Author Archive
Forget About Sex—Let’s Talk About Hair
Posted by: | CommentsPost by Frances Cole Jones, contributing Women On Business writer
For those of you scratching your heads (Sorry, I’m in a punning kind of mood) at the title—and the topic—of this piece, here’s a newsflash: many, many people spend as much (or more) time thinking about how they’re going to wear their hair at their presentation as they do thinking about what they’re going to say at their presentation.
(And while I will admit the preponderance of these conversations tend to be with women, I have had in-depth hair conversations with my male clients, too.)
My trouble is that I can think of few people in the world less qualified to talk about hair than myself. Mine mystifies me, which is why I outsourced the whole project to my wonderful stylist, Dickey, and why I sat down with him recently to get the answers to some of your most pressing questions:
Straight or Curly?
Dickey’s specialty is textured hair, which is how I ended up in his chair. What we’ve both observed from our work with hundreds of clients is that there are certain professions that prefer straight hair— for example, finance, telecommunications, business/strategic consulting. For whatever reason wearing your hair straight makes them feel you are more in control of your information.
Up or Down?
Those with long hair struggle with the “Up or down?” question. In this realm we have one hard and fast rule, and a few recommendations:
- Rule: I don’t care which you choose—and I’m sorry if I sound like your mother– but GET IT OUT OF YOUR FACE. Nothing is more distracting than having your bangs in your eyes, wisps trailing near your mouth, etc.
- General recommendations: Again, more ‘controlled’ professions are going to prefer a more ‘controlled’ look. If you’re worried you look young for your age, putting it up will give you far more authority than wearing it down.
Long or Short?
This often comes down to face shape, hair texture, etc. (For example, if your face is small, big hair isn’t going to serve you.) The most important thing, however, is that you look like you chose your style—rather than having it look like something you defaulted to in College and never gave another thought. After all, you don’t want to it to look like you could—with a quick outfit change—be serving chicken wings and beer in Any College Town, Anywhere USA.
Anthony Dickey is the founder of HairRules. He believes many women struggle with the one-sized fits all approach to hair care, but if there was more focus on an individually prescribed, texture-specific approach women could execute whatever style they wish more confidently. Hair Rules is a unique, texture-specific approach to hair care- giving women options to wear their hair any way they choose, via healthy, responsible methods. For more go to www.hairrules.com.
Develop Your Own Advisory Board
Posted by: | CommentsPost by Jane K. Stimmler, contributing Women On Business writer
I read an article recently about the many benefits which accrue to companies that form advisory boards. Though not to be confused with Boards of Directors, which have specific fiduciary responsibilities, advisory boards are neither accountable nor do they have decision-making authority. They can, however, be valuable in a number of ways. In essence, advisory board members are chosen, based on their expertise, to give advice. It’s a good idea and it struck me that if companies do it – why not individuals? Wouldn’t each of us profit by assembling a team of advisors for the “me” brand?
It doesn’t have to be anything formal. It really comes down to the idea of proactively selecting a few people who you can call upon to be helpful as you move forward in your career, and regularly staying in touch with them. The first step in creating your own advisory board is to determine the areas in which you need and want input.
Do you need help with political savvy? Presence and style? Leadership skills? Communication? Connections? Career management? Negiotiation? Think about the top three to five areas where you need help based on feedback you’ve received or categories in which you know you’re weak. Rank the attribute you would be most interested in learning more about as number one – and so on.
Then you’ll want to think about the people you know who possess knowledge and expertise in these areas. If you’d like to do better in your communication, for example – ask yourself who has communication skills you admire? Or if you want to meet people in your field – who is the best networker you know? These can be people inside or outside your company, a former – or even current – boss, males or females.
Once you have a list of possibilities, consider who would make a good “advisory board” member. Qualities to consider are – is the person approachable? Would he or she be honest with you? Is he or she open to mentoring? Does he or she appear able to make the time to get together? Now that you have identified your potential advisors, you’ll need to plan your approach.
The most direct way to approach a potential candidate is to speak to her or him in an informal setting. Let the person know you would like to seek advice on a particular subject and ask if this is agreeable. Make sure you indicate how much time this will involve – and that you are respectful of his or her schedule.
Now you are ready to have your personal advisory board! How you manage your experts will determine how helpful they are to your growth. Stay focused on what you need – and what is realistic – and make the most of this opportunity!
What do you think? Please join the conversation!
Why I Chose to Become an Entrepreneur
Posted by: | CommentsPost by Veronica Eyenga, contributing Women On Business writer
People choose to become entrepreneurs for many reasons. For women, those reasons run the gamut and encompass everything from the need for more schedule flexibility to experiencing a glass ceiling.
In my case, I was unsatisfied working for someone else. I had a desire to be my own boss and lead my own company. I followed my dream, and today I am the President and CEO of a successful marketing and accounting firm outside of Baltimore, MD.
I know why I chose entrepreneurship, but I wanted to know why some of you did. Here’s what I learned from some of my fellow female entrepreneurs:
Ramona Russell, Uptown Liz: Ramona started her company, which promotes products from companies whose proceeds go to charity, after losing her sister, Liz, to breast cancer. Through her company, Uptown Liz, Ramona has been able to create a legacy for her sister and help others at the same time.
Sue Wilkowski, textSAT: Sue started textSAT after her daily SAT review texts to her own children were picked up by their friends. Today, Sue’s SAT tips are written by award-winning educators and sent out daily to streamline and supplement students’ SAT review processes.
Carrie McKean, Scarlet Threads: Carrie started Scarlet Threads in 2009 as a way to help impoverished Chinese families. The company’s core visions of Work, Dignity, and Beauty become a reality by allowing Scarlet Threads seamstresses to work from home, according to the needs of their families. By allowing seamstresses to work at their stated cost of labor and sharing a portion of the profits, Scarlet Threads benefits the communities as well.
Katie Goodman, GoodLife Eats: Katie began her food blog, GoodLife Eats, as a way to marry her two loves – food and family. Through her recipes, stories, and food photography, Katie found a much needed outlet for her kitchen creativity and more opportunities than she could have imagined possible. Today, Katie writes for Paula Deen Online and Craftzine.com while her own food blog serves as a supplemental source of income.
Eileen Parker, Cozy Calm: Eileen began her company, Cozy Calm, as an answer to her disability. After struggling in countless jobs, Eileen, who is autistic, decided to start her own business manufacturing and selling Cozy Calm weighted, hugging blankets. In the year and a half since the business opened, Cozy Calm has continued to grow and Eileen seems to have found her true joy.
These are just a few of the reasons why other women have become entrepreneurs. What about you? Why did you decide to take the leap? What convinced you that it was time to strike out on your own?
Tell us your story in the comments!
Challenges Facing Women in Business
Posted by: | CommentsPost by Veronica Eyenga, contributing Women On Business writer
Inevitably, all business owners will face challenges now and then. However, women business owners tend to face them a little more often than their male peers.
This does not mean that women business owners cannot be successful; statistics show that the success rate for women entrepreneurs is growing rapidly. It simply means that they’ve learned to overcome major challenges.
Some of the biggest challenges women entrepreneurs will face fall into three categories:
- Gender discrimination and stereotyping: Gender lines are clearly drawn during childhood and often extend into adulthood with constant messages that women do not belong in the corporate world.
- Dual career-family pressures: Many women start their own businesses so that they can spend more time with their families. For some, maintaining a work-life balance once a business takes off only adds to the pressure of owning and running their own business.
- Lack of equal opportunities: Despite the fact that women are slowly moving in to male-dominated industries, they still face immense challenges when it comes to things like securing financing and business success rates.
Thankfully, these challenges are not always detrimental to women-owned businesses. Because women are often naturally skilled at negotiating, delegating, and multi-tasking, they can fight through these challenges to success.
In addition to these inherent skills, women in business can choose to face challenges heard on in several ways as well:
- Create a strong network: Build a network of women entrepreneurs that you can trust. These relationships can be used to build a support system, share ideas, and build your businesses.
- Consider a woman-owned certification: A woman-owned certification can be your company’s gateway to federal contracting and the significant advantages that come along with securing government dollars.
- Stay positive, get involved: Stay up to date on current issues and trends in female entrepreneurship. Work with your fellow women entrepreneurs to overcome challenges and remain strong in the face of adversity.
Every business owner will face challenges now and again. As women business owners, we’re more likely to face challenges than others. However, if we’re prepared and know how to overcome these challenges, nothing can stop us from continued growth and success.
Leverage the Social Web to Define Your Personal Brand
Posted by: | CommentsPersonal branding is absolutely essential in the world of the social Web. The first place potential employees look to learn about you (after reading your resume) is the Internet. Your Twitter stream, Facebook profile, LinkedIn profile, and so on all offer a glimpse into who you are as an employee and where you’re heading in your career. You need to be sure that your online persona is branded appropriately to help you reach your goals.
Branding yourself is just like branding a product line or business. The same principles that marketers use to create brands like Nike, Campbell’s, and Honda apply to personal branding. Consider women like Oprah Winfrey and Martha Stewart. Both of these women have defined their personal brands, created a brand image, message, and promise, and continually meet the world’s expectations related to their personal brands.
By branding yourself, perceptions are created about who you are and what you can do. Just as people have expectations for Oprah Winfrey’s behavior and business decisions, your colleagues, peers, superiors, clients, and potential employers will develop expectations for you based on the personal brand that you define and live.
Following are the three critical steps of building a brand that you should keep in mind as you develop your own unique persona that will be the foundation of your personal brand:
1. Consistency
Once you determine what your brand image, message and promise should be, you must consistently present yourself in the same way through every interaction, communication, and so on. Inconsistency leads to confusion. When you’re trying to build a career, consistency is essential.
2. Persistence
You need to relentlessly communicate your personal brand message, so it becomes the cornerstone of your online persona.
3. Patience
Understand that building a brand takes time. It’s a long term strategy that can help you establish yourself in the image and niche you wish to carve out for yourself throughout your career.
Lending Lessons Learned from Capital Sources Speed Dating
Posted by: | CommentsPost by Liz Cullen, contributing Women On Business writer
I recently went to a program put on by the Maryland Chamber of Commerce which linked small business owners with sources of capital. It was “speed dating” for business owners to find out who was still lending and the opportunities that are available with different banks. My last post discussed how in polls, women business owners were optimistic about 2010 and given the number of lenders in the room who were actively looking for small business owners, it seems that they are optimistic, too. In fact, many of the lenders I spoke to were frustrated by the perception that banks are not lending. As someone who works with entrepreneurs, this was encouraging and I took away some lessons to share with the businesses I work with:
1. Get to know your banker.
Each of the lenders I spoke to, from community banks to regional banks to large national corporations, stressed that the businesses that were the most successful treated the banks as partners to the business, not merely service providers –and vice versa. This goes for attorneys, CPAs, and any company that provides a critical service for your business. One woman who worked for a community bank mentioned that often small business owners lose sight of the fact that they are the client.
2. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.
One speaker used Christopher Columbus as an example of someone who was rejected for years before he succeeded in obtaining funding for his venture. This lesson also builds on lesson number 1. Securing capital for your business is a process; developing relationships and finding a good fit is the first step in that process but it may take several presentations and plans before opening that line of credit or finding capital for new equipment.
3. Don’t believe the hype.
Undoubtedly, the economy has affected the amount, rates, and frequency with which banks are lending money. The key elements that banks consider when evaluating whether or not to lend to a company, however- capacity, capital, collateral, conditions, and character- have not changed. Once you’ve built a relationship with your “banking partner,” they can help you realistically evaluate these items and determine whether you fit the profile of companies they are seeking.
The final lesson I took away was get out there! Women entrepreneurs were underrepresented at the event I attended, despite the fact that women are starting businesses and employing more people at much faster rates. I often hear that women are risk averse and do not like to take on debt, which can slow the growth of their companies. Given the women business owners I know and work with – I don’t believe that hype.
