WomenandBiz.com

Marsha Firestone founded the Women President’s Organization (WPO) to promote economic security for women by accelerating the growth of women owned businesses and women led businesses.

Marsha Firestone

Marsha was working for the American Woman’s Economic Development Corporation (AWED – a not for profit organization that assisted and trained women in starting and running their businesses) as the vice president of training over 12 years ago. She realized that although there were services for start-ups and young businesses, there were none for women who had already achieved a certain level of success. She was expecting to become the president of AWED, and planning to establish the division that would assist existing businesses. Since the position was not offered to her, she saw the opportunity to start WPO in 1997.

Marsha has an expertise in adult learning theory and in small group communications and she was able to combine her educational background with her experience assisting small businesses to create this small group learning experience for thriving women in business.
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When we decided that the theme for the 19^thissue of WomenandBiz.com would be on Change – how internal and external changes

Fany Balabram

affect your business; I could not think of a better example than of my family business. Therefore, I decided to interview my mother, Fany Balabram, for this issue, so that you can learn from her experiences being 25 years in business and running Fany Bombons. She is a role model to follow, and during the interview she shares many strategies to pursue Change, adapt, innovate and thrive in order to grow a business.

The business has her name, Fany and “Bombons” means candies in Portuguese. Fany Balabram has always loved to cook, and she had often cooked delicious meals for her family, but she did not know anything about chocolate candy making. This is how the business started back in 1983 – Fany Balabram had been managing her husband’s [my father – Moysés Balabram] Construction company for several years, when she read an article in a National magazine talking about the business of chocolate and how it would grow in the next few years. Around the same time, Fany learned about a course teaching candy making that was being offered in her neighborhood. She decided to take it. Although it was a good course, it only taught her the very basics. She then registered to take another course and learned a little more. She saw the opportunity, and soon she was ready to start her home-based chocolate candy business. She attended many courses thereafter, tried many recipes and improved her baking style. She also owns a collection of over 400 national and international cooking, baking and chocolate books. Read more

· What was your education experience?

Melanie McEvoy

I earned a degree in Women’s Studies and Sociology from the University of Nevada Las Vegas, which is where I grew up. While getting my degree I served as President of the pro-choice students group on campus and was an extremely active organizer in the Las Vegas women’s community. My activism experience is actually what I call upon the most for my event planning and fundraising experience – it’s all people skills and organizing. I didn’t realize until much later in life that I had always been an entrepreneur, just not the kind that was focused on making money – more of a social entrepreneur that is always creating opportunities to do things that inspire and help others. Read more

When did you start modeling?

Cheryl Diamond

At fourteen. It was quite a change from my former vocation as a ballet dancer and touch-football aficionado. But, I was getting too tall for dance and in the twilight of my career as a tomboy. Modeling seemed like a good idea.

How did you get involved in modeling?
I was intercepted on my way to dance class by a scout for a local agency and asked if I had ever thought about being a model. I hadn’t seriously, but I started to pretty quickly. It’s not unusual for models to be recruited this way. Claudia Schiffer was scouted in a nightclub; Kate Moss in an airport. The local agency will use the model for catalogs and ads in the area. After a few years, if they think the model has potential they will introduce her to a New York agency. Instead of signing with the local agency I bypassed the middle man and went straight to New York, tagging along with my dad on a business trip. After going up and down a lot of stairs I was taken on by an agency that was very enthusiastic. Maybe even manic. That began my experiences with the larger than life characters in the modeling industry. Read more

Amy Gibson

It is interesting that we are featuring Amy Gibson in the Dreams and Realities issue, and you will learn why as you read this interview. Amy Gibson is an inspiring entrepreneur and role model and the founder of Crown and Glory Enterprises, a company that offers wigs and counseling services, and she established her business in 2000.

Prior to owning her business, Amy Gibson had been a soap opera actress for 20 years. She started acting since a young age, and at the age of 13 and a half, while starring on a soap opera, she learned through the show’s hairstylist that she had a bald spot in the back of her hair. She couldn’t believe it at first, but soon learned that she had a hair-loss disease known as Alopecia Areata. During our interview, she mentioned that this immune disorder affects 5 million people each year, and there is no age or gender limit. The scientific research has come a long way, and although they know more about it now, there is still no cure.

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* Please tell us about your education and professional experience

My education was a combination of liberal arts, and many art courses over about 4 years. I did end up with an associate degree in Visual Communication Technology. I did an assortment of freelance art jobs and Craft shows along the way as well.

Debbie Mumm

* How were they helpful?

I believe that everything you do, every experience you have, every person you meet contributes to preparing you for the next thing. Nothing is wasted even if it doesn’t feel like specific “training.”

* What inspired you to start Debbie Mumm, Inc.?

I was always a kind of artsy person who felt out of place in the 9-5 workplace. (I worked for many years at Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle and realized that type of work environment did not suit me) I really wanted creativity to be a part of my life. My main inspiration was to enjoy my work and the desire to express myself as a creative person. Read more

Lena L. West has been a guest writer for WomenandBiz.com since 2004. For a long time we only knew each other through email, but soon started running into each other in New York City. Lena L. West, Founder and CEO of xynoMedia Technology, is an incredibly dynamic entrepreneur, and I have been following her success and business progress since we’ve met. Lena is a great example of an entrepreneur who recognizes the changes in the marketplace. She adapts them into her business, targets different niches and creates new projects to keep up with today’s competitive landscape and evolving technology platform.

Lena West

During our interview Lena shared that she has been an entrepreneur since she can remember. Although she had a couple of full-time jobs, she soon got involved with offering computer technical support by phone. Then she got a consulting agency to represent her and worked as a consultant with several big projects. However, she soon realized that the best thing to do was to establish her own business. Lena will celebrate xynoMedia Technology’s 10th anniversary this year.

Lena says that one of the main reasons she decided to start her own business was for the freedom it could provide. Very family oriented, Lena wanted to be sure she could be available for her family, without having to worry about taking sick days, vacation days, etc. Read more

Laurel Tielis – Background

I grew up, went to college, got married in my senior year and never gave any serious thought to working. I always loved writing though (and even managed to be named editor-in-chief of my sixth grade yearbook!), so I was lucky to back into a career in

Laurel Tielis

journalism.

I was vacationing on Harbour Island in the Bahamas and wrote a travel diary that I sent off to a few publications with a note saying, “I loved it here and think your readers will as well.” The story led the travel section of the Chicago Sun-Times, gave me a wonderful credential as a writer, and enabled me to begin a career journeying around the world and contributing to newspaper and magazines in the U.S. and Canada.

Traveling for a living has its highs and lows, though, and when I reached the point where the thought of having to pack one more time left me in tears, I was fortunate to be offered a job as a wire service reporter in Miami for Fairchild Publications. Fairchild publishes Women’s Wear Daily and W, as well the Daily News Record (a men’s wear publications), Footwear News, Home Furnishings News, and Supermarket News, and I got to contribute to all of them. Read more

* Please tell us about your education and professional experience

I graduated from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh with a degree in Communications. I focused on public speaking and was on the

Stacey Koerner

debate team which gave me more confidence to speak in front of groups and it has definitely helped me to be more assertive in my career.

I worked for Nordstrom for 14 years. I started in cosmetic sales, spent several years managing the cosmetic department and then moved into a buying position where I was responsible for marketing and event planning for all of the cosmetic lines that Nordstrom carried throughout the Midwest. Nordstrom taught me many things that I have carried over to my current companies. The most important lesson I learned was to empower your employees to make decisions- if they do what is in the best interest of the customer, it is never a wrong decision. I let them run their divisions as if it were their own business but give them the support and tools they need to be successful.

Deciding to start Prescription Well-Being (PWP), Beauty on Call (BOC) and Haute PR

* When did you start your businesses?

I started Prescription Well-Being in 2001, Beauty on Call in 2003 and Haute PR in January 2006. Read more

Valarie King-Bailey – Background

Valarie King-Bailey

OnShore Technology Group was established as a multi-divisional organization whose mission was to help keep technology jobs on America’s shores through the delivery of mission-critical technology, engineering, and marketing services. Our business model evolved in response to the wave of offshore outsourcing that affected many technology and engineering professionals and our deep rooted belief that technology is not only important for business but in our national interests to establish and maintain job opportunities to help showcase the talents and abilities through “right-sourcing” – keeping jobs here in America that are impractical to off-shore. At OnShore Technology Group, we believe that nurturing technological innovation and supporting the technology worker by providing access to challenging jobs here in America is not only responsible, it is in our national security interests to do so. Our future depends on engineers, scientists and technology professionals to drive our economy and our country to new heights. This belief has had a profound impact on me and I have dedicated my company to the pursuit of technological advancement and innovation. Read more