When in business it is easy to become discouraged over a lack of progress, slow sales, a lack of motivation, and more questions than answers. In a past Reader’s Digest article, I was reminded that there is more than one way to look at what is getting in our way. An article written by Michael Freeman called “Four Ways of Looking at a Wall” was not an article directly related to business, but one can read between the lines and recognize it’s application.
Read Story Here
Showing posts with label Relevant News Stories. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Relevant News Stories. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Pitch Night
In looking for another article published by the Holland Sentiential, I came across this article by Peter Danning regarding a "Pitch Night" hosted by Elevator Up, a Zeeland based Business. I found it interesting and know that I will be looking for the next event:
By PETER DAINING
The Holland Sentinel
Posted Oct 12, 2009
Zeeland, MI — .Sometimes the step between having a great idea and acting on it is insurmountable.
To help West Michigan entrepreneurs bridge that gap, a Pitch Night is set for 5:30 to 7 p.m., Oct. 20, at the Elevator Up offices, 201 W. Washington in Zeeland.
This free event is hosted by Elevator Up and Lakeshore Advantage. Anyone with a new business idea can make a five or 10 minute pitch, said Amanda Choko of Lakeshore Advantage, an economic development firm.
“Part of our mission is to inspire people to think entrepreneurially and launch new ventures,” Choko said. “There are a lot of people with really great ideas around you, and you don’t always get to hear them.”
Aaron Schaap, 28, started Elevator Up, a Web hosting and development company, in 2004. He said there still isn’t a real good infrastructure to help West Michigan start-ups flourish.
“This is more of a safe haven for people who are taking ideas and wanting to develop them,” he said.
Schaap said Pitch Night is also about giving constructive criticism.
“We’re trying to change the mindset of a couple things,” he said. “One is ‘Michigan nice’ — people won’t tell you when an idea sucks.”
The first Pitch Night in July had seven pitches and around 30 in attendance, Schaap said. This time around, organizers are hoping for better number in each category.
If interested in pitching, send the idea to info@elevatorup.com. Otherwise, Schaap said just come and find out what bright ideas are on West Michigan’s horizon.
By PETER DAINING
The Holland Sentinel
Posted Oct 12, 2009
Zeeland, MI — .Sometimes the step between having a great idea and acting on it is insurmountable.
To help West Michigan entrepreneurs bridge that gap, a Pitch Night is set for 5:30 to 7 p.m., Oct. 20, at the Elevator Up offices, 201 W. Washington in Zeeland.
This free event is hosted by Elevator Up and Lakeshore Advantage. Anyone with a new business idea can make a five or 10 minute pitch, said Amanda Choko of Lakeshore Advantage, an economic development firm.
“Part of our mission is to inspire people to think entrepreneurially and launch new ventures,” Choko said. “There are a lot of people with really great ideas around you, and you don’t always get to hear them.”
Aaron Schaap, 28, started Elevator Up, a Web hosting and development company, in 2004. He said there still isn’t a real good infrastructure to help West Michigan start-ups flourish.
“This is more of a safe haven for people who are taking ideas and wanting to develop them,” he said.
Schaap said Pitch Night is also about giving constructive criticism.
“We’re trying to change the mindset of a couple things,” he said. “One is ‘Michigan nice’ — people won’t tell you when an idea sucks.”
The first Pitch Night in July had seven pitches and around 30 in attendance, Schaap said. This time around, organizers are hoping for better number in each category.
If interested in pitching, send the idea to info@elevatorup.com. Otherwise, Schaap said just come and find out what bright ideas are on West Michigan’s horizon.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Time Magazine Reports: The Unfinished Revolution
Today is October 19, 2009, and I'm reading a Time Magazine article that was mailed to me by my moter-in-law with a published on October 26, 2009. Now I'm confused by the dates and how something could travel through snail mail and arrive in my mailbox 7 days before it was published, but what I'm not confused by is the message. In "The Unfinished Revolution" written by Maria Shriver, she says: "My mother raised me to believe women had a unique power to change the language, tempo and character of the world . . ."
The article goes on to say that more and more women say if they could they would like to leave companies that are unresponsive and start their own businesses. We've met many of those women right here in West Michigan where the unemployment rate has created not only the preference, but the need. Maria quotes statistics from 2003 which indicates that 35% of all self-employed people are women . . . today's statistic is more like 41% of all new business startups are created by women.
I've attached a link to Maria's article in case you would like to read about the progressive thinking of her monther Eunice Kennedy. The Unfinished Revolution
The article goes on to say that more and more women say if they could they would like to leave companies that are unresponsive and start their own businesses. We've met many of those women right here in West Michigan where the unemployment rate has created not only the preference, but the need. Maria quotes statistics from 2003 which indicates that 35% of all self-employed people are women . . . today's statistic is more like 41% of all new business startups are created by women.
I've attached a link to Maria's article in case you would like to read about the progressive thinking of her monther Eunice Kennedy. The Unfinished Revolution
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Tell A Great Story
I sell products on ETSY, every now and then I happen acrossed a great article that I believe is worth sharing. Here I would like to share a post by the author Seth Godin about "telling a great story".
Let me know if these types of links are relevant or useful to you by adding comments at the bottom of this post.
Let me know if these types of links are relevant or useful to you by adding comments at the bottom of this post.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Can Google Stay on Top of the Web?
A fascinating article was posted in Business Week , October 12th issue, by Robert D. Hof indicating that although Google is the giant leading the search engine business that they are investing significant resources in order to come up with "smarter answers" to tackle the issue of losing market share.
This article reported that there are 2.5 billion searches made on Google each and every day. That 720 million people a month are relying on this giant for links to information worldwide. I don't know about you, but I can hardly fathom those numbers. Just think about what traffic like that could do for an Internet-based business.
Google made $22 billion in revenue last year from click-ads which is nearly its entire source of revenue. This indicates to me, that this type of advertising must produce results; otherwise it would not provide enough security to this Internet giant to use it as its soul income source. This article also reported that spending on search advertising has soared in recent years because it provides a great return on investment.
New to the mix is Bing, a competitive search engine which has picked up 9.5% of the market share (August 2009), but who also invested $100 million in marketing to accomplish such a feat. Needless to say, if you watch any television at all, you have seen their marketing campaign where someone has obviously spent too much time using a search engine and they begin to spit out all kinds of trivial facts based on someone using a "keyword".
Google is competing for your attention with Twitter (55 million monthly visitors), Facebook (300 million) and a new "knowledge based" search engine called Wolfram Alpha. What Google has found is that people are learning about current events much faster when using other tools. Google is also aware that the Internet which was once dominated by AOL and Yahoo has fallen significantly from their original ranking. One of the keys to Twitter and Facebook success is their approach to helping people "connect" through technology. Not only are you finding old friends using these tools, but you're also getting recommendations on what products to buy.
While reading this article I stopped for a moment to consider a slogan that the head of the anti-spam unit at Google had inscribed above his door which read "What could possibly go wrong?" This approach to solving a declining market share is helping Google to think about new features and options to provide their users to stay ahead of the game. I had to consider how often I take this approach when trying to solve a business related puzzle. Not only should I be striving to do things "right", but I should also look at the opposite side of the coin and ask myself to evaluate "what could possibly go wrong" when making business related decision.
Another useful source of information supplied in this article revealed that the 20th century was about conquering nature, but the 21st century will be about understanding people. According to Google, this is not about just listening with our ears, but looking at people's behavior for meaning.
This post provides the highlights of this article, but if you would like to read it for yourself, I have included a link below:
Business Week Article by Robert D. Hof
This article reported that there are 2.5 billion searches made on Google each and every day. That 720 million people a month are relying on this giant for links to information worldwide. I don't know about you, but I can hardly fathom those numbers. Just think about what traffic like that could do for an Internet-based business.
Google made $22 billion in revenue last year from click-ads which is nearly its entire source of revenue. This indicates to me, that this type of advertising must produce results; otherwise it would not provide enough security to this Internet giant to use it as its soul income source. This article also reported that spending on search advertising has soared in recent years because it provides a great return on investment.
New to the mix is Bing, a competitive search engine which has picked up 9.5% of the market share (August 2009), but who also invested $100 million in marketing to accomplish such a feat. Needless to say, if you watch any television at all, you have seen their marketing campaign where someone has obviously spent too much time using a search engine and they begin to spit out all kinds of trivial facts based on someone using a "keyword".
Google is competing for your attention with Twitter (55 million monthly visitors), Facebook (300 million) and a new "knowledge based" search engine called Wolfram Alpha. What Google has found is that people are learning about current events much faster when using other tools. Google is also aware that the Internet which was once dominated by AOL and Yahoo has fallen significantly from their original ranking. One of the keys to Twitter and Facebook success is their approach to helping people "connect" through technology. Not only are you finding old friends using these tools, but you're also getting recommendations on what products to buy.
While reading this article I stopped for a moment to consider a slogan that the head of the anti-spam unit at Google had inscribed above his door which read "What could possibly go wrong?" This approach to solving a declining market share is helping Google to think about new features and options to provide their users to stay ahead of the game. I had to consider how often I take this approach when trying to solve a business related puzzle. Not only should I be striving to do things "right", but I should also look at the opposite side of the coin and ask myself to evaluate "what could possibly go wrong" when making business related decision.
Another useful source of information supplied in this article revealed that the 20th century was about conquering nature, but the 21st century will be about understanding people. According to Google, this is not about just listening with our ears, but looking at people's behavior for meaning.
This post provides the highlights of this article, but if you would like to read it for yourself, I have included a link below:
Business Week Article by Robert D. Hof
Friday, October 2, 2009
Kim Lavine on Take Five Grand Rapids
If you didn't catch the newscast yesterday, October 1, 2009, you can watch Kim Lavine talk about her new book, Mommy Manifesto available in stores now, and hear her encourage women to start businesses in this "new economy". She also shares with viewers information about her online community and new online store called "BUY MOM".
When shopping for Christmas gifts, please visit her online store and support women-owned businesses.
When shopping for Christmas gifts, please visit her online store and support women-owned businesses.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
New Technologies, New Gadgets
When coming to a women's networking site, do you expect to learn about new technologies or new gadgets that are impacting the way we approach our businesses and/or our lives?
In perusing the Internet, the following article caught my eye regarding the development of gadgets that will help us to download books and share our experience with others. Piggy-backed on a previous article on this blog: Reading is Fundamental to Business Growth, it makes me wonder what type of reading materials will be available to download on E-books for business research. One model the Kindle DX will be used by many universities to download textbooks (a link to this article is attached below).
To learn more about E-book technologies, click on this link to read the article Next Up for E-Book Readers: Social Networking.
As you read this article, follow the related links at the bottom to learn more about specific brands of E-books like "Cool-er" and "Kindle DX".
Please comment:
Do you have an E-book? If so, what do you like, or dislike about the model you chose?
Do you plan to get one in the future? If so, what are you looking for when making your decision?
In perusing the Internet, the following article caught my eye regarding the development of gadgets that will help us to download books and share our experience with others. Piggy-backed on a previous article on this blog: Reading is Fundamental to Business Growth, it makes me wonder what type of reading materials will be available to download on E-books for business research. One model the Kindle DX will be used by many universities to download textbooks (a link to this article is attached below).
To learn more about E-book technologies, click on this link to read the article Next Up for E-Book Readers: Social Networking.
As you read this article, follow the related links at the bottom to learn more about specific brands of E-books like "Cool-er" and "Kindle DX".
Please comment:
Do you have an E-book? If so, what do you like, or dislike about the model you chose?
Do you plan to get one in the future? If so, what are you looking for when making your decision?
Thursday, May 28, 2009
The Rule of Reciprocity
As we grow our businesses (and/or network), it is important for each of us to create inter-active relationships with one another. Through interaction we will learn more about each other and ultimately become more supportive of one another in the process.
This morning I came across an article about blogging and driving traffic to one's site. This article was relevant for this newly formed West Michigan Women's network, but it is also relevant for our business growth too. Each of us has limited time from which to accomplish our goals. Hopefully one of the activities on our "to do" list is making connections with others.
In Lena West's article: The Reciprocity Rule, February 16, 2009 found on the blog "lip-sticking", she reports that "the whole social media movement is built upon the premise of reciprocity . . ."
She points out what people are wanting from others as they post stories on their blogs:
As the article continues, Lena points out that if you want to acquire these three things, that you must give these things to others. She indicates that for every five posts on a blog, one should post a comment on someone else's blog.
This makes sense as this is just part of the discovery process where others will know you exist without having to search to find you.
I love this quote by Winston Churchill who said:
One of my goals is to create active relationships with other women on a daily basis. This is not just sitting behind my computer doing research and writing in a blog hoping that others will happen across something of interest.
My husband's mother is a great example of this. She hates technology, she doesn't send emails, or posts comments on blogs, but, she loves her friends. She has made it a goal in life to connect with others on a daily basis (she calls it her three good deeds). As a result, she has more friends in her 80's than I could ever wish to acquire in my lifetime. She leads by example and has such a wonderful giving spirit.
Two women in our network who support making personal connections are Margret Bazany and Lisa W. Lee. These two ladies wrote the book "Gift Letters: Writing to Family and Friends" . They also hold workshops to teach others how to make connections through personal notes and letters. The self-published book is available for $19.99 at http://www.writinggiftletters.com/.
This morning I came across an article about blogging and driving traffic to one's site. This article was relevant for this newly formed West Michigan Women's network, but it is also relevant for our business growth too. Each of us has limited time from which to accomplish our goals. Hopefully one of the activities on our "to do" list is making connections with others.
In Lena West's article: The Reciprocity Rule, February 16, 2009 found on the blog "lip-sticking", she reports that "the whole social media movement is built upon the premise of reciprocity . . ."
She points out what people are wanting from others as they post stories on their blogs:
- Links
- Comments
- Followers
As the article continues, Lena points out that if you want to acquire these three things, that you must give these things to others. She indicates that for every five posts on a blog, one should post a comment on someone else's blog.
This makes sense as this is just part of the discovery process where others will know you exist without having to search to find you.
I love this quote by Winston Churchill who said:
We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.
Making the connection for our businesses:One of my goals is to create active relationships with other women on a daily basis. This is not just sitting behind my computer doing research and writing in a blog hoping that others will happen across something of interest.
My husband's mother is a great example of this. She hates technology, she doesn't send emails, or posts comments on blogs, but, she loves her friends. She has made it a goal in life to connect with others on a daily basis (she calls it her three good deeds). As a result, she has more friends in her 80's than I could ever wish to acquire in my lifetime. She leads by example and has such a wonderful giving spirit.
Two women in our network who support making personal connections are Margret Bazany and Lisa W. Lee. These two ladies wrote the book "Gift Letters: Writing to Family and Friends" . They also hold workshops to teach others how to make connections through personal notes and letters. The self-published book is available for $19.99 at http://www.writinggiftletters.com/.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Reading is Fundamental to Business Growth
Women's lives are pretty busy with responsibilities that include: work, family, spiritual growth, household maintenance, and the list goes on and on. It can be hard to carve out time for reading which I feel is essential to stay abreast of business strategies and new technologies. I usually operate in two modes: working and sleeping, and not too much of the latter as I age.
Who We Are:
In order to keep this forum (blog) as useful tool for those who choose to stay connected, I will try to incorporate stories that I find relevant and reliable to WBE (Women-Business Entrepreneurs). Most of what you may find here will be "secondary" research or previous published articles, more than "primary" research which is new information accumulated and written by one of us.
That being said, if anyone finds an article that they wish to share on this blog, please forward the information to me including the source and timing for the article. 3 Degrees - Connected™, as a network of women, can grow more when we begin to collaborate with one another and use our accumulated efforts to expand our knowledge.
Relevant News Story:
The following article was published by synergyblog in February 2009. It is entitled: KEYS TO THE GOLDEN DOOR: 10 Steps to Success for Women and Minorities in Business.
This is a very well-written article and provides an opportunity to evaluate your own business-building progress.
Who We Are:
In order to keep this forum (blog) as useful tool for those who choose to stay connected, I will try to incorporate stories that I find relevant and reliable to WBE (Women-Business Entrepreneurs). Most of what you may find here will be "secondary" research or previous published articles, more than "primary" research which is new information accumulated and written by one of us.
That being said, if anyone finds an article that they wish to share on this blog, please forward the information to me including the source and timing for the article. 3 Degrees - Connected™, as a network of women, can grow more when we begin to collaborate with one another and use our accumulated efforts to expand our knowledge.
Relevant News Story:
The following article was published by synergyblog in February 2009. It is entitled: KEYS TO THE GOLDEN DOOR: 10 Steps to Success for Women and Minorities in Business.
This is a very well-written article and provides an opportunity to evaluate your own business-building progress.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
We Are Not Alone
Did you know that there are 10.6 million women-owned businesses in the U.S. which generate $2.5 trillion in annual revenue?
In January - March 2009, StartupNation held a contest to name the top 200 leading mom businesses in the U.S.
StartupNation is a free service which was started by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs providing advice and making connections for women in business. They teamed up with VerticalResponse which is a provider of email and direct marketing services for businesses to help them manage their own marketing campaigns. These two ventures put together the contest to highlight these top 200 women's business.
This was not a contest that I was aware of until after the fact; however, by combing the web, we may be able to assist one another locate these type of services, and/or contests that can stimulate our business growth.
If any of you are currently using the Internet and have "stumbledupon" a good site or service, please be sure to post comments so that we all can become better informed.
A link to the post regarding the contest mentioned above is listed below. Since this was considered a first annual, maybe some of us would like to participate next year. Wouldn't it be great to boast of a local business-women who has been named on the top 200 list? It appears that there are about 5 Michigan businesses represented on the top 200 list. When browsing the winners, you may even find a business owner with whom you might want to network.
In January - March 2009, StartupNation held a contest to name the top 200 leading mom businesses in the U.S.
StartupNation is a free service which was started by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs providing advice and making connections for women in business. They teamed up with VerticalResponse which is a provider of email and direct marketing services for businesses to help them manage their own marketing campaigns. These two ventures put together the contest to highlight these top 200 women's business.
This was not a contest that I was aware of until after the fact; however, by combing the web, we may be able to assist one another locate these type of services, and/or contests that can stimulate our business growth.
If any of you are currently using the Internet and have "stumbledupon" a good site or service, please be sure to post comments so that we all can become better informed.
A link to the post regarding the contest mentioned above is listed below. Since this was considered a first annual, maybe some of us would like to participate next year. Wouldn't it be great to boast of a local business-women who has been named on the top 200 list? It appears that there are about 5 Michigan businesses represented on the top 200 list. When browsing the winners, you may even find a business owner with whom you might want to network.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Bringing Women Together for Growth and Jobs
The following article was posted authored by Michael Chin, KickApps and is very relevant in today's economy when we are all looking for ways to stimulate the economy through our business connections.
An organization called "Count Me In" http://www.countmein.org/ which is a leading non-profit organization creating a community for women entrepreneurs to support one another has joined forces with "Kick Apps" http://www.kickapps.com/, a social media platform, and launched a new online community for women to compete in a race to reach revenue goals for their companies. This race is called "Make Me a Million Business Race or (M3RACE).
I don't know how many of you are projecting your 2009 revenue goals, but maybe you would find inspiration in joining a group allowing you the opportunity to compete for $100,000 cash prize. http://www.makemineamillion.org/
I can only imagine that most women find it difficult to set personal business goals when growing their business; however, without goals to create the motivation to strive for something bigger or better, what will drive the forward motion. We all know that "FEAR" can create a roadblock to forward motion; setting goals might help us jump the hurdles that propel us toward our "first" finish line.
See the link below to this fascinating article and see if you want to join in to make 2009 revenue goals more achievable through networking.
http://eon.businesswire.com/news/eon/20090506006031/enhttp://
An organization called "Count Me In" http://www.countmein.org/ which is a leading non-profit organization creating a community for women entrepreneurs to support one another has joined forces with "Kick Apps" http://www.kickapps.com/, a social media platform, and launched a new online community for women to compete in a race to reach revenue goals for their companies. This race is called "Make Me a Million Business Race or (M3RACE).
I don't know how many of you are projecting your 2009 revenue goals, but maybe you would find inspiration in joining a group allowing you the opportunity to compete for $100,000 cash prize. http://www.makemineamillion.org/
I can only imagine that most women find it difficult to set personal business goals when growing their business; however, without goals to create the motivation to strive for something bigger or better, what will drive the forward motion. We all know that "FEAR" can create a roadblock to forward motion; setting goals might help us jump the hurdles that propel us toward our "first" finish line.
See the link below to this fascinating article and see if you want to join in to make 2009 revenue goals more achievable through networking.
http://eon.businesswire.com/news/eon/20090506006031/enhttp://
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Women-Owned Business Explosion
This story was reported by Business Week and is relevant to any women who may want to start her own business. Women are doing it and succeeding. Read on . . .
Business Week, May 19, 2009
'An Explosion' in Women-Owned Companies?
Despite daunting statisitics, resources and opportunities for female entrepreneurs are better now than ever, say experts
By Damian Joseph
Seven years ago, Nicole Loftus was entrenched in an $19 billion-a-year industry she felt was following an outmoded model. As a distributor of branded products, she served as an intermediary between companies that wanted products imprinted with their logos and the manufacturers that made them. Remarkably, neither side ever interacted. Loftus struck out on her own—against the advice of her family and then-husband—and began building what is now a multimillion-dollar company, Zorch International. The Chicago company offered an innovation to the branded-products industry's supply chain and changed how many corporations procure such products.
As a successful businesswoman, Loftus is defying statistics. According to Catalyst, a global nonprofit organization that tracks women in the workplace, only 28 of the 1,000 largest U.S. corporations have female CEOs. And women still earn 77¢ for each dollar made by a man, the Census Bureau reports. To that point, the first legislation President Barack Obama signed into law was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, a salvo against wage discrimination against working women that was meant to counter a 2007 Supreme Court ruling.
It can be especially challenging for women to establish companies seeking a broad reach, such as those that provide services for corporations—and securing financial backing can be nearly impossible. In 2008 only 6.8% of venture capital went to companies founded by women, according to Dow Jones VentureSource (NWS), a database that covers the venture-capital industry. Just one of five U.S. compamies with annual revenue of $1 million or more is owned by a woman, according to the Center for Women's Business Research. Just 3% of women-owned companies ever reach the $1 million mark, compared with 6% owned by men, the center says. "It was an absolute, 100% shock to me that there was still disparity between men and women in the business world," Loftus says.
That's not to say there's been no progress. Amy Millman, president and founder of Springboard Enterprises, has been connecting entrepreneurial women and investors since the early 1980s. Millman predicts that in the next four to five years there will be "an explosion" of women founding companies in science-based sectors such as pharmaceuticals, medical devices, software, and clean energy. "Things that are cutting-edge—there are a lot more women in these fields now," she says.
Loftus finds it unnerving that so many people still think in terms of companies being "women-owned." Often, she says, corporations focus too much on who owns Zorch. They assume it's a tiny outfit, unable to provide a high volume of services, even though Zorch expects sales to leap to $36 million this year and top $100 million by 2011.
fastest-growing company in Chicago
Loftus started the company herself with the aid of angel investors, bank loans, and the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center. In 2008, Crain's Chicago Business ranked Zorch the fastest-growing company in Chicago, and Inc. magazine ranked it the eighth-fastest-growing in America. Inc. also ranked Zorch the country's No.1 company owned by a woman for its astounding 10,822% growth rate from 2005-2007. Loftus says the best advice she can give to aspiring women entrepreneurs is, don't take money from investors until you really need to. "Don't be afraid to not have money," she says. "You don't need money to serve a customer." Before Zorch, if a company wanted, say, Bic ballpoint pens with its logo printed on them for advertising or promotional purposes, it would do business with a distributor such as Corporate Express or Adco Marketing. The distributor would contact Bic, negotiate the deal, assist in the design details, charge a fee—and the two parties doing business would never speak. Loftus erased the middle man. Essentially, Zorch brought manufacturers to the table to speak directly with the corporations seeking their products. Zorch is essentially a portal that handles all sales and resulting transactions. Loftus says distributors weren't eliminated earlier because "when they got wind that one manufacturer was selling directly, they'd get together and blackball it—there are a lot of distributors, but it's a small world."
Zorch found a niche serving extremely large corporations that smaller distributors don't like dealing with. Loftus is fine with smaller profit margins if the volume's high. The company has worked with heavyweights such as AT&T (T), BP (BP), and Citigroup (C) in 120 different countries. Loftus says Zorch is thriving despite the recession, because it saves companies money.
The biggest challenge for women in starting succesful companies, Millman says, is they need to become more aggressive and less risk-averse. This would include women more confidently marketing their expertise and forging ahead with potentially valuable business ideas despite market conditions. "The resources are actually more plentiful and it's much cheaper to start a business now than a decade ago," she says.
Joseph is an innovation and design writer for BusinessWeek, based in the Chicago bureau.
Business Week, May 19, 2009
'An Explosion' in Women-Owned Companies?
Despite daunting statisitics, resources and opportunities for female entrepreneurs are better now than ever, say experts
By Damian Joseph
Seven years ago, Nicole Loftus was entrenched in an $19 billion-a-year industry she felt was following an outmoded model. As a distributor of branded products, she served as an intermediary between companies that wanted products imprinted with their logos and the manufacturers that made them. Remarkably, neither side ever interacted. Loftus struck out on her own—against the advice of her family and then-husband—and began building what is now a multimillion-dollar company, Zorch International. The Chicago company offered an innovation to the branded-products industry's supply chain and changed how many corporations procure such products.
As a successful businesswoman, Loftus is defying statistics. According to Catalyst, a global nonprofit organization that tracks women in the workplace, only 28 of the 1,000 largest U.S. corporations have female CEOs. And women still earn 77¢ for each dollar made by a man, the Census Bureau reports. To that point, the first legislation President Barack Obama signed into law was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, a salvo against wage discrimination against working women that was meant to counter a 2007 Supreme Court ruling.
It can be especially challenging for women to establish companies seeking a broad reach, such as those that provide services for corporations—and securing financial backing can be nearly impossible. In 2008 only 6.8% of venture capital went to companies founded by women, according to Dow Jones VentureSource (NWS), a database that covers the venture-capital industry. Just one of five U.S. compamies with annual revenue of $1 million or more is owned by a woman, according to the Center for Women's Business Research. Just 3% of women-owned companies ever reach the $1 million mark, compared with 6% owned by men, the center says. "It was an absolute, 100% shock to me that there was still disparity between men and women in the business world," Loftus says.
That's not to say there's been no progress. Amy Millman, president and founder of Springboard Enterprises, has been connecting entrepreneurial women and investors since the early 1980s. Millman predicts that in the next four to five years there will be "an explosion" of women founding companies in science-based sectors such as pharmaceuticals, medical devices, software, and clean energy. "Things that are cutting-edge—there are a lot more women in these fields now," she says.
Loftus finds it unnerving that so many people still think in terms of companies being "women-owned." Often, she says, corporations focus too much on who owns Zorch. They assume it's a tiny outfit, unable to provide a high volume of services, even though Zorch expects sales to leap to $36 million this year and top $100 million by 2011.
fastest-growing company in Chicago
Loftus started the company herself with the aid of angel investors, bank loans, and the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center. In 2008, Crain's Chicago Business ranked Zorch the fastest-growing company in Chicago, and Inc. magazine ranked it the eighth-fastest-growing in America. Inc. also ranked Zorch the country's No.1 company owned by a woman for its astounding 10,822% growth rate from 2005-2007. Loftus says the best advice she can give to aspiring women entrepreneurs is, don't take money from investors until you really need to. "Don't be afraid to not have money," she says. "You don't need money to serve a customer." Before Zorch, if a company wanted, say, Bic ballpoint pens with its logo printed on them for advertising or promotional purposes, it would do business with a distributor such as Corporate Express or Adco Marketing. The distributor would contact Bic, negotiate the deal, assist in the design details, charge a fee—and the two parties doing business would never speak. Loftus erased the middle man. Essentially, Zorch brought manufacturers to the table to speak directly with the corporations seeking their products. Zorch is essentially a portal that handles all sales and resulting transactions. Loftus says distributors weren't eliminated earlier because "when they got wind that one manufacturer was selling directly, they'd get together and blackball it—there are a lot of distributors, but it's a small world."
Zorch found a niche serving extremely large corporations that smaller distributors don't like dealing with. Loftus is fine with smaller profit margins if the volume's high. The company has worked with heavyweights such as AT&T (T), BP (BP), and Citigroup (C) in 120 different countries. Loftus says Zorch is thriving despite the recession, because it saves companies money.
The biggest challenge for women in starting succesful companies, Millman says, is they need to become more aggressive and less risk-averse. This would include women more confidently marketing their expertise and forging ahead with potentially valuable business ideas despite market conditions. "The resources are actually more plentiful and it's much cheaper to start a business now than a decade ago," she says.
Joseph is an innovation and design writer for BusinessWeek, based in the Chicago bureau.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Inspiration
A friend sent this post to me and I felt that it was appropriate to share with you. I didn't write this article, but it is inspiring and this is an excellent example of women empowering women & girls.
by Cynthia Kersey
The author of Unstoppable and Unstoppable Women, Cynthia is raising $1m to build schools in Africa as part of her work in the Unstoppable Foundation.
The best way to predict the future is to create it. ~ Peter Drucker
If today were my last day on Earth and I could share 500 words of brilliance with the world, here are the important things I'd want to pass along to others...
I've been writing about Unstoppable people for well over a decade and what I've found is that living an unstoppable life always involves giving. People who give and are involved in a purpose that is greater than themselves are the happiest people and live the richest and most meaningful lives imaginable.
I have definitely experienced that in my own life and have found that nothing that I do gives me greater joy than when I am in service to others. I've been blessed to be a part of many service projects around the world and in November, 2006, I had an experience that has taken my calling to do this work to a whole new level.
In November, 2006, I went to Africa with 40 women from North America to attend a first-ever Grassroots African Women's Conference in Bondo, Kenya. We were greeted by 440+ rural East African Women who were there for the conference as well and each night we laughed, danced and sang together as we connected with each other as sisters.
During the day, we attended sessions and listened to the powerful stories of these courageous women who shared how they were dealing with fundamental issues like making sure their children are fed, getting clean water for their families to drink, preserving food to get them through times of drought, treatment and prevention for Malaria and HIV, taking care of orphans with HIV, and providing an education for their children so they could create a hopeful future for their families.
These women never get a day off from hauling water and firewood, cooking, cleaning, and the drudgery of daily living and never travel more than 10 miles beyond their village. Yet, here they were, many of them traveling great distances to attend this conference to share their stories and take home solutions that could help them create a more optimistic future for their families.
I was inspired by the women's optimism and the commitment to lift themselves and their communities out of the cycle of extreme poverty. They experience daily challenges that I could not even imagine and their stories profoundly impacted me. I took home the heart of these East African women promising to do something to support them in changing the future for themselves and for their children.
The UnstoppableGivingChallenge.com is the result of that promise. I have learned that the key to helping these women and children will come not from waiting for the government to step in and do something. It will come when caring and committed people join together to provide aid, resources, and equipment DIRECTLY to the people who are already making a difference on the ground.
How can you use your unique voice and talents to heal this planet? When we collectively bring our gifts and our talents to the world, we will create a world of love, compassion and power that this planet has not yet seen. And when we experience the true miracle of giving, both the giver and the receiver are healed.
by Cynthia Kersey
The author of Unstoppable and Unstoppable Women, Cynthia is raising $1m to build schools in Africa as part of her work in the Unstoppable Foundation.
The best way to predict the future is to create it. ~ Peter Drucker
If today were my last day on Earth and I could share 500 words of brilliance with the world, here are the important things I'd want to pass along to others...
I've been writing about Unstoppable people for well over a decade and what I've found is that living an unstoppable life always involves giving. People who give and are involved in a purpose that is greater than themselves are the happiest people and live the richest and most meaningful lives imaginable.
I have definitely experienced that in my own life and have found that nothing that I do gives me greater joy than when I am in service to others. I've been blessed to be a part of many service projects around the world and in November, 2006, I had an experience that has taken my calling to do this work to a whole new level.
In November, 2006, I went to Africa with 40 women from North America to attend a first-ever Grassroots African Women's Conference in Bondo, Kenya. We were greeted by 440+ rural East African Women who were there for the conference as well and each night we laughed, danced and sang together as we connected with each other as sisters.
During the day, we attended sessions and listened to the powerful stories of these courageous women who shared how they were dealing with fundamental issues like making sure their children are fed, getting clean water for their families to drink, preserving food to get them through times of drought, treatment and prevention for Malaria and HIV, taking care of orphans with HIV, and providing an education for their children so they could create a hopeful future for their families.
These women never get a day off from hauling water and firewood, cooking, cleaning, and the drudgery of daily living and never travel more than 10 miles beyond their village. Yet, here they were, many of them traveling great distances to attend this conference to share their stories and take home solutions that could help them create a more optimistic future for their families.
I was inspired by the women's optimism and the commitment to lift themselves and their communities out of the cycle of extreme poverty. They experience daily challenges that I could not even imagine and their stories profoundly impacted me. I took home the heart of these East African women promising to do something to support them in changing the future for themselves and for their children.
The UnstoppableGivingChallenge.com is the result of that promise. I have learned that the key to helping these women and children will come not from waiting for the government to step in and do something. It will come when caring and committed people join together to provide aid, resources, and equipment DIRECTLY to the people who are already making a difference on the ground.
How can you use your unique voice and talents to heal this planet? When we collectively bring our gifts and our talents to the world, we will create a world of love, compassion and power that this planet has not yet seen. And when we experience the true miracle of giving, both the giver and the receiver are healed.
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