Executive Turned President of USA: Is That You?

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.)

But almost anybody — and particularly women — will discount the idea of a woman as dark horse.

Read the article, "She Just Might Be President Someday."

Sometimes You Just Gotta Say Yes

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.

Just say yes here.

Note: We have no affiliation to this company.

Why Men Get Ahead and Women Get Ignored

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.

Female CEOs Are Tops

Find out who made the top 10 list here.

Hint: Mary Sammons (pictured), Chairman, President and CEO of Rite Aid, did.

Should we come up with our own list for privately-held women-owned or led companies?

50 Fastest: Is That You?

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.

That's gotta be you! Apply here. And good luck!

State of Business for Women of Color

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.

Are You a New Media Woman Entrepreneur?

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.

Pilot projects will show what can be done. Research will tell us what more to do. And an awards program and summit will showcase women’s creative ideas. NMWE is supported by the McCormick Tribune Foundation.

Find out more here.

Escape to Candyland

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.

What do they all have in common?

Escape to candyland.

Fast and Furious Women

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.

Another complaint from men about Danica is that she only weighs about 100 pounds which puts her at a competitive weight advantage against them. Oh come on ... if weight is so important in establishing a winning formula for race car driving, why don't the men train as if they are race horse jockeys?

Read the article here.

Dream Business

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.

Women Break Business Barrier

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.

However, we do make decisions differently.

One thing for sure, we know we take more time and gather more information before we make our decisions, especially if it will affect friends, family, employees, vendors and clients.

Find out what else we do that sets us apart from men in a very positive way here.

Putting the Squeeze on Women Business Owners

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.

The $13-million program also has capped the size of the grants it will award to the oldest centers for fiscal 2009.

What's next? For now, read what they have to say about the whole new deal. All I can say is "Show me the money!"

Plexiglass Ceiling

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.

See what you think. Let me know your thoughts and comments, especially if you read the book. Looks interesting. Do you really think women lead differently but possibly more effectively?

Are Women Underrepresented in Corporate America?

Why don't women have more power in Corporate America?

Nobody wants to talk about it except Jezebel and its counter-part Jezenomics which I just love for its oh-so-over-the-top reporting.

J has something to say about how Corporate America is a laughingstock and how Portfolio wrings its manicured hands over it.

Read more here.

The Official Escape From 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.

Since then, a lot has changed. Women are still abandoning Corporate America, many are writing about the topic and some even stole our name to put to use on their work (how disappointing).

But the bottom line is this: No one will ever be able to take away the fact that we are No. 1 with securing the name as a blog, No. 1 with securing the name as a website and No. 1 with defining exactly what Escape From Corporate America means.

Thank you dear fans for staying with us and for keeping us No. 1 as the official and original Escape From Corporate America creator. More to come!

Sexual Paradox in the Workplace

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.

Postfeminism And Other Fairy Tales

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!"

Fewer Working Mothers is Bad Business for Restaurants

Attention restaurants: Start wooing women entrepreneurs and their families!

Read more here about how the restaurant industry is concerned over the trend that harried working moms isn't growing like it used to.

WOWOWOW!

New Web site aimed at smart women 40 and older.

The five women who started the intelligent site -- called Wowowow -- are Liz Smith, Lesley Stahl, Mary Wells, Joni Evans and Peggy Noonan. The idea originated with literary agent Joni Evans who says she was tired of the usual travel and shopping sites and thought there was a void in terms of content for "sharp, driven women like herself."

Take a tour, here.

P.S. Will your face be on Mt. Rushmore?

Who Will Be The Next TechPresident?

Here, we all strive to be presidents of one kind or another but who will be America's first TechPresident?

Cast your vote and add your two cents here.