Article of Interest: Business Owners Say Certification Helps Them Stand Out To Major Buyers

Dena Van Winkle never doubted the benefits of certifying her small business as woman-owned. The designation could open doors for contracts from corporations and government agencies seeking greater diversity among suppliers.

Read the article here: Minority small-business owners say certification helps them stand out to major buyers


Are you certified? We can direct you to the appropriate people. Just drop us an email.

Be Creative: Draw On Your Friends For Inspiration

Every once in a while you have to take a time out for yourself and your business. How else can you be creative? Hopefully, this is one of those moments. Enjoy.

Imagination Cubed

News: Introduction of Women's Small Business Ownership Programs Act

Today, Women Impacting Public Policy, the nation's largest bi-partisan women's business group, expressed their support of "The Women's Small Business Ownership Programs Act of 2006," introduced by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Sen. John Kerry (D-MA). The bill, S. 3659, which will amend Section 29 of the Small Business Act, is designed to encourage women small business ownership by revitalizing programs within the Small Business Administration (SBA) geared toward women-owned businesses.

Read more here: WIPP Applauds Senators Snowe and Kerry for Introducing Women's Small Business Ownership Programs Act.

Report of Interest: Women-Owned Million-Dollar Firms

In case you missed it, find out the economic impact (clout) that women-owned million-dollar firms have on our country's health by reading a study conducted by the Center for Women's business Research : Women Demonstrate They Have What It Takes to Build Million-Dollar Firms.

Article(s) of Interest: Is It Time To Sell Your Business?

When launching companies, entrepreneurs tend to peer out into the future and set out general plans on how and when to sell their company. It's not a decision any entrepreneur takes lightly. At the same time, selling your company at the right price and for the right reasons can mean you've truly succeeded in your business.

Here's when I think about selling. When:

1. I launch a new business -- I begin with the end (exit strategy) in mind.
2. I get tired of the same old, same old (which everyone experiences from time to time but not all the time).
3. I or someone else dear to my heart gets sick.
4. Someone makes me an offer I cannot refuse.
5. The going gets tough -- selling is an easy ticket out.
6. It just feels right.

What about you? When does it hit you that you might want to sell your business?

Find out more here with this wonderful collection of articles and tools that focus on strategies and tasks involved in preparing for and finalizing your company's sale.

Article of Interest: Web Sites Can Help You Find the Information You Need

The Internet is an information tool for business. You are a busy entrepreneur or you're a busy aspiring entrepreneur. In either case, you want to gather information quickly, so you can move on to the business of planning your business success.

Today, you don't have to necessarily go to the library, or visit resource centers to gather information in person. You can simply log on to the Internet to find everything you need -- from how to register a company trademark to filing corporate taxes. It's all there 24/7.

And if you want to just take the pulse of the small business economy, download the Office of Advocacy's recent report here.

Article of Interest: Are Women Entrepreneurs Better?

"As the economy heats up, it’s sobering to think that the real competition for talent isn’t other firms -- it's the business and ideas incubating inside women’s minds." -- Margaret Heffernan

This is a fantastic commentary by Margaret Heffernan that is published in Forbes on why so many women are leaving corporate America for entrepreneurship. Read it here and get ready to kick ... or should I say ... change how the world does business.

PPT of Interest: What Is Strategy?

I recently had the great honor to attend the World Business Forum (WBF) in Chicago and listened to leading authorities talk about everything from what makes a great leader to how to position your company for globalization. Here's a listing of a few of the speakers:

• Rudy Giuliani
• William Jefferson Clinton
• Kenichi Ohmae
• Colin Powell
• Marcus Buckingham
• Michael Porter
• Michelle Peluso (thank goodness a woman made the cut!)

If you don't what the word "strategy" means and how it applies to your business, I urge you to download Michael Porter's PowerPoint presentation for the World Business Forum here.

Shhhhhhhhhh ... only attendees to the forum know about its availability. Go for it now. Find it featured in the top left hand corner of the WBF site. Michael Porter is the expert on competitive strategy.

News: More Accolades on the Chicago Conference!

Reflections on the WPO Annual Conference

Last month, I had the pleasure of attending my first national WPO (Women Presidents Organization) annual conference in Chicago and wanted to pass on what a great experience this was.

All too often, as business owners and managers, we become tied to the daily demands of the job and fail to take the time to recharge our minds. This opportunity to get away not just for breakfast, lunch or even a one-day seminar, but to spend three days talking with very dynamic, creative women from all industries was a wonderful experience.

I would encourage everyone to find an organization that truly challenges them with new ideas and to attend the national conferences. The new ideas and reinforcement I gained in the value of our own programs has tremendous value to Cebic Technologies and ultimately for our customers.

Sincerely,
Beate Hybinette (WPO member)
Cebic Technology, Inc.
www.cebic.com

Article of Interest: Lookin' Good

Entrepreneurship is more common among black women than among women in any other demographic. U.S. Census figures from 2002 show that the majority of black business owners are women; when all races are taken into account, the rate of female ownership drops to 37 percent.

Nationally, businesses owned by black women grew by 55 percent from 1997 to 2004, six times the rate of all U.S. firms, according to the Center for Women's Business Research, a nonprofit group based in Washington, D.C.

Wilma Goldstein, an administrator with the U.S. Office of Women's Business Ownership, isn't sure why that is, but says it doesn't surprise her, given the support networks that black women traditionally have formed within families and communities.

Read the article about black-owned businesses (photo: owner of Indianapolis-based Unik Boutique) that are blossoming into behemoths here.

News: WPO President Receives Distinguished Service Award

What does the top of the ladder to success look and feel like? Our founder Marsha Firestone will give you an idea. Read about her recent Distinguished Service Award here. Congratulations Marsha! We are very proud of you.

Story of Interest: Bliss in Bag

Her husband had left her. Taking off on his motorcycle -- the one that reminded her of their discovering Bob Dylan together -- he took up with a folk singer with long red hair.

Forty years later, Ray still visibly recoils from the memories. It’s hard to say what makes that time so especially raw, whether it’s the heartbreak of his leaving or the facts of what he left behind: She was pregnant.

She had no one to lean on: Her parents had died, and she had grown up an only child in a California home where, she says, “we were really, really poor.” Her father was an opera singer turned B-movie actor. After he got a job with the Census Bureau, the family moved to the Washington area. Ray graduated from the University of Maryland but couldn’t find a well-paying job. It was a time of “stone fear,” she recalls. “That’s when I knew I was in trouble having an English degree.”

But she could work. And work more. And work harder. So she did.

“I had to make it,” she says. Read Tony Ray's story here.

And the question you may ask, "Is she is WPO member?" Not yet. But she could become one real soon.

Commentary of interest to those who attended the WPO Chicago conference

Many of you probably missed this because we were well on our way to enjoying the Chicago conference but here's an interesting commentary by our keynote speaker Gary Hamel that was published by the WSJ on April 26, 2006. Click on "Google's novel management system."

News: Babson Women's Business Blog Just Went Live!

The Babson Women’s Business Blog is dedicated to a cause about which they are very passionate: the advancement of women and business. Their new blog just went live.

Catch it here.

News: Women Build Million-Dollar Firms

Women are demonstrating their strength, business savvy and financial sophistication by building substantial and growing businesses that generate one million dollars or more (think WPO members) in annual revenues.

Women-owned businesses that generate a million dollars or more in revenue distinguish themselves through their use of multiple funding sources, sophisticated financial management practices, and utilization of technology.

Read about the study here: Women Demonstrate They Have What It Takes to Build Million Dollar Firms

News: Crain's Largest Women-Owned Firms 2006

And three are WPO members! Review the list here.

Survey: Oppenheimer Funds

Women Business Owners Are More Willing to Take Financial Risk at The Workplace Than at Home

We are proud to have Oppenheimer Funds as a corporate sponsor to the Women Presidents' Organization. Some interesting survey highlights:

• Women entrepreneurs are in control of business and household finances
• Women business owners are key decision- makers at home and the office.
• More than half of women business owners responded that they are responsible for saving or investing for retirement in their household, developing and maintaining the household budget and paying the bills.
• Nearly forty-percent are solely responsible for buying and selling stocks, bonds and mutual funds for their households.
• Forty-five percent are the primary investment decision-makers in their businesses.

Read more about Oppenheimer's survey results here.

News: WPO in The Wall Street Journal!

As featured today in The Wall Street Journal, Personal Journal section, "Moving On" by Jeffrey Zaslow. Read it here:

A New Generation Gap: Differences Emerge Among Women in the Workplace

News: Chicago Conference a Huge Success!

Let's celebrate!

Here's what people are saying:

"The Chicago conference was the best one I have ever attended. The warmest of the hospitality, the beauty of the city, and the content of the conference made for such a memorable event." ~ WPO Canadian member

"What an awesome conference! Congratulations to all involved. Each year the bar of excellence keeps getting raised." ~ WPO facilitator

"I just want you to know that all of my members had a wonderful time and each one said the value was there and that they would be back. You and your chapter members did a remarkable job. You should certainly be celebrating the success of the conference! Thank you." ~ WPO facilitator

"I have been to many conferences in my lifetime, but this was the "Best of the Best" and fabulous. The energy, knowledge and collaboration from everyone was terrific. Thanks so much letting me be a part of it!" ~ WPO member

"The conference was great fun and a unique experience." ~ WPO member

"Thank you for all your amazing work to produce such a wonderful convention. The programs, the fellowship, the activities and meals were all terrific." ~ WPO member

"How happy and proud you must be. What a success! I heard nothing but positive things about the conference from all the attendees. The attention to detail was evident in every aspect of the event. Thanks so much for putting your heart and soul into the conference." ~ WPO member

News: Chicago Is My Kind Of Town and Now It Will Be Yours!

See you at the WPO conference Thursday, April 27th at 1:00 p.m. CDT at the Ritz-Carlton Chicago Hotel.

Can't wait!


All the best,
Laurel