RE:THIS BLOG...A TOOLBOX FOR & ABOUT ENTERPRISING WOMEN.™ Welcome to re:invention's BLOG, the #1 GOOGLE ranked blog for and about enterprising women. This blog is hosted by re:invention, a full-service marketing company that helps corporations sell more of their products and services to enterprising women. Explore our toolbox of resources and learn more about what makes enterprising women tick.
10 TIPS FOR 10 MILLION WOMEN™
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WOMEN'S QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"Many, many studies worldwide show that when women are fully empowered, economies do better, families do better, children are better educated."
- Condoleezza Rice
CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT OUR VENTURE FUNDING FOR WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS REPORT
Many appreciations to Scott Kiekbusch (A Fresh Design), Tony J. (CrashShop), Dan T. (Core12), Peter D. (Peterthink), and Ann K. for their work sprucing up this BLOG. 4 good men & 1 great woman.
We began this blog with appreciations, a Whole Foods Market tradition. We thank our mentors, our business partners, our clients, and our readers. Thank you for giving re:invention wings.
CLOUDS
re:invention writes about...
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
RE: Un-Controversial Capital.
Springboard Enterprises co-founder Amy Millman -- once voted "most controversial" in her high school class -- graced the pages of USA Today on October 25. Under Amy's leadership, Springboard has helped 347 female-owned businesses raise $3.7 billion in venture capital. Now that's uncontroversial capital.
According to Amy, many women aren't adept at self-promotion, (so Springboard offers them)...a crash course in chutzpah.
"Most women don't ever talk about themselves," Millman says. "But investors are investing in you. They want to know you're the one who's going to make this happen."
Amy and re:invention share the same mission: to leverage women's credibility, to increase women's rate of success, and to move enterprising women from the lifestyle pages to the business pages of the News.
Forgive me. I haven't been blogging. I've been working less the past 2 weeks. For the first time in my life, I have slowed down and I've been letting an American cowboy show me how to live. It's my blog; I'll write when I want to. Promise you'll hear from me soon. In the meantime....
IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER - by Erma Bombeck (written after she found out she was dying from cancer)
I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.
I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.
I would have talked less and listened more.
I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded.
I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good ' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone! wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.
I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.
I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.
I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.
I would have sat on the lawn with my new clothes and not worried about grass stains.
I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life.
I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.
Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.
When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, "Later. Now go get washed up for dinner."
There would have been more "I love you's." More "I'm sorry's."
But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute...look at it and really see it, live it, and never give it back.
What is it with American women? Martha Stewart wants to know. They like to see one another rise up, get bashed and rise back up again. "It's not very nice," Stewart, the home-decorating diva who could write the book on rising and falling, told a sold-out crowd of 8,000 attending the seventh annual Texas Conference for Women.
Martha, Martha, Martha. You hit the nail on the head. Indeed, that's exactly why women swoon over extreme makeover stories (ala Self Magazine) that revisit women 6-months post-makeover to see if they have sustained their reinvention results.
To woo women: "win, fail, repeat." Bite me on the butt and tell me that I'm wrong, but I believe it's our generation's reversioning of "lather, rinse, repeat."
RE: Colbert's Mad Ice Cream 3-Way with Fonda and Steinem.
This Cooking with Feminists segment from the Colbert Report is begging to be shared.
Colbert is so gosh durn charming that I couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"One apple a day, and you'll keep the revolution away," quips Gloria Steinem, as she bakes her all-American apple pie.
Worth a view. Hands down best part of the clip: when Fonda and Colbert swap spit. Swoon! A girl can only dream. We women have to be able to laugh at ourselves...
Five years ago the San Antonio Center for Women's Business Enterprise was forced to shut down due to financial problems. The office reopened on October 1st. How they did it: a federal grant in partnership with the city and the South Texas Business Fund. - MORE.
I once wrote: "Whoever said there are no second chances was patently wrong...Big boys don't internalize or personalize their failures. They don't admit defeat. They are focused on eventual success. They take advantage of the fact that people love rooting for an underdog or come-back kid."
RE: Our Saturday Feature - 10 Tips for 10 Million WomenTM.
Welcome to the re:invention 10 Tips for 10 Million WomenTM Saturday Feature. Every Saturday we feature a woman entrepreneur or executive and her personal 10 tips for success. We believe that women can be experts. They have valuable knowledge to share. re:invention's site traffic includes corporate executives, VCs, women business owners, and members of the media. We offer media access to women story sources and inspire future story ideas - serving as a public relations, marketing, and distribution channel for enterprising women. We're on a mission to move women from the lifestyle pages to the business section of the News. Our goal: a wisely-stocked toolbox for and about enterprising women. We hope this feature will be a powerful example of "women helping women win."
This week's featured woman entrepreneur or executive is Janet Christy, Founder and President of Leverage & Development, LLC (Los Angeles, CA).
about Leverage & Development Leverage & Development, LLC works with woman and minority-owned businesses to develop plans that will help them capitalize on being woman or minority-owned. Client services include marketing research and planning, certification assistance and sales guidance. The company conducts workshops for woman and minority-owned businesses on such topics as: "Capitalizing On Being Woman/Minority Owned," "The Government Bidding Process," and "Should My Business Be Certified?" Leverage & Development Founder Janet Christy has spent the majority of her professional career in marketing, sales and public relations positions. Today she uses that experience to help small, woman and minority-owned businesses maximize and profit from their opportunities. In September 2006, Janet's book "Capitalizing On Being Woman Owned," was published by Career Press of Franklin Lakes, NJ. Janet has worked on both sides of the procurement process. Her experience includes both preparing RFPs (Request for Proposal) and RFIs (Request for Information) and responding to them.
RE: There's No Perk Like Home. A new Census Bureau report released last Wednesday shows that nearly half of all U.S. businesses are home-based. Fifty-six percent of women-owned ventures (and American-Indian owned ventures) are home-based versus only 47 percent for men. Surprisingly only 33 percent of Asian-owned businesses are run out of the home.
Also according to the Census Bureau report, only one-third of business owners were female.
RE: Women's Professional Organizations 101: Downtown Women's Club
This is another installment of our Women's Professional Organizations 101 Series. At re:invention, we know it can be time-intensive for corporate marketers and executives to mine through the myriad of women's professional organizations and evaluate women's organization sponsorship opportunities. You want to be sure your sponsorship dollars are reaching the right fit demographic/psychographic target - and that your sponsorships deliver measurable results (ROI). Our goal: a resource library for corporate marketing executives. We continue our Women's Professional Organizations 101 Series with Downtown Women's Club.
Organization Overview: The Downtown Women's Club (DWC) is a for-profit social network and career website for professional women on the go. The organization's mission is to empower women through access to information and opportunities for collaboration. With an "inclusive rather than exclusive" philosophy, DWC promotes "clicks & mix" networking where members have an opportunity to network, anytime, anyplace and anywhere they want with dynamic corporate executives and entrepreneurs from a variety of industries. The organization offers local in-person events (in select markets), online networking, and a host of online marketing services and business opportunities that help their members make connections, build relationships, and have fun with other sophisticated and savvy businesswomen.
Buzz Words: Urban businesswomen, "clicks and mix" social networking, faces
Date Founded: The organization began in 1998 as a local business organization (with 300 women) in Boston. In 2003, Downtown Women's Club branched out to NYC and other cities.
Member Demographics and Psychographics: The organization claims 7,000 members in 10 chapters (Boston, Chicago, DC, LA, NYC, Pittsburgh, Providence, San Diego, San Francisco, and Worcester). According to DWC founder, Diane Danielson, members range from 22-72; with a median age of 35 and the majority being in their 30's and 40's. Most DWC members work full-time (83%); own their own businesses (31%), and are highly-educated (over 55% have more than a college degree). Approximately 50% of DWC members are currently married; 28% of DWC members have kids; and the majority earns over $75,000.
10 Official Chapters - Boston, Chicago, DC, LA, NYC, Pittsburgh, Providence, San Diego, San Francisco, and Worcester.
Member Benefits and Programs:
Non-paying members and visitors to the website can register to receive free monthly e-newsletters and local club announcements (in selected markets) and can attend in-person events.
Members pay $49.99/year. Membership benefits include a DWC Faces personal online profile; access to the DWC LinkedInGroup; a year's subscription to PINK Magazine; free teleclasses, and opportunities to participate in DWC's Discounts and Freebies programs and member bookshelves.
DWC Faces Book and Facesinabox -- an online facebook for businesswomen that lets you control your image in cyberspace. The site helps you market your products and services, widen your networks and more. You create a profile that includes a picture, your specialty, a link to your business and the keywords you want to be associated with. DWC Faces member directory is public, and they submit pages to google and other search engine analytics so that it helps members build their own web presence. DWC licenses the Facesinabox social networking technology platform to corporations and organizations.
The DWC Resources Library -- with recordings of DWC speakers, teleclasses and other resources for your career.
The DWC Members Bookshelf -- book reviews and space for authors to promote their new book to DWC members.
Teleclasses -- from business planning to networking, online training for savvy women.
The DWC LinkedIn Group -- a badge of honor and recognition so that women can link up online with other DWC to Go! subscribers.
Corporate and Network Sponsors: SYLVANIA Women's Affinity Group, Morrison, Mahoney & Miller, HQ, Footbridge Staffing, Marriott Hotels, Center for Women & Enterprise, LifeMoxie, Women for Hire, PINK Magazine, Working Mother's Symposium, The Women's Congress, and University of LaVerne. DWC offers a unique sponsorship package which helps companies with both recruiting and retention of their female executives. Other Sponsor Packages include: advertisements; complimentary job postings on our job board; free profiles for employees; and onsite DWC programs (available only in selected markets).
Founder: Diane K. Danielson founded the Downtown Women's Club in Boston in 1998 as a networking organization for professional women. She is also a principal of FacesInABox.com which licenses social networking software to corporations and organizations for their own exclusive use. In addition, Diane is the co-author of Table Talk: The Savvy Girl's Alternative to Networking (2003); a blogger for the BostonWorks section of the Boston Globe; the resident social networking guru at LifeTips.com and is a contributing writer for PINK, a national women's business magazine. Prior to becoming a full-time CEO of DowntownWomensClub.com, Diane was an attorney and a VP of Marketing/Business Development in commercial real estate. She attended Colgate University and Boston College Law School.
Make sure that your women's professional organization is profiled! Send your information to info@reinventioninc.com.
Do you want to sell more of your company's products and services to women entrepreneurs and executives? Are you curious to learn more about how your company can benefit from sponsoring women's professional organizations? re:invention is here for you. Call us at 312.635.1350.
Click on the badge above to learn more. On Saturdays, we showcase wise women entrepreneurs. SHARE your 10 tips!
Welcome to the re:invention 10 Tips for 10 Million WomenTM Saturday Feature. Every Saturday we feature a woman entrepreneur or executive and her personal 10 tips for success. We believe that women can be experts. They have valuable knowledge to share. re:invention's site traffic includes corporate executives, VCs, women business owners, and members of the media. We offer media access to women story sources and inspire future story ideas - serving as a public relations, marketing, and distribution channel for enterprising women. We're on a mission to move women 
