Here are some of the latest cool stories about women entrepreneurs all over the world. Enjoy!

Can the S&M Chicks pitch way to finals with sales-marketing savvy?
Edmonton Journal – Edmonton,Alberta,Canada
“Basically, the entire S&M Chicks show would be focusing on doing mini-makeovers for women entrepreneurs throughout Canada,” Duke explains. …
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Two Pinays win in Cartier entrepreneur awards
Philippine Star – Manila,Philippines
Five women entrepreneurs received the Second Annual Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards during a ceremony held at the Women’s Forum for the Economy and …
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Women Entrepreneurs and Professionals of Bangladesh
By Safeen
As women entrepreneurs, we see women are leading in the fashion world. Many of them owning their own fashion house, beauty salons, and also advertising firms. I was really surprised to learn few days back that the managing director of …
The Urban Women in Dhaka City – http://safeen.wordpress.com/

READ IN THIS STORY:
ITWeb – Gauteng,South Africa
This was one of the main questions raised at a recent series of workshops run in three South African cities for aspiring and current women entrepreneurs in …
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Talks on blogging, women entrepreneurs at UBD
Borneo Bulletin – borneo,Brunei Darussalam
Wowing the Women: Being Young, Female and Enterprising”, in conjunction with the Global Entrepreneurship Week, which ran from November 17-23. …
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Call to improve education of rural women entrepreneurs
IPPmedia – Dar es Salaam,United Republic of Tanzania
By Gadiosa Lamtey The government has been urged to refocus support on programmes geared to improving education service delivery to low-income women instead …
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Women empowerment
The Daily Star – Dhaka,Bangladesh
The three successful women entrepreneurs have set an exmaple for other micro-credit borrowers in the country. They had invested the money in some innovative …
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The  wheels of commerce are turning all over the world and every day new groups of women become entrepreneurs. We welcome all of our worldwide sisters!

Together,  we are stronger!
Vicki Flaugher,  the original SmartWoman

I wish I had something brilliant to say, but I just hate it when business people use holidays as some lame excuse to forward their own agendas. So, I am going to keep it short, sweet, and real.

Happy Thanksgiving to all. May love, peace, and happiness walk with you. I feel grateful for all my blessings, my friends, my family, my health, and my life. I wish each of you all you desire.

Below are pictures of people and souls I love and hold dear. I am sure there should be others, but these are the ones I had handy. Go hug someone, forgive someone, and spend some time laughing and resting. It’s all good.

Be well!

Vicki Flaugher

And, last but certainly not least – my Twitter family: Ok, I admit – I pasted all your face avatars here but it was totally too long. Not a real problem, to have so many Twitter buddies that the page goes on forever, but not so hot for the average blog reader either. You all know who you are – thanks for being my friends.

Victoria Pynchon is an amazing woman. After being top of her law class, with 25 years experience as an accomplished corporate litigator managing complex cases, she decided to make a change. Instead of continuing to play the role of trained assassin, always fighting for the hardcore kill, she moved into alternative dispute resolution – mediation and arbitration.

Victoria generously visited with me for about an hour to have a kitchen table chat. As we both make ourselves lunch, we chatted about how we met on Twitter, why we made the choice of working for ourselves, and a few other day to day niceties. She has a delightful personality that makes it easy to understand why she is so successful at facilitating agreements in her work.

Our conversation moved into Victoria’s career choices and how they have affected her life. Victoria shared with me the challenges of working in a male dominated field and how those experiences helped to shape her choices. She also candidly revealed the wear and tear that always working toward a win at all costs rather than a negotiated settlement had on her, which is one of the primary reasons she shifted from being a litigator to a negotiation specialist.

After this initial warm up conversation between the two of us, it was time to turn on the recorder and cover the topic at hand – negotiation.

We covered the different styles of negotiation, distributive and interest-based, and the characteristic behaviors of each. She also shared how moving to interest-based negotiation enhances women’s ability to win negotiations and how we can use our inherent tendencies to succeed.

We talked about how all women can negotiate better to not only enhance relationships but also get what we truly desire. She shares her insights into the reasons why women might not choose to negotiate, how to do it better, and when not to do it.

Life is about choices and we are negotiating on many levels for many things every day. If it’s presenting our business plan to an investor, closing sales, getting our child dressed for school, or asking our husband to take out the trash, we are negotiating. Victoria talks about how we can use our innate nurturing natures as women to make better choices, even in a world of dog eat dog competition. By asking questions, by being empathetic, by doing our homework before a negotiation, by understanding that in fact we are in a negotiation, we can live better lives. We can make the pie bigger and more delicious.

To listen to the interview:

To download to listen later:

Victoria recommends several books and I have placed the links below. I have also placed all of her contact information so you can stay in touch with her. As you navigate (and negotiate) the holiday season,  have fun and be well. Love each other, share the information, and enjoy the conversation!

Follow Victoria on Twitter: vpynchon

Her blog on negotiation: Settle It Now Blog
Her blog on Intellectual Property Alternative Dispute Resolution: IP ADR Blog

Leigh Thompson’s book on developing the heart and mind of a negotiator.
To visit Leah’s site: Leigh Thompson’s site

Dr. Deborah Tannen’s book on the differences of men and women in communication style. To learn more about Dr. Tannen, visit her bio page here: Dr. Tannen Bio

Ask For It Site

I have had the pleasure recently to join a mastermind group and intend to join another. It has been a great experience so far and has already helped my focus, determination, and work output. I thought you might appreciate some resources to review this idea, to get you thinking about how you can benefit from joining in with others to build your business.

The articles are short and designed to give you a taste. It won’t take much time for you to plant the seed in your mind and let it grow. When you allow others in to help, the creativity and power grows exponentially. I regret that I have waited so long to do it, and encourage you to take action. I mean it when I  say – Together, we are stronger!

Passion For Business: What Is a Master Mind Group and How to Create?:

MasterMind Group Planning Guide ebook

Some Thoughts and Different Approches to Running a Mastermind Group

Evan Carmichael’s Mastermind Resources Blogsite

Tips by Wendy Maynard at Kinetic Ideas

Meet and Grow Rich: How to Easily Create and Operate Your Own “Mastermind” Group for Health, Wealth, and More Book by Joe Vitale and Bill Hibbler

I got word today that one of my blog posts is being featured on Blog Nosh. I’m so excited and wanted to let you know about it. The article is about the importance of a great online profile and how it helps you build your business. Read the article here and feel free to leave a comment on Blog Nosh:
You’re Never Too Big To Introduce Yourself

SmartWomanGuides.com is one of the sponsors of an upcoming event here in Austin, TX, called Rebuild Your Virtual Business. It’s being held January 16-18 and is being given by Ann Collins and Michelle Castro, two very capable and wonderful women. I feel honored to be able to sponsor this event and intend to attend myself. They are offering 3 free 30 minute coaching sessions and will also be hosting free teleseminars leading up to the event. Check it out and see what you think!

I have other projects in the works, so will keep you up to date as I am able to release information. I’m working on several joint ventures and….dare I say it….a book! The remainder of 2008 and into 2009 is going to be a gold medal time for SmartWomanGuides and I am glad you come to visit me. Please contact me if I can assist you in any way, ok?

Together, we are stronger!
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

follow me on Twitter: SmartWoman

Seth Godin’s book, The Dip, talks about the power of quitting. He discusses the need to identify when to quit and when to stick when you are doing things that seem to not work. It’s a power packed 80  page book and I would highly recommend that you read it. I got a copy from my public library.

“The Dip” is the long steep climb from beginner status to mastery. Seth contends that there really is no way to succeed reliably unless you are top of field. Even if you have a tiny, specific niche that only a few hundred people participate in, you must be their #1 choice for whatever it is they want. It’s about satisfying the client within their world view, within their specifications, within their needs. It’s not the whole world you need to please. You are not competing with all other business people. Rather, you need to satisfy the world of your client competing against the people who do the same thing you do for that niche. That’s all.

Regardless of your devotion or luck in life, you will face the Dip and you need to decide ahead of time how you will persevere through it. These are the times you will study, you will practice, you will fail, yet you will keep going on to mastery. These are times you won’t quit. This Dip is what you need to plan to face, and you shouldn’t even start the adventure unless you have sufficient resources, time, courage, and fortitude to get through the hard part. Few people make it through, which is why the people who do get paid so well. It’s a rarity and scarcity always makes for high reward.

Seth warns that using quitting inappropriately isn’t smart though. Don’t quit every time you have to face the Dip otherwise you’ll always be quitting at the very time you should be forging ahead. You will end up always quitting and never succeeding. Like a woodpecker that taps 20 times on 1000 trees instead of 20000 times on one tree, you will not get dinner. You’ll get tired and discouraged. You will quit.

So, let’s think about our businesses – what are you doing now that you should quit? This would include addictive behaviors that are only harder to quit the longer you do them (like smoking) and dead end pursuits, things that will never get better no matter how long you do them (like trying to change your abusive spouse). Dig deep into your daily activities, both mental and physical, and examine what you do. Is there something you could stop doing that would give you more time to become excellent at your business? How about your bookkeeping or your web programming? Are you struggling with that because you are unwilling to quit even though you are probably already as good as you will get no matter how much more time you spent at it (and that “good” is totally mediocre)? These activities are wasting your time and keeping you from being truly phenomenal. Quit them. Figure out a way, today, now. Being a quitter could be the best thing you do for your business.

What about the things you want to quit but shouldn’t? For example, is salesmanship something you could be brilliant at but you don’t study or practice it? Could you become a millionaire if you simply devoted sufficient time to getting amazing at sales? Time to get going! Understanding the reward, the ultimate payoff, and embracing the Dip on your way to the reward, will make it easier.

Being excellent takes effort and you have to push through the hard stuff, you have to conquer The Dip. But you have to push through the right hard stuff, the things that will enable you to be truly excellent, not just cause you to spend more time being ok. It can be tricky, I admit, to sort these out, but ignoring it won’t get the work done. You have to be willing to examine what you do and throw away the so-so stuff and grab the super great stuff with gusto. Stephen Covey says it like this – You have to be willing to sacrifice the good for the great.

Decide today that you will no longer settle for mediocre. Whatever you do, be excellent. If you can’t commit to that, don’t start that project. No one pays for just ok and it’s simply not that fun to just be ok. Anything worth doing is worth doing right, so hold your head high as you travel through the Dip and keep going. You are on your way to success!

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

follow me on Twitter: SmartWoman

I am a Twitter freak – I simply love it. I threw out a question to my network of friends there to try to convince my mother to join Twitter. And, the following are the reasons they gave.If you’ve ever wondered if social media online is for you, maybe these reasons are something you need to hear also!

Want to join in the fun? Post!!

	wordvixen @SmartWoman *lol* I was on it at her house once. She kept refreshing the page to see if anyone responded to her “being all a-twitter”.
	BeckyMcCray @SmartWoman My mom is the amazing @maesz ! She’s in and out on Twitter.
	lisisilveira @SmartWoman where can I find them???
	wordvixen @SmartWoman My mother is addicted to my Twitter account. Trying to get her her own.
	berriesweetest @SmartWoman I will tweet when I think of more.
	BeckyMcCray @SmartWoman Um… My mom does Twitter.
	berriesweetest @SmartWoman 9) “tweet ur own bizness!”. Mom joins twitter and keeps cyber-track of adult daughter.
	mommyaulait @SmartWoman life is just funnier in 140 characters or less
	berriesweetest @SmartWoman 10) it’s a conversation starter when you say, “she’s learned to tweet” and people wonder if you have a speech impediment.
	jhofheins @SmartWoman re top 10: So you can waste your day away, 140 characters at a time.
	writingroads @SmartWoman One of the Top 10 reasons why your mom should use Twitter: Because you can block anyone that talks back, is mean or untidy.
	PublicityHound @SmartWoman One more way for mom to tell you to do something and remind you “because I’m your mother.”
	DazzlinDonna @SmartWoman Cuz mom can snoop on daughter’s private life – legally!
	TheNewService @SmartWoman My Mom joined! #10 So you can keep up with your daughter’s thoughts all day long! (Every mom’s dream, right?)
	Coach_Ferfer @SmartWoman top 10 for mom 2 join twitter – a long distance hug is just as good as the real thing
	Coach_Ferfer @SmartWoman top 10 for mom 2 join twitter – she can keep closer tabs on you; can nag even from long distance; won’t c u rolling eyes at her

	jinglis @smartwoman 9. short notes from mom are better than long ones. 10. she can tweet at all hours and not wake you up. (i’m a friend of julie’s)
	15MinutesADay @SmartWoman top 10 reasons “why your Mom should join Twitter”: To keep an eye on your little girl & who she hangs out with…
	jinglis @smartwoman 7. it’ll keep her off the rest of the scary internet. 8. she has to do something other than MySpace
	jinglis @smartwoman 5. she can keep in touch with all her peeps in one place that way. 6. no better way to find out where the party’s at
	jinglis @smartwoman 3. because she’s sitting in front of the computer anyway - give her something to read! 4. it has to be better than sudoku
	jinglis @SmartWoman 1. because she needs to know what you’re doing every minute of the day. 2. because you need to know what she’s doing too

I meet some remarkable people as I network for SmartWoman Guides. Although I enjoy nearly every one of them, once in awhile I get to know someone that really sticks out, that really shines in quality. Michael Martine is one of those types.

Michael Martine offers tons of free content and tips on blogging and internet marketing at Remarkablogger – and on Twitter. For your specific questions and to help you develop a winning plan for your blog, he offers one-on-one consulting and live group teleseminars.

Michael is an all around great guy. He coaches you on how to get more traffic to your site, but more importantly he teaches you how to get better traffic to your site. He works his magic using kindness, compassion and creativity, assisting you in developing a larger vision of what you can accomplish.

Michael talked with me about my blog and how I could use it to better achieve my goals. I agreed to let him record the session so you could hear how he coaches. It’s a great example of the insight and perspective he offers bloggers.

To listen to the interview, click on the link below:

Remarkablogger and SmartWoman Coaching Session

We talked about the purpose I desire for my blog, what I wanted the SmartWoman brand to be ultimately, and some practical steps to implement now and in the future to get me there. If you’ve been reading my blog, you know that I have already been implementing his changes. It’s a work in process but I am definitely applying what Michael and I discussed. I am excited about the changes and will continue to make them to better my brand and sharpen my focus.

Visit Michael at Remarkablogger and follow him on Twitter. He will help you and he is generous with his knowlege – get to know him.

Together, we are stronger!
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

Follow me on Twitter: SmartWoman

I am part of a blogging experiment of sorts, Bloggers Helping Bloggers, initiated by Chuck Westbrook. He started a campaign to get high quality, but less famous bloggers noticed and, being that it’s a SmartWoman article of faith that together we are stronger, I bought in. Great idea to help each other, right?

Chuck made his first blog selection and it’s a wonderful choice: Zoe Westhoff of Essential Prose

Zoe is a young American writer, living expat in Thailand. She talks about creativity and how to avoid over planning yourself out of it. She discusses taking action, taking leaps of faith, to do what you love – to let your purpose loose on the world. She uses strong vocabulary with poise and skill. I am thoroughly enjoying reading her blog and am grateful to Chuck’s work to feature Zoe. It is enriching me and I believe it will enrich you too.

I would ask you to go visit Zoe’s blog, Essential Prose, and check out what she’s doing. If you like what you see, here are some ways to help promote her:

• Tweet it out on Twitter -not on Twitter? Sign up today! My user name is SmartWoman – I’ll follow you there once you sign on.
• Profile her on your blog – encourage your readers to check Zoe out.
• Recommend Zoe’s blog in your newsletter. If you didn’t know about her, your readers probably don’t either. They’ll appreciate the fresh information.
• Be inspired by one of the topics Zoe writes about, create a blog post about that, and reference her.
• Write about Chuck’s efforts on your blog
• Read Zoe’s blog and let it touch you in a needed area of your life – we all need creative support
• Hit all your other social media site and promo her there

Why would you want to do all these things? Because highlighting others feels good, sure, but also, it gives your own readers/clients value. Sharing your spotlight and influence increases your credibility as an expert and authority power point. By providing useful information, you become the go-to source of interesting and helpful stuff, and that in turn makes others want to be with you more and want to share you with their friends.

All good leaders recognize others. All successful business people tell others about the people they meet that are worth knowing. Like a private recommendation to a four star restaurant, these tips will lead you to resources that you didn’t have previously. It also provides you more depth and breadth of reach, as once you know someone, they know you, too, right? Like that old commercial, they tell a friend, who tells a friend, who tells a friend, and so on.

By going to Zoe’s blog and posting comments to the posts that you feel are relevant, your website link will be seen by all of the individuals who are participating in Chuck’s campaign. You could also be one of the blogs that Chuck chooses to feature in the future. Imagine thousands of individuals reading your blog every day and telling others about you. What could that do for your business? For your life? For your faith in continuing during difficult times? I bet, quite a bit. So, another advantage of promoting Zoe and Chuck is that you get to feel the warmth of their flame. Your associations get noticed too.

If you aren’t into Zoe’s blog, find a way to promote someone else in your life. Profile your clients on your site, refer a friend to another business person, talk someone else up to a stranger. Your network and your net worth will increase. It’s good for all of us.

Together, we are stronger!
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

Follow me on Twitter: SmartWoman

We learn by story. Marketing is most effectively done with stories. Stories form the basis of many of our life lessons and we all love a great story.

We all know a compelling story when we hear it but it’s more often a visceral reaction rather than a logical one. Some would even assert that a truly brilliant story in inexplicable, at least in part, because of the emotional appeal – basically, there’s no explaining why people feel what they feel. It’s rare that we break down the components of a story and analyze it.

Whereas I can acknowledge that not everything can be approached purely scientifically, as entrepreneurs, I feel we have to reach deeper than a mere dismissal of emotional appeals. It is worth our time to develop and communicate our personal and professional narrative. By understanding how people might respond to our story,  we come closer to reaching those people. And, depth and breadth of reach is imperative in our businesses and our lives.

Your personal and professional narrative will be used in all of your copy, on your website, in your advertising, in your networking presentations, in your speaking. It will reap rewards way beyond the time it  will take you to solidly develop it. It will be what people remember long after you have left them.

How do you develop an effective narrative? Here are some ideas to reflect on to get you there.

1.  You need to present a story that is truthful, heartfelt, and poetic.

Your story has to stand up to reality. Don’t lie and don’t fabricate. People will know it. If for some reason you are so “skillful” to tell a fabricated story and get by with it, when it does come out that you were being dishonest, the trust you garnered through your story will dissolve instantaneously.

On the flip side, being truthful doesn’t mean being pedestrian. Adding poetic flair, eloquence, metaphor, analogy, and archetypical symbolism to your real story creates a bridge between every day life and awe-inspiring impact. It’s not arrogant to couch your story in heroic terms. You are a hero, you are a leader, you are a pivotal figure, so own it and communicate it.

2.  Create a blend of logic and emotions in your story.

Facts don’t convince anyone. They are dry and boring and they remind everyone of school homework. But, some personalities need a certain level of facts to justify their emotional preferences. You need to include information, but only as they pertain to facilitating a decision. You want to inspire not profess.

On the flip side, completely eliminating facts won’t work either. Too much emotion feels manipulative. People don’t like to feel “played”. Effective appeals are transparent, they sneak up on you, they trigger feelings without your realizing it’s happening. They touch you instead of trick you. It’s a delicate balance but it’s one worth finding.

3. Tailor your story to your audience.

Children need to be told stories differently than college professors. The same idea can be communicated but it needs to have different vocabulary, different story landmarks, and even a different speed of presentation of ideas. You need to keep your audience in mind as you craft your narrative.

A reminder and word of caution – even if your audience is a highly educated, scientific sort, your goal is to touch the hearts, not just the minds. In the same way that babies and puppies captivate, so too certain stories touch us all, regardless of our education level. The Kid Done Good, the Underdog, the Hero, the Champion, the Epiphany, the Love Story, are story lines we all know. You might have to tell your story with a different use of analogies and a varying level of vocabulary, but these classic story lines appeal to all ages. Use them.

I found some great resources for you to enjoy about compelling storytelling. Enjoy!

• Telling Compelling Stories
• How To Tell A Great Story
• New Media Storytelling
• Using Storytelling in Design
• Using Storytelling for Make a Compelling Presentation
• This American Life, Ira Glass, on Storytelling and Compelling Content

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

Follow me on Twitter: SmartWoman