News of Interest: A High Five to the WPO High Fliers

Just returned from the WPO Annual Conference in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida at The Westin Beach Resort and I feel good -- inspired and ready to take on the world! What about you? Share your successes, powerful moments and learning lessons with us. How do you plan to use the information you received at the conference to grow your business? We welcome hearing from you.

In the meantime, check out some of the amazing media coverage we received during the conference:

The Wall Street Journal
High Fliers: Top Women-Led Companies

Snippet:

Marsha Firestone, WPO's founder and president, says the group began compiling the rankings three years ago in an effort to dispel the notion that female-led companies are primarily mom-and-pop operations in "retail, cookie-making or crafts." Most on the list are business-to-business companies, many in traditionally male-dominated fields such as transportation, construction, manufacturing and distributing, she says.

SmartMoney.com
Trailblazing Women Business Owners Achieve Rapid Growth Despite Challenging Economy

Snippet:

"The Top 50 list exemplifies the vital role women business owners have on boosting the economy and enhancing job growth overall," says Marsha Firestone, Ph. D., president and founder of the WPO. "We are pleased to partner with American Express OPEN to honor these powerful women and recognize their triumphs."

MiamiHerald.com
Female Executives Share Secrets of Success

Snippet:

A woman CEO may not want to ask for help to be successful, but the Women Presidents' Organization breaks that mindset in order to take women-owned businesses to the next level.And one more! "There's a perception out there that women grow and run very small mom-and-pop operations and that they are mostly crafts or retail or cookies, and that's not true at all,'' said WPO founder and President Marsha Firestone.

Firestone said some of the fastest-growing women-owned companies are in industries that aren't traditionally women dominated.

Catch us if you can! And if you'd like more information about WPO, please contact our headquarter office at 212-688-4114 or email info@womenpresidentsorg.com. In Chicago, call 773-381-1700 or email ldelaney(at)globetrade.com.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Photo credit: Starwood Hotels, The Westin Beach Resort, Fort Lauderdale, Sky Terrace where we had our "dessert" reception on the last evening of the conference.

Added 4/27/10 at 9:39 CDT -- WomenEntrepreneur.com
WPO Conference: 90+ Guru & Salsa Dancing, Too (hat tip to Karen Barnett for the info).

News of Interest: A New Kind of Company

When you started your business, you most likely went through the process of determining which type of entity best suits your short and long term needs. For example, some of your options might have been to form a limited liability company (LLC), C corporation or S corporation. Hopefully your attorney guided you along the way by asking the right questions about how you envision operating your business five, ten or twenty years out.

For those of you who are considering new business initiatives, especially if it is caused related or a socially responsible enterprise, you might want to take a look at this new type of business that redefines the very purpose and meaning of a business.

It's called a B Corporation. What are B Corporations?

B Corporations are a new type of corporation which uses the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. B Corporations are unlike traditional responsible businesses because they:

• Meet comprehensive and transparent social and environmental performance standards.
• Institutionalize stakeholder interests.
• Build collective voice through the power of a unifying brand.

Check it out and find out why it matters here:

Certified B Corporation

Resource of Interest: Google AdWords: Keyword Tool

We recently had Internet Marketing Consultant Amanda Bury from ReachLocal give a talk at our WPO Chicago downtown I chapter meeting and she did a very good job educating us on what SEO (search engine optimization) and SEM (search engine marketing) do for your online business, what the difference is between the two and how to use both effectively to bring greater attention to your business on the Internet.

One tool I always use for my business, and this is outside of the bounds of what Amanda spoke about, is Google AdWords: Keyword Tool. It's a free resource that lets you see what folks are typing into Google. I access great competitive information from it, use it to determine the best choice of words for blog titles and even determine the name(s) of new businesses that require a catchy domain name.

Tips for using Keyword Tool:

• Find keywords based on your site content. Instead of entering your own keywords, try using the Website Content option. It lets you enter the URL of your business website, or of any site related to your business. The AdWords system will then scan your page and then suggest relevant keywords.


• Create new, separate ad groups with similar keywords. We recommend creating several ad groups in each campaign, each with a small, narrowly-focused set of similar keywords. Use the Keyword Tool to discover relevant keywords, then divide them into lists of 5 to 20 similar terms. See examples of ad groups promoting a single product or service and multiple products or services.


• Identify negative keywords. The Keyword Tool can help you identify off-topic keywords that users may be thinking about. Suppose you sell cut flowers and you give the Keyword Tool the keyword 'flowers.' It may suggest the related term 'gardens,' and you may want to add that term to your ad group as a negative keyword. That will keep your ad from showing on searches for 'flower gardens' or similar terms. This helps make sure only interested customers see your ads.


• Specify a language and location. If you're using the Keyword Tool while signed in to your account, you can modify your keyword search with advanced settings and tailor results to a particular location and language. If you happen to be targeting Spanish speakers who live in France, make sure you set the Keyword Tool to that language and location.


• Start broad and then get specific. Try broad terms like 'flowers' in the Keyword Tool first. Then try specific terms like 'red roses' or 'miniature cactus.'

On our own, we did a test (as illustrated above) using keywords: 'women presidents' (clicked the box to use synonyms) and found these keywords related to the term(s) we entered that were searched regularly:

women college presidents
women presidents in the world
women university

What does that mean? You have to factor it in when you create, for example, blog post titles or designate choice paid search listings with keywords for your business. There's so much more -- so spend some time reviewing and learning about how you can use this tool to grow your business.

Give it a whirl here:
Google AdWords: Keyword Tool

Stuck? There's always an online classroom.

Article of Interest: Total Virtual, Is That Your Business?

Have you fantasized about ditching your office space, saving a boatload of money (rent) and taking your entire enterprise virtual? It's in line with the expression: If you can dream, it, you can do it! We know for a fact that many WPO members are already running thriving virtual companies. Technically, your office is wherever you are.

If you want a practical look at the why, the how, and the why not of going virtual, think of it as your blueprint for your officeless future, read:

"The Case, and the Plan, for the Virtual Company"

While you are at it, check out: "How Virtual Offices Work."

Let us know what you think of this glimpse at the future of work.

News of Interest: Get Ready For the Next Big Gamechanger

Oftentimes it's the little things that sneak up on us while we run our businesses. Suddenly, out of nowhere, we find ourselves shaking our heads wondering how or why we fell behind, especially concerning the powerful capabilities of the Internet.

Take blogs, for example, remember when people questioned why in the world anyone would start a blog? Pause for a moment to appreciate the explosive growth in blogosphere. Blogs increased from 4,000 in 2004 to currently more than 133,000,000 (is anyone still counting?). Note: the Women Presidents' Organization launched its blog in 2006!

Then came Linked In, Facebook and Twitter. Many of us could not comprehend what these new media platforms meant for our businesses. Now we get it. As a result, we're racing ahead to catch up and leverage the digital revolution in a way that drives positive results for our businesses.

And now, along comes still another new magical and revolutionary device. It's called the iPad (a lightweight screen meant to move). Think it won't change the way we do things? Guess again.

The iPad has all the signs of a global gamechanger. Ready yourself and your business for it now (official release date is April 3). You want to win the race this time around.

Read: 13 of the Brightest Tech Minds Sound Off on the Rise of the Tablet

Photo credit: Apple

Breaking news: Well what do you know ... just in via online by the king of tech reviews, Walter S. Mossberg, WSJ (April 1, 2010):

Laptop Killer? Pretty Close
iPad Is a 'Game Changer' That Makes Browsing and Video a Pleasure; Challenge to the Mouse

News of Interest: Women Presidents' Organization Has a New Blog Look

The online paint has finally dried. The Women Presidents' Organization (WPO) headquarter office has a new look at their blog.

Pay a visit here.

If you've been following, be sure to change the RSS feed and sign up to receive notifications of blog posts via email.

Now you have WPO 360º!

Article of Interest: Reconsider Your Hiring Practices

USA Today columnist Rhonda Abrams challenges women business owners to change the way we think about hiring if we want to grow — really grow — our companies.

She highlights:

Here's a startling fact: nearly 7% of male-owned businesses gross more than a million dollars a year, but less than 3% of women-owned businesses do. In fact, there are only about 250,000 women-owned businesses that generate $1 million or more in sales a year. One reason: women's reluctance to hire.

Abrams also emphasizes it takes a confident women to be in charge of others.

Read the entire article here. Agree? Disagree? Weigh in with your comments. We always enjoy hearing from you.

Photo credit here.

News of Interest: U.S. $6 billion a Year in Export Financing for Small Businesses

For those already running a global small business or thinking about taking a business international, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke pledged U.S. $6 billion a year in export financing for U.S.A. small businesses through the Export-Import Bank of the United States.

What does this mean for you and your business? If you haven't looked overseas to build sales for your business, you should now.

The National Export Initiative is focused on three key areas:

1. A more robust effort by this administration to expand its trade advocacy in all its forms, especially for small- and medium-sized enterprises. This effort includes educating U.S. companies about opportunities overseas, directly connecting them with new customers and advocating more forcefully for their interests.

2. Improving access to credit with a focus on small- and medium-sized businesses that want to export.

3. Continuing the rigorous enforcement of international trade laws to help remove barriers that prevent U.S. companies from getting free and fair access to foreign markets.

As Commerce Secretary Gary Locke says:

“Increasing the export of American products and services to global markets can help revive the fortunes of U.S. companies, spur future economic growth and support jobs here at home."

Discover how you can put the world in your hands and use the power of the U.S. government to increase your export sales here.

News of Interest: Two WPO Chicago Members Inducted Into Chicago Area Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame 2/25/10

We are thrilled to report that not one but two Women Presidents' Organization Chicago members have been inducted into the prestigious Chicago Area Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame (through the Coleman Foundation Entrepreneurship, Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies, University of Illinois at Chicago).

Category: Classic Start-up and Lifetime Entrepreneurs

The new members are:

• Francine Manilow, President (pictured left), Manilow Suites (downtown I member)
• Jennifer Bertoglio, Founder, President & CEO (pictured right), LawyerLink (downtown II member)

Those inducted into the Chicago Area Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame embody the entrepreneurial spirit of Chicago area businesses: a determination to succeed, an unsurpassed commitment to excellence, and the rare ability to meet challenges and recognize opportunities through innovation, proactiveness and risk taking.

The Judges and their world-class sponsors, American Chartered Bank, Grant Thornton, Allscripts, MarketM and Crain's Chicago Business welcomed Francine and Jennifer as members this evening, February 25th, at the Chicago Hilton and Towers.

Of the many thousands of entrepreneurs in the Chicago area, the students, faculty, sponsors, and Judges select very few winners each year so this is quite an accomplishment for Francine and Jennifer.

We are very proud of them; congratulate them on this great achievement and wish them continued success. More importantly, we are very proud that they are WPO Chicago members.

Also note: Crain's Chicago Business, Enterprise City, "UIC adds names to entrepreneurs' Hall of Fame"

Photo credit: Laurel Delaney, WPO Chicago

Articles of Interest: POWER Your Business Out of the Recession

Harvard Business Review Magazine is a good resource to refer to from time to time. And in this case, it might help POWER you and your business out of the recession.

Here is a sampling of complimentary articles for your use.

March 2010

• The Big Idea: Funding Eureka!

  Nathan Myhrvold

• Women in Management: Delusions of Progress

  Nancy M. Carter and Christine Silva

• The Soot Opportunity

  Jessica Seddon Wallack

• Engaging the “Pole Vaulters” on Your Staff

  Katie Truss and Emma Soane

• One Café Chain’s Facebook Experiment

  Utpal M. Dholakia and Emily Durham

• Vision Statement: A Better Approach to China’s Markets

  Max Magni and Yuval Atsmon

• Column: Think Outside the Building

  Rosabeth Moss Kanter

• Column: Who Do These Bankers Think They Are?

  Joseph E. Stiglitz

Event of Interest: Women Presidents' Organization (WPO) 13th Annual Conference April 22-24, 2010

Register now for the Women Presidents' Organization (WPO) 13th Annual Conference in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on April 22nd-24th at the Westin Beach Resort.

To view the Conference schedule, registration (for both members and non-members who qualify), and all Conference information, click here.

This year's theme is:

Thriving in the New Economy

Keynote speakers: Professor Neeli Bendapudi, Ph.D., Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University; Jean Chatzky, Best-Selling Author and Financial Expert; Professor Rebecca Henderson, Harvard Business School; and Frances Hesselbein & Marshall Goldsmith, Chairman and Founding President of the Leader to Leader Institute, former CEO, the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. (1976-1990) and Best-Selling Author and Executive Coach.

There will also be five substantive workshop programs, and our closing session on Saturday is Salsa Away your Stress.

Hope to see you there!

Seeking: 50 Fastest-Growing Woman-Owned or Woman-Led Companies

The Women Presidents' Organization is in search for the 50 Fastest-Growing Women-Owned or Women-Led Companies in North America! Applications are now being accepted through Wednesday, February 10th. Yes, that's right. Only two days left to make your move.

To be eligible, companies must be:

• Privately owned
• Women-owned/led
• Must have generated $500,000 in annual revenues by the first week of 2005
• Must have reached revenues of $2 million by year-end 2009

You do not have to be a WPO member to apply. What are you waiting for?

Click here to access the application form. Any questions can be e-mailed to fastgrowth(at)womenpresidentsorg.com

Article of Interest: 11 Ways to Create Great Online Content

Are you trying to snag new clients for your business with the content you produce on your website, blog, Facebook or Twitter platforms?

Then take a good long look at these magnificent ideas on how to WOW your readers, actively engage them and integrate the material across all online media channels.

Snippet (which begs me to ask you: Are you a silo-buster?):

11. Bust silos. Do you have a print newsletter? Do you produce a regular podcast? Run a version of a print article on the blog, upload the best headlines to Facebook, post transcripts of your podcast online, and chat everything up on Twitter. A lot of the ideas here reinforce the notion that you should not silo your content. Rather, sprinkle it freely across any of your platforms. It's important to think like a publisher, and leverage any publishing platforms you've created.

Read more here.

Case Study of Interest: How To Leverage Twitter For Your Business

The BIG question: Why Twitter? And why Twitter for your business? Find out via an interview conducted by Mack Collier of The Viral Garden with Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer at MarketingProfs.

Hint on an a-ha moment:

When I (Ann Handley) saw that with Twitter came tremendous opportunity to report, filter, and engage. Later, a plane would land in the Hudson, and there would be wildfires in California, and demonstrating in Iran, and so much more (Obama, Susan Boyle, Motrin Moms, and a thousand moments in between).

Read the entire discussion here.

See how the Women Presidents' Organization uses Twitter by following us @WomenPresidents

When you visit, take a moment to let us know your Twitter handle (mine is @LaurelDelaney)!

eBook of Interest: What Matters Now

Seventy influential thinkers share an idea for you to think about relative to your business as we progress into the new year.

From bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert to brilliant tech thinker Kevin Kelly, from publisher Tim O'Reilly to radio host Dave Ramsey, there are some cool people delivering important ideas here.

The free ebook includes Tom Peters, Fred Wilson, Jackie Huba and Jason Fried, along with Gina Trapani, Bill Taylor and Alan Webber.

For a fresh look at our new world, go here. Shortcut (download here).

Illustration source, here.

Event of Interest: Women's Leadership Breakfast 1/27/10

The Executives' Club of Chicago Women's Leadership Breakfast, "Global Inclusiveness -- What It Takes to Succeed" will be held Wednesday, January 27, 2010 at the The Hilton Chicago, Grand Ballroom (720 South Michigan Avenue) from 7:00-9:00 a.m.

Description:

What is inclusiveness? How are diversity and inclusiveness defined domestically and internationally? Are women uniquely positioned to deal with cultural challenges? How do men deal with those same cultural challenges? Discover how women are using their inclusive skill set to guide their companies to success.

Moderator: Karen Jordan, Weekend Anchor and Reporter, ABC 7 News

Panelists: Gisele Riba Di Spigno, Director, IBM Global Opportunity to Order, IBM; Kelli Stokes, Director of Global Diversity and Talent Acquisition, Caterpillar Inc.; Homa Sabet Tavangar, Author, "Growing up Global: Raising Children to be at Home in the World."

The Women Presidents' Organization Chicago is a proud partner of this empowering high-level women's program (look for our tabletop with brochures).

Registration is 7:00 a.m. Seated Breakfast, 7:30 a.m. Panel Discussion, 8:00 a.m.

Registration Deadline:

1/26/10

For more information and to register, visit here.

I hope to see you there! Feel free to contact me to pre-arrange a meeting (ldelaney(at)globetrade.com).

Article of Interest: What's On Your EcoMind for 2010?

Recall Michael Porter's five (5) forces analysis he provided that determines and shapes the competitive intensity and attractiveness of a market?

Attractiveness in this context refers to the overall industry profitability. An "unattractive" industry is one where the combination of forces acts to drive down overall profitability. A very unattractive industry would be one approaching "pure competition".

Another force we need to look at today is green initiatives. What is your green strategy for your business in the new year, the new decade -- over a life time?

... views going green as an essential strategy in a global commercial landscape increasingly contoured by environmental policies, regulations, and attitudes. These companies recognize that consumers’ concern for the environment has morphed into buying behaviors that are at least somewhat recession-resistant.

Take a proactive look here at strategy+business: Green Is a Strategy. Interestingly enough, the authors offer five steps (not forces) to "differentiated" sustainability for a full embrace of environmentalism.

News of Interest: 2010

Event of Interest: WPO Chicago Downtown III Chapter Holiday Party

Celebrating our successes. Celebrating the holidays.

Wishing all of you a very
Merry Christmas and Happy 2010!

Article of Interest: What Facebook Can't Give You

Before Facebook, MySpace, Linked In and Twitter, there was and still is the Women Presidents' Organization and according to the article referenced below, there was also the Wednesday 10 (a group of men ... for a reason!) which mentions:

"In 1957, it didn't occur to us to include women," says Mr. Menschel. "If we formed it today, it wouldn't occur to us not to include women." When asked about the homogeneity, other members point to the many banquets that included wives and their invitations to Ms. Walters, Gloria Steinem and the late "Feminine Mystique" author Betty Friedan, each of whom addressed a Wednesday 10 meeting as a guest. Ms. Walters says she recalls nothing from the meeting she attended. Nor does Ms. Steinem. "It may not please them to know that I don't remember," she says. "But I would urge them to change the name to the Wednesday Men's 10."

This article is priceless because, if you kick it up a notch, it reminds me so much of WPO and all our promising members who meet monthly to strategize about opportunities they face while growing their operations and to develop solutions to their most fundamental business challenges.

The article goes on to state:

To begin the meetings, each man gave an update on his life. Impending marriages and expected babies were nodded to, but the thrust of the discussion centered on career development. "It was a professional support system," says Mr. Meyer, 82. By the end of each meeting, he had a snapshot of what was going on in the realms of law, media, art, finance, real estate, public service and cancer research. "It was like reading a newspaper cover to cover," he says.

Read the entire article here:

(The Wall Street Journal, November 26, 2009)

What Facebook Can't Give You
Over 52 years, These Men Have Evolved Into Mover and Shakers -- Together

Another hat tip to Elisabeth Ritz, Ritz Communications, for the nudge to make sure we caught it. Many thanks.