Hit the Pause Button

The holiday dinner table is glowing and stacked with your homemade favorites. Your family members are feasting and chatting happily when your uncle brings up his extreme views on a presidential candidate. Everyone gets quiet and you can see the discomfort on people’s faces.

What do you do?  Turn the conversation to how your business is humming along or hit the pause button?

Learn the four steps to avoid drama at the dinner table during the holidays.  Spoiler alert:  Yes, one is hit the pause button.

Award Winning Valarie King Bailey

WPO Chicago member Valarie King Bailey, Founder and CEO of OnShore Technology Group, has earned the distinct honor of being one of the inaugural Chicago Titan 100 honorees.  We love her choice of accessories:  the prestigious WPO pin!

Congrats Valarie.  WPO and your Chicago sisters are so very proud of you.  Keep up your amazing work.  We notice every bit of it.

Women Supporting Women Will Be Significant Moving Forward

“While we may be fixing things at the top, the issue of gender parity is still pervasive. There’s no better time than now for us to push ourselves forward as advocates for one another,” said Ng Lai Yee, managing partner and country leader of IBM Consulting, Singapore. “I think women supporting women will be significant moving forward.”  Similar to how WPO operates.

Women today are breaking through the glass ceiling. More women are entering the boardroom and joining the C-suite. But these hard-won achievements may not last without a healthy pipeline of mid-level leadership, according to a Women in Leadership report by the IBM Institute for Business Value.

This Woman Invests in Other Women Founders

Joanne Wilson has invested in more than 150 companies focusing on women and Black and Brown founders. Now, the face of Gotham Gal Ventures is turning the spotlight on herself to challenge the cannabis industry and create an entirely new retail category.

Read more how this angel investor, serial entrepreneur and passionate team builder leveraged her track record of investing in hundreds of startups to become a business owner herself.  

7 Successful American Women Entrepreneurs

Long before Martha and Oprah, as far back as the late colonial era, these successful business women were breaking glass ceilings.

As all WPO members know, starting a new business has rarely been an easy endeavor. But throughout much of American history, female entrepreneurs faced especially daunting obstacles. They couldn’t open bank accounts in their own names, obtain a loan—or even vote. 

Still, some tapped family connections, sussed out unique business opportunities and beat the considerable odds. The businesses these women launched—some of which survived for a century or longer—turned their founders into role models for more contemporary American moguls like Oprah Winfrey and Martha Stewart.

Read on to discover the seven (7) trailblazing American women entrepreneurs.

Labeling for AI-Created Work

AI will play a role in every creative tool used to make content, and the "AI-generated" label that everyone is talking about will cease to have any meaning.

What's happening: Legislators, regulators and ethicists are going all in on requiring labeling for AI-created work — but as AI use becomes more of a human-machine collaboration, labeling will lose its coherence and meaning.

Discover what's driving this news.

$674 Billion

According to Babson College, $674 billion is how much money franchising generates every year in the United States.

As a way of doing business, it is effective, enduring, and lucrative, and evidence of its success can be seen far and wide. Take a drive just about anywhere, and myriad franchises that are household names dot the landscape.

Are you running a franchise business?  Discover what the future of franchising has in mind for you.

What Can Feeling Lazy Tell Us?

You're well-rested, well-hydrated, in your peak hours and still having trouble getting motivated. Does that make you lazy?  Not quite.

Should you hire lazy people to do hard jobs?  Sounds counter-intuitive, right?

Shift your focus and learn more.

Don't Skimp on Office Products and Services

Businesses have had an eye on improving products meant to help make life as a business owner much easier, whether you are overseeing thousands of employees or decorating your own cubicle. 

Small business owners especially might skimp on office products and services to save money—but what if those purchases themselves end up saving you money? And then there are those nice-to-haves that might give you a mood boost on a dreary work day.

Here’s what products and services to look into at your next budget meeting to give your space and processes a pick-me-up.

Introducing 2023’s Most Dynamic Women Entrepreneurs According to Inc. Magazine

See how these female founders are transforming the future of everything – from electrical infrastructure to fashion – and making it look easy.

Building Systems with ChatGPT API

For those who are interested in learning more about building systems with ChatGPT API, you can take a short course with Stanford Adjunct Professor Andrew Ng, who is also the founder of DeepLearning.AI.

To learn more and to register, visit Coursera.

Full bio on Ng:

Andrew Ng is Founder of DeepLearning.AI, General Partner at AI Fund, Chairman and Co-Founder of Coursera, and an Adjunct Professor at Stanford University. As a pioneer both in machine learning and online education, Dr. Ng has changed countless lives through his work in AI, authoring or co-authoring over 100 research papers in machine learning, robotics, and related fields. Previously, he was chief scientist at Baidu, the founding lead of the Google Brain team, and the co-founder of Coursera – the world's largest MOOC platform. Dr. Ng now focuses his time primarily on his entrepreneurial ventures, looking for the best ways to accelerate responsible AI practices in the larger global economy.

A Sense of Belonging

What do you think is the single biggest driver to happiness for employees?  Compensation?  Flexibility?  

If you asked your employees (or even yourself) these questions: Do you feel like you matter here? Do you have a sense of community? What answers do you suppose you would get?

Happiness expert Laurie Santos, PhD believes we have “a real opportunity to maximize our happiness at work” if we focus on the right things. 

Here, she shares practices to begin doing so today.

Smashing Success: The 20th Annual WPO Chicago Summit 2023

©2023 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Twenty years is a long time to hold steady with something that is near and dear to your heart.  In this case, serving as the Chicago Chapter Chair for the Women Presidents Organization.  What an honor and privilege to be a part of such a vibrant organization. For two decades, we have been bringing together Chicago I and II chapters for members to spend time together, learn and grow.  And this year was no different – other than this time we acknowledged and celebrated our 20th Anniversary.

Special thanks are in order to our WPO Chicago Steering Committee:

• Karolyn Raphael, President, Winger Marketing (Chicago I chapter member)
• Lauren Loew, Partner, Foley & Lardner (Chicago II chapter member)
• Ellen Wheeler, Partner, Foley & Lardner (Chicago I chapter member)

And to our guest presenter:  The talented Wardrobe Stylist and Costume Designer, Jessi Sheehan.

To our host:  Foley & Lardner – what a spread!

To Lorri Kilavos, Foley & Lardner for her special attention to our needs: the exceptional food, the room, and the program.  Feeling extremely grateful. 

We very much appreciate everyone's hard work and dedication to WPO.  It is all of you who make WPO what it is today:  a smashing success.  Thank you.  

20th Annual WPO Chicago Summit: The Art of Balancing Style With Substance (9/14/23)

Jazzed.  Excited.  Proud.  Looking forward!  To our 20th Annual WPO Chicago Summit:  The Art of Balancing Style with Substance on Thursday, September 14, 2023 and hosted at Foley & Lardner, Chicago.

Steering Committee

• Karolyn Raphael, President, Winger Marketing (Chicago I chapter member)
• Lauren Loew, Partner, Foley & Lardner (Chicago II chapter member)
• Ellen Wheeler, Partner, Foley & Lardner (Chicago I chapter member)

Program Agenda (all Central Time)

• 1:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Registration and networking 
• 2:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Welcome and introductions
• 2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Workshop presenter:  Jessi Sheehan
• 4:00 p.m. – 4:50 p.m. Questions and discussion
• 4:50 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Closing remarks, and thank yous 

Talented Wardrobe Stylist and Costume Designer, Jessi Sheehan, will share her wisdom, outlining practical strategies to optimize your professional look delving beyond surface-level aesthetics. 

Discover how to infuse your personal brand with the substance necessary to captivate your audiences and make a lasting impact.   In addition, you will learn:

• Decision fatigue - creating your go-to looks so you can focus your energy on other things.
• Color analysis - find the best colors for you to wear.
• Brand discovery - you are sending a message with your outfit, let’s make sure it’s the right one. 
• Dressing for the body you’re in right now - a guide to intentional pieces based on your body type and silhouette 
• In doubt about your look?  Text-A-Stylist – Jess will share more on this! 

With intriguing visuals and thought-provoking analysis, she will provide a valuable resource for anyone longing to enhance their understanding of style. 

We look forward to this fun, engaging and interactive workshop. 

About Jessi Sheehan

Jessi Sheehan (https://jessisheehan.com) is a Wardrobe Stylist and Costume Designer with clients in Nashville and Chicago.

She started her fashion career almost a decade ago, working as an assistant fashion designer in New York.  She then moved back to Chicago and began working in luxury bridal, with private clients in their closets, and styling her own photoshoots. She built a wonderful network filled with many different people, photographers, models and actors.

Her versatility and profound passion for the craft keeps her busy in all facets of the styling world across private clients, commercials and film. 

She has worked with a variety of clients including: Eva Longoria, Jimmy Butler, Jeff Mauro (Food Network), Fall Out Boy, and Second City. 

*** Please RSVP to Laurel Delaney, ldelaney(at)globetrade.com by no later than 9/11/23 if you plan to attend (for members and sponsors only).***

20th Annual WPO Chicago Summit: The Art of Balancing Style With Substance (9/14/23)

AI Is Changing the Workplace

Unlike many tech companies that are actively downsizing office space and waffling on RTO timing and policies, AI companies are seeing the need for physical office space to do their suddenly desirable work. 

Artificial intelligence could be the savior of the office building. 

The real estate services firm JLL estimates that by the end of 2023, AI companies will occupy 17.2 million square feet of office space across the country.  

Life Centricity: What It Is and How It Captures Growth Amid Uncertainty

According to Accenture, businesses today need to take a broader view that allows them to see customers in their full lives and adapt to their ever-changing needs and priorities. They call this life centricity.

A life-centric approach is built on understanding that people are multifaceted, and that they embrace their own complexity. It involves keeping a finger on the pulse of the external forces that impact modern life (whether economic, social, cultural or beyond) and finding ways to respond that create value for all. Companies with life-centric strategies are willing to make bold, creative changes to the heart of what they do, whether that means upending business models and internal operations or reimagining who their customers are.

Learn more about the 5 distinct and empirically-proven ways that companies on the path toward life centricity are capturing growth amid uncertainty.

Focus On Max of Two Growth Pillars At a Time

What separates the startups that succeed over those who fail? I am sure a lot of WPO members could tell you.

While the author of this article doesn't have a crystal ball to predict everyone’s futures, Martinez does have a wealth of stories and experience gained from his work scaling his company. 

He offers his top five growth lessons, with the aim to help you avoid making the same mistakes that he made early on while scaling a business from $0 to $1M ARR.

How Scaling Is the Missing Innovation Discipline

Companies make significant investments in developing and incubating new business initiatives, but too few follow a rigorous path to scaling their ventures.  Is that you?

Scaling is the missing innovation discipline. Indeed, when these authors assessed the innovation frameworks used by 15 large corporate incubation units, they found that only four mentioned scaling. 

Why is that?  Let's take a look.

The Road to the Top for Camille Burns, CEO, the Women Presidents Organization

WPO CEO Camille Burns (pictured above) spoke with SUCCESS about the road that led her to the top of the Women Presidents Organization and her hopes for the future of all women entrepreneurs.

Her answer to the last question:

With all the demands on a woman president’s time, something has to give. And when you join a group like WPO, you’re committed to showing up. That’s an opportunity for women to get out for a few hours and escape everyone needing them. It’s healthy to be around peers you can learn from. Other women will have workaround solutions for extremely busy lives, because women still have more of the burden outside the office and in their personal lives. Juggling all of that is challenging, but you still have to do things for you. 

Read the entire interview here.

Women Are In a Renaissance of Entrepreneurship

Seizing the opportunity is what successful entrepreneurs do best. But ingenuity for new company founders also plays into it.

Since the start of the pandemic, women, particularly women of color, have become the leading drivers of business creation in the U.S. In 2020 and 2021, women accounted for 49 percent of new business launches, according to a study by Gusto, a human resources software company, compared to 42 percent for men in 2021. 

Meanwhile, nearly half of female-led startups in 2020 were launched by women of color. In 2019, the share of new companies founded by women was just 28 percent. 

What's driving the surge?  Find out here.

Wildly Successful Businesses Run By Women

No longer are female business leaders an anomaly. Although there are still more male-owned businesses, women entrepreneurs are catching up, owning 42 percent of businesses in the United States, according to American Express. 

Get some inspiration by learning about the successful businesswomen who run Fortune 500 companies.  And for even more inspiration on wildly successful privately-owned businesses run by women, visit the Women Presidents Organization.

Prudential and Women Presidents Organization 6/28/23 Chicago Event a Super Success!

©2023 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

We blogged about the Prudential + Women Presidents Organization 6/28/23 Chicago event here, under the theme of "Transitions: Strategies For Business Owners."  It was a super success!  Huge turnout virtually and wonderful, engaging group in person.

WPO CEO Camille Burns (moderator and pictured above at left), AJ Goehle, CEO, Luci Creative (second from left) Margo Jacquot, PsyD, CSADC, BCETS, Chief Care Officer & Owner, The Juniper Center, and Karen Hoffman (far right), CLU®, ChFC®, CASL®, Vice President, Advanced Planning, Prudential Financial discussed concerns and strategies to help ensure that ownership of your business is transferred smoothly when the time comes.  They also addressed approaches for transferring wealth to people and organizations that you care about.

Thank you to all who made the program a success:  Emot Farley (Prudential), Megan McDonough (WPO), Judy Walk-Pearce (WPO, and Giana Dominguez (WPO).

And of course a big thank you to the panelists for their fun and informative discussion and to all the people who attended virtually and in person!

From Exit to ESOP

When contemplating selling her business, Michelle Hayward, founder of Bluedog, did some research. 

She had developed a highly capable leadership team. When she exited, she wanted them to benefit, too. For her, there was only one solution. An employee stock ownership program (ESOP) was the fastest path to exiting Bluedog and driving future value for her employees. Employee ownership takes the company's award-winning culture and the accountability for maintaining it to the next level. It rewards employees by making them owners. 

Read the entire article here.

Transitions: Strategies For Business Owners (Event 6/28/23)

Two WPO Chicago members, WPO CEO Camille Burns (moderator), and Prudential VP of Advanced Planning Karen Hoffman will discuss concerns and strategies to help ensure that ownership of your business is transferred smoothly when the time comes. 

Approaches for transferring wealth to people and organizations that you care about will also be discussed.

If you are a business owner, feel free to join us Wednesday, June 28, 2023 at 4:00 PM CT.

To learn more and to register (virtually or in person), visit: https://www.women-presidents.com/news-events/events-programs/Prudential-and-WPO-Discussion-Panel

10 Best Practices For Rewards and Recognition Programs For Employees

Simply put, employee recognition programs reward and acknowledge employees for their contributions and achievements. This can take many forms, from traditional bonuses and raises to non-monetary rewards like extra time off or public recognition. The key is tailoring the recognition to the individual and their accomplishments.

Here are 10 best practices for rewards and recognition programs for employees and some innovative strategies for employee recognition. 

The State of Girls and Women in STEM 2023

Created annually by National Girls Collaborative Project, this March 2023 resource presents a high-level summary of the most compelling statistics and research on the state of girls and women in STEM, focused on K-12 Education, Higher Education, and the STEM Workforce. 

At the Women Presidents Organization, we encourage more girls and women to enter into STEM.  It is crucial to understand that gender inequity in STEM is driven more by perception than by reality.

Download the document here.

The Best CEOs Continually Improve

"Success breeds complacency, complacency breeds failure." – Andy Grove

How do CEOs (business owners) avoid complacency and sustain high performance through the middle years of the role? There is no magic formula, but from these authors research and experience in the field of CEO excellence, they are confident the odds are greatly increased by the following:

• Enhancing your learning agenda
• Taking an outsider’s perspective
• Collaboratively defining the next S-curve
• Future-proofing the organization

Read on to learn more about all of the above.

Minority Business Ownership Differs By Sector

As the U.S. population has become more diverse, ownership of U.S. businesses has changed.  There were more Hispanic-owned businesses overall and more minority-owned businesses in various sectors in 2020 than a decade earlier, according to the Census Bureau’s 2021 Annual Business Survey (ABS).

Approximately 20% or 1.2 million of these employer businesses were owned by minorities. They employed about 9.9 million employees and had annual payroll of $357.4 billion.

Learn more about who owns America's businesses and how minority business ownership differs by sector.

The Entrepreneurial Journey

JP Morgan | Chase asked business owners and leaders to share the strategies, priorities and principles they’ve embraced throughout their entrepreneurial journey.

Here's what they said.

Vegas Events: The 2023 WPO Entrepreneurial Excellence Forum

Come one, come all – it's finally here:  The 2023 WPO Entrepreneurial Excellence Forum May 10-12, 2023 at the Cosmopolitan Hotel Las Vegas.

Check it out here and learn from WPO members the answer to this key question:  Why did you join WPO and what have you gotten out of it?

See you in Vegas!

U.S. Women Entrepreneurs Are Fueling Business Growth

In the United States, many women are fueling this newfound growth in entrepreneurship, creating around half of all new businesses in 2022.

They are the future of work.  Learn why.

Join the Women Presidents Organization in Vegas for the Entrepreneurial Excellence Forum May 10-12, 2023

It's not too late!  JOIN me along with 750 other women business owners from around the world who will be arriving in Las Vegas for the annual Women Presidents Organization Entrepreneurial Excellence Forum. This is the most amazing program of the year for WPO.

Our WPO CEO Camille Burns sums it up nicely in this LinkedIn post.

To learn more and to register, visit here.  And be sure to stop in at the Pre-Forum Workshop I'll [Laurel Delaney] be moderating on Intentional Growth Beyond Borders (May 10th at 9:30 AM local time).

See you there!  

Helping Kids Launch Big Ideas of Their Own

Jess Ekstrom, Founder of Headbands of Hope and Mic Drop Workshop, launched a multi-million dollar company out of her dorm room in college.  

In this interview with Jessica Abo, she shares how it all started and her advice for kids and teens who want to launch their own big idea.

Valarie King-Bailey, CEO, OnShore Technology Group Makes the Crain's Chicago List of Biggest Women-Owned Businesses

Our very own WPO Chicago member, Valarie King-Bailey, M.B.A., Chief Executive Officer, OnShore Technology Group, makes the Crain's Chicago Business List of Biggest Women-Owned Businesses.

Congrats to Valarie.  We are so proud of you.  This recognition supports all your hard work over the years and is very much deserved.

You can access the list if you are a subscriber to Crain's, here.

Advice For a Young Lady Wanting to Become President (of the United States)

What will it take for a woman to obtain the highest office in the land?  in this case we are talking about becoming President of the United States and not President of your own business although I must say that President of your own business is a pretty tall order, too.  We know this to be true at the Women Presidents Organization.  If you want to be a Chief, you join WPO, it's that simple provided you run a multimillion dollar business.  Anything else that you join is subterfuge for the real thing.

But back to President of the United States.  While pundits debate Nikki Haley's chances, historian Alexis Coe looks back at a speech former President Gerald Ford gave to a group of children and wonders if he—and whole bunch of film and TV writers—was right all along.

In 1989 a bespectacled girl with a yellow ribbon in her hair asked Gerald Ford if he had any advice for a “young lady wanting to become president of the United States.” Ford didn’t recommend the best schools or list acts of service. He didn’t even answer her question, instead pivoting to a morbid prediction.

Read on to see what it was.

Women Supporting Women

Starting out with just about 70 women-owned businesses featured on The WMarketplace, the Seattle-based e-commerce site has grown to more than 500 women-owned businesses.

Co-founder and CEO Kate Isler said it was crucial for women business owners to find a place to sell their products and services in order to survive the pandemic and thrive going forward.

Just like the Women Presidents Organization, "Women supporting women" is also a core part of The WMarketplace, according to Isler, who said that mindset is how women entrepreneurs succeed.

Read on to learn more about the backstory on The WMarketplace.

The Rebel Within Her: Ali Florsheim

Ali Florsheim (as shown), is president of Wisconsin-based Rebel Green, a natural household cleaning product company.  She is a rebel to us in the WPO Chicago II chapter.  Because she's strong, bold and fearless in running her successful business.  She's grateful for a lot of things but in particular ... 

When it comes to gratitude, however, Florsheim saves her biggest thank you for the WPO. “I find it difficult to express the depth of my gratitude to the WPO for providing an opportunity for women in business to get together,” she says. “It’s such a unique experience to have even the possibility to sit with such interesting, successful women, and to learn from them, to share experiences in such a non-judgmental and informal way.”

We love having Ali as a WPO member and she is inspiration to us all.  Read the entire WPO interview here.

Marketing to Women Isn’t Just About the Color of a Product

Marketing to women isn’t just about the color of a product. After all, Maserati could make their cars pink if they thought that would appeal to women.

Globally, according to a not-for-profit that helps build workplaces that work for women, women control about $32 trillion in annual consumer spending. That’s a lot of purchasing power.

In the U.S., women account for 85% of all consumer spending, and they are responsible for a growing number of highly significant buying decisions, including 93% of food and over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, 92% of vacations, 91% of new homes, as well as 89% of bank accounts, 80% of health care, 66% of PCs and 65% of new cars.

To help your products or services connect with savvy female consumers, these five tips may help.

How to Measure Employee Engagement with the G12

There are 12 needs managers can meet to improve employees' productivity. This approach to engagement is simple, and, according to Gallup, it works. Here they are:

1. I know what is expected of me at work.
2. I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right.
3. At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day.
4. In the last seven days, I have received recognition or praise for doing good work.
5. My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person.
6. There is someone at work who encourages my development.
7. At work, my opinions seem to count.
8. The mission or purpose of my company makes me feel my job is important.
9. My associates or fellow employees are committed to doing quality work.
10. I have a best friend at work.
11. In the last six months, someone at work has talked to me about my progress.
12. This last year, I have had opportunities at work to learn and grow.

Learn the science behind the questions.

Be Empowered and Inspired: Read a Book

Ask yourself these three questions:

1. Do I want to read books that inspired successful women entrepreneurs?
2. Am I curious to see what key learnings other business owners get from their reads?
3. Do I want to start my own business, but there’s something holding me down and I’m not sure what it is?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you’re in the right place. 

Each book in this collection comes with its own recommendation because it’s important to understand why that title was important to its curator, to determine if it might be important to you, as well.

And once you start your business, visit the Women Presidents Organization to get even more inspired.  Reach a million-dollar mark in annual revenue and membership can be yours.  A dream come true. 

As a Business Owner, How Not to Make These Top 3 Mistakes

When companies are just getting off the ground, there are many stressors and opportunities. This is an exciting time in the life of your company, and there are some common pitfalls that you can avoid.

Here are three.

Thoughts, Prayers and Love to Our WPO Sisters in Turkey

We are reposting the LinkedIn post our WPO CEO wrote about the horrific event that happened in Turkey.  

From Chicago to Peru to South Africa – no matter where the WPO chapter is located – we are with our Turkey WPO sister in spirit, love and support.

If you want to help support Turkey, our WPO chapter chair, Gaye Goker, has suggested two trusted organizations:

1. https://lnkd.in/exA4kyrD
2. https://lnkd.in/edvBvqrN

Read CEO Camille Burn's entire post here.

New Pattern of Self-Empowerment Among Women Business Owners

Women business owners and top executives of small and mid-size majority-women-owned businesses have an optimistic outlook about the near-term future of their businesses, according to a recent survey.

The PNC Bank [PNC is a long-stand WPO national sponsor] survey found that women business owner (WBO) expectations for their own companies remain strong, with 41% feeling highly optimistic -- up from 29% in the fall of 2020 but down from 67% in the fall of 2021 – while the share of those feeling pessimistic has held constant at just 1%.

“We are seeing a new pattern of self-empowerment among women business owners that are very encouraging,” said Beth Marcello, director of PNC Women’s Business Development. “Their own hard work to survive the pandemic is the source of their confidence and optimism today.”

The survey suggests that women have a take-charge, can-do attitude. 

Read more here.

Perseverance Matters

Set your soul on fire.

WPO Member of the Moment: Teri Sharp, President at American Precision Supply, Inc.

Congrats to WPO Chicago member Teri Sharp (pictured) for this beautiful feature below on her business.  We love her answer to the first question in the interview.

How has being a WPO member helped your business?

Being a WPO member has helped me grow my business and given me the confidence to keep moving forward. I use the ladies in my chapter as a sounding board for new ideas or things I need to change. They are a support group of women who understand the issues we all face and that helps me when I am in a very male-dominated industry.

Read the entire interview, including the challenges she has faced, what inspired her to start her business and what her favorite WPO event is.