Filed under: Women in Business
National Entrepreneurship Week: February 20-27
Celebrate your success! This is National Entrepreneurship Week sponsored by the Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education. This week recognizes the contribution of American entrepreneurs like you. Share stories of how you overcame the past year and succeeded. Leave a comment below. Then find out more about events near you.
More Resources
- Watch videos from successful entrepreneurs
- Read hot topics in business
- Get ideas on how to promote entrepreneurship
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February 22, 2010
SCORE Honors Maryanne Weiss
Maryanne Weiss is a business mentor with SCORE and chair of the Phoenix SCORE chapter. She was recently name “Woman of the Year” by the Women’s Financial Group of the National Bank of Arizona. She has also been given the Carnation Award for Community Service and was made an honorary lifetime citizen of Orange County, California.
In her professional life, Weiss is a licensed general contractor. She was a partner at DIXCO, an award winning construction company in Los Angeles, CA. She then founded Gustare Limited, a business consulting firm in Phoenix, AZ where she is the company president. Weiss is also an adjunct lecturer at Arizona State University. Her specialities in business are real estate, mortgage financing, marketing, and strategic planning. In her spare time, Weiss is also very active in the community. She is an dvisory board member with the Arizona State Board of Business and was also a guest blogger with the SCORE Women’s Success Blog.
SCORE would like to congratulate Maryanne Weiss on her many achievements and than her for her dedication to supporting entrepreneurship.
SCORE Association, SCORE
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February 15, 2010
Joyce Bone: Mompreneur to Successful CEO
Successful serial entrepreneur, Joyce Bone, provides success secrets, exclusively for SCORE!
Joyce Bone is a wife, mom and successful entrepreneur. She co-founded EarthCare, which grew from zero to $50 million in 18 months. She then took the company public on NASDAQ, ultimately reaching $125 million in annual revenues.
Joyce has managed over 350 employees and has executed dozens of mergers and acquisitions. She eventually left her company and started a real estate investment firm. She now owns a business consulting and coaching firm that works with small to mid-size companies. In another venture, Millionaire Moms, she also helps women entrepreneurs find ways to manage the demands of family life and the business world.
Check out her success tips, exclusively for SCORE!
Jacalyn Barnes, SCORE
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February 8, 2010
The New Rules of Doing Business for Women Entrepreneurs
The summit will help women entrepreneurs thrive in the new economy with real advice, biz coaching and networking opportunities. More info and register today.
Join us at the American Express OPEN Women’s Business Summit.
Date: Wednesday, February 17 – Thursday, February 18, 2010
Place: JW Marriott Houston, Houston, Texas
NEW! Pre-Conference Workshop, Wednesday, February 17, 10:00am – 1:30pm
Give Me 5% Special Training Program: Navigating the Federal Market Place
Learn how to navigate the federal market place from women who have succeeded in Federal Contracting.
This multi-track summit offers:
- Critical advice for growth in today’s changing economy
- One-on-one small business counseling from SCORE professionals
- New business ideas for opportunity-rich markets like government contracting
- Tips on leveraging social media to grow your bottom line
- Contacts with an inspiring community of successful women business owners
- Inspiration and expert advice from the Make Mine a Million $ Business Competition
- Speakers and resources from our partnering women’s organizations
- This multi-track Summit offers:
Don’t miss this special opportunity! Register today.
Christine Banning, SCORE
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February 3, 2010
How Your Personal Brand Affects Your Business Brand
“What is your personal style? How does it effect your sales?” A speaker posed this question at an eWomen’s Conference (http://www.ewomennetwork.com) that I attended. Strong thinking material. She talked about the popularity of the TV series, Sex in the City, being magnetic to the audience because of the relationships between the main characters. Those TV characters were defined or branded in such a way that we could all relate to one of them. They each had their own style, personality and appeal.
Are you recognized when you walk into a room? Does your style shine through? What have you tried to make your personal brand unforgettable? Share your tips below.
Betty Otte, SCORE Orange County
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January 19, 2010
Mistakes Happen to the Best of Us
I’m pretty good in front of a group and don’t have trouble responding to spontaneous questions because I pride myself on being prepared – following all we are taught to do – build rapport with the audience, display enthusiasm, know what you want to say and practice practice practice. BUT (and there always is a BUT), at an awards show I was not given the names of the recipients until on stage. Names of folks from countries I had never heard of in a language that, I was told was English, but I had serious doubts. I did my best, but still looked pretty illiterate. What to do when you are faced with an audience that expects polish and poise and all you can do is smile and babble. I guess you smile and do your best.
The important point is that it happens to the best of us and all we can do is realize the world didn’t come to an end. Yes, many folks find public speaking difficult, but audiences are forgiving and with practice a little confidence soon builds into strong confidence. I have been in front of many audiences since then, but the memory of that event keeps me humble and when I am tempted not to practice, it brings on instant motivation. The big lesson I learned was not to be too hard on myself — and don’t do awards shows without knowing the names of the recipients!
What are your public speaking nightmare stories? I know you have some. We ALL have some.
Betty Otte, SCORE Orange County
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December 29, 2009
You still have time to apply or nominate a business for America’s Small Business of the Year Award. All award winners will be recognized during America’s Small Business Summit. The event will take place on May 18, 2010 in Washington, D.C.
Eligibility
A business must meet the following requirements to receive the 2010 America’s Small Business of the Year Award:
- Fewer than 250 employees
- Gross revenues of less than $20 million in 2008
- Able to attend America’s Small Business Summit 2010
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Criteria
Eligible applicants will be judged on the following:
- Financial performance and business history
- Staff training and motivation
- Community involvement
- Customer service
- Business plan or strategies and goals
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Nominate a Business. Deadline: December 18, 2009
Enter Your Own Business. Deadline: January 15, 2010
SCORE Association, SCORE
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December 14, 2009
Inspire Young Women to Succeed as Entrepreneurs
As women business owners, we’ve come a long way—but we still have quite a way to go. Despite the astounding growth of businesses owned by women, a recent study by the SBA’s Office of Advocacy, Self-Employed Women and Time Use, found that women are 57 percent less likely than men to start their own companies.
What can you do to change these figures? If there are girls or young women in your life (daughters, nieces, family friends), help plant the seeds of entrepreneurship early and often by talking to them about business ownership. Wherever your life touches the life of a younger woman—whether that’s a Girl Scout meeting, your child’s elementary school or at your own business—find ways to encourage young women to consider entrepreneurship as an option.
Start your own version of “take your daughter to work day”, offer to speak to girls’ and young women’s organizations, take a young intern under your wing. Most of all, don’t just tell them, but show them, the joy, excitement and pride of building your own business. When you love what you do, it can’t help but rub off on others.
Rieva Lesonsky, Guest Blogger
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November 20, 2009
Outsource Time Wasting Tasks
My partners and I were recently musing over the seemingly boundless energy of a male entrepreneur we know. We were in awe of his packed travel schedule, endless slew of new projects and responsiveness to email. How did he do it? Suddenly, one of my partners cried, “He’s got a wife!” Bingo.
While running a business is never easy, it’s got to be lots easier if you’ve got someone at home to pick up the dry cleaning, get dinner on the table and run the schedule. Do you have a “wife”? If so, congratulations. If not, you need to find one.
Think about your business’s key goals (both short- and long-term) and the nagging daily duties (both at work and at home) that suck up your valuable time and keep you from reaching those goals. Then figure out how you can delegate, outsource or otherwise get these tedious tasks off your plate. Yes, you may have to spend some money to do this—but if you put the time you gain back into your business, I promise you it will be money well spent.
Rieva Lesonsky, Guest Blogger
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November 13, 2009
Two Points of View
Recently, I was talking with a male entrepreneur whose company markets to women business owners. He had some insights about how women entrepreneurs operate that had me nodding in recognition.
First, women take time to build relationships. Second, we love to gather tons of information before making a decision. And third, we rarely buy without getting input from other women first. All these ways of operating made sense to me, but as we talked, I also began to see their downsides.
Relying on recommendations can lead you to buy something that’s great for your friend, but not so good for you. Gathering data is smart, but it’s easy to gather so much that you get overwhelmed. And building relationships is important, but sometimes you can’t afford to “take it slow.”
I left our meeting with a new appreciation of how important a male perspective can be. Next time you’re pondering a decision or stuck in a situation, consider getting some input from men. Whether it’s your significant other, a business colleague or a key employee, most likely, a man will have a completely different perspective on the issue–and you’ll gain a new insight that can get you over your hurdle.
Rieva Lesonsky, Guest Blogger
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November 6, 2009
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