When You Work For Yourself, Anything Is Possible

Great blog post by author Laura Vanderkam on what's it's like to expect her first child and still be passionate about running her business. Read more here.

Women Do Things

Female entrepreneurs are far less likely than their male counterparts to seek angel financing even though the percentage of women owned businesses securing funding is not that much lower than the success rate of businesses owned by men, new research shows.

That's because women entrepreneurs are far too busy doing things versus seeking things. Why else have we been able to achieve the status of the fastest-growing sector of all businesses? You tell me!

Golf Obsession

Whether you are an entrepreneur or corporate executive, do you think golf is important for building business? For instance,

Monica White, an international business development analyst, says she wishes she could join her colleagues in their golf obsession, especially since her husband just bought her a new set of clubs. But she has never played and she's afraid of "looking like a moron" in front of her co-workers.

Do you think Monica would feel the same if it were her own business? Or do you think she would blow off golf and do something else that achieves the same outcome?

WomenEntrepreneur.com

My favorite entrepreneurial magazine, Entrepreneur, has just launched a website designed exclusively for the growing women's business community.

It's all ours ladies. Check it out!

Shattering The Glass Ceiling: Web 2.0 Style

Forty years after Gloria Steinem and Germain Greer, women are still a rarity in the corporate suite. Eager to curry favor with female customers, the investment community and the press, big companies now are looking to turn the tide. "Everyone in the U.S. is very focused on gender, and corporate boards are pushing for more equity [at the highest levels]," says Colleen O'Neill, partner at Mercer Human Resource Consulting, a unit of Marsh & McLennan.

Enter Harleen Kahlon, founder of DamselsInSuccess.com, a Web site featuring job postings, monthly columns and the opportunity for aspiring female executives to mingle online. "I was seeing books out there like Nice Girls Don't Get The Corner Office," says Kahlon, 34. "I wanted to hear first-hand experiences of women who succeeded."

Read more here.

Harvard Study Shows Corporate Ladder Opening to Asians, Women

In the mood for some heavy reading? I don't know if it's just me or is this piece confusing?

Nothing Can Stop You

Just coming off of a bad bout of flu so you can imagine how tickled I was to see an article with the title of "'Nothing can stop you,' entrepreneurs are told."

Bottom line: If people tell you your idea stinks, ignore them. Find out why here!

Burned Out Or Fired Up?

At first, you may feel burned out. Then you get fired up. Next, it's start a business. But did you ever think about creating the Burned Business Women's Association?

“The whole idea is to get women who are burned out to get together and have fun, poke fun at corporate America, be irreverent, and not take ourselves or job titles too seriously.”

Why aren't these women banding together to brainstorm about what kinds of business to start instead of wasting time poking fun at corporate America?

Read more here.

Only World -Class Small Business Owners Need Apply

UPS today kicked off a program that seeks the best small businesses across the globe -- from Alabama to Argentina and from Zimbabwe to New Zealand.

Dubbed the UPS Best “Out-of-the-Box” Small Business Contest, the program is designed for companies with annual 2006 revenues of at least $250,000 but not more than $10 million and is a way for UPS to reward small businesses using creative, innovative ideas and concepts.

Prizes for the winners range from $5,000 to $25,000 in cash, plus an IBM small business package. This is the first year that small businesses from around the world -- not just those in the United States -- are eligible to participate.

I participated in this event last year as an expert panelist and it was a mind-opening experience. I met so many innovative small business owners and still wear the decorative pin that one of the winners -- a woman entrepreneur I might add -- made at her small business.

Will I see you there? I surely hope so because it's high-time we meet! First, you must register. And there is a special registration area for small business owners operating in different parts of the world. For example, if you are located in China, register here where everything is in Chinese. Once you enter contest, I will wait to hear whether you are selected as a winner. And if you are, we'll make a plan to connect at the award ceremony. How cool is that?

Better hurry because contest application period ends September 1. In case you skipped the previous links, begin the online registration process here.

P.S. Just in (5/9) ... I have been asked to be a judge for the program and it's official:

The entries will be judged by an international panel of renowned small business experts, including: Laurel Delaney, President and Founder, Global TradeSource, Ltd.; Joshua Lau, Founder and CEO of YesAsia; Juan Antonio "Oso" Oseguera, editor of Entrepreneur en Español and Hayden Bradshaw, publisher and editor of Enterprise Magazine.

Read the press release here. I am honored and cannot wait!

A Different Track

I saved this in my pile of clips ... featured in The WSJ on April 16th ... wanted to make sure you caught it.

Advice to the Boss
A Different Track
by Carol Hymowitz
From The Wall Street Journal Online

Why aren't there more women at the top of companies? One reason: They aren't male clones.

Related pieces:

Who Is In The Boardroom?

Read my lips: There IS a glass ceiling ...

A Woman's Place Is In The Corner Office

Women still scare at the highest levels of management ...

P.S. Notice the intentionally placed photo ... attractive woman featured on screen.

Big Business Tactics for Small Outfits

Many entrepreneurs start their own businesses to escape the confines of corporate life. Yes, and that's why we're here! As a result, few bring that structure to their own operations.

Read more here.

Who Is In the Boardroom?

I could not agree more with Judith H. Dobrzynski's brilliant commentary published in The Boston Globe today (5/1), especially this part:

There's been a lot of talk lately about women fleeing corporate America because they are unwilling to make the sacrifices necessary to advance. Perhaps. But doesn't it seem just as likely that women are leaving because they are not allowed into corridors of real power even after they've made the sacrifices?

$400 haircuts

If only I were running the hotel salon that gave these haircuts, I'd be a very rich business owner! There's a price to pay for convenience!

As the article states:

There's a problem here, though. When the media spends time covering "issues" like a candidate's haircuts it blatantly overlooks what's really at stake: Whoever sits in the White House has enormous power to change things for America, for good or bad.

And of course, so do entrepreneurs.

Corporate America and Rosie O'Donnell

Last September, morning TV got a boost as Rosie O'Donnell gave the dismal daytime chatfest The View something to actually talk about.

But that relationship ends this June as O'Donnell announced Wednesday on The View that she and ABC were unable to come to an agreement.

"I will be coming back and guest-hosting," said O'Donnell. "I'll be doing one-hour specials on autism and depression and stuff I'm interested in. I'm just not going to do the everyday thing."

O'Donnell says it was a contract issue, but you know the haters -- i.e. Bill O'Reilly and his ilk -- will suggest O'Donnell's views on gay rights, her anti-George W. Bush opinions and the public feud with billionaire bully Donald Trump somehow harmed ABC, which is owned by milquetoast Walt Disney.

What do you think? Agree or disagree? Read more here.

Four Women Established Businesses Made To Last

The past 20 years have brought tremendous growth in Arizona and with that, endless opportunity.

Success stories can be found in every niche, leaving little doubt about the crucial role women play in our entrepreneurial scene.

Last year, women were the majority owners in more than 133,000 privately held businesses statewide that generated a combined $20 billion in sales, according to projections by the Center for Women's Business Research in Washington, D.C., based on 2002 data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

These companies accounted for 30 percent of the state's privately held firms.

Here are four Arizona women who struck out on their own with little more than determination and, in the past 20 years, give or take a few, have built thriving businesses.

women 2.0

What is Women 2.0? Women 2.0 connects like-minded, motivated young women in the Silicon Valley to swap energy, ideas, and experiences with each other.

They promote the collaboration and growth of women in entrepreneurship, technology, and business and provide opportunities for young women to interact with successful women from a broad spectrum of industries.

Learn more here but I don't think they should set age barriers on this. I posted something to that affect on April 4.

You're Fired! Good-bye Don Imus

I am relieved to see that action has been taken!

No matter who it is trying to make their way in this society, you cannot use the language Imus used on his radio show and get away with it.

Read more here and here.

By the way, who won the women's college basketball game?

The Feminine Mistake

WOW. It's been a long time since I've seen Amazon reviews this bad. The author had a strong start and then slowly, one by one, the women started slamming her. Check it out here. I have not read the book nor do I intend to but I'm curious if anyone else has and what you thought, thanks.

Separately and from the book "Women Who Changed The World:"

Chapter 50 (our final installment!)
Ellen MacArthur

It's good to be scared sometimes -- it keeps me on my toes. ~ Ellen MacArthur

If you liked our 50 quotations, buy the book here.

A Little Shame Goes A Long Way

Should Catalyst go back to naming companies without women at the top?

Apparently Diane Brady at BusinessWeek thinks so and she does a great job convincing us why in this provocative commentary.

See you what you think and let me know.

Separately and from the book "Women Who Changed The World:"

Chapter 49
Diana, Princess of Wales

Don't call me an icon. I'm just a mother trying to help. ~ Princess Diana

Do You Have the Right Entrepreneurial DNA?

Do you have what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur?

There are two schools of thought about what makes an entrepreneur.

1. Anyone can do it if they really want to, provided they put in the effort.

2. You have to be a certain type of person and, if you are not that type, you are wasting your time (view of psychologist Adrian Atkinson).

Do you fit the bill? Find out more by reading Are Entrepreneurs Born or Made? And be sure to take the test!

Separately and from the book "Women Who Changed The World:"

Chapter 48
Madonna (one my favorites!)

I've never wanted to make the same record or do the same thing twice. ~ Madonna

How To Get Your Talent Back On Track

Since yesterday was such a rainy day in Chicago, I headed over to Borders to check out the latest in periodicals. I scanned Strategy & Business, Harvard Business Review (read Bossidy's What Your Leader Expects of You), GQ (bought a copy for my husband), PINK, Inc., Going Bonkers (brand new self-help magazine with a sense of humor -- let's just say it's different) and BusinessWeek SmallBiz (to re-read the Why High-Powered Women Are Leaving Corporate America to Become Entrepreneurs ... bummed that they did not mention our work here) to get my latest fix on business.

Big takeaway? Two things. One, I stumbled upon a book that has a title that I can re-work and apply to my own business (global small business or better known as GlobeTrade) and write a fresh, new cutting-edge article about using globalization as a strategic mover for rapid growth. And two, I found out about this book. It blows BusinessWeek's piece right out of the water. Why do you suppose they left us and Hewlett's Off-Ramps and On-Ramps out? Check out the review:

Most professional women step off the career fast track at some point. With children to raise, elderly parents to care for, and other pulls on their time, these women are confronted with one off-ramp after another. When they feel pushed at the same time by long hours and unsatisfying work, the decision to leave becomes even easier. But woe to the woman who intends for that exit to be temporary. The on-ramps for professional women to get back on track are few and far between, the authors confirm. Their new survey research reveals for the first time the extent of the problem--what percentage of highly qualified women leave work and for how long, what obstacles they face coming back, and what price they pay for their time-outs. And what are the implications for corporate America? One thing at least seems clear: As market and economic factors align in ways guaranteed to make talent constraints and skill shortages huge issues again, employers must learn to reverse this brain drain. Like it or not, large numbers of highly qualified, committed women need to take time out of the workplace. The trick is to help them maintain connections that will allow them to reenter the workforce without being marginalized for the rest of their lives. Strategies for building such connections include creating reduced-hour jobs, providing flexibility in the workday and in the arc of a career, removing the stigma of taking time off, refusing to burn bridges, offering outlets for altruism, and nurturing women's ambition. An HBR Special Report, available online at www.womenscareersreport.hbr.org, presents detailed findings of the survey.

Download their original report, The Hidden Brain Drain: Off-Ramps and On-Ramps in Women's Careers, here. Book is available through Harvard Business School Press May 2007.

Separately and from the book "Women Who Changed The World:"

Chapter 47
Oprah Winfrey

The big secret in life is that there is no big secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you're willing to work. ~ Oprah Winfrey

Revisiting Where We Left Off With Julie Roehm

On December 12th, we reported about Julie here. Now, there's more: Julie Roehm says Wal-Mart charges invalid.

My question is this: Did she or did she not have an affair with marketing VP Sean Womack while working at Wal-Mart? If she did, I think she's going to have a tough time winning her case. Let's hope she didn't.

Separately and from the book "Women Who Changed The World:"

Chapter 46
Benazir Bhutto

When I was growing up I thought a woman could have it all and now I find that, yes, a woman can have it all -- but she has to be prepared to pay the price. ~ Benazir Bhutto

Read my lips: There IS a glass ceiling ...

... and it will take more than a hammer to bust through it.

Two spectacular commentaries penned by a colleague of mine, Judith Dobrzynski. I absolutely love her style. She hits you right between the eyes and doesn't flinch. A great wake-up call to the world.

Return of the 'glass ceiling' (LATimes 3/17)

YOU HAVE TO hand it to Catalyst, the women's research and advocacy outfit. It always manages to see a few rays of light in a field of gloom. Next week, Catalyst will host a big, fancy dinner in New York to honor companies with successful initiatives to advance women in corporate America. In the 21st century, you might think, it shouldn't be hard to find lots of companies to applaud for expanding opportunities for women. Think again.

Read more here.

Female CEOs still rare sight (Chicago Trib 3/28)

For women of the corporation, the news from around Chicago has seemed pretty good of late. After taking a few years off, Brenda Barnes easily moved back into the executive suite in 2005, becoming chairman and chief executive at Sara Lee Corp. in Downers Grove; last June, Irene Rosenfeld left Frito-Lay to take the CEO title at Kraft Foods Inc. in Northfield; and, two months earlier, Patricia A. Woertz leapt from Chevron Corp. into the top job at Archer Daniels Midland Co. in Decatur, Ill.

Considering that there are just about a dozen women at the top of the entire Fortune 500, Chicago seemed like a place where women had a good chance of climbing high on the corporate ladder.

Read more here.

Separately and from the book "Women Who Changed The World:"

Chapter 45
Billie Jean King

Ever since that day when I was 11 years old, and I wasn't allowed in a photo because I wasn't wearing a skirt, I knew I wanted to change the sport. ~ Billie Jean King

High Power and High Heels

In case you missed it, The Wall Street Journal (3/26) ran an interesting article on how companies are moving beyond sports, steak and scotch to cultivate new clients.

No one thought it the least bit silly.

After all, networking over shoe shopping at a Manhattan boutique is no different for women than playing golf and sharing cigars after a steak dinner is for men. For the 53 shoppers who attended a "shoe event" sponsored by law firm Bryan Cave LLP on a recent Tuesday evening -- all of them female lawyers and their female corporate clients or friends -- getting to know one another while browsing designer shoes was a refreshing change from being the lone woman at a client dinner or sports event.

"The shoes were an icebreaker for starting conversations," says Elizabeth DaSilva, managing director, Global Trust Services, Americas at Bank of New York. She mulled a pair of high-heeled evening pumps but quickly turned her attention to the other shoppers. "It was the first opportunity I'd had to talk to lawyers my firm uses about something other than an immediate work assignment," adds Ms. DaSilva. She didn't buy any shoes but found the shopping and dinner after at a Turkish restaurant relaxing, and says she came away feeling more comfortable with attorneys from Bryan Cave and with names of other executives for her contact list.

Such women-only networking events are proliferating at law firms and an array of other companies, including Ernst & Young LLP, Merrill Lynch & Co. and General Electric Co.

As a woman entrepreneur, how do you network? Once you make a connection, do you keep in touch, continue to ask how things are going with the person until such time they might need something you have to offer?

Read more here.

Separately and from the book "Women Who Changed The World:"

Chapter 44
Mairead Corrigan and Betty Williams

The voice of women has a special role and a special soul force in the struggle for a non-violent world. ~ Betty Williams' Nobel address

Starting a Business? Begin With The End In Mind

This is the fourth column of a new series of weekly Q&As in which entrepreneurs featured in the Women Entrepreneurs Special Report at BusinessWeek answer questions submitted by readers. This one focuses on how you can be sure you are ready to start your own business.

Separately and from the book "Women Who Changed The World:"

Chapter 43
Germaine Greer

If a woman never lets herself go, how will she ever know how far she might have got? If she never takes off her high-heeled shoes, how will she ever know how far she could walk or how fast she could run? ~ Germaine Greer

A Time Out From Entrepreneurship

Never enough time? Tell me about it. But maybe if you practice these time management techniques, you just might get your life back.

Karen Behnke is CEO of Juice Beauty, a San Rafael, California, organic beauty products firm that projects sales of more than $10 million this year. "Our top line is doubling, our EBITDA is doubling," says Behnke, 49. "We're doing very well."

But like the rest of us, Behnke has days when life gets in the way. She recalls one chaotic workday when her husband, Howard Luria, an interventional cardiologist, was away and she needed to make an hour-long drive to Napa where her dad, who is battling a brain tumor, had gotten worse.

To add to the stress, Behnke was between babysitters and didn't have anyone to watch her son and daughter, ages 9 and 7, until she got back. She made hasty child-care arrangements with another mom and began making her way over the winding roads to Napa with her phone ringing nonstop. One minute, her 83-year-old mother was calling; the next minute, she was taking a scheduled client call or speaking with one of Juice Beauty's 30 employees. Then there was the emotion involved in checking her dad into the hospital.

It was 9 p.m. when Behnke finally got home and put the kids to bed, but it wasn't lights out for her yet: She opened her laptop to find 120 e-mails waiting for her. "Those are the days that you think, ‘Oh, my God. How am I going to do this?'" she says. "When something lands on top of [my schedule], that's when it just kind of falls apart."

OK friend. Time out. Or if you really want to get your life back, go here.

Separately and from the book "Women Who Changed The World:"

Chapter 42
Mary Quant

Good taste is death. Vulgarity is life. ~ Mary Quant

A Woman's Place Is In The Corner Office

In honor of Women’s History month, Hilary Kramer (pictured) takes a look at the state of women in business.

At a quick glance, it would appear we have much to celebrate. Women have made great strides since the days of our parents and grandparents. Women make up half the U.S. labor force. And the future looks bright.Women outnumber men 56 percent to 44 percent on college campuses. 40 percent of businesses in the U.S. are women owned. More than 50 percent of all management and professional positions are held by women, and many of the companies being run by women are out-performing those without women heads. Look at Meg Whitman at eBay or Maxine Clarke at Build-A-Bear, and you’ll find well-compensated women running high-growth companies with great success.

But if you look more closely at the CEO’s office and compensation -- especially in traditionally male-dominated sectors -- the facts reveal ... read more here.

Separately and from the book "Women Who Changed The World:"

Chapter 41
Dian Fossey

No one loved gorillas more. ~ Inscription on Dian Fossey's original grave marker

Why Are Women Bailing From Corporate America?

As if we have not said enough!

Read more here.

Separately and from the book "Women Who Changed The World:"

Chapter 40
Anne Frank

Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart. ~ Anne Frank

So You Want To Be An Entrepreneur?

There are places aplenty to get help. Love this one for the resources and energy!

Separately and from the book "Women Who Changed The World:"

Chapter 39
Marilyn Monroe

Hollywood's a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss, and fifty cents for your soul. ~ Marilyn Monroe

New Magazine: Divapreneurs!

Divapreneurs is a bi-monthly magazine designed exclusively for women business owners and entrepreneurs.

Divapreneurs Magazine is a resource for connecting the women business community to information vital to their business enhancement and success. It offers motivating and inspirational main features and profiles as well as tips, tools, legislative information, business education and many other resources. In addition, it provides a mechanism for women business owners and entrepreneurs to create win-win community partnerships with nonprofits in an effort to fulfill their philanthropic heart thus broadening their reach and effect on the Colorado landscape.

Who is a divapreneur? She's a passionate business leader with staying power who is creating and capturing new industries while making a big impact on existing industry segments. She's inventing new products and services and putting people to work. She's willing to risk it all to be successful and make her imprint. She's a community leader and a dynamic role model who believes if you want something, you go get it!

Sound familiar? Read more here.

Shortcut

Separately and from the book "Women Who Changed The World:"

Chapter 38
Margaret Thatcher

In politics if you want anything said, ask a man; if you want anything done, ask a woman. ~ Margaret Thatcher

Can Sexy Women Build Businesses?

Ooooops, I meant to say, "Can Sexy Women Climb the Corporate Ladder?" The article leads with:

If you're a professional woman with designs on occupying the corner office, your fashion sense better be more Hillary Clinton than Pamela Anderson.

Agree? Disagree? Think it applies to both running a business and climbing the corporate ladder?

Separately and from the book "Women Who Changed The World:"

Chapter 37
Betty Friedan

We're only beginning to know what we're capable of. ~ Betty Friedan

Women Entrepreneurship in Japan

Japan maintains a traditional economic system that is deeply rooted in a male-dominant society. Women are expected to stay home and take care of their families. Social expectations toward women are low, regardless of a woman's education, ability, or career aspirations. In recent years, however, the Japanese economic system has begun to favor women who take an active part in the business world. Entrepreneurship rather than employment in large companies particularly offers Japanese women an improved chance of advancing in their careers.

The venture landscape is beginning to change, in the U.S. and in other countries. "Women have been starting businesses at twice the rate of men over the past several years,"[1] notes Robert Rosenberg, president of Insight, a leading telecommunications market research firm, in Small Business Telecom: Opportunities in the Women -- and Minority-Owned Small Business Marketplace.

Similar to that of the U.S., the business environment in Japan over recent years has also been drastically changing due to the internationalization of Japan's economy, an aging population, diversification of talent in corporate structure, diversification of lifestyles, and technological innovation.

Until recently, here were five (5) reasons potential entrepreneurs hesitated to start their own business.

Read more here about how women are starting to play a significant role as a critical knowledge-based workforce component in Japan. And just like the trend in the United States, they are beginning to show signs of favoring entrepreneurship over employment in Corporate Japan. Fascinating research. Charla Griffy-Brown is one of my favorite professors and she brought in co-author Noriko Oakland to share her vast experience in corporate Japan. Worth reading.

Also and as a sidenote, if you want a glimpse of what kind of resource women entrepreneurs in Japan tap into when they need help, click here. When you catch the following quote, you will be very grateful you run or are about to start a business in the USA:

In Japan, personal guarantees are required for small business loans. There is a high rate of suicide among Japanese men who fail to repay personal guarantees. The reasons for these suicides are the shame when the business fails and the need to use life insurance funds to pay off debts so that the banks will not harass friends and relatives who have given their guarantees for the loans/debts. This shows their cultural desire to “save face.”

Chapter 36
Eva Peron

I have one thing that counts and that is my heart. It burns in my soul, it aches in my flesh and it ignites my nerve: that is my love for the people and Peron. ~ Eva Peron

At the Library: Women Entrepreneurs ...

... mold and the Sweet Potato Queens.

"If it ain't fun, we ain't doin' it" ... from the book, The Sweet Potato Queens. Easy reading (including Margaret Heffernan's new book How She Does It) takes place here.

Separately and from the book "Women Who Changed The World:"

Chapter 35
Billie Holiday

You can be up to your boobies in white satin, with gardenias in your hair and no sugar cane for miles, but you can still be working on a plantation. ~ Billie Holiday

How would your grandmother have handled entrepreneurship?

As this article states, "we owe so much to the women in our families who blazed the trail of their day and overcame obstacles that would probably shock us -- if we knew. Shouldn’t we celebrate them?"

Read more here.

Separately and from the book "Women Who Changed The World:"

Chapter 34
Jiang Qing

I was Chairman Mao's dog. What he told me to bite, I bit. ~ Jiang Qing

Wanted: Female Bosses To Sell Going It Alone

One thousand self-employed women in the UK will be recruited to help the government spread a ‘can-do’ attitude among enterprising females too timid -- yes you read that right -- to ‘go it alone.’

The plan to develop a national network of women-only business ambassadors was hatched yesterday by Margaret Hodge, the small business minister, at a conference in Brighton.

Speaking at the event, Ms Hodge said three quarters of a million more businesses could operate nationwide - but only if the UK matches the level of female start-up rates in the US.

Are you a 'can-do' ambassador? Then start spreading the word throughout the UK and the rest of the world.

Read more here.

Separately and from the book "Women Who Changed The World:"

Chapter 33
Rosa Parks

Our mistreatment was just not right, and I was tired of it. ~ Rosa Parks

AfghanMark

The Afghan Women’s Business Federation (AWBF) has created the new women’s rights certification trademark brand called “AfghanMark SM” which is a brand label (featured) that will be carried on future exported carpets made by Afghan women who are employed by the women-owned or women-managed carpet-making businesses that are members of the Afghan Women’s Business Federation of Afghanistan.

This is a major humanitarian, educational and business development breakthrough by Afghan women for Afghan women in the post-Taliban era of Afghanistan’s history.

Read more to appreciate Afghan women escaping to create their freedom and build their destiny too.

Separately and from the book "Women Who Changed The World:"

Chapter 32
Dorothy Hodgkin

She will be remembered as a great chemist, a saintly gentle and tolerant lover of people and a devoted protagonist of peace. ~ Max Perutz

The Entrepreneur Next Door

The National Center for Women’s Business Research knows its stuff when it comes to women entrepreneurs.

Among its findings:

• Women-owned firms are growing at nearly two times the rate of all firms;

• Women-owned businesses spend an estimated $546 billion annually on salaries and benefits;

• Sales for women-owned firms increased 66 percent between 1997 and 2004, compared to 42 percent for all firms.

"Women emphasize relationship-building as well as fact gathering and are more likely to consult with experts, employees and fellow business owners" in managing their companies, the center reported in its Web site.

It seems that for women entrepreneurs, it’s truly a matter of who you know.

Agree or disagree? Find out more here.

Separately and from the book "Women Who Changed The World:"

Chapter 31
Mother Teresa

Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the action that we do. ~ Mother Teresa

Celebrating Love Around The World

In America ignoring the hype of the “love” holiday isn’t easily done.

During the Valentine-giving season card racks of reds and pinks, hearts and flowers grapple for attention. Flower and candy shop owners -- hopefully that's you the ambitious entrepreneur -- prepare for one of their busiest days of the year. Enjoy the day!

Take an escape break

Weather in Chicago is windy, chilly (7 degrees below zero wind chill factor) and snowy so what better thing to do than to take an escape break from everything -- including work -- to enjoy what mother nature has given us. Here are a couple of photos taken along the Chicago lakefront and not too far from where I live and work. The snow angel just happens to be wearing my ski hat.

Million-dollar firms network, negotiate and analyze sales

Hitting a million dollars in annual revenue is a dream milestone for any entrepreneur. It's proof that she has arrived -- a testament to her skills as a visionary leader and a day-to-day operations manager. But if you ask any business trailblazer, she'll tell you getting there is hardly a road paved in gold nor a pot of gold at the end.

See if the factors mentioned here have played a part in your success.

Separately and from the book "Women Who Changed The World:"

Chapter 30
Simone de Beauvoir

This has always been a man's world, and none of the reasons that have been offered in explanation have seemed adequate. ~ Simone de Beauvoir

Women Entrepreneurs in Kabul, Afghanistan

A great blog post by Guy Kawasaki ... it begins with What’s the most inspiring story of entrepreneurship that you’ve heard in 2006?

Ten Questions With Aziza Mohmmand

Separately and from the book "Women Who Changed The World:"

Chapter 29
Katharine Hepburn

If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun. ~ Katharine Hepburn

Women still scarce at the highest levels of management ...

... and typically outnumbered by men five to one but a handful of companies have adopted noteworthy initiatives to change that.

One giant step for companies but I see it as a big leap backwards for women. From what I read, nothing has changed since the publication of my article Escape From Corporate America in 2003. Hence why more and more women are escaping from corporate America to start their own businesses.

Read more here.

Separately and from the book "Women Who Changed The World:"

Chapter 28
Margaret Bourke-White

Work is something you can count on, a trusted lifelong friend who never deserts you. ~ Margaret Bourke-White

Everybody Loves Entrepreneurship

Once upon a time, small business was seen solely as the domain of idiosyncratic, iconoclastic outsiders, willing to forgo the security of corporate life to venture out on their own. But today entrepreneurs are America's role models.

Almost everyone wants to own a business -- from college students, who are signing up for entrepreneurial courses in record numbers; to those over age 65, who are forming more companies every year; to recent immigrants, who in 2005 started 25% more companies per capita than native-born citizens did.

We are in the midst of the largest entrepreneurial surge this country has ever seen. Where is it headed? Find out more here.

Separately and from the book "Women Who Changed The World:"

Chapter 27
Amelia Earhart

Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others. ~ Amelia Earhart

Women Lead Business Surge

Don't you just love comments like these:

"Women have been managing their families for years, so it should only stand to reason that they are able to move to larger projects," she said.

Well read more of what this great little article has to say about women business owners. It's like a race ... out in front ... against all odds ... and winning.

Separately and from the book "Women Who Changed The World:"

Chapter 26
Eleanor Roosevelt

At all times, day by day, we have to continue fighting for freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom from want -- for these are things that must be gained in peace as well as in war. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

Breaking The Glass Ceiling: Black Women in Business

I like to always begin with the end in mind:

The biggest barriers are within the institutions which are still male, pale and stale. They are fading in numbers.

Read this wonderful article highlighting top achievers (Angela Sarkis, pictured, is one of them) who share their tips for success and then find out if you have what it takes to become an entrepreneur.

Separately and from the book "Women Who Changed The World:"

Chapter 25
Coco Chanel

Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening. ~ Coco Chanel

Derailed Rock Star CMOs

So you wanna be a rock 'n' roll marketer (top to bottom: Kerri Martin, Jerri Devard and Julie Roehm)?

Just pick up a gig at a troubled Fortune 500 company that thinks it needs a change agent. Be quick with a quote; cruise the conference circuit; fire your agency; and say you want a revolution that, instead of being televised, plays out on any number of sexy new digital channels. Sit back and watch the awards, press clippings and speech invitations flow in. But beware the comedown. The author claims that even Coca Cola's Mary Minnick fell or hit the proverbial ceiling.

So business ownership is not a bad option. You can be who you are and be happy.

And one other thing ... I noticed three women contributed to this article but a man claimed authorship. Makes you want to ...

Oh, and just in (1/23 at 8:07 a.m.) from our friends at re:invention blog. WOW! Read it. You'll love it!

Separately and from the book "Women Who Changed The World:"

Chapter 24
Virginia Woolf

A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction. ~ Virginia Woolf

How She Does It: How Women Entrepreneurs Are Changing the Rules of Business Success

You read about it here first! I am a big fan of Margaret Heffernan's ever since she wrote an article in 2002 for Fast Company on the topic of women entrepreneurs that led to a book called The Naked Truth.

Now, she's back -- bigger, bolder and wiser than ever -- with her new book, How She Does It: How Women Entrepreneurs Are Changing the Rules of Business Success.

And how could we NOT like this book? It's terrific and right in line with the whole purpose of this blog!

Margaret was kind enough to email me a sneak peek at her first chapter and then followed up with a copy of the book (which I offered to pay for since I was going to order anyway on Amazon). It's everything I expected and then some. For example, here are a few juicy gems from 1a., The Need to Achieve:

... The study of entrepreneurial motivation is fraught with inconclusions. Entrepreneurs are clearly different from corporate executives – but quite how, and why, no one is quite sure. For men as for women, money is never the prime driver. In no studies does it top the list of reasons why people choose this riskiest of careers. Entrepreneurs seek adventure, they want to learn more, they want to stretch themselves. A lot of them had entrepreneurial parents.

... But the fact that more women than ever – 420 a day – are starting new businesses suggests that something extra is driving them. Some of this is a collision of social and economic trends. More and more women are well educated. There is a larger pool of women with high level experience of traditional businesses. There is a rise of entrepreneurship throughout the world’s economy and much of this is undoubtedly fueled by the development of new technologies which make it cheaper and easier than ever to set up in business for yourself.

... But the single reason most often cited by women to explain why they go into business for themselves is simple: they want independence. They seek control of their own destiny. They don’t want to be passive victims of corporations and strategies and men that don’t value them.

... When you start your own business, you can work your own way: you’re the boss. And so business becomes a way of proving that the old, stale, male ways of working are not the exclusive avenues to success. We don’t have to choose between work and family. We don’t have to measure employees’ value by how many evenings and weekend they’re prepared to sacrifice. We don’t have to do business via shoot-outs and bake offs. Macho work environments, rigid career patterns, turf wars and internal competition – these are not women’s ways of working. They are profoundly alienating and while not all women start their business with a mission to overturn age old business paradigms – many do.

... This has profound implications for the businesses women run and the way that they run them. The bond, between looking after the business and looking after the people, is not rhetoric and nurturing isn’t weakness. They are what make these companies so strong. When you feel such passionate affinity with, and responsibility for, your employees, it changes what you do and how you do it. It places values, ethics and culture squarely in the centre of every decision you take. It forgives mistakes and enables you to reach out to everyone and anyone that can help. It makes you profoundly connected, courageous and creative. And, as motivation, it provides inexhaustible staying power.

As women entrepreneurs, we are important. You've got this blog. Now go buy this book.

Just caught this from Babson College -- great interview with Margaret!

Separately and from the book "Women Who Changed The World:"

Chapter 23
Helen Keller

Her spirit will endure as long as man can read and stories can be told of the woman who showed the world there are no boundaries to courage and faith. ~ Senator Lister Hill of Alabama

If You Dream It, You Can Do It

"I Have A Dream."

Women Entrepreneur Farmers A Growing Business

Cheryl Rogowski (pictured checking her radishes) wanted to do something different when she took over her family’s farm in New York’s Hudson River valley.

She began growing organic vegetables — 250 types in all — and started other programs to help local families in need.

Rogowski told her story Tuesday as the keynote speaker at the conference on Celebrating Agriculture’s Women Entrepreneurs. The conference was part of Women in Agriculture Day at the 2007 Pennsylvania Farm Show.

Her key quote:

I just love to have fun with my food.

Read more here.

Separately and from the book "Women Who Changed The World:"

Chapter 22
Helena Rubinstein

I believe in hard work. It keeps the wrinkles out of the mind and spirit. ~ Helena Rubinstein

Ace Is The Place That Is Behind the Times

"Entrepreneurship is what made this country great, but so many people are afraid to fail and don't even try to start their own business even if they want to," said Bill Rancic, the first winner of the television show "The Apprentice" and spokesman for Ace's "Dream Ace" contest.

And look what an Oppenheimer study found:

"We are particularly pleased to learn that women are moving beyond tasks such as balancing the checkbook and increasing their role in saving and investing in retirement," Coulston said.

Ah ... hello ... you can come out of your cave now.

Read both clips here.

Separately and from the book "Women Who Changed The World:"

Chapter 21
Rosa Luxemburg

Freedom only for the members of the government, only for the members of the party -- though they are quite numerous -- is no freedom at all. Freedom is always the freedom of the dissenters. ~ Rosa Luxemburg