Wise Woman Shining » women business owners

Women’s Small Business Evolution

caseydawes — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:43:38 +0000

Most women business owners that I know don’t begin their business with a full-blown business plan. They have ideas, concepts, dreams and a desire to spend more time with their family. And so they begin. I did the same.

Like many women business owners, I began my business while I had a full-time job and [...]

Listening–a Core Part of Your Social Media Plan

caseydawes — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 18:06:14 +0000

I recently completed a social media plan for one of my clients. She went from reluctant participant to over-excited user in no time flat! However, like many of us when we first find a new toy, she ignored the part of the plan that had to do with listening.

This problem not only occurs when women [...]

What’s “The Story” of Your Company?

caseydawes — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 18:24:25 +0000

When I work as a business coach with women business owners, we often discuss marketing and sales. These are the revenue-driving engines of your business. One of the first hurdles we need to overcome though, is the entrepreneur’s natural tendency to want to be all things to all people. This leads to confusion in the [...]

Women Entrepreneurs, Are You Ready for the Next Step?

caseydawes — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 19:25:30 +0000

I tend to tear out magazine articles that start me thinking. I have one from Pink Magazine about leadership by Laura Lee Gentry. In it, she focuses four core skills that were “critical for successful executives: results orientation, team leadership, collaboration and influencing, and strategic orientation.”

As a woman entrepreneur, you are an executive of [...]

Are Women-Owned Businesses Different?

caseydawes — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:02:37 +0000

In her book, Tough Choices: A Memoir, Carly Fiorina seems surprised that the press wanted to focus on the fact that she was a woman CEO, not just a CEO. “I was trying to tell women that although there are plenty of obstacles and prejudices, there isn’t some invisible barrier that prevents them from achieving [...]

Yoga, Cats and Women Entrepreneurs

caseydawes — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:33:07 +0000

Women run their businesses while handling the rest of their lives. It’s often a disjointed way to run a business, but it’s what we have. My morning’s yoga practice was a perfect allegory.

If you have cats, you know there’s a remarkable phenomenon that happens with a cat and a closed door. If the cat [...]

Focus and the Woman Entrepreneur

caseydawes — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 19:09:46 +0000

One of the business issues that keeps coming up for my women entrepreneur clients is that of focus. As women, we are used to multi-tasking — cooking dinner with a baby on our hip while carrying on a conversation with the two-year-old playing on the kitchen floor, for example. When we open our own business, [...]

Sales Tips for Women Business Owners

caseydawes — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 17:15:33 +0000

The problem that many women have is that we get into cliques. Even after all these years out of high school. Even those of us who always considered ourselves outside the “in crowd.”

The problem with this as a business owner is that you are only talking to the same people all the time. [...]