The Ms. CEO Show

I love all episodes of The Ms. CEO Show but my favorite shows are ones like today when I get to talk to women entrepreneurs who are on the front lines of business, making it happen for themselves, their employees, their families, their communities and, ultimately, our economy, everyday.

As the fastest growing segment of the small business economy, women are a major part of the world’s economic sustainability equation.  The numbers speak for themselves: There are 10.1 million firms owned by women entrepreneurs in America that employ 13 million people and generate nearly $2,000,000,000,000 (yes, trillion—I wanted you to see all those zeroes!) in sales each year.  That’s a lot of wealth, jobs, and economic activity.  But, most importantly, that’s a lot of hope for the future and promise for the community—why?  Because research shows that women entrepreneurs give to the community, special causes, and non-profit organizations at  very high levels as—and once—they reach personal economic stability.  So, the rising tide of a successful woman-owned business is one that raises many, many ships along with it.

Important work is being done to boost the success and value of today’s woman owned business enterprises; in addition, a few organizations—and great parents—are laying the foundation for tomorrow’s women entrepreneurs by fostering business-mindedness in young girls and teenagers.  We talked to two of these organizations on today’s show.  We also got a heart-warming note from a dad on this topic:

“I have a real estate investing business where I buy and hold single family homes and small apartment buildings.  I also have a seminar business where I train other professionals with demanding day jobs to do the same.

My oldest daughter is aged 14.  For the last two years I have been taking her on appointments to see houses and apartment buildings before I buy them, and on the appointments when I rent them.  She was every excited last November when I let her decide which house we would add as our next rental at that time.

She has gone through all of my seminar material and now wants to start her own rental real estate business while she’s in high school, which she started yesterday.”

-D. Fassett

Our guests on today’s show were:

• Nell Merlino, founder, president and CEO of Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence, the leading national not-for-profit provider of resources for women to grow their micro businesses into million dollar enterprises.
• Rosana Santos, founder and CEO of Big Chef, a producer of health-conscious appetizers (and a woman whose business surpassed the million dollar mark after she joined the Make Mine a Million $ Business Initiative). 
• Kimberly Martinez, founder and CEO of Bonitas International, which produces “functional jewelry” for ID badges (and also a woman whose business surpassed the million dollar mark after she joined the Make Mine a Million $ Business Initiative).
• Marcia Brumit Kropf, COO of Girls, Inc., the non-profit dedicated to inspiring all girls to be strong, smart and bold.  Girls Inc. has partnered with Goldman Sachs to create a cool corporate entrepreneurship camp for teen girls.
•  Joline Godfrey, CEO of Independent Means, author of the book - Raising Financially Fit Kids, and the founder of Camp $tart Up and SummerStock; these are programs for teen girls that she has been running since 1992.

So, the Top 10 Takeaways from today’s guests on building your company to a million dollars or more in revenue, and encouraging the next generation of women entrepreneurs are:

1. Get friendly with your financials.  Building a major company is going to require knowing the numbers and the story they tell about the health of your business, and perhaps areas that need improvement.  Understand this, embrace this, learn the numbers—and see your business soar.
2. Learn to delegate.  As Nell Merlino said—and I totally love this, lol!—yes, you can have it all as long as you don’t do it all!  Get a great team, empower them to work, and focus your energy on what you do best, while your team does the same.  The result will be nothing less than magic—and a million dollar business if that’s what you’re striving for!
3. Multi-tasking is a thief.  That’s right, this idea of multi-tasking is a fallacy.  Our guests say there is new research out that proves that multi-tasking is a misnomer.  Your brain can only focus on one thing at a time, so when you think you are multi-tasking or taking care of multiple things at once, you’re not.  You’re actually switching from one thing to another, to another, to another in rapid-fire mode.  The result is a bunch of stuff done (if you in fact get it all done) with mediocrity.  This is a colossal waste of time and money.  Why not just do a few things with excellence—and for any one thing that you’re working on give it your fullest attention and complete awareness and attention in that moment?
4. Respond to changes in the business environment quickly instead of being oppressed by fear.  Rosana Santos’ company, Big Chef, used to be known for producing “luxury appetizers” but when the market dropped, most people’s interest in luxury products—food included—dropped too;  so her company switched to health-conscious appetizers—a real recipe for success since everyone is trying to lose or maintain weight.
5. Simple products can be super successful.  Kimberly Lopez saved women and men every where from “shoe string” ID badge holders by adding stylishness to the workplace with her line of “functional jewelry”.  Her company is now doing $2 million per year in business!
6. Connecting with others can connect the dots of your success.  Business ownership can seem lonely at first because you’re making major decisions and many of them alone.  But you’re not actually alone.  There are 10.1 million women business owners in America and thousands of them are in the Make Mine a Million $ Business Initiative.  Plugging in to various organizations and opportunities like this and subscribing to Ms. CEO Magazine can ensure that you get the connections, encouragement, contacts and insight you need to be a success.
7. Shape her young mind now.  Encourage young ladies to learn about personal finances because doing so will be tied to their future success as entrepreneurs, if they choose that path; and knowing about their finances and being able to manage them will make them a success no matter what vocation they pursue. 
8. Your actions are the best roadmap.  What you do in addition to what you say can encourage a young woman to believe in herself and the power of entrepreneurship.  Be aware of what your actions are communicating to her about entrepreneurship, finances and success—and make yourself a resource to answer her questions and model what her future could be.
9. Emulate success.  When thousands of people have all achieved the same feat—in this case, reaching a million per year in revenue—there are some common strategies and tactics.  Learn those.  Apply those; and enjoy the same accomplishment.
10. Do something different, or something more. Moms Mabley, a renown commediene born in the late 1800s who passed in 1975 said: If you always do what you’ve always done then you’ll always get what you always got; if you want something different, then you’ve got to do something different.  Enough said.

Be Encouraged!