Small Business Saturday: Are You Shopping Local?

American Express OPEN started Small Business Saturday in 2010 with the intent to help raise awareness about the importance of small businesses and the products and services offered by them. The U.S. Senate officially recognized the day in 2012 expressing their support.

If you are running a small, local shop, do you get more than usual sales today or is Black Friday more known?

Regardless, some business owners think this:  Small Business Saturday Still Small Potatoes, Owners Complain

What are your thoughts?

Screen shot courtesy:  American Express OPEN

What's Holding Women Back in Business?

What's holding women back in business?  Do you think what's holding women back in the corporate world is the same for women who run a business?  I don't think so but here's what Sandy Carter, General Manager for IBM Ecosystems and Social Business Evangelism, says when Carrier Kerpen asked her that very same question.

Be a better networker and build better relationships.

She goes on to say "Don’t be fearful of networking and don’t view it as added “extra.” Approach it in the same way you would any other aspect of your business – head on."

Isn't this something we do as a business owner day in and day out?

Read the entire article and see if it applies to you:  The Importance of Human Connections

Photo Credit: Arya Ziai

Exceptional North American Women Entrepreneurs

Meet two of the 13 winning entrants to a prestigious North American entrepreneurship program.  They are:  Tonia Jahshan, co-owner of Steeped Tea, and Kristen Wood, who owns a rapidly growing chain of high-end spas called The Ten Spot.  On Thursday, both were named among the EY (formerly Ernst & Young) Entrepreneurial Winning Women.

Since the Winning Women program began in 2008, it has helped more than 70 women grow their companies' revenue by an average of 20 per cent. The participants take part in a customized program designed by EY focused on building critical relationships, enhancing leadership skills, expanding business know-how and providing increased visibility.

Learn more:  Hamilton women names to elite class

Screenshot courtesy:  EY

7 Lessons We Can Learn From Fierce Female Entrepreneurs

Whether it is the healer, the matchmaker or the humanitarian, all these women have something in common:  entrepreneurship.

Read on:  7 Important Lessons for Entrepreneurs  (Note:  The article is based on The 7 Most Powerful Women to Watch in 2014)

Entrepreneurship Is the Next Women's Movement

According to president and CEO of the Women's Business Development Council Fran Pastore, entrepreneurship is the next women's movement.  She refers to it as living in the moment.

Between 1997 and 2013, the number of women-owned businesses in the United States increased by 59 percent, compared to 41 percent for all new businesses in the United States, a rate of almost one and a half times the average. Despite this growth, and that women-owned businesses account for 30 percent of all U.S. businesses, they receive only 4 percent of all federal procurement dollars.

Pastore supports the Women's Business Ownership Act of 2014. The act focuses on promoting women-owned small businesses through three areas:

1. Increasing small-business counseling, technical assistance and training
2. Increasing federal procurement opportunities
3. Improving access to capital

Learn more about the Next Women's Movement on Nov. 13 at WBDC's annual business breakfast, "Connect, Grow, and Influence: Women with Impact."  Paula Zahn will moderate a panel discussion with female business leaders who are at the forefront of women's entrepreneurship. Learn more at www.ctwbdc.org