Future Women in Business

One of my greatest pleasures is speaking to groups of teenage girls on the matter of careers. Of the hundreds of young women I have met with, I've rarely heard, "I'd like to get my business degree", or "I want to start (or lead) a company that...".

I believe the reason is a lack of exposure to successful women in business.

Beginning in September of 2006, Marigold has hosted a group of female high school students to join us at Marigold Over Lunch. We call this: Future Women in Business. Juliette Schultz, owner of Spark! and Candie Conat, owner of Baskets Full of Gifts have underwritten the costs while Trish Fiebing, Volunteer Coordinator for TCAPS coordinates the selection of students, chaperones, transportation, etc...

We are looking for input and involvement of more women in business. If this issue speaks to you, and of course I hope that it does, please leave your comments here on what more you think we can do, on a volunteer basis to encourage young women to see greater possibilities for themselves. If you would like to be placed on a e-mail list for Future Women in Business advocates, click here.

Ask yourself a question

I was having a conversation with a mentor of mine about a possible investment in my company. This was not a large amount of money that we were discussing. He startled me by asking, "What would you do if I invested 10 times that amount of money?" Hmmm? I was somewhat speechless.

He asked me to give it some thought. This became a great exercise for me as a business owner. What would I do with $100,000 or even $1,000,000? This freed me to think big, really big. Once I had opened myself to the idea of greater resources, the ideas began to flow and so did the rationale behind the investment. Why not?

I highly recommend this idea to all business owners, it is NOT as easy as it sounds. But it makes clear the boundaries of imagination that small thinking creates. Go for it!

Bad manners?

In these days of a down economy, it has become a faux pas to declare that your business is actually going strong. The problem with this is that sharing stories of despair has become the norm.

There are indeed, pockets of the northern Michigan business landscape showing strong signs of growth. Funny though, that these business owners speak in hushed tones. Perhaps, if they were more vocal in sharing the good news, others would feel a sense of hope and promise for the near future. Or is it simply bad manners to say "business is great"?

What do you think?

Anniversary of the 19th Amendment

August 18 marks the 88th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Constitutional Amendment extending the right to vote to women in the United States of America. In 2008, we take for granted that we no longer are second-class citizens. Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to speak to young ladies recently graduated from college who seems genuinely shocked that in our nation's not so distant history women could not vote, own property in their own name, attend universities, etc...

Women were beaten, force-fed during hunger strikes, jailed and worse for heralding a woman's right to vote. Please remind your daughters how much these women who came before us sacrificed for OUR right to vote.

Get excited about your career, leave town!

Ladies, I just returned from Morning Show Boot Camp in Denver and I am reminded how meeting your peers from around the country (and the world) can get you re-invigorated about your profession. It is so easy to access resources on-line, that we may not be attending industry conferences and conventions as readily as in prior years.

I had the opportunity to meet with morning show air talent, producers, agents and managers who generously shared ideas, offered suggestions, introduced me to products and services that will immediately improve my work. Most of this came from informal networking between workshops.

If you are feeling stuck in a career rut, find out about industry conferences that you can attend and shake things up a bit! You may also meet contact who can help you find a new job in a closely related industry.