2018 Women of Color Achievement Awards

100 Black Men of Seattle, Inc., in partnership with the Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO), announce the honorees of the 2018 Women of Color Achievement Awards. A total of eleven women were recognized for outstanding professional achievement and demonstrating exemplary customer service.

This year’s honorees included: Phyllis Campbell, Meredith Everist, Naomi Gonzalez, Tanya Jimale, Trish Millines-Dziko,Trena Payton, Mary Pugh, Angela Shen, Sheryl Willert, Claudia Mitchell, and Jessie Woolley-Wilson.

“We are very proud to continue our ongoing partnership with 100 Black Men to acknowledge a distinguished group of influential women business leaders,” said Dr. Marsha Firestone, President and Founder of the Women Presidents’ Organization.

Read the entire article highlighting and honoring outstanding women entrepreneurs.

Achieving Success Through a Value-Driven Enterprise

Robert Reiss, contributor for Forbes, writes that women are the future of leadership.

Below he asks 7 great women leaders two questions: how values drive their organization and their advice on communicating values. They are:

1. Laura Blair, CEO, In Villas Veritas
2. Lorna Donatone, CEO, Sodexo North America
3. Dr. Marsha Firestone, President, Women Presidents' Organization
4. Carolee Lee, Founder, Carolee Designs & CEO, AccessCircles
5. Judith Glaser, CEO, Benchmark Communications
6. Dottie Herman, CEO, Douglas Elliman
7. Michelle Peluso, CMO, IBM

Read more from women leaders on how value drives success.

About Robert Reiss:  He is the host of the nationally syndicated Am/Fm radio show The CEO Show with Robert Reiss; co-author, “The Transformative CEO,” and he shares insights by giving keynote speeches on the topic, “What we can learn from America’s top CEOs.”

Moving Beyond Startup Stage

For two decades the Women Presidents' Organization has brought together women pioneers spearheading multimillion-dollar businesses to continue that journey of success.

“In 1955 there were 500 corporations on the Fortune list. Today only 61 of those companies still exist. Typically, the only time an organization changes is when it’s backed into a corner. The old adage ‘Innovate or Die’ still applies. Don’t be one of these unfortunate enterprises left by the side of the road. Disruptive thinking has revolutionised the business landscape,” said Dr Marsha Firestone, WPO President and Founder.

Learn more about the Women Presidents' Organization.

The Ultimate Secret to Success That Women Must Share

What do you get when you problem solve with a group of women entrepreneurs? Well I know just the organization that has the answer.  Keep reading.

Geri Stengel, contributor at Forbes, gives us a bird's eye view into what members of the Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO) found.

• 77% of members do business with each other.
• 67% of members’ businesses have grown since joining the group.
• With growing businesses, 75% pay themselves over six figures annually.

“Entrepreneurs learn best from each other,” said Marsha Firestone, Ph.D., President of our WPO.  And that’s why you join a peer advisory group.

Learn more ...

Dr. Marsha Firestone Helps You Get to the Next Level in Business

How do you reinvent yourself?  Keep your team motivated?  Get to the next level with your business?  Dr. Marsha Firestone, founder and President of the Women Presidents' Organization has your back.

Dr. Firestone [as we know her] is a visionary who works tirelessly to bring together the best minds to inspire the members. She is very passionate about the quality of the organization and what it delivers.

Read:  Women Entrepreneurs Find Their Place Thanks to Dr. Marsha Firestone

Dr. Marsha Firestone: The State of Women Entrepreneurs in the B2B Space

Members of the National Women’s Business Council have submitted op-eds to the nation’s media that explore the business-to-business growth model and consider the benefits and challenges of having other businesses as customers. Here is the one Dr. Marsha Firestone, President and founder of the Women Presidents' Organization, provided, “The State of Women Entrepreneurs in the B2B Space,” which was posted on fastcompany.com on October 29th. The timing is particularly appropriate, as it appears in time for National Veteran’s Small Business Week next week.

The State of Women Entrepreneurs in the B2B Space

Screenshot courtesy:  Fast Company

WBDC Chicago: Fueling Growth. Driving Change.

We hope to see you at the Women's Business Development Center Conference in Chicago on Wednesday,  September 2, 2015.  WPO's founder, Dr. Marsha Firestone, will be moderating a panel -- be sure to catch it.

Secrets Behind the Fastest Growing Women-Owned Businesses

Hear from three of 2015’s 50 Fastest Winners (sponsored by American Express Global Corporate Payments) share the strategies they used to develop their business into one of the fastest growing women-owned/led companies in North America. Participants will learn strategies to both grow their business and overcome the inevitable challenges that all business owners encounter on the road to success.

Moderator:  Marsha Firestone, Ph.D. Founder and President, Women Presidents’ Organization

Panelists:

• Rebecca Thomley, CEO, Orion Associates
• Michelle Vondrasek, President, Von Technologies
• Cassandra Sanford, CEO, Kelly Mitchell Group, Inc.

WPO's Booth No. is 714.  Stop in for a visit.  We'd love to find out what your business needs are and how we might help you grow.

Dr. Marsha Firestone Becomes Council Member to the National Women's Business Council

The National Women's Business Council has welcomed Marsha Firestone to its esteemed group of Council Members. She will serve as the representative of the Women Presidents' Organization. Based in New York City, Firestone has an extensive track record and decades of experience supporting women entrepreneurs, business owners and leaders.

Read the news here.

Screenshot courtesy of the National Women's Business Council

Marsha Firestone Talks About the Art of the Pivot

Women Presidents' Organization Founder and President Dr. Marsha Firestone provides advice on how you can be a successful, multi-million dollar earning entrepreneur. Here are her five tips with one being:

Know when to let go: The “art of the pivot” is important for all entrepreneurs. Knowing when to acknowledge a failed idea is key to staying afloat. Keep in mind that it’s OK to admit failure and move forward. It will make your business stronger in the end.

5 Tips on How to Be a Successful Entrepreneur

Photo Credit: brookealbrechtstudio

Women Business Leaders Share Wisdom

Women business owners who are members of the Las Vegas chapter of Women Presidents’ Organization love to share the reasons why they are members of WPO (refer below).  But first, the President and Founder of WPO says:

“Just because you’re running a business that’s generating at least $1 million, you still need education,” said [Marsha] Firestone, who continues as president of the national group, which has 120 chapters on six continents. “There’s just as much need for business education in a business that has grown to a multimillion-dollar level as there is in a business that’s in the startup phase.”

The Chapter Chair for the Las Vegas chapter, Shelia McKay, says members meet for three hours once a month for 12 months and learn from one another’s experiences in a peer learning environment.

“Each meeting, we present an issue having to do with what’s going on in the member’s individual businesses,” she said. “The agenda for the year is decided by the members to meet their needs at the time and stay current.”

Read more:  Group lets women business leaders share wisdom 

Photo Credit: FOXTROT|ROMEO 

News of Interest: Women-Led Companies Confident and Thriving

According to a new study by our very own non-profit, peer advisory group, the Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO), companies led by women are highly confident in the economy, and the positions of their businesses.  The results show that they’re performing well, even outpacing the U.S. national average.  The 2014 Business Outlook Survey was sponsored by KeyBank’s Key4Women program.

Read the entire article:  Women-Led Companies Confident & Thriving, But Need Access to Capital

Photo Credit: ttnk 

News of Interest: Women Presidents' Organization 2014 Business Outlook Survey

A study released recently by the Women Presidents' Organization - 2014 Business Outlook Survey (sponsored by KeyBank's Key4Women Program - showed that 33% of women reported using their own money to start their businesses, with less than 1% saying they received venture capital or angel investing.

"The networks that are established by their male counterparts don't always include the opportunity for women to participate," said Dr. Marsha Firestone, founder of the WPO. "I don't say that in terms of being critical of men. That's just the way the networks work."

Other key findings from the study include:

• The economic downturn has loosened its grip on women business owners.  Just eight percent of WPO members said they believe economic conditions are the biggest threat to their bottom-line growth, a dramatic drop from last year’s findings, when half of the respondents cited the economic downturn as their biggest worry.
• Women-led businesses grew three times faster than the national average, a growth rate of 25% or more, compared to 5.4% average U.S. business growth.

Learn more:  Women at the top struggle for funding (CNN Money)

Article of Interest: Start Noticing Successful Women Entrepreneurs

Successful entrepreneur Dr. Marsha Firestone

I am a big fan of Candida Brush, chair of entrepreneurship and research director of the Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship at Babson College.  In the article below she homes in on the single most important thing she notices when she teaches:  the majority of her students are much less aware of successful women entrepreneurs.

She starts the classroom dialog like this:

How would you answer the question: “Name a successful entrepreneur?” Did you say Bill Gates? Mark Zuckerberg? Steve Jobs?  Richard Branson?  Or maybe you said Larry Page or Howard Schultz if you like coffee?

According to Professor Brush, she says it takes about eight names before a woman is named.

What needs to be done to correct the situation?

In order to change perceptions about who is a successful entrepreneur, we have to work a little harder to intentionally include the names of successful women. 

Read the entire article:  Candida Brush: Include More Women as Textbook Examples of Success

Photo Credit: Women Impacting Public Policy - Marsha Firestone, Ph.D., President and Founder of the Women Presidents' Organization

News of Interest: Dr. Marsha Firestone Featured at the Huffington Post

Dr. Marsha Firestone

Laura Dunn at the Huffington Post conducts an interview with Dr. Marsha Firestone (pictured).  Here's a clip:

How are female business owners driving growth in the economy? 

WPO members account for significant economic growth. They generate $19 billion in aggregate revenue and employ 145,000 people. Two out of every three new businesses being started today are by women. I call entrepreneurship the great equalizer. By owning their own companies, women have more power, more influence and can pay themselves more. By 2018 one third of all U.S. jobs will be generated by women-led businesses (source: Guardian Life Small Business Research Institute).

Read the entire Q&A:  Women in Business Q&A:  Dr. Marsha Firestone, Founder and President of the Women Presidents' Organization

Article of Interest: Breakout Year for Women Entrepreneurs (2014)

WPO:  http://www.womenpresidentsorg.com

Below we feature an article that lists eleven reasons why 2014 will be the breakout year for women entrepreneurs - brought to you by Forbes contributor Geri Stengel, a serial entrepreneur and nonprofit board member.

Note:  The Women Presidents' Organization is mentioned and Dr. Marsha Firestone quoted in No. 7.  Excerpt follows:

Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO) provides peer advisory groups to support women entrepreneurs. Also known as “mastermind” and “CEO” roundtables, peer advisory groups bring the heads of companies together to problem-solve and brainstorm their day-to-day challenges and opportunities under the guidance of a trained facilitator. “Entrepreneurs learn best from one another rather than academic courses,” said Marsha Firestone, president and founder of WPO.

Read the entire article:  11 Reasons 2014 Will Be A Breakout Year For Women Entrepreneurs - Forbes

Screenshot courtesy:  Women Presidents' Organization

Article of Interest: Female Entrepreneurs Go Beyond "Cookies and Crafts"

Dr. Marsha Firestone (pictured), Founder and President of the Women Presidents' Organization, writes a telling article for the Harvard Business Review.  Here's an excerpt:

•  The membership of the Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO), a nonprofit peer-advisory group for women with $2MM-plus gross revenue, itself accounts for $19BN in aggregate revenue and over 142,000 jobs, stemming directly from its 1,700+ female business leaders. In the WPO, the largest number of businesses are in manufacturing and distribution and 25% of members generate over $10 million annually.

Read the entire article:  Female Entrepreneurs Go Beyond "Cookies and Crafts"  

News of Interest: WPO Featured in Forbes

WPO Founder Dr. Marsha Firestone is quoted in Geri Stengel's Forbes article, "6 Secrets of Women Entrepreneurs Who Built $10 Million Companies:"

1.) Participate in peer advisory groups: “Entrepreneurs learn best from one another rather than academic courses,” said Marsha Firestone, President and Founder of Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO), a peer advisory group for women presidents of multimillion-dollar companies.

Read the entire article here.

News of Interest: WPO Featured in The Wall Street Journal

 The Women Presidents' Organization is featured in The Wall Street Journal.  Founder and President, Dr. Marsha Firestone says:

She goes on further to say:

"Women go in [to business] having technical expertise but they don't have the managerial skills," she says. "To run a business, you need a lot of skills -- marketing, financial, (human resources). You may not, in fact, have all those skills." 

Read the entire article:

Women-Owned Businesses Make Strides

Video of Interest: Why Women-Owned Business Owners Succeed

Article of Interest: Marsha Firestone Quoted in The Wall Street Journal

Women Presidents' Organization (www.womenpresidentsorg.com) President and Founder, Marsha Firestone, Ph.D. (pictured), is quoted two different times in The Wall Street Journal:

Portal Aims to Ease Contract Bids for Small Business

Marsha Firestone states:
In, Enterprise Dispatch, she states:

The new portal initially isn't "going to make a huge dent," because only six large corporations are so far involved, adds Marsha Firestone, president of the Women Presidents' Organization, a New York group made up of mostly small "B2B" companies. "But if it grows and a lot of contracts come out of that, it could," she says.

Further, she is quoted:

'Supplier Connection': a portal for doing business with large corporations - smartplanet by IBM

Posted by: Women Presidents' Organization Chicago