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Don’t Sweat the Downtime – Celebrate! - May 17th, 2010
Sip some of Nathalie's chapter here, and enjoy a whole glassful of her adventures in the Scrappy Women in Business book. Bottoms up! - Kimberly Coming to the USA from Europe—the Netherlands specifically—it was a no brainer for me to start my own business in my new home country. Being an entrepreneur in the USA is far less risky than starting a Dutch business. (Perhaps that’s one of the secrets to the past economic success of the USA? It sure isn’t due to easy-to-understand tax laws!) I looked into starting a consulting business back in the Netherlands, but the mountains of paperwork and stringent requirements kept me from following through with it. For starters, you need the equivalent of $125,000 in the bank to simply be able to launch your business. On top of that, there is no
The Making of Scrappy Women in Biz - August 4th, 2010
Late one night when there was nothing good on TV I got this idea to collect the stories of some of the scrappiest businesswomen I know and admire into a book. “How hard could that be?” I thought. Well, buddy, let me tell you, there’s nothing easy about getting 12 vibrant, strong-willed women to agree on anything! But, thanks to the commitment of these authors to sharing their wisdom and experience, this book—which began as a dream—has come to life. I’m deeply grateful for their generous contributions to this book, which took many hours out of their already overly busy lives. And I’m especially thankful for their willingness to openly discuss many personal details of their amazing journeys. As I read each chapter I felt genuinely honored to be able to glimpse some of what made
Mindset, Baby, Mindset! - May 17th, 2010
Here's a sample of the tasty treats waiting for you in Betty Jo's chapter in Scrappy Women in Business. Lather up! - Kimberly Want to start your own business? You could read one (or many) of the hundreds of books out there on the subject, make all the right moves, and do it just the way the experts tell you to. Knock yourself out in the process! Will it get you all the way to the finish line? Possibly, but if you’re missing one particular key ingredient of success, more than likely you will wind up someplace short of your dream destination. I can assure you that all the information in the world—and all the blood, sweat and tears to go with it—won’t get you to your personal nirvana if your mindset is out of whack. What am I suggesting? A gut check! But wait a minute. I just said
Grace and the Artful Professional - May 17th, 2010
Yummy delights - Sue's samples of her Grace-filled life pastry will satisfy your literary sweet tooth! Read her whole chapter in Scrappy Women in Business. - Kimberly My professional story has taken me from one extreme to the other—from an uber-left-brain career to an uber-right-brain one—and back again to center. Looking back, I see that my whole brain has been at work all along, bringing first a human emotionality to the computer world, and later a software engineer’s logic to the emotional world. I ultimately found myself in the unofficial but artful profession of “innovation advocacy,” a role I have naturally played all along. In my story, I am accompanied by a very scrappy ally, a Princess of Good Fortune. I call her “Grace.” Grace sometimes appears in the recogn
“What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?” - May 17th, 2010
Enjoy this glimpse into Pat's jaunt through her career. (Read about her entire adventure in the Scrappy Women in Business book.) Savor the moment! - Kimberly As a young girl, I would always cringe when this question was asked of me. The problem was I never really knew if I wanted to grow up or not! Of course, I had no choice in the matter of growing up. It was going to happen. But I did have a choice in what I wanted to be. Throughout my career, I’ve set my sights on one career dream after another—sometimes materializing them seemingly out of sheer intention, and usually with a bit of synchronistic luck. If you think you’ve wandered in your career path, take heart! You are not alone. At various times in my life I thought I wanted to be a nun, a sports coach, a teacher, a journa
Disappearing the Wall of No - May 17th, 2010
Have a bit of this juicy offering from Carole! Read her whole story in Scrappy Women in Business, then put some cucumber slices on your eyes and relax! - Kimberly Have you ever noticed that chasing your dreams just makes them retreat? Sometimes stalking them creates the opposite of the result we’re seeking. But, just like that proverbial butterfly, happiness will frequently land on your shoulder while you’re otherwise occupied. One day I suddenly, I realized that my ideal life was taking shape before my very eyes. I currently have a great job at an exciting, fun startup in Los Altos, California. I bought a townhouse in nearby Mountain View in February, while keeping the New York house near my family in Rochester. And I have good friends in Germany and the UK that I visit occasionall
This Is Your Life – Go For It! - May 17th, 2010
Sample the inspiring story Mai-Huong has to offer in the Scrappy Women in Business book right here in the comfort of your cozy computer! - Kimberly When you were growing up, how many times did someone tell you to “Keep your eye on the ball”? I have heard it about 500,000 times … not that I’ve been keeping track. Rounding off to the nearest hundred thousand, let’s just say too many times … from my teachers, coaches and teammates. The point of them telling me this, of course, was to get me to focus on the particular task at hand. Over the years, to me that phrase has come to mean, “Keep going for what I want and don’t give up”. As a result, I was willing to take risks, step out of my comfort zone, and try new experiences. This has made my life a far more interesting adve
The Unstoppable Power of Persistence - May 16th, 2010
Here's a taste of what's waiting for you in Yuko's chapter in Scrappy Women in Business. Bon appetite! - Kimberly Although I’ve lived all my life in Japan, where society’s expectations and treatment of women differ greatly from those of men, I’ve lived anything but a traditional Japanese woman’s life. As a young girl growing up in a small town a long train ride from the center of Tokyo, I embraced two opposing dreams. On the one hand, I imagined that I’d grow up, get married, and have five children. At the same time, I dreamed of becoming a doctor, lawyer, or some person of significance in the business world. Looking back, straddling both of those possible futures ended up diluting my resolve to follow either one, and it wasn’t until much later in my life that I found my t
My Friend’s Car, the Ladies Room, and Other Career-Boosting Places - May 16th, 2010
Here's an appetizer from Hannah's chapter. Read her whole fascinating story in the Scrappy Women in Business book. - Kimberly “The FBI is on the line,” said the receptionist one morning, as I stepped into the company. “They need to talk to you.” Now, even though I am not a morning person, that greeting will get anybody’s mind kicked into high gear. My heart rate doubled, and my mind raced faster than the Indy 500. Yes, it was the FBI, and they were simply conducting an investigation concerning some minor fraud that one of our customers had been subjected to. It was an unusual start to a day for sure. But every day is truly unique, and every day is challenging in its own way. And if it isn’t challenging, I’ll find a way to make it challenging. I just love the endless v
What Was I Thinking? - May 16th, 2010
Dream of Africa while taking in the rich aroma of this sample from Eldette's Scrappy Women in Business Chapter. - Kimberly I live in Africa, but not in a mud hut as many people unfamiliar with Africa might imagine. I don’t have elephants or lions running around my garden. We have electricity and inflation, drive cars in traffic jams, and pay exorbitant amounts for petrol (gas, as you might call it elsewhere). All in all, as exotic as Africa sounds to some people, it’s pretty routine stuff. We usually don’t have projects like the one I’m currently working on (and going to tell you the story of in this chapter), but this one takes the cake and is worth a rant. (It’s less costly than therapy!) But please don’t get the idea this is the norm in Africa, OK? This continent is to
You Are If You SAY You ARE! - May 16th, 2010
Nibble on this tibdit of Julie's chapter. Enjoy the whole tasty meal in the Scrappy Women in Business book. Yummy! - Kimberly I grew up in Iowa, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I had much of the small town naïveté, but as an athlete, I also had a great drive and confidence. The combination led me to think I could do anything. So when I was too young to know anything, and too naïve to be scared, I started a business. I was 22 years old. What did I know? I believed I had something to offer, so other people believed it too. It worked for a while and the success and ultimate failure of that business has framed my life. After my own scrappy small business failed, I decided to spend my career helping women entrepreneurs succeed. This chapter is a collection of what I learned from my own experience and
Riding the Wave - May 16th, 2010
Wake up and smell the tropical breezes and taste the fruits of this sample from Terrie's chapter in Scrappy Women in Business! - Kimberly Did you know that if you grow up in Switzerland you have to choose your profession while you’re in high school? Only about 20% of the population continues on to the university level, and the remainder attends vocational school. If you want to change later, it’s almost impossible—not because you don’t have the potential or desire, but because change is slow in a country that has been around for a long, long, long time. I would die in an environment like that! With the ever-changing economic environment, I’ve reinvented and refocused myself more than a few times, starting with my first year in college, and continuing the routine right up to