Female Fever

Women. The Mega Niche. The under-served market of all markets. And so on. Just consider the fact that women, who comprise just over 50% of the US population, make over 80% of the consumer purchasing decisions (and in case you're wondering, consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of US GNP). Consulting firm A.T. Kearney estimates that women determine 80 percent of consumption, purchase 60 percent of all cars and own 40 percent of all stocks. No wonder some companies have female fever these days. Oh, and there are more numbers and insights galore on Trendsight, Rethink Pink, Marketing To Women Online and BlogHer. But hey, we were going to focus on examples, so here goes.

Does Nagging Help As An Entrepreneur?

In this woman's biz it does!

Here is how Marla Cilley, better known by her nom de guerre, FlyLady, runs her business. Every morning she rolls out of bed and starts nagging. She sends a first e-mail to her 400,000 subscribers at about 7AM, reminding them to get up and get dressed. Throughout the day she'll send about 10 more e-mails from her Brevard, N.C., home, nagging them to polish their sinks or plan a healthy dinner. She'll also pen an essay or two on topics ranging from the evils of perfectionism to the importance of self-love. Her office administrator will send a few more e-mails, giving subscribers tidying tips. By the time Cilley's last e-mail -- "Please go to bed!" -- goes out at 10PM, her flock has received about 15 messages.

Last year sales hit $4 million.

Founders at Work

Lately I've been re-reading Founders at Work and absolutely loving it even more the second time around because it vividly tells the stories of startups' early days from Gmail (Paul Buchheit) to Research in Motion (Mike Lazaridis) to Flickr where cofounder Caterina Fake (pictured) talks about what it was like for her when she got started and in particular, some of the challenges she had to deal with as a female entrepreneur -- like this one.

Livingston: What kinds of challenges have you faced as a female technology startup founder?

Fake: There is a lot of institutionalized sexism working against women in business and I think that people aren't even aware that it's there. One example happened when we went down to Silicon Valley to meet with a venture capital fir. After the meeting, the VC spoke to someone associated with our company and said to him, "Tell Stewart not to bring his wife to VC meetings." Which was shocking to me, and Stewart was furious about this as well. He let everybody know. "Caterina is not 'my wife.' She is instrumental o the success of this company. Her contributions have been equal to mine."

It takes a lot of nerve for women to face up this assumption -- and the assumption is everywhere, even in some of the most surprising places -- that they don't measure up, that they're not good or tough enough. Twice as much will be expected of them. I hear this from women again and again in business: they have to be twice as prepared as men.

This happens to me all the time: I go to meetings and I've stayed up late preparing my presentation and I've got all my papers in order and know exactly what I'll be talking about and I come to the meeting and a bunch of guys show up and say, "Hey, so what's this meeting about?" They haven't done any of the preparation or work.

Livingston: Do women bring any advantages to a startup?

Fake: I was talking to another entrepreneur, Judy MacDonald Johnston, and she said that women are much more passionate about their businesses. They're doing it less for the money and more because they love it. There's something about that that really rings true to me. Women are able to put their hearts and souls ito it in a way that many men cannot -- or rather, are not known for doing.

Do you agree or disagree with Caterina's remarks?

No Ceiling For Women, Glass or Otherwise?

Female entrepreneurs thrive.

There has never been a better time to be a woman with the entrepreneurial bug. Businesses owned by women are the fastest-growing sector of new ventures in the United States. Nearly half of all privately held firms in 2004 were at least 50 percent owned by women, according to the National Foundation for Women Business Owners. Between 1997 and 2004, the number of businesses owned by women grew by almost 20 percent, compared with only a 9 percent increase overall.

But are men and women who are trying to build their own businesses playing the same game? According to several recent studies, the deck is often stacked against female entrepreneurs: Compared with men, women tend to start their ventures with fewer resources, less reliable suppliers, and substantially less early-stage venture funding—a critical financial nudge that helps many businesses survive.

Still, there are other avenues to entrepreneurial success, and women seem to be finding them. In a paper recently published in the Journal of Business Venturing, two business school professors, John Becker-Blease, of Washington State University, and Jeffrey Sohl, of the Whittemore School of Business and Economics at the University of New Hampshire, examine how successful women are at getting access to "angel capital," the free-flowing private-equity money that can often make or break a struggling business. In their study,"Do Women-Owned Businesses Have Equal Access to Angel Capital?," the authors use annual survey data from more than 100 angel investing organizations between 2000 and 2004 to compare how businesses owned by men and women fared in their pursuit of investment dollars.

Read more here.

The Best Little Whorehouse in Chicago

Two sisters started a business. Here is a story of the city’s most exclusive brothel—and the reformers who shut it down. People claim the sisters -- Ada and Minna Everleigh -- “... were ingenious in how they learned to present themselves.” I guess one would say they were quite entrepreneurial for their time.

Looking For Funding?

Try this new site, The Funded, for entrepreneurs and see what people say about their experience working with VCs.

Check out its media coverage.
Must be a need in the marketplace.

Inside Every Woman

I have not read this book yet but I noticed it hit the WSJ best seller list over the weekend. That's the only reason how it caught my attention. FYI.

It is, however, aimed at women because of the unique and documented bonds between and among women, not to mention the financial power of 6.7 million business owners and $1.2 billion in revenues. Her practical idea? That five promises together ignite 10 different strengths, from passion to female fusion; each strength is accompanied by actions to take, steps to consider, the "promise" connection, plenty of quotes, and a more-than-appropriate case history. The last strength, female fusion, is in reality a structured workshop to hold with 10 powerful women to help further life and work goals. New Age? For sure. But definitely a time and a place to venture into and explore.

Inc. Top 10 Entrepreneur Vickie L. Milazzo, RN, MSN, JD is the founder and president of Vickie Milazzo Institute, the oldest and largest legal nurse consultant certification company. She pioneered the legal nurse consulting profession in 1982.

Are You a Parent Thinking About Becoming an Entrepreneur?

Then you should read The ParentPreneur Edge: What Parenting Teaches About Building a Successful Business. My colleague, Julie Lenzer Kirk, sent me a copy for review and I went through it last night from beginning to end. What a great summer read, especially for parents who are contemplating becoming or are already duo-entrepreneurs. Of all the lessons in life, kids undoubtedly teach us the most. And Julie does a great job pointing that out and making the connection between entrepreneurship and parenting. Find out how to have it all and enjoy the ride.

Be sure to check out Julie's blog and NY Times clip.

Fun, Girlie Stuff

It's all about escaping ... and many of these women know how to do it in the coolest of fashion.

Writer and creative director Anne Ream Girl360

Award-nominated women cartoonists -- what extraordinary talent here:

Ellen Forney, "I Love Led Zeppelin" (Fantagraphics)

Danica Novgorodoff, "A Late Freeze" (Self-published -- pictured above)

Renee French, "The Ticking" (Top Shelf Productions)

And even the BIG guys branch out:

BarbieGirls BETA

Be-Bratz

10 Lessons Learned on Entrepreneurship

Following up on our previous post, I decided to elaborate on No. 21: One key lesson learned. Here are 10 that were shared:

1. We only have one life, hold your dream and make it count.

2. Get the right people to walk the rocky road with you, let the nay sayers go fast.

3. Believe you really can do this well.

4. Dare to be different, never give up.

5. Don’t stop when you get the first contract. Keep selling.

6. Be personally committed to deliver.

7. If you don’t like what you are doing do something about it; it is your life -- only you can make it work.

8. Make certain everyone in the team has completely bought into the vision and are pulling in the same direction.

9. Know your business and what you are talking about.

10. Be professional in everything you do from knowledge to skills to appearance and performance.

Source: National Business Awards (UK) sponsored by Orange. White paper: Observed Characteristics of Outstanding Women in Business.

Observed Characteristics of Outstanding Women in Business

The recently published white paper Observed Characteristics of Outstanding Women in Business found that businesses run by women contribute £70bn to the UK economy and employ more than a million.

The paper which has just been published by the National Business Awards was prepared from a review of the applications of all women finalists of the National Business Awards 2006.

Not surprising, the UK is lagging behind the US when it comes to the level of female entrepreneurs emerging.

Here's a look at what the report covers:

1. Women's representation.
2. Business ownership.
3. Female attitudes to entrepreneurship.
4. Rationale for starting new business.
5. Businesses between 1 & 2 years old.
6. Percentage of managers who are women.
7. Percentage of businesses with NO women managers.
8. Gender gap index.
9. Barriers to women's advancement.
10. Advancement strategies.
11. Importance of success factors.
12. Motivation.
13. The advantages/disadvantages women face in managing a business.
14. Whether it is EASIER as an ENTREPRENEUR woman or a CORPORATE woman!
15. Dealing with over or covert sexual harassment issues.
16. Managing work/life balance issues.
17. Managing and maintaining personal relationships.
18. The Essential characteristics of a successful businesswoman.
19. Advice to a young woman setting out on her career.
20. Other countries/cultures where it is EASIER for women to operate.
21. One key lesson learned.
22. Conclusions (includes a listing of all the National Business Awards finalists!)

And be sure to catch all the helpful resources at the end. What an impressive white paper which can be downloaded here.

Mom Knows Best About Entrepreneurship

After all, she is one.

With a mother like his, no wonder Richard Branson became an entrepreneurial dynamo. Virgin CEO Richard Branson says he definitely inherited traits from his spirited mom, Eve.

Why Do Women Start Businesses?

I covered many of the reasons why women start a business in my Conference Board article which led me to create this blog but Patricia Greene at Babson College asks the same question again along with another critical one:

1. What should be different about education to encourage women to start their own businesses?

2. And so my continuing question to those of you who are starting a business - why are you doing this?

My answers:

1. a. More women role models teaching courses or guest lecturing. When I completed my MBA, out of 31 classmates, I was one of three women in the program. Out of 16 professors or lecturers, two were women. How dull that we could only hear a man's perspective on the business world. What were we, invisible? And by the way, I was the only entrepreneur in the program at the time. All my fellow classmates were employed at BIG companies ... from Abbott Laboratories to Kraft to Motorola. Every time I showed up for a class, I thought, "How boring is this?!" Seriously. All I had on my mind is that I was going to eventually show the world what I was made of and do great things in life. I could not wait to get my MBA, move on and start making things happen. So, in hindsight, I would have preferred more women professors teaching some of the courses and way more successful women business owners guest lecturing. Further, the MBA offered at the time did not include one course in entrepreneurship (in line with Patricia's comments about "everyone was being developed and educated to work in a large, read that very large, organization.") Can you imagine?

b. Offer entire programs in entrepreneurship! Many universities and colleges currently do now. But bring in the women -- whether Ph.D's or successful women business owners -- to teach and guest-lecture!

2. Why I run a business is because I never could imagine working for someone else. When I did, it tormented me that a person who I had no respect for gave me orders or direction and I thought, "This is not going to last very long!" I knew I could do things much, much better on my own and went off to start my own business with exactly that attitude. So mindset is very important in the process of actually starting a business and after that, I think the "change the world" mentality kicks in to fuel the mindset. Beyond that, there are the thoughts of creating your own destiny, doing your own thing, making things happen but the very last thing on my mind was making a ton of money (and now all you read about is how important it is to do what you love and the money will follow -- but back in 1985 when I established my company -- I didn't know any better!). More important than anything to me was being who I was -- true to myself -- and constantly creating value for others to enjoy.

Read Patricia's commentary here. It's fascinating. She has such a great mind.

But what about for you? What prompted you to start your business? Please weigh in here because I noticed that Babson's site does not allow for comments. Correction: They do allow for comments so feel free to comment wherever you see fit. One more correction: They allow comments but they go straight to the author's email box!

P.S. After reading Patricia's commentary, I'm thinking about starting a reality television series for women entrepreneurs! Anybody interested?

What Women Want

An older article yet still relevant. Many women are still tip-toeing the balancing act.

As they approach the top, the pull between work and life — caring for parents, raising children, making time for a spouse — seems to tug harder at women than at men. Balancing the two often means shortchanging one or the other.

Some women do manage that balancing act, although they remain relatively rare.

CFO magazine article found here.

And the article was found at Break the Glass Ceiling.

Want less free time? Own a business.

Want more passion in your life? Own a business. Want more free time? Don’t own a business. At least, that's what Sharon Linstedt says.

Boardroom, business, babies or all?

The big house, the beautiful garden, lots of kids, a great job or business, a loving partner, ideal friends, a family to be proud of ... and still be sane? I mean, be who you are, pursue your passion and still be happy?

Some folks, as in this article, don't think so. What do you think? Can you really balance a career or running a business with raising a family?

Photo credit: Laurel Delaney (7/4/07).

Still Celebrating Our Freedom

WSJ's Simona Covel gets tips from Ms. Lexy Funk, CEO of Brooklyn Industries Inc, about tips for small companies looking to outsource their e-commerce. It's worth a minute. Be sure to click on: Outsourcing.

Photo credit: Laurel Delaney, Chicago, IL (7/4/07)

Celebrating Birthday 3 and 231!

Happy Birthday No. 3 to Escape From Corporate America (my photo)!
Happy Birthday No. 231 to America (my husband's photo)!

Now go out and create your own kind of freedom.

Good, Hearty July 4th Reading

Happy Independence Day but we will be back with you soon because on July 4th, we have two celebrations: America's 231st birthday and Escape From Corporate Amerca's 3rd!

Bo Derek ... Eat Your Heart Out

We love being a part of a Top anything list and in this case, we are delighted to have made the EmpowerWomenNow.com's Top 10 Women Entrepreneur Blogs. A BIG thanks to Ponn for including us! It's terrific to be mentioned alongside so many awesome women entrepreneurs. Many thanks and congratulations to all.

Women take over the leadership of our important institutions

I know, I know ... I'm late getting to this so for those who are living in a cave larger than mine, this is such a joyous moment for all women, whether mothers, sisters, entrepreneurs, executives, academics and the like ... Harvard has hired Drew Gilpin Faust, 59, the first female president in the university's 371-year history.

So glad Summers is out for he was hellbent on taking (putting) women down.

If you haven't already, go out and celebrate!

Millionaire Moms

Are there really secrets to becoming a millionaire mom (woman entrepreneur) or is it just a case of persevering in the face of obstacles?

First, I identified a number of key business concepts that I believe are important and which, based on my frequent communication with women entrepreneurs, present the greatest challenges. Next, I identified 17 extraordinary women who, based on their own success and experience, could help explain these core concepts and offer inspiration.

They are some of the most successful entrepreneurs of our day, with businesses ranging from retail to manufacturing and public relations. These are not women who have ascended the corporate ladder to reach the CEO level (a significant but very different kind of achievement). Rather, each of them had an idea that they developed -- some quite literally from their kitchen tables -- and grew into multimillion dollar companies.

Author Tamara Monosoff, a wonderful colleague of mine, has a new book out. Find out more here.

Off-Ramps and On-Ramps

We mentioned "Off-Ramps and On-Ramps: Keeping Talented Women on the Road to Success" in April but thought you'd find Jack Covert's review much more interesting.

Finally, Women's Wear for the Hard-Hat Set

Wouldn't you think that means us? Well sort of. In case you missed this article in the WSJ May 17th by Christina Binkley, check it out for yourself. It's about women in blue-color trades who can't get enough pink. I find that hard to believe but well, what do I know? Besides, it's not a sexy pink, it's a masculine pink (see crewneck shirt pictured from Carhartt's) ... basically clothes I wear as a woman entrepreneur when I'm not in front of clients -- sans hard hats.

If you want to skip the piece, jump to these Women's Work Wear sites:

Carhartt

Tomboy Tools

Charm and Hammer

Wolverine

Dickies

Do You Vacation While On Vacation?

Remember riding hip to hip with your brothers and sisters in the back of the family van, eating the snacks too soon, fighting over the music selection, losing tiny, indispensable pieces of travel games?

Or maybe your family was not of the road trip ilk. Perhaps you remember exciting trips on airplanes, a special pin from the stewardess, watching the clouds take shape out of your own oval window, your grandparents waiting feverishly for your arrival in the sprawling Portland or Poughkeepsie or even Paris airport.

I remember the hip to hip bit quite well and it never failed that within about a block of leaving our house, I would start balling my eyes out because my siblings were putting the squeeze on me for car space.

But the point of this article isn't about that. It's about taking a vacation -- a real vacation -- and carving out time for your friends, family and your own well-being.

Take a break to read this article and see if you find yourself in it. If you do, plan to get away to relax, rejuvenate and explore what the world has to offer outside of work.

2007 Survey of Women Business Owners: Read All About It!

I am always thrilled when someone at a BIG company gives me advance notice on important information. And that's exactly the case here. Patricia Ewert, who is Director of RSM McGladrey in Chicago, passed along a recently released survey of women business owners indicating that female entrepreneurs are not only working to have it all, but risk it all as well.

The message that resonated the most with me in the survey is to start early with your entrepreneurial desires!

Take a good look at some of the survey findings:

• Of the business owners of companies with revenue of $6 million or more, almost 40 percent were between the ages of 20 and 29 when they started their companies. Regardless of the size of the company, most women started their businesses between the ages of 30 and 39. When respondents were asked what they would do differently, a clear majority said they would have started their businesses earlier.

• It is often assumed that women are more risk adverse than men. But when asked “How much risk would you take or have you taken to start or expand your business?,” more than 60 percent said they had used or would use up to 95 percent of their personal savings or put up their home as collateral for a loan to start or expand their businesses.

• Also, nearly 85 percent of the respondents somewhat or strongly agreed with the statement that “compared to other people, they were confident in their abilities to succeed,” and according to the survey, they are. About 50 percent of respondents reported revenue growth of more than 10 percent in the previous year, while an impressive 32 percent had revenue growth of more than 20 percent.

The far-reaching 36-page survey, which polled 650 women business owners from 35 states, was sponsored by RSM McGladrey Inc., the University of Chicago, the Committee of 200 (C200) and the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO).

For more information about this survey, please contact Pat at patriciadotewertatrsmi.com or call 312-634-3064 (Ext. 43064).

Blessed With a Genius for Publicity

In case you didn't catch the book review in this weekend's Pursuit section of the WSJ on "Aimee Semple McPherson and the Resurrection of Christian America," pickup a copy (not available online yet). The reason is because it talks about someone you may never have heard of (I hadn't!) yet quite possibly she was responsible for starting the women's movement: Aimee Semple McPherson (1890-1944). Here's what was so striking about her:

She was a brave transgressor of gender norms.

True, 50 years before Betty Friedan published "The Feminine Mystique," McPherson cast aside her apron (and rid herself of a pesky second husband) to pursue her calling. "God, she believed, wanted her to exchange domestic life for the pulpit," Mr. Sutton writes. But she also deployed traditional feminine wiles, exploiting personal details to win public approval. Broadcasting live from her nuptial boudoir just a day after marrying her third husband, for example, she treated radio listeners to the sound of their enthusiastic kisses. When the marriage failed, she churned out "sacred operas" whose lyrics read like lachrymose sympathy cards: "Do you live in a castle of broken dreams, / Where Giant despair and his dark horde teems?"

McPherson's life story tells us less about flouting gender norms than about navigating celebrity's treacherous terrain.

She was way ahead of her time and talk about pure entrepreneurship in its highest form. More can be found about Aimee here, here and here. Photo gallery is here. Fascinating person. By the way, that's her pictured at 51 years old.

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