Ladies Who Launch

NYC Live Event - One Attendee's Experience

, by FashionMista

Is it too late to blog about an event that happened a week and a half ago? Yes, I'm going to vote as usual and try not to do much damage in the booth, but am the most excited about the potential ban in NYC on trans fat in restaurants. Don't think that's an issue for the ballet, but I'm a fan of the ban. Hopefully the next one will be nutrasweet.  Anyway, my to-do list was so long the weekend after the event, that my blogging fell off of it! I was to cross everything off in one Saturday, and got about 7 of the maybe 22 things, so everything else went on hold.

So now that it's Halloween, I've reinstated the Incubator's mantra of "Do one nice thing for yourself each day" and indulged in some mini milky ways and turned on Gilmore Girls, (which was a reapeat of maybe the first show of this season, but I've so far missed them all so it's fine).

It was like Christmas morning when I got home after the LIVE Event. I had a bag full of goodies (free pair of Naturalizer shoes, Jonathan hair shine, a face peel from md skincare, and gobs more of little deals at womens' businesses), new business cards to file and websites to visit, and new dates to put into my Google calendar (LOVing the Google calendar).

Not only did we get goody bags and hear from the varied experiences of valuable speakers, but my brain was overflowing with new ideas and insights from other women. I had the pleasure of picking Wedding Bee's brain on blog advertising and generating traffic (write, write, write), to Glam or not to Glam with Chicks and Giggles, the new world and future website for Reel Invitations (dvd wedding invitations), and more Katie James strategic alliances with The Matchstick Group.

In between the fabulous speakers, we could indulge in chair massages compliments of State Farm, and go shopping in the Ladies Who Launch marketplace downstairs, where everyone had the cutest displays and polished designs. I held off from participating as a vendor, but now that I've done my first market down in Soho, I'm ready for another challenge. Here are a couple highlights from the LIVE event marketplace:

Ichiche
Definitely unique, beautiful designs of jewelry. Put one of these necklaces on and you're transported to another culture.

Bleach Letterpress Designs by Smith Banfield
I'm a sucker for letterpress cards, and Smith's are gorgeous. Even the card she gave away with her information on it was beautiful.

One of the fun parts about Ladies Who Launch is that there are these surprise women who are a part of it. As I was talking to my dyn-o-mite PR friend at Red Branch PR, I spotted a high school classmate who I hadn't seen in 5 years! I dashed over to her and we chatted and chatted. I can't wait for the next event, and I think there is an Incubator event coming up, oh, and I've got an acupuncture session tomorrow with Acupuncture Remedies...ta ta for now!

PS: just ordered my free Naturalizer shoes...what did everyone else get?

How to be a Lady Who Leads: VOTE!

Nancy Mindes is a NY Incubator member who found her focus after the 2004 elections by joining Ladies Who Launch and doing the incubator. She is a professional coach who works with Audacious Ladies. http://www.NancyMindes.com  

So you want to be a lady who leads?

Make sure you vote. Did you know that 70% of single moms in the previous election cycle said they weren’t going to vote. It’s like giving your power away.

What does it mean to vote? For some it means taking time out of an already busy schedule to go stand on line to vote for the “lesser of two evils” before running off to get on with work, chores, errands and the inevitable to-do list.

Others just forget the whole thing, even though it is a civic duty to get thee to a voting booth because they believe that they have “ no say in the matter”.

This couldn’t be farther from the truth. Voting, however is not just an activity for the first Tuesday in November, it is an activity that asks that you care deeply about what happens to our children, our society and the world at large and get in the game, for without having your voice be heard there is not one chance that issues ladies who launch, women, girls or dames care about will ever actually be addressed.

As we come down the homestretch to election day, it is really a bit late to be speaking about what issues we want candidates to address this cycle. However, it is not too late to seek out and help out those candidates who are addressing the issues you care about most. As Ellen Malcom of Emily’s List http://www.emilyslist.org says, “When women vote, women win.”

I Can’t Vote So Please Will You?

Freya Williams is a member of the New York Incubator.

Yesterday I fell in love with my daughter. I mean, I was already pretty nuts about her. But as I was walking through Greenwich Village in the sunshine chatting to eight week old baby Dot in her stroller, I realized I was just giddy, completely walking on air.

I don’t know why yesterday in particular. Maybe because after two months on a one way street, we’re suddenly in a reciprocal relationship. Now, when I smile and kiss her little face, she breaks into huge gummy grins and shrieks with excitement. She stares at me so hard that sometimes it’s a bit freaky.  Not to mention she is the most gorgeous baby ever (ok so I’m biased, but independent observers have confirmed this – I regularly get stopped on the street).

So how is this relevant to voting? Because, at the risk of sounding clichéd and all ‘we are the world’, this tiny person is what would influence my vote. I’m sure having a child helps focus priorities for many women. So now, there are two big issues for me. First: the environment. My granny says, "If you haven’t got your health you haven’t got anything" and it’s the same thing with the environment: if we don’t get environmental damage under control, all other issues will soon become irrelevant. I’d like to see a candidate go out on a limb, Gore-style, with a commitment to this issue, not pussy-foot around it because focus groups said it wasn’t sufficiently motivating (so make it motivating! You think anyone cared about Iraq till the GOP made them?). I can’t believe it’s still getting Newsweek covers as the new trendy thing. Guys, it’s life and death and we all need to get on board!

Voting: Jen Singer

Jen Singer, creator of MommaSaid.net, is also the author of 14 Hours ‘Til Bedtime.

This election year, I am, once again, not voting FOR a candidate, so much as I’m voting AGAINST one. Ever since the first presidential election I voted in back in 1988, I’ve voted for the candidate that I consider the lesser of two evils. In fact, after the 2004 presidential election, I was so disgusted by the partisan politics and mud-slinging, I switched my party affiliation to Independent. Besides, I don’t feel that either political party speaks to me. Rather, I use a buffet-style method when it comes to the issues: a little from the Republicans and a little from the Democrats until my plate is full. So here I am, in the middle, wondering who to vote against this year.

 

What should the candidates know about launching ladies?

Nance Schick is a member of the New York Incubator.

The Small Business Administration (“SBA”) has been criticized often recently for a variety of reasons.  New York State has a website dedicated to small business that is somewhat misleading in that it claims “nylovesmallbiz.gov.”  Could part of the problem be that these organizations have failed to keep pace with the opportunities that technology has brought the small and micro-business?

I suggest the answer is yes.  These well-intended organizations are slightly behind the times.  Technology has created online document databases and retrieval services that allow many of us to work from home or “virtually.” Our offices are often in our shoulder bags and consist of Blackberries, cell phones, PDAs, and light-weight laptop computers.  Our meeting rooms are in local restaurants and coffee houses.  We may not need offices or storefronts.  Our goals may not include IPOs.  We might define our success by our ability to meet modest financial obligations and goals.  We might have strong opinions on social responsibility.  We could have charitable endeavors that need to be incorporated into our business plans.

 

Blog Topic Of The Week: Voting

This week we will again be partnering with The Huffington Post on a very important topic, Voting.  From our research we know that Ladies Who Launch Incubator members are both connected and influencers, so we want to know,  what are the issues that are influencing your vote this year?  What candidates are you supporting and why?  What should the candidates know about launching ladies?  If you were running for office what would you do?

Plus, to get you in the mood for this year's election season, you may want to listen to this cute little ditty, "Cast That Ballot", by all-girl cabaret pop band, The Lascivious Biddies.

Escape from Corporate America

Pamela Skillings is a member of the NY Incubator and the founder of Skillful Communications, a marketing consulting and copywriting agency. Pamela is also a journalist and the author of the upcoming Random House book, Escape from Corporate America.

After twelve long years climbing the corporate ladder, I had all of the things that I thought I wanted. A six-figure salary, a fancy title, and an office with a view.

I had a “good job”, but I was miserable. Why? My job was demanding, but not challenging. Nothing about my work seemed meaningful or exciting anymore. I had finally climbed far enough up the ladder to see that I had no interest in climbing any higher. Worst of all, I was sick of feeling like a fraud.

My job dissatisfaction eventually had very visible effects on my personality. I was tired, I was cranky, and I was fat. I was tired of working endless hours, cranky about feeling trapped, and fat because the highlights of my day had become lunch and happy hour. Clearly, something had to give.

When I told my boss and co-workers that I was leaving to start my own consulting business, most of them thought I was insane. “Are you sure?” was the most popular response to my exciting news. They could understand the impulse – all of us had suffered together through countless layoffs and reorganizations and we were exhausted. But wasn’t I being a bit too hasty?

I felt like I had already waited too long. It was an undeniably scary, but unquestionably necessary move. I have never regretted the decision for a minute, not even during those scary first months when money was tight.

In fact, my launching experience inspired me to write a book to help others who feel stuck in Corporate America. I have interviewed dozens of experts and successful people inside and outside of Corporate America. Please email me if you’d like to learn more about the book or if you are interested in contributing your story.

Leaving Corporate America: Charlene Dupray

Charlene Dupray is the owner of South' n' France and a member of the Ladies Who Launch Incubator in Wilmington, NC.

In high school, I was voted "Most Likely to Succeed".  Determined to live up to the prophecy,  a decade later I found myself climbing a Madison Avenue corporate ladder as a headhunter for more than three hundred multinational corporations.  I lived in a great Upper East Side apartment, earned an impressive salary, and worked more than sixty hours a week.  Some might  have said that I was well on my way to achieving that high school superlative, but something was missing.  I didn't feel successful. On my quest to unravel the truth about success, I discovered a quote by Norman Lear.  He said, "Success is how you collect your minutes.  You spend millions of minutes to reach one triumph, one moment, then you spend maybe a thousand minutes enjoying it…. If you were unhappy through those millions of minutes, what good are those few minutes of triumph?"  I was  spending millions of minutes sitting behind a desk in exchange for money that I used to rent an apartment I didn't even have the time to enjoy.

Ecstatic escape from the culture of the cubicle

August 16, 1998 was the day of my liberation from the culture of the corporate cubicle. Upon returning from a two week vacation at our beach house rental on Fire Island, I knew that I was about to be set free from being a corporate drudge in a dysfunctional culture. My friends and colleagues were crying and I was dancing all the way out the door.
Afer receiving my "package"I was on my way to a new life. Freedom, flexibility and new adventures, I never thought possible.

Here's a few things to remember when you have had enough of working in the culture of the corporate cubicle.

Plan ahead and you can enjoy the ride.

I. If you know you want to go, plan your escape by  building your reserves. (In my case I received a nice severance, however I had been saving for this day for a long time.) My reserve of cash was ready when it was time to leave.

2. Build a reserve of contacts. Before you make the exits have you been getting out there and meeting people?  If you have, then when it 's time to go you will have more freedom to do what you want, more contacts to call upon.  If you haven't start now. Join social networks give people the gift of your time and caring. When I left I had a great consulting gig that landed in my lap because I had spent a great deal of time building up my networks and the relationships within them.

3. Build up a reserve of love. If you are not loving your job and you know that in the not too distant future you will either leave or be asked to leave, let your friends and family members know what is happening to you. Enroll them in the idea that their support and love is valued as you plan your move.

4. Build up a reserve of energy by taking really good care of yourself every day. Little things mean a lot. Eat well, get your z-z-z-z's and exercise will all help you later when you make a break for the exits. One thing I learned was that even though I wanted to leave I fell into a slump, I missed my friends, the technology help line and the corporate trappings for a while. Prepare by being in really, really good shape so you weather the storm.

5. Start to view your next act through a lens of your passion and purpose. When I left the corporate cubicle culture,I decided to do what I was already doing in the corporate cubicle along with my job as a creative services manager: personal coaching. Why? I love to inspire others to be their best, I was , so in 1999 I enrolled in the 3 year training program at Coach University and Success In Style was launched.  What is a dream you left behind because you had to play it safe and secure?

The gift you give yourself of following your heart will carry you along.

There is a Zen saying that has guided me often, "Leap and the net will appear."

Nancy Mindes is a member of the NY Incubator. She is trained profession Success Attraction Coach who works with women who want to be bold, live rich, play big and do good. Her perfect clients are those whose stars on on the rise creating businesses that make a difference and a profit. She is a featured blogger on Coachamatic.com and her website is http://www.NancyMindes.com

Leaving Corporate America: Jennifer Lee

Jennifer Lee is a member of the San Francisco Incubator and is the founder of Ayako Arts, specializing in unique handcrafted gifts for everyday intention and inspiration. Jennifer is also a certified coach who helps professional women seeking more balance and fulfillment to change their lives and live their dreams. Her coaching practice is called Change Journey Coaching.

 

I was a closet entrepreneur hiding out in cubicle land for nearly three years! Despite a successful 8-year consulting career and a recent promotion into a group I had coveted, I knew there was still something missing. I wanted to make a real difference in people’s lives and to have creative freedom. I took steps to eventually get out on my own. I juggled coaching courses, a year-long leadership program, and a part-time coaching practice, created my websites, worked with a spiritual coach and even started selling my handmade books and boxes. Yet, I resisted that final leap of actually quitting my so-called “ideal job.”

My turning point came earlier this year. I co-facilitated a leadership retreat through my friend Brighid O'Shaughnessy’s non-profit Cheryl’s Dreaming Big. Brighid and I helped the participants discover and claim their unique talents and dreams. We witnessed each person transform into a fully alive, authentic leader. I was doing the work I loved AND it didn’t even feel like work!

The Tuesday I returned to my day job, I felt the office suck the soul out of me. The high from the inspirational retreat had burst and fulfillment in my work was nowhere to be found. I knew it was time. Time for me to truly walk the talk and dream big myself! The universe whispered in my ear again the following night. That Wednesday, poet and “The Heart Aroused” author David Whyte, spoke at our company. He talked about the importance of having a courageous conversation with yourself to live your authentic life. Afterward, I had the privilege of driving David to dinner. In the car I shared with him how much his message underscored my search for meaning and wholeness in my work. He replied, “It sounds like you’re at a threshold.” I certainly was! I gave notice two months later and officially crossed that threshold on June 23^rd.