Women Entrepreneurs - 10 Keys To Get Up And Running

by: MaryAnn Shank


Yeesh. Women outpace men in new businesses about 2 to 3. Latina women in particular are entering entrepreneurial ranks full speed ahead, outpacing every other demographic group.

So why the heck are women losing ground in the venture capital pool? Less than four percent of venture-backed companies are headed by women, the lowest in ten years.

Four percent.

It’s not much better for angel investors. Only ten percent of angel money goes to businesses headed by women.

As I said, yeeeeesh.

It’s not that the money isn’t there. On the contrary, there are billions and billions of dollars in new venture capital funds and new angel groups. I track those funds, and I know there is a lot of money there.

So how come women aren’t getting their fair share?

The simple answer is that venture capital and angel investment firms are run by men.

More importantly, what can we do about it? While there isn’t a magical answer, there are some real steps that women can take to make their companies a success.

1. Bootstrap the company. Well over 90% of all companies are still bootstrapped, financed by the owners. Male, female, Hispanic, disadvantaged – it makes no difference. This is still your best way to finance a company.

2. Incorporate. If you take your business seriously, others are more likely to do so too.

3. Create a strong Advisory Board. Few things say as much about your company as who chooses to put their names on it. A strong Advisory Board drawn from the industry, comprised of men and women, is a huge asset.

5. Create a strong business plan. Remember, the business plan isn’t meant to sell the business – it is meant to sell you. Your abilities, and those of your management team, are the real key to a strong business plan. Everything else is secondary.

6. Network like your life depended on it, for in truth, your business life may well depend on your contacts.

7. Create a commanding presence on the internet. The next generation will find its success anchored on the internet. Be there.

8. By-pass traditional sources of funding and go straight to corporations. Many corporations have venture capital arms with the sole purpose of identifying and promoting technologies in their fields. And, there is money in those venture capital arms right now.

9. Promote your business before it ever becomes a business. Pre-publicity can bring you to the attention of finance people in your area, and at the very least can begin to create buzz about your business.

10. Don’t shy away from “women’s businesses”. There’s a lot of money in those pocketbooks.

Yes, it is still very possible that you can have the business of your dreams. It is happening every single day for thousands of women.

By the way, did you know that about eighty percent of the venture capital funded businesses fail? Without doubt, the businesses begun by women have a much better batting average than that.

Go for it.


About The Author

MaryAnn Shank, the force behind Business Plan Master (http://www.BusinessPlanMaster.com), battles financing for women every day. In spite of the huge obstacles, she sees more and more women succeeding every single day.

Inside the Mind of an Online Entrepreneur

by: Dan Theta


You see them on the internet everywhere. They try to flood your mailbox with advertisements. Their banners are flashing everywhere you look. They are the source of all those text ads you see. They are the people who make money from the internet; the people that run their own online home business. One can only wonder what goes through the heads of these characters.

These people are often haunted by the memories of working in the corporate world. In their past they probably struggled to provide a living for themselves and their families. They worked long, hard hours, trying to make ends meet. Then finally at one point they had no choice but to turn to the internet to find a way to make a living. Maybe they lost their job. Maybe there was a nasty family problem. Or perhaps their job was not enough to pull them out of debt. In any case, the important thing is that they were forced to venture into the world of online business.

Once one braves the journey of owning an online business, there is often no turning back. It is simply not economical to go into online business with minimal start-up capital and less than maximum effort. The successful people begin their journey with this mind set. They have no choice but to make their online home business succeed. Driven by the imperative to make money and provide food for their families, they work and research endlessly.

Some aspiring online entrepreneurs will inevitably falter and their business will be doomed to failure. No matter how intelligent those people are, they did something wrong. Maybe their mind was negative and clouded with thoughts of failure, which would almost certainly lead to failure. It is a possibility that they simply did not even know what they were doing. Perhaps they were doing things beneficial for their business, but not on a consistent basis. Often times they were simply too impatient and bailed before the seeds of their business could even sprout.

Online entrepreneurs can occasionally be loners. They rarely get any support from friends, family, or anyone else close to them. They may be even ridiculed and laughed at for attempting to make money online. The people unsupportive to the online entrepreneur usually try to convince him or her that all those opportunities, books and websites that advertise ways to make money online are scams. This can only serve to motivate the person even more to work hard to become successful, so that the negative people can be proven wrong.

The mind of an online entrepreneur is truly an enigma. It is a mystery of where they come from, but it is even more mysterious to wonder where they are going. Some are aiming for early retirement. Others want a nice long vacation that they can only dream of. Maybe some just want some more spending money to complement their income. Whatever their goal may be, the truly successful ones will laugh in the face of danger and hunger for adventure.


About The Author

Visit Dan Theta's site to find the best online home based business ideas and opportunities so you can work from home. http://www.ez-online-money.com

Part-time Entrepreneurs

by: Kevin Sinclair


Today’s economy is characterized by is a lot of insecurity in the workplace. People are becoming aware of the fact that job security is now really a thing of the past. Some have replaced job security with the idea of employment security. Employment security is a concept that states that if you concern yourself with being a valuable person and employee, someone that is of value to an employer, you may not be guaranteed to keep your job but you will most certainly be able to get another one. To a large extent this will probably hold up in many situations. However it still assumes an employer - employee relationship.

The original relationship between the employer and the employee will probably be around for a long time. However in the future it will not be as commonplace as it is today. People who used to work in a single department in a single function for most of their professional lives are now getting used to working more on a project by project basis. In most situations they are still on the same company's payroll, however this is already starting to change.

Many employers are starting to outsource some of the work that was traditionally performed by employees to freelancers and small businesses. The disadvantages of having people on the payroll are starting to weigh in on their hiring decisions. With today's high speed of technological change the necessary expertise to perform certain functions can literally change from year to year. In some areas it's even more extreme. In many of these cases it's simply easier and cheaper to hire different people on a limited time basis instead of continuously having one employee trying to keep up with all the different tricks of the trade.

This trend will have far reaching consequences for today’s workforce. Even the more experienced employees will have to stay sharp. They can't sit on their laurels anymore because they will continuously have to prove their worth in new situations, more now than ever before.

Some consider this a huge threat to their career. The truth is, they probably should. Then again, some seem to be adapting to this phenomenon by looking at the opportunity that this brings them. More and more people today are starting their own part time businesses. Many do this while still working on their day job, either full- or part time. Scott Adams, author of the famous Dilbert comic, identifies this trend in his book "The Dilbert Future". He claims this trend will become more prevalent in the years to come. Many of these newborn entrepreneurs start businesses that perform a function that was formerly performed by an employee. Sometimes people even come back to their original employer who has now become their customer.

Everybody knows running your own business can make you more money. There are a number of reasons for this. Of course you are probably more motivated and more results oriented than you would be working for someone else. You can also control your overhead better. Larger companies are not as efficient as they should be in many areas. Company policy sometimes drives up operating costs significantly. Certain companies hand out cell phones and laptops to all employees without taking proper notice of the need for such items. Also employees are less aware of many costs and business expenses. The bottom line is simply not a priority for them. If they had to pay for everything out of their own pocket this would probably be very different. The fact is: when you are in you're own business you have to keep a very close eye on your bottom line or you'll probably be out of business in no time.

This raises questions for many people who currently hold a job as well as the people they work for. Which functions will continue to be performed by employees and which jobs will be outsourced? It would be hard if not impossible to make an easy distinction at this point. Some companies may choose to retain employees for the same jobs that are outsourced by other companies. Each may have their reasons and who's to say what's right. It will depend on many different factors like: the importance of the job for that particular business, the ability to attract the right people and the company's culture. Nobody could accurately predict what the situation will be ten to fifteen years from today.

One thing is for sure though: for many of us it will be vastly different than our current situation. The question is: Are you ready for it?


About The Author

Kevin Sinclair is the publisher and editor of http://besuccessfulnews.com, a site that provides information and articles on how to succeed in your own home or small business.