Article of Interest: New Small-Biz Agendas in Congress

Seven incoming members of Congress with entrepreneurial experience, and the presumptive chair of the House Small Business Committee, Nydia Velázquez, discuss what to expect. Read all about it here.

Season's Greetings

Wishing you a wonderful Holiday Season
with happiness and prosperity
throughout the new year.

Books of Interest: Recommended Reading on the Secrets of Success

It's becoming a rite of passage for retired or ousted chief executives to publish their memoirs, touting their leadership acumen and detailing their rise to the corner office. Here's a review of eight books that will challenge the way you think about leadership, risk-taking and self-knowledge -- and how those themes shape success and failure later in life.

What are you currently reading to clear your path for success?

Books That Analyze Secrets of Success

Article of Interest: Evaluating and Selecting a Strategic Partner

For effective strategic partner recruitment, the author recommends an eight-step plan, which includes identifying your target market, developing partner selection criteria, and developing an alliance plan with a selected partner.

Step One: Clearly define and validate your market.

Read more here.

Article of Interest: Gratitude At Work

Gratitude is not just a "feel good" emotion when it comes to organizational life. When an employee believes his or her superiors are grateful for his or her work, the employee will benefit by having an improved sense of worth to the organization. This improved sense of worth can lead to performance improvement, thereby benefiting the organization.

Hint: A person expressing gratitude benefits from that expression, which also may positively impact the organization. For instance, research has shown that persons who are genuinely grateful may be more optimistic, experience improved health, and perhaps even have extended life spans.

Gratefulness matters. Find out why here.

Books of Interest: Best Business Books 2006

Taken as a whole, the Best Business Books of 2006, assembled into eleven categories by the folks at strategy+business (Booz Allen Hamilton Inc.), reflect the political, social, technological, and economic churn that is reshaping the way business is done. Find out why here and start reading. Requires brief registration but it's worth it.

Sneak peek at the "future" category:

Yochai Benkler,
The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom
(Yale University Press, 2006)

Henry Jenkins,
Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide
(New York University Press, 2006)

Robert Neuwirth,
Shadow Cities: A Billion Squatters, A New Urban World
(Routledge, 2005)

AnnaLee Saxenian,
The New Argonauts: Regional Advantage in a Global Economy
(Harvard University Press, 2006)

Tim Flannery,
The Weather Makers: How Man Is Changing the Climate and What It Means for Life on Earth
(Atlantic Monthly Press, 2005)

Sound Advice: Opinions Can Be Powerful Sales Tools

When online gardening retailer Burpee.com began asking customers to post reviews of the products they purchased, company management imagined it would take several months to collect enough reviews to help boost the site's business. But they reaped some positive results much sooner than they expected. Find out how here.

Opinions Can Be Powerful Sales Tools.

It only seems fitting to now ask you ... how we are doing? Take one-minute to let us know.

Report of Interest: Ladies First

This is the first special report from SmartMoney.com on eleven successful women business owners, including Bobbi Brown (pictured) who offer advice to women looking to start a business. They highlight their accomplishments, while underscoring some of the obstacles they've faced. Their compelling stories offer all entrepreneurs inspiration and a road map to success.

Worth the read. Advice from some of America's most successful female entrepreneurs.

News: Marsha Firestone Finalist for E&Y Award

Marsha Firestone, Ph.D. (pictured), president of our Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO), was recognized as a national finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2006 awards in the Supporter of Entrepreneurship category. Marsha was among three finalists selected from approximately 300 regional award winners by an independent panel of judges.

She was cited for her work as president and founder of the WPO, which connects top women entrepreneurs at the million and multimillion-dollar level ($2 million in gross annual sales or $1 million for service-based business) for greater personal and professional success.

Read more here.

Survey of Interest: Small Biz Spirits High

Entrepreneurs are increasingly exuberant about the U.S. economy, according to a monthly survey released this morning from credit card outfit Discover, a unit of Morgan Stanley.

According to the survey, called the Discover Small Business Watch, owners' confidence in the economy rose for the fourth straight month (see results below). Because small businesses represent such a large chunk of the economy, their owners' sentiments can signal good or bad things to come.

To take entrepreneurs' collective pulse, Discover -- with the help of Rasmussen Reports -- polled 1,000 randomly selected small businesses, each with no more than five employees. The result is a confidence index, calculated by assigning weights to the answers to the following six consistent questions. In November, the index jumped ten points, to 130.

1. Are economic conditions for your business better or worse?

2. Have you had temporary cash flow problems in the last 90 days?

3. Next few months, will you be hiring more, laying off or no change?

4. How would you rate the economy these days?

5. Generally, are economic conditions getting better or worse?

6. Over the next six months, will your company increase or decrease spending on business development activities?

Find out whether you are keeping the holiday biz blahs at bay here.

A Word From WPO Headquarter Office

What we're thankful for.

And a special thank you to those of you who have so generously supported us on a local level in Chicago. Happy Thanksgiving!

Video of Interest: Funding Your Dream

Find out what venture capitalists have to say about funding a dream -- from how many deals they have done to how long your business plan should be to what mistakes entrepreneurs make when presenting.

It's all here on video.

Article of Interest: The Art of the Barter

A growing number of Web sites are trying to lure small firms and independent contractors to swap goods and services. Does your firm barter? If so, how?

Online Sites Promote The Art of the Barter.

News: Weekly Informational "Marsha Minutes"

Want a minute with our founder, Dr. Marsha Firestone? Well now you've got it! Find out more here.

News: ATHENA Award Luncheon Recipient (11/6)

I had the honor of serving on the 2006 ATHENA Award Selection Committee and attending the luncheon today. What an amazing group of gifted women. Here's the list of nominees:

• Cheryl Burton, Anchor/Reporter, ABC 7 Chciago, WLS-TV
• Julie Murphy Casserly, Owner, President, JMC Wealth Management
• Eileen Durkn, CEO, Neumann Association
• Janet Froetscher, President and CEO, United Way of Metropolitan Chicago
• Susan Fullman, Corporate Vice President, Director, Consumer Solutions and Innovation, Motorola
• Kathy Hopinkah Hannan, Area Managing Partner, Tax Services, KPMG, LLP
• Judy McCaskey, Board Chairperson, State Treasurer's Advisory Board for Women's Issues
• Sarah Pang, Senior Vice President, CNA Corporate Communications
• Alice Peterson, President, Syrus Global

And the award winner is ... Kathy Hopinkah Hannan, Area Managing Partner, Tax Services, KPMG, LLP! She is shown second from the right on the stage. Click on the picture to get a closer look.

On behalf of the Women Presidents' Organization, congratulations to all the nominess and in particular to Kathy for her well-deserved honor.

For more information on ATHENA International and how to get involved, click here.

Event Reminder: Chicago Athena Award Luncheon (11/6)

ATHENA Award Recipients are individuals who:

• Demonstrate excellence, creativity, and initiative in their business or profession.

• Provide valuable service by contributing time and energy to improve the quality of life for others in the community.

• Actively assist women in realizing their full leadership potential.

Find out who becomes the next award recipient on Monday, November 6 at the Palmer House Hilton Hotel. Startup time is 11:30 a.m. For more information visit: Athena International Organization.

The Women Presidents' Organization is a proud partner to ATHENA International. We hope to see you there!

Video of Interest: WPO Chicago Conference

Many of you have been asking what's so great about WPO, why should you become a member and what's the fuss about the WPO annual conference especially next year's in Phoenix (April 19-21) celebrating our 10th anniversary. We've got answers.

Watch the video and learn more about WPO here.

Site of Interest: Social Innovation Conversations

Yes, we are busy building our companies. But in addition to focusing on the bottom line, are you at least thinking about changing the world and the importance of the human connection to everything you do, day in and day out?

You can be a social entrepreneur -- a creative and inspiring leader -- and also be a WPO member. They are not mutually exclusive.

Read more here >> Social Innovation Conversations: Reinventing the World Together One Conversation At a Time.

And if you are making the world a better place, let us know about it. We welcome hearing from you.

Site of Interest: Second Life

As business owners, one of the things we have to always prepare for is how to see through and stay ahead of trends, challenges and opportunities. Here we present a glimpse of the future. Second Life is a 3D online digital world imagined, created and owned by its residents. Soon, your single greatest competitor won't be in China or India but at Second Life. Yes, you read that right.

Read more here >> Your world. Your imagination.

>> Wired Travel Guide: Second Life.

>> Popular Science: Your Second Life is Ready

Welcome to a new world of endless reinvention.

Article of Interest: Women Have Room to Grow Companies

In September, the Center for Women's Business Research projected that as of this year, there are an estimated 10.4 million privately held, women-owned firms in the United States. This accounts for two in five of all businesses in the country. These firms generate $1.9 trillion in annual sales and employ 12.8 million people nationwide.

Yet at our recent Women Presidents' Organization 2006 annual conference in Chicago, participants in a Key4Women focus group identified undercapitalization as a common mistake women business owners should avoid. Undercapitalization can create a host of challenges for a company -- not only is it more difficult to get an undercapitalized business off the ground, but it creates obstacles while trying to secure funding from banks.

While access to capital may have been a challenge for women 30 years ago, today's woman business owner has a wide range of banking resources readily available to her. Some banks have created specific opportunities for women-owned businesses.
Don't wait until it's too late.

Key4Women is an initiative of KeyBank, a corporate sponsor to the Women Presidents' Organization.

Read more here >> Women Have Room to Grow Companies

News: There's No Glass Ceiling for Women Entrepreneurs

Where is the glass ceiling when you’re a woman entrepreneur of a multi-million dollar company? A Compensation Survey of members of the Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO) suggests that there is none.

Highlights from the survey are as follows:

• More than half of respondents (56%) believe their salary is the same as their male counterparts.
• Over half (53%) of respondents believe their total compensation is the same as their male counterparts.
• More than half (57%) of respondents routinely investigate and adjust salaries to ensure gender pay equity for positions of equal qualification and responsibility.
• Over half (51)% plan to increase their salary and/or their bonus, benefits, commissions, partnerships distributions, or compensation.
• Being able to provide themselves and their employees equitable compensation for work performed was an important issue for respondents when they started their companies.

Learn more here.

Event Reminder: Women's Summit (October 17)

The Women Presidents' Organization has agreed to partner with the University of Chicago Women’s Business Group to support the second annual Women’s Summit, to be held on October 17, 2006 from 3:00 to 9:00 p.m. This year's theme is: "Creating a Shared Vision."

The Women’s Summit will provide a venue for diverse leadership from corporations, law, medicine, economics, public policy, education, journalism, science, technology and non-profit organizations in the Chicago area to join together. In addition to celebrating successes and connections, we will develop a collective vision for increasing the contribution and success of women and minorities to the community in which we live and work.

In honor of this occasion, Cherie Booth, QC will be the featured speaker at the event. Her husband, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair, has given his wife credit for being "... an enormous source of strength and an extraordinary person in her own right. I never know how she manages with all the different things she does -- the work, the family." ~ The New York Times.

The Summit will start with facilitated visioning sessions to explore important topics for women today. Each session will have a thought leader with expertise on the topic and a professional facilitator. You are invited to share your thoughts and ideas and get involved. Our goal is for the community to come together, create a shared vision, and shape our future.

The breakout sessions will be followed by a networking opportunity, and by dinner and the keynote address.

"The Women Presidents' Organization is delighted to be a part of the UCWBG's Women's Summit. And with the United Kingdom being such a strong and loyal ally to the United States, we are thrilled to have Ms. Booth share her wisdom with us." -- Laurel Delaney, Chicago Chapter Facilitator

All Women Presidents' Organization members will be entitled to the member rate ($125), so please click the appropriate option -- Friends of the Summit -- when registering.

For more information and to register please visit:
the UCWBG's website.

Article of Interest: Women Entrepreneurs Reach for $1M Level

And when they arrive, WPO supports their very next step.

Read more >> here.

FYI: Activities Offered By The National Women's Business Council

Areas of interest and activities going on through the NWBC:

• NWBC Public Policy Web Cast
• Council Meeting
• USHCC Conference
• OPIC Global Markets Workshops
• Longaberger Interviewed in SCORE Newsletter
• New WOB Legislation
• Center Releases New Data
• National Preparedness Month

Check out further here: National Women's Business Council -- ENGAGE!

Sound Advice: Recommended Reading on Sales and Marketing

Most entrepreneurs recognize that marketing is integral to the success of their business. WSJ's StartupJournal spoke to Michael Port, 35, the author of "Book Yourself Solid: The Fastest, Easiest, and Most Reliable System for Getting More Clients Than You Can Handle Even if You Hate Marketing and Selling," for a list of his favorite marketing and sales books. Mr. Port says that he is surprised by the small business owners that he meets who don't read consistently.

"There is no better way to continuously invest in your professional development than reading," says Mr. Port.

Below are some of his top picks, comments on each and an understanding as to why we featured a picture of Elvis:

Top Picks

Thought Piece: Dream It. Do It.

You've come a long way baby and this thought piece will prove it. How many of you have gone from rags to riches by following your dream and doing something about it?

Take a peek at the childhoods of 14 self-made members of the Forbes 400 who did just that. Find out if your dreams, mistakes, routines and motivations are the same as these world elite entrepreneurs.

Read more here >> Secrets Of The Self-Made

Thought Piece: How Strategy Guru C.K. Prahalad Is Changing the Way CEOs Think

Against all logic.

Take a cab ride through Bombay, and these are the scenes that will likely strike you first: raggedly dressed homeless families sprawled on blankets amid shacks. Traffic hopelessly clogged with every manner of soot-belching vehicle and wooden cart. Gaunt hawkers and beggars tapping on your window at red lights. For foreign visitors, such jarring images of poverty and desperation are hard to shake.

View those same streets through the eyes of C.K. Prahalad, however, and they become a beehive of entrepreneurialism and creativity.

Read more >> Business Prophet.

Article of Interest: Origin of Million Dollar Ideas

Million dollar business ideas have no boundaries, age limits, race restrictions, time lines, or economic class. They can occur when you least expect them. And searching for the million dollar business idea is less a product of business planning and market research and more born from observation and frustration.

What else can we tell you? How about a big hint: The final and most important connection between a million dollar idea and a regular idea is the response of the marketplace. Even if others see it as a great idea, the consumer must want to buy it.

Read more >> here.

Event of Interest: WBDC's 20th Anniversary Conference (September 27-28)

Save the date: September 27-28, 2006 at Navy Pier in Chicago. To download the 2006 Conference brochure and to register, visit: Women's Business Development Center's 20th Anniversary Entrepreneurial Woman's Conference

The Women Presidents' Organization is a proud partner to the WBDC in Chicago. Please stop by our Booth No. 527. See you there!

Article of Interest: What Makes A Good Leader?

When discussing business leadership, the distinction between good management and good leadership is often made.

Managers are thought to be the budgeters, the organizers, the controllers — the ants, as one observer puts it — while leaders are the charismatic, big-picture visionaries, the ones who change the whole ant farm. But such a construction, those interviewed for this Harvard Business School Working Knowledge article agree, erroneously leads to a bimodal way of looking at something that should really be evaluated on two separate scales.

Read more ... here. And what do you think?

Happy Labor Day

Labor Day is a celebration and a tribute to the contributions of workers who have made our country stronger. Enjoy.

P.S. I took this photo near my home.

Publication of Interest: Harvard Business Review OnPoint

Over the weekend I bought the new executive edition of the Harvard Business Review and read it cover to cover. It's packed with all sorts of novel ideas and approaches on how best to grow an enterprise, including:

• how to reconceive your business's profit drivers
• how to stake out new market space where competitors haven't ventured
• how to expand your core business into related markets in predictable, repeatable ways
• how to execute a great strategy
• how to use the specific management tools that are tied to long-term growth

You can find it online below (for purchase) or visit your local Borders or Barnes & Noble; they both carry it on their periodical stand.

"Growing Your Business: Strategies That Work for Small and Midsize Companies."

Event: The Executives' Club of Chicago Women's Leadership Breakfast (September 26)

We are proud to be a partner on The Executives' Club of Chicago Women's Leadership Breakfast series. The next one is Tuesday, September 26 (7:00 a.m. registration) and hosted at the downtown Chicago Hilton. The theme is: "Executive Presence: How Savvy Are Your Business Skills?"

To learn more about the program and to register: Download invite here (PDF file).

Online registration closes September 22.

Event: Women's Summit (October 17)

The Women Presidents' Organization has agreed to partner with the University of Chicago Women’s Business Group to support the second annual Women’s Summit, to be held on October 17, 2006 from 3:00 to 9:00 p.m. This year's theme is: "Creating a Shared Vision."

The Women’s Summit will provide a venue for diverse leadership from corporations, law, medicine, economics, public policy, education, journalism, science, technology and non-profit organizations in the Chicago area to join together. In addition to celebrating successes and connections, we will develop a collective vision for increasing the contribution and success of women and minorities to the community in which we live and work.

In honor of this occasion, Cherie Booth, QC will be the featured speaker at the event. Her husband, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair, has given his wife credit for being "... an enormous source of strength and an extraordinary person in her own right. I never know how she manages with all the different things she does -- the work, the family." ~ The New York Times.

The Summit will start with facilitated visioning sessions to explore important topics for women today. Each session will have a thought leader with expertise on the topic and a professional facilitator. You are invited to share your thoughts and ideas and get involved. Our goal is for the community to come together, create a shared vision, and shape our future.

The breakout sessions will be followed by a networking opportunity, and by dinner and the keynote address.

"The Women Presidents' Organization is delighted to be a part of the UCWBG's Women's Summit. And with the United Kingdom being such a strong and loyal ally to the United States, we are thrilled to have Ms. Booth share her wisdom with us." -- Laurel Delaney, Chicago Chapter Facilitator

All Women Presidents' Organization members will be entitled to the member rate ($125), so please click the appropriate option -- Friends of the Summit -- when registering.

For more information and to register please visit:
the UCWBG's website.

News: Women-owned Firms Increase Nearly 20 Percent

Women-owned firms increased nearly 20 percent, while all U.S. firms grew by seven percent over the latest period studied (1997 and 2002), based on a report released by the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

The report uses newly released U.S. Census and other data to describe women's contributions to the economy. Statistics documented in the report include:

• Women owned 6.5 million or 28.2 percent of nonfarm U.S. firms in 2002. More than 14 percent of these women-owned firms were employers, with 7.1 million employees and $173.7 billion in annual payroll.

• Women-owned firms accounted for 6.5 percent of total employment in U.S. firms in 2002 and 4.2 percent of total receipts.

• Of all women business owners in 2002, 85.95 percent were White, 8.43 percent African American, 8.33 percent Hispanic, 5.25 percent Asian, 1.23 percent American Indian and Alaska Native, and 0.18 percent Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander (total does not add to 100 due to some double counting across ethnic groups).

The report Women in Business: A Demographic Review of Women's Business Ownership was written by Office of Advocacy senior economist Dr. Ying Lowrey.

For a copy of this study (PDF file), click here.

Should you need further information, please feel free to contact Ying Lowrey at: (202) 205-6533.

Article of Interest: Business Plan For Your Bright Idea Must Be Clear, Not Long

Question: How long should a business plan be for a subscription content Web site that already has some advertising revenue?

Answer: It is said that Mark Twain once apologized for the long length of a letter to a friend. As the story goes, if he had had more time to improve the clarity of his writing, the letter would have been shorter!

The same holds true for business plans. It's not the length that matters, but the quality of the content that keeps reader attention. Straightforward, hyperbole-free prose is the way to go.

Read on for a few other suggestions.

Study of Interest: U.S. Leads In High-Potential Entrepreneurship

As first reported in the Babson Women's Business Blog.

U.S. entrepreneurs are in a league of their own when it comes to building innovative businesses that keep the economy dynamic and productive, according to the seventh annual U.S. Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM). GEM is directed by Babson College and London Business School.

More than in any other nation, U.S. entrepreneurs are motivated by opportunities in what GEM researchers call ‘high-potential entrepreneurship’ -- fast growing, new ventures involved in the latest technologies and knowledge-transfer businesses.

High-potential entrepreneurs (HPE) are the innovators who keep the U.S. economy competitive in the global marketplace. HPEs increased U.S. productivity levels more than 100% in recent years.

Who are U.S. HPEs?

• Young males
• From upper income groups
• Motivated by opportunity
• Have almost no fear of failure
• Social beings who benefit from a deep network of entrepreneurs and angel investors
• Skillful in choosing opportunities from the business, not the consumer sector
• Believe they have no competitors
• Think differently than the general population.

Are you an HPE?

Find out here and learn more about the study's findings.

Survey of Interest: Small Business Owners Happier On Their Own

Sole proprietors, who make up three-fourths of all small businesses, lack the time and resources to focus on generating new business, according to a new survey from Visa USA and SCORE, a nonprofit association dedicated to entrepreneur education.

At the same time, the vast majority says they are happier now than they were at their previous employer, despite working as hard or harder.

Find out why here.

Article of Interest: SCORE Programs Educate Small Business Owners

When we hear the word "business," most of us tend to think of giant corporations and Fortune 500 heavyweights like IBM, Ford or GE. While these large high profile companies account for billions of dollars in this country's gross domestic product, the fact is that small businesses make up a sizeable and vital component of our nation's economy.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, small businesses employ half of all private sector employees, pay more than 45 percent of the total U.S. private payroll and have generated anywhere from 60 percent to 80 percent of net new jobs annually over the past decade. They also contribute to more than half of the U.S. nonfarm private gross domestic product (GDP).

But why is it that a significant number of these small businesses don't make it past the first few years of existence?

Find out here: SCORE programs educate small business owners, help them avoid failure

Visit SCORE's website.

Article of Interest: Business Owners Say Certification Helps Them Stand Out To Major Buyers

Dena Van Winkle never doubted the benefits of certifying her small business as woman-owned. The designation could open doors for contracts from corporations and government agencies seeking greater diversity among suppliers.

Read the article here: Minority small-business owners say certification helps them stand out to major buyers


Are you certified? We can direct you to the appropriate people. Just drop us an email.

Be Creative: Draw On Your Friends For Inspiration

Every once in a while you have to take a time out for yourself and your business. How else can you be creative? Hopefully, this is one of those moments. Enjoy.

Imagination Cubed

News: Introduction of Women's Small Business Ownership Programs Act

Today, Women Impacting Public Policy, the nation's largest bi-partisan women's business group, expressed their support of "The Women's Small Business Ownership Programs Act of 2006," introduced by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Sen. John Kerry (D-MA). The bill, S. 3659, which will amend Section 29 of the Small Business Act, is designed to encourage women small business ownership by revitalizing programs within the Small Business Administration (SBA) geared toward women-owned businesses.

Read more here: WIPP Applauds Senators Snowe and Kerry for Introducing Women's Small Business Ownership Programs Act.

Report of Interest: Women-Owned Million-Dollar Firms

In case you missed it, find out the economic impact (clout) that women-owned million-dollar firms have on our country's health by reading a study conducted by the Center for Women's business Research : Women Demonstrate They Have What It Takes to Build Million-Dollar Firms.

Article(s) of Interest: Is It Time To Sell Your Business?

When launching companies, entrepreneurs tend to peer out into the future and set out general plans on how and when to sell their company. It's not a decision any entrepreneur takes lightly. At the same time, selling your company at the right price and for the right reasons can mean you've truly succeeded in your business.

Here's when I think about selling. When:

1. I launch a new business -- I begin with the end (exit strategy) in mind.
2. I get tired of the same old, same old (which everyone experiences from time to time but not all the time).
3. I or someone else dear to my heart gets sick.
4. Someone makes me an offer I cannot refuse.
5. The going gets tough -- selling is an easy ticket out.
6. It just feels right.

What about you? When does it hit you that you might want to sell your business?

Find out more here with this wonderful collection of articles and tools that focus on strategies and tasks involved in preparing for and finalizing your company's sale.

Article of Interest: Web Sites Can Help You Find the Information You Need

The Internet is an information tool for business. You are a busy entrepreneur or you're a busy aspiring entrepreneur. In either case, you want to gather information quickly, so you can move on to the business of planning your business success.

Today, you don't have to necessarily go to the library, or visit resource centers to gather information in person. You can simply log on to the Internet to find everything you need -- from how to register a company trademark to filing corporate taxes. It's all there 24/7.

And if you want to just take the pulse of the small business economy, download the Office of Advocacy's recent report here.

Article of Interest: Are Women Entrepreneurs Better?

"As the economy heats up, it’s sobering to think that the real competition for talent isn’t other firms -- it's the business and ideas incubating inside women’s minds." -- Margaret Heffernan

This is a fantastic commentary by Margaret Heffernan that is published in Forbes on why so many women are leaving corporate America for entrepreneurship. Read it here and get ready to kick ... or should I say ... change how the world does business.

PPT of Interest: What Is Strategy?

I recently had the great honor to attend the World Business Forum (WBF) in Chicago and listened to leading authorities talk about everything from what makes a great leader to how to position your company for globalization. Here's a listing of a few of the speakers:

• Rudy Giuliani
• William Jefferson Clinton
• Kenichi Ohmae
• Colin Powell
• Marcus Buckingham
• Michael Porter
• Michelle Peluso (thank goodness a woman made the cut!)

If you don't what the word "strategy" means and how it applies to your business, I urge you to download Michael Porter's PowerPoint presentation for the World Business Forum here.

Shhhhhhhhhh ... only attendees to the forum know about its availability. Go for it now. Find it featured in the top left hand corner of the WBF site. Michael Porter is the expert on competitive strategy.

News: More Accolades on the Chicago Conference!

Reflections on the WPO Annual Conference

Last month, I had the pleasure of attending my first national WPO (Women Presidents Organization) annual conference in Chicago and wanted to pass on what a great experience this was.

All too often, as business owners and managers, we become tied to the daily demands of the job and fail to take the time to recharge our minds. This opportunity to get away not just for breakfast, lunch or even a one-day seminar, but to spend three days talking with very dynamic, creative women from all industries was a wonderful experience.

I would encourage everyone to find an organization that truly challenges them with new ideas and to attend the national conferences. The new ideas and reinforcement I gained in the value of our own programs has tremendous value to Cebic Technologies and ultimately for our customers.

Sincerely,
Beate Hybinette (WPO member)
Cebic Technology, Inc.
www.cebic.com

Article of Interest: Lookin' Good

Entrepreneurship is more common among black women than among women in any other demographic. U.S. Census figures from 2002 show that the majority of black business owners are women; when all races are taken into account, the rate of female ownership drops to 37 percent.

Nationally, businesses owned by black women grew by 55 percent from 1997 to 2004, six times the rate of all U.S. firms, according to the Center for Women's Business Research, a nonprofit group based in Washington, D.C.

Wilma Goldstein, an administrator with the U.S. Office of Women's Business Ownership, isn't sure why that is, but says it doesn't surprise her, given the support networks that black women traditionally have formed within families and communities.

Read the article about black-owned businesses (photo: owner of Indianapolis-based Unik Boutique) that are blossoming into behemoths here.

News: WPO President Receives Distinguished Service Award

What does the top of the ladder to success look and feel like? Our founder Marsha Firestone will give you an idea. Read about her recent Distinguished Service Award here. Congratulations Marsha! We are very proud of you.

Story of Interest: Bliss in Bag

Her husband had left her. Taking off on his motorcycle -- the one that reminded her of their discovering Bob Dylan together -- he took up with a folk singer with long red hair.

Forty years later, Ray still visibly recoils from the memories. It’s hard to say what makes that time so especially raw, whether it’s the heartbreak of his leaving or the facts of what he left behind: She was pregnant.

She had no one to lean on: Her parents had died, and she had grown up an only child in a California home where, she says, “we were really, really poor.” Her father was an opera singer turned B-movie actor. After he got a job with the Census Bureau, the family moved to the Washington area. Ray graduated from the University of Maryland but couldn’t find a well-paying job. It was a time of “stone fear,” she recalls. “That’s when I knew I was in trouble having an English degree.”

But she could work. And work more. And work harder. So she did.

“I had to make it,” she says. Read Tony Ray's story here.

And the question you may ask, "Is she is WPO member?" Not yet. But she could become one real soon.

Commentary of interest to those who attended the WPO Chicago conference

Many of you probably missed this because we were well on our way to enjoying the Chicago conference but here's an interesting commentary by our keynote speaker Gary Hamel that was published by the WSJ on April 26, 2006. Click on "Google's novel management system."

News: Babson Women's Business Blog Just Went Live!

The Babson Women’s Business Blog is dedicated to a cause about which they are very passionate: the advancement of women and business. Their new blog just went live.

Catch it here.

News: Women Build Million-Dollar Firms

Women are demonstrating their strength, business savvy and financial sophistication by building substantial and growing businesses that generate one million dollars or more (think WPO members) in annual revenues.

Women-owned businesses that generate a million dollars or more in revenue distinguish themselves through their use of multiple funding sources, sophisticated financial management practices, and utilization of technology.

Read about the study here: Women Demonstrate They Have What It Takes to Build Million Dollar Firms

News: Crain's Largest Women-Owned Firms 2006

And three are WPO members! Review the list here.

Survey: Oppenheimer Funds

Women Business Owners Are More Willing to Take Financial Risk at The Workplace Than at Home

We are proud to have Oppenheimer Funds as a corporate sponsor to the Women Presidents' Organization. Some interesting survey highlights:

• Women entrepreneurs are in control of business and household finances
• Women business owners are key decision- makers at home and the office.
• More than half of women business owners responded that they are responsible for saving or investing for retirement in their household, developing and maintaining the household budget and paying the bills.
• Nearly forty-percent are solely responsible for buying and selling stocks, bonds and mutual funds for their households.
• Forty-five percent are the primary investment decision-makers in their businesses.

Read more about Oppenheimer's survey results here.

News: WPO in The Wall Street Journal!

As featured today in The Wall Street Journal, Personal Journal section, "Moving On" by Jeffrey Zaslow. Read it here:

A New Generation Gap: Differences Emerge Among Women in the Workplace