Kelly, 51, and Cayot, 46, joined by two female partners, were honored earlier this year for building one of the 50 fastest-growing women-owned businesses by the Women Presidents’ Organization. Keyot expects to gross about $19 million this year from the work of about 115 employees and consultants.Find out how (and why) they got started and how they achieved such fast growth: Keyot founder, former corporate warrior, sets independent course at female-owned firm
WPO has set a goal of making the 2016 annual conference in Baltimore the organization's largest ever. We are exploring the possibility of adding a job fair, with jobs provided by WPO members. Attendees will have the opportunity to travel to our nation's capital for behind-the-scenes events at the conclusion of the conference.Meanwhile, read our recent press: Women's Business Leadership Group Is Coming to Baltimore
"There has been significant sale and employee and family ownership transfer activity in the private company space over the last few years as baby boomers head into retirement. However, many successful entrepreneurs do not know all of their options for sale and transfer and are not well-prepared to give up ownership of their companies."Commissioned by U.S. Trust as a Columbia Business School Whitepaper, the paper follows eight successful entrepreneurs who nurtured and grew their businesses and then grappled with the challenges of sale or transfer to family members.
For just the second time, nominations were open to global entries. The 50 Fastest generated a combined $4.4 billion in 2014 revenues (mean of $88.3 million) and collectively employed 31,121 in 2014 (mean of 692).To learn more about the winners, visit: Trailblazing Women Business Owners & Leaders Recognized for Rapid Company Growth
In 1948, the gap in labor force participation between American men and women was 54 percentage points—only one-third of American women were officially counted as in the labor force. Nearly seven decades later, the gap has narrowed considerably as women have entered the labor force en masse, and as men have experienced steady declines.According to the Ewing Marion Kaufman Foundation’s recent report “Sources of Economic Hope: Women’s Entrepreneurship," women business owners will lead the way to economic growth in the United States.
New networks and better access to capital can help women entrepreneurs overcome the barriers they have encountered along their entrepreneurial path.Read: Women in Entrepreneurship | Kauffman.org
The Women Presidents' Organization (WPO) has today announced American Express Global Corporate Payments as the exclusive corporate sponsor of WPO's eighth annual Fifty Fastest Growing Women-Led/Owned Companies™ ranking. Based on a strong legacy of supporting and advocating for women business owners, American Express will tap into the insight, experience and expertise of the Fifty Fastest Growing Women-Led/Owned Companies globally. To create content focused on business expansion, American Express and the WPO will be collaborating on a new guide for growth: The Fast Growth Handbook, which will detail strategies for success of 50 Fastest honorees to help propel women business owners through their growth journey. - Source: American Express Global Payments To Be Corporate Sponsor for 2015 WPO Fifty Fastest Growing Women-Led/Owned CompaniesWe are honored and excited that American Express Global Corporate Payments has chosen to become an exclusive sponsor on this important initiative.
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| International Women's Day Theme for 2015! |
Hundreds of women from around the world applied for a $50,000 investment from Prosper, but Tuesday [1/20/15], six women-owned businesses were awarded the money to help them expand.The six women who received the money run companies from tracking your dog to helping kids and adults with seizures. These awardees are all potential WPO members.
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
“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
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| ©2014 Laurel J, Delaney. All rights reserved |
Business leaders need to weigh the decision of hiring very carefully, though. Right now, it may be better for your business to bring new workers in on an evaluation hire, allowing you to see if they are fit for the team before hiring them permanently.If the timing is right, go for it. Hire fresh new talent. You want to be poised for success in 2015!
Male-run businesses are 3.5 times more likely to surpass $1 million in sales than their female-run counterparts and only 2% of women-owned companies ever break the million-dollar mark, according to a 2014 report by Ernst & Young. "Women start businesses at nearly twice the rate of men, but far fewer of them actually scale," says Kerrie MacPherson, a partner principal at Ernst & Young.What are the reasons for gender disparity?
The report also found that between 1997 and 2014, the number of women-owned businesses increased by 68 percent, 1½ times the national average rate of 47 percent.Learn more: Upward trend in women-owned small businesses
68 percent of women business owners are likely to focus on ways to improve cash flow, 48 percent plan to start or continue to upgrade technology to improve efficiency and 44 percent will add technology to improve customer experiences.Beth Marcello, director of women's business development at PNC says, "These women owners are prepared to leverage technology and focus on efficiency until they see more growth in the economy and their sales."
"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:
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| Image source @STEMwomen |
In August 2014, Stanford professor of mathematics Maryam Mirzakhani became the first woman to win the Fields Medal, often described as the Nobel Prize of mathematics.Now we get it.
As the Stanford community celebrates Mirzakhani’s achievement, its members are also working to bring more young women into non-traditional fields like Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). In July and August this year, an organization called Miss CEO held a series of workshops sponsored by Stanford’s Department of Bioengineering, intended to equip young women with the skills necessary to thrive academically and professionally, particularly in STEM fields.
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| Source: Businessweek (9/10/14) |
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| ©2014 Laurel J. Delaney. All rights reserved. |
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| ©2014 Laurel J. Delaney. All rights reserved. |
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| Successful entrepreneur Dr. Marsha Firestone |
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.
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
WPO Chicago member Shea Soucie (pictured) is co-owner of two Chicago-based companies: Soucie Horner Ltd., an interior design studio and SHIIR, a fine artisanal rug company. She says:“Everything I do is very visual, so where I choose to eat says something about me from a visual standpoint. We are about quality, not volume.”Click here for where she dines to make a statement.
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