Women in Business – General
So what’s holding back so many women business owners?
May 25, 2010 | 
Author 
By SHARON G. HADARY, The Wall Street Journal. Picture by Andrea Levy
The phenomenal growth of women-owned businesses has made headlines for three decades—women consistently have been launching new enterprises at twice the rate of men, and their growth rates of employment and revenue have outpaced the economy.
So, it is dismaying to see that, despite all this progress, on average, women-owned business are still small compared with businesses owned by men. And while the gap has narrowed, as of 2008—the latest year for which numbers are available—the average revenues of majority women-owned businesses were still only 27% of the average of majority men-owned businesses.
There are those who will say that these numbers substantiate what they always knew: Women just don’t have what it takes to start and run a substantial, growing business. But I don’t buy that: More than a quarter of a million women in the U.S. own and lead businesses with annual revenue topping $1 million—and many of these businesses are multimillion-dollar enterprises. Clearly, many women have the vision, capacity and perseverance to build thriving companies.
So what’s holding back so many women business owners?
Making The Most Out Of Networking…
When you are commencing in your own business, attending networking events can be a tad overwhelming. If you compare networking to other forms of new business development, it is less expensive and very effective.
You’ll need to find the right networking event for you and your business. It’s also important to remember that it does take time to reap the benefits of networking. Just like you can’t build a highly successful business or career overnight, the same patience and timing needs to be applied to networking.
For anyone new to networking the most important lesson to learn is that it’s not all about ‘you.’ The key to successful networking is showing interest in other people and what they are doing, genuine interest too. The best networkers have a real interest in people and it shows because they come across as authentic in their interactions.
Posted in Women in Business - General | 
Tags: brisbane, Brisbane Woman, business networking, Kylie Welsh, networking, networking tips, women in business | 
4 Comments »
Does your business deserve an award?
Have you ever come across the words ‘award-winning business’ in a business article or email tagline and wondered how you could add them to your business?
Or have you been nominated for an award, but thought the work involved wasn’t worth it?
The new marketing target, Gamma Women
I often catch myself presuming I know my female audience well, simply because I am one. I expect I’m probably not alone in making this common mistake.
Like any major market segment however, shifts and changes are regular and it seems those who continually cultivate a deeper understanding of the modern women, are at the forefront.
Marketing to women is globally big business, with thousands of companies competing in this multibillion dollar industry world-wide. Long gone are the days where women waited patiently for an allowance each week and their buying power consisted of controlling the grocery shopping. Women are now responsible for 80% of all household purchases.
Posted in Women in Business - General | Tags: Brisbane Woman, David Bohan, events in brisbane, gamma marketing, gamman women, household purchases, Kylie Welsh, marketing to women, Meredith Publishing, NBC Univesal research, Stephanie Bressan, womens buying power, working collaboratively | 3 Comments »
Boost your business!
Are you continually blown away by the all the advances in online technology? Just as I master the latest innovation, something new and different pops up, that others are now making millions on.
If you’re a business owner it’s paramount that you keep abreast of these advances though, to ensure your business is running as effectively as possible and gaining continuous exposure. On the flip side of this, there is a plethora of free online marketing tools that make marketing your business very affordable. The trick is knowing which tools are useful and appropriate for your business. Carol Daunt Skyring from LearnTel is a an expert in this area and she has kindly highlighted those we should be looking at.
Posted in Women in Business - General | Tags: blogs, boost your business, Carol Daunt Skrying, chat/instant messaging, email promotions manager, free on-line marketing tools, google, google tools, internet technology, LearnTel, online calenders, online discussion forums, online surveys, podcasts, royalty free photos, RSS aggregator, skype, slideshare, wikis, Women and Technology | 9 Comments »
A time to kick but…
The stick or the candy? Which approach gets the most out of people and the most from ourselves? Ever been accused of being too hard on yourself? I have and you probably have too – comes with the territory of trying to be superwoman and leap from tall buildings.
Posted in Women in Business - General | Tags: a mind for business, Add new tag, Carina Leagues Club, creative visualisation, entrepreneurs, Ghandi, Healthy Choices Program, healthy lifestyles, Helen Keller, inspirational life, kick but, kick butt, NLP, Rosie Pekar, sales women, solutions focused, successful business women, superwoman, thoughts creat reality, Time to ick but, victim mentality | 3 Comments »
Misunderstanding versus Miss Understanding
Recently I was introduced to a woman. Within the first five minutes of meeting, she insulted me.
I stared ahead for a few seconds processing what had been said, trying to decide whether I had misheard. I was too close to mishear though, so wanting to defend myself I said, "I’m sorry but could you explain what you meant by that, because it sounded a little….strange." I was thinking ‘rude’ but ‘strange’ came out of my mouth instead, perhaps because it was less confrontational.
Thriving…
In Australia, we are facing two natural disasters – the horrific bushfires in Victoria and the devastating floods in North Queensland. No one is unaffected by these horrendous tragedies and our hearts go out to the hundreds of victims and their families.
Globally we also are being weighed down by the world wide economic crisis. If you are one of the thousands of women in Queensland who have taken the challenge of starting up a new business in the past 12 months, you might be feeling a little shaky right now.
Be, do and have
“Be all that you can be Kylie.” This was said to me recently by a friend, as I was contemplating the pro’s and cons of taking up a new challenge and stepping outside my comfort zone.
I stopped mid sentence, as the words floated around us both and I tried to absorb what was really being said to me.
Award Winning Women
Traditionally, celebrating your achievements is not something that has come naturally to many women.
Our Australian culture and ‘tall poppy’ biases have been contributing factors also.
