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Welcome to Women in Business. This is a place where women interested in business, whether established or not, can share advice and connect with one another.
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| | Sat Mar 15, 2008 3:45 pm |
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If you are looking to take your business to the next level through financing, then there are several resources for business loans and grants to look into. Angel Investors An angel investor is an affluent person who provides capital for a business start-up, usually in exchange for convertible debt or ownership equity. While angel investors can be difficult to find, you might already know somebody through connections that would be interested in your idea. Make sure to talk about your new company to as many of your friends and family as possible - who knows, maybe your friend's neighbor's brother is interested in exactly what you're doing... New Business Partner By teaming up with a new business partner, you could gain finance as well as a new perspective, ideas and valuable contacts. Clearly understanding the market of your business and who your key audience/customers are, could help you find and decide which business partner would best compliment you. Venture Capital Venture capital is a type of private equity capital typically provided by professional, outside investors to new, growth businesses. V.C. investments are generally made as cash in exchange for shares in the invested company. If you have a really cool new idea, then perhaps venture capital is the way to go - if you could find a firm that is interested in your company. Government Programs The mission of the Small Business Administration (SBA) is "to maintain and strengthen the Nation's economy by aiding, counseling, assisting, and protecting the interests of small businesses and by helping businesses and families recover from economic and other disasters." The SBA offers several loan programs which small business owners can apply for. Bank Loans A bank loan is the traditional way to go about funding. When you try to get a bank loan for a small business, you are often judged on your personal credit. Therefore, your credit history is important when trying to get a traditional bank loan in order to finance your business. Micro Loans If you need a smaller loan up to $25,000, or even less than that, then perhaps you should consider a micro loan. Beware though, that microloan interest rates are much higher than typical loan rates because their risks are higher, 12.5% to 15% are common rates. In order to qualify for a microloan, you often need help from a business-support group with special ties to nontraditional lenders.
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| | Sat Mar 15, 2008 11:48 am |
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One of the most difficult tasks, as a small business owner is to find funding to finance and grow your business. If you are a woman business owner or a woman entrepreneur who is looking for available grants, loans and other types of business financing, there are several resources available from The Small Business Administration. It is true that women focused grants and loans are rare, but if you are determined to succeed and willing to put in a lot of effort, your chances of finding financing are much greater. When applying for a business loan, one of the most important aspects is preparation. Do your homework, research various loan options, write a business plan and make sure you have all your ducks in a row. Small Business Administration (SBA) The Office of Women's Business Ownership (OWBO) of SBA assists women achieve their dreams and improve their communities by helping them start and run successful businesses, regardless of social or financial disadvantage, race, ethnicity or business background. The SBA provides various loans and grants for women who are looking to finance their business. Resources the Office of Women's Business Ownership provides: National Association of Women Business Owner Center for Women's Business Research Association of Women's Business Centers National Association for Female Executives
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| | Thu Mar 13, 2008 11:05 am |
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Prominent trends in today's online (and business) climate are personalization and socialization. Everyday new social networks pop up that let you create a personal profile and connect with people; magazines and newspapers let you specify areas you're interested in to provide you appropriate content; amazon and other shopping sites provide you with suggestions of things you might like based on what you previously looked at.... Everywhere sites want to make you feel special and present things that appeal specifically to you. Many companies no longer want to simply do business with customers, they want to get to know you, have you fill out a cozy profile, and market items to you more successfully: the online world only enhances this opportunity. And why not? As a consumer, it's great to easily find items that appeal to you, and besides, a more friendly, sociable connection only enhances that experience. As a business, your results will be more targeted, your customers will have a more enjoyable experience and you can predict user behavior to a greater degree.
Like today I came across a shopping site called http://www.stylefeeder.com. The concept is similar to http://www.kaboodle.com, you basically discover products from people with similar styles, and you get to rate each item and pass the word on about your experience and impression. When I first went to stylefeeder, they presented a few pictures and asked me to click on those which represented my interests (such as clothing, food, travel etc). Next, they displayed even more pictures based on the ones I just selected, and asked me to click on the ones that appealed to me the most.
Now, this website will have a good knowledge of my interests and style, and can easily match my preferences with other items as well as with other people who have similar likes. This site also got me on another point: it's a lot of fun to visit other users on their system that apparently share my taste and see what they have bought and what they recommend. This shopping experience just turned social and very customized. And if I actually find products I really like, it's very likely I'll come back.
These trends of personalization and socialization are still quite new and have only spread so far. I bet there are still many areas where these methods can be incorporated. After all, we are all social beings and we all like to feel special and be more efficient in our lives. If customized preferences provide you with a better experience, it's a win-win situation. Where do you think these ideas will be applied to next? Can you incorporate them into your business or into your life?
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| | Fri Aug 31, 2007 9:56 am |
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Today, Forbes Magazine announced its annual list of the world's most powerful women. Angela Markel still goes strong with the top position, Condoleezza Rice was pushed down to position number 4 by Wu Yi, vice premier in China and Ho Ching, Chief executive, Temasek Holdings. Ho Ching really climbed the list, since last year she was positioned number 36, not bad to accelerate 33 steps in one year! Hillary Rodham Clinton apparently slid the list from position 18 to position 25 (it will be interesting to see where she'll be next year, or the year after that...) as well as Oprah who's now number 21 as opposed to last year's number 14. 
1. Angela Markel | 
2. Wu Yi | 
3. Ho Ching |  4. Condoleezza Rice |  5. Indra K. Nooyi |  6. Sonia Gandhi | 
7. Cynthia Carroll | 
8. Patricia A. Woertz |  9. Irene Rosenfeld |  10. Patricia Russo |
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| | Thu Aug 30, 2007 11:56 pm |
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Business and entrepreneurial blogs are a lot of fun to read. Not only do you get inspired and filled with new ideas, you might actually learn something along the way, since many of these blogs provide really good content presented in a witty and concise format.
One of these blogs that I came across today: http://www.youngentrepreneur.com/blog/ is looking at entrepreneurship from a young and fresh perspective. They cover areas such as internet marketing, business ideas, general entrepreneurship among other things… This site also has forum which seems pretty active and where general business and entrepreneurial ideas are being discussed.
One thing I learned about today from this blog is a company called PR Leads. Their service basically provides subscribers with leads within your area of expertise that reporters are looking to write stories about. So if this service works (which youngentrepreneur.com claims it does since it gave them an interview in the New York Times), then all you do is pay your monthly fee of $99, fill in your areas of expertise and wait for emails to come in about news angles that journalists wish to cover. If any lead appeals to you, then you contact that journalist directly and write them something about that topic.
This seems like a pretty interesting service if it actually works. That’s why it’s always fun to peek in on these blogs, since you can find things you might not find elsewhere, and youngentrepreneurs.com seems to cover a few stories like that which you might enjoy…
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