financing for women's businesses Archives

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By Jennifer S. Wilkov, Founder, Speak Up Women Conference

Your voice is one of your biggest assets. It informs others. It expresses desire, hope, fear, happiness, sadness and other emotions. More importantly, it tells people who you are and what you want.

When an individual speaks up, things change. This is universal. This is how change happens. When we open up our great big beautiful mouths and start speaking to others, change occurs for us and for all those whose lives we touch – whether it’s your daughter, neighbor, business colleague, friend, intimate partner or even a stranger you meet for a moment and then may never see again.

It’s time for women everywhere to speak up — whether it’s in the corporate world, the non-profit sector, as a small business owner or brand new entrepreneur with a great idea, or as a mom who wants to break back in to the adult world to do something great.

Teenagers are discovering the world around them and who they are. They fear speaking up in an environment where they are often not in a position of authority. What would change if they spoke up about what they saw and what they wanted? What could change if this dialogue occurred? What could they create in the world to make it a better place locally and globally?

Isn’t it your time as a teenager to speak up?!

20-year-olds are finding themselves and understanding who they are in the larger global world outside their homes and college experiences. They are establishing themselves in the corporate and non-profit worlds or opening up businesses where they see others not being served in the way they think they should. They seek out opportunities where they can feel fulfilled and create an identity they can be proud of.

Isn’t it your time as a 20-something to speak up?! What would change for you and all those you see around you if you did?

What’s holding you back?

30-year-olds are often finding themselves in relationships of all kinds – personal, romantic, parental, professional – where they may or may not speak up about what’s important to them, what fulfills them and how they want to live their lives. Imagine if they spoke up about what’s important to them and sought out and ask for help in the areas where they felt they could contribute and make life better for themselves and everyone on the planet.

When will it be your time to speak up in your 30s?!

40-year-olds experience change physically and perhaps in other areas of their lives. What was important to them in their 30s may change and their focus in life may change too. Who’s going to know what’s changed for you if you don’t tell anyone? When will you use that great big beautiful voice of yours and inform others of who you are today, what you want to do, what career you really want, and what life you really want to live?

When will it be just the right time to speak up in your 40s?!

50-year-olds have seen a lot and still have a ton of spark and spirit in them to run after what they want and create the life they said they’ve wanted for years. They’ve seen more than a half century of society, professional industries, politics and personal experiences.

Now is it time to speak up – in your 50s?!

60-year-olds are certainly not “retiring” but instead reinvigorating their lives and dreams. They are far from stopping but often don’t want to feel like they’re imposing on others for their place in the world as a new senior citizen. They are vibrant and often wondering if they could still create that cool entrepreneurial idea they once had when they were younger.

When will it be time to speak up – in your 60s?!

70-year-olds continue to be actively engaged in the lives they have and often wonder what’s next for them. Can you actually start something new in your 70s and beyond?

YES! If you are willing to speak up, any age is a great time to start something new, create new relationships, find new opportunities that serve your soul and others, locally and globally, and make change happen.

Big or small, speaking up makes a difference for everyone – especially you!

No matter how old or young you are, it’s always the right time to speak up.
If you don’t, how will things change? How will you contribute to the change that inevitably happens around you? How many lives can you make just a little bit better by speaking up?

ISN’T IT YOUR TIME TO SPEAK UP?!

Join us for the next Speak Up Women Conference which will be held at the United Nations on Friday, March 3^rd, 2017. Save the Date! Don’t miss out on this elite experience to learn how to create change where change is necessary in your life and why using your words and speaking up is the key to everything you want.

Guest Post from Kelly Keenan Trumpbour, Founder of See Jane Invest and Moderator, Speak Up for Financing Panel at the Speak Up Women Conference

I’m an angel investor, which means companies directly ask for my money. Because I work with angel investing groups, I choose among entrepreneurs who have made it through a tough selection process. They present their ideas to me and my colleagues at monthly pitch meetings hoping to secure sizable checks.

Frequently, I am the only female investor in the room. The majority of companies pitching us have zero women founders in the mix. That’s changing, and I’m happy to report seeing more and more women at the helm of great ideas. I’ve been privileged to see suburb pitches from women founders who are on fire, and I am left with the unenviable task of choosing among them.

And yet, more often than I would like, when other female-founded companies are in front of me, the person telling me about it isn’t always the woman who created it. It’s often a guy.

Can I tell you how often I see a woman founder’s picture in a company’s slideshow, but the woman herself is not in the room with me? Do you know how many times women co-founders take a seat in the back of the room, ready and available for our follow-up questions, but they are not running the presentation?

It makes me want to rewrite the Tammy Wynette classic and belt from the top of my lungs, “STAND BY YOUR IDEA!! (twang twang twang) . . . . And show the world you love it!”

Ladies . . . LADIES!!! Just give me one other example, anywhere in your life, where you hand the microphone to a guy so he can explain your thought process about something you care so very deeply about.

Because I don’t hear random guys saying things like, “Well Bob, Ella went vegan in college because she believes in a cruelty free, sustainable food model, which is why she’s hoping you will offer her tofu from now on!” Or, “You know what Ron, that’s a great question. Does Tanya want to get married someday? I think the important question here is does she want to get married to you. And while we are so delighted by your interest, I think you can see that her brand will need to hold out for more.”

I know what you put into these companies. Many of you have maxed out credit cards, taken out another mortgage on a house, skipped sleep, ignored friends and exasperated family members. And then your team comes to pitch me and I don’t see you at the front of the room telling me why it is all (still) worth it.

And I think I know why. It’s not necessarily a lack of confidence or self-esteem. I think it’s because you care so very much about your idea that you want to entrust its communication to the very best possible messenger. If you are going to walk into a room full of mostly male investors, why not offer them your male co-founder? It’s smart. Like can attract like. But it’s also safe, and it bets against you being the best possible messenger.

If you have made it far enough as an entrepreneur to pitch me, you have found a way to live with risk. Maybe it’s never become what you might call comfy (and it never will), but like a decent roommate, you’re familiar enough with its rhythms to sleep a few hours most nights.

If you have enough of the gambler in you to put tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars behind your concept, risk a steady paycheck somewhere else, and cash in every favor for one shot at the gold ring, why not bet on your voice being the best voice?

Your job as the startup founder will always be far more difficult than my job as an investor. I don’t envy the strain you volunteer for, even if I admire your tenacity. But when I invest, I invest only in women-owned companies. I’m quite public about that. It’s on my websites, my social media pages, and my business cards. Two minutes into a conversation with me, and you will know I invest in women-led startups. Why? Because it matters to me that other people see and hear about an angel investor who expects women to be as present as men in the startup industry.

In putting my money where my mouth is, I’m hoping to model the change you need to get more investment. To get my investment, I need you to speak up and stand by your idea.

I look forward to meeting you at the Speak Up Women Conference on March 5th at the United Nations and hearing about your experience!

Guest Post from Jeanne Sullivan, Co-Founder of StarVest Partners and Panelist, Speak Up for Financing Panel at the Speak Up Women Conference

Three important places where your VOICE really counts:

In the Workplace:

This past year I was invited to deliver a TEDx for Barnard College. I am a Barnard Entrepreneur Fellow and this platform was one of the privileges. My theme was exactly the title of this post today. Here is why this title is so important to me – Women need to learn to find their voice and use it. How appropriate that this gathering is the Speak Up Women Conference.

In my TEDx talk, I used this theme related to dealing with Bullies, Bozos and Buffoons in the workplace. As anyone knows or has worked for more than month for a company an organization or firm, these people are everywhere (unfortunately). The approach that works best is to find one’s voice with these hard-to-deal-with people. Bosses, colleagues, customers, vendors and more. I believe the more effective approach is to use humor which often works to disarm the offender. I know one thing that does NOT work – and that is remaining silent and boiling over with anger and resentment.

When selling your idea, product or service:

Hone your ability to “sell” your idea, product or service.

I am a long-time venture capital investor and now Angel investor and advisor. I am amazed that CEOs often cannot package their “story”.

Yes…” story” is the operative word – I want you to tell me the genesis of your company – how you will execute and your plans and vision to build it big. How will you scale your business? Tell me about the “Business of the Business”. Don’t just fall in love with your product or tell me about the features and functions. Tell me about the channels where you plan sell this product or service. Lay out your marketing plan. Describe yourself as CEO and your team and track record. Lay out the financials around the business – how much capital you will require over time and your milestones.

Of course, investors want to hear about your product or service. But entrepreneurs need to remember that the primary goal of an investor is to make money – and they want to hear how you plan to make that money from their investment. And speaking of financials – Know your financials an I mean cold!”

Ladies – most of us are BAD at this but “You can learn this stuff”.

Get a finance professional at your side who can teach you. Let others show you how to understand the numbers and bring them to the meeting. When the snarky angel or VC says ‘What are the gross margins?’ And you have a blank look on your face, guess what? You got the first meeting, but you won’t get the second.”

“Investors want you to be stewards of their money.”

In an organization, these lessons are equally important. Imagine that you have a new idea or product for your line of business or company. Again, when packaging your idea – think about how to be most effective in presenting this innovation, new process or product. These are the stepping stones toward success for yourself and for the business.

Your Patter:

A talented PR person helped me along the way with this one. Someone asks you to introduce yourself at a meeting, a party, a job interview. Package yourself with a few short phrases that …tells your story. Just start listening to others and you will quickly see the difference between doing this well or not.

Finding One’s Voice –

And…this discussion is part of the journey of life! It takes time and continuous practice in many settings to learn to be articulate – find one’s voice – to be packaged! I am always amazed and in awe of the young, articulate people who do this well. We can learn from each other – I am still learning every day.

I look forward to meeting you at the Speak Up Women Conference on March 5th at the United Nations and hearing about your experience!

Link with me: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeannemsullivan

Connect with me: @Gianna212

Everybody loves to receive gifts and we at the Speak Up Women Conference know how to give them with our hearts and souls to help support you with your “Speak Up” skills!

When you register by Thursday, March 3rd, at 11:59pm Eastern Time
for the Speak Up Women Conference, you qualify to win one of the following giveaways from our impactful elite speakers and amazing Speak Up Women team:

Cherie Corso is gifting and giving away a gift basket filled with G HEADER-3 2 Organics products to one lucky registrant! Thank You, Cherie!

Jessica Abo is gifting and giving away a 1-hour coaching session to help one lucky registrant turn her passion into action! Thank You, Jessica!

Experienced venture capital investor, Jeanne M. Sullivan, will meet for a half-day session to support your business vision. “Let’s talk about packaging, connections and how to get funded or brainstorm ideas to scale your business.” Thank You, Jeanne!

Kathy Zucker is gifting and giving away a 1-hour consultation with one lucky registrant! Thank you, Kathy!

Bonnie Bruderer, our esteemed Emcee & Mistress of Ceremonies, is gifting and giving away 1 hour of media training. Thank you, Bonnie!

Bonnie is also gifting and giving away a “Tweebot” which is a robot and a chance to win $10,000 with it! See #tweebaa and @tweebaa on Twitter. Thank You, Bonnie!

Laura Fredricks is gifting and giving away ½ hour of her valuable time to one lucky registrant plus the winner will receive a signed copy of her book. Thank You, Laura!

Karen Taylor Bass is gifting and giving away one complimentary 45-minute PR Coaching session to one lucky registrant. Thank You, Karen!

Stephanie Parker is gifting and giving away one hour of her valuable time as a business consult to one lucky registrant. Thank You, Stephanie!

Joan Pelzer of Joan Pelzer Media, our amazing social media strategist for the Speak Up Women Conference, is gifting and giving away a 1-hour Social Media Roadmap Session to one lucky registrant in which Joan Pelzer Media will evaluate current social media and help craft a strategic plan for moving ahead to create relationships online rather than just connections! Thank You, Joan!

Jennefer Witter of The Boreland Group, our fabulous publicist for the Speak Up Women Conference, is gifting and giving away a one-hour PR tele coaching session to one lucky registrant plus a signed copy of her book. Thank
You, Jennefer!

Our Founder, Jennifer S. Wilkov, is gifting and giving away a one-hour Reset Your Mindset session to one lucky registrant plus a signed copy of her book, Boys Before Business: The Single Girl’s Guide to Having It All

Jennifer is also gifting and giving away a one-hour JumpStart Your Book Session to one lucky registrant in which she will provide guidance and direction for the winner’s book or script idea, concept, draft, published or produced work. Thank You, Jennifer!

Judy Goss Headshot 1 2015 (3)

Judy Goss is gifting and giving away a 30-minute media training and a complimentary online membership to
Over 40 Females to one lucky registrant. Thank You, Judy!

Michelle Tillis Lederman is gifting and giving away one coaching call for one lucky registrant. Thank You, Michelle!

Jessica Minhas is gifting and giving away a 1-hour consultation on how to use your story for good or media/speaking coaching for one lucky registrant. Thank You, Jessica!

Victoria Moran, one of our esteemed Keynote Speakers, is gifting and giving away a Vegan Lifestyle Coaching Session via phone or Skype to one lucky registrant. Thank You, Victoria!

Alyssa Peek of Peek Photography, one of our fabulous photographers for the Speak Up Women Conference, is gifting and giving away one photo shoot session valued at $850 to one lucky registrant. Thank You, Alyssa!

Guest Post from Laura Fredricks, Panelist, Speak Up for Financing Panel at the Speak Up Women Conference

I was doing a radio interview with a fabulous, bright young entrepreneur named Maddy who was starting her own business creating 3-D patterns to make clothes. I was brought on the show specifically to hear her story and give my advice on how she could raise the money to launch her new business. She just did a TED Talk on the topic, so her energy and her promise of a successful business were sky high.

Maddy told me she had some initial people in mind to ask for the money. One in particular was her mentor, the person who helped her create the business plan for this new venture. Maddy was very organized about her approach to asking people for money. She said her mentor would be “fabulous” to ask because “she was wealthy and really liked” Maddy. Maddy had in mind asking her for a serious six-figure investment in her business. When I asked Maddy why she hadn’t already asked her mentor for money, she couldn’t answer me. Her reluctance to ask puzzled her; she didn’t think her mentor would be offended or that it would alienate their relationship.

So I asked Maddy one simple question: “What does money mean to you?” She looked surprised and answered, “I hadn’t really thought about it. Why did you ask?”

I replied, “When you ask for money, this comes up. All the emotions, feelings, attitudes, and beliefs you have about money come flooding in; I am certain that is why you haven’t asked her for money.”

She thought about it and said, “I think you’re right; I better give this some thought.”

I told her to try to think of money as the best 3-D pattern she ever created, that it was green and flowed and would be the model outfit that every designer envied and copied. Then she should ask her mentor for money.

I circled back with Maddy a few weeks later, and I received the most wonderful email from her. She asked her mentor for money, and her mentor was giving her much more than she asked. Way to go, Maddy!

The first step in anyone’s journey when you ask for money is to answer “What does money mean to you?” It’s the step that everyone skips over. The focus is always on how much to ask for and who to ask. But if you do not have a good relationship with money any ask you make will not go well. If you need to work out your money worries, and have the best relationship with money, I have a 30-Day FREE Money Wellness Program you can check out.

The next step is where you have to change your mindset. Memorize this, live by this and watch your finance asks skyrocket:

When you ASK for Money, You are Not Taking Something Away. You are giving Someone an Opportunity.

Think of Maddy. Her first thoughts were that she would be taking something away from her mentor not what she would be adding to her mentor’s business and her mentor’s life.

In my 25+ years of training and coaching CEO’s; President’s: Four-Star Generals; Multi-millionaire entrepreneurs, Rabbis, Priests, and anyone who wants to start or enhance a business or a charity, the #1 thing that holds them back~ they project that asking for money means taking something away. Just think about this. The ask has not even been made and we are already second-guessing that the person will say no because it will take away their money! Practice my money opportunity mantra and believe in the opportunities you can offer many people from this moment forward. For more great practical and success tips on how to ask for money, you can read my bestselling book: “The ASK: How to ASK for Your Nonprofit Cause, Creative Project, or Business Venture”.

Here is your real motivation to have the best relationship with money. People who worry about money are:

3x more likely to have a digestive disorder;
10x more likely to suffer from headaches or migraines; and
6x more likely to experience depression.

Report by American Psychology Association “Stress in America.”

EVERY decision you make in life involves money. Do you buy coffee or make coffee? Do you take mass transit or do you drive? Do you take a vacation away or take the time to just stay home? Do you have an extravagant wedding or something smaller with close family and friends? The list goes on and on, but once you realize that EVERY decision you make in life involves money, which can build up so much stress and affect your health, you should put every effort into having the best relationship with money. In my most recent book just out February 2016: “Money Wellness: Is Money Making Your $ick?”, I take a deep dive into how our thoughts about money affect our happiness; sleep; diet; exercise; relaxation; spirituality; creativity; and yes, even our fun. I then share numerous ways you can work through and beyond some major Money Blockers that are preventing you from asking for money. So if you are like many people and you want to have the best relationship with money and NOT have it affect your health, this book is your salvation!

Now that you have the tools to have the best relationship with money and you know that asking for money is an opportunity, is there a right way to ask? My resounding answer is YES. Over the years I have brought:

Organization – Structure – Focus

to the process of making the ASK so that you can see there is a process, the right way to ask anyone for money. I created THE FIVE STEP PROCESS FOR ANY ASK. In life, people gravitate towards structure and process so that their activity is not random, or unpredictable. The Five Step Process For Any Ask places structure to what otherwise may be a random and unpredictable ask. I’ve worked with many people and organizations world-wide with this process with amazing results. Want to know what it is so that YOU can have resounding results when you ask for money for your business or yourself?

Well, I will share it with you at the Speak Up Women Conference on March 5, 2016 at the United Nations! See you there!!

Meet Laura Fredricks, a Panelist on the Speak Up for Financing Panel at the Speak Up Women Conference happening at the United Nations on March 5th, 2016!

LAURA FREDRICKS is a multi-million dollar ASK-maker who, as Founder & CEO of THE ASK©, teaches nonprofits and businesses how to confidently, willingly and successfully ask for money. Fredricks is today’s leading authority on “How to A$K© for Money – and More of It!” She has helped hundreds of organizations worldwide raise multi-millions through her unique approach to fundraising. She is author of “THE A$K: How to ASK for your Nonprofit Cause, Creative Project and Business Venture.” Most recently Laura joined a star-studded list of Wellness Experts and is the “Money Wellness Expert” with an all new 30-day on-line money wellness program. Her newest book is: Money Wellness: Is Money Making you Sick?” www.expertontheask.com.

Laura Fredricks – Panelist, Speak Up for Financing

As an attorney-turned-philanthropic advisor, she has enjoyed a lengthy and successful career in industries best known for making high profile, multi-million dollar A$KS – law and philanthropy – and is the first to merge strategies from both professional sectors into a mainstream practice known as THE ASK©. This new practice has placed LAURA on the national and international speaking circuits at conferences around the world from Amsterdam to Ann Arbor, Bologna to Boca Raton, Kenya to Kentucky, Moscow to Montreal, Sydney to Seattle, plus Australia, Italy, and the Netherlands. THE ASK© has also led LAURA to TV and radio appearances on local talk shows across the nation, and her expertise has been featured in national publications. Her four books on “How to A$K© for Money – and More of It” have become industry leaders. Follow her on TWITTER: @expertontheask.

Join Laura as she shares her insights
during this important panel about
Speak Up for Financing
at this amazing inaugural event!

For more about speaking up, watch
this video of our founder, Jennifer S. Wilkov, talk about
why it is so important to speak up and
the impact you can make when you do.

Go to www.SpeakUpWomen.com to learn more and
to register to attend the Speak Up Women Conference
at the United Nations on March 5th, 2016

When Is It Your Time to Speak Up?

Guest Post: Speak Up and Stand by Your Idea

Guest Post: Stand Up – Step Up – Speak Up

Gifts & Giveaways to Registrants Only for the Speak Up Women Conference!

Guest Post: How to ASK and Get Serious Money for Your Business

Meet Laura Fredricks – Panelist, Speak Up for Financing Panel