WPO Chicago Wishes You a Blessed Memorial Day 2019

WPO 50-Fastest Women-Owned and Women-Led Businesses 2019

Every Businesswoman Has Her Own Secrets to Success

Every successful woman has her own secrets, and her own key ingredients to her success.  Plus, everyone defines success differently.

As a female entrepreneur, I’m [Ashley Stahl] always on the look out to connect with and learn from incredible women who have cultivated their own amazing brand, business, and name for themselves. And thanks to the digital age we live in, I’ve met many of my friends and business inspirations on Instagram ...

Read more to discover 11 inspiring female entrepreneurs to follow on Instagram and the key to their success.

Super Success at the 22nd Annual Women Presidents' Organization Conference 2019

©2019 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Congratulations to Dr. Marsha Firestone and the entire Women Presidents' Organization team (pictured) for hosting another super successful annual conference held in beautiful Charlotte, North Carolina.

The conference encouraged 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.

We look forward to next year's conference held in gorgeous Montreal April 29-May 1. Mark your calendar now.

To learn more about WPO and apply for membership, visit: https://www.womenpresidentsorg.com/

Two Leading WPO Chicago Members Discuss How to Pay It Forward to Enable a Business to Thrive

As the Chicago Chapter Chair for the Women Presidents’ Organization, a peer learning organization for female business owners running multimillion-dollar businesses, I have the privilege and opportunity to facilitate monthly business meetings.  One topic that always pops up is “what should we be doing to pay it forward for others?”

Two leading [WPO Chicago] female entrepreneurs (pictured L-R:  Kim Robinson and Sandy Marsico) weigh in – one with a focus on her employee relationships and the other with a focus on making an impact for people.

Read:  Small Acts, Big Impact (originally published at Thrive Global)

How Genuine People Radiate with Energy and Confidence

In the following article, originally published on LinkedIn Pulse, Dr. Travis Bradberry unveils 12 unique habits that cause genuine people to radiate with energy and confidence.

Learn more about checking your ego at the door and putting your phones away here.

Photo by Michael Dam on Unsplash.

People Metrics Are Hard to Get Right

It is difficult at best to measure something as complex as a person for potential.  Yet we strive to achieve this very same thing every time we hire someone.

On the one hand, a good psychometric test can easily outperform a résumé scan and interview at predicting job performance and retention.

Read a clip here on whether we can really test people for potential.

Women Finding Business Opportunities at Any Age

Jewelry and accessory business owner Sally Mack always surrounds herself with smart successful women.  She said that if she can start a business, SallyMack, at 58 years old, any woman can find opportunities.  

“If I could help through whatever little things that I’ve accomplished in my business for somebody to go out there, a younger person, for them to see it can be done and for them maybe to start it sooner than I started, oh my God, that’s the biggest gift — the biggest high of anything I could possibly ask for,” she said.

What's your idea of the greatest gift?  Read more about women leading successful businesses.

Are You Connected With Your People?

Multiple surveys and articles mention “people skills” as one of the most important leadership traits. A major part of people skills is related to communication skills.

In a research study of 195 leaders in 15 countries over 30 global organizations carried out by Sunnie Giles (and reported in an HBR article, “The Most Important Leadership Competencies, According to Leaders Around the World"), communication was a major theme across the top 10 competencies.

Learn more about the 6 proven strategies to be an effective connected leader who communicates well with people.

Photo courtesy:  Amy Hirschi on Unsplash

Burnout. Depletion. What to do about it.

How can you take care of yourself so that you have the time and energy to support your team? What steps do you need to take to reduce your stress level? And what actions can you take to improve your team members’ well-being?

Burnout.  Depletion.  What to do about it.  It starts with making your own health a priority.

Photo courtesy:  Kristopher Roller on Unsplash

WPO: Ideas. Advice. Mutual Support

A group for local business executives offers ideas, advice, and mutual support.  It's called the Women Presidents' Organization.  Take, for example, Becky Pfundheller who started her own company in 1992. Today, Analytical Food Laboratories has 45 employees at its 25,000-square-foot facility in Grand Prairie, generating $3.8 million in revenue and performing tests as Pfundheller puts it on “anything you eat or ingest or put on your body—food, pharmaceuticals, dietary supplements, personal care products."

As she grew the company, Pfundheller was introduced through a friend to the Dallas chapter of the Women Presidents’ Organization, a business peer group for women CEOs, presidents, and managing directors of multimillion-dollar companies.

She joined a 15-member group that, under strict confidentiality, kicks around each other’s most difficult business decisions. They’re questions such as: “What should I do with a key employee who needs to be let go but who knows a lot and will be difficult to replace?” And: “Should I buy out my partner?” And: “Is it time to expand and open new locations?”

Read more about her experience here.

Photo courtesy:  Amy Hirschi on Unsplash

Improve Yourself in Business and in Life

Who doesn't want to improve themselves in every area of life?  I constantly wish I would laugh more, take myself less seriously and, here I go again, be far more helpful to others with business growth.  What about you?  If you are in the same league, indulge yourself to a couple of good books to open your mind from authors who cover everything from organizational growth, to how to stand out, to the making of a manager.

Read more about how to live a better life, improve yourself and your business, and achieve success faster.

Leading Up: Women Presidents' Organization 2019 Annual Conference

Come one, come all to our Women Presidents' Organization 2019 Annual Conference:  "Leading Up" held at The Westin Charlotte, in Charlotte, North Carolina, May 1-3, 2019.

Read the news.  Learn more about the program schedule.  Register here.

Hope to see you there!

If You Could Find a Way to Turn Back Time

If you could turn back time (remember the famous Cher tune?) and change your approach on running your business, what would you have done differently in your 20s?

From taking advantage of having no strings attached and seeing the world to raising your hand and asking questions, here is advice from 5 successful women business owners that they wish they would have taken in their 20s.

Women Business Owners Offer Sound Advice

I've captured all the sound advice – 16 insights – provided by women business owners in the article, "Meet the women driving Worcester's renaissance and the advice they have for aspiring business owners," by Melissa Hanson.

Here's a snapshot of what they have to say when asked what advice they would give to aspiring business owners.

1. Make sure you have a solid plan and then make sure you have a solid backup plan. And do your research and talk, network...And don't be afraid to put your ideas out there. 
2. I think the biggest thing is finding your cheerleaders, your champions, your people that are going to believe in your vision. Finding people who are going to be in your corner but that are going to challenge you and encourage you to really consider everything before you go into business is going to make you that much stronger.
3. Just do it. Always be prepared. Go in there knowing what you're talking about.
4. I would say, make sure you have a plan. Some sort of plan. Do something that you love. If you love what you're doing, you will make it a success.
5. You normally know the truth in your gut. So, if you know you're a hardworking person who's willing to sacrifice and willing to give up time and willing to kind of lose the financial part of it at first -- cause it's really difficult to make money in the beginning -- then you just have to really trust yourself. It sounds cliche, but everyone can give you an opinion but at the end of the day they're not going home with your problems. 
6. It takes a lot of will. Like unrelenting will. Get your will in order and make sure that you're doing something you're absolutely in love with and passionate about. Because there's going to be plenty of times where really crappy things are happening but if you're in love with the whole thing of what you're doing you're much more accepting of it as part of the process.
7. Just go for it. I think that all young women out there and even older women...I think that they just have to understand that they just have to do it anyway because time will pass. 
8. Really think it through and talk to other business owners to understand what's going to keep you up at night and the challenge of employing people and keeping people employed. 
9. It's not always easy and you have to do it for the right reasons. Do it because you love it and because it fits your lifestyle. You've got to surround yourself with like-minded, good people. Pay them.
10. You need a sounding board, whether it's friends of somebody who's done it before you. Do your research and talk to people. 
11. Just do it. Just start. You've got to start somewhere. Get involved and reach out. Go to a city meeting, go to a cultural coalition meeting. You've got to start building that team right off the bat.
12. There's no definites and I mean that in the sense of, talk to a lot of people, get information from a lot of people, but also know that there's a lot that you have to filter out. It's just kind of a matter of following your heart and your gut.
13. My biggest thing that I think helped was not really having a backup plan. There was no, "if it doesn't work out." This was always what was going to happen. 
14. Be transparent. Be honest with each other. If you're doing it with a partner, or even if you're doing it by yourself, figure out what your comfort zone is and be willing to go beyond what because you are always stronger than what you think you are.
15. Do the research. Do your homework. Do as much of it as you can. Talk to as many people in the industry, research your market, research your industry. Run the numbers. Have a business plan. Talk to the bank. Get financing and have three months worth of financing in the bank on top of everything you need for buildout, because those are the biggest mistakes people make.
16. Go for it.

Embrace the Occasional Tumble

According to Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, you’ll reach new heights if you learn to embrace the occasional tumble.  More importantly, a mindset matters too.

Key finding:

People with performance goals, she [Dweck] reasoned, think intelligence is fixed from birth. People with learning goals have a growth mindset about intelligence, believing it can be developed.

A highly developed mindset most certainly can foster business growth. Learn why here.

Why Successful Women Surround Themselves With Other Women

We already know this at the Women Presidents' Organization!  But in case you don't, give it a nice long read not once but twice to really get it.

Most successful women surround themselves with other women

Study finds female-dominated inner circles are key to women gaining leadership roles

Photo courtesy:  raw pixel for Unsplash

Are You Enjoying the Journey to Success?

If you are enjoying the journey to whatever you are trying to achieve at your business, the odds will be in your favor to stay motivated and reach the outcome you desire.

A major key to success and a healthy life is to enjoy yourself during the process of whatever you are trying to accomplish. Unfortunately, enjoyment is something that many people leave by the wayside—especially when change is taking place at a tremendous rate and the pressure is on to reinvent yourself and achieve new goals.

The good news is there are always fresh opportunities to feel good and to be happy.

Find out how to enjoy the process on your way to success.

Giving Female Founders a Leg Up When Launching a Business

According to Lydia Dishman for Fast Company, in 2017, the percentage of startups that had at least one female founder was just 17%, a number that has plateaued since 2012. That handful of female founders received just 2%, or $1.9 billion, of the $85 billion total invested by venture capitalists last year.

In the quest to give more female founders a leg up when launching their businesses, the Female Founders Alliance (FFA) is partnering with WeWork Labs.

“The biggest crossover is in our missions,” [founder and CEO of FFA] Feinzaig notes. Both FFA and WeWork Labs say they are committed to bridging the gap between underrepresented founders and the growing startup ecosystem and are creating ways to make resources and people more accessible to those who need it most. 

Read more about how the Female Founders Alliance is partnering with WeWork Labs to help entrepreneurs access resources.

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash.

Set Higher Prices and Charge More Ladies

Self-employed women still make a lot less than self-employed men. Rhonda Abrams, for USA Today, says: "Ladies: It’s time to give yourself a raise."

"The data suggest a massive gender wage gap exists among freelancers, with men out earning women by 28%," according to "Women in the Independent Workforce Report," a recently released study.  It was conducted by FreshBooks, a Toronto-based accounting and invoicing program for self-employed and small businesses.

Read more about how women entrepreneurs should not short-change themselves on their pay scale.