How to Set Up a Simple Loyalty Program
One big lesson that has come out of the pandemic is the value of customer loyalty. Loyal customers not only spend more, but they also serve as business ambassadors, attracting new customers to their favorite small businesses. An often-cited statistic for spending, which originated with Bain & Company in 1991, is that loyal customers spend […]
Beyond Banks: Financing Options for Women Entrepreneurs and Business Owners
Many entrepreneurs are disappointed to find that banks generally won’t lend money to startups and early-stage ventures unless the business owner already has funds available, collateral, a solid business plan, and a solid credit rating. When you’re just starting out, there aren’t many women business owners who can check all the boxes that banks frequently […]
How to Take a Day Off from Work
As we slide into the fall season, many entrepreneurs may be wondering what happened to summer. When was that break we were supposed to take? The reality is that after too many months of an ongoing pandemic, we all need a break. Even a day. Just some time for self-care and relaxation, when we stop […]
What You Can Do to Improve Cash Flow
Ask entrepreneurs what the life blood of their business is and many would probably say sales. And they’re not wrong. Sales, or paying customers, are essential for a company to stay in business. Without sales revenue, the business closes its doors. But the truth is that cash flow, which is the speed with which cash […]
The First 9 Things to Do During Startup
Starting a new business is both an exciting and a nerve-wracking time. Exciting because of all the possibilities ahead of you and nerve-wracking because of all you don’t yet know. The good news is that you can learn as you go. Everyone does, in fact. However, the more you know in advance, the faster success […]
Women Business Owners, Do You Need Business Insurance?
In a word, yes. You need insurance of some type to keep your company up-and-running long-term. Insurance is a tool to help mitigate some of the risks associated with running a business and having employees, both of which open you up to liability. “If you have a business and hope to survive, you’ll want to […]
How Pivoting Your Business Model Can be a Win
More than 4 in 10 women business owners had to pivot their business model to maintain revenue during the pandemic, according to American Express’ Entrepreneurial Spirit Trendex, conducted in 2020. 68 percent expected they would have to again in 2021. By pivot, we mean fundamentally changing the company’s business model in order to react to […]
Email Marketing Basics Every Woman Business Owner Should Know
In a study of 1,000 small business owners, email marketing ranked second as the most effective medium for branding and first for return on investment (ROI), according to a 2019 Campaign Monitor report. And when asked which marketing methods were expected to be relevant in 10 years, email marketing was tops. We asked women business […]
10 Marketing Books Every Entrepreneur Should Have on their Bookshelf
by Marcia Layton Turner Success or failure in business often comes down to marketing. Developing a product or service that people want and are willing to pay for, that you can sell at a price that generates a profit, is at the core of building a sustainable company. Master that and you can build a […]
How to Hire Someone You’ve Never Met
Small businesses are looking to hire more workers, according to NFIB’s monthly jobs report for February 2021. The report found that “56% of small business owners reported hiring or trying to hire in February, up 5 points from January.” While that’s certainly good news for the economy, many companies are having trouble filling the openings […]
Interview with $25,000 Amber Grant Recipient Savhera
Recently, WomensNet Advisory Board member Yamalis Hernandez sat down for an interview with 2020 year-end Amber Grant-winner Vanessa Bouche. You can learn all about her company, Savhera, in the video interview above — or you can browse the transcript below. A special thanks to Vanessa for her time. Yamalis Hernandez Today we are talking to […]
What You Should Know about Crowdfunding on Kickstarter
With so many questions being asked in the WomensNet Facebook group recently about Kickstarter, we turned to Katheryn Thayer, director of brand content at Kickstarter, for the inside scoop on what types of projects and businesses are most successful at crowdfunding. Here’s what she shared with us: WomensNet: Could you give us a little history […]
When You Should Pay Someone Else to Do the Work
Startup entrepreneurs are notoriously frugal. Many guard their pennies, often attempting to negotiate for the best price possible, or decide to do work themselves so as not to have to part with any cash. They work to keep plenty of money in their bank account, in case a slow period or downturn occurs. They want […]
Are you Building a Lifestyle Business or a Sellable Asset?
Female entrepreneurship has been hot for decades. There are currently more than 12.3 million women-owned businesses in the US, reports Fundera, and that number climbed by 1,821 every day in 2019. Currently, 40% of all US businesses are now owned by women. However, women-owned ventures lag on a number of fronts, including financing and revenue […]
Amber Grant Application Critique: Trikona Yoga
Annalise Freytag shares her very personal struggle with mental health challenges and substance abuse as the reason behind the founding of her future Chicago-based yoga studio, Trikona Yoga. The details of her personal history demonstrate how effective yoga can be and how passionate she is about building a business that provides such services. Although Annalise’s […]
Where to Find Good Business Advice
Sometimes it’s hard to know where to find reliable, useful advice from people who know what they’re talking about. Sure, everyone has opinions, but which are the opinions worth listening to? It can be hard to distinguish between people who’ve been there, done that and can share how they handled a situation similar to yours […]
Amber Grant Application Critique: HEART Mobile CPR
Shawna Bobst, RN’s Amber Grant application for HEART Mobile CPR is a great example of a business that evolved from side hustle to full-fledged business. There is no question that there is demand at some level for CPR training in her area, however, there were some missing pieces of information that kept Shawna out of […]
Negotiating Tips for Renting Space During a Pandemic
It’s no surprise that the pandemic, coupled with governmental stay-at-home orders, has dramatically impacted the commercial real estate market. While some organizations are realizing they may have more workspace than they need and are considering downsizing, other companies are strategizing how to negotiate or renegotiate new or existing leases. According to Andrew Weinberger, founder and […]
Amber Grant Application Critique: RAW Designs
Rachel Waddell’s Amber Grant application for RAW Designs made clear right up top what the business was all about, but then pivoted, along with the business’s products, into a new product and market during the pandemic. Trying to grow two businesses at a time is even harder than focusing on one, which is one reason […]
Best Uses of Business Startup Funds
Congratulations! You saved, borrowed, and/or successfully landed an investment from others to get your business up-and-running. You’re officially an entrepreneur. And now you’re wondering how to make the best use of the funds at your disposal, to grow your company and set it up for long-term success. There are a million different ways you could […]
4 Tools to Help You Spot Trends and Future Opportunities
Business owners who stay on top of trends have the chance to pounce on new opportunities that emerge, rather than missing out and having to play catch-up. This is true whether we’re talking about toy retailers trying to guess what the hottest new plaything will be this holiday season, publicists trying to gauge whether the […]
Amber Grant Application Critique: Earth Soul Alchemy LLC
Heather Powers’ and Sadie Galvin’s Amber Grant application for Earth Soul Alchemy, their natural healing venture, had a lot of good information, but was lacking some specifics that the WomensNet committee could have benefited from seeing. To help Heather and Sadie further refine their application and marketing message, the WomensNet advisory board went back through […]
Advice for Early Stage and Startup Grant Applicants
It’s often hard to know what to write in grant applications. You may wonder what the people reading your application want to hear about your business or your future plans. What can you tell them that will help them see how successful your business could be with their financial support, you may ask yourself? And […]
How to Promote Your Products When You Can’t Sell in Person
The pandemic created challenges for all businesses, but especially for product-based companies with a brick-and-mortar or face-to-face sales process. If you can’t meet with customers in person, how can you sell to them, many business owners wondered. Fortunately, there are a number of ways you can pivot your face-to-face business to market and sell online. […]
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