Women Entrepreneurs Networking on the Worldwide WEB
December 1st, 2007 by Liz Fuller
Yesterday, I was meme’d by Elizabeth Striano from a green footprint. You may remember Elizabeth from when I profiled her business on Blog Action Day.
Being meme’d isn’t as painful as it sounds. Meme is a blogger’s game of tag, kind of a chain mail, that taps bloggers on the shoulder, asks them to link to the tagger, respond to a question, post the guidelines and then tap several other bloggers on the shoulder to do the same.
It’s a harmless bit of fun that exposes you to more bloggers through virtual networking. By following the back-trail on this meme, I was already introduced to some really interesting bloggers – Beth at Life at Avenue Z and Moonbeam McQueen (which I would like to think is her real name…but sadly, it probably isn’t) Hopefully you will meet some interesting people, too.
First, the rules:
1) Link to the person who tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
2) Share 7 facts about yourself.
3) Tag 7 random people and include links to their blogs.
4) Let each person know they have been tagged and comment on their blog.
Now for the question – this meme question asks you to tell seven things about yourself.
It’s hard to think of things that might be of interest to the readers of this blog, but I’ll give it a try:
1) My grandmothers were both entrepreneurial women. My mother’s parents owned an upholstery store during the depression and WWII. My grandmother sewed the fabric and my grandfather built and upholstered the furniture. They lived upstairs from the store and my mother would play in a corner of the store after finishing her homework.
My father’s parents owned a pottery business and later a pottery retail store. My grandmother co-managed the store, doing purchasing, marketing and sales. She was voted woman of the year by her chapter of the Business and Professional Women’s (BPW) organization – I still use the commemorative coffee mug.
2) When I was a little girl I used to love to play “store” in my grandparent’s pottery shop. I would show items to imaginary customers, give them a sales pitch and ring up their sales on the adding machine.
3) Despite these role models, for some reason when I was growing up, I thought I only had a few options for a career – nurse, teacher, or nun. None of these options were terribly appealing. I considered becoming a nun for a while because I liked the hats (The Flying Nun was a popular TV show back then) – but that was before I understood all of the rules.
Teacher was second choice because I like explaining things to people – but as I got older I discovered that I only like explaining things to people who are really motivated to learn – that’s why this blog and my newsletter are a better fit for me than a classroom.
4)I’ve always enjoyed writing and used to write a family newsletter about household events and then attempt to sell it to my relatives. It was all handwritten and illustrated, but I never did get much of a circulation. I can only imagine what I would have produced if there had been desktop publishing forty years ago!
5)I’m a voracious reader. I love to read books; I love to do research; and I love to share what I have learned with others. (see #3)
6) I’m a certified scuba diver and have gone diving in
Much like being an entrepreneur, diving opens your eyes to a whole hidden world that exists side-by-side with the common one, but of which most people are unaware. It builds confidence, self-esteem and a lasting sense of accomplishment.
7) I love to travel. I have traveled extensively across the U.S. and in over 20 countries outside the U.S. For six months I lived and worked in India. I am fascinated by different regional cultures, the differences in the ways people do business, and in the different ways that women live their lives.
One of the things I love about this blog is that I regularly get readers from Canada, Ireland, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Norway, India, the Philippines, Japan, Brazil, Turkey and other countries. I hope to eventually travel more and talk first-hand to Women Entrepreneurs about their businesses.
The last step of the meme is to tag other bloggers. This meme suggests picking seven people at random, but I can’t bring myself to do that. Instead, I am going to pick seven women whom I admire. Hopefully they will view getting tapped in this grown-up game of tag as a compliment. I recommend that you check out their blogs – you will discover some interesting Women Entrepreneurs.
Self-Made Chick – I can’t say enough about Christine O’Kelly. She’s living the life I would have led if I had been a little bit bolder and braver. Christine once hitch-hiked across the U.S., meeting people, making friends and having adventures along the way.
Eventually after getting married and having children she became an entrepreneur, rather suddenly and without a financial safety net. The business lasted even if the marriage didn’t and Christine is still building a bold and brave life for herself and her children and sharing her insight with her readers along the way.
Barbara Stanny – Barbara is a woman I admire very much – author, speaker and entrepreneur. As the daughter of one of the founders of H&R Block, Barbara was given many opportunities the rest of us can only imagine. And yet, she’s a very real woman who has struggled with self-doubts, fears and insecurities. Following a painful divorce, Brabara picked up the pieces and built a great life and business helping women (including her daughters) learn to better manage their money and earn all that they were worth.
Julie Anne Bonner – Julie fascinates me because she is so much the opposite of who I am – she is so amazingly good at organizing that she has a business, DeClutter It! based on helping people get organized. Julie even writes about organization and shares tips on where to store things and how to put them away!
(Whenever I say that I’ve put something “someplace safe” my family knows that means I’ve lost it – and it may never turn up again until we move!)
In between her tips on organizing, Julie Anne writes about her other passions – her own business, her family, her role in her husband’s business, and being a wife, woman and mother in today’s world.
WAHfacts – Crystal Berney is a hard-working entrepreneur and single mom of three. You may remember her from her profile during the series of work at home moms. She writes about her first-hand challenges of running a home-based business and raising healthy children. I admire her strength and spirit.
Cafe30 – Towanda Long writes a fun and informative blog from the perspective of a thirty-something professional. She gives great marketing tips, perspectives on life and current events, as well as product information. Sometimes she rants, sometimes she jokes, but she is always entertaining. I admire her wit and humor.
Towanda (aka the Cafelady) is just about ready to join the ranks of entrepreneurial mothers – her first baby is due on Christmas day!
All Diva Media – DJ Nelson writes intelligent, thoughtful and sometimes provocative articles about being a woman in today’s world. I admire her ability to speak her truth with courage and conviction. Her blog is part of a network of blogs by and for women: Bride Diva, Long Distance Diva, Marriage Diva, Parenting Diva and A Curvy Diva.
Organic Yum Yum – This is Amanda Webb’s personal blog. Amanda was recently profiled on this site as a fascinating Woman Entrepreneur and owner of FeelGood Organic Hampers based in Ireland. Amanda is passionate about the environment and the promotion of organic foods and products. I admire her focus and dedication.
————–
Update (Dec 2nd) - since Christine told me that she had already been tagged once for this meme, I am going to add another blogger to my list. (I’m actually excited, because it was hard for me to limit my list of women bloggers I admire to only seven. )
April Groves is a multi-facetedl Woman Entrepreneur and a very talented writer. She is a a real estate agent, a blogger, a coach, a columnist, a wife and a mother of four (not necessarily in that order). She maintains two blogs: Making Life Work for You and My Beautiful Chaos. If you read nothing else, at least read her “about page” - it’s the most charming and insightful one I’ve ever read. I admire April’s gift for writing and her ability to make her rich and varied life work.
——————-
It’s interesting to me as I review this list to realize that I am drawn to these writers as much for their differences from me as for their similarities.
It’s the same when I talk to the readers of this blog - I find that while WE have many different experiences and views, WE are all passionate, enthusiastic, and hard-working women who are changing the world, More than WE Know.
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Category: networking, resources | 15 Comments »
