The number of minority women-owned businesses grew twice as fast as the number of businesses created by male minority entrepreneurs and non-minority men and women, according to a new study released by the Minority Business Development Agency.
What do -- the former Colombian presidential candidate and hostage, Ingrid Betancourt; designer Diane von Furstenberg; the sailor Ellen MacArthur; the exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen; the venture capitalist Molly Ashby, the founder of Solera Capital; and the French ministers Fadela Amara, who is in charge of coordinating plans for the racially mixed and poor suburbs, and the foreign trade minister, Anne-Marie Idrac -- all have in common?
I want to make sure you are all familiar with this fantastic resource. It's called News On Women and published by Alice Krause. She reports on women moving up in the world and is looking for news! Check it out here.
At Chicago-based MAB Advertising, there are some great tips you can apply to running your business during turbulent times. See for yourself here.If I wasn't already running my own business, today is the day I'd start one. ~ Seth Godin (9/26/08)
In every difficult situation is potential value. Believe this, then begin looking for it. ~ Norman Vincent PealeCaveat: I know Mary Bahr, President and Creative Director of MAB Advertising through my work with the Women Presidents' Organization.
Did you know Americans aged 55-64 start small businesses at a higher rate than any other age group? 
The social revolution that liberated women has also presented us with even more demands. Most are still trying to map the line between freedom (escapism) and responsibility. 
Meet Ellen J. Kullman, the new chief executive and President of Dupont, making her one of the few women to rise to the top of the chemical industry and putting her among the handful of women running the nation's largest companies.
Even though this is happening in India, it's pretty similar to the United States. Women at the top are still rare. India should focus more on grooming women to own a business and less on helping them become managers within companies.Women leaders in India's corporate world, though still small in numbers, see the situation changing for the better as the gender divide narrows and the glass ceiling disintegrates.Read the article here.
"If women want they can reach the top in the corporate ladder. There is nothing like glass ceiling for women in corporate sector. Moreover, with the diminishing of gender divide, women with their ability are best suitable to head corporate businesses," asserts Kalpana Morparia, CEO of JP Morgan India.
"As a woman from the corporate world, I say all the aspiring women leaders and entrepreneurs have the ability to take a risk in their careers and come out of their comfort zones," says Shanti Ekambaram, group head, Wholesale Banking, Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited.
Women senators are watching out for us but good along with WIPP President Barbara Kasoff so let's put our hands together and applaud them for their efforts, on behalf of all women entrepreneurs, to get the money we so richly deserve under the SBA's women's procurement program rule.The letter also says that, despite comprising a third of the nation's small businesses, women entrepreneurs only received 3.4 percent of federal contracting dollars in 2006. It continues by stating Congress established the women's procurement program in 2000 to help address the underrepresentation of women entrepreneurs in the government marketplace. "Now, over seven years later, the SBA produced a fundamentally flawed proposed rule in its insufficient attempt to implement the women's program," says Barbara Kasoff, President, WIPP.They keep working it and we should too. Don't settle for less -- ever.
http://landrieu.senate.gov/news/08.09.22_Women_Senators_SBA_Letter.pdfLike the shirt? Buy it here (we have no affiliation).
Women entrepreneurs can be overwhelmed with all the social networking sites -- as well as the concept itself. Time and resources are tight but everyone's talking about "Web 2.0." The question you need to ask is: Who do you want to reach? If you find out it's a good fit -- go for it! 
Curious as to who are the highest paid women in Corporate America? As an entrepreneur, when it comes to pay, do you think you hold a candle to any of them? There's only one way to find out. Visit here. If you leave men out of the picture, they make fairly big bucks. We'll come back to that in a moment.If, as so many men have often said, money is just a way to keep score, the list is yet another indicator that women aren't achieving equality at work. U.S. Department of Labor statistics peg the salary gap between women and men at just over 21 cents on the dollar--but at the top, matters seem to be worse. Yes, at least 100 women pulled down $3 million last year, but the 100 best-paid men in corporate America--all chief executives--each pocketed at least $18 million. You don't need a calculator to figure out that pay divide.Read the entire piece here.
While the number of women-owned firms grows at a rate almost twice that of all businesses, women entrepreneurs lag behind in capital, contracting awards and their ability to access viable networks. Senator John Kerry, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, addressed these critical concerns at a roundtable on 9/9/08 - 20 years after the passage of the Women's Business Ownership Act.
There's a glass ceiling -- we know that for sure because that's what makes business ownership so appealing -- but did you know there is a glass door to go along with it? But it's not what you think.
Finally, a young woman is given a voice! No, not Palin but Tinker Bell who never spoke in Disney's 1953 classic "Peter Pan" yet is about to say a word or two or three. Disney hopes some pixie dust and the recasting of a classic favorite will lead to a soaring profit.
If you think the number of women starting businesses is exploding, you haven't seen anything yet.
Ideablob.com is a vital online community where tens of thousands of small business owners and entrepreneurs actively share business ideas, feedback, advice and support. Each month a $10,000 prize is awarded to the best new business idea, which is voted by the ideablob.com community.
Michigan-based Edward Lowe Foundation provides information and mentoring services to entrepreneurs. Its website boasts many resources for "second-stage" companies -- companies that have passed the start-up phase and are growing (typically between $1 million and $100 million in total revenues). 
Stressed? Sometimes you just need an escape break to appreciate all the wonderful, simple things life has to offer. 
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