Technology Is a Key Growth Driver

According to small business research from Dell and Intel, start-ups and small businesses in the United States are focused on growth, primarily domestically, and are increasingly investing in technology to help them scale.

Key findings:

• Maintaining their optimism: Over the course of the next year, more than half of entrepreneurs and small business owners expect finances to improve (56 percent), and most expect better prospects for sales (75 percent) as well as greater growth opportunities (58 percent).
• Looking to technology as a growth driver: The majority of entrepreneurs and small business owners consider access to technology to be key to successful growth (77 percent).
• Staying domestic: The majority of U.S. startups and small businesses see greater growth opportunities at home than abroad (84 percent).
• Focused on growth: Nearly half of respondents are planning to grow their companies in the near future (48 percent), while a significant percentage is focused on long-term growth (38 percent). 

Access the full report here.

Infographic courtesy of Dell.

Push Yourself Out of Your Comfort Zone

This is a very wild, run-on article!  The key points made within it are based on the recent Women in Technology Leadership and Entrepreneurship Forum RISE (Relationship & Information Series for Entrepreneurs).

Women entrepreneurs must stop hanging back, letting fear win, believing that being partners and parents precludes them from being successful business owners.  They must push themselves to create businesses with scaleable ideas that can grow into multimillion or billion dollar companies.

Read the entire article:  Women in Tech Must Push Relentlessly to Succeed

Photo courtesy:  Wolfgang Lonien

Eric Chats with Sheryl

Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead.
Author Sheryl Sandberg in Conversation with Eric Schmidt

Related article:  Leap In!

Building Beyond the Glass Ceiling

In this post, find out the top U.S. cities for women entrepreneurs (San Francisco and Seattle, for example) and catch a wonderful infographic that includes seven tips for future women entrepreneurs.

Two important steps to successfully starting up are finding a mentor and building a network of fellow female entrepreneurs that you can turn to for advice and referrals. Launching a business in a city with a thriving community of women entrepreneurs is a good place to start.

Photo courtesy:  ericskiff

Leap In!

I just love the article below by Dr. Candida Brush, professor at Babson College.  It's about Cheryl Sandberg's new expression, or book, if you will, "Lean In," which inspires women leaders to move forward in their careers, pursue opportunities and actively accept responsibilities.

Dr. Brush challenges the theory of "leaning in" for women in the workforce by saying it may not be enough for women entrepreneurs.  She goes on further to say:

In fact, they need to “leap in."  It is impossible to be an entrepreneur by leaning- you have to commit, take risks and take action.

Read the entire fabulous article:  "Leaning In is Not Enough:  Women Entrepreneurs Need to "Leap In"

Photo courtesy:  Foxtongue

Easily Bored? Try Entrepreneurship!

Successful entrepreneurs are often a lot alike. Some characteristics of an entrepreneur include being ambitious, outgoing, creative, enthusiastic, energetic and yes, easily bored.  Is that you?  Then you might be wired for entrepreneurship.

There are some characteristics that specifically describe a personality type which many entrepreneurs have (e.g., Bono, John F. Kennedy, Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan, Steven Spielberg and Donald Trump).  It’s called the Davinci personality type.

Read the entire article (including a neat infographic):  9 Characteristics of an Entrepreneur:  Recognize Some of Them?

Photo courtesy:  Noise Photography

How to Pitch Your Ideas

Let's say you came up with a new idea for paint that is temperature resistant and environmentally safe (the ladder in the photo could use it).  How would you pitch your idea to VCs?  According to Ivo Lukas's article, "Women Entrepreneurs:  Pitch Your Idea:"

Whether you are bootstrapping or pitching to get VC/angel investors, you must keep in mind two things about your business pitch: keep your story simple and sweet. I've been asked lately about what the top "must haves" for women are when pitching their businesses and/or ideas. There have to be some formulas for success, right? As women in a male-dominated industry, we should be sharing these trade secrets with each other!

Read the entire article here.

Photo courtesy:  ©2013 Laurel Delaney.  All rights reserved.  "Chicago lakefront 4/13/13"

Steady As She Goes

According to "The Slow and Steady Approach to Entrepreneurship," you don't need to be an overnight success to become an entrepreneur.

Entrepreneurship requires a more slow and steady approach.  Start with building a solid skill set early on.

Is that what you have found works too?  I welcome hearing from you!

Mini Cooper With Female Bunny Ears!

©2013 Laurel Delaney.  All rights reserved.  "Mini Cooper Bunny!"

The Peninsula Chicago goes all out on Easter this year.  What I love is the pink.  Have a Happy Easter!

Photo courtesy:  ©2013 Laurel Delaney.  All rights reserved.  "The Female Mini Cooper Bunny"

Oh Quit Your Day Job and Get Going!

Yes, it is a big risk to quit your day job and launch a business.  But, on the other hand, you could spend the rest of your life working in corporate America and forever thinking about starting a business yet never do it.

On your death bed do you want to mumble, "I hated my job in Corporate America and wish I would have quit in my twenties to start a business."

Or, would you rather say, "I lived a life that was meant for me and yes, - starting a business was a big risk in my twenties but it made me who I am today:  happy, creative, content, fulfilled and so satisfied that I risked it all to make something great happen!"

Read:  Can You Afford to Quit Your Day Job?

You tell me:  Can you afford not to quit your day job to become your creative best self in life?

Photo courtesy:  05.com

All Entrepreneurs Are Irish On St. Patty's Day!

©Laurel Delaney 2013.  All rights reserved.  "Irish Hats"

When you have a fighting spirit, as all entrepreneurs do, there is a bit of Irish in you!  Happy St. Patty's Day!  My favorite day of the year.  Enjoy!

Photo courtesy:  ©Laurel Delaney 2013.  "Irish Hats"

Are You A Female Entrepreneur With Style?

Stephanie Burns along with her business partner Jody Coughlin run Chic CEO, a free web resource for female entrepreneurs that provides all of the fundamental information women need to start a business, from how to write a business plan to how to invent a new product.

Finances, funding, and marketing -- Chic CEO has got it covered. Together with her business partner Jody Coughlin, Stephanie has created a platform for women to find the answers to help them make their dream a reality.

Chic CEO Walks Women Through the Practical Steps of Starting a Business

Visit:  Chic CEO (as illustrated)

Be Obsessed With Metrics and Data

As you grow your business, being obsessed with metrics and data can be a good thing.  Take Marissa Mayer, for example, CEO of Yahoo:

After spending months frustrated at how empty Yahoo parking lots were, Mayer consulted Yahoo's VPN (Virtual Private Network where workers can use it to securely log into Yahoo's network and do work) logs to see if remote employees were checking in enough. Mayer discovered they were not — and her decision was made. 

When is the last time you checked your VPN logs or parking lots?  Could your workers be slacking off?

Read:  How Marissa Mayer Figured Out Work-At-Home Yahoos Were Slacking Off

Illustration credit:  Marissa Mayer's Twitter page

Expect To Succeed and You Will

Rachel Leavy, 24 years old, didn't expect to start a business nor did she expect to do well running it but she has.

She teaches obedience classes at night and holds doggy daycamp three days a week.  The idea sparked to start Miss Rachel's School For Dogs when her dog Dixie was hit by a car.

Find her on Twitter and visit her site.  You never know when your next big idea will strike.  Be open to it.

Illustration credit:  Miss Rachel's School for Dogs

Women Entrepreneurs: Bring On the Optimism in 2013!

A recent national survey of women business owners conducted by Web.com Group, Inc. and the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) found a strong sense of economic optimism, including a prediction by 85 percent of women business owners that more women will become entrepreneurs in 2013 than in past years.

How is that so?  Find out here.

Get Comfortable With "The Ask"

  

The Ask!

When you're ready to seek funding for your business, get comfortable with "the ask."  You've got to be bold enough to put your business out there in the market, strut your stuff (capabilities) and "ask" for what you want.  But that's not what this article is about.

The article below is about why crowdfunding is a game-changer for women entrepreneurs. 

Women-owned firms start and grow businesses with substantially less outside financing, according to a Department of Commerce survey of women-owned companies across the U.S. That helps to explain why the average women-owned business has 25% lower revenue than the typical male-owned firm in the same industry.

Read the entire article here.

Many of you have asked me via email for donations on your projects over at Indiegogo and Kickstarter.  What's your experience been like on the funding front -- good, bad or indifferent?  Have you heard of the new kid on the block (not necessarily a crowdfunding site) called Fundwell?

Sometimes Life Is Full of Surprises

Alecia McClung, CEO, ARO

Chicago CEO Alecia McClung (pictured) has gone from serious health issues to successful woman business owner.  She runs Administrative Resource Options (ARO), a one-stop shop for outsourcing office management and services.

As Alecia says, "Sometimes life is full of surprises."  

Womenetics: When and why did you start your business? How did you recognize that there was an opportunity to outsource your services to companies in the Chicago area?

Alecia McClung: We primarily started outsourcing in mailroom and print centers. I started the infrastructure in 1990, about 22 years ago. We started out in the legal market and expanded into hospitals, schools, manufacturing, and now we’re pretty much in every market. 

Read Alecia's inspiring story and interview here.

Photo courtesy:  ARO

Women Business Owners Fight for Government Contracts

With federal spending cuts, women entrepreneurs are feeling the pinch.  U.S. government contracts to women- owned small businesses dropped for the second consecutive year, declining at a faster rate than awards to their male counterparts.

The women’s contracts slid 5.5 percent to about $16.4 billion in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30 from $17.3 billion in fiscal 2011, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Awards to small firms owned by men fell 4.1 percent to $80.9 billion.  

What's causing the decline?

The gender gap may reflect stiffer competition over a shrinking pool of contract revenue as well as the bureaucratic burdens associated with a new effort to reserve awards for women-owned firms, according to former procurement officials and small business advocates. 

Read the entire article here.

Are you experiencing this challenge?  If so, we welcome hearing from you.

Illustration credit:  BloombergBusinessweek

Have a Heart for What You Do

Brenda Frazier, owner of Brenda Kay Frazier's Beauty Shop

Success comes in a variety of ways but no matter what, it always requires having a heart for what you do.  See how women business owners use their brainpower, instincts and their heart to do what they love doing here.

Illustration credit:  The Express

Managing Talent: The Dandelion Metaphor

Listen carefully to this insightful video.  I love "The Dandelion Metaphor" as it relates to finding obscure spaces in your business where people can grow.