The crux of the situation as many business owners know is consumer spending. As we plan and strategize growth, many of us wonder if our businesses will be around this time next year. Even firms such as my own that concentrate on business services are feeling the crunch that has become the personality trait of this economic climate. If there is a strain on the middle class, many … [Read more...]
Statistics and Sound Bites from Women Business Leaders [Infographic]
Women make up 46.9% of the U.S. workforce, but 40% of of large public companies worldwide have no women on their board of directors. It's not surprising that women are starting their own businesses at 1.5 times the national average. According to a new infographic from UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School (shown below), 187 million women are currently starting or running their … [Read more...]
Disabled Women Succeeding as Entrepreneurs
Many women have found that in order to have the lifestyle they want working in the corporate world is simply too restrictive. Set hours requiring you to commute to an office, clock in and out, then ask for permission to slightly change your schedule – is simply not conducive to an active and busy life. Women with children find the regular work schedule to be even more … [Read more...]
The Expert is In
As a consultant I am constantly cast in an expert role and for the most part that’s okay, but I want to be clear….I don’t know everything and that’s what makes me an expert. I know a lot about my specialty but when it comes to taking my own advice, I could do a little better. So here’s the best advice that I can give myself and hopefully it will work for you as well. Be still … [Read more...]
Management by Generations
There is an absolute truth in being an entrepreneur that you will be out of your depth on many occasions. Knowing this fact makes it easier to shift your perspective from a defensive stance to a position on learning from unexpected sources. I recently encountered a similar situation with a younger member of a board for a national organization, here’s what I learned. While it’s … [Read more...]
Are the Costs Worth It?
Being an entrepreneur is hard and the sacrifices you will make will grow as the company does. I’ve encountered a lot of losses on my road and I was having an interesting conversation this morning where this question was asked. ‘Was it worth the costs?’ I didn’t have an answer then, I just knew that when I thought about doing anything else, I got this really heavy feeling in my … [Read more...]
Scrappy Women – An Interview With Founder Kimberly Wiefling
Are you an aggressive female with dreams, and will not take no for an answer? Would you rather speak your mind than go quietly into the night? If so you may be a Scrappy Woman. The other day I had the privilege of connecting with Kimberly Wiefling, President of Wiefling Consulting and Founder of ScrappyWomen.biz . Kimberly is a woman who speaks her mind and would rather … [Read more...]
Knowing Your Role
What is your role? How do you describe it? When someone asks what you do or what your business is, do you have your answer? You should! You should be able to sum up a basic plot of who you are and/or what you do in a few sentences to capture their attention and leave them wanting to know more! For a business it should be quick basics of what you handle/do/deal with, why … [Read more...]
Are proposals worth it?
As a professional services firm, I spend an awful lot of my time preparing and submitting proposals. They are time consuming, sometimes costly and not immediately effective. So why submit them? Well there are a million reasons against them, but here are my top 5 reasons for them. They introduce your company and your ability I am not a formal person, but I do know what I know … [Read more...]
Love What You Do
Love is the Missing Piece No, this isn’t an ad for a dating site, although maybe it should be.... I was in the process of writing on a different subject when I found myself in a conversation with a client (who shall remain nameless but will likely know its them when they read this ;) ) We were discussing their business and a particularly rough couple of weeks they have … [Read more...]