Inspirational Ideas From Women Entrepreneurs (NBC Chicago)

Go After Professional Success

Are you ready to transition from employee to being your own boss?

Being your own boss can provide flexibility that women look for to balance home life and work life. You can dig deeper into your passions, and it’s one of the best opportunities for professional success.

Read:  7 startup tips for new female entrepreneurs

Photo Credit: monukhan2013

Business Lessons From Female Entrepreneurs

©2014 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Matthew Toren, a contributor to Entrepreneur, gives his best shot at coming up with three books by and for female entrepreneurs. I've read Nos. 2 and 3 from his list and they are worth a look.

Read:  3 Great Books By and For Female Entrepreneurs

By the way, I've also read Barbara Corcoran's other book (pictured) and it's good too.

The Happy Factor: The Belief In One's Ability to Succeed

Are women happier than men as entrepreneurs?  We know the struggle women experience in corporate America -- that's why we started this blog.

According to Jane Porter for Fast Company, she says:

A recent study shows there's one career path in which women's perceived happiness is greater than men's: entrepreneurship. 

Read the article:  Why Women Entrepreneurs Are Happier Than Male Entrepreneurs

Related piece that ties in nicely:  The Confidence Gap

Photo Credit: Vermin Inc

There's a Hula Hoop and Now There's Crowdfunding Platform MoolaHoop

MoolaHoop is a crowdfunding platform geared toward helping minority women receive the funding they need to run their business.

In the past year, MoolaHoop helped raise more than half a million dollars for women.

Read some of the success stories:  Minority Women Find Advantage with Crowdfunding

Screen shot courtesy of:  MoolaHoop

More On Entrepreneur Barbie (Doll)

Creative Entrepreneur Barbie?

We challenged Mattel about its Barbie becoming an entrepreneur back in 2009, and now it is a reality (2014).

[Gina] Rudan pointed out that Entrepreneur Barbie comes at a time when women -- particularly women of color -- are increasingly starting their own businesses due to barriers in the workplace. She said there’s an estimated 10 million small business owners in the United States who are women and a third of those business owners are Hispanic female business owners.

Entrepreneur Barbie:  Latina Author, Leadership Coach Gina Rudan Touts Mattel Doll's Latest Profession.

I still question why it took Mattel so long to do this.  If you want to catch a different perspective on the new Barbie, read:  Problem with Entrepreneur Barbie (From an Entrepreneur's Perspective).

Photo Credit: partymonstrrrr 

Whether Pittsburgh or Shanghai, Women Business Owners Struggle Between Work and Family Life

Near Nanjing University (Shanghai)

Seven American women business owners traveled to the University of Nanjing (Shanghai) last month with the Greensburg chapter of the Women Presidents' Organization based at Seton Hill University (Pittsburgh).

Lee Ann Munger, director of [Seton Hill University's] e-Magnify's PowerLink program, said women from both countries struggle with the balance between work and family life as they advance in every field.

With flexibility, determination and passion, some are inspired to start their own businesses so they can raise a family and advance in their industry, Munger said.

Read the entire article:  Chinese female business owners not so different, Seton Hill group finds

Leave Confusion, Fear and Mediocrity Behind Once and For All: Become An Entrepreneur

Photo courtesy:  Maite at MaiteBaron.com (5/14/14)

There's Escape From Corporate America blog (2004), Escape From Corporate, Escape from Cubicle Nation and now there's Corporate Escape by Maite Baron.

Here's what Maite's book claims:

Corporate Escape: The Rise of the New Entrepreneur is designed to help anyone leave the corporate world and embark on building their own business as a ‘New Entrepreneur’, it will benefit anyone in a process of change, by helping them develop the courage needed to leave confusion, fear and mediocrity behind once and for all. 

I have not read the book yet but wanted to bring it to your attention. Go here to buy the book.  And visit Maite's site established in 2012.

All I can say is we were No. 1 at starting with the concept of Escape From Corporate America (2003)!  We've created a whole new industry as a result!

A Shoe Brand Named Miranda

Have you figured out what you are good at or sensed an unmet need? No worries.  Neither has multiplatinum country singer Miranda Lambert (pictured) who started a shoe brand named, of all things, Miranda, in tandem with her fifth album, Platinum. 

When Lambert was designing the line, her manufacturing partner told her that crystal-bedazzled boots - which are also platinum - might be too intense for the shoppers at DSW, a discount store that carries her collection. So she had a sample pair made in her size and has been wearing them onstage and in photographs for months. "I just decided we'd see what people start responding to," she said.

See what else is cooking for Miranda with her personal brand:

Dixie Shtick - Miranda Lambert creating her own empire

Related article where we talked about her entrepreneurial tendency in 2009, "Being Yourself is Back in Style."

Photo Credit: Creative Nickie

Women Entrepreneurs Face Greater Challenges Than Men

Women are starting businesses at a very fast clip but to reach more than a million dollars in revenue is less than 1/3 the rate of companies led by men.

According to Babson,  if women entrepreneurs in the U.S. started with the same funding as their male counterparts, they would add 6 million jobs to the economy within five years.

Those jobs aren’t missing because women are unable to lead. They’re missing because women entrepreneurs face greater challenges than men, and that’s not a whine, it’s a fact. 

Read the great article by Geri Stengel and published by Forbes:

Champion For Women Entrepreneurs Realigns For The Times

Photo Credit: ttnk

Best Country In the World For Women Entrepreneurs: United States

If you want to prosper running a business, start it in the United States.  If you are based here (as I am - Chicago, IL), consider yourself a lucky lady.  Other best bets for female entrepreneurship are Australia, Sweden, France and Germany, according to the second annual Gender-GEDI ranking commissioned by Dell.

Learn more:  The best countries for women entrepreneurs

Photo Credit: Brian Auer

A Website for Mom Business Owners

Holly Hurd created VentureMom for the millions of moms who are looking for a venture that gives them fulfillment, provides extra income for their family, and gives them the freedom of working for themselves.  Each week Holly highlights a different VentureMom to tell her story.  Through these stories, she helps moms look at their lives now, identify what they love to do and shows them how to create an income-producing venture around their passion.

Visit VentureMom.

Screenshot courtesy:  VentureMom.com

Barriers Facing Female Entrepreneurs

Seventy-five percent (75%) of 30 countries surveyed for the second annual Gender Global Entrepreneurship and Development Index, commissioned by Dell, do not meet the basic needs for female entrepreneurs to launch a business.

What does this mean?  Men and women do not have equal opportunity when it comes to launching a business today.  And a lot, according to Ruta Aidies, project director for the Gender-GEDI study says, "There are conditions that prevent women from founding high growth businesses.”

Read more:  Dell Sponsored Study Reveals Barriers Facing Female Entrepreneurs

Screenshot courtesy:  Dell GEDI Index

Do Female Executives Drive Start-up Success?

The study below focuses on the state of women (2012) in U.S. venture- backed companies and how women in leadership roles affect the success of a start-up. Though the study is two years old, it is still relevant and interesting. To accomplish its findings, the team of authors reviewed more than 15 years of venture-backed company data and executive information in the VentureSource database.

The key question addressed:  Does having a higher proportion of female executives at a venture-backed start-up improve the company's chances for success?

Study authors:

• Jessica Canning, Global Research Director (formerly), Dow Jones VentureSource
• Maryam Haque, Senior Research Analyst, Dow Jones VentureSource
• Yimeng Wang, Research Assistant, Dow Jones VentureSource

Read the study:  Women at the Wheel, Do Female Executives Drive Start-up Success?

Photo Credit: Vitodens

How to Love Being the Face of Your Business

Building a brand takes time, patience, discipline and focus.  It's not something you do overnight.  I always start with the question:  "What do you stand for?"  If you can address that, you are well on your way to crafting a brand for your business.

Katie Bressack, health coach, corporate wellness consultant and American Express OPEN CEO BootCamp ambassador and Janet Kraus, serial entrepreneur and author of nine CEO BootCamp Insight Guides, offered the following tips to help female entrepreneurs define their brand and learn to love being the face of their business.

Read:  3 Steps to Help Female Entrepreneurs Build a Great Personal Brand

Photo Credit: ttnk via Compfight cc

Ridiculous Things Men Say to Women Entrepreneurs

Listen up men, I know you are reading this.  Here are a few of the worst things you could say to women entrepreneurs.

Ladies, you are going to love it!

3 Things Men Need to Stop Saying to Women Entrepreneurs

Photo courtesy:  Flickr

Pitch and Build Your Business

Eight groups of women wait to pitch their businesses at the Pipeline Fellowship, which is trying to level the playing field for women in angel investing, an increasingly integral part of America’s capital formation.  The women are vying for $25,000 in early-stage investment by five so-called angel investors.

See what they go through by reading:  Women Entrepreneurs Fight for Their Piece of the Pie

Screenshot courtesy:  Pipeline Fellowship

From RapidAdvance: The Rise of Women-Owned Businesses and the Impact on the Economy

Top Priority for Entrepreneurs? Maintain Current Sources of Revenue.

According to the American Express OPEN Small Business Monitor, entrepreneurs remain confident about business prospects, but their top priority continues to be maintaining current sources of revenue.

Cash flow concerns have fallen to pre-recession levels (49%, matching fall 2007 and down from a high of 66% in spring 2011).  In addition, fewer business owners say they are “stressed-out” by the economy (56%, down from a high of 70% in spring 2011) and more feel confident in their ability to access the capital needed to grow their businesses (72%, the highest figure since the question was first asked in 2002).

Regardless of the economic climate, entrepreneurs' growth plans are still in the cards.

Read more:  More Entrepreneurs Are on Track to Save for the Retirement They Want

Read the press release (4/24/14):  Small Business Cash Flow Concerns Drop to Pre-recession Levels, According to the Spring American Express OPEN Small Business Monitor

Photo courtesy:  Flickr

You Always Deserve to Be in the Room

Lisa Johnson made her mark in biotech and business, often as the only woman in the room.  In a recent Business Journal Interview, here's what Lisa had to say in response to one of her interview questions:

Have you ever had situations where you’re the only woman in the room, and how do you deal with that?

"When I was with Novagen (Biosciences Inc.), and then especially with Merck, which was a German corporation, I was in with — oh my god, it was 20, 25 men — and I walked out and a guy came up to me and said, ‘Oh my god. Was that really hard on you to be in that room?’

Due to your position and your experience, you always deserve to be in a room.  If you were invited, there was a reason.  You have something important to say.  Say it.

Read the entire article:  Wisconsin Economic Development Corp's Lisa Johnson on Female Entrepreneurship

Photo courtesy:  Flickr