When the Future Is Uncertain, Talk

During the coronavirus pandemic, how can you be candid about the possibility of pay-cuts and layoffs without demoralizing your team? And, during this period of uncertainty, how can you offer assurance without giving people false hope?

Discover what the experts say.

Introverts Versus Extroverts during COVID-19

This says it all:

While memes are hailing introverts as those best equipped to deal with shelter-at-home mandates, some introverts don't agree. "It’s exhausting. I've taken to sitting in my car for a while in the evening if I just need quiet," says Katie Schmidt Murray, a freelance photographer and graphic designer in Silver Spring, Maryland. 

Read the article and challenge the notion whether it is easier for introverts to stay home versus extroverts.

The New Normal: Social Distancing

As social distancing becomes the new normal, some famous women business owners are offering encouragement to social media followers.

What are they saying about the novel coronavirus and its effects on our everyday lives?

Learn more from women entrepreneurs who offer levity and lessons during covid-19.

Women Leading in the COVID-19 Response

Solving health emergencies like COVID-19 demands the best minds the world has to offer – in health systems strengthening, therapeutic R&D and more.  We know diverse teams lead to more innovation, and neglecting half the talent pool, such as women, limits our ability to make life-saving choices.

Already, women comprise the bulk of the world’s frontline health workers, shouldering the burden of strenuous work, while increasing their own risk of infection. With the novel coronavirus, women have played a central role: take China, where 90 percent of the nurses and nearly half the doctors are female.

We must build the systems to support women’s leadership in global health before the next disaster strikes.  Read on to learn why we need women's leadership more than ever in the COVID-19 response.

Help Flatten the Curve

When it comes to fighting COVID-19, enabling staffers to work from home is just the start.  Employers should be doing more to protect their workers’ well-being as the COVID-19 outbreak continues.

Here are 5 ways employers must help flatten the curve (provided by a doctor).

Before Announcing Deep Layoffs, Read This

Many business owners are considering layoffs to ensure they make it through the COVID-19 crisis — and a recent survey found that a vast majority of corporate leaders are considering some sort of financial action as a result of the pandemic.

To be sure, a cost-cutting reflex is understandable. Leaders are obligated to make responsible decisions to keep their companies afloat. But those who manage the economic effects of this crisis in a clear and compassionate way create more value for their companies and will come out of this pandemic stronger than ever before.

So before announcing deep layoffs, we recommend that you consider these five measures first.

1. Communicate openly
2. Share the pain
3. Crowdsource ideas with employees
4. Review all options
5. Have "Ice in the Belly"

Read more:  The Coronavirus Crisis Doesn’t Have to Lead to Layoffs

How to Quarantine and Chill During the Coronavirus Outbreak

The hashtag #QuarantineAndChill is actually a thing having to do with the intense cycle of anxiety-inducing news about Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), and it could be a nice distraction from a lot of the uncertainty we’re currently facing at the moment.

More people will be working from home over the coming weeks, which could lead to a lot of stir-craziness.

How you quarantine and chill is up to you, but the internet has lots of advice for how to make the most of your time indoors.

Go forth and socially distance yourself!

Julia Hartz: The Birth of Eventbrite (Podcast)

As Guy Raz from NPR's "How I Built This" podcast says:

In the early 2000s, Julia Hartz was helping develop TV shows for MTV and FX Networks, and seemed headed for a promising career in television.

All of that changed in 2003 when she went to a wedding and found herself sitting next to a serial entrepreneur named Kevin. They started dating, and Julia eventually quit her job and joined Kevin in the Bay Area. In 2006 they married, and co-founded the online ticketing service Eventbrite out of a warehouse closet. 14 years after launch, Eventbrite is a publicly-traded company with 1,100 employees and offices around the world. 

Listen to the podcast here.

Mark Your Calendar for March 8 to Celebrate International Women's Day!

Mark your calendars for March 8, Women’s International Day 2020 (#EachForEqual)!

This annual event was first held in 1909 to honor a New York garment worker’s strike. More than 100 years later, we are still uplifting women.

Here are ten ways in #Chicago you can celebrate International Women’s Day by supporting women-owned businesses and women-focused events.

25 Quotes to Honor Black History Month

In celebration of Black History Month, here are 25 quotes – from Rosa Parks to Harriet Tubman – that touch on success, humanity, gratitude and resilience.   These people paved the way toward equality for each of us and will forever be in our grateful hearts.

Congrats to These Top Women Entrepreneurs

Monica Smiley, publisher, and CEO of Enterprising Women magazine has announced the winners of the 2020 Enterprising Women of the Year Awards, an annual tribute to the world’s top women entrepreneurs. Honorees will be recognized at the 18th Annual Enterprising Women of the Year Awards Celebration & Conference, to be held from Sunday, March 29 to Tuesday, March 31 at the Wyndham Grand in Clearwater Beach, Florida.

The Enterprising Women of the Year Awards is widely considered one of the most prestigious recognition programs for women business owners. To win, nominees must demonstrate that they have fast-growth businesses, mentor or actively support other women and girls involved in entrepreneurship, and stand out as leaders in their communities. Many of the honorees also serve as leaders of the key organizations that support the growth of women’s entrepreneurship.

Congrats to all the award winners and finalists! We are happy to see so many WPO Chicago members and other Chicago women business owners come out winners!

Read more:

ENTERPRISING WOMEN MAGAZINE ANNOUNCES
2020 ENTERPRISING WOMEN OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNERS

How to Sniff Out Bad Behavior on Your Mobile Phone

A new Android app called Seudo is a potential gold mine of insights for those who are curious about what our mobile apps are doing behind our backs,

While it’s not the only app that uses a VPN to sniff out bad behavior—Guardian Firewall and Lockdown are other examples—Seudo goes a step further by trying to explain in detail what each app is doing. Using AI, the company identifies keywords or identifiers in the data it’s deciphered, then turns it into a description for users.

Good info to determine which of your apps are sharing way too much info and are suspect.

Whipping Up an Ad Blitz for Your Business At Super Bowl LIV

The Super Bowl has long been the event where large companies pull out all the stops. Smaller companies, however, are learning how to nab some of that limelight without paying for a TV ad.

From advertising around the event to working with host cities, the NFL, or even official vendors, here's how some founders are finding craftier and cheaper ways to make Super Bowl LIV pay.  This could be you!

Great Success in Business Starts with One Tiny Seed

There’s no “magic pill” that effortlessly launches you out of your cubicle confinement and into the free world of entrepreneurship. For some, the dream to be your own boss grows for a long time, even years, before it finally comes to fruition.

The truth is, great success in business grows from just one, tiny seed.

The folks at CreativeLive Blog asked some of their favorite women entrepreneurs to share how they got their start in business. Their answers revealed the deep motivators and personal qualities that drove them to make their big idea a reality.

Read more about how successful women entrepreneurs got started.

Innovations Don't Need to Be Flashy to Be Impactful

When people think about innovation, they often associate the word with products like Samsung’s Ballie—breakthrough technological marvels that are novel and impressive. These innovations excite the imagination, push boundaries, and set a new standard for what is possible.

However, innovation, according to Lincoln Wilcox for the Christensen Institute, doesn’t need to be flashy in order to make a big impact.

Learn more – there is a sweet solution.

How to Get and Stay in Front of the Pack

New research shows that market leadership is increasingly temporary. The challenge for companies no longer lies in just getting to the front of the pack — it’s staying there.

How do you get and stay in front of the pack?

Strategy has always been about defying averages — doing something exceptional that earns a company correspondingly exceptional rewards in the market. Today, that is still true, but the relentless churn and volatility in the business environment mean that simply outperforming the average is not enough.

The true test of leadership is continuing to outperform over time. Think you've got what it takes?  Read more.

Enterprising Women​ Magazine Announces 2020 Enterprising Women of the Year Award Winners

Monica Smiley, publisher and CEO of ​Enterprising Women​ magazine, has announced the winners of the 2020 Enterprising Women of the Year Awards, an annual tribute to the world’s top women entrepreneurs. Honorees will be recognized at the 18th Annual Enterprising Women of the Year Awards Celebration & Conference, to be held from Sunday, March 29 to Tuesday, March 31 at the Wyndham Grand in Clearwater Beach, Florida.

Background information:

The Enterprising Women of the Year Awards is widely considered one of the most prestigious recognition programs for women business owners. To win, nominees must demonstrate that they have fast-growth businesses, mentor or actively support other women and girls involved in entrepreneurship, and stand out as leaders in their communities. Many of the honorees also serve as leaders of the key organizations that support the growth of women’s entrepreneurship.

Read the full press release, here.  Visit Enterprising Women magazine.

From WPO Chicago Happy New Year!

©2019 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Happy Holidays From WPO Chicago!

©2019 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

How to Support Women Entrepreneurs

There is much discussion and debate about how to support female entrepreneurs — and rightly so.

Currently, women-led businesses are less likely to survive, despite evidence that their startups are often highly successful. New analysis by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) shows that if women and men around the world participated equally as entrepreneurs, global GDP could ultimately rise by approximately 3% to 6%, boosting the global economy by $2.5 trillion to $5 trillion.

So how do we support women entrepreneurs?  Three areas:  improve access to credit (financial capital) or provide training to help women build new skills (human capital) and give them access to networks.

Read more about the trillion-dollar opportunity in supporting female entrepreneurs.