How to Get Sensational Media Coverage on the Cheap

Say you just started a business and you don't know anybody or who to contact to get media attention.  Where do you start?  Celestine Chua (pictured) is founder of the site Personal Excellence.  Below she provides excellent tips on how to get media coverage.  Hint:  It all begins by being pro-active!

One example she provides:

Example:  One of the story angles which I brainstormed when I started my business (2008) was the fact that I had quit a prestigious, well-paying job to pursue my passion - from nothing. This was considered unconventional in the context of the Singapore society (at that time, at least) because most locals conformed to the view that one should stay in a stable job with financial security and an iron rice bowl —the complete opposite of what I did. Hence, I used that as the angle for one of my press releases, and it was eventually picked up by several media outlets (Today, OMY, Lianhe Zaobao, AsiaOne, among a few other sites).

Read:  How to Get Media Coverage for Your Business, Blog, or Startup 

Illustration credit here.

Negotiating a Commercial Property Lease

Are you about to sign on a commercial property lease for your new business?  Or perhaps you simply need more space.

... the abundance of choice and favorable market conditions for potential tenants can prove an enticing prospect for budding entrepreneurs and small business owners. However, even in a buyer’s market, negotiating a commercial lease is a daunting and complex process that requires research and due diligence.

Below are some helpful tips for leasing a space for your small business.  If you've got more, please let us know!

6 Tips for Negotiating a Commercial Property Lease without Getting Burned

Challenges For Women Who Start Businesses

Related article here.

The Artist: Mae Chevrette

Meet 25-year old mixed media artist, photographer, writer, traveler and all around lover of adventures and the unknown, Mae Chevrette.

What influences her work?

Numerous solo cross-country road trips and travel abroad as well as an insatiable curiosity for interesting people, places and stories.

Take a tour of her creative work here.

Illustration credit:  Mae Chevrette

Happy Birthday No. 236 to the United States and No. 8 to the Official Escape From Corporate America Blog!

Photo courtesy:  ©Laurel Delaney 2012, "USA flag, Chicago"

Happy 8th Birthday to the official Escape From Corporate America blog and Happy 236th Birthday America!  Enjoy the day and thank you for your readership.

Celebrate freedom and all your successes!

For a little bit of history about this blog, including last year's post, go here.

Photo credit:  ©Laurel Delaney 2012 - Wrigley Building, Chicago proudly featuring our USA flag.

Boost Your Business: Attend Live Events

According to Stacia Pierce (pictured), a great way to boost your business and take it to the next level is by attending live events. She says:

As entrepreneurs and leaders, it’s important to break out of your comfort zone and get away to business conferences. It’s your opportunity to completely remove yourself from your business and the pressures of your everyday life to get inspired, invigorated and empowered to take your business and life up.

Read all of her advice at: Keep Your Business Thriving By Attending Live Events

Will There Ever Be a Society That Works For Women?

What the authors discovered:

What we discovered in our research is that while the empowerment part of the equation has been loudly celebrated, there has been very little honest discussion among women of our age about the real barriers and flaws that still exist in the system despite the opportunities we inherited.

Why Women Can't Have It All

Posted by:  Escape From Corporate America (Laurel Delaney)

Corporate Climber Turns Business Owner

I love getting emails like this, especially on a Sunday, because it tells me somebody is really working it:

Hi there Laurel,

I'm a former corporate climber (spent 10 years building an architecture career) who just picked up the keys to my first business location as an entrepreneur last weekend. I'm opening a private fitness studio, the culmination of a two-year journey towards total self-employment and fulfillment. It's been a terrifying, exciting, challenging, and thrilling process.

I'm in a position of finding creative solutions, like so many women do, to make this work, so I've launched a crowdfunding campaign (refer below) to support this startup and fill in the gaps between my budget and our dreams for this studio.

Would you consider sharing my story and this campaign on your blog? I'm reaching out for creative ways to spread the word and connect with women who get what I'm going through.

You can check out the campaign at indiegogo and please email me if I can share more about what we're trying to do.

Katrina Cobb, Owner, NASM CPT
reFORM Studios Personal Training
North Charleston, SC  U.S.A.

Visit: reFORM Studios Personal Training | Your premiere personal training experience

Illustration credit:  reFORM Studios Personal Training

Best wishes and much success Katrina and we do get what you are going through! 

Is It the Right Time to Start a Business?

Go For It!

The next Wendy Kopp (pictured) could be starting their business right now.

Will it be you?

A new study says almost 600-thousand new businesses are created each year by young adults right out of college.

Catch the remarks from a clothing shop owner about why she felt the need to start her own business rather than work for someone else.

Read the entire article here.

Escape From Work To Honor the Fallen

Photo courtesy:  ©Laurel Delaney 2012

As you escape from work to celebrate Memorial Day, don't forget to honor the men and women who have so bravely served our nation, the United States of America.

Enjoy the day.

Photo credit: ©Laurel Delaney 2012, "Evanston, Illinois lakefront"

Calling All Female Entrepreneurs to the Ultimate Chicago Digital Hub: 1871

1871 provides co-working space, along with a sense of community and features educational programming, events and seminars to help foster the growth of digital startups in Chicago.  Many refer to it as "a start up for start ups."

The name "1871" was inspired by the period of rapid innovation that followed immediately after The Great Chicago Fire in October of that year, when leading engineers, designers and builders came together to build a new city.

I've visited 1871 several times (located in the Merchandise Mart) and they definitely could use more females.  What are you waiting for?

Read the latest cool news about 1871 here. 

Photo courtesy:  ©Laurel Delaney 2012, "1871"

Live Life On Your Own Terms: Start a Business

Many women start a business because they want to develop their own schedules, on their own terms. 

Starting a business explicitly to raise children sounds like one too many projects, but a growing number of women make it work. Being behind the steering wheel of their own ventures allows women to take detours (to the school play, doctors and grandmas). In fact, integrating work and family is one of the top reasons why women start businesses, according to research. 

Learn more about the realities of starting a business while starting a family here.

Illustration credit:  Becky's Pet Care Inc. (as noted in article)

Be Inspired: Start a Business

Kick It Up a Notch: Open a Retail Store

Janice Winterboer, owner of Twigs, kicks it up a notch.  She got out of the retail sector for awhile, but continued to operate her interior design business out of her home.

“I decided to bring it up a notch and opened the store at 6 E. Third Ave. Then we outgrew that space and moved to Broad Street, the former Roman Rose Antique store,” Winterboer said. “We do floral design as well.”

Read the entire article here.

The Young and the Restless Female Entrepreneurs

YoungEntrepreneur.com brings you stories about innovative startups and their enthusiastic founders.

For example, instead of featuring an article here, we'll provide you with a forum thread:

What does it take to be a truly successful female entrepreneur?

These passionate young female entrepreneurs are bypassing Corporate America altogether!  See what others have to say here.

Here's one comment:

I think it takes hard work and determination, and a little help from veterans in the business field along the way.

Illustration credit here.

Finding a Balance Between Work and Home: Start an Online Business

Everyone who has kids and worked up until that point has these thoughts: how to have a career but at the same time, be available for your kids.

Keri Zingle worked as an engineer for high-tech firms in Ottawa and Vancouver.  Here's her quick backstory:

After having two children, she struggled to find a balance between work and home. She decided to become a stay-at-home mom and began her own online business, Craft Caravan. The subscription service is $10 each month for a new craft project shipped to your home. Suitable for children aged two to eight, Zingle tests the crafts on her brood before approving them for retail sales.

She offers advice for other stay-at-home moms thinking about starting their own business and explains why engineering and crafting share a lot of similarities.

Read the entire article here.

Illustration credit:  Craft Caravan

Working For Yourself

Frustrated with the lack of play areas where she could take her three children, Shyanne Lamb started Kenosha-based Playnasium.  Playnasium is ...

An indoor play area, the space offers everything from playground equipment, to bounce houses, to playhouses, to Lego blocks, to puzzles and coloring for kids from 0 to 5.

Fast-forward four months. In addition to the kids playing, Ms. Lamb has hosted events including a vendor fair, birthday parties, a magician and an Easter egg hunt.

Learn more about Lamb's initiative and what else is going on in Wisconsin when it comes to women business ownership - read:

Women-owned firms growing in Wisconsin

Business Ownership Requires: Guts, Backbone and a Can-Do Spirit

That's what Marci Marceau practices -- guts, backbone and a can-do spirit -- to achieve success with her business, Luz's Mexican Food.

According to a recent report by American Express OPEN:

The number of women-owned businesses across the United States increased 54 percent over the past 15 years. That was a rate one a half times the average for all other businesses.

Marceau also attributes her Mom as a role model for encouraging her to go into business for herself.

Read her story here.

Photo credit:  DaMory Diapers -- also featured in the article.

Latinas Leaving Corporate America?

According to Dr. Placida Gallegos:

788,000 Latinas now run their own businesses, according to the most recent Survey of Business Owners (last conducted in 2007). This represents a 46% increase against a 20% found across all female business owners over a five-year period.

Find out three (3) reasons why Latinas are leaving corporate America and becoming entrepreneurs here.

Hint:  Meaningful work plays into it. Doesn't it for all of us?

Illustration credit:  The Magazine | Latina

Good Karma Over At Contact Karma

My friend and colleague, Genevieve Thiers, founder of Chicago-based SitterCity and OperaModa has started her third company Contact Karma with Maureen Wozniak which helps you connect your business to deals and vendors you can trust.

Contact Karma is a social recommendation engine that stocks B-B deals for local Chicago business owners and execs to take advantage of. Contact Karma is simple to use … business owners and execs in Chicago seeking a deal on a corporate product or service can head to our site and enter the vendor type (PR firm, bookkeeper, lawyer, web design firm) that they are looking for into our home page. We then give them a series of vendor suggestions and deals, ordered by who in their local business community and network likes and uses the vendor. 

View a quick video tour here.

From Corporate Life to Sweet New Business

According to Oprah Magazine (February 2012):

... eleven years ago, Casey Hickey's work wasn't so delicious.  As director of development for a San Francisco-based medical society, she spent her days in a windowless office.  "I was proud of what I did," she says, "but my self-expression was limited to fund-raising propsoals and spreadsheets."  Hickey spent her free time reading cookbooks; when she baked a wedding cake for a friend, a chef attending the reception was so wowed that she suggested Hickey rethink her career.

The rest is sweet history.

Learn more about Casey Hickey, Chocolatier, Owner of Twenty Degrees Chocolates (pictured).

Please Join Me: How To Grow Your Business In Today's Market

Dear Colleague and fellow Women in Business,

I’d like to invite you to attend the upcoming “21st Century Marketing:  How to Grow Your Business in Today’s Market” Conference, targeting Women in Business, to be held at the Anaheim Marriott March 23, 2012.

You can access the Conference agenda (and registration) via the website link below.  I look forward to speaking at the Conference and hope to see you there!

My best,
Laurel

Go here to get more information and to register:
http://www.wboconference.com/

How to Spare Yourself Sleepless NIghts As a New Business Owner

To spare yourself sleepless nights as a new business owner, get some training first via Corporate America to work out the kinks.  That what Pam Wallace did.

Read her story here.

Being a Female Entrepreneur Has Its Merits

Five tips from female entrepreneurs worldwide:

1. Understand why you are doing this.

2. Don’t be afraid to get out of the building and validate your business idea.

3. When being called stubborn, take it as a compliment.

4. Learn to hold contradictory values together.

5. Don’t quit when things are just getting started.

Read the full story on where these great ideas came from here.

Photo: Sheryl Tay, founder of The Baby Specialist; photo courtesy of Dr. Louis-Sebastian Sonntag

Alba Adds Entrepreneur to Her List of Talents

Actress Jessica Alba (pictured) adds "entrepreneur" to her list of talents.  She launches The Honest Company (http://www.honest.com), an e-commerce business which sells eco-friendly products.  How she reserved that domain name I'll never know.

Alba, 30, who is best known for her television role "Dark Angel" and roles in The Fantastic Four movies, came up with the idea after discovering how difficult it was to find affordable, non-toxic, and attractive baby products for her own kids. 

Learn more here.

Illustration credit:  The Honest Company homepage

Posted by:  the official Escape From Corporate America blog

Feed Kids, Pay Rent and Be An Entrepreneur

Be Your Own Boss and Have Flexibility Too

Laura Atkinson and Cathy Lopienski co-own one of only five Columbus pharmacies owned by women. In partnership with the National Community Pharmacist Association, Cardinal Health wants to try and interest more woman pharmacists like Atkinson and Lopienski into becoming owners, not just employees.

Lopienski said that owning her own pharmacy (Total Wellness Concepts) has other perks, too.

“I can be my own boss and have lots of flexibility now, too,” Lopienski said.

Read the entire article here.

The Skinny On Popcorn: Introducing Skinny Pop

Are you looking for a popcorn that’s low in calories, all natural, very tasty and all you have to do is enjoy every kernel?  Look no further.  President and CEO Pamela Netzky has created Skinny Pop Popcorn and she just happens to be located in my hometown:  Chicago!

What else am I missing about this product?  Try this:

Read all about it here.

Illustration credit:  Skinny Pop Popcorn website

Women On the Frontlines of An Entrepreneurial Surge

Listen up entrepreneurial Oregonian women!

Oregon has a long history of women starting small businesses. But those enterprises have typically stayed small and revolved around retail—aka the “pink ghetto.” What’s new is women are forming “highly scalable businesses” and that a growing number are in the tech sectors, Linda Weston (executive director of the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network) says. “It’s a dramatic change."

What the author Linda Baker of the article noted below claims is there seems to be a significant number of women serving on the frontlines of the city and state's entrepreneurial surge.

Read the entire article here:

Women Help Power Startup Scene

Logo credit here.

Do You Have to Limit Your Entrepreneurial Ambitions to Be a Good Mom?

Wow, that's a bold, gutsy question. What do you think? According to Geri Stengel's, "Want to Grow the Economy? Change Four Attitudes About Women Entrepreneurs," (Forbes) she challenges us by posing that question and more. But the short answer:

The first order of cultural change, is to debunk the idea that to be a good mom, you have to limit your ambition. “If you want to have a family and run a business, you can — and a growing number of us do,” says Liz Etling, CEO and co-founder of Transperfect, the largest privately owned language services provider, with offices in 75 cities worldwide, and a good example of eluding the barriers to success. She started her business with a fellow student in a dorm room 19 years ago.

Key factors holding women back?

1. Women self-limit their ambitions.
2. Their assertiveness is perceived as ”bitchiness.”
3. Men need to change.
4. Women need to network.

Agree? Disagree? I welcome hearing from you and so would other readers of this blog. So please comment based on your opinion and/or first-hand experience.

Read the entire fabulous article here.

Posted by:  the official Escape From Corporate America blog
 

Women Are Changing Our World As Entrepreneurs

Stand Out In 2012

©Laurel Delaney 2012, "The Lone Tree, 31st Street, Chicago Lakefront," 1.1.12

Wishing you a new year

filled with desirable outcomes. 

Holiday Romance at Jane's in Chicago

Known as a vanguard in the revitalization of Chicago's Bucktown neighborhood, Jane's restaurant (now owned by Julie Greenwalt) has been serving contemporary comfort foods in a unique and romantic (considered one of the most romantic restaurants in Chicago!) setting since 1994. I recently had the pleasure of dining there for a holiday affair and it was wonderful.

Situated near the city of Chicago’s original northern-most boundary, the Bucktown block which Jane’s calls home maintains the quaint, “main street” appeal that was reintroduced in 1891, as the area was revitalized, following the Great Chicago Fire.

Find out more here.  Sign up for newsletter here to be kept up to date and learn about special events.

Are You a Rare Bird?

A rare bird can be an entrepreneur or in this instance, Rare Bird Preserves is Elizabeth Madden's company and she is in fact an entrepreneur.

Every jar of Rare Bird Preserves is handmade in small batches in our quiet kitchen. Our artisanal preserves are thoughtfully crafted in the French tradition, with only the freshest seasonal fruit and our own naturally extracted pectin.

My love affair with preserving fruit began as a student at the French Pastry School in Chicago, where I was moved by the beauty and simplicity of the process. It is this passion, combined with a close attention to detail, that ensures the quality and richness of our products.

Learn more about Elizabeth's company here.  Shop at Rare Bird Preserves.

Illustration credit (top):  Rare Bird Preserves 6 Jar Sampler

Calling All Entrepreneurs: Let's Spark An Economic Recovery!

A word from Charles R. Schwab, founder and chairman of the Charles Schwab Corporation, on how every job requires an entrepreneur:

The simple fact is that every business in America was started by an entrepreneur, whether it is Ford Motor Co., Google or your local dry cleaner (pictured). Every single job that entrepreneur creates requires an investment. And at its core, investing requires confidence that despite the risks, despite the hard work that will certainly ensue, the basic rules of the game are clear and stable.

Read the entire commentary here.

Going It Alone and Making It Work

You can graduate from college and get a "real job." But after a couple of years, are you really happy?

Have you thought about pursuing your passion? That's what Emiko Abe did when she went after her love of music.

But going it alone as a self-employed DJ and music consultant was a bit more difficult than she expected.

Not the business end of it. Abe made fast connections and was soon able to leave her old job to undertake her new venture full-time. She now compiles and manages music for places such as spas and upwards of 700 hotels, along with traditional DJ duties at weddings, fashion shows, hockey games and other events.

Read more about Abe's story and how she became comfortable being by herself.

Going in business for yourself, and making it work

The Early Days of Trish McEvoy's Business

Oh how I try to imagine this:

Working as a make-up artist in the 1970s, Trish McEvoy says she used to struggle to find quality cosmetic brushes. So she would buy brushes from art-supply stores and cut them into the shape she needed to apply eye liners, lipsticks and blushes (as shown).

Trish now has her beauty products in more than 250 stores in the United States and Europe with annual revenue just under U.S. $100 million.  She has 500+ employees.

So don't 'brush off' (pardon the pun) business ownership just yet this year. You never know when you are on to something!  The trick is to keep persevering!

Read: For Makeup Artist Trish McEvoy, Custom Brushes Led to Fortune

Visit: Trish McEvoy's NEW Arrivals

Starting a Business? Better Have a Fantastic Sense of Self-Confidence

A U.K. perspective but I find the article below fascinating nonetheless due to the comments about America.

If we look to America, where women tend to have more self confidence and a greater willingness to push themselves forward, levels of female entrepreneurship are nearly twice as high as they are in the UK. Rates of male and female entrepreneurship are almost equal, with 7% of females involved in early-stage entrepreneurship compared to 8% of men. Indeed, if the UK had the same level of female entrepreneurship as the US, there would be approximately 600,000 more women-owned businesses.

Take a good look at how confidence factors into the equation when you are thinking about starting a business.

American business people (men and women) have a fantastic sense of confidence in what they can do, which I think women in the UK could learn a lot from. In America there is a relentless work ethic and entrepreneurs have to have complete confidence in who they are, their abilities and what they bring to the table, as well as the ability to be able to self-promote. Being able to stand up and be counted is one of the things, I think, that make American women more likely to start up a business and make it a success.

Read the entire article:  Smashing Your Way Out of the Glass Ceiling

Featuring: Mandoline Grill

More information:  Mandoline Grill

Why Would Four Women Lie About Cain?

Whether you are a homemaker, female entrepreneur or an executive at a big company, why do you think four different women would elect to fabricate a story about Herman Cain?

I would welcome hearing your thoughts on this!

Photo credit here.

Learn the Fundamentals of Running a Business

• Featured company:  Wildflower Linen
• Find a SCORE Chapter near you.
• SCORE for Women.

Meet the Woman in Charge of Cheese: Jeanne Carpenter

Meet cheese geek Jeanne Carpenter (pictured below).

Jeanne Carpenter

Raised on Velveeta on a family farm in Wisconsin, after college she worked as a journalist, a corporate project manager, and finally as a communications specialist for state government. In 2007, she started her own public relations company to promote artisan cheese. In 2009, Jeanne launched Wisconsin Cheese Originals, a member-based organization dedicated to discovering, tasting, and learning more about Wisconsin artisan cheeses through a myriad of events, including an annual Wisconsin Original Cheese Festival in November. She is also the author of Cheese Underground, giving cheese-starved readers everywhere the inside scoop on America’s Dairyland since 2006.

Enough said but I am sure you want to know more.  Go here.  Congrats to Jeanne for moving from corporate project manager to woman in charge of cheese!

Illustration credit:  Cheese Underground

For Randi Zuckerberg: Goodbye Facebook and Hello RtoZ Media

Mark Zuckerberg's eldest sister Randi starts her own business:  RtoZ Media - a social media company.

In August, Randi Zuckerberg, 29, quit her job at Facebook, where she had been among the first two dozen people hired. Most recently, she was the director of marketing. In its early days, Zuckerberg was a buoyant presence, representing her reticent brother to an eager press. Later, she earned attention (not always favorable) singing at company functions with a band composed of colleagues. And she came up with the idea for Facebook Live, the social network's video channel, which has featured interviews conducted by Facebook executives with Oprah Winfrey and President Barack Obama.

Learn more here.  Illustration credit:  RtoZ Media homepage.

FAQ: Frequently Avoided Questions Related to Starting a Business

I was researching away on a project for a client and accidentally stumbled upon a PDF file I had downloaded to my MacBook in 2004.  It's called "The Art of the Start" and is based on Guy Kawasaki's book by the same title.

The FAQ:  Frequently Avoided Questions is a Kawasaki idea that is referenced in his PDF on Pages 29-31 -- don't miss it because, for example, here's one question he addresses that will definitely soothe your soul if you are frightened out of your mind at the thought leaving your current job to start a business:

Q.  I admit it:  I'm scared.  I can't afford to quit my current job.  Is this a sign that I don't have what it takes to succeed?  Am I not truly committed?

A.  You should be scared.  If you aren't scared, something is wrong with you.  Your fears are not a sign that you don't have the right stuff.  In the beginning, every entrepreneur ...

Download the report here (best part about it - it's complimentary!)

The Perfect American Entrepreneur

Photo credit:  ©Laurel Delaney 2011, "Apple store, Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL, U.S.A."

Steve Jobs

We salute the greatest American entrepreneur in our time:  Steven Paul Jobs (1955-2011).  Read what others have to say about the man who changed the world for the best and inspired us all to soar to great heights. 

If messages can be received in happy heaven:

Thank you Steve for making our lives a whole heck of lot more interesting and fun. Rest in peace. We will miss you!

United States Secret Weapon For Achieving Sustained Economic Growth: More Women Entrepreneurs

Take that Corporate America! Yes, according to a new paper authored by Lesa Mitchell (V.P., Advancing Innovation) for the Ewing Kauffman Foundation titled, "Overcoming the Gender Gap: Women Entrepreneurs as Economic Drivers," the United States needs more women entrepreneurs.

Women who are capable of starting growth companies that serve global markets may be the nation's secret weapon for achieving sustained economic growth.

Three steps to boost female entrepreneurship in the United States:

1. Not-for-profit initiatives that advance opportunities for high-growth women entrepreneurs need greater funding and support from women executives, philanthropy leaders and industry. Networking and collaborative events between startup founders and big companies are critical to provide women entrepreneurs access to networks that can produce potential customers.
2. Successful women entrepreneurs and inventors should make themselves visible and available. Role models are critical to young women considering entrepreneurship.
3. Women must be invited at a much higher rate to join science advisory boards of high-tech companies.

Read the study: "Overcoming the Gender Gap: Women Entrepreneurs as Economic Drivers"(PDF file)

Illustration credit here.

New Crop of Power Accelerators: Women Entrepreneurs

Take a good look at some new accelerator and incubator programs that focus specifically on women entrepreneurs.  Yes - that's YOU (and me too)!

Read:  Programs Increasing Number of Entrepreneurs - Forbes

Shortcut to some of the resources mentioned in the article:

Y Combinator (awful lot of guys in the photos!)

Founder Institute

Female Founder Fellowship (as shown).

Women 2.0

They are calling us to action!

When You Start A Business, Don't Forget the "Good Heart" Theory

My friend and colleague, Steve Strauss, writes a terrific article for USA Today, "Winning businesses think about more than profit."  He covers the recent 3rd Annual SCORE Awards.  And what a wonderful story he tells.

All the winners seem to share one trait -- a secret I will share in a moment -- but all were a dynamic, visionary, difference-making group who are changing their lives and those in the communities they serve.

Get your day's dose of inspiration here.  You'll discover what I mean by the "good heart" theory. 

Shhhhhhhh ... School House, run by Rachel Weeks (pictured), is the SCORE "Outstanding Woman-Owned Small Business" winner!

Never Surrender

I finished reading Lauren Manning's book, "Unmeasured Strength," and instead of being sad or depressed, considering what had happened to her, I was empowered to become a better human being and to accomplish more in life.  My biggest takeaway, which came from a direct quote from Lauren in the book on Page 4:  "I would never surrender."

Whether facing a divorce, death of a loved one, bankruptcy, health issue, the risk of starting a business or - as in Lauren's case, a catastrophic moment of burning alive - each requires the commitment to never surrender.  You must keep going.

Thank goodness Lauren discovered that early on after she was engulfed by the fires that brought down the twin towers of the World Trade Center.  Her long, painful (she suffered second and third-degree burns across about 85 percent of her body) yet inspiring journey imparts on each of us a new look at life, one that most certainly is worth fighting for.

This book should be read not once but several times (and passed along to others) to fully appreciate steely determination under literal fire and how even at one's darkest hours - as in the case with Lauren facing death day after day for more than three months during her recovery - she shows us the surprising strength and courage in us all.

Buy the book here.

Pay a visit to:  LaurenManning.com

How to Turn a Negative Challenge Into a Positive Outcome

Kathrine Switzer, first woman in 1967 to run the Boston Marathon as a numbered entrant, has a thing or two to tell us about persistence.  Most of what she (now 65 years young) has to say will be helpful if you are considering starting a business. After all, when you begin, you need a whole heck of a lot of persistence to become a success.

A snippet of what took place at Switzer's first marathon:

But while many men running the event welcomed her into the pack, the race director had another idea. He chased after her, grabbed at the bib number pinned to her shirt and yelled for her to get out of the way and give him her numbers, Switzer recalled in her 2007 memoir, “Marathon Woman.”

Switzer was unbreakable (as shown).  She proved that women could endure a 26.2 mile race.  Fortunately, we have already proven we can run successful businesses.

Read more here.

Capturing Fellow Woman Business Owner Sarah McLachlan LIVE in Vancouver

 

Want more of Sarah McLachlan?  Go here.

The Tale of the Unromantic Business Plan

Once upon a time, there was an unromantic business plan that included 12 pages of cash flow analysis.  Twelve months later, Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Forty Winks, a lingerie boutique (as shown above) was born.

Forty Winks carries a range of sizes and styles, starting at 30A specialty bras and ending at an H cup size. “Sizes can go as high as M, but that’s not our customer,’’ said co-owner Rachel Wentworth.

Find out how Rachel and her business partner (co-owner) Meredith Donaldson create stories to sell their intimate wear and also offer a wide range of sizes and shapes - not to mention the heavy duty therapy that is required to satisfy the demands of their selective customers.

A serious plan to make a go of lingerie sales