MLK: Remember Not Just a Man, But a Leader, a Believer and a High Achiever

During MLK weekend, let us remember not just a man but a leader, a believer, as well as a high achiever. Some say dreams come true, and Dr King’s “I Have A Dream” speech’s words ring loud in our bodies, minds, and spirits to this day as we look around in our home, our lives, our communities, and our hearts.

Read more here.  Also, visit, The White House:  A Proclamation on Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday, 2023.

Business Start-Ups Get a Leg Up from University of Chicago and Tulane University

The University of Chicago and Tulane University have both recently announced they are establishing new funding mechanisms to provide investment capital that will support business start-ups.

The University of Chicago is setting aside $25 million from its endowment to invest in business startups led by faculty, students, staff and alumni. The $25 million is intended for companies that are raising Series A funding.

At Tulane University, the focus of the new start-up fund is not restricted to university faculty or staff. Instead, its Innovation Institute, founded last year, will dedicate a $10 million startup fund for New Orleans-area women and minority entrepreneurs, two groups that have historically had to overcome obstacles to their ability to attract the new capital necessary to start businesses.

Read:  Tulane, University of Chicago Allocate Millions to Support New Start-Ups

Joy To Your World

©2022 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

How Can You Be a Successful Entrepreneur?

Digging deeper into exploring the qualities of top-tier female CEOs, this female entrepreneur recognized a pattern that was the foundation for sustainable success.  It boils down to 5 traits women must have or develop to succeed.

1. Build a team 
2. Find a mentor 
3. Think differently 
4. Understand your strengths 
5. Be confident 

Read the entire article here.

Buy From Women Business Owners This Holiday Season

Sample an eclectic mix of gifts sourced and made by women business owners and end up completing your gift-giving season swiftly. This is how you can do your part to support women.  And don't forget to write positive reviews when the situation calls for it.

Women Shining a Light On the Most Urgent Issues of Our Time

At the end of every year, the Financial Times (FT) Weekend Magazine dedicates a special issue to celebrating the women from around the world who, over the past year, have stood out in their fields and sparked positive change. 

The 2022 list is now available, with 25 women disrupters profiled by a host of female writers including FT editors, actors, sportswomen, novelists, politicians and entrepreneurs. 

But Women of 2022 would not be complete without a crucial list — the one compiled by the FT’s loyal readers.  Here it is.

Hey Women Entrepreneurs, You've Got This!

Whether you’re thinking about starting a business of your own, or you just need a little extra inspiration in your professional life, this roundup of the best business advice for women should do the trick!

And if you are thinking about taking your business global, don't forget to visit Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®.

Let's Put Women's Entrepreneurship Into Overdrive

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently launched the Women’s Entrepreneurship (WE) initiative to “inspire women and tap their potential to meaningfully increase equity, job creation, and economic prosperity.” The initiative is a collaborative effort with the United States Department of Commerce. 

WE will focus on connecting women with each other, support networks, and funding sources. Additionally, the USPTO launched a new online hub that provides important information to aspiring women entrepreneurs. The website includes information on how to secure intellectual property rights and secure funding.

Let's put women's entrepreneurship into overdrive.  Go for it!

Crack the Code, Find Your People, Build Your Confidence, and Discover Success

Running your own business can be unpredictable and stressful. By utilizing these tips and always remembering that everyone's path is different, women business owners can alleviate some of the stress of entrepreneurship and find balance while also managing a financially successful business.

5 Ways to Create More Equity for Women

The gender gap at companies may be narrowing, but there’s still a lot of daylight. Now, there is data to back up what most women (and many men) know at an anecdotal level.

An analysis of employee survey data shows that at many companies, women have less autonomy and control than men. Here are five ways to create more equity.

Develop a Mindset Driven By Curiosity to Explore the World in Different Ways

Babson Professor Heidi Neck’s new 2022 course is Ideate, based in part on her 2020 book, The IDEATE Method: Identifying High-Potential Entrepreneurial Ideas. She describes the class as a mixture of creativity, idea generation, and the entrepreneurial mindset. The output of the course is 100 high-potential entrepreneurial ideas per student.

It’s not about a deep vetting of those ideas,” she added. It’s also not about feasibility analysis, minimum viable product, and design thinking. That’s for Babson’s other courses to explore. “This class is about developing a mindset driven by curiosity to explore the world in different ways. And, from that, using creativity to take what they learned in that exploration to create new ideas, and then building courage to share those ideas and take action under conditions of uncertainty.”

Neck has built a successful and influential career on identifying ideas, taking action, and teaching entrepreneurially.  She has done such a good job for 21 years at Babson that she has been recognized as one of the very best entrepreneurship educators.

Learn more about Neck, her class and what's so special about it.

Women Entrepreneurs Pursue Success Despite Unique Challenges

Despite unique challenges – global pandemic, gender issues, and lack of capital, for example –  many women are passionate about realizing their dream of starting a business, and results of a new AARP survey show the COVID-19 pandemic did not stop them.

The results revealed that “want” rather than “need” most often motivated women’s decisions to become entrepreneurs. 

AARP research reflects a need for additional support and training for women entrepreneurs to grow their business. Respondents said they were looking for resources on marketing (24%), recruiting and hiring staff (11%), and financing (10%), and these areas were where women were most likely to have sought out training.

How We Can Turn the Tide To Create Gender Parity in Entrepreneurship

Countless studies have shown the many benefits that women entrepreneurs bring to the table. 

In the UK alone, for example, up to £250 billion of new value could be added to the economy if women launched and scaled new businesses at the same rate as British men, generating jobs and unlocking new opportunities for many.

Women should be at the forefront of the entrepreneurial scene. The flexibility that comes with self-employment – the autonomy to choose how and which work and family roles to prioritize– makes being your own boss an attractive proposition for many women.

Despite entrepreneurial opportunity being present all over the world, not everyone has the same access to resources or the right support system to take an idea forward. The reality is, women feel this impact more than men.

How do you turn the tide to create gender parity in entrepreneurship?  To turn the tide for female entrepreneurs, women need to have access to the right resources (for instance, capital) and receive the right support right from the outset. And this can only be achieved through public and private sector collaboration.

Read the entire article here.

It's Time For Meaningful Change For Women Entrepreneurs

Women should be empowered to nurture their entrepreneurial aspirations within the traditional corporate structure.  How do you do this?  

Consider women's entrepreneurial interests and provide purposeful support – even if that's outside your organization. This could take the form of providing grants or time off for side hustles, more flexible work schedules to foster autonomy or a shift to deliverable-oriented performance structures.

Supporting women, particularly women of color, at all levels of your organization helps to ensure that you're not wasting the talent you've invested in.

Read on to learn how to inspire and support women entrepreneurs.

Women and Entrepreneurs of Color Are Flocking to Entrepreneurship

What's the biggest rival for businesses?  Self-employed individuals, better known as entrepreneurs.  They are creating jobs and economic opportunity.

According to recent research by Gusto in its New Business Owner Survey, 36% of entrepreneurs said they started their business after voluntarily quitting their job. 

One of the key trends from the survey is that women and entrepreneurs of color are flocking to entrepreneurship.  

Founders of new businesses were much likely to be Black, Hispanic, and female in 2020 and 2021 than in 2019. In 2019, 28% of new business owners were women, versus 49% in 2021. And in 2019, Black or African American entrepreneurs made up less than 3% of entrepreneurs; by 2021 that share had tripled to 9%.

New business creation is making a comeback.  Why not control your destiny?

Women Business Owners Are Making History, Always

Women-owned businesses are essential to economic stability and recovery and supporting them is a smart economic decision.

Women are making history as the primary breadwinners for their families while also leading about 40% of households. With these factors combined, supporting small businesses owned by women from all socioeconomic groups means supporting companies that contribute to local economies and provide good jobs.

Read on to learn how continuing to empower women-owned businesses will strengthen our global economy.

How HER Side Hustle Makes $15,000 a Month

TikToker, Yamie Michelin, broke down how she's been able to make $15,000 a month by selling merchandise from discount retailer Marshalls on Amazon for a much higher price.

Michelin, who goes by @yamie_the_realtor on TikTok with no less than 41.5K followers and 820.8K Likes, first said she searches for products at discount stores. In one example, she purchased two primers from Sephora that she found at Marshalls for $3.99 and resold the items for $22.54 each.

Some sellers have even seemed to crack a code by outsourcing products from wholesale companies or discount retailers where they can buy bulk products cheaper and then resell them for a higher price, turning a profit without minimum effort.

Is it ethical?  

Is it ethical or fair when 7-Eleven charges $1.39 for a can of Campbell's Chicken Noodle soup and the Dollar Store charges 99 cents?

Read on to learn how Yamie's side hustle passively makes $15,000 each month.  

Chicago-based Bluedog is a Top 100 Finalist Again for Crain's Top Places to Work 2022

How do you strengthen your company to be a best place to work? Chicago-based Bluedog's CEO Michelle Hayward has the answer. For the fifth consecutive year Bluedog, a certified B Corp, has been recognized by Crain's Chicago Business as a Top Place to Work.  Bluedog claimed the No. 1 position in 2021.

“Being among the Top 100 Places to Work during the ongoing pandemic feels particularly meaningful,” said Michelle Hayward, Bluedog’s CEO. “From the start, we built a supportive culture, and the last two years proved the trust-building ways of working and mutuality we developed. We all grew and evolved around this moment together.”

About Bluedog

Bluedog Design is a dynamic marketing and growth consultancy founded in 1999. Globally recognized as a leading innovation partner, Bluedog helps large, complex organizations (many of them household names) find the clarity to make strategic decisions that land in growth. Since 2020, the company has also been a Certified B Corporation, accountable for advancing sustainability, transparency and ethics to make business a force for good in the world.

Read more:  Bluedog Is A Crain’s Chicago Finalist For Top Place To Work – Again

Knowledge, Networks and Access: Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE)

Have you ever had this happen and reacted similarly?

“When they called to tell me about my acceptance, the first thing I said was ‘I think you have the wrong person,’” she [Cathy Perugachi, co-founder of e-commerce business, Quipu Pallay] recounts. 

Academy for Women Entrepreneurs alumna Cathy Perugachi is an Ecuadorian fashionista who is helping women redefine their self-image from the inside out.

Perugachi says that participating in a U.S. Embassy-led initiative like AWE is prestigious thanks to its proximity to the U.S. business community. "It is not just any type of network, it gives you a golden pass to boost not only your business but also your professional growth,” she says. “It gives you a sense of name recognition and legitimacy.” 

The Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE), a program of the U.S. Department of State, gives women the knowledge, networks, and access they need to launch and scale successful businesses.

Learn more at:  A Bridge Between: Creating Opportunities for Women Entrepreneurs

Lead With Compassion

Compassion, the cornerstone of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), isn’t always afforded to women entrepreneurs, who often face barriers to progress in the workplace — and in other aspects of society. 

Women entrepreneurs perhaps know better than most how essential compassion in the workplace truly is. Cultivating a compassionate environment not only helps women entrepreneurs manage their own businesses and personal life with more balance and ease but also fosters an environment of diversity that helps other women and under-represented groups succeed.

Discover 4 types of compassion women entrepreneurs can cultivate to navigate trying times in business and in life.