Event: Women's Leadership Breakfast (November 4, 2005)

The Executives' Club of Chicago
Women's Leadership Series Breakfast and Panel Discussion
Friday, November 4, 2005
Hyatt Regency Chicago
151 E. Wacker Drive, East Tower
Grand Ballroom, Gold Level, 7:00 - 9:30 a.m.

Theme: "Dropping In/Dropping Out: Stepping On or Off The Career Ladder."

WPO is a partner to this series.

Click here for further information or to register (deadline October 21).

See you there.

Article of Interest: Readers' Most Admired Entrepreneur

Within the WPO community, we know hands down that our most admired entrepreneur is our founder, Dr. Marsha Firestone. But outside of WPO, find out who readers' voted for.

News: WPO Chicago Conference April 27-29, 2006

For Immediate Release Contact: Patty Briguglio (919) 233-6600

Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO) Announces 2006 Conference
Chicago to Host National Conference for Presidents of Multimillion-Dollar Corporations

New York – The Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO) has named Chicago as the location for its 2006 annual conference, to be held April 27 – 29 at the Ritz-Carlton. With approximately 1000 members and 55 chapters located throughout the U.S. and in Canada, the WPO has experienced rapid growth since its inception. The annual conference offers WPO members the opportunity to share experiences in business with other successful female entrepreneurs from all over the country and Canada, as well as gain important information from interactive seminars and speakers.

Read the entire news release here.

Event reminder: Women's Summit (October 6, 2005)

It's not too late ... don't miss out!

The Women Presidents' Organization has agreed to partner with the University of Chicago Women’s Business Group to support the Women’s Summit, to be held on October 6, 2005 from 3:30 to 9:00 pm.

The Women’s Summit, the first of its kind, will provide a venue for diverse leadership from corporations, law, medicine, economics, public policy, education, journalism, science, technology and non-profit organizations in the Chicago area to join together. In addition to celebrating successes and connections, we will develop a collective vision for increasing the contribution and success of women and minorities to the community in which we live and work. A portion of proceeds from this event will go to support "Junior Achievement" in its pursuit of building the free-market leadership of tomorrow.

In honor of this momentous occasion, Mrs. Katerina Chumachenko Yushchenko, accomplished Chicago GSB alumnae and First Lady of the Ukraine, will be the featured speaker at the event.

The Summit will start with four facilitated visioning sessions to explore important topics for women today. Each session will have a thought leader with expertise on the topic and a professional facilitator. You are invited to share your thoughts and ideas and get involved. Our goal is for the community to come together, create a shared vision, and shape our future. The topics to be discussed include:

• "Mentors -- A Lifelong Strategy for Success"
• “Positions of Power – Women in Policymaking Roles”
• "Entrepreneurship"
• "Women in the World – Visioning for the Future"

The breakout sessions will be followed by a networking opportunity, and by dinner and the keynote address.

"The Women Presidents' Organization is delighted to be a part of the UCWBG's Women's Summit. In our brave new world, we all care about not only how the world works but how we can work together to make a better future for generations to come." -- Laurel Delaney, Chicago Chapter Facilitator

For more information and to register please visit:
www.ucwbg.org/files/womenssummit.html or click here.

All Women Presidents' Organization members will be entitled to the member rate ($100), so please click the appropriate option when registering.

News: WPO Member Receives Entrepreneurial Award (September 14, 2005)

One of our WPO members has just been selected as the 2005 recipient of the Women's Business Development Center's (WBDC) "Entrepreneurial Woman of the Year Award." Ms. McNally will be honored at the WBDC Hall of Fame Awards luncheon attended by the mayor and governor as well as over 1,000 women business owners and community leaders. The WBDC Hall of Fame Awards luncheon will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 14 in the Grand Ballroom on Navy Pier.

Read more about the honor here.

I will see you at the luncheon!

Best wishes,
Laurel

Event reminder: WBDC Conference (Sept. 13-14, 2006)

Join us (as we are a Community Partner to the WBDC) for a national two-day conference and business opportunities fair for today's woman business owner presented by the Women's Business Development Center.

The Women Presidents' Organization will be exhibiting at Booth No. 534 -- please stop by and visit. Adriana Pentz, Event Coordinator for WPO and one of our members will be woman-ing the booth and talking us up! You won't want to miss meeting them and getting additional information on WPO.

September 13-14, 2005 || Navy Pier || Chicago, IL

For more information or to register online for the WBDC conference visit:
WBDC online or call WBDC at 312-853-3477 (Ext. 24).

Hope to see you there -- Booth No. 534. I plan to attend the luncheon on Wednesday, September 14th to see one of our suburban chapter members accept her much-deserved entrepreneurship award. And don't forget to watch for our upcoming ad in the Chicago Sun-Times!

Article of Interest: The 100 Most Powerful Women

In Forbes.com

In addition to WPO members, take a good look at some of the "other" powerful women in the world. Hint: Our very own Oprah is featured as one of the Top 10!

Event: Women's Summit (October 6, 2005)

The Women Presidents' Organization has agreed to partner with the University of Chicago Women’s Business Group to support the Women’s Summit, to be held on October 6, 2005 from 3:30 to 9:00 pm.

The Women’s Summit, the first of its kind, will provide a venue for diverse leadership from corporations, law, medicine, economics, public policy, education, journalism, science, technology and non-profit organizations in the Chicago area to join together. In addition to celebrating successes and connections, we will develop a collective vision for increasing the contribution and success of women and minorities to the community in which we live and work. A portion of proceeds from this event will go to support "Junior Achievement" in its pursuit of building the free-market leadership of tomorrow.

In honor of this momentous occasion, Mrs. Katerina Chumachenko Yushchenko, accomplished Chicago GSB alumnae and First Lady of the Ukraine, will be the featured speaker at the event.

The Summit will start with four facilitated visioning sessions to explore important topics for women today. Each session will have a thought leader with expertise on the topic and a professional facilitator. You are invited to share your thoughts and ideas and get involved. Our goal is for the community to come together, create a shared vision, and shape our future. The topics to be discussed include:

• "Mentors -- A Lifelong Strategy for Success"
• “Positions of Power – Women in Policymaking Roles”
• "Entrepreneurship"
• "Women in the World – Visioning for the Future"

The breakout sessions will be followed by a networking opportunity, and by dinner and the keynote address.

"The Women Presidents' Organization is delighted to be a part of the UCWBG's Women's Summit. In our brave new world, we all care about not only how the world works but how we can work together to make a better future for generations to come." -- Laurel Delaney, Chicago Chapter Facilitator

For more information and to register please visit:
www.ucwbg.org/files/womenssummit.html or click here.

All Women Presidents' Organization members will be entitled to the member rate ($100), so please click the appropriate option when registering.

Event: The 19th Annual Entrepreneurial Woman's Conference (September 13-14, 2005)

Join us (as we are a Community Partner to the WBDC) for a national two-day conference and business opportunities fair for today's woman business owner presented by the Women's Business Development Center.

The Women Presidents' Organization will be at Booth No. 534 -- stop by and visit!

September 13-14, 2005 || Navy Pier || Chicago, IL

Featuring:

• Women's Forum Luncheon, September 13
• Hall of Fame Awards Luncheon, September 14
• Women's Business & Buyers Mart
• Workshop/Panel Discussions
• Ask the Experts
• Corporate Connections

WBDC Co-Presidents:
Hedy M. Ratner and S. Carol Dougal

For more information or to register online visit:
WBDC online or call WBDC at 312-853-3477 (Ext. 24).

Hope to see you there -- Booth No. 534. And watch for our upcoming ad in the Chicago Sun-Times!

News: Prague Wants To Host World's Women Entrepeneurs Congress in 2007

In Prague Daily Monitor

Prague is one of the candidates to hosting the World Women Entrepreneurs Congress in 2007, President of the association of Leading Women Entrepreneurs of the World Cheryl Womack told a news conference yesterday.

For more information, visit, The Czech Republic's English-language electronic newspaper.

Article of Interest: Nearly 40 percent of all business owners are women

In San Antonio Express News

If you need a boost, you'll find it in this powerful article, "Nearly 40 percent of all business owners are women."
Here are five great clips from it.

• "There came a time where I knew that I needed to call my own shots and be my own boss."

• "But it's accurate to say that more women than ever before are stepping up, taking that risk of going out on their own."

• "Just say what you need, and we can find a woman who does it," said Margot Dorfman, who heads the U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce. "Business is no longer just a man's profession."

• The reasons so many women are choosing to be their own bosses are as diverse as the women and the businesses they run. Many are fulfilling lifelong dreams. Others simply want out of the corporate rat race. Some know they can do it better than incompetent bosses they've suffered.

• "I love every part of this business, and I mean that. I love to see a plan work." -- "It's beautiful, like a birth."

Update: WPO Annual Conference in Chicago (April 27-29, 2006)

Please note the new date for our conference in Chicago:

• Thursday, Friday and Saturday -- April 27-29, 2006.

We were unable to reserve hotel space for the previous date, hope this new date works for you.

If you are interested in becoming a conference sponsor, please contact me, thank you!

News: pink

You read it here first: pink ... a new magazine for professional women! I bought a copy last week at Border's in Evanston, devoured every word and subscribed the same day. I am totally impressed by its clean design and edgy, informative and relevant content. Our WPO Director of Communications, Sherrie Gottlieb, attended the pink launch party June 14th and said it was fabulous. Pick up a copy. You'll be glad you did.

I like it so much, pink has become one of our proud National Partners!

News: WPO Founder Quoted in The Wall Street Journal (6/14/05)!

In The Wall Street Journal (6/14/05)

WPO founder Dr. Marsha Firestone is quoted (front page of the Marketplace section, Page B1) in Carol Hymowitz's column, "Women Often Discover Their Business Talent After Kids Are Raised."

If you are pressed for time, here's Marsha's quote: "A lot of these women have worked for big corporations, but at 40 or so when a lot are stuck in middle management they start thinking, "I can have more influence and a bigger piece of the pie doing it on my own," says Marsha Firestone, founder of the Women Presidents' Organization.

Congratulations to Marsha and her WPO team. I am so proud to be a part of this organization and so are the members!

Article of Interest: Tech Spending Top Small Business Concern

In Inc.com

A new survey of the nation's small business owners says that today's entrepreneurs are actively planning to boost their tech spending to cut costs and grow their businesses -- no matter what kind of business they happen to be in.

Another key finding uncovered by the survey was that community involvement -- not profits -- was the chief reward for entrepreneurs running their own businesses, especially for women-owned businesses, the fastest-growing group of small business owners in the country.

"Women have growing power economic power and influence, so it is not a surprise that women-owned businesses are on the rise," said Karen Kerrigan, CEO of Women Entrepreneurs, Inc. "The results of this survey confirm what we are seeing among the growing ranks of women entrepreneurs that are looking to adopt technology to strengthen their business."

To read the complete article and to get the full survey results, visit Tech Spending Top Small Business Concern.

Report: Women In The Economy Update June 2005

In National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA)

The number of women entering the American workforce has risen in recent decades, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. In 1970, about 43 percent of women aged 16 or older worked; the number rose steadily until stabilizing around 60 percent in 1999, where it has hovered since.

The number of self-employed women and women entrepreneurs is also on the rise.

• Between 1976-2004, the percentage of women who were self-employed increased 1.2 percentage points while the number of self-employed men fell.

• According to the Center for Women's Business Research, the estimated growth rate in the number of women-owned firms between 1997 and 2004 was nearly twice that of all firms (17 vs. 9 percent), employment expanded at twice the rate of all firms (24 vs. 12 percent), and estimated revenues kept pace with all firms (39 vs. 34 percent).

• In addition to joining the workforce, women have made significant inroads into higher paying careers, thus increasing the contribution of working wives to family income.

• Both husband and wife had earnings from work in 58 percent of married-couple families in 2003, compared with 44 percent in 1967.

• In 1973, wives' earnings accounted for 26 percent of their families' income; by 2003, that share had grown to 35 percent.

• The proportion of wives earning more than their husbands also grew; in 1987, 18 percent of working wives whose husbands also worked earned more than their spouses; in 2003, it had grown to 25 percent.

Source: "Women in the Labor Force: A Databook," Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, May 2005.

For text and more on women workers, visit here.

Article of Interest: Crazy Like An Entrepreneur

In Business Telegraph (U.K.)

Being entrepreneur Anita Roddick, founder of Body Shop International

An entrepreneur has more in common with a crazy person. That's what I've learnt. When I could articulate entrepreneurship not as a growing business but as a sort of obsession it all made sense to me.

Entrepreneurship is obsessive and it does have certain core components: it's got to have a work ethic -- that's why immigrants make terrific entrepreneurs, and why middle-aged, middle-class, wealthy people don't.

You've got to have an obsession with freedom; you're almost unemployable and you therefore set up your own skill base to cover that. You cannot stand hierarchy -- especially female entrepreneurs, who'll try to break it down at any given point.

I've learnt that you have this umbilical cord with your business; so you really don't know what life is and what business is -- it's all blended together. I've also observed that entrepreneurs, when they leave their company, can either end up in mental institutions or committing suicide because their reason for being is their company.

To read more of this breathtakingly insightful article on what it's like being Anita Roddick and the lessons she has learned, visit here. You might also check out her latest brilliant creation Take It Personally.

Reminder: Springboard Enterprises Venture Forum 2005 -- Call For Applicants!

WHO: Springboard Enterprises and Northwestern’s Center for Women Entrepreneurs in Technology

WHAT: Present At Springboard Enterprises Midwest Venture Forum 2005 – Call For Applicants!

WHEN: On or before June 24, 2005 (actual forum takes place September 28th in Chicago)

WHERE: Apply online at Springboard Enterprises

WHY: Springboard Enterprises Venture Capital Forum recently announced its return to the Midwest and a call for fund-worthy women entrepreneur applicants. Springboard Enterprises provides women-led high growth companies with access to investment capital and entrée to a community committed to helping them build enduring businesses. Springboard has showcased 317 women-led enterprises at 14 forums across the country. Springboard portfolio companies have raised $3 billion in equity capital, grants and strategic investments to date.

Update: Athena Award Event

I was delighted to have had an opportunity to attend the ATHENAPowerLink program Thursday evening at L8 on Ontario Street.

Pamela B. Strobel, executive vice president and chief administrative officer of Exelon Corporation and president for Exelon Business Services Company, and Shelly Sun (who I went to see receive her award), founder and president of 24-7 Brightstar Healthcare, were honored May 12th by the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center (CEC) as it celebrated the importance of business advisors and mentors.

The event called, "It's a Two-Way Street!" was the CEC's second annual networking reception for its ATHENAPowerLink program, a mentoring program that connects women business owners with volunteer advisory panels of business professionals recruited to meet the specific needs of their companies.

To learn more about what went on, visit the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce newsletter feature on it which includes a great photo!

Separately, tomorrow I plan to post an update on Springboard. Watch for it.

Update: Women-owned businesses

What a week it has been for powerful events! I attended the Women's Leadership Exchange on Tuesday and sat in on the Make Mine a $Million Business program for the sole purpose of prospecting for new WPO members. To qualify for WPO membership, you must be a woman president who has guided a business to at least $2 million in annual sales (or $1 million for a service-based business). It looks like nearly all of the women who pitched to win a business loan will qualify for membership in a very short period of time! We can't wait!

According to OPEN from American Express, just 3% of women-owned U.S. businesses generate more than a million dollars in annual revenue, compared to 7% of men-owned businesses in the same category. In addition, women-owned businesses total more than 459,000 in Illinois, representing 50% of all privately held firms in the state, according to the Center for Women's Business Research.

The recent OPEN Small Business Network Monitor survey of women-owned businesses in the Chicago area indicates that women entrepreneurs in Illinois are optimistic about their business future -- 68% have a positive outlook on the economy and business growth.

As soon as I catch my breath, I will report on the Athena Award event that I attended on Thursday night.