Season's Greetings From WPO Chicago

Exit Strategy Options

Exit strategies come in several forms – selling to a strategic buyer, a merger and acquisition (M&A) or the issuing of an IPO.

An exit strategy should also bring optimum results for the business owner and therefore a carefully calculated plan has to be executed to unlock the value of the company.

Check out some viable exit strategies:  crucial plans for all business owners.

Does Your Business Need a Human Rights Strategy?

Companies must be prepared to meet their moral and business obligations when operations bump up against labor abuses — or worse.

Learn how businesses have addressed this in the past. 

Million-Dollar Business Owner Gets Creative During the Pandemic

Tiffany Williams, founder of Rich Girl Collective saw an opportunity. She launched her business to teach women how to start online businesses that have the potential to replace their full-time income, so they can leave the nine-to-five. “A lot of people were home. They realized, ‘I need a backup plan,’” says Williams.

As Elaine Pofelt reports for Forbes:

When the pandemic hit, many people finally decided to act on business ideas that had been percolating for months or years. Some were looking to keep busy while stuck at home during lockdowns; others were laid off and needed to create their own jobs. U.S. business formations increased by nearly 42% in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. 

Read on to see what Tiffany does to keep on cranking to grow her business.  She says she typically develops her products in response to requests from her community. “They keep asking, I keep creating.  Cool.

Addressing Gaps Between Men and Women Entrepreneurs Worldwide

For 23 years, the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) has provided data to guide policymakers' decisions. The latest GEM report focusing on women offers insights into many aspects of entrepreneurship.

With an estimated 274 million women involved in business startups worldwide, they are a force that can drive post-pandemic recovery globally, according to 2020/21 Women's Entrepreneurship Report: Thriving through Crisis.

Read on to discover the key findings on the report from Geri Stengel, Forbes contributor and president of Ventureneer.

Best Business Books 2021 By strategy+business

Writers from strategy+business choose the best books of the year (2021) in seven genres.

In this, our [strategy+business] 21st edition of Best Business Books, our stalwart crew of reviewers have distilled recommendations guaranteed not only to pique your interest and pass the time, but to make you a better leader, coworker, and trendsurfer.

Read on.

As a CEO, Do You Need to Develop Your Own Personal Brand?

Most WPO members realize the value of establishing a strong and memorable brand for their company or product, but how important is it to develop a brand for yourself as an individual business owner?

Do you really need to develop a strong personal brand to have a successful startup or small business?

It depends.  Read on.

How to Develop a High Impact Dream Team

The best leaders don’t just stumble upon dream teams; they know how to build a dream team, even under challenging circumstances.

These five leadership habits will encourage the right behavior in a team—the first two establish an environment of safety; the last three provide stretch.

Three Attainable Strategies for Taking Better Care of Yourself

According to CEO Thrive Global Arianna Huffington, economic theory has a whole to do with sleep.

It's simple: When you don't get enough sleep, you have to contend with diminishing returns and opportunity cost--the physical toll of tiredness doesn't allow you to operate at your greatest capacity.

Burnout among founders is a serious problem – and it can be one that's hard to talk about.

Here are three of Arianna's standout lessons for how to make mental health a priority in your life and at your company.

In Search of a Meaningful Life

Paul Bloom, a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, shares a magnificent essay on why we choose to suffer.  Yes, I know, that sounds awful.  Yet in search for a meaningful life, simple seeking pleasure isn't enough.  We need to struggle and sacrifice.

The essay is adapted from his new book, “The Sweet Spot: The Pleasures of Suffering and the Search for Meaning,” which will be published on Nov. 2 by Ecco.  It's worth reading every single word.

How 3 Chicago Business Owners Tackled the Global Pandemic Successfully

©2021 Enterprising Women Magazine.

Whether it's building a strong remote technology and communication infrastructure, acknowledging the emotional needs of your employees or cultivating a reinvention mindset, these three (3) Chicago business owners who happen to be WPO members too are fearless in carving out a successful future for their businesses.

Read:  How 3 Chicago Business Owners Tackled the Global Pandemic Successfully – published in Enterprising Women Magazine (fall edition 2021).

LIVE From Nashville, the 24th Annual WPO Conference 2021!

This year's exciting theme is:  Sounds of Success! 

After a long stretch of virtual meetings, this year’s WPO's conference is designed to give you more time to engage and build relationships with chapter chairs, sponsors and other members.

Join WPO to discover knowledge, connections, and inspiration that will help you amplify your impact as a business leader.

Watch all our social media channels for updates – LinkedIn, Twitter, blog and website.  

What Are the Systemic Difficulties That Women Face Today?

Few business leaders will openly state that they have little interest in a more gender-equal world. However, the gap between intention and outcome illustrates that nowhere near enough decisive action has been taken to make this the case.

Women founders face obstacles across the board.

The problem lies not in the fact that women don’t want to build million-dollar businesses, but in the disconnect between our dreams and the industry support we receive — or lack thereof. As the world embraces a new way of working and strategizes for a post-pandemic world, it’s vital to investigate new ways of supporting women’s entrepreneurship. Here are the key questions that we need to ask — and how we can go about resolving them.

Learn how to create a gender-equitable startup landscape and more.

Are You Ready to Lead a Hybrid Team?

There are many challenges a hybrid workforce leader must address and overcome if they want to lead a high-performing, agile team.

Leading a high-performance, engaged hybrid team requires that the employee experience is the same whether team members are in the office two days a week, five, or never. Leaders of today’s workforce must emphasize inclusion, eliminate ambiguity, ensure accountability, and support their team members’ social needs.

Here’s how.

18th Annual WPO Chicago Summit 2021 a Smashing Success!

©Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Thank you for attending our 18th Annual WPO Chicago Summit hosted via Zoom September 9, 2021.  We had a wonderful program and learned how to boost a brand for yourself and for your business.  In addition, we had a chance to get to know one another better to deepen our WPO relationships, which we all value.   

We thank SimplyBe. CEO Jessica Zweig for her keynote presentation and Bryan Carter for his fine assistance.

 

We thank all of our sponsors who support WPO.   

Special thanks to our virtual host Foley & Lardner – Chicago members Lauren Loew and Ellen Wheeler.

Much appreciation to our WPO Chicago Steering Committee members: Karolyn Raphael, President, Winger Marketing (Chicago I), AJ Goehle, CEO, Luci Creative (Chicago I) and Genevieve Custer Weeks, Founder, Tutu School Franchises (Chicago II). Without their help, this program would not have been possible.  

Lastly, a shout out to designer Laura Fairman for her great work on the graphic!

Looking forward to next year's Summit and meanwhile, stay in good touch!

3 Ways to Handle Competition

According to Ilisa Kaufman, Psy.D., a Miami-based psychologist, there are three ways a person can handle competition, or rather “perceived competition.” 

They either:

1. Rise
2. Rant – or
3. Remove

Depending upon how a person responds, it might impact their functioning in general, especially social interactions.

Read on to learn how you can win when competing for success.

SBA Resources for Women Business Owners

SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman recently outlined her agency’s resources for women small business owners to survive and thrive amid the COVID-19 pandemic, including SBA's Women’s Business Center network of 136 centers located across the country.

The number of women entrepreneurs grows to unprecedented levels and shows no sign of stopping, as the younger generations eschew their reliance on corporations for lifelong employment and as immigrants, who are risk-takers by nature, start their own businesses.

SBA’s efforts are aimed at bridging the lending gap between male-owned and women-owned firms.

Connect to More

Wells Fargo is starting a new wave of support through Connect to More, a business mentoring partnership with the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center. 

This new effort will focus on mentoring 500 women-owned businesses throughout the next 12 months. The businesses will receive access to expertise and specialized resources. The Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center will provide women entrepreneurs support through its Milestone Mapping Coaching Circles.

Read on to learn more.

Attend Our 18th Annual WPO Chicago Summit 9/9/21 and Boost Your Brand (Virtual)

 

If you are a WPO Chapter Chair, member or sponsor, you are cordially invited to our 18th Annual WPO Chicago Summit on 9/9/21 (virtual).  Our theme this year is Combat the Great Resignation by Boosting Your Brand and Becoming the Best Place to Work.

In this high-energy, powerful content-filled workshop, SimplyBe. CEO and founder Jessica Zweig will discuss the brand behind the brand and how to elevate your external brand by strengthening the internal branding of yourself, your business, and your employees.

In addition, she will dive into the ways you can create a culture, and a work environment that your employees love and never want to leave – all while creating a brand that stands for something bigger than the bottom line and allows your business to become the best place to work.

We will then break into smaller facilitated e-groups to brainstorm together on ways we can begin doing this right now for our organizations.

To learn more and to register, email Laurel Delaney (ldelaney(at)globetrade.com), WPO Chicago Chapter Chair. Looking forward to your participation!

Join Us for the 18th Annual WPO Chicago Summit (9/9/21)