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!)

Tuesday's Treasure - Event Alert "How Women-Owned Small Businesses Will Save The Economy"

We interrupt our regularly scheduled Tuesday's Treasure post to let you know about a "treasure" of another kind and a very special event she will be speaking at for those of you in the NY Metro Area.

Her name is Kathy McShane and we featured her in a Wednesday's Women of Courage post last year. This Wednesday, March 10, at 9:30am at Waveny House in New Canaan, CT, the American Association of University Women will host Kathy where she will discuss women entrepreneurs and how their growing ranks will change our economy and help lead us out of the financial crisis that continues to put women, their children, and generations to come, at risk.

This blog has been a strong advocate for Women's Empowerment and Women Entrepreneurship. In a blog last year we highlighted the events surrounding the Women's Forum in Deauville, France which has become the "Davos for Women". We have featured pioneering women entrepreneurs such as Shauna Mei, founder of AHA!Life and women, like Kathy McShane, and VC Cindy Padnos of Illuminate Ventures that target women-led ventures, and help them realize their dreams.

Please continue to support the efforts of Women Entrepreneurs and seek them out when next you are looking for goods or services. Your local chapter of 85 broads or Ladies Who Launch are a good starting point.

Thursday's Truths - Women Entrepreneurs at Women's Forum 2010

Day one of the Women's Forum 2010 being held in Deauville, France features speakers including Jennifer Halliday, Global Director of Business Development, Zinio, LLC. and Vivmag, LLC.

One of the major themes running through this Event is how women are becoming increasingly involved in global entrepreneurial activities.

Here are a few findings that were presented in today's session:

- opportunity and necessity are the two primary reasons to get involved in entrepreneurial activities.
- Across the world, women in richer countries are starting an increasing number of businesses with high economic potential and in high-tech sectors.
- In countries with low levels of economic output (GDP), entrepreneurship offers a way out of poverty.

As I reported in an earlier blog, 20% of all entrepreneurs in China are women. Here in the US, Chinese-Americans like Shauna Mei are starting up successful ventures, and capitalizing on the educational and career opportunities that this country presented to them.

There are many exciting programs scheduled for tomorrow's (10/15/10) session including one by Jeanniey Mullen, Global Executive Vice President and CMO of Zinio, LLC and Vivmag, LLC,

Also on tap tomorrow is a session sponsored by Ernst & Young of an inaugural group of CEO Male Champions. The business leaders will come together to define – through specific and actionable dialogue – what it means to be a CEO Champion of women’s advancement and empowerment.

Enlightened men are increasingly becoming involved in previously exclusively all-female groups. I am privileged to have been named as one of the first "Guys Who Rock" by 85 Broads, a global and exclusive members-only network of over 22,000 women (and a handful of enlightened men!)

Wednesday's Women of Courage - Shauna Mei

In my Tuesday's Treasure post yesterday I featured a new website - AHAlife.com - that was created by my 85 Broads colleague, Shauna Mei.

Shauna spoke at a recent 85 Broads Power Breakfast, and gave us all some background on her life and new passion.

Everyone in the room was moved when she described her journey from a child born in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China to attending MIT, working at Goldman Sachs, and living and working in Manhattan as a fashion industry executive in successful firms she either founded or co-founded.

She also shared with us that when her Mother found out she was pregnant with a girl, she insisted on keeping the child despite pressure to have an abortion. Shauna said that her Mother felt that the child that was inside of her was special and would grow up to achieve great things.

Her Mother was also told that the fetus had a heart defect. Again, she held fast to her conviction to see the pregnancy through.

Shauna's accomplishments bear witness to how right her Mother's intuition was.

Miraculously, her heart has healed on it's own, eliminating the need for life-threatening surgery.

Courage to survive, courage to compete, courage to press on regardless.

These are traits that drive Women of Courage to achieve greatness.

And thanks to the courage of a Mother, passed on to her Daughter, Shauna now inspires us to do the same.

Tuesday's Treasure - The AHA! Life

I recently joined a social network that truly speaks to my need for simplicity. It's actually not just a social network, it is more of an online community structured very much like my favorite activity in Kindergarten - "show-and-tell".

The brainchild of former Fashion Industry and Wall Street Executive, Shauna Mei, AHAlife.com is a place where I can see what I and others have curated (show) and learn how this item was conceived, manufactured or otherwise acquired (tell).

1 Product. 24 Hours. 100% Inspiring—that's what it's all about. AHAlife.com showcases and sells one hand-selected item each day and tells the story behind the making of the product, along with a designer profile and sometimes a video or audio slideshow that takes you inside the creative process.

Simply brilliant!

Recent offerings include a Canon G12 Camera embellished by Diane Von Furstenberg, a Crystal Clutch Handbag designed by Marchesa, creator of red carpet confections beloved by Hollywood style icons Blake Lively, Naomi Watts, and Demi Moore, and a Buy Her Bag Not Her Body bag, made of recycled rice sacks in Cambodia by survivors of human trafficking.

Certain product purchases receive "karma points" for supporting a brand that donates part of its profits to a good cause.

I get good Karma just being a part of the AHA life community. Try in on for size. It will surprise and delight you.

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!