WomenandBiz.com

When I started reading Janet Hanson’s book, More Than 85 Broads – Women Making Career Choices, Taking Risks, and Defining

Janet Hanson

Success ON THEIR OWN TERMS, I couldn’t put it down. By reading personal stories of 95 women coming from all walks of life and nationalities, I was inspired. I was also amazed by Janet’s personal story of work, family, relationships, marriage, children, battling cancer, and her decision to leave a successful 14-year career at Goldman Sachs, and later to open her own businesses – Milestone Capital Management, a money management company and 85 Broads. Janet Hanson’s work and book are a tremendous contribution, providing motivation to women around the world.

Janet’s passion for her work, family, and team was noticeable in the first few minutes of our interview. Janet decided to start 85 Broads so that other women would have the professional connection she missed after leaving Goldman Sachs to have children. Feeling disconnected, isolated and not supported by former colleagues at Goldman Sachs, (because they didn’t have the time (before emails!), or they didn’t understand what she was going through), Janet decided to create a network for women. Janet first founded Milestone Capital Management (MCM), the only woman-owned firm of its kind, in 1994. 85 Broads was seven years in the planning, and it took two years to really get it off the ground. MCM provided the much-needed technical support to build the software and the network’s online presence in 1999. 85 Broads currently has 14,000 members worldwide and it continues to grow. Originally created for current and former female professionals at Goldman Sachs, 85 Broads has grown to include college students. Members of 85 Broads mentor young women through two programs, for business graduate students there is Broad2Broad and Broad2Be for undergraduates. Read more

Marcia Rocha passed away in March 2012. Her life was an inspiration to many, including myself. She created an association to encourage organ donation in Brazil, and you can learn about it at http://avido.org.br/

Here is our interview with Marcia Rocha, published in March 2006, about her journey as an artist and entrepreneur:

Marcia Rocha

For an artist, finding the opportunities to transform art into a profitable business can be a challenge. But Marcia Rocha, owner of Funny Sculptures, is a great example of an artist who has great business sense, which has helped her start and grow her company. Marcia was born in Brazil and she has been a painter, sculptor and cartoonist since childhood. Seven years ago she decided to establish Funny Sculptures, designing and creating fun jewelry and character sculptures as well as customized and collectable items.

Marcia demonstrates strength and resilience, and I admire her courage and determination. She has been using her networking skills and following her intuition to be successful, to meet the right people at the right time and move ahead professionally. I believe her journey will inspire you to take action and turn your idea or hobby into a business. Read more

“A Big Fish is an awakened entrepreneur who is wildly successful and has a lifestyle that creates room to live life, too. A Big Fish always attracts more Big Fish, self-actualizing people” Lorin D. Beller – From Entrepreneur to Big Fish: 7 Principles to Wild Success.

Lorin Beller

If you envision yourself as a Big Fish according to Lorin Beller’s definition, able to run your business AND live your life fully, you should read her recently published book From Entrepreneur to Big Fish: 7 Principles to Wild Success. You will learn to uncover your vision; you will focus on and give energy to what you have instead of what you don’t; you will learn to become self-confident and to trust your instincts, take control, and look for win-win situations; and at the end of each chapter you will answer questions to help you create and follow your life and business vision, learn how to let go of the obstacles you have within you, and take action. Read more

I first met Andrea Nierenberg in 2003, at an Employee ROI breakfast event where she gave a presentation on networking strategies. We kept in touch, and she has been one of womenandbiz.com’s contributors since the beginning. I still remember and practice a few things she talked about at that event, such as:

Andrea Nierenberg

* When you meet people at a networking event, find out how you can help that person, instead of only talking about yourself.
* Write notes on a pad that you carry – not the back of his or her business card, so you can remember this person and follow up later.
* Do follow up, and no matter what, always send handwritten thank you notes. If that person refers you to someone else, and you do business with her, send a thank you note to the person who originated the contact; people like to know they were helpful and kept in the loop.
* At a networking event, have an exit strategy – when you feel it is time to move on Andrea mentions that you could say that you would like to allow that person to meet more people and to enjoy their evening, day, etc.

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* What was your education experience? Was it helpful?

Yvonne Burton

I have a BA in International Business and Economics and one year at Kansai Gaidai University in Osaka, Japan as an exchange student. That one year of course was not enough to gain a strong fundamental understanding of the culture so after graduating from university I went back to Japan on my own to live and work for an additional six years.

* What was your professional experience?

In my years after university in Japan, I taught in language schools but always tried to move more into the business area. I taught in several companies (banks, electronics firms and pharmaceutical firms) in the areas of business communications and negotiations and then started doing freelance consulting work with small Japanese firms in the area of Import/Export often times searching out new products and negotiating contracts for them because many didn’t speak any English. When I returned to New York, I worked in a Japanese trading company and then moved into the technology arena. I worked as a Project Manager for the largest online job site in their Online Marketing and Advertising division and then moved into the technology consulting field as a Business Analyst in a firm that created customized software solutions for the Pharmaceutical industry. As a business analyst, I was in charge of the gathering and documenting requirements for the systems, creating detailed design documents, communicating the requirements and design to programmers and software engineers to build and then perform integration testing to ensure that the software fulfilled all requirements. I became a document specialist as these documents had to meet regulated standards. Read more

Leslie Yerman

The first interview of the year is with the self-employed communications consultant and writer Leslie J. Yerman. Her vast experience working in public, private and nonprofit sectors, as well as her life experience, have helped Leslie to build her business and a solid clientele base, and have given her the confidence she needs to follow her dreams -combining her skills with her passion.

Leslie J. Yerman has worked in a wide variety of positions and sectors. She worked as press assistant on Capitol Hill and for the government in Washington D.C., writing press materials, testimonies, and speeches. Then she moved on to work with nonprofit organizations in a variety of communications capacities. She also was vice president of a D.C. special events firm that did museum art show openings for corporate underwriters, as well as other events and benefits. She was a communication consultant in Washington, before returning to New York, where she was a senior executive in her family’s graphic arts business until her father closed it 1991. She also started a nonprofit organization in New Jersey to provide education and training to school dropouts of ages ranging from 18 to 24. Read more

It is hard not to feel inspired by Carolyn Gable’s experience and achievements. A mother of seven children and founder of New Age Transportation, Distribution & Warehousing Inc., Carolyn has an interesting message to pass on. Her faith and the passion for what she does, for her team and her clients contribute to her company growth.

Carolyn Gable

Not having gone to college never stopped Carolyn Gable from thriving in her life and business. She opted to become a beautician and worked as a waitress for 15 years before lending a job in the trucking industry. She mentioned that her people skills came in handy to provide the best customer service, and she soon became a sales representative. The owner of the third company she worked for in the freight business encouraged her to work on commission. In 1989, Carolyn Gable found New Age Transportation in the basement of her home, as an independent commission representative for trucking companies.

Even though trucking was a mainly male dominated industry, and many people were skeptical she could succeed, Carolyn Gable kept going and realized her clients were happy to deal with a woman, and were pleased with the quality of services she was providing. It didn’t take long for her to move out of the basement into a bigger location, and the business has continued to grow since. Read more

Her vast experience working in different yet related fields helps Jude Gorgopa create the resourceful blend called Clout Et Cetera. This

Jude Gorgopa

interview shows us the importance of being versatile, of trying new things and being able to thrive when faced with life’s adversities. Jude is from Vancouver and she recalls that in her early years in New York, she had many ups and downs, dealing on her own with major setbacks and controversy. She inspires us with this message: “Looking back, I can see that a tremendous faith, tenacity, and optimism carried me through the really rough spots and still does to this day. It’s truly amazing, and even inspiring what we are capable of when faced with adversity in our lives. And what we come to value because of it!” Jude Gorgopa is the founder and president of Clout Et Cetera Inc. Read more

Laura Allen

If you have been dreaming about starting your own business, and being your own boss, but have no idea what you should be doing, one solution is to keep your eyes open. Laura Allen shares with us how her partner and her came up with the idea to start 15SecondPitch and how the business has grown in the last couple of years.

Laura Allen got her bachelor’s degree at Eugene Lang College and her masters in Media Studies from The New School. In 1993 she took computer classes and it made all the difference in her career, as it brought to light her interest in technology. In September 2001 Laura started freelancing as a marketer and a consultant. On Valentine’s Day, February 14th 2002, Laura and James (Jim) Convery founded 15SecondPitch.

Laura and Jim were at a technology-networking event in Los Angeles, California, when they first came up with the 15SecondPitch idea. They realized how hard it was for IT professionals to communicate what they did for a living to a non-technical person, and thought of an easier way to do it. According to Laura, the main idea of having a 15-second pitch is being able to “lock the other person in since the very beginning, so that he or she wants to learn more”. Laura and Jim are a couple and co-founders of 15SecondPitch. They live and work together, but they have distinct roles. Jim is responsible for the technology part of the business, while Laura markets it. They share the same vision for the company, which helps them stay focused. Read more

Marian Banker, President of Prime Strategies, is an admirable example of someone who drew from her previous professional

Marian Banker

experience to create a successful entrepreneurial formula, which she continues to modify and evolve. Her background includes being an executive in large organizations, an educator, an entrepreneur and a mentor.

Eight years ago, during a life transition, Marian found the coaching profession, which was at that time in its formative stages. She was attracted to coaching because it offered her something she would enjoy doing on a regular basis, would find personally satisfying and would make an effective difference in people’s lives. The opportunity to make her own decisions, write her own rules, and be in control, also motivated Marian to start her coaching business. The hardest part was to make people aware of the new concept and methodology of coaching. Marian also acknowledges that it took time and practice to master the way she presents her services.

Today Marian calls herself a Business Leadership Coach and utilizes strategic alliances to offer comprehensive services to entrepreneurs and small business owners across the country. She is always looking for professionals with whom she has synergy to co-create workshops and complement the services Prime Strategies provides to its growing client base. Read more