Posted by Ali Powell on Sat, Jul 31, 2010 @ 05:41 PM
The Massachusetts Conference for Women will be taking place this year on December 9
th at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. The conference was started back in 2005, a one day event aimed at connecting women from all over the New England area. Connections occurring through the collaboration of expert speakers leading workshops and seminars on the issues that are most important to women. The conference is all about learning, motivating one another through experiences and connecting the most forward thinking and innovative women in Boston.
The speakers and panelists this year include some of the most revolutionary WomenPreneurs in the world.
Your time is now, this year is the year to make changes for yourself. Go after what you want, rebound from your mistakes, life’s experiences shape you everyday. Each day you have the opportunity to live your life up to your fullest, you are good enough and bright enough to move forward and create. You are a leader and have the ability to be the best. Your best.
Believe in yourself and think about the purpose that you bring to each day. Spend time with others and shape the world to be a better place. Opportunity is out there waiting for you to conquer it.
Your time is now.
To be fearlessly resilient.
To rebound with purpose and power.
To lead with intention.
To discover what you want and GO GET IT!
The Massachusetts Conference for Women has teamed up a group of the smartest WomenPreneurs in Boston to lead their social media street team. What is a social media street team? Social media is the way the world shares information today. The Massachusetts Conference for Women management team was savvy enough to realize this in the early stages of planning for the 2010 conference. Follow these women and their work, they are revolutionary in their thinking.
Rose Arthur, The Virtual Professional Solution
Roberta Balder
Loring Barnes, Clarity PR and Marketing
Rachel Blankstein, Evolution Partners
Colleen Bradley-MacArthur, Real Cool TV
Amy Catalogna
Jenn Clark, North Shore Medical Center
Leslie Fishlock, Geek Girl Camp
Melissa Fleming, Lee Hecht Harrison
Lauren Foye, Isabella Products
Debra Gironda, Exit Row Travel
Tara Greco, Black Screen Studios
Mary Jean Henderson, BlueStar Bridge
Claudia Hoeffner, Eloqua
Kate Hutchinson, Social Media/Marketing
Pamela Linton, Linton Associates
Jessica Moore, Teen Voices Magazine
Jessica Palmer, GSN
Amy Pesa, Exhibit Works
Lee Pina, artist
Ali Powell, HubSpot, Boston WomenPreneurs, BostInnovation
Kristen Raybould
Emily Ross, Isabella Products
Amy Scuderi, Bank of America
Carolyn Stone
Kristine Thayer
Anita Yip
Why did you want to be part of the Massachusetts Conference for Women?
Why is the social media street team revolutionary and essential in getting women involved in the Boston area?
Roberta Balder: "I’m so pleased to be part of this effort. I do believe that the future of marketing for tangible results is a marriage of the old and the new. My congratulations also goes to the Mass Conference for their willingness to embrace the traditional with a “new media” twist!"
Lee Pina: "I was at a senior level position in corporate America for most of my 30 years working. It's been 1 1/2 years now and I'm unemployed. Not for the lack of looking, connecting or trying either. Funds limit possibilities for coaching and classes as well. In short, I am hopeful that the conference will present an opportunity where none has existed thus far : )"
Tara Greco: "MA Conference for Women allows women to learn from successful leaders, share insights and have access to women-centric resources for everything from financing to job hunting to more. I enjoy being part of this incredible movement to empower and celebrate women."
Colleen Bradley-MacArthur: "The MA Conference for women was a distinct turning point for me in my job search. To say attending it changed my life would be an understatement. Prior to attending the conference my energy was zapped and I was feeling like I wouldn't find inspiration anywhere. My experience had mostly been with women in the workplace tearing each other down. At the time I was getting inspired by Tory Johnson and she was going to be there & she said to go, so I went. When I arrived at the conference to volunteer there were so many out-going and energetic women looking to network and help. Since I started connecting and following in their footsteps I've gotten a job and made some lasting friendships and business connections.
The street team is a unique way for those of us who are passionate about the conference to spread the word among our peers. It's also going to hit a few different demographics that I don't think had been represented at the conference before. People are looking to connect in a profound new way and I think the street team will allow us to bridge the gap."
Emily Ross: "It is always great to see women supporting each other in the business world. The street team has allowed local WomenPreneurs to share tips and success stories which will hopefully spread throughout the country."
Kate Hutchinson: "I've always wanted to go to this conference: I'm a feminist and keep up with women's issues, I blog about women's issues particularly related to careers and business, and it's been recommended to me through the Simmons network (I'm an SOM alum).
Being part of the Street Team lets me use my skills in social media to help promote a cause I'm really passionate about, and gives me a better chance to participate in the conference. I'm particularly interested in meeting more women entrepreneurs, since I work at a small startup in Cambridge, where I am the only woman in the office."
Lauren Foye: "The social media street team is a smart and fast way to effectively build the ultimate word-of-mouth outreach. And who better to do it then women of all generations, connected by social media, in hopes of gathering in person with their colleagues and local leaders. The social media street team is undoubtedly informing their contacts about the fantastic MA Conference for Women to create anticipation!"
Melissa Fleming: "After attending the MA Conf for Women for the first time in 2009, my number one goal for the 2010 conference was to get involved in some way. This one day created a vehicle for networking, conversation and learning, about new companies and myself. Being part of the street marketing teams allows me to share with other women what an exceptional lineup of speakers we have for 2010 and how it’ll both inspire and position them with a new-found energy for the next year."
Is your conference utilizing social media street teams? What do you think of the MA Conference for Women 2010 Social Media Street team? We look forward to seeing you at the conference. The social media street team is here to connect the online and offline worlds to stimulate innovative change for Massachusetts.
Register for the 2010 Massachusetts Conference for Women now and follow their efforts leading up to the conference on Twitter @MassWomen.
Posted by Ali Powell on Thu, Jul 29, 2010 @ 05:32 PM
Last week Inc. Magazine released their coveted 30 Under 30 List of America's Coolest Young Entrepreneurs. The list is chock full of some of our favorites, including three of the hottest companies in Boston. As Inc Magazine puts it, these companies are ones that are bringing innovation to market, building unique brands, nurturing trends, giving back, and making money along the way. Overall these 30 young companies are changing the way we do business.
Boston is lucky enough to be home to 3 of the 30 who were named. 2 of the 3 companies named to the 30 Under 30 List are founded by women. We had the chance to sit down with Windsor Hanger, the President and Publisher of Her Campus and Morgan First, the Marketing Director and Co-Founder of The Second Glass to see what their top five tips would be for WomenPreneurs going after new business ventures. What have they learned along the way? Windsor and Morgan give us their top five tips that got them from the idea generation stage to startup stage to being named one of the Coolest and Hottest Company's in America.
Windsor Hanger, President and Publisher of Her Campus
1. Bootstrap at the beginning. A lot of entrepreneurs get caught up on financing rounds. They tend to spend all their energy on going after the money. There are things that could be done with a million dollars but it delays the overall process when stressing about it all the time. Forget about the money at the beginning, bootstrap for as long as possible and do it. Try to run a lean business. Use internal capital for as long as possible.
2. Enter a business plan competition. Even if you don’t win it helps you put together your business plan that you will use moving forward. It is tough staying motivated especially before your business is launched. The deadlines of the competition will help you move forward.
3. Find somewhere other than your apartment to do work. Even if it is your local coffee shop, you are supporting your local businesses. It is depressing to wake up each morning and go into your living room to work. It makes it hard to feel like you are actually working. Get dressed each morning like you would be leaving for work, go to your mobile office and settle in. Differentiating home life from work life is essential.
4. Find team mates, even if you think you can do the business on your own. Even if you think you don’t need help and you are sure you can do it on your own you need to bring someone else into the business. This will help with morale and hopefully keep you from burning out as well. You will be able to hold someone else other than just yourself accountable, together you will hold each other accountable.
5. Nike style. Just do it. I didn't know how to sell ads for my online business. I could have said, "I don't know how to do this, so I am not going to do it." Just try to do it, whatever it is. I called Juicy Couture for 2 weeks until finally I spoke with the Marketing Director. At this point Her Campus wasn’t online and wasn’t close to being there. Point of the story is to figure out what you want and go for it. Try over and over and over again.
Morgan First, Marketing Director and Co-Founder of The Second Glass
.5 BE YOURSELF, BE AWESOME! This might sound silly and basic, but work really hard to be the happiest you can be and people will want to be around you! If you are creating a company in a field that you LOVE people are going to be able to see that in your energy (and it will also help on those days that are not as awesome). The happier you are and the more you let that shine into your product, the more people will want to work with you, work for you, help you and buy your product.
1. No woman is an island - its okay to ASK for Help. You are AWESOME and I am sure very talented, but nobody is the jack of all trades! YES, as an entrepreneur you will have to wear all of those hats at one point until you can hire a team, but don't think that you have to rely on what is in your head right now. The best thing to do is find experts and ask them for their advice. Then make sure that you thank them for it!
Wouldn't you want someone to tell you, "WOW, you are so smart and you really helped me grow my company!" My guess is yes and there are lots of other people out there like you that want to help. Granted not everyone is a fit, but keep reaching out and you will find them.
Which leads to my next point...
2. Money shmoney, it's all about leveraging what people REALLY want. So you need to start growing your team, or you want to ask for expert advice, but you just don't have the cash to pay what they are worth. The question is not, what don't you have, but what DO you have that they might want? Can you take them out to dinner (maybe someplace you already have a special deal arrange for discounted food)? Can you trade them for info on a subject at which you are an expert? Maybe get them an intern or set them up on a date? Often times a little bit of recognition and making someone feel special for hard work can go a long way.
3. You ARE a connector (as long as you think like one). I think often times entrepreneurs who are just starting out think they don't know anyone and thus sometimes feel bad asking for help when they can't return the favor. It's not true! You just have to think creatively about who you ARE connected to and work on growing your connections. When I was still in college I would try to find mentors who could help me grow my company, but who I could also help by giving them access to my younger connections - at the time college students who could provide product feedback or be potential interns. When I was able to return the favor I found that they were even MORE willing to help me out the next time!
I often will go out of my way to connect like-minded people because I see how it can benefit both of their companies. Often times, they see my help and then keep me in mind when they are making connections.
4. Create your own COMMUNITY. One of the hardest things about building your own company can be the reaction from your friends and family. Even if they are supportive, they often ask questions like, "so what DO you DO all day?," or other negative energy instigating things. It's important to build yourself a community of people who understand what you are doing. This community is also KEY as a resource for advice, mentors, team members, etc. I have found the best part of this community is people who simply understand what you are up to and will listen to and understand when you need to complain!
I have found its key to build an "entrepreneurial community" and a community of people in your shared business. So maybe if you wanted to open a clothing line or dress shop, it would be key to also have "fashion friends" that own shops, work at shops, design clothing etc. This way you have friends that understand all the points of your business so you always have someone to complain to that understands and then someone who can help solve the problem.
In Boston organizations like: DartBoston, WebInno, Mass Innovation Nights and BostInnovation are all great places to find these people on the entrepreneurial side.
5. Fake it till you MAKE IT! I think it can be scary to proclaim, "I own a business" or "I am an expert" or I know it because when I started my first company I was terrified someone was going to "find me out" and say that I was not actually an expert.
Honestly, it's all about confidence and hard work! Most people who work at most jobs are still learning what the job is and taking small new risks all the time - so DO NOT feel like just because you have not done something a million times before, it's not something you can do! Clearly, you should not lie and you should be weary and not take on more than you can possibly accomplish, but its good to set high goals for yourself and then run speeding towards them! Asking experts can be especially useful for this, because they can help you "fake" having all the info, by lending you their years of experience :)
I am constantly, "making it," by achieving goals and then throwing myself into the deep end where I feel like I have to "fake it" again.
Congrats to our fellow WomenPreneurs, Windsor and Morgan for being named to the 30 Under 30 List by Inc Magazine! What are your favorite tips from Windsor and Morgan that you are going to remember and leverage when working through the stages of your venture?
Posted by Ali Powell on Wed, Jul 28, 2010 @ 05:26 PM
Why deckOut? What is the vision? What problem are you solving?
decktOut evolved in an effort to solve a problem of my own.
Rewind to summer of '09. There I was, standing in front of my closet staring at a designer handbag that I'd spent a small fortune on. Over time, I grew tired of it, which earned it a spot on the shelf. At the time I couldn't afford a new one, so figured I'd put this one on eBay, kick in some extra money and buy myself a fabulous new bag. Seemed like a good plan, until I realized I could only get a fraction of what I originally paid for it despite it being in great condition. Consigning wasn't any better; stores took a big cut of what the item sold for.
I started thinking about all the women out there that have this same problem. We love our luxury items but being stylish comes with a high price. What if it didn't have to though? What if you could just invest in a couple of items and swap them out for something of equal value once you've grown tired of them? What if you could afford a new bag every month? Or even better, every week? That would be pretty awesome. And at that moment, decktOut was born.
Why did you join the Kickstarter program and what do you see it doing for your business in the early stages?
I've always had lots of ideas; this was the first I actually went after.
Nine months ago I broke my lease and moved home for the first time in 5 years. It was definitely a hard decision but I knew if I was going to go after this I needed to give it my all, including my own money. I've been blessed with people who've been willing to help, or give me a break on pricing and I have to say my negotiating skills are pretty good. Although I've been frugal and started with a good size budget, starting a company is expensive and I started to run out of money. So there I was, so close to the finish line but missing one thing: content, which in my case is handbags (yeah, kind of big deal). I knew I couldn't launch successfully without the right amount of inventory and more inventory meant more cash. Just when I realized I needed to find a way to come up with more money, Kickstarter was getting a lot of hype from Diaspora successfully raising $200,000. I looked into the program, applied and got accepted. There was nothing to lose, so figured it was worth a shot.
Why is it important as a WomenPreneur to give back?
Giving back is always something I've felt strongly about. I love to travel and have seen some of the most destitute parts of the world. Once you see that first hand it's something that stays with you forever. The problem extends far beyond third world countries though, it's in our own backyard as well. Next time you're strolling through the Boston Common pay attention not just to how many homeless are sitting on benches but how many people pass by without ever noticing them. I knew that whatever I created, I wanted it to help the 'forgotten'. If I'm able to make a difference in one person's life, then all this is worthwhile. I never want to look back and say "I worked hard", that alone isn't enough for me. I want to be able to say "I worked hard and through it all, I did it to help make the world a better place."
So, what does this have to do with being a WomenPreneur? I think women tend to create things with their hearts, while men use their minds. This is where my heart is and I've built decktOut with it.
What do you wake up each morning and go to bed each night thinking about? Excited about?
I tend to work pretty late so by the time I crawl into bed there's usually not that much time between when my head hits the pillow and I'm fast asleep. In those few seconds, what's typically running though my mind is "sleep is such a waste of time, I still have so much to do.... but I literally can't keep my eyes open anymore..." and then I'm out cold. When something really great happens, I'm like a kid on Christmas Eve, overwhelmed with excitement and unable to fall asleep. I purposely keep my laptop under my bed for these nights. I'll grab it and continue to work while my energy is high. And every now and then there are the nights where I'm bummed out because something isn't going as I expected. I remind myself that every problem has a solution, so I'll grab my BlackBerry, compose an email to myself and start brainstorming how to fix it.
I have one of those huge Post-It's stuck to the wall facing my bed. When I wake up every morning a list of "to-do's to make this happen" smacks me in the face. There aren't due dates though, I have a 'just do it' philosophy. I get up earlier (and without an alarm clock) on the weekends than I do during the week. Since I still work full-time, this is my biggest chunk of time to work on decktOut. A full 54 hours to dedicated to what I'm passionate about. There's nothing better than that, talk about an adrenaline rush.
Biggest obstacle that you have overcome along the way leading up to launching decktOut?
This is a tough one. I'm going to say not having a co-founder even though if I were to do it again, I wouldn't change that. That being said, there are definitely times I wish I had one. When it's 1 AM and I'm working alone, I wish a had someone to talk to. When something great happens, I wish there was someone who would get equally as excited as me. During the four months it took me to find a developer, I wished there was someone who knew how frustrating it was, because someone looking in from the outside saying "don't worry, you'll find someone" doesn't know what four months of searching feels like. This is my first startup and I believe I needed to do it this way. It's good for me to have to make decisions on my own, to have to get through hard times on my own, and to prove to myself that I can do this. And although I'm technically the "sole founder" I'm surrounded by some amazing people who've helped me get to where I am today.
I will say though, I'm excited for the day when I get to work with some amazing people and together, build something great.
For all of you who feel the tickle to go through your handbags tonight after work, please do! Sign up for decktOut's Beta to be the first to experience the most cost-effective and easiest way to update your handbag collection. To hear more about Liza's thoughts on everything from the way we view true beauty to the Fall handbag line-up check out the decktOut blog. To follow Liza leading up to her launch in September 2010, her Twitter handles are: @decktOut and @GolferGirl25.
We are all strapped for cash, let's be honest. But, when do you have the chance to actually support a vision of a fellow WomenPreneur in a crowd funding method? Be your own angel investor and spend that $10 that you would have spent at Starbucks this week by donating to Liza's Kickstarter project.
Posted by Ali Powell on Mon, Jul 26, 2010 @ 11:49 PM
SoWa Open Market, Boston's original outdoor art and indie design market takes place every Saturday and Sunday in the South End from 10 AM to 5 PM. Artists, designers and overall entrepreneurs are found displaying their goods and expanding their overall presence. SoWa Open Market is allowing for the public to come view company merchandise while inter-mingling with owners and other shoppers with a similar mindset.
This type of shopping experience generates a unique value proposition for current and potential customers. The entrepreneurs display their products which range from food items to baby products to vintage jewelry and restored furniture.
Entrepreneurship at the heart of it. Every man and women out for theirselves while instilling a sense of organized community. Most vendor stations sit underneath white umbrellas where the browsing shopper can speak with the owners and creators of the products on sale. The consumer can ask the questions that they will need to know before buying the products. A relaxing, yet satisfying way for entrepreneurs to connect in person with their customer base.
We live in the age of real-time web. Companies who are vendors of the Sowa Open Market are growing their business with a mix of old school marketing combined with today's world of blogs, Twitter and Facebook. Boston WomenPreneurs were tweeting out to their audience and we were able to visit some of the booths due to these tweets. High five to those using Twitter, Facebook and blogs- if you aren't on that wagon, jump on and jump on before next weekend. The real-time web is alive and moving faster than your neighboring vendor using solely outbound methods. To enable your business to grow, join in on the online fun. SoWa Open Markets is creating a bridge of connectedness to help grow small businesses through the elements of in-person review and experience combined with online presence.
We caught up with a few Boston WomenPreneurs to hear what they thought about being a WomenPreneur and what WomenPreneurship means to them.
Carol Silva, Owner of Timeless Settings
"Independence."
Meghan Bergstrom, Owner of Little Green Bags
"I have always loved to create things, I wanted to be able to spend time with my children. I am able to do that with my business and be with my children now. I love doing this."
Amy Chase, (Punky Style) and Melissa Massello, Co-Founders of The Swapaholics
Melissa Massello: "Other than any other job, the highs are much higher and the lows are much lower. At the end of the day it was all yours. There is something so rewarding about that. Whether it was due from your work or the team's, it was the team that you built."
Amy Chase: "I remember hearing a quote from someone that entrepreneurs are just juvenile delinquents with a business plan. There were no other businesses like mine out there, so I had to do it."
Together in Unison: "You can drink when you want to. You set ambitious goals and when you reach those goals you celebrate really hard!"
Kim Gonzaga, Owner of Stella Marie Soap Company
"For me it's not about this mentality that at the end it will grow into this huge company. It is about the journey, the great things that happen along the way, the things that I never would have done and the relationships that have forged along the way."
Cindy Jacobs and Holly Jacobs, Mother/Daughter team of The Best Damn Granola
Cindy Jacobs: "The freedom to be my own person."
Holly Jacobs: "It feels good to be independent, open-minded, creative and making a place for myself in the world. That is really inspiring for me and for other people."
Let us know if you are a vendor @SoWaOpenMarket because we want to swing by and see what you are up to! Keep us informed in the comments section below.
Posted by Ali Powell on Sun, Jul 25, 2010 @ 03:56 PM
MassChallenge is the world’s largest global startup competition and accelerator program taking place right here in the
Innovation District of Boston. The competition started just as any other startup does. With an initial idea to help entrepreneurs create viable companies MassChallenge has ignited a global renaissance. The companies chosen to move forward in MassChallenge are accelerating the development of high growth, high impact businesses creating jobs across Massachusetts and beyond.
There were 440 entrant teams back in April when the competition began. Last week 110 finalist teams were named to move forward into the 3-month accelerator phase of the process.
Now is the time to pay a special thank you to the WomenPreneurs of the MassChallenge team for helping to connect women throughout the entire process. Without these women MassChallenge would not have been possible.
Salimah Nooruddin and Christine Ribeiro: Throughout the past months you could find Salimah and Christine working their tails off at MassChallenge events and coordinating the entire process in the back ends of the competition. A lot of planning goes into a huge competition like this one and flawless execution is essential for success. We tip our hats to these WomenPreneurs who have been integral parts in encouraging women to follow their dreams in bringing ideas to fruition.
Who are the WomenPreneurs moving on of the 110 finalist teams named?
Aukera Therapeutics, Inc: Aukera Therapeutics is developing a novel therapeutic for the treatment of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
Day 2 Night Convertible Heels: Has created a revolutionary way to rid the need of having to carry flats in your bag when wearing heels. Instead of lugging around two pairs of shoes every time you go to work or out for the night, simply increase or decrease your height with smaller heels for a more comfortable trek.
Diagnostics for All: A non-profit enterprise fusing biotechnology and microfluidics, dedicated to creating low-cost, easy-to-use, point-of-care diagnostics designed specifically for the 60% of the developing world that lives beyond the reach of urban hospitals and medical infrastructures
Evolve Foods: A nutrition-based, gluten-free food company that uses ancient grains to provide innovative products that are both convenient and healthy.
Fenugreen: A patented, inexpensive, natural, non-toxic and biodegradable food preservation technology whose broad adoption promises to revolutionize the food value chain, significantly reducing inventory, transportation and labor costs in a sustainable way.
Meet Impact: Will learn your specific needs to automatically qualify and recommend both events to attend and key people to meet, empowering you to achieve and sustain high-growth innovation here in New England.
Naughty Nutritionist: An online platform whose products, brands and content inform the modern consumer about nutrition and wellness.
Open Runway, Inc.: A fashion 2.0 retailer changing the way women shop via a social commerce experience.
Privo Technologies: Insulin chewing gum is a needle-less drug delivery system for type II diabetes. Their proprietary formulation and nano-encapsulation system gradually releases insulin upon chewing.
Rate It Green: An online community, peer-review resource, and product and service directory for everyone interested in green building.
Samanta Shoes: Creates life changing experiences for women who have trouble finding stylish shoes in their size.
Seeding Labs: Creates opportunities for scientists in the developing world to conduct world-class research.
SolSolution, Inc.: Mission is to simultaneously generate clean electricity and improve the quality of education in underprivileged schools.
Stromatec LLC: Medical device R&D firm specializing in diagnostic and therapeutic tools for connective tissues dysfunction.
Zyrra: Uses mass-customization technology to solve the problem of finding a bra that fits well.
If Boston WomenPreneurs missed any of the women moving forward, please comment in the section below and we will add your team to the list. We look forward to learning more about all of you as you move forward throughout the MassChallenge process. Good luck and keep up your hard work. You are charting the path for WomenPreneurs to watch in 2010!
Posted by Ali Powell on Mon, Jul 19, 2010 @ 02:29 PM
Ideas around the logo include:
1. Simplicity
2. Confidence
3. Connectedness
What's in a logo? The branding of a person, a company or a group of people needs to be one of cohesiveness and one that will stick out. One that people will ultimately remember. Boston WomenPreneurs should have a logo that is all-encompassing of what this organization will shape itself to be. That is why I am asking for your input. The way Boston WomenPreneurs will shape itself into existence is through collaboration and participation.
Please leave your comments on what you like and/or what you would like to see the logo become. Boston WomenPreneurs is about you. It is about helping women follow their dreams, their passions. The logo should be an overarching image that portrays this vision.
Posted by Ali Powell on Sun, Jul 18, 2010 @ 03:44 PM
Bill Day 1 Wrap Up from Anything Goes on Vimeo.
I Intend to help people follow their dream.
I Believe people are afraid to follow their dream.
My People need help following their dream.
Boston WomenPreneurs is a tool that will help people to follow their dream.
Pure, Timeless Intention.
Posted by Ali Powell on Thu, Jul 15, 2010 @ 03:30 PM
What is Boston doing to keep top non-tech talent here in Boston and Cambridge? What are we doing wrong to lose WomenPreneurs to NYC!?!?
My sister, Lauren has always been the creative type. She didn't have to work as hard as I did for an A in History, but her passion has always been on the artistic side. She liked art class more than I did. Women like her deserve all the world has to offer them, but does Boston do a poor job at keeping these type of women here? I think that answer is a clear yes as we sit here in 2010. What are we going to do to change this mentality and get more companies like Rue LaLa and gemvara to open their doors here in Boston? The Boston world has fostered the tech and innovation economy but what about other forms of business that women are driven towards? Not to burst everyone's tech bubble but not ALL women love technology and geek out as much as you and I do about it.
From when I was a little girl to going through high school and then college I always thought Lauren was doing better than I was at accomplishing our dreams. That could be because she always knew what she wanted to do. It started out with creating amazing paintings, transforming over the years into the idea of going into fashion design to actually pursuing that dream.
What I remember from our early days was Lauren always holding me by the hand, forcing me around the yard, telling me what to do and where to go. Guiding me in her directions. Were those the right directions? Looking at the situation from the now and looking back, I wonder if this driven and strong mentality is one that Boston cannot handle or hack for people with her goals in terms of fashion and art. Even though Boston WomenPreneurs are stomping ground and unsettling the pavement beneath us, New York City still holds a candle to Boston in the fashion space.
So what does this have to do with you? My sister graduated from Tulane University with a degree in Marketing and Management. Her heart has always been in creation, in fashion and in design. Not necessarily the business world but she went to Tulane to make my parents happy. Lauren then made the choice to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology and follow her innate dream to pursue artistic creation through fashion design.
After she graduated from FIT she moved back home to design for Reebok in Canton, MA. For about 4 years she worked at Reebok as a top designer for Women's Contemporary Sports Wear. Creating passionate and innovative designs, creative and modern sports wear for us WomenPreneurs to wear during our work outs after a long, hard day at the startup. :)
Lauren made the jump to New York City about a month ago, took the chance, quit her job and yet again has followed her dream of moving back to the concrete city. Her ideal stomping ground that has been known to foster this type of talent. New York is awesome for a lot of different careers. Boston couldn't offer her what she was looking for in the fashion and design world. I hope that we don't lose women like her as we move forward in creating Boston as a Tech Mecca. We need to gain traction in the areas of fashion and art to sustain different kinds of women pursuing careers here in Boston in all areas of business.
What are some of the areas of business that Boston could do better at sustaining to create open environments for growth opportunities? Let's work together to help women like my sister stay in Boston or Cambridge to pursue their dreams. Is Boston and Cambridge focusing all their efforts into one niche area? How can we help change this stigma? Let's do it together.
Posted by Ali Powell on Thu, Jul 08, 2010 @ 03:22 PM
How can you spread important ideas using the power of the web? 60 of the greatest minds on the internet came together to give their tips in 60 seconds or less. The women of this project blew me away. If you want to contribute and grow in the online space follow these women.
1. Believe in yourself and the content that you are creating to spread. 2. Back your personal and company brand. 3. Support others around you. 4. Contribute consistently and you will grow your presence and spread online. 5. Admire and learn.
18 of the 60 Influencers are WomenPreneurs
Anne Holland: 1. Get rid of resets or clear form buttons on your website 2. Change the wording of your buttons 3. Make your buttons bigger 4. Color is important 5. Position your buttons above the fold of your webpage.
Liz Strauss: Show that you know where you are doing. This will make you the most attractive you can be to your online followers and potential online followers. Make everything all about your people. Stop thinking about yourself.
Carol Roth: Social=Creating relationships with other people. Create outstanding strategic partners. Tweet, retweet and interact. Give yourself in all ways to others to find yourself in the worlds of like-minded people.
Laurel Touby: Have a clue about the newest technology. On the first day of the month assign yourself three digital trends and do a test drive so you are knowledgeable when creating conversation. Your engagements will be more influential.
Laura Roeder: Social media is the act of talking to people. Be the most effective by talking to other people. Don't be afraid of what to tweet or blog about. If you are scared, start by responding to others.
Ann Handley: Give your content wings and give your content roots. Make sure that your content shows your point of view. Don't block your content from others to view it. Make it sharable and outfit it with social bling.
Shama Kabani: Create online video to increase your visibility. 2-3 minutes of content around your area of expertise and distribute this with gusto!
Robbin Phillips: It is not about digital, it is all about people. Have passion conversations and not product conversations. Simplicity in social media is where it is at. Share who you are, what are your dreams, what your hopes are to draw in like-minded people where you can create meaningful relationships. Start a movement of your own.
Erica OGrady: Make people around you more successful than you are. Laugh at yourself through vulnerability and heart-felt stories. Human connection creates feelings which create influence that will help you become a favorite of your followers and readers.
Danielle LaPorte: Get clear on the persona of what you want to give off. This would be your authentic self. Get yourself properly interviewed. 1. You can hire a professional writer to find out what you are all about. 2. Get in front of a camera with your best friend. This process will help to show what you have to offer the world and what lights your fires.
Vanessa Fox: Understand your audience and what their needs are. Answer people's questions and solve people's problems to rank higher on the search engines. Look at the data and build your conversations and content around those things.
Valeria Maltoni: Share and leverage your gifts, your passions and your work to engage people. Help people with their problems to be helpful to others.
Tamsen McMahon: Show as many different sides of yourself or your business as you can. This will increase ways into your world which will lead to more opportunities for influencing others. If you want to help in changing the way these people influence your followers by what you do.
Cathy Brooks: Influence people about the who-who are you, what are you are all about. Think about the authenticity of your voice with the consistency of your online and offline presence. Create deep connections to why you are doing what you are doing across all online platforms.
Wendy Piersall: Put your business model before pursuing fame. Your business model is the horse that draws the carts. Make sure you are adding to your bottom line by being online. This will allow you to have something to show for all your hard work online when it is all said and done.
Gretchen Rubin: Build a community of readers by engaging conversations. Self expression is the new entertainment. People in general have a lot to say, so find out a way to get people talking to build the community around you. Lead conversations that build on topics of interest.
Alexandra Levit: Be systematic in figuring out who has already been successful in the path that you are working on. Target 5-10 individuals by commenting on their tweets, their blog posts to land an informational interview about their past. Create a way to learn from what they have done to help you move forward.
Amber Naslund: Online influence is a slow process. It is organically grown overtime by having conversations through blog posts, twitter, LinkedIn. You need to be consistent by giving more than you might get in return. Have the influence come from a passive place, don't push yourself on them.
How will you help to increase your online presence through these tips from these WomenPreneurs? What tips can you give the online world?
Posted by Ali Powell on Sun, Jul 04, 2010 @ 03:08 PM
Empowering women entrepreneurs in Boston/Cambridge through events & opportunities to bring ideas to company formation & execution.
This blog spotlights a community of women entrepreneurs- both up and coming WomenPreneurs as well as established women CEO's. Boston WomenPreneurs will also have events where women can come together to learn about the work of fellow entrepreneurs through advice, interviews and experiences in starting and running a company.