Make 2014 Your Best Ever!

©2013 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Wishing you a new year filled with growth, adventure, hope, promise, fun, good health, happiness, love and the launch of a new business.

My best, 

Laurel

Shine Bright This Holiday Season

©2013 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

  Wishing You a Joyful Christmas

and a Star Bright New Year

Note:  These star lights were sold during the Christkindlmarket Chicago 2013.

UpStart Program for Minority and Women Entrepreneurs

A new program designed to help aspiring minority and women entrepreneurs launch successful businesses, is being offered by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation in collaboration with the UW-Madison Small Business Development Center and area professionals with expertise in fields such as accounting, sales and marketing.

UpStart Program for Minority and Women’s Entrepreneurship will offer two 13-week sessions in 2014 with classes starting in early February and again in mid-September. The free program was piloted during fall 2013 with 15 participants and will accept up to 25 applicants for each session in 2014.

Learn more here.

Women Entrepreneurs See the World Through a Different Lens

Designer Tory Burch wants to see more women entrepreneurs than the current 126 million already running businesses worldwide.  She says:

“Based on our experiences, women entrepreneurs see the world through a different lens and, in turn, do things differently.”

Learn more about what Ms. Burch thinks will drive more women to entrepreneurship here.

Photo courtesy:  Lauren Indvik

Female Entrepreneurs You Should Know About

In Tech Cocktail:

Although there are noteworthy entrepreneurs across all genders, races, ethnicity, geography, etc., this post is dedicated to shining a spotlight on female entrepreneurs, as we at Tech Cocktail are proud proponents of the Change the Ratio movement.  And while it’s easy to applaud the Ariana Huffingtons, Marissa Mayers, Oprah Winfreys, Sara Blakelys, and Sheryl Sandbergs of the world, there are countless female entrepreneurs doing great things that you (likely) haven’t heard of.

Well worth a look.

And don't kid yourself, persistence and determination matters when starting a business.

15 Female Entrepreneurs You Should Know About (But Probably Don't)

Photo courtesy:  Dana Lockadoo

For Women Entrepreneurs, It Can Be a Messy World

We've come a long way.  Or have we?  On Oct. 25, 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed the Women’s Business Ownership Act.  What did it do for women business owners?

The law, designated H.R. 5050 for the equality it set out to establish for female entrepreneurs, banned discrimination against women seeking business loans and improved access to educational and technical assistance. 

Fast forward to here and now:

Sarah Biller, 42, president of financial technology company Capital Market Exchange, cites perfectionism as a major challenge for women, including herself. “I wanted to come to market with a perfect solution,” she says. But “it’s a messy world.” That “tendency to play by the rules and dot every ‘i’ or cross every ‘t’ stands in the way of women all the time,” she says.

Read the entire article:  Is the Playing Field Even for Women Entrepreneurs 25 Years After H.R. 5050?

Photo courtesy:  Paul Downey

Young Female Entrepreneurs (YFE) Interviews Founders of Made Woman Magazine

Young Female Entrepreneurs - worth a look!
Made Woman Magazine - also worth a look!

To Play the Venture-Capital Game, Watch Sports

I've always lived my life by not playing by the rules but according to Fiona Murray's article below, you should do the opposite.  That is, to get in the venture-capital game, you must play by the rules.  Here are a couple of them:

1. WEAR A UNIFORM

2. USE A CONFIDENT VOICE AND ASSERTIVE LANGUAGE

3. NETWORK AS IF IT’S YOUR JOB

4. WATCH SPORTS

Counter-intuitive advice, eh?

Read more  How female entrepreneurs can get in the venture-capital game

Photo credit:  Ed Yourdon 

The Type of Business You Run Might Determine Your Growth

According to the Miami Herald, while women are launching businesses at a rapid pace — 1.5 times higher than the national average — their companies still remain small in scope, with only 4 percent reaching earnings of $500,000 and only 1.8 percent surpassing the million dollar mark, according to American Express small business research.

Why is that?

Speaking in Miami [at the national conference of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO)], Anna Colton, Bank of America’s Small Business Banking national sales executive, said the reasons why women are struggling to land venture capital may be the type of businesses they run. Venture capital firms tend to invest in high tech and life sciences, but women tend to have professional services firms, she notes. Colton feels that could change when venture capital firms are made to understand the growth and success of women-owned businesses.

Read the entire article here.

Photo courtesy:  Moodboard

Best Way to Reach Customers? Face-To-Face.

Source:  Cox Business

The Cox Business Snapshot of Women Entrepreneur Survey was fielded among 624 U.S. women business owners and was conducted in October to coincide with National Women’s Small Business Month.  They set out to identify what opportunities and challenges are driving these women leaders.

One snippet of data:

85% of the women surveyed said there are business challenges that are unique to being a woman. 73% said gender bias was a problem and 55% said there are industries where there aren’t many opportunities for women.

Women prefer face-to-face meetings with customers versus email, telephone, social media or snail mail.  What also scored high for women is having control of their destinies.  No surprises there.

Learn more here.

Smart Startups

How can you ensure that people buy your product or pay for your service? How do you compete with similar companies? How do you come up with a winning business idea in the first place? These are questions that the women in the following slide show have answers for.  Be sure to go through each slide to find each woman business owner's secrets to success.

Let their success stories inspire you to make your dream a reality. 

Read:  How to Start a Successful Business

Photo courtesy:  Jerry

A Snapshot of a Book Cover Says It All

Photo courtesy:  Laurel J. Delaney

Learn more here.

Exporting as a Growth Avenue for Your Business

I've been writing a NEW book on exporting all year (as shown)! Please sign up below to be notified of publication date (December 18, 2013) and to pre-order book at a guaranteed price!

Here's part of what you will learn from my new book:

• Identify products and services that can be profitably exported.
• Use the Internet to facilitate all aspects of exporting, especially marketing.
• Develop a clear strategy on how to export.
• Export your product or service efficiently and profitably.
• Find customers retail and wholesale customers globally, enter new markets, get paid, and ship.
• Explore your best territory using statistics and market research.
• Develop pricing and prepare documentation.
• Leverage the Internet and social media—including using tablets and mobile phones—to boost your online exports.

Can't wait for you to read!

Sign-up here: Exporting:  The Definitive Guide to Selling Abroad Profitably
 

Be Your Own Boss

Oftentimes there are mixed messages sent about women starting businesses.  It varies from how they struggle, to what they lack and why it's so hard for a woman to be a boss.  Forget all those negative notions.  Why not focus on celebrating the successes of a woman running a business?

If we are going to boost the number of women starting up their own business we must instill a sense of confidence amongst women and make it clear that they have every opportunity to succeed. Part of this is simply recognizing that entrepreneurship comes in different shapes and sizes.

Read the entire article:  Championing Women in Business
 
Photo courtesy:  John Fischer

How Do You Achieve Success?

©2013 Laurel Delaney.  All rights reserved.

On achieving success, it can be through hard work, luck, talent or all of those things.  In this feature:

Kay Koplovitz not only shows what can be achieved, she's helping others with their dreams.

Check it out here.

A bit on Kay Koplovitz:

She was the founder of USA Network, the first woman president of a television network, and creator of what's now called Syfy. She went on to become chairwoman of Fifth & Pacific, the parent company of Kate Spade, Juicy Couture and other fashion brands. Koplovitz was a driving force behind Springboard Enterprises ... - USA Today

100 Best Sites for Women

Forbes has published its fourth annual list:

The 100 Best Websites for Women, 2013

From Forbes:  As is always the method to our madness, the above list is the culmination of a year’s worth of Internetting, asking around and getting lost down the rabbit hole of the best (and sometimes weirdest) of the Web ...

Oh, maybe we'll make the list next year! 

To Bootstrap or Not to Bootstrap?

To bootstrap or not to bootstrap?  It is the difference between slowly gaining ground in growing a business versus giving up equity and rapidly growing by going after VC funds.

Cindy Padnos (pictured) is the founder and Managing Partner of Illuminate Ventures.

Padnos cites a statistic that women made up just 7 percent of partners in the tech sector among the 100 most active venture capital firms from 2009-2011. A white paper she published shows that women-operated, venture-backed high-tech companies average 12 percent higher annual revenues, using an average one-third less capital than male counterparts.

Read the entire article:  To pitch or not to pitch:  Silicon Valley women founders weight venture capital versus bootstrapping

Photo courtesy:  Steve Wilhelm

Women Lead the Way in Startups

Stamford, Connecticut

Why are women leading the way in startups, at least in Stamford, Connecticut?

... studies show that women are strong, credit-worthy borrowers, who have higher payback rates of bank loans compared to the population as a whole.

See what else is cooking for women business owners in Stamford, Connecticut where they've witnessed a 17.3 percent growth in jobs -- or a whopping 92,000 positions -- among women-led businesses -- from 2007-2011.

What does this tell the world?  Make women a priority. 

Read the entire article to find out what Stamford is doing to harness female talent and attract other women entrepreneurs:  Women Entrepreneurs Can Drive Economy 

Photo courtesy: Lee Cannon

Alison Gutterman Goes Interactive With Her Products

Alison Gutterman, President, Jelmar

Introduced 46 years ago by Skokie-based Jelmar, Tarn-X, the metal tarnish cleaner, is the top brand in its category in the United States.  And CLR, the company’s 30-year-old calcium, lime and rust remover, also holds a top spot, according to IRI.

President Alison Gutterman (pictured) has zeroed in on marketing innovation and new product development to reach a new generation of customers since she took over six years ago.

Learn more on how Alison's marketing efforts are paying off and how to stay relevant and competitive in tough times- here.

Photo courtesy:  ©2013 Laurel Delaney.  All right reserved.

Believe in Your Dreams

To women everywhere ...

"Believe in dreams, your dreams for yourself. Your dreams to be who you want to be, to touch the sky, to travel far, to be valued for who you are, as a whole person, with the body you were given and the brain you’ve developed." - Dale Fiek

Read the entire article here.