Archive for Finance
Women and the Changing Global Economy
Posted by: | CommentsThe numbers have been coming in steadily over the past few years, and there is no way to deny anymore that women are taking greater control of the U.S. economy (and much of the global economy) and doing it quietly and quickly.
For example, back in 2008, U.S. News and World Report released data telling us that women controlled 60% of the wealth in the United States. That figure was estimated to be approximately $10-$12 trillion. At the same time, U.S. News and World Report projected that women will control $22 trillion of all wealth in the United states by 2020. That’s just a decade away!
Considering data released in 2009 by The Nielsen Company revealed almost all income growth in the United States over the past 15-20 years came from women, that U.S. News and World Report projection shouldn’t be very shocking. The Small Business Administration has reported in recent years that women-owned businesses are far outpacing all other businesses in terms of growth. The bottom-line is that women are making their presence in the economy better known.
Credit Cards: A Girls new Best Friend?
Posted by: | CommentsSome may think I am being quite sexist and stereotypical when I say this, but I love shopping. I can’t get enough of it, for me buying something new gives me a natural high. Who needs drugs a?
So I need a credit card to satisfy my shopping addiction, but others need (and I use the term ‘need’ loosely) a credit card for other reasons. May it be to pay the bills, or put food on the table, I’m not saying these are the best reasons to get a card, but who am I to judge. All I can say is finding a card suited to each person’s need is quite crucial.
So I figured the best way around this is to closely examine what you need the card for. What is the main reason for you wanting one?
My fella has a credit card. He’s not bothered about the interest rates, or the fees and charges associated with the card, but rather the fact that the credit card is football branded with his favourite team, whereas I went for the fixed low rate for life credit card by the same company.
What are you worth? The cost of branding you.
Posted by: | Comments“The cost of doing business” speaks for itself. You have to put money out to make money; feed the investment so that it grows becoming lucrative and prosperous. A fundamental basic that business leaders process regularly, right? Absolutely!
Why then do many business professionals treat themselves and their own career marketing tools with substandard expectations? As a career strategist and resume writer, pricing of services is one of the top #3 questions asked of clients. Certainly understandable and always welcome!
If you are willing to spend money on high end clothing, hair salon upkeep or high end handbags, perhaps you may want to redistribute where you are investing your hard earned dollars. Are you buying into someone else’s brand or are you taking care of your own?
While most professionals realize the time, complexity and strategic writing that goes into developing a solid and effective marketing tool, there are always a few folks who see their resumes as a typeset piece of paper tracking the basics of their work history asking, “Why does it cost so much”?
Top 5 Reasons Professionally Written Resumes Cost Money
Suze Orman Speaks to Women on Business Readers
Posted by: | CommentsRecently, I was asked to pose a question to Suze Orman, which she graciously answered as part of the new Suze Orman Show Channel on YouTube. I asked a question that I thought would be helpful to the Women on Business audience:
Women’s retirement savings needs differ from men’s. Women live longer, women are typically paid less than men, and the number of single, working mothers is staggering. What are the top 3 tips you would give to women in regards to saving for retirement? Are they different from the tips you give to men?
Suze’s response is included in the video below or follow the link to view Suze Orman’s video on YouTube:
Leadership Lessons: I’d Rather Be a Whale
Posted by: | CommentsPart of leadership, especially women, is to be a voice for separating the wheat from the chaff. It is time for all of us as women leaders to put a halt to the binding messages we are bombarded with about image. No, I don’t mean we should all state that overweight is better, I mean we need to begin to question what is being fed to us (sorry for the pun) about what is the standard for the acceptable and attractive woman. It is a legacy issue that if addressed now will have a vast impact on our daughters (and they are all our daughters regardless of who birthed them) of the future.
Nancy Pennebaker, a senior consultant with our organization, Creative Energy Options, Inc. (CEO) sent this to me for both the humor and the depth of the message. Our company motto, “we are all connected and no one wins unless we all do”, is embedded in the following short article. It shows that this issue of image is one that is a world issue.
Notice that the sign in the window of an exercise studio and the answer are from France, where the image of gorgeous models in clothes by Yves St. Laurent, Chanel et a.l became the standard of beauty.
Don’t Get Ripped Off – Tips for Saving Money on Credit Card Processing
Posted by: | CommentsGuest post by Stella Fayman (learn more about Stella at the end of this post)
When merchants begin accepting credit cards, usually they sign up for Paypal (if an online merchant). However, as business booms and revenue from credit cards grows, it may be more cost effective to switch to a credit card processor (merchant account provider). Be wary, processors are known to be tricky and take advantage of business owners who know little about their trade. Here are some tips to make sure you don’t get ripped off:
1. No cancellation fees allowed
Make sure to read the fine print from your credit card processing contract. You may be surprised to find a cancellation fee from at least $250 to several thousand dollars. This fee is a way of guaranteeing your loyalty to the processor, regardless of your satisfaction with their service. The good news is that getting rid of this fee should not be a problem: most salespeople have the authority to waive it. To avoid this problem, talk to the salesperson and make sure the fee is waived in writing either in the contract or as an amendment.
FTC and Other Organizations Aim to Help Business Owners Get Loans
Posted by: | CommentsGuest post by Shannon Suetos (learn more about Shannon at the end of this post)
Being able to budget your money is key for a new business owner—doing so can be the difference between being successful or not. Budgeting is even more important these days with the state of the economy. The U.S. Labor of Statistics has reported that the unemployment rate (as of December 2009 ) is 10% and 8.2% of the unemployed are women. Because more people are losing their jobs it is crucial to make sure you stay on top of your personal credit, as banks are making it harder to get business loans.
These high unemployment numbers makes it more difficult for business owners to stay in business, or even start a business as a result of people being thriftier with their money. Banks are no exception. It is harder today to get a loan than in many years, and banks are looking closer at your personal credit when deciding if you will get a business loan or not.
There is some hope against the banks and other business cash advance companies–at least in the near future. According to the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) in 2011 lenders will, “require a creditor to provide a risk-based pricing notice to a consumer when the creditor uses a consumer report to grant or extend credit to the consumer.” This will allow anyone to get a free report of their credit score and be able to review it before sending it to their lending company of choice. If you see you need some work on getting your credit score up, you can look to a debt management service to aid you in getting that loan you will need.
In mid-December Obama met with top bankers to discus the problem small business owners are facing when it comes to getting a loan. He pointed out America bailed out banks, so now its time for them to help small businesses, “I urged these institutions here today to go back and take a third and fourth look about how they are operating when it comes to small business and medium-sized business lending.”
Healthcare and Women
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One of the most well-run and informative meetings I went to last year was the HBA conference in San Francisco. The Healthcare Businesswomen Association is a class act.
What impressed me was the juggling act done to show the strong side of women in a mostly male dominated industry, as well as the feminine side that we, as women, need to maintain for our own sanity.
The women who represented the major pharmaceutical and biotech companies were key players, with long resumes down to the newbies just starting out. There was a sense of “we’re all in it together”, a desire to mentor and an equal desire to learn from the “elders’.
Busting Stereotypes
Posted by: | CommentsEvery once in a while I meet a woman who has quietly taken stereotypes, looked them in the eye and with a quick flick of the wrist lobbed them into the discard pile.
Rosie Saez a Senior V.P. of H.R. at Wachovia Bank is a stereotype buster. She has been in the world of banking for over 20 years and has participated in helping change this mainly male dominated world over several decades.
I asked her what patterns of behavior were the hardest for her to change as a woman in a man’s world. There is a two step answer. First, she told me, that growing up as a Latino she was taught women answered second and did what they were told, that they were programmed to be pleasers. There was a pecking order not to be messed with. So, it took her time to find her voice and speak up without hesitation.
I thought about this and all the women I have interviewed and worked with. Speaking up has been a tough up hill battle for many woman, and one main reason has been cultural orientation. Many cultures have required woman to be on the second tier of decision making, especially of important decisions. It is hard to believe that we only have the right to vote since 1920.
