WPO 19th Annual Conference in Baltimore a Huge Success!

©2016 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

The WPO 19th Annual Conference in Baltimore 2016 was a huge success.  The above photo captures the closing ceremony acknowledging all the WPO staff on a stage.  Big thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make the WPO conference a winner, including Betty Hines and her chapter members!

Next year's conference will be held in Orlando, Florida May 4-6, 2017.  Mark your calendar now.

Scaling Your Business For Growth

©Women Presidents' Organization.  All rights reserved.

According to the Women Presidents' Organization, addressing business growth in a highly systematic and strategic way is an important consideration for today's successful women-led and owned companies.

"Scaling for Growth" is the theme of the 2016 Women Presidents' Organization Annual Conference in Baltimore, MD on April 7 – 9 at the Baltimore Waterfront Marriott. From growing a brand to effective crisis management and the power of disruptive business ideas, the three-day conference offers total immersion in important aspects of scalable growth.

I'll be there.  Will you?

Read more:  Successful Women Entrepreneurs From Around the World Focus On How to Scale Their Businesses For Growth

Step Away

Most business owners want to grow their businesses. But for that to happen, the person at the helm has to be able to step away and know things will run smoothly while they are gone.

Decision-making can’t be totally dependent on one person, as that person may not always be in the capacity to make the best decisions.

What's a business owner to do?  Develop a process and be systematic about it.  After all, you want to not only scale your business for growth but also be able to take a vacation once in a while!

Read:  Scale Your Business:  How to Systematize for Success

Two WPO Chicago Rockstars

The Edward Lowe Foundation rocks but not just because they feature some of our WPO Chicago members on their website.  (Yes, that's nice too!)  Rather, it's because they offer a wonderful program for second-stage business owners that helps them create empowering workplaces.

Below are two recent Rockstar interviews.  One on Alison Gutterman (top left; Jelmar) and the other on Michelle Vondrasek (Von Technologies).

•  On the same wavelength:  Von Technologies
•  Green, clean dynasty:  Jelmar LLC

Women Making a Dent in the Universe

Below are five (5) unstoppable female entrepreneurs making their dents on the world.  If they are not already a WPO member, they should be.

1. Sophia Amoruso (pictured), founder of Nasty Gal
2. Katia Beauchamp, co-founder of Birchbox
3. Hayley Barna, co-founder of Birchbox
4. Erica Nicole, founder and CEO of YFS Magazine
5. Alexa von Tobel, founder and CEO of LearnVest

Read more here.

Photo credit:  Sophia Amoruso of Nasty Gal Facebook

Meet the Millennipreneur

According to the 2016 BNP Paribas Global Entrepreneur Report, successful women entrepreneurs are not only matching their male counterparts – in several ways, they’re outperforming them.

About the report:

Conducted among 2,600 entrepreneurs based in 18 countries, in Asia, Europe, and the United States, the study led by Scorpio Partnership reveals the emergence of a new generation of entrepreneurs under 35, "The Millennipreneurs."

Read the entire article:  Women Entrepreneurs Are 'More Ambitious and Successful' Than Men

Do CEOs Need to Use Social Media?

According to a Fast Company article, more than 60% of Fortune 500 CEOs have zero social media presence. That may be a problem.  But what about CEOs of privately owned businesses? Your guess is as good as mine but the article below states:

Social media is where your customers are—shouldn’t you be there, too?

Yes, Even CEOs Need To Use Social Media -- And They Need to Do It Well

Together Everyone Achieves More

Is it possible for a multimillion-dollar woman business owner to learn something from Taylor Swift (pictured)?  In the article below, the author discusses six things women entrepreneurs can learn from Taylor Swift.

1.  She makes it her own
2.  Always on her A-game
3.  Create a custom experience
4.  Backed by a SQUAD
5.  Collaborate
6.  Haters gonna hate ...

As for No. 4 -- Backed by a SQUAD:

Yes, you can go at it alone but that's no fun. At all.  Especially if you own an online business, where you work from home. What we do know is:  Together Everyone Achieves More.

I can't help but think that's where the Women Presidents' Organization comes in handy too.  We serve as the SQUAD -- helping women business owners stay on top their A-Game and be the best business owners possible.

Read more:  Six Things Modern Women Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Taylor Swift

Calling All Sensational Women Business Owners

If you are not yet a member of the Women Presidents' Organization, now is your time to join.  Our annual conference is coming up in Baltimore April 7-9th (2016).

The conference encourages WPO members to share business strategies and experience with other successful women from all over the world, as well as learn from interactive seminars and speakers. Additionally, it will provide potential members who qualify a unique opportunity to experience the impact the WPO has on women business owners professionally and personally.

Discover whether you pre-qualify for WPO here.  If you do, complete the application, and join us at the conference!

See you there!

Starting Your Own Business? Plow Ahead With Strong Support

When  Jennifer Windsor, the CEO of Women for Women International, a nonprofit that works directly with women who are isolated and displaced in post-war regions of the world, was asked what advice she has for women launching their own businesses, she said it’s important to plow ahead — with the right type and amount of support:

Go for it! Surround yourself with people who will support you and encourage you to keep going. Be prepared to work harder than you ever thought possible but always remember what inspired you in the first place.

And when you get the to the one-million dollar mark in revenues with your business (if it is service-based), the Women Presidents' Organization is just the support you will need so you will never feel alone with your challenges and can grow at a fast clip.

Read more:  Advice for Women Business Owners

Women Are Strong Tech Users

Women control $20 trillion of annual consumer spend in the U.S. What's more, women are strong tech users—outnumbering men on all major social media sites (except LinkedIn), for instance. It's safe to say that women are spending at least a sizable chunk of their purchasing power on tech products. So it makes sense to look at who's designing them.

It's a simple answer:  Men.

Many people and organizations have spent a lot of time pushing girls toward computer science degrees and into coding bootcamps, advocating for more women in technical roles, and trying to improve the diversity in the industry's upper ranks.

Find out the three biggest challenges facing women in the technology world, which includes the one about who happens to be designing tech products.

Read:  What Closing The Gender Gap in Tech Would Mean Outside the Industry

How to Foster Creativity at Your Business

Is there a business out there that doesn't want to be more creative or innovative?  How can you make creativity a way of life?

In the article below that I authored for the About.com Import and Export site, I talk about six ways to tap into a bountiful source of creativity that might be right in front of you.  And, yes, I also cover how to make creativity a way of life.

Read the entire article:  From Chaos to Creativity:  How to Foster Creativity at Your Business

To Become a Better Leader, Ask Tough Questions and Follow Through

How to Expand Your Business Globally Without Abandoning Your Roots

In the article below, I talk about the importance of growth for a business, how to focus on one or two influential cores within a business and why you shouldn’t go after every hot thing that comes across your desk.

Note:  This article was originally published on the About.com Import and Export site where I serve as an Expert.

Expand Your Business Globally Without Abandoning Your Roots

The More Ads You Do Online, the Less Newsworthy It Becomes

As we surf the Web, we get hit with ad after ad -- whether it be videos that pop up and play automatically or newsletters that force you to sign up before you can continue reading an article.  As one reader of the article featured below comments:  "I stop visiting sites that cross the boundary of reasonable on advertisement, but even the reasonable sites are losing their minds."

What's the future hold for the Web?  Find out but I'll give you a hint:  More ads will migrate from web-dependent publishers to platforms (e.g., Facebook and LinkedIn).  Something to think about strategically for your business in terms of where you put your marketing dollars in 2016.

This Was the Year the Media Started Doubting the Web (via WIRED)

Create Space for Intentional Rest Time

A worn out business owner will undoubtedly lead to a worn out team. As you wind down 2015, the best preparation you can make for the new year is to create space for intentional rest time to recharge and start 2016 off strong. Consider these tips as you prepare for the rush of a new calendar year.

5 Tips to Help Entrepreneurs Rest This Week [between 12/25/15 and 1/1/16]

Wishing You a Wonderful Holiday Season

Give Yourself a Pat on the Back

I love this piece by Tim Mullen, Co-Founder and Head of Customer Experience at JobVibe, on "You'll Never Succeed If You Don't Celebrate" because I also am a firm believer in the importance of gathering as often as possible to celebrate successes throughout the year.  Mullen says:

But before you start another year it’s time to do something you probably haven’t done for about 12 months: give yourselves a big pat on the back.

Why?  Because, he says, you deserve it.  I agree.

Read more:  You'll Never Succeed If You Don't Celebrate

3 Keys to Going Big With a Business

Julia Pimsleur (pictured), founder of early-childhood language learning company Little Pim, raised $2.1 million for her firm after pitching 35 venture capital firms, adding to $2 million in equity capital she raised in an earlier round from friends, family, and angel investors. Along the way she realized that many women would benefit from what she learned.

Here's the scoop.

Note:  Julia has also gathered what she has learned in a book, Million-Dollar Women.

How to Turn Ideas Into Actual Innovations

Who doesn't want to run a business where ideas abound whether your own or your employees?  But the truth of the matter is that ideas tend to be worthless unless you turn them into actual innovations.

According Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic for Harvard Business Review:

When it comes to creativity, organizations are a lot like people. They have no problem generating ideas, including some that are potentially useful and novel. Furthermore, they are also generally able to access creative ideas generated by others. Where they fail, however, is at turning those ideas into actual innovations. Indeed, few creative ideas ever become innovative products or services.

Read more:  Maybe Your Team Doesn't Need to Be More Creative

Note:  Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic is CEO of Hogan Assessment Systems, a Professor of Business Psychology at University College London, and a faculty member at Columbia University.

ARO Awarded Goodwill Employee of 2015

Congratulations to WPO Chicago member Alecia McClung, CEO Administrative Resource Options (ARO) for being awarded Employee Partner of the Year from Goodwill.  What an honor.

We are so proud you Alecia! 

View the video:  https://aro.app.box.com/GoodwillVideo

Separate but related to Alecia:  Alecia McClung Featured on Windy City LIVE

Tips For Business Owners Traveling With Kids

We love that former WPO Chicago member, Sarah Stopek Hirsch (pictured with her son Harry), has gone from a marketing promotions entrepreneur (founder of Sublime Promotions which was sold to InnerWorkings, Inc. in 2009) to starting WellTraveledKids.com.  Further, Sarah continues to mention WPO when she is interviewed as in Amber Gibson's fabulous article below.

Thanks Sarah and keep up the fine work.  We are so proud of you!

Read the article:  Must-Read Tips for Traveling With Kids (You'll Thank Us Later!)

Photo courtesy:  Sarah Stopek Hirsch

Top 10 Metro Areas for Female Entrepreneurs

According to a recent report, the West Coast is by far the best coast for female entrepreneurs.

Researchers found that seven of the top 10 metro areas for female business owners -- based on business climate, local economic health and financing opportunities -- are in California or Colorado.

Read more:  These are the top 10 metro areas for female entrepreneurs

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

Call a Time-Out

Are you really living the life you want to live?  The only way to find out is to take time out for yourself.  Reawaken your passion for work.  You won't regret the decision.

Women Are Eager to Learn

Norm Brodsky, senior contributing editor for Inc. magazine, talks about what male entrepreneurs need to learn from women.  Here's a snippet:

In the beginning, that [asking a lot of questions] usually involves numbers. Most new entrepreneurs are salespeople with no background in accounting. They don’t understand the basics of finance. I find that women are open about this and are eager to learn. Of course, most of the men don’t have a very good grasp of the financials either, but they’re more likely to bluff, pretending they know more than they do.

Read more:  What male entrepreneurs need to learn from women

Has the Startup World For Women Been Enlightened?

Chicago was ranked No. 7 in a recent report, "Global Startup Ecosystem Ranking."  The entrepreneurial environment in several global markets was ranked based on five segments:

1. Performance
2. Funding
3. Market Reach
4. Talent
5. Startup Experience

To access the full report, visit:  Compass (http://startup-ecosystem.compass.co/ser2015/) -- requires quick email registration.

Read more:  Female Founders and Chicago Both Rise in Global Startup Ecosystem

Hat tip to Rosa Berardi, The Coleman Foundation, for letting us know about the report.

Screenshot courtesy:  The 2015 Global Startup Ecosystem Ranking (showing the top 10 cities) 

What is the Single Reason Companies Fall Apart?

Whether you’re a small business owner or running a large corporation, according to Stacia Pierce (pictured), CEO of Ultimate Lifestyle Enterprises, the single reason companies fall apart is they lose touch with their customers.

Read more:  The No. 1 Reason Companies Fall Apart

Women-Owned Firms Make Up Sizable Shares of Some Industries But Tend To Be Smaller Than Male-Owned Firms

According to a Pew Research Center analysis of recently released data from the U.S. Census Bureau, women, blacks, Asians and Hispanics have built up substantial positions as business owners in several sectors of the U.S. economy.  But based on revenue, those businesses are on average considerably smaller than white- or male-owned firms.

Overall, men owned more than half of the nation’s 27.6 million firms in 2012, according to preliminary results from the Survey of Business Owners, and women owned more than 9.9 million businesses, about 36% of the total. The remaining 10% of firms were either jointly owned by men and women or could not be categorized by gender because they were publicly traded companies or have large, diverse ownership groups.

Read more:  Businesses owned by women, minorities lag in revenue share

Illustration credit:  Pew Research Center

Remember to Share Your Story

Successful entrepreneurs and business owners are busy doing what they do best:  building their businesses.  But how many of them share their stories on how they got to where they are in business so that they can help others succeed too (part of the WPO model)?

Read more:  Women on the move tell their stories

Are You Defining Performance by a Single Number?

According to David Rock and Beth Jones, a few years ago, they noticed around half a dozen courageous companies beginning experiments to remove ratings from their performance management systems.  Is your company one of them?  Companies were still differentiating performance in various ways, and still using a pay-for-performance approach, just not through a simple rating system.

Rather, companies prefer to emphasize ongoing, quality conversations between managers and their teams.

Learn more:  Why More and More Companies Are Ditching Performance Ratings

Is a RBF a Blessing or a Curse?

RBF (I'll let you find out what it stands for but let's just say it has to do with nonverbal cues, like facial expression, body language and tone), as a label, has become the latest Internet craze. A historical review of the term indicates it originated in 2009, but Google trends show Internet searches for the phrase took off in the spring of 2013. RBF has since become the subject of countless memes, often featuring celebrity examples. The hype reached new heights of controversy when it was written up in The New York Times on Aug. 1.

The question becomes:  As a business owner, is your RBF helping or hindering you?

Here's one woman's take:

At my [Rene Paulson] own company, I have worked hard to transform a negative into a positive, channeling my RBF to improve my leadership and strategic thinking skills while also building my tolerance to stress (all personality traits researchers at Caliper, a talent management company, have found endemic among high performing women).

Read more:  Women with "RBF" are actually better communicators

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.

Share of Women-Owned Businesses Has Climbed

Fresh government data show the share of women-owned firms has climbed, even though the growth rate of all new businesses remains stalled.

According to preliminary U.S. Census Bureau data released last week, the total number of U.S. firms edged up 2% to 27.6 million between 2007 and 2012, but the number of women-owned firms grew much faster, rising 27% during that time.

Read more:  Women Make Strides in Business

Screenshot of Carla Harris, chair of the National Women’s Business Council, courtesy:  WSJ

Featuring One Of Our Own: Joanna Sobran of MXOTech

We love to see great media features on our very own WPO Chicago members!  In this case, Joanna Sobran, founder, owner, president and CEO of MXOtech, one of Chicago’s few woman-owned tech companies, is interviewed by reporter Sandra Guy.

Read more:  Chicago Sun-Times Sunday Sitdown with Joanna Sobran

Screenshot courtesy:  Chicago Sun-Times

It's About the Ability to Execute on the Idea

What's the winning formula for business success?  According to Jewel Burks (pictured), co-founder and CEO of Partpic, “It’s about the ability to execute on the idea.”

For example, in her case, she first spotted a need: Way back when, she managed customer service for a parts distributor and dealt with the calls from frustrated customers who had been sent the wrong part or couldn’t identify the part they needed because the product name or number was partially rubbed off.

The rest is history.  Partpic was born and now that the software is developed, Burks has filed patents.

Read more:  The Nuts and Bolts of Scaling a Company

12th Annual WPO Chicago Summit 2015: You Must Be a Member to Join Us!

If you are interested in becoming a WPO member and joining us for the Summit, please contact Laurel Delaney.

How Do You Achieve Fast Revenue Growth With a Business?

Anjie Cayot, Laura Kelly, Cindy Rockwell and Chandler Cayot (Chandler not pictured) started Keyot, a hybrid name of Kelly and Cayot, in 2008.  Keyot was born in Kelly’s Woodbury basement with a mission to help businesses grow and innovate.

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

Green and Clean: Jelmar LLC

Becoming more environmentally friendly is an initiative Alison Gutterman (pictured), President and CEO of Skokie, Illinois-based Jelmar LLC, spearheaded in 2006 for her company.  You might recognize two of Jelmar's more famous brands:  Tarn-X Tarnish Remover and CLR brand of calcium, lime and rust remover.  Today nearly 70 percent of the company’s SKUs bear the Safer Choice label.  Ideally, Gutterman would like all Jelmar products to be green.

Read the entire article:  Green, clean dynasty:  Jelmar LLC

Screenshot courtesy:  Edward Lowe Foundation

To Grow, Sometimes You Just Need to Say No

A new survey found that while women small business owners claim to value work-life balance more than men, women are less likely than men to actually take steps to achieve that elusive goal.  One of the other big problems is learning how to say "no."

Capital One’s latest Spark Business Barometer polled small business owners about various aspects of their businesses, including how they define business success.

Learn more:  Study Reveals Female Business Owners Need to Set Boundaries

Black Women Entrepreneurs Are the Fastest Growing Group in America

A recently published study, 2015 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report (pdf), commissioned by American Express Open, shows that the overall number of female-owned businesses grew by 74 percent between 1997 and 2015, which is 1.5 times the national average.  The number of businesses owned by African-American women has grown 332 percent since 1997, according to Fortune magazine.

Read more:  Black Women Represent Fastest-Growing Group of Entrepreneurs in U.S.

All Business Becoming Global

It's always a treat to see one of our very own WPO Chicago members featured in a prominent news article.  In this case, Shea Soucie, co-owner of Soucie Horner, Ltd., a custom residential design firm, is featured in the Chicago Sun-Times article:  Women at work:  'All business becoming global,' Chicago importer says.

Shea started a new business, SHIIR, to import fine rugs (pictured) and decorative carpets and sell them across the country and worldwide.

Congrats to Shea!  We are very proud of you.

Screenshot courtesy:  SHIIR

A Friend's Support Along With WPO Can Make Women Better Entrepreneurs

According to Harvard Business Review, the people we choose to surround ourselves with often matter a great deal to our success — especially when we are trying to thrive as entrepreneurs.

That’s because spending time alongside other motivated and successful people -- fellow WPO members, for example -- can have positive effects on our own success.

Read more:  A Friend's Support Can Make Women Better Entrepreneurs

How to Make $80,000 a Month and Pre-Qualify for WPO Membership

Alicia Shaffer's business, ThreeBirdNest, makes $80,000 a month selling handmade leg warmers, scarves, and headbands on Etsy. Here's how she does it and also pre-qualifies for WPO.

How One Woman Makes Almost $1 Million A Year On Etsy

WPO Heads to Baltimore in 2016

Every year, the Women Presidents' Organization (WPO) hosts an annual conference in a different city. This year we hosted it in Phoenix.  The conference attracts over 800 members, representing successful women-led businesses from all over the world, sharing expertise and business strategies and learning from interactive seminars and speakers.

We are proud to announce that our 2016 annual conference will be held in Baltimore, April 7-9, 2016, at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront.  Mark your calendars now to attend.  If you are not already a member, become one.

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

The Owner's Journey: How to Sell or Transfer a Company

At some point in a business owner's lifetime they wonder what they should do with their business -- sell it or transfer it, for example. Entrepreneur in Residence at Columbia Business School Barbara Roberts (pictured) has created a Whitepaper, "The Owner’s Journey: Experiences shared and lessons learned from entrepreneurs who successfully sold or transferred their business to family members."  It's all you need to execute a finely tuned exit at your business.

Barbara says:

"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.

The 44-page Whitepaper can be accessed free here.

Snapshot of Barbara's background:  Barbara is trained in facilitation and mediation, and certified in coaching by the Hudson Institute of Santa Barbara.  She works with CEOs and owners of venture-backed and family-owned private companies as a board member and coach/consultant in all stages of entrepreneurship from startup through sale, and works with families on succession planning.  She also chairs peer learning groups at TIGER 21 and the Women Presidents’ Organization and runs succession planning workshops for the NYC Economic Development Corp. and New York Public Library.

Barbara is available to answer any questions you might have about the report and welcomes private consulting/coaching and speaking opportunities on growing a business.  She can be reached via email at BR.

You might also be interested in a previous Whitepaper she wrote, "Life After An Exit:  How Entrepreneurs Transition to the Next Stage after a Sale."  We posted about it here on March 7, 2011.

Invest in Your Single Greatest Asset: Yourself

Every WPO member's story is unique and different but I suspect that each one begins with someone starting a business because they spotted a need or thought they could do something better than anyone else.  Sometimes it turns out big and other times it fizzles out fast. Either way, they keep moving forward and getting stuff done.

What separates successful entrepreneurs from the unsuccessful ones? In this article, it boils down to five things (hint:  one is to invest in yourself!).  See if you agree.  If you don't, feel free to chime in. We're hoping to hear from you!

5 Things Successful Entrepreneurs Do Differently

Are You Likable at Your Business?

In "Seven Habits of Likable People," the author asks this one question as it relates to your chances of getting ahead at work:  Are you well liked?  Now, I ask you the same question as it relates to running your multi-million dollar business:  Are you well liked?  Whether you want to get ahead at work or at growing a successful business, you can improve your reputation by practicing these seven habits of likable people.

Seven Habits of Likable People

Tips on Taking Your Business to the Next Level

Growing your business into a multimillion dollar enterprise is no easy feat.  If it were, every businessman and businesswoman on the planet would be doing it.  So what does it take to get your business to the next level?

Last week (5/8) administration officials, investors and entrepreneurs gathered at The Washington Post to offer advice on fostering a thriving, woman-owned small business.  Here's what they shared.

"Don't fear debt, embrace risk, and more advice for women business owners"

Screenshot courtesy:  The Washington Post, Kate Patterson

50 Fastest WPO Companies Boost Our Economy and Create Jobs

Congratulations to Chicago members Michelle Vondrasek, Catherine Tojaga and Shelly Sun for making the 50 Fastest Growing Women-Owned/Led Companies - presented by the Women Presidents’ Organization and sponsored by American Express Global Corporate Payments.

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

Screenshot courtesy:  Women Presidents' Organization