Be Your Own Boss and Have Flexibility Too

Laura Atkinson and Cathy Lopienski co-own one of only five Columbus pharmacies owned by women. In partnership with the National Community Pharmacist Association, Cardinal Health wants to try and interest more woman pharmacists like Atkinson and Lopienski into becoming owners, not just employees.

Lopienski said that owning her own pharmacy (Total Wellness Concepts) has other perks, too.

“I can be my own boss and have lots of flexibility now, too,” Lopienski said.

Read the entire article here.

The Skinny On Popcorn: Introducing Skinny Pop

Are you looking for a popcorn that’s low in calories, all natural, very tasty and all you have to do is enjoy every kernel?  Look no further.  President and CEO Pamela Netzky has created Skinny Pop Popcorn and she just happens to be located in my hometown:  Chicago!

What else am I missing about this product?  Try this:

Read all about it here.

Illustration credit:  Skinny Pop Popcorn website

Women On the Frontlines of An Entrepreneurial Surge

Listen up entrepreneurial Oregonian women!

Oregon has a long history of women starting small businesses. But those enterprises have typically stayed small and revolved around retail—aka the “pink ghetto.” What’s new is women are forming “highly scalable businesses” and that a growing number are in the tech sectors, Linda Weston (executive director of the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network) says. “It’s a dramatic change."

What the author Linda Baker of the article noted below claims is there seems to be a significant number of women serving on the frontlines of the city and state's entrepreneurial surge.

Read the entire article here:

Women Help Power Startup Scene

Logo credit here.

Do You Have to Limit Your Entrepreneurial Ambitions to Be a Good Mom?

Wow, that's a bold, gutsy question. What do you think? According to Geri Stengel's, "Want to Grow the Economy? Change Four Attitudes About Women Entrepreneurs," (Forbes) she challenges us by posing that question and more. But the short answer:

The first order of cultural change, is to debunk the idea that to be a good mom, you have to limit your ambition. “If you want to have a family and run a business, you can — and a growing number of us do,” says Liz Etling, CEO and co-founder of Transperfect, the largest privately owned language services provider, with offices in 75 cities worldwide, and a good example of eluding the barriers to success. She started her business with a fellow student in a dorm room 19 years ago.

Key factors holding women back?

1. Women self-limit their ambitions.
2. Their assertiveness is perceived as ”bitchiness.”
3. Men need to change.
4. Women need to network.

Agree? Disagree? I welcome hearing from you and so would other readers of this blog. So please comment based on your opinion and/or first-hand experience.

Read the entire fabulous article here.

Posted by:  the official Escape From Corporate America blog
 

Women Are Changing Our World As Entrepreneurs

Stand Out In 2012

©Laurel Delaney 2012, "The Lone Tree, 31st Street, Chicago Lakefront," 1.1.12

Wishing you a new year

filled with desirable outcomes. 

Holiday Romance at Jane's in Chicago

Known as a vanguard in the revitalization of Chicago's Bucktown neighborhood, Jane's restaurant (now owned by Julie Greenwalt) has been serving contemporary comfort foods in a unique and romantic (considered one of the most romantic restaurants in Chicago!) setting since 1994. I recently had the pleasure of dining there for a holiday affair and it was wonderful.

Situated near the city of Chicago’s original northern-most boundary, the Bucktown block which Jane’s calls home maintains the quaint, “main street” appeal that was reintroduced in 1891, as the area was revitalized, following the Great Chicago Fire.

Find out more here.  Sign up for newsletter here to be kept up to date and learn about special events.

Are You a Rare Bird?

A rare bird can be an entrepreneur or in this instance, Rare Bird Preserves is Elizabeth Madden's company and she is in fact an entrepreneur.

Every jar of Rare Bird Preserves is handmade in small batches in our quiet kitchen. Our artisanal preserves are thoughtfully crafted in the French tradition, with only the freshest seasonal fruit and our own naturally extracted pectin.

My love affair with preserving fruit began as a student at the French Pastry School in Chicago, where I was moved by the beauty and simplicity of the process. It is this passion, combined with a close attention to detail, that ensures the quality and richness of our products.

Learn more about Elizabeth's company here.  Shop at Rare Bird Preserves.

Illustration credit (top):  Rare Bird Preserves 6 Jar Sampler

Calling All Entrepreneurs: Let's Spark An Economic Recovery!

A word from Charles R. Schwab, founder and chairman of the Charles Schwab Corporation, on how every job requires an entrepreneur:

The simple fact is that every business in America was started by an entrepreneur, whether it is Ford Motor Co., Google or your local dry cleaner (pictured). Every single job that entrepreneur creates requires an investment. And at its core, investing requires confidence that despite the risks, despite the hard work that will certainly ensue, the basic rules of the game are clear and stable.

Read the entire commentary here.

Going It Alone and Making It Work

You can graduate from college and get a "real job." But after a couple of years, are you really happy?

Have you thought about pursuing your passion? That's what Emiko Abe did when she went after her love of music.

But going it alone as a self-employed DJ and music consultant was a bit more difficult than she expected.

Not the business end of it. Abe made fast connections and was soon able to leave her old job to undertake her new venture full-time. She now compiles and manages music for places such as spas and upwards of 700 hotels, along with traditional DJ duties at weddings, fashion shows, hockey games and other events.

Read more about Abe's story and how she became comfortable being by herself.

Going in business for yourself, and making it work

The Early Days of Trish McEvoy's Business

Oh how I try to imagine this:

Working as a make-up artist in the 1970s, Trish McEvoy says she used to struggle to find quality cosmetic brushes. So she would buy brushes from art-supply stores and cut them into the shape she needed to apply eye liners, lipsticks and blushes (as shown).

Trish now has her beauty products in more than 250 stores in the United States and Europe with annual revenue just under U.S. $100 million.  She has 500+ employees.

So don't 'brush off' (pardon the pun) business ownership just yet this year. You never know when you are on to something!  The trick is to keep persevering!

Read: For Makeup Artist Trish McEvoy, Custom Brushes Led to Fortune

Visit: Trish McEvoy's NEW Arrivals

Starting a Business? Better Have a Fantastic Sense of Self-Confidence

A U.K. perspective but I find the article below fascinating nonetheless due to the comments about America.

If we look to America, where women tend to have more self confidence and a greater willingness to push themselves forward, levels of female entrepreneurship are nearly twice as high as they are in the UK. Rates of male and female entrepreneurship are almost equal, with 7% of females involved in early-stage entrepreneurship compared to 8% of men. Indeed, if the UK had the same level of female entrepreneurship as the US, there would be approximately 600,000 more women-owned businesses.

Take a good look at how confidence factors into the equation when you are thinking about starting a business.

American business people (men and women) have a fantastic sense of confidence in what they can do, which I think women in the UK could learn a lot from. In America there is a relentless work ethic and entrepreneurs have to have complete confidence in who they are, their abilities and what they bring to the table, as well as the ability to be able to self-promote. Being able to stand up and be counted is one of the things, I think, that make American women more likely to start up a business and make it a success.

Read the entire article:  Smashing Your Way Out of the Glass Ceiling

Featuring: Mandoline Grill

More information:  Mandoline Grill

Why Would Four Women Lie About Cain?

Whether you are a homemaker, female entrepreneur or an executive at a big company, why do you think four different women would elect to fabricate a story about Herman Cain?

I would welcome hearing your thoughts on this!

Photo credit here.

Learn the Fundamentals of Running a Business

• Featured company:  Wildflower Linen
• Find a SCORE Chapter near you.
• SCORE for Women.

Meet the Woman in Charge of Cheese: Jeanne Carpenter

Meet cheese geek Jeanne Carpenter (pictured below).

Jeanne Carpenter

Raised on Velveeta on a family farm in Wisconsin, after college she worked as a journalist, a corporate project manager, and finally as a communications specialist for state government. In 2007, she started her own public relations company to promote artisan cheese. In 2009, Jeanne launched Wisconsin Cheese Originals, a member-based organization dedicated to discovering, tasting, and learning more about Wisconsin artisan cheeses through a myriad of events, including an annual Wisconsin Original Cheese Festival in November. She is also the author of Cheese Underground, giving cheese-starved readers everywhere the inside scoop on America’s Dairyland since 2006.

Enough said but I am sure you want to know more.  Go here.  Congrats to Jeanne for moving from corporate project manager to woman in charge of cheese!

Illustration credit:  Cheese Underground

For Randi Zuckerberg: Goodbye Facebook and Hello RtoZ Media

Mark Zuckerberg's eldest sister Randi starts her own business:  RtoZ Media - a social media company.

In August, Randi Zuckerberg, 29, quit her job at Facebook, where she had been among the first two dozen people hired. Most recently, she was the director of marketing. In its early days, Zuckerberg was a buoyant presence, representing her reticent brother to an eager press. Later, she earned attention (not always favorable) singing at company functions with a band composed of colleagues. And she came up with the idea for Facebook Live, the social network's video channel, which has featured interviews conducted by Facebook executives with Oprah Winfrey and President Barack Obama.

Learn more here.  Illustration credit:  RtoZ Media homepage.

FAQ: Frequently Avoided Questions Related to Starting a Business

I was researching away on a project for a client and accidentally stumbled upon a PDF file I had downloaded to my MacBook in 2004.  It's called "The Art of the Start" and is based on Guy Kawasaki's book by the same title.

The FAQ:  Frequently Avoided Questions is a Kawasaki idea that is referenced in his PDF on Pages 29-31 -- don't miss it because, for example, here's one question he addresses that will definitely soothe your soul if you are frightened out of your mind at the thought leaving your current job to start a business:

Q.  I admit it:  I'm scared.  I can't afford to quit my current job.  Is this a sign that I don't have what it takes to succeed?  Am I not truly committed?

A.  You should be scared.  If you aren't scared, something is wrong with you.  Your fears are not a sign that you don't have the right stuff.  In the beginning, every entrepreneur ...

Download the report here (best part about it - it's complimentary!)

The Perfect American Entrepreneur

Photo credit:  ©Laurel Delaney 2011, "Apple store, Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL, U.S.A."

Steve Jobs

We salute the greatest American entrepreneur in our time:  Steven Paul Jobs (1955-2011).  Read what others have to say about the man who changed the world for the best and inspired us all to soar to great heights. 

If messages can be received in happy heaven:

Thank you Steve for making our lives a whole heck of lot more interesting and fun. Rest in peace. We will miss you!

United States Secret Weapon For Achieving Sustained Economic Growth: More Women Entrepreneurs

Take that Corporate America! Yes, according to a new paper authored by Lesa Mitchell (V.P., Advancing Innovation) for the Ewing Kauffman Foundation titled, "Overcoming the Gender Gap: Women Entrepreneurs as Economic Drivers," the United States needs more women entrepreneurs.

Women who are capable of starting growth companies that serve global markets may be the nation's secret weapon for achieving sustained economic growth.

Three steps to boost female entrepreneurship in the United States:

1. Not-for-profit initiatives that advance opportunities for high-growth women entrepreneurs need greater funding and support from women executives, philanthropy leaders and industry. Networking and collaborative events between startup founders and big companies are critical to provide women entrepreneurs access to networks that can produce potential customers.
2. Successful women entrepreneurs and inventors should make themselves visible and available. Role models are critical to young women considering entrepreneurship.
3. Women must be invited at a much higher rate to join science advisory boards of high-tech companies.

Read the study: "Overcoming the Gender Gap: Women Entrepreneurs as Economic Drivers"(PDF file)

Illustration credit here.