Female business owners gain more political clout

In USAToday.com



Politicians are casting a wider net in a shifting of the economy where women are taking control of more businesses, boosting their financial might, the USA Today article states. It also talks about President Bush's appointment of Tami Longaberger for a top advisory post on women's entrepreneurship.

Women's riches are being pumped into politics.

Girls Guide To Leaving Your Corporate Job

In EURweb.com (Black Entertainment | Black News | Urban News)

Los Angeles, CA – TV Personality and Life Coach, Bianca Alexander is quickly becoming the “it girl” for television programming aimed at entertaining with a purpose.  She joins the TV One network as Co-Host of Can You Dig It, a home and garden improvement show. 

Bianca Alexander is a trailblazer by all accounts. A prominent entertainment attorney for nearly a decade, she holds a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and French language and literature from Princeton University and the Sorbonne, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia. Answering the call to direct her own path and empowering others to do the same, she resigned from a prestigious executive level position in corporate America five years ago WITH NO REGRETS.  Inspired by her success and the overwhelmingly positive response to her life-changing career move, Bianca wrote the much anticipated “Girls Guide to Leaving Your Corporate Job and Living the Life of Your Dreams,” due out this Fall. 

Read on here.

Liberty is important to women worldwide

In The Financial Express (India)

Interesting perspective on how women in India view American business women. Here's a clip from the article that talks about why American women are leaving corporate jobs:

• And, if many companies have found that women are leaving their jobs, for what many considered 'family priorities,' then the true reason that emerges is that they got bored and frustrated with the work allotted to them. That their jobs were not challenging enough.

Check this out too:

• Consider Zara Larsen, 48, who had four major assignments in 10 years at United Technologies. Last year, feeling that her career had reached a plateau, she quit her job to pursue a doctoral degree in management. "I was no longer getting the intellectual stimulation I needed," she said.

An "irresistible" offer from Raytheon Missile Systems wooed her back to the corporate world: Take time to pursue your degree, the company said, but also be our director of enterprise effectiveness, responsible for shrinking costs, speeding up processes and otherwise changing the culture."

Here's my question: Is Zara happy and satisfied she went back into corporate America or would she have been better off doing her own thing after she finished her doctorate? Only Zara can answer that.

If you are interested in reading the full length article, visit:
But, they say it's 'boring'.

Women Set To Shift The Balance of Power in Business

In the UK Times Online

Whether it's women entrepreneurs in the UK or USA -- it sounds all too familiar.

" ... that women in businesses across the country [world] were more innovative, better at networking, more open to ideas, more proactive on the export sales front and more willing to introduce new services and products than male counterparts ... "

We just need to reach out and share ideas and expertise with one another more often.

"Here," she said, "if it makes money and you're a gorilla, you're in."

In The New York Times

I just love this article. If you cannot escape from corporate America, at least get the Batman duo on your side. Only in the movies!

... "But it was not only women who nurtured the new generation of female executives. Two men at Warners, Peter Guber and his partner, Jon Peters -- the producers of "Batman" - proved to be unlikely mentors. Although known for slash-and-burn machismo, Mr. Guber and Mr. Peters, who both eventually moved to Sony, regularly filled their staffs with tough, talented women. "

Corporate America never worked for me ...

In the Pittsburgh Business Times

"Corporate America never worked for me," said Dr. Mary Riebe, founder of the Center for Women Entrepreneurs and Entrepreneurship Education at Metropolitan State University in Minneapolis in 2002. She is leaving that post to become executive director of Chatham College's undergraduate and graduate business programs. In doing so, she'll also head a new organization at the college, Chatham Center for Women's Entrepreneurship.

She added, " Women grow businesses differently than men. Women are naturally more collaborative and men are competitive. Corporate America is very hierarchical. Men are comfortable with titles, assigned parking spaces ... knowing their rank."

To read the entire article, visit:
Chatham names entrepreneur center head

Women Are Opting Out Of Business?

In Fast Company (May)

I just received my FC issue and re-read the article "25 Top Women Business Builders." I had read it first while attending the Women Presidents' Organization (WPO) annual conference in Toronto last week where FC gave out complimentary pre-sale copies to everyone who attended the conference. As an added treat, many WPO members (for example, Taryn Rose) were featured in the article so it was a nice tie-in to the event.

Here's an interesting clip from it:

"You know the party line about women today: They're "opting out" of business, fleeing the confines of the corporation in droves, unwilling (or unable?) to make it in the big leagues. But if all these smart, ambitious, experienced women are leaving, we wondered, where are they going?"

The author of the article goes on to say:

"We think women, and their accomplishments, will inspire you: Each one's story offers lessons -- whether it's how to spot a marketable idea, how to distinguish yourself from the competition, how to hire and train the right people, or how to put customers front and center."

Here's the clincher:

"They haven't really left corporate America behind. They're just building their own version."

What's your take?

Delray business center to encourage women to start businesses

In PalmBeachPost.com

Women are starting businesses everywhere and they need help. The SBA opened its new Florida Women's Business Center -- which will be one of three -- earlier this month to encourage women to take the plunge, that is, start a business.

"This is a great day for the women of Southeast Florida," Sabelhaus said. "With the launch of the women's center, the impact on your local economy is going to be absolutely sensational."

Refresher Course

Ahhhh, just as you can smell spring in the air, you can also sense many people in the mood to try something new. The following article serves as a refresher course on why women are leaving corporate America for entrepreneurship.

Corporate Veterans Strike Out On Their Own

Does She Need a Corner Office?

True, women are scarcely represented at the pinnacle of Corporate America. Now it can be told why that is.

The assisted departure of Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) chief Carly Fiorina earlier this year reduces the number of S&P 500 female CEOs to eight. In other words, women have about the same representation on America's business A-team that red-headed, Capricorn, Latvian lefties enjoy on the rosters of big league baseball clubs. So, you may ask, why don't more women lead major companies?

Read CEO of online networking organization WorldWIT Liz Ryan's commentary presenting four great theories here.

P.S. As for yesterday's posting wondering how fast women are starting businesses ... is it every six seconds, six minutes or six hours? In an eight hour day, it's about one (1.2) every minute! Ms. Ryan makes note of this fact too in her commentary:

"In the U.S., women start some 400 new businesses a day. And why? Because a lot of them have foolishly walked away from corporate careers so they can build their own empires, often from home and on a shoestring. I can't imagine more incontrovertible evidence that women are quitters."

Women In Business Champion of the Year

In Charlotte Business Journal

It seems that every six seconds, six minutes or six days -- who knows how fast it's happening -- a woman who has left corporate America is awarded for doing something extraordinary in a business she creates and owns. In this case, Mary Elizabeth Murphy, managing director of Charlotte-based consulting firm S.T.A.R. Resources, has been named the Small Business Administration's 2005 N.C. Women in Business Champion of the Year.

Read all about Mary's accomplishments right here and, in celebration, let's give her a round of applause!

And remember this: All women who start and run businesses are champions!

5 Women Who Escaped Corporate America Are Recognized as Top Business Owners in Nation

U.S. Small Business Administration Deputy Administrator Melanie Sabelhaus announced today five outstanding women entrepreneurs who will be recognized as the top women in small business in 2005. The women will receive their awards at SBA Expo '05 in Washington, D.C., during National Small Business Week, April 26-28.

As stated in the release, "These ladies will leave no doubt in anyone's mind that women are the economic powerhouse of the 21st century. They are innovators and job creators and they make clear why women are the fastest growing segment of our economy."

Congratulations to all!

No Holding Back: Women Sue Small Business Administration Over Missed Goals

In AccountingWeb.com

Whether it's corporate America or entrepreneurship, there's no holding women back.

Upon viewing the disturbing results of a recent U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce national survey of women business owners which found a remarkable 62 percent unable to access capital they need to be competitive -- despite their preparedness and available collateral --, the leaders of the USWCC decided to take dramatic action.

Women Hold Steady In Businesses

In TimesDispatch.com

Women entrepreneurs are taking care of business.

A look at trends reported recently in releases from the National Women's Business Council and Women's eNews, an independent nonprofit news service, support that premise.

The NWBC, a bipartisan federal government council created to serve as an independent source of advice on economic issues related to female business owners, said women-owned firms continue to show strength.

But in a survey conducted by the business council, nearly half of the African-American women business owners said they had encountered obstacles or difficulties when trying to obtain business financing in the past, compared with 28 percent of white women, 27 percent of Latinos and 22 percent of Asian women business owners.

Any ideas? Staff writer of article Gail Kelley can be reached at (804) 775-8137 or gkelley@timesdispatch.com. Send her your thoughts!

30 Million Women Entrepreneurs Are Poised To Take On The World!

New Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) Report On Women's Entrepreneurial Activity Released Today (3/8/05).

Forty-one percent of entrepreneurs are women, according to a cross-national study of thirty-four countries. The first Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report on women’s entrepreneurial activity was released today by The Center For Women’s Leadership at Babson College.

The GEM 2004 Report on Women and Entrepreneurship provides an in-depth global look at women’s entrepreneurship and highlights the important role that women play in developing and developed economies.

”The GEM study on women’s entrepreneurship emphasizes the critical role women have in new venture creation and provides insights to inform policies focused on increasing and extending the scope and reach of their entrepreneurial activities,” said Dr. Nan Langowitz, Director of the Center for Women’s Leadership at Babson College. “These findings support our goal of understanding, featuring and supporting the entrepreneurial efforts of women worldwide. ”

To download the powerful report, visit:

GEM on Women's (Global) Entrepreneurial Activities

Women entrepreneurs are emerging as a major force in the U.S. economy

In BusinessWeek.com

BusinessWeek Online reporter Stacy Perman recently spoke with Marilyn Kourilsky, a professor at UCLA's Graduate School of Education & Information Studies, director of the Institute for the Study of Educational Entrepreneurship and author of "The New Female Entrepreneur," about barriers female entrepreneurs continue to face and the ways in which they can break through them. Here are two important clips from their conversation:

Q: Why then, do you find that so many women want to start their own companies?

A: They have a real passion, and they don't want to work for someone else. It's the only way to really make it. Even with all the new successes cropping up the ladder, they still perceive that there's a glass ceiling and that the best way is to start a business of their own.

Q: What are the biggest male misconceptions about female entrepreneurs?

A: They don't think women are in for the long haul, like they are. They're seen as doing something as a hobby rather than something they need to do for their family. There's this whole culture: For instance, if you're in a group and a woman comes up with an idea and then a male rephrases it, it's accepted as his idea. I don't think women support women the way men support men.

The whole attitude toward gender is not changing as fast as it could, but we're still making progress. There was a time when women said they wouldn't go to a woman doctor. Now they make sure they do. I foresee a time when women entrepreneurs say they'd rather deal with a female vendor or entrepreneur.

Well ... what do YOU think? Agree? Disagree?

Others want out of the corporate grind and it ain't just a woman thing

In CareerJournal.com

Others want out of the corporate grind and see a chance to gain greater flexibility and potentially make more money, especially as companies continue to squeeze raises for permanent staffers.

To read the entire article, visit: More Senior Job-Seekers Focus on Contractual Work

It just makes sense right now for a woman to be an entrepreneur

In HispanicBusiness.com

Tricia Hensley had a good job keeping the books at her husband's granite countertop company, but it wasn't her passion.

The former accounting major wanted more in a career -- she wanted her own business. After looking into several franchising opportunities, she turned to her passion for fitness and opened Figures! Fitness for Women, a women-only gym on Evans to Locks Road.

"I had helped my husband's business for three years, but that was his. I wanted something that was mine," she said.

Ms. Hensley personifies a national trend -- more women are seeking their business independence and starting their own ventures.

Read the complete inspiring article here.

Roadmap To A Million Dollar Business: Marsha Firestone, Ph.D.

In E-magnify's newsletter, Seton Hill University, The National Education Center For Women

Every day in the United States women start 424 new enterprises, more than double the amount began by men. The Center for Women's Business Research reports that over the last decade, 65 percent of these women have left corporate America out of frustration at limited promotion opportunities, confining work hours, and the potential to make a better product in a lucrative market. In essence, women took advantage of the training provided by their employers to hone their entrepreneurial skills, learning the ropes as executives and mid-level managers before branching out on their own.

Marsha Firestone, Founder and President of the Women Presidents' Organization (WPO), recognized a need to assist these businesses as they continue to reach toward greater levels of success. Dr. Firestone established the organization to bring together women whose businesses annually gross over two million dollars to share their expertise and experience as an informal "board of directors" in 1996, after she herself was denied career advancement. Her vision ...

Read this great interview with Dr. Marsha Firestone.

Go For It: Let the Year of the Rooster Wake You Up!

In The Small Business Advocate

Last year was the Chinese Year of the Monkey -- a year filled with movement, discussion, and the exchange of ideas. But we are about to turn out the lights on the Monkey. Wake up on February 9, 2005 to the Year of the Rooster! The Eastern zodiac is the oldest known horoscope system in the world, and can reveal amazing insights into your character, lifestyle, and emotional makeup. But even if you don't believe that your destiny is written in the stars, be open to the possibilities that the New Year of the Rooster brings. Wake up to the business potential around you (hint: entrepreneurship). Let the Year of the Rooster be the year you go for it!