Finally, a young woman is given a voice! No, not Palin but Tinker Bell who never spoke in Disney's 1953 classic "Peter Pan" yet is about to say a word or two or three. Disney hopes some pixie dust and the recasting of a classic favorite will lead to a soaring profit.
If you think the number of women starting businesses is exploding, you haven't seen anything yet.
Ideablob.com is a vital online community where tens of thousands of small business owners and entrepreneurs actively share business ideas, feedback, advice and support. Each month a $10,000 prize is awarded to the best new business idea, which is voted by the ideablob.com community.
Michigan-based Edward Lowe Foundation provides information and mentoring services to entrepreneurs. Its website boasts many resources for "second-stage" companies -- companies that have passed the start-up phase and are growing (typically between $1 million and $100 million in total revenues). 
Stressed? Sometimes you just need an escape break to appreciate all the wonderful, simple things life has to offer. 
In case you missed it, Enterprise Rent-A-Car Co. named Pamela M. Nicholson president, in a move that will most likely usher in a new era for the biggest car-rental company in the United States.
The key to marrying a billionaire, according to the media, is beauty. Grace, charm, intelligence, manners and a talent for flattery help, of course. So does being an entrepreneur. Okay, I had to toss that last one in.
There are two sexes in the race, and one of them does all the shopping. Women. When it comes to purchasing power, they are the moder lode.That's what the Chicago-based Female Factor Corporation claims. And founder/CEO Bridget Brennan (pictured above) goes on further to say:
Women buy 83% of all products in the United States. Yet many marketing strategies are based on age and demographic lines instead of the most obvious line of all – gender.
Men and women have been a mystery to one another since the beginning of time. And in marketing and sales, the situation is no different. Women have a distinct set of motivations and priorities that drive their purchasing decisions. Assuming otherwise limits the ability to compete in a marketplace that is absolutely dominated by female consumers.
Separately but related to women who have not escaped from corporate America yet have done a magnificent job, I want to make sure everyone caught that Shelly Lazarus is stepping down as CEO of Ogilvy & Mather. Another great woman departs (retires) from the top echelons of business.
Shell veteran Lynn Laverty Elsenhans (pictured) joins the tiny club of women leading major U.S. corporations by taking over the reins of Sunoco (their first woman CEO). Read more here.
SCORE launched a Women Entrepreneurs Web site which provides interactive tools, mentoring, workshops and articles that can help women entrepreneurs achieve their business dreams.
Surprises come in every shape, size and form but this was a real shock. I am honored -- Laurel Delaney here -- to have been nominated for the Irish Voice's 2008 50 Most Influential Women by The Irish Voice Newspaper. This is a celebration of Irish-American women success in corporate America, entrepreneurship, the local business world and the Irish community.
Celebrating No. 4 birthday for the official Escape From Corporate America website and this blog and No. 232 birthday for America.
Discover a world of opportunity when you get out of your comfort zone.
When you are an entrepreneur, you just can't do it all. Some try to, but in the end, stress gets the best of us and something breaks along the way. A relationship falls apart, a child has problems at school or a business falls short of its goals.
Adventure Divas: Searching the Globe for a New Kind of HeroineThis is not just about travel, although it's as adventurous as can be. More than that, it's Morris' account of leaving her deskbound publishing job and joining her broadcaster mother to form Adventure Divas to track down "unsung visionaries," women who changed the world in Cuba, India, New, Zealand, and Iran, for what became an award-winning PBS series.
(Between diva searches, to replenish company coffers, Morris takes jobs hunting headhunters in Borneo, climbing the Matterhorn, and crossing the Sahara.)
Morris' interviews--with, among others, Black Panther exile Assata Shakur in Cuba; top cop Kiran Bedi in India; author Keri Hulme, who wrote Morris' beloved The Bone People, in New Zealand; and blind folksinger Pari Zanganeh, who wears a hat instead of a veil, in Iran--are thoughtful and probing, revealing the differences between their lives and those of American women.
Her text adds context--and humor--to the project, warts and all (blank film in India, hotel fire in New Zealand). A good bet for feminists (or entrepreneurs adds Laurel!), fans of the PBS shows, adventure travelers, and anyone who wants a good read.
Three years ago, a new mother living in Indianapolis named Jane Ivanov seemed like an unlikely candidate to launch an international, Web-based retail business.
The folks at Swans Island Blankets were lawyers and finally decided to pursue their life passion: Establishing a small weaving operation off the coast in Maine using local wool.
An amazing article on how Bosnian businesswomen are rebuilding a nation. Why just look at this quote:The women running businesses in Bosnia are focusing on the future. According to Mirsada (pictured), “I am planning to increase my production by another 100 percent and hire another 120 to 130 workers. Very few things in life can deter me once I’ve set a goal for myself.”Women everywhere are making great strides in entrepreneurship. Be proud.
It's hot, hot, hot in Chicago -- finally! Caught this ad in the New York Times and reacted with, "How cool is this for Escape From Corporate America?" If you're reading this, you're a record-holder by running a business. So how about escaping a bit today, buying a new swimsuit and taking a nice, cool swim? You'll want to when you see these.
AYAYO shoes and bags are objects of desire aimed towards women appreciative of high end luxury and keen to add precious pieces to enhance their look. Clean and streamlined shapes together with unexpected details and textures very much make the pieces personal.
If you have never been President of anything, can you run for President of the United States? Do you think it's a more natural transition for a woman to go from CEO of a publicly-traded company to President of the United States versus leaping from founder of an entrepreneurial venture?Meg Whitman, for example, the former eBay chief executive who is a big fundraiser for Senator John McCain, is said to be interested in running for governor of California, which would make her a natural contender for president. (Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard chief executive advising Mr. McCain, is another name mentioned as a possible executive turned candidate, though she is not believed to want to run.)Read the article, "She Just Might Be President Someday."
But almost anybody — and particularly women — will discount the idea of a woman as dark horse.
VivaTerra, a fine artisan and earth-friendly goods place, is offering a 100% recycled and 100% cool, scrappy bag (pictured) that dances with color from sassy fringe to comfy 22" straps. (10"Lx19"W), called the "Yes Bag" for U.S. $64. But if you mention code NT805, get $10 off. Offer good until 6/7/08.
And you wonder why we start businesses?Research looks at why 'Finn' gets ahead and 'Josie' gets ignored, especially in tech, science, engineering fields.Read Barbara Rose's interesting article here.
Entrepreneur magazine, in partnership with the Women Presidents' Organization (WPO), is launching the 2nd annual list of the 50 fastest-growing women-led companies across the nation and Canada.
Results of a multi-year study conducted by the Center for Women’s Business Research in partnership with Babson College exploring the impact of race and gender on the growth of businesses owned by women who are African-American, Asian, Latina and other ethnicities show that women of color are starting businesses at rates three to five times faster than all other businesses. However, once in business, their growth lags behind all other firms.The research found that being a business owner who is a woman of color can evoke misperceptions about business capacity, result in lessened access to capital for business growth, create the challenge of balancing the expectations and demands of running a business and being part of a diverse culture, and increase the difficulty of attracting top talent. The research also pointed out that many women business owners of color have a double bottom line. They work to give back to their communities as well as for profits.Read more here and at the blog of the Center for Women's Business Research during the 2008 National Symposium.
New Media Women Entrepreneurs (NMWE) is a unique initiative addressing opportunity and innovation, recruitment and retention for women in journalism by spotlighting their ingenuity and entrepreneurial abilities.
Altoids, Amorini Hearts, Brach unwrapped, M&M's, Jelly Belly Bags, Pez dispensers, Pop Rocks, Tootsie Rolls, Jordan Almonds, body parts, candy canes, animals, Gone Fishing, Just Quit Smoking, Charms, Smarties, Ferrara Pan, Goetze's, Dryden and Palmer, Double Bubble, Foreign Candy Company, Grethers Pastilles, Haribo, Jolly Rancher, Just Born, Kenny's, Kidsmania, Kokos Confections, NECCO, Perfetti Van Melle, Sour Punch, Spangler, Wrigley, Wonka and more.
Here's what a fellow race car driver had to say about Danica Patrick back in 2006:... Ed Carpenter, who in 2006 noted: "Danica is pretty aggressive in our cars, especially if you catch her at the right time of the month." This putdown might have had more punch if Mr. Carpenter had himself ever managed to win an Indy race. He has not. In fact, if memory serves, Mr. Carpenter instead managed to crash in five out of his 17 starts in 2007. Maybe Ms. Patrick could give him some tips.Examine the source when someone makes a comment about you especially if it is intended as a putdown.
You don't have to be a boomer to start a dream business. You've worked hard, you've invested well, and now you have the financial means to exit early. While others might be perplexed by the unscheduled blocks of time in retirement, you know exactly what you want to do. For years you squeezed it into the spare hours of your workweek or daydreamed about it at your desk.Turn your hobby or passion into your life work now.
According to the briefing, "Dollars and $ense: Women Breaking the Business Barrier," women business owners don't have any different needs than their male counterparts.
No new federal women's business centers will open in the 2009 fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1, because of funding constraints, according to the Small Business Administration official who oversees the grant program. 
Has anyone read "Through the Labyrinth: The Truth About How Women Become Leaders"? The authors seem to have given us a new metaphor for glass or what I am starting to call plexiglass ceiling. 
Why don't women have more power in Corporate America?
One of the things we are most proud of here at Escape From Corporate America is the fact that we came up with the name of this blog (and the whole concept of women leaving corporate America in droves for entrepreneurship) way back in July, 2004, after authoring a thought-provoking article by the same title for The Conference Board in March/April 2003.
Why do girls on average lead boys for all their years in the classroom, only to fall behind in the workplace? Do girls grow up and lose their edge, while boys mature and gain theirs? Oh boy, oooops, oh girl. Get clued in here.
Where does society stand on gender matters? Find out here. Shortcut: Take a quick glimpse at the last sentence of the commentary by Kate Zernike in the New York Times newspaper (3/16). But Ms. Michelman is not changing her vote: “I do think women are angry, but anger doesn’t get us very far. It’s a motivator, but it’s not enough.”Oftentimes, I think, when it comes to starting a business, anger (at Corporate America) is a huge motivator and gets us very far. It leads to ... "I'll show'em and prove just how much talent I really have by doing my own thing and doing it remarkably well!"
Attention restaurants: Start wooing women entrepreneurs and their families!
New Web site aimed at smart women 40 and older.
Here, we all strive to be presidents of one kind or another but who will be America's first TechPresident?
Are there pay discrepancies between men and women in corporate America? If you guessed yes, you guessed right. And unfortunately, we -- the women -- lose. That is, if you work in corporate America. Fortunately, I don't.Diversity is good for the bottom line because it enables them [business chiefs] to recruit the best talent, enlist broad thinking and reach diverse customers world-wide.
Downsizing can help jump-start entrepreneurs. Losing a job can be just the impetus needed for starting your own company. You end up walking out with a smile on your face.
What an extraordinary group of women!Corporate Board Member has put together this list to help boards redress two common shortfalls: an overall lack of technology experience among directors and a shortage of female directors in general. The women we’re portraying speak about their own adventures in the technology industry, the effects their gender may have had on their careers, and the extent to which things might be different for those who come after them. The ones who have already made their mark are selective about which boards they’ll even consider (for more, see “Stalled Gains for Women in Technology”). Whitman says the growing number of women who earn engineering degrees will push the needed change. Maybe. But compared with 25 years ago, fewer women are graduating in tech-related fields. Recruiters and board members, particularly those serving on the governance committee, should move fast.A hat tip to Judith Dobrzynski for turning us on to it. Promise me you will read each and every one of the features and that you will pass this brilliant piece along to everyone you know!
Who is the most influential living management thinker? Is it you? That was the simple question that inspired the original Thinkers 50 in 2001. A lot of hard work and number-crunching later, the answer became the first global ranking of business gurus.
Women occupy 40% of all managerial positions in the United States. But only 6% of the Fortune 500's top executives are female. And just 2% of those firms have women CEOs. What's getting in their way? 
Every once in a while I stumble upon something that I think is hilarious, odd, interesting, compelling, or, as in this case, so close to home on what we are doing here that I absolutely must share it with you.In this sequel to the acclaimed documentary The End of Suburbia, we meet three people and one town in California who are moving forward consciously and responsibly from a lifestyle built on cheap and abundant oil. Its a film about reinventing local economies and rediscovering personal empowerment in our communities as we move into the post-carbon age.Okay. Let's translate that for Escape From Corporate America:
In light of today being Super Tuesday, Linda Hirshman covers what we do and don't know about gender and politics.
Patricia Karter, Dancing Deer Bakery CEO, thinks a better gender balance in the business world could improve society as a whole.
Posts
All Comments
