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October 25, 2007
Women in Business
What Can Brown Do for You?
Posted by Athena Schindelheim at 3:30 PM
Earlier this month, I saw a piece about the state of female entrepreneurship in the New York Times (in the Fashion & Style section, for some reason. I guess they thought it was the only section women read.).
The story introduces us to Nell Merlino who started Count Me In for Women's Economic Independence and the Make Mine a Million program, and presents the question: with so many women starting businesses, why do so few break the million dollar mark?
I attended the finalist presentations for the Make Mine a Million prize package on Wednesday this week. Entrepreneurs with established companies that hadn't passed $1 million pitched a three-minute synopsis of their businesses, what they've accomplished so far, and what they needed to reach their goals. The prize included mentoring, up to $50,000, tech assistance, and discounts on shipping and office services. Out of twenty finalists, the judges chose ten based on who had the most vision, ability, and mindset for growth, the most realistic financing, operational, and marketing plans, and who would benefit the most from participating in the program.
The finalist segment of the program opened with a theatrical performance by three women chanting "I want what you want." One was holding a Blackberry, one was holding a camera, and one was pushing around a baby in a stroller. They each took turns admiring the others' lives--or, what they imagined their lives to be--and lamenting the state of their own lives. We all want to have it all, preached the skit, and at the same time, we don't have time to have it all.
Many of the finalists in the Make Mine a Million competition seemed to contradict this sentiment as they described their companies, their families, and their passion for design, sometimes in the same breath. One entrepreneur whose life and business encompasses all of these competing interests is Nina Matza of Whomi, a paper organizer product company. Matza's inspiration came from a desire to separate her schedule from her children's on the family calendar. Her high-design products are in 350 stores, including the Container Store and Barnes & Noble, and she was looking forward to ending 2007 with revenue of $800,000. Although Whomi was one of the companies closest to reaching $1 million, it was not one of the awardees.
One company that did make the awards circle, Andorra Credit Repair, was inspired by founder Stephanie McCutchan's personal tragic history of poor credit and how it forced her and her son to live in an unsafe building. She planned to close 2007 revenue with over $600,000, almost double her previous year. Credit is a huge issue in our ever deteriorating economy, and paper organizers are going the way of the dinosaur thanks to Treos and iPhones. So, if it were these two companies that faced off alone, I could see why one would get the axe. But they don't actually compete with each other in the market, and I wonder how they each fare against others in their own industries.
A woman whose products were smacking down on her rival's so hard that they acquired her company is featured in our November issue. Bobbi Brown went from a girl who loved to mess around with her mom's make-up to becoming one of the first mega-celebrity make-up artists. She dispensed such a flood of advice and so detested the products available to her that she finally created her own cosmetics line. I called her a few months ago to hear her story and learn how she did it, how she started with one tube of lipstick and shot way past $1 million, and retains creative control of a half-billion dollar global brand.
Read Bobbi's story, and tell us what you think. What's been keeping these other women from hitting $1 million?
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Would love to know more details behind the products offered as well as other contestants. My site is based on the fact that we all learn best from each other's experience - just applied to the unique unique community of special needs families. As an entrepreneur, I need the same info from other giants who preceded me. Thanks for the story, but more details please! kathryn from www.boonzee.com
The $1-million mark is a huge milestone for every business.
If you want to see how your neighbors to the north do it, check out the Woman 100 feature in this month's PROFIT Magazine (the top 100 women-owned businesses in Canada).
I provide some analysis and links in my October 25 post at my blog, Canadian Entrepreneur.
http://canentrepreneur.blogspot.com
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