Amy’s New Year No-Shopping Experiment!

I have decided to conduct an experiment - a New Year's No-Shopping Experiment, which involves not buying anything new for myself from January 1st - April 8th (my birthday).

That means: no clothes, shoes or jewelry. I know, I know… there are some who might question this, asking: “what's the big deal?” or reminding me that there are people who rarely get to buy themselves something new.

But for me, it is a big deal. We live in a consumer culture and material goods and the lure of shopping is everywhere. Living in NYC and walking anywhere is like placing yourself in a mall in other parts of the country. Beyond living in THE greatest shopping city in the world, there is the onslaught of catalogues that come in the mail and the more frequent emails announcing that the new season's collection or the sale of the season has arrived.

Oh, and did I mention that I LOVE fashion. And that I think shopping is fun! I am the type of person who can travel anywhere in the world and it's as if I have a sixth sense about finding all the great areas to shop. And I don't discriminate - I will shop in the cities trendiest area and also rummage through the local artists and flea markets. It's the thrill of the find. What will I find that I feel I cannot live without? But that is precisely what stated my thinking about this experiment.

Last week I received the email that makes my heart flutter - the bi-annual Diane Von Furstenberg Sample Sale! As I waited in line for 45 minutes I saw women coming out with large overstuffed packages. And as they let me through the doors I was anticipating a wrap dress that had my name on it. But after looking through the racks, being pushed and shoved by other shoppers who were in a frenzy to find their "I can't live without this DVF find" and leaving empty handed, I thought to myself, "what a colossal waste of time."

As the day went on, I realized that I really didn't need anything new in my closet as I had spent the past two years since my second child was born thoughtfully re-building my wardrobe. Yes, while I am always able to find something new and adorable that would be great and fun - needing it is never really the question.

And so I wondered, how much time would I discover if I cut shopping out of the picture for a dedicated amount of time. What would I do with that time? Would I miss shopping? Would I see the hobby of shopping in a new light? Would I become more creative with my clothes? Would I discover the clothes that I really love and wear vs. the ones I like the idea wearing? All of these questions have intrigued me - most pronounced is the question of time. How much more time would I have and what will I do with it?

Stay tuned....

posted by Amy Abrams

image courtesy of http://www.fashiontribes.typepad.com/

Name Calling: You Say Potato; I Say Entrepreneur

(image courtesy of pretty little studio)



We built our business to meet the needs of women entrepreneurs. Our content and programs focuses on helping these women learn the business of running a business and how to think like entrepreneurs.

But we face a consistently big challenge in doing this. “Entrepreneur” is not how many independently-employed women see, label, or refer to themselves.

What do they call themselves instead? Self-employed, freelancer, consultant, designer, practitioner, writer, coach…you get the idea.

It’s not that these other labels are untrue; they just don’t tell the full picture.
If you have chosen to go out on your own and you work for yourself and have strategic control over your venture then you are an ENTREPRENEUR. (Congrats, by the way…)

And it’s not just that these other titles sell you short, they misrepresent the job of the entrepreneur to the entrepreneur.

If you are an entrepreneur but continue to think of yourself “just as a consultant”, you may:

* neglect to focus on all the really critical strategic elements of entrepreneurship

* fail to learn from other businesses outside of your industry that use other labels to describe their work

* miss opportunities to engage with other entrepreneurs and business owners and learn great business building skills, techniques, and technologies

* miss out on innovative business trends and ideas that will keep you current and continue to reshape your business as time progresses

I recognize that it is not always the easiest label to accept! Especially when you have just gotten started, especially when you are small, especially when you feel so different from the models of entrepreneurship that are frequently cited in business publications. It is easy to feel like a fraud or to suffer from the business owner’s imposter complex.

But it is important! Not just for the health and well-being of your own venture but also for the rest of women entrepreneurs. The more we hide behind these other labels and neglect to also call ourselves entrepreneurs, the more invisible we are as a group and the less we are able to learn from each other. The more invisible and fragmented we are, the more we have to reinvent the wheel and the harder it is for us to attain the success we desire.

Tell us about your relationship with the word entrepreneur. Do you use it? Since when or why not?

Happy in 2010! Resolutions, Focus, Tips, and Best Practices

(image from Farouche on etsy.com)

I recently signed up to participate in Gretchen Rubin’s Happiness Project for 2010. The Happiness Project was the impetus for Gretchen’s new book coming out on Dec 29.

The book is an account of the year she spent test-driving studies and theories about how to be happier.

I’m all about best practices and love learning about studies so I know always knew the book would be for me. (I can’t wait to learn what is considered hogwash and what actually works!)

But right now I am also intrigued by resolutions and process. I know, the time of year is good for it, but I am also motivated by my experience from this last year.

For the first time, I made good resolutions! I had resolved to improve my grammar and to improve my posture. Is either perfect? Nope. But they’re better. And what’s more, it wasn’t a guilt-ridden, ‘set yourself up for failure experience. Instead, I simply focus on two concrete things I wanted to improve and took several steps to do so.

So for this next year, in addition to continuing my grammar and posture initiatives I would like to improve my blackberry boundaries. Specifically, I would like to insulate myself from my blackberry during certain hours. Right now, even if I know I won’t respond to any emails I see, I can find myself deliberately and absent-mindedly checking my blackberry at stupid times during the evening right up until I go to bed. The problem is that whatever emails are awaiting me kick my mind into gear and prevent me from truly relaxing, focusing on something else, or turning off work for a while. I would like to improve this by focus on it more and being more aware of my desired outcome and behavior.

I’m joining the happiness project because I think it will be a nice accompaniment to the book and also because I would like Gretchen’s help spotlighting other areas of my life to I can focus on them as well. I find the positive tone of Gretchen’s tips and writing to be appealing and I also appreciate that she her advice is of the “meet you were you are” type style. No one needs to start the year by heaping expectations and pressure on to their self.

So more about the project process:
Starting each month in 2010, Gretchen will propose an area of life to tackle, and once a week, over the next four weeks, she’ll suggest concrete, manageable resolutions to help you boost your happiness – and remind you to stick with them. She’s also going to do a series of short videos on the proposed resolutions and why they matter. Want to join us?

Right now she has the following topics slated:
January--Body
February--Love
March--Work
April--Money
May--Mindfulness
June--Order
July--Spirit
August--Fun
September--Parenthood
October--Friends
November--Attitude
December--Boot Camp Perfect

(This monthly focus reminds me of the awesome Give It Up! My Year of Learning to Live Better with Less by Mary Carlomagno)

I’m happy to share how it is going throughout the year! In the meantime, I’m excited for the book. And I'd love to know what you are resolving for the New Year! Tell us.

Taking Stock, Giving Thanks

(card by Linda & Harriet)


With Thanksgiving behind us and the holidays rapidly approaching, I always find myself reflecting on the past year and thinking about the year ahead. This year, I have been giving a lot of thought to the idea of gratitude, being gracious and giving thanks. All interconnected ideas, of course.

When I think about the business we have created and the work that I do, I feel incredible grateful that I get to interact and surround myself with so many dynamic, smart and sophisticated women. Our community is one that I constantly learn from. Lessons learned have involved how to shape our business, how to conduct business and even choices about parenting and my overall lifestyle.

My work is filled with opportunities to be inspired by women who believe in themselves and their business. While they may feel discouraged at moments and experience growing pains in their business, they always plow forward and continue to pave the road ahead. And the fact that they come to IGC to be a part of a community where they can learn, share and grow with other like minded business owners is something not to be taken lightly. I feel incredibly grateful for our community.

On a personal level, as the mother of two daughters, I feel proud to be a part of a business where my daughters can be inspired by so many remarkable women. I love demonstrating the idea that having your own business is an equally accessible career path as being a teacher or a nurse may have been for women in the past.

And on a professional level, I feel incredibly grateful to have a business partner who helps me be a better business owner and entrepreneur. Together we get the thrilling opportunity to tap our creativity, take chances, innovate and celebrate success.

These are the things that I am grateful for and give thanks. And for the coming year, I look forward to honing my gratitude skills throughout the year, as opposed to just the end of the year!

While I know as business owners, we are always trying to improve our business, land our next client or finally cross of everything on our to-do list. Sometimes it is great to just take a moment to realize how lucky we are, how much we appreciate those we work with (in the form of colleagues, clients and supporters) and how grateful we are to be able to get to create work that works for us.

posted by Amy Abrams

Women Business Owners Contribute a Total Economic Impact of $3 Trillion! And the Only Ones Getting Sold Short Are the Women.

(glass piggy banks by Roost from Velocity Art & Design)
(article in full posted on Huffington Post 12/1 - Adelaide Lancaster)

Apparently the independence we women entrepreneurs seek is coming at a big price. The benefits of entrepreneurship are driving more women than ever into self-employment, yet the financial rewards necessary to make this trend stick, still elude most of us.

In October the Center for Women's Business Research published the first ever study on the economic impact of women business owners in the US.

The following data were rightly heralded by many media outlets as a great triumph:

* There are approximately 8 million women-owned businesses nationwide

* Women-owned businesses employ 23 million workers (16% of total US jobs)

* Women business owners account for approximately $3 trillion dollars of total economic impact

Pretty impressive stuff.

As someone who strongly believes that entrepreneurship is an important economic and employment vehicle for both women and the US, I am thrilled to see the growing national economic contribution by women-owned businesses confirmed. Understandably then I was disturbed by one underreported statistic.

According to the study, 87.5% of all women-owned businesses are without employees - perhaps a dramatic majority, but not necessarily a problematic one. Let's not forget that flexibility is the third most motivating startup factor for women business owners, according to a 2006 MasterCard survey, and many such women feel that the responsibility of managing employees would impinge upon that.

What is disturbing upon further examination of these statistics, however, is that the projected average annual revenue of these non-employee firms is $27,000, compared to the average annual revenue for firms with employees of $910,000. This means that 87.5% of women owned businesses are only making 17% of the revenue.

READ MORE

Getting Perspective(s)

Last week the Mom/Business Owner Affinity Group gathered for a wonderful discussion where several of IGC's more seasoned parents (aka "moms with distance") joined regular members of the affinity group (most of whom have young children under the age of 10) to discuss their experiences of raising children and juggling their careers. The "moms with distance" all have childredn who are now in their 20s and 30s. These members shared stories of memorable parenting highs and lows, favorite family traditions and lessons learned retrospectively, sparking a lively, wide-ranging conversation that touched on evergreen parenting challenges (e.g., handling picky eaters) as well as more recent phenomena, including helicopter parenting. We wanted to share some of the feedback and tips they shared with the group.

Celia, who worked full-time while raising her two sons, talked about the importance of establishing rituals, celebrating important achievements, always following through on threatened punishments and eating dinner as a family. Given her work schedule, she recalled, this often meant sitting down to a home-cooked meal at 9:00 pm at night - which her sons grew up believing was a typical dinner hour. She also introduced the group to the concept of the "favor bank", a method of encouraging unsolicited acts of generosity (as in clearing the table without being asked) and, if a child's virtual balance was running particularly low, potential grounds for ruling out a special treat until his behavior improved. Celia's overriding goal, she said, was to raise boys who were not spoiled brats, and she is proud of the fact that she and her husband now have two adult sons whom they genuinely like and enjoy spending time with. Celia also recommended a few books that she found invaluable, particularly when her sons hit adolescence, including Siblings Without Rivalry: How to Help Your Children Live Together So You Can Live Too and How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk, both by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish.

Karen, who also worked full-time while her daughter was growing up, also emphasized the importance of carving out regular time together - in her family's case, during meals and on weekends at a minimum. But this wasn't always the case. She recalled a particularly painful moment when her daughter Heather, who was then six, told her that her frequent traveling meant that they "weren't a family any more." Karen subsequently decided to cut her consulting hours back to part-time, and had to threaten to quit her job altogether before her boss grudgingly agreed to let her do it. Fortunately for the entire group, Karen's daughter Heather, who now has two young sons of her own and is also an IGC member, was on hand to share her perspective as well. She said that while she has no memory of being a catalyst in her mother's decision to alter her work schedule, she did grow up believing that Saturdays and Sundays really were "family days" and didn't realize the rest of the world called them "the weekend" until she was a teenager.

Alice, in reflecting on her parenting style and philosophy, said that she very consciously chose to raise her children in a much more laissez-faire way than she herself had been raised. She noted that this not only felt right to her at the time, but that she continues to feel good about the decisions she made, given that both of her children are now thriving, highly independent adults.

It seemed to many of the younger moms in the room that perhaps being a parent - and in particular, a mother - was less fraught with guilt and anxiety a generation ago than it is today. While all of the "moms with distance" had to engage in the same kind of juggling act that working women today must contend with, they agreed that they didn't spend a lot of time agonizing (or comparing notes with friends) about how well they were doing it. By comparison, as one mom with a toddler pointed out, the continued evolution of parenting as a "science" over the past couple of decades has created enormous pressure on parents, borne disproportionately by mothers, to get it right at every step of the way - or be made to feel that they risk potentially dire consequences.

Ultimately, the two-hour discussion didn't result in any resolutions, proclamations or manifestos. That wasn't the point. But it did get a lot of bright, accomplished women to speak candidly about, and listen respectfully to, a variety of opinions on the topic of motherhood. And it's quite possible that it got many of the newer moms in the room (aka "moms in the thick of it") to feel perfectly good about deviating, as often as necessary, from the use of patient explanations and reasoning to say "NO, because I said so and that's final." It's a tried-and-true method that worked on all of us, after all.

Guest Blogger: Eden Abrahams (co-faciliator, Mom Business Owner Affinity Group & Founder of Clear Path Executive Coaching)

A little bit can go a long way: Kiva, inKindness, IGC, & YOU!

(photo courtesy of Kelly Bentley)



Last year in lieu of sending holiday gifts or cards to our members and close colleagues, we set aside $1 for each of them and loaned the money through Kiva to women entrepreneurs around the world.

Since then, we have continued to reissue loans as soon as the original ones were paid back.
Using just the initial funds, we have loaned $1000 to date. These 15 loans have reached dozens of women in 10 countries!

We are inspired by how far this little gesture has gone and will be making a similar contribution this year.

Want us to make a contribution on your behalf? Let us know in the comments section.

Want to join our lending team? Do so here.

In Good Company’s Ears are Burning

(Image courtesy of Tony Golding)



IGC has been mentioned on some really fantastic blogs recently. Each is a great resource for women entrepreneurs! Check out the articles and blogs below. Thanks for all the support.

OPEN FORUM:
Women Entrepreneurs Fight the Urge to Do It All
What Gen Y Entrepreneurs Have Learned and Can Teach You

Working in the New Economy:
How to Deal With Post Conference Overload
4 Reasons to Share Your Ideas

Game Change Ventures: Trouncing the Recession like an Upstart!
Gen Y Start Up

A Simple List of Beautiful Gift Ideas for the Home Office

SusyJack* 2010 Desk Calendar




















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byrd & belle ipod and iphone case




















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a new twist on an old classic - Ice Cube Picture Frame








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CardStock - a year's worth of occasion cards

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turkish hammam towels - can be used as a throw or wrap

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Moleskine Color a Month Planner

The Business Owner's "Imposter Complex"

(photo courtesy of Megan Horsburgh)







In a recent consulting session I was struck by a client's poignant statement. She said that after 8 years of running a successful business (in which she has supported herself and several employees), she finally feels like a "real-business owner". Hum... I scratched my head and asked. "what do you mean?" She said that she had always felt like a fake and that it was mere luck that had been propelling her business forward over the years.

Ah ha, I realized she had suffered from the Business Owner's Imposter Complex!

A quick and easy definition provided by wikipedia of the Imposter Complex is when "sufferers are unable to internalize their accomplishments. Regardless of what level of success they may have achieved in their chosen field of work or study or what external proof they may have of their competence, those with the syndrome remain convinced internally they do not deserve the success they have achieved and are actually frauds. Proof of success is dismissed as luck, timing, or as a result of deceiving others into thinking they were more intelligent and competent than they believe themselves to be."

On further reflection, I thought about just how many business owners we connect with who also describe this same experience. Despite their talent, hard work and success they often do not own their identity as a REAL (and successful) business owner or entrepreneur.

When we started In Good Company, our mission was to "elevate the status of women business owners".

This goal was twofold:

First, to help increase recognition of an often overlooked demographic and the large economic impact that demographic is continuing to make at a breaking pace.

Second, on a more local, and arguably important level, we wanted to help more women see themselves as "REAL" business owners.

It reflects a critical shift in thinking, to go from thinking of yourself as a X (consultant, nutritionist, photographer) to understanding that you are truly an entrepreneur. To date these are the best kinds of testimonials and feedback that we receive!

-posted by Amy Abrams