Tuesday's Treasure - Fashion Flourishes through Female Entrepreneurs!

What a great time to be a female in the Fashion industry. Through my association with the 85 Broads Network, I have met many very talented and savvy businesswomen who work in the fashion world for top designers, or who have recently set up their own ventures after working in other areas.

Our own Evie, who is a Spokesmodel for WWRG and an 85 Broads member, is actively involved in several projects including the Fashion for Development initiative she is now rolling out via South South News. We featured her shows in a recent Lifestyle Lifters post.

We have also featured a venture curated by Shauna Mei called Aha!Life. For those of you looking for something unique to give to someone or yourself, I recommend you visit their website and sign up. Many of their offerings are created by women or benefit women in disadvantaged countries.

Another recent addition to the firmament of fashion by an 85 Broads member (or members in this case!) is Moda Operandi. Here, Ashlaug Magnusdottir and Lauren Santo Domingo have created a "first-in-category, members-only online store that lets customers browse and pre-order designer collections immediately following their runway presentation. Launched during New York Fashion Week, M'O was created to allow its members to "shop the runway" from the privacy of their own homes.

Moda Operandi provides direct access to complete runway collections from the finest designer brands, including Nina Ricci, Giambattista Valli, Carolina Herrera, Calvin Klein, Alexander Wang, and Proenza Schouler, as well as jewelry, shoes, handbags, and accessories. Membership perks include recommendations from top stylists, personal shopping assistants, and tools to review looks from every angle."

So many great Women now hold C-level positions at fashion industry Icons like Burberry and Gilt Groupe, to name but a few. If you have a "passion for fashion", please consider joining a network like 85 Broads where you will find plenty of support and mentorship. This is the vision that Janet Hanson set forth when she co-founded the organization in 1997 which has grown to a membership of over 25,000 women and a few enlightened men (me included!)

Thursday's Truth - NOW I get it!

Late last week I had an AHA! moment, as entrepreneur and 85 Broads colleague, Shauna Mei would say. An article entitled Women on Street A Declining Breed appeared in last week's WSJ.

It was brought to my attention by another 85 Broads colleague, Margaret Astolfi of Clear Harbor Asset Management.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over the past ten years, 141,000 women, or 2.6% of female workers in finance, left the industry. This despite a 4.1% growth in the number of women in the US labor force during the same time period.

In the article, several reasons are cited for this decline, including one by 85 Broads Founder, Janet Hanson, who offered that women are finding "their entrepreneurial groove" , " It's not because Wall Street is not a fascinating place to be, it's just that there are other places that are more fascinating".

I could not agree more. One only need look at the swelling ranks of women entrepreneurs in emerging markets like China where women make up 47% of the workforce, and 20% of all entrepreneurs. Click here for a recent study by Harvard and Rollins College faculty.

But I have another theory as to why female talent has left the financial industry.

It involves authenticity. Most women demand it. And Wall Street has traditionally not fostered a culture of truth.

Another thing women demand, and are willing to fight for, is equality. Despite recent progress, the gap between what women on Wall Street earn compared to their male counterparts is still unacceptably large. Forgetting pay, women account for only 16.8% of executive officers, and only 2.5% of financial company CEO's, according to a recent study by Catalyst, Inc.

The only thing that will reverse this alarming trend is a mutual investment by both men and women in changing the way society views their roles and responsibilities. Click here for a post on this subject by fellow 85 Broads colleague and Wonder Woman, Jacki Zehner.

The truth is, we need more women on Wall Street, not less. But then again, we need more women in all areas of influence and power. We need more Authenticity. Once this has been restored, the women will come.

I, and many others, are looking for ways to help bridge the gap between men and women. Women of Wealth are putting their money where their mouth is, and supporting other women.

And it's finally beginning to pay off!

Tuesday's Treasure - Networking 101

Many of you have accumulated wealth through the effort and determination required to succeed as a small business owner, entrepreneur, or by breaking through the glass ceiling at a Fortune 500 company.

My fellow 85 Broads Member, Hilary Eaton Pearl, is an internationally recognized success coach and founder of Hilary Pearl Associates. In her seminars, she emphasizes the need to create and maintain a "personal brand".

There are many ways to do this. One is to join one of the many women's networks that have been created within corporations that recognize the value, and cost saving, associated with fostering gender equality. Many employers like Deloitte, view it as part of their business strategy.

By viewing this blog, you are passively joining in to my global network. Each time you click through to another blog or website, you are taking part in what I call learn & apply involvement.

Another way to amp up your personal brand value is to join one of the many digital social networks, such as Facebook or LinkedIN. Be very careful here, however, because reputation management is much more difficult when you hang yourself out to an entire world via the World Wide Web.

If this is the way you want to go, I suggest you hire a good "social media trainer" such as Kathryn Rose who is part of the Ladies Who Launch network, and Founder of Supreme Social Media. They can coach you on how to tap into this incredibly powerful tool and become more effective with networking at all levels - professional and personal.

And finally, there is just plain, old fashioned face-to-face human interaction. Take time to strike up a conversation with a person next to you on the train, in a store, or restaurant. Janet Hanson, Founder of 85 Broads calls this "seeing the trade"

As Hilary says "It’s each of our responsibility to make introductions between two people you find interesting. Later, the gift will come back to you."

Wednesday's Woman of Courage - 85 Broads Founder, Janet Hanson

In my post last Wednesday announcing the re-launch of the WWRG blogsite I mentioned my affiliation with the 85 Broads organization, a global and exclusive women's network, and my honorary membership as one of the first "Guys Who Rock".

I also promised to bring back the Wednesday's Woman of Courage post that spotlights the efforts of one or more courageous and visionary women from across the globe.

Since my loyal followers now come from 13 countries and 4 continents, it is only fitting that I honor today a woman whose efforts through 85 Broads have resulted in a membership of over 22,000 women (and a handful of men) in 82 countries.

I am speaking of Janet Hanson - Wall Street legend, Author, Entrepreneur, Cancer Survivor, Mother, and Friend.

Her accomplishments are too numerous for me to give to you so I encourage you to read a recent interview of Janet by another 85 Broads member, Ana Lueneburger.

In her book, More Than 85 Broads, Janet delivers a powerful message - "Partnership is everything in life".

I couldn't agree with her more.

I encourage you to join the 85 Broads network and participate in your local chapter's events. I hope to see you at one of them.

Until then, remember to believe, achieve, receive. SDG JBHIV