Wishing You Peace and Joy This Holiday Season

©Laurel Delaney 2012, "The Driehaus Museum, Chicago"

Photo courtesy:  ©Laurel Delaney 2012, "The Driehaus Museum, Chicago."

Women Entrepreneurs Are Alive, Well and Thriving

Over at Small Business Trends, Sramana Mitra (pictured) provides three examples of interesting women entrepreneurs operating in diverse industries -- from educational technology to online music.

As she points out:

These entrepreneurs prove the adage that a good idea coupled with persistence and focus on quality pays off in the end.

Gender is irrelevant.

 Read:  Women Entrepreneurs:  Alive and Well, Thank You Very Much!

Learn more about Sramana here.

When You Leap to Entrepreneurship, Here's Your Safety Net

When you start a business, it's a leap of faith.  You have no idea whether you will make a success out of your idea or not.  But you can minimize risks by talking with others, getting appropriate help and making strong connections.

It's also a good idea before you let go to get some skills, and practice -- with a safety net. That's the idea that spurred Joanne Wilson and me three years ago to start the ITP Women Entrepreneurs Festival. We wanted to celebrate the women who were flying through the air (generally not with the greatest of ease) and to inspire other women and give them the skills and safety net to make the leap themselves. We designed this gathering to be different from other conferences targeting women. We wanted it to be a place of conversation, where participants and speakers had conversations and developed relationships. We saw the conversations between the most skilled, the most daring and the women on the verge as the strongest fiber with which to build a safety net.

 Read the entire article here where the author likens entrepreneurship to a trapeze artist (that's the "letting go" part).

Women Entrepreneurs Can Be Shockingly Fast!

Photo courtesy:  Current Motor

Did you know?

•  Dell has many investment arms including Dell Ventures and the Dell Innovators Credit Fund.  They also have Women Powering Business and DWEN.

One business owner, Lauren Flanagan of Current Motor, came in through the DWEN network and is now on Dell's Entrepreneur in Residence Advisory Board. Further, she received $250,000 in technology for her business through the Dell Innovator’s Credit Fund, allowing her to get her scooters (as shown) to market six months faster.

Quote from Ingrid, The Rider on a Current Motor scooter:

Defying her own low expectations, she found our Super Scooter to be "shockingly fast, to be honest."  The ride comfortable, handling responsive, and overall decidedly NOT boring. Her suggestion:  "You HAVE to try it!"

Rumor has it that women entrepreneurs, provided they ride a Super Scooter, can be shockingly fast!

Back to Dell, are you up on all the resources they have to offer to help grow your business?  Visit to the links referenced above.

Related article:  Dell's Women's Entrepreneur Network Heads to Turkey?

Small Business Saturday

Today is Small Business Saturday.  Are you out and about supporting fellow business owners in your local community by purchasing their products or services?  I hope so!

Go here to learn more.  And tomorrow, expand accordingly:  ShopPlanet (Global Small Business Sunday)!

I wonder if those boots (as shown) are available in my -- or your -- neighborhood!

Illustration credit:  American Express homepage

Business Reboot

Steve Case, the chairman and CEO of Revolution and cofounder of AOL explains below why small, high-growth companies are the secret to economic vitality and job creation and how large companies could benefit from them.

He also dispels four myths about small businesses.  Here's the first one:

Myth #1. All small businesses want to grow.

Not all owners of small businesses want them to grow; many “mom and pop” enterprises are happy to stay small. It is really a subset of young businesses—those less than five years old—that do want to grow and that create the majority of jobs: 40 million over the last 25 years. This represents 20 percent of total gross job creation and total net new job creation in the United States over this time period.

Read:  Restarting the U.S. small-business growth engine

How to Go Beyond Running a One-Woman Show

Here's how to activate your leadership skills to move beyond running a one-woman show.

6 keys to Moving Startup Leaders From Good to Great

Illustration credit:  Good to Great by Jim Collins

Stay On Top Of Your Game Gals

How to Turn Your Business Into a Reality Show

As a startup, how do you get noticed when you are just a small fish in a big pond?  Two young women have a most unique marketing strategy for getting gobs of attention.  They have teamed up to create a reality TV show about their business.

Now the pair are trying to raise money to turn it into a series on crowd-funding broadcast site Mobcaster. The pilot, Startup: NYC, chronicles a day in the life of PA for a Day owner Charell Star and Morgan Gantt, owner of the online wig-sales site, Swigchd.

Think it will work?  Learn more here and start to track it.  Is this an idea that will work for you and your business?

Photo credit: Swigchd Facebook page.

Grassroots Marketing Works: Pinterest Proves It

Laurel Delaney on Pinterest (www.Pinterest.com/LaurelDelaney)

Pinterest, a virtual pinboard, lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web.  But did you know this?

The way Pinterest grew had little to do with Silicon Valley wisdom. It was about marketing — mostly grassroots marketing — not better algorithms.

Find out what they did here.

And remember, there are many ways to success with your business.  Leave no stone unturned.

By the way, find me on Pinterest (www.pinterest.com/laureldelaney)  Are you on Pinterest?  If so, let me know and I'll follow you!

No Entrepreneurs Are Born Successful

According to Patrick Daniel, "Finding Your Road to Success," he outlines six rationales on why some entrepreneurs undermine their own success. Are you guilty of any of these?

1. Success will lead to loneliness.  Some entrepreneurs believe that success will mean working long hours, neglecting their spouse and children, which in turn could result in divorce. Women, in particular, sometimes believe that success will make them unlovable and intimidating to men.
2. Success will lead to envy. Many people want what others have, and the more success a person achieves, the more envious are that person’s friends, neighbors, and colleagues.
3. I’m not good enough for success. This belief can result from many things, such as having negative parents and not having a college degree.
4. Success will change my lifestyle. Some entrepreneurs fear that the changes that come with success will actually make life less enjoyable.
5. Success is too expensive. There is a cost to everything, and success is not an exception.
6. I won’t be able to control everything that happens. If you fear all the things you can’t control, you should never step into the entrepreneur lifestyle.

Read the entire article here.  Related article:  Fear of Success

Oh Let's Move On: Start a Business!

How many times are we going to write about this and never get a solution?

14 percent: Why are women under represented in the C-suites of corporate America?

Four decades after the feminist revolution, why are there so few women at the top of big companies across America ...

And yet, this is why we started this blog:

More women have started their own businesses. Data this year from U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Business Owners shows that, over the past 15 years, the number of women-owned companies nationwide has grown 54 percent compared with 37 percent growth in the number of businesses overall.

Read the entire article:

14 Percent:  Why Are Women Under Represented in the C-Suites of Corporate America?

Illustration credit:  Catalyst

Stop Being a Slave to the Corporate World

Jackie Greene started selling as a hobby on eBay in 1999, selling items her children had outgrown. Her business, The Steinsburg Store, now focuses on collectibles and children’s items, and her profits have grown to cover her family’s monthly expenses.

I've heard that Jackie often mentors other sellers new to eBay and is an eBay Top Rated Seller who takes pride in her excellent customer service.

Jackie has managed to turn her eBay business into a source of income for her family.  You can too.  Anyone can start a part-time business for supplemental income that can eventually turn into a full-time occupation that allows you to live more of your life rather than being a slave to the corporate world.

Pay a visit to her store here.  You'll get plenty of ideas on how to succeed.  Plus, you might find an item or two you didn't know you wanted.

Meet the Apple App Ladies

What do Amanda Wixted (1), Cathy Edwards (2), Lisa Bettany (3), Monisha Perkash (4) and Prerna Gupta (5) all have in common?

They are women entrepreneurs who build apps for the Apple store. 

1. Meteor Grove
2. Chomp
3. Camera+
4. Lumoback
5. Khush

Read the entire article here.

Illustration credit:  No. 5

Don't Be a Wimp: Show Courage Under Fire

Four years ago I wrote and cross-posted here at Escape From Corporate America the article below for the American Express OPEN Forum.  Has much changed since then?  Not really.  Especially my last point:  Don't be a wimp.  Show courage under fire.

Read:  16 Ways to Dodge an Economic Crisis

Brush Up on Business With a World Class Online Education

Lately, have you been thinking that perhaps you don't know everything there is to know about running a business?  Join the crowd.  We all feel that way from time to time.  But many of us, including me, do something about it.

Why not take a time out to pursue knowledge that will better equip you as you grow your business?  And I've got just the place.  Two Stanford computer science professors -- Daphne Koller and Andrew Ng -- are offering higher-level online education courses for FREE at Coursera. The beauty in this new education that you don't have to leave your home or office, you learn a whole lot and you don't spend a dime.

I'm already signed up for a course in January 2013.  Check it out for yourself.  You may find one or two courses you like as well.

Coursera

At the Helm of HER Own Company

Arminda "Mindy" Figueroa

After 25 years of experience in the corporate world, beginning with a marketing position at Anheuser-Busch, Arminda "Mindy" Figueroa (pictured) made her dream come true.

In 2007, she founded Latin2Latin Marketing+Communications, LLC, targeting the growing Latino market in the United States, and initially operating her new business out of her home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Learn more about what it took to get started and where she's headed next - here.

Never Give Up For Quitting Lasts Forever

©Laurel Delaney 2012, "Comeback 2.0"

As you run your business, if ever there is a lesson to learn, it's from Lance Armstrong.  And in this case, it's to do the opposite of what he has decided to do:  quit.

Yes, Lance Armstrong has decided not to fight the doping charges.

The reason I am writing about this here is because the following quote referenced in the blog post by Michael Specter for The New Yorker really stood out for me:

(My favorite Lance quote about pain, clearly applicable to the accusations, is, “Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.”)

Yes, quitting lasts forever.

Read the entire blog post by Michael Specter:  And now he is nothing (The New Yorker) 

Never, ever quit.  No ands, ifs or buts.  Just don't.

Photo credit:  ©Laurel Delaney 2012, front cover of "Comeback 2.0:  Up Close and Personal"

Giving It Your Best: What's Your Story?

My trusty Clinique collection (as shown)

Following up on our "Women Rule" theme ... Clinique has a wonderful campaign taking place on Celebrating Personal Best stories.  Have a look.

What's your best accomplishment? Have you started that business?

Visit Clinique.

Full disclosure: Sponsored ad.  Photo reflects Clinique products used by author.

Women Rule

U.S. Artistic Gymnasts -- Gold Medal Winners 2012 Summer Olympics

I am featuring this recent article published in The Wall Street Journal only because I absolutely loved the third point.

3.  Women Rule

Thanks in part to its population, and its progressive policies toward girls' and women's athletics (see: Title IX, the 1972 federal legislation that guarantees women equal support for sports at public institutions) the U.S. produces the best female sports team on the planet.  

I suspect that stat holds up on female entrepreneurs too.

Congratulations to all the women Olympians who exceeded everyone's expectations on greatness.  You are a role model for us all.

Entire article can be found here.

Related article (added 8/22/12).

Just Start Something in Your Life

Whatever it may be -- running a race, taking a photograph or starting a business -- confidence is key.

According to the article below:

... women actually develop confidence through the process of launching a business, which in turn helps their endeavors grow. "Just start something in your life … you will have a happier life, you will feel more confident, and that's what it's all about" ...

Read the entire article:

Women Starting Businesses - Oprah.com

Photo:  Jean Chatzky

Gifted Gabby Gets Gold!

Congrats to artistic gymnast Gabby Douglas (pictured - wins two golds!) and all the Olympic champs!  Gabby is an example of an American dream come true -- similar to entrepreneurship in that one goes after their calling and passion in life, deals with the unknown, works hard to achieve something great and then creates a destiny of her own.

Read more here.

And while I have you, I'm going for my own little gold with the Small Business Influencer Award.  Please take a moment to vote for me - thanks!

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