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?