trend is growing in Shreveport-Bossier City, Louisiana.

The [Shreveport] Times recently sat down with four black women entrepreneurs driven by past experiences, hardship and unique circumstances.

Learn more about their stories:  Four Inspirational Women You Should Know

Screenshot courtesy:  Suite 9 1 Six (the business of one of the four women interviewed in the article)

Accidental Feminist

Megan Basham, author of both "Beside Every Successful Man: Getting the Life You Want by Helping Your Husband Get Ahead," and "Beside Every Successful Man: A Woman's Guide to Having It All," writes a very intriguing opinion piece for The Wall Street Journal (5/8/09) entitled, "What a Mom Wants."

When I caught this part ...

Ms. Hemmert admits that she sees her own parental job as something separate and different from her husband's, and she not only resents him for usurping her role but has lost some respect for him. "I'm a woman, and I want to be a mother first," she states simply.

... I could not help but think to myself, "I'm a woman, and I want to be my own person first."

Let us know what you think of the commentary. Here is a listing of some of the resources mentioned in the article but not specifically identified that supports Ms. Basham's thinking:

• New York Times contributor Lisa Belkin, "Obama's Council on Women and Girls."
• Elisabeth Eaves, Forbes, "Life With Father."
• Center for American Progress, A Woman's Nation
• Study referenced in commentary is, "What's Love Got To Do With It?" (download the 26-page PDF file here immediately: "What's Love Got To Do With It? ... ") by W. Bradford Wilcox (more here on Wilcox -- and a must-read here) and Steven L. Nock (found out he passed away on January 20, 2008). I believe Ms. Basham quoted her original information from this though, "The Happiest Wives."
  

Happy Mother's Day to Moms worldwide!