News of Interest: A High Five to the WPO High Fliers

Just returned from the WPO Annual Conference in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida at The Westin Beach Resort and I feel good -- inspired and ready to take on the world! What about you? Share your successes, powerful moments and learning lessons with us. How do you plan to use the information you received at the conference to grow your business? We welcome hearing from you.

In the meantime, check out some of the amazing media coverage we received during the conference:

The Wall Street Journal
High Fliers: Top Women-Led Companies

Snippet:

Marsha Firestone, WPO's founder and president, says the group began compiling the rankings three years ago in an effort to dispel the notion that female-led companies are primarily mom-and-pop operations in "retail, cookie-making or crafts." Most on the list are business-to-business companies, many in traditionally male-dominated fields such as transportation, construction, manufacturing and distributing, she says.

SmartMoney.com
Trailblazing Women Business Owners Achieve Rapid Growth Despite Challenging Economy

Snippet:

"The Top 50 list exemplifies the vital role women business owners have on boosting the economy and enhancing job growth overall," says Marsha Firestone, Ph. D., president and founder of the WPO. "We are pleased to partner with American Express OPEN to honor these powerful women and recognize their triumphs."

MiamiHerald.com
Female Executives Share Secrets of Success

Snippet:

A woman CEO may not want to ask for help to be successful, but the Women Presidents' Organization breaks that mindset in order to take women-owned businesses to the next level.And one more! "There's a perception out there that women grow and run very small mom-and-pop operations and that they are mostly crafts or retail or cookies, and that's not true at all,'' said WPO founder and President Marsha Firestone.

Firestone said some of the fastest-growing women-owned companies are in industries that aren't traditionally women dominated.

Catch us if you can! And if you'd like more information about WPO, please contact our headquarter office at 212-688-4114 or email info@womenpresidentsorg.com. In Chicago, call 773-381-1700 or email ldelaney(at)globetrade.com.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Photo credit: Starwood Hotels, The Westin Beach Resort, Fort Lauderdale, Sky Terrace where we had our "dessert" reception on the last evening of the conference.

Added 4/27/10 at 9:39 CDT -- WomenEntrepreneur.com
WPO Conference: 90+ Guru & Salsa Dancing, Too (hat tip to Karen Barnett for the info).

News of Interest: A New Kind of Company

When you started your business, you most likely went through the process of determining which type of entity best suits your short and long term needs. For example, some of your options might have been to form a limited liability company (LLC), C corporation or S corporation. Hopefully your attorney guided you along the way by asking the right questions about how you envision operating your business five, ten or twenty years out.

For those of you who are considering new business initiatives, especially if it is caused related or a socially responsible enterprise, you might want to take a look at this new type of business that redefines the very purpose and meaning of a business.

It's called a B Corporation. What are B Corporations?

B Corporations are a new type of corporation which uses the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. B Corporations are unlike traditional responsible businesses because they:

• Meet comprehensive and transparent social and environmental performance standards.
• Institutionalize stakeholder interests.
• Build collective voice through the power of a unifying brand.

Check it out and find out why it matters here:

Certified B Corporation

Resource of Interest: Google AdWords: Keyword Tool

We recently had Internet Marketing Consultant Amanda Bury from ReachLocal give a talk at our WPO Chicago downtown I chapter meeting and she did a very good job educating us on what SEO (search engine optimization) and SEM (search engine marketing) do for your online business, what the difference is between the two and how to use both effectively to bring greater attention to your business on the Internet.

One tool I always use for my business, and this is outside of the bounds of what Amanda spoke about, is Google AdWords: Keyword Tool. It's a free resource that lets you see what folks are typing into Google. I access great competitive information from it, use it to determine the best choice of words for blog titles and even determine the name(s) of new businesses that require a catchy domain name.

Tips for using Keyword Tool:

• Find keywords based on your site content. Instead of entering your own keywords, try using the Website Content option. It lets you enter the URL of your business website, or of any site related to your business. The AdWords system will then scan your page and then suggest relevant keywords.


• Create new, separate ad groups with similar keywords. We recommend creating several ad groups in each campaign, each with a small, narrowly-focused set of similar keywords. Use the Keyword Tool to discover relevant keywords, then divide them into lists of 5 to 20 similar terms. See examples of ad groups promoting a single product or service and multiple products or services.


• Identify negative keywords. The Keyword Tool can help you identify off-topic keywords that users may be thinking about. Suppose you sell cut flowers and you give the Keyword Tool the keyword 'flowers.' It may suggest the related term 'gardens,' and you may want to add that term to your ad group as a negative keyword. That will keep your ad from showing on searches for 'flower gardens' or similar terms. This helps make sure only interested customers see your ads.


• Specify a language and location. If you're using the Keyword Tool while signed in to your account, you can modify your keyword search with advanced settings and tailor results to a particular location and language. If you happen to be targeting Spanish speakers who live in France, make sure you set the Keyword Tool to that language and location.


• Start broad and then get specific. Try broad terms like 'flowers' in the Keyword Tool first. Then try specific terms like 'red roses' or 'miniature cactus.'

On our own, we did a test (as illustrated above) using keywords: 'women presidents' (clicked the box to use synonyms) and found these keywords related to the term(s) we entered that were searched regularly:

women college presidents
women presidents in the world
women university

What does that mean? You have to factor it in when you create, for example, blog post titles or designate choice paid search listings with keywords for your business. There's so much more -- so spend some time reviewing and learning about how you can use this tool to grow your business.

Give it a whirl here:
Google AdWords: Keyword Tool

Stuck? There's always an online classroom.

Article of Interest: Total Virtual, Is That Your Business?

Have you fantasized about ditching your office space, saving a boatload of money (rent) and taking your entire enterprise virtual? It's in line with the expression: If you can dream, it, you can do it! We know for a fact that many WPO members are already running thriving virtual companies. Technically, your office is wherever you are.

If you want a practical look at the why, the how, and the why not of going virtual, think of it as your blueprint for your officeless future, read:

"The Case, and the Plan, for the Virtual Company"

While you are at it, check out: "How Virtual Offices Work."

Let us know what you think of this glimpse at the future of work.