Women Breaking the Million $ Plateau - Women's Leadership Exchange ‘Growth Gurus’ - Offer Strategies for Breakthrough Success - Experts on B2B Networking Offers Conference for Superwomen Business Owners VIPS include Jane Fonda, Gloria Steinem & Carolyn Kepcher of “The Apprentice”
For Leslie Grossman, a serial entrepreneur, and her business partner Andrea March, co-founders of the high profile Women’s Leadership Exchange®, the numbers tell the story: women-owned enterprises are the fastest-growing segment of the economy nationwide. One in every 11 American woman today is the owner of her own business. As of 2004, an estimated 10.6 million privately-held firms in the U. S. were 50% or more women-owned, accounting for 48% of all privately-held businesses. These companies generate $2.46 trillion in sales and employ 19.1 million people
New York, NY (PRWEB) November 3, 2004
At the same time, Grossman emphasizes, a relatively small but significant percentage (3% or 300,000) of these women-owned businesses are in the “multi-million dollar plus” category. Is it possible for more women to get past what are often self-imposed limitations to grow their mid-level businesses into the multi-million-dollar ranges?
"Absolutely!" says Grossman. She reports that her experience with B2Women, which guides corporations in marketing to women, and the experiences of other women owners of high-level businesses, have demonstrated that if a woman can build her business to the $750,000 level, she can also get past that million dollar mark and continue into the double-digit millions.
The key to accelerating growth for woman business owners today, she maintains, is their willingness to get out of their offices for the knowledge and management skills needed to expand their businesses. Her strategy, which she terms “the New Woman’s Network” is for women to reach out to other women entrepreneurs to ask for help and to offer it. This type of outreach does not come as easily to women as it does to men. As Grossman asserts: “Too many of us are still caught up in the Superwoman Syndrome. Fortunately this is changing.” Her vehicle for change is the Women’s Leadership Exchange, a company by women entrepreneurs for women entrepreneurs, which holds all-day educational conferences that are also powerful networking events, in New York, Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta and Long Beach/LA.
To help women take on the mantle of leadership Grossman has recruited a traveling group of “Growth Gurus.” The “Growth Gurus” are women (and one man!) who have distinguished themselves as business owners, corporate leaders, speakers, or authors -- and in several instances, all of the above!
The 2004 New York City conference on November 12 will be held from 7:30 AM to 7:30 PM at the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers. This is the third year for the WomenÂ’s Leadership Exchange (WLE) in New York. Last year more than 600 women business owners attended, and this yearÂ’s attendance is expected to be close to 800. The conference is made possible in part through the generous support of WLEÂ’s presenting sponsor, OPEN: The Small Business Network from American Express. "Helping women business owners grow their companies is a priority for the OPEN Network, and we are proud to be sponsoring WLE," said Susan Sobbott, President, OPEN: The Small Business Network. "Women's Leadership Exchange enables women business owners to focus on personal and business development, something that can get lost amid the day-to-day rigors of running a business."
Each year the WLE is proud to honor several outstanding women with its coveted Compass Award and let them share their success secrets. Presented by Stefanie Katz-Rothman, Vice President, U. S. Advertising, American Express, and moderated by New YorkÂ’s Lynn Sherr, television journalist, author and co-host of ABCÂ’s 20/20.
Host for the entire dayÂ’s event is Barbara Laskin of Laskin Media, Inc., a national communications firm specializing in advanced training for media interviews and public speaking.
This yearÂ’s honorees are:
1) Jane Fonda, Activist for Women and Children around the world. Fonda has long been known for activism and advocacy on environmental issues, human rights, and the empowerment of women. She has spearheaded numerous projects to benefit girls and women around the world. Ms. Fonda will receive the WLEÂ’s first-ever Vanguard Award for her extraordinary leadership and activities on behalf of women and girls.
Receiving the WLE Compass Award for shifting the paradigm of how women are perceived as leaders in the world:
1) Pamela Thomas-Graham, President and CEO, CNBC, the global leader in business news. Among her many accolades, Ms. Thomas - Graham was among the “100 Most Powerful Black Americans” featured in Ebony magazine. In 2003, Ms. Magazine selected Thomas-Graham as one of their "Women of the Year," deeming her "the most influential African-American woman in cable television." Crain's New York Business recently named her as one of the "100 Most Powerful Minority Business Leaders" and has included her in its "Forty Under Forty" list of rising young business leaders.
2) Bernadine Healy, M. D., First woman director of the National Institute of Health (NIH). A physician with a career in medical education, research, patient care, and health policy, Dr. Healey has led the Research Institute at The Cleveland Clinic, the National Institutes of Health, the College of Medicine and Public Health of Ohio State University, and the American Red Cross.
Facilitated networking has been woven naturally and comfortably into all aspects of the November 12th conference. The networking alone makes this event a “must go” for participants, according to entrepreneurs who attended last year. One of the New York-based women business owners who attended last year, Gail Wiggin, co-founder of aabalone (Red), a marketing and branding consultancy, commented: “I was completely and totally supercharged by the things I heard and the women I met at WLE. It was astonishing, refreshing, enlightening, educational and uplifting. I can truly say, my life was changed.”
The morning Keynote Speaker is Myra Hart, Co-Chair, Entrepreneurship Faculty, Harvard Business School, Co-Founder of Staples, and Chair, The Center for WomenÂ’s Business Research.
The afternoon Keynote Speaker is Gloria Steinem, leader in womenÂ’s rights, activist and author. Spanning two centuries as a writer and an activist, Gloria Steinem has been a leader in the women's rights movement. Steinem has spent her life promoting "sisterhood" among all women, regardless of political party, race, religion, or economic status. Early in her career, she defined feminism as simply "the belief that women are full human beings."
Seminar and panel topics and “Growth Gurus” leading them:
Success Unlimited: Get Unstuck and Accelerate Your Business. Aldonna Ambler, CMC, CSP, Founder, AMBLER Growth Strategy Consultants, and author of Growing Beyond Plateaus and Celebrate Selling the Consultative-Relationship Way. This seminar is a must for those who feel “stuck” and want to learn how to move to the next level of growth. A dynamic, powerful mentor, Ms. Ambler provides a strategic roadmap for finding and accessing growth opportunities, often hidden in plain sight, to build your business beyond plateaus.
Sure-Fire Changes that Drive Company Growth. Dr. Joanne Sujansky, CEO, The KEYGroup, an international training and assessment company and author of The Keys to Conquering Change; Training Games for Managing Change, and The Power of Partnering. Women entrepreneurs want to create and sustain business growth but often fail to implement the changes they need to make. Internationally recognized leadership and change expert, Dr. Joanne G. Sujansky, a certified speaking professional, will help you to confront, head-on, what you need to stop doing, as well as what you need to start doing, in order to propel change, increase profitability and sustain growth.
Brain, Sex and Business. Edie Weiner, President, Weiner, Edrich, Brown, Inc. and author of many books, including Office Biology. Research over the past several decades has revealed the astounding physical distinctions between the male and female brains. These have enormous implications the workplace. Futurist Edie Weiner will share what we know from this research and how we can apply that knowledge in effectively managing our stakeholders (customers, employees, boards, investors, etc.) to build better relationships in business and in our personal lives.
You, Inc.: Create a Powerful Personal Brand. This seminar features a panel of top branding experts including Orit, Founder and President, The O Group, a strategic design and full-service marketing and communications firm. Orit is a renowned brand development and marketing expert. Marcia Brown, Founder and President, The Monarch Group, a marketing and executive coaching company that helps executives and business owners develop their personal brand to increase their value and effectiveness in their companies. Marcia is the former Director of Marketing for a $300 million division of Coca-Cola. Connie Glaser, syndicated columnist for bizwomen. com and the Atlanta Business Chronicle, and author of numerous books, including two bestsellers, What Queen Esther Knew, Business Strategies from a Biblical Sage and Swim with the Dolphins: How Women Can Succeed in Corporate American on Their Own Terms. Her books have been translated into more than a dozen languages. Ms. Glaser is a high-profile public speaker, consultant to multinational companies, and a frequent guest on national television. She is also the national spokesperson for the Business WomenÂ’s Network, which represents the interests of 30 million women across the United States.
Become a Talent Magnet and Decrease Turnover. Nancy Ahlrichs Raichart, SPHR, Founder, EOC Strategies, LLC. Nancy is a human resources expert and author of Manager of Choice: 5 Competencies for Cultivating Top Talent and Competing for Talent: Key Management and Retention Strategies for Becoming an Employer of Choice. Today, as never before, employee recruitment, motivation and retention are major concerns for business owners and are critical to successfully growing a company. In this seminar you will learn the secrets to creating an “employer of choice” culture and attracting, motivating and retaining the best and brightest employees, even under the most challenging conditions.
Summiting: A New Approach to Marketing and Sales that Supports Breakthrough Business Growth. Jim Hoverman, President of the Blue Chip Marketing Group, is an innovative marketing consultant and author of Summiting: Building and Sustaining Relationships With Customer Top Management. In this seminar Hoverman asks the question: "Are you or your salespeople losing business opportunities by calling on the same low-level buyers with little or no business, or business at the price of increasingly unacceptable margins? Jim will offer an alternative for you to support your sales people in building relationships with, and selling to, customer top management, and dispel common myths about engaging customer executives.
Gaining the Competence to Close the Big Deals. Carol Super, author, Selling (without selling): 4 ½ Steps to Success. The perennial top sales producer for Media Networks Inc., now a division of Time, Inc., Carol received the prestigious “Sales Professional of the Year” Award from Sales and Marketing Management magazine. In this seminar, participants will learn a proven system to help them understand buyer motivation, have their prospect follow their lead, and conquer every phase of the selling process.
Attracting the Right Financial Partners to Help You Grow Your Business. Beth Polish, President, The Critical Junctures Group, founding CFO of iVillage, former President of Anthony Robbins Dreamlife, former CFO of Goldman Sachs Ventures.
Myra Hart, WLEÂ’s morning Keynote Speaker and Co-Chair, Entrepreneurship Faculty, Harvard Business School, Co-Founder of Staples, Chair, The Center of WomenÂ’s Business Research. Here you will learn what you need to do to find and obtain financing, whatÂ’s realistic at different stages of development and how to find appropriate investors/lenders for your specific company.
How to Create a Winning Marketing Plan, Leslie Green, Managing Partner, Roffe & Green, Inc. Learn how to create a successful, cost-effective marketing plan from the woman who took the popular Swiss Army Knife and turned it into the global SWISS ARMY brand. In this seminar, participants will learn to determine how much to spend on marketing, how to identify your target audiences, and why the conventional wisdom may not be wise – and so much more!
The Power Players: Lessons from New YorkÂ’s Top Women Power Brokers
This panel is moderated by Sheila Brooks. Linda Dunn, President and CEO of Idamar, and Marcia Wilson, Founder of Daffys. You’ve heard about Lessons from the Legends of Wall Street. WLE has our own take on “legends.” Learn what drives some of New York’s most influential female power players to create successful multi-million dollar enterprises and what makes them different in their approaches to business. Discover how to apply their strategies to move your business to the next level. Extensive Q& A makes this popular feature highly interactive.
Registration
Registration for the Conference, which includes participatory seminars, dynamic keynote speakers, facilitated networking sessions, breakfast, Awards Luncheon, Interactive Information Center with book signings, and a Cocktail Reception, are priced at only $350 for the 12-hour, 7:30 am to 7:30 pm day. If you register with your American Express/OPEN Card you save $50. If you are a member of one of WLEÂ’s supporting organizations, you save an additional $25, making the total price for the full day event only $275. To register, log on to the website, www. womensleadershipexchange. com or call toll free, 1-888-937-5800.
NOTE TO MEDIA: For additional information on the event and all participants, and to set up interviews, please contact Judy Katz or Annmarie Cunningham, Katz Creative, Inc., at 212-580-8833 or email jkatzcreative@aol. com.
About WomenÂ’s Leadership Exchange
The Women's Leadership Exchange (WLE) is a New York City-based multi-media company founded by and for female entrepreneurs. Featuring educational conferences New York, Dallas, Chicago, Long Beach/Los Angeles and Atlanta, for already established businesses with revenues from $750,000 to $25 million. The WLE offers women entrepreneurs access to the tools and connections that drive business growth. The WLE mission is to help develop more women leaders in business and other areas of human endeavor by connecting women with top business experts, corporate leaders, and with each other. The WLE also offer its e-newsletter, “The Exchange,” its online New Women's Network Directory, its women's business spa retreat at the Wyndham El Conquistador/Golden Door in Puerto Rico (the next one is Jan. 14 - 17, 2005) and topic-specific seminars on such issues as finances. The WLE presenting sponsor is OPEN: The Small Business Network from American Express. Sponsors include IBM, Merrill Lynch, Microsoft, Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, Volvo, HQ Global Workplaces, The O Group, BigFoot Interactive and Northwestern Mutual. Media partners include Entrepreneur, Forbes, MBE, Women's Enterprise and WCBS-AM. For more information, visit www. womensleadershipexchange. com or call 1-888-937-5800.
# # #
