Entrepreneur Magazine’s Entrepreneur of 2010 Contest!!!!

Entrepreneur Magazine just Launched its annual entrepreneur of the year contest. They are looking for entrepreneurs who are making an impact in their industry, in the lives of their employees and in their community.

The winner will receive:

Two roundtrip tickets within the continental U.S. on Delta Airlines (a value in excess of $1,000)

A $500 gift certificate for products and services at any of The UPS Store® franchised locations

A selection of Entrepreneur Press® books (a $300 value)

A three (3) year subscription to Entrepreneur®magazine (a $60 value).

They will be profiled and promoted in a special section of the January 2011 issue of Entrepreneur magazine (a value in excess of $150,000)

They will be also profiled in a follow-up article in the December 2011 issue of Entrepreneur magazine (a value in excess of $80,000).

The winner will also be invited to attend, together with a guest, an awards luncheon and ceremony (the “Awards Ceremony”), at which he/she will be honored.

The winner will also be provided with the following expense-paid transportation and accommodations: (i) roundtrip coach airline transportation between the major airport closest to each Winner’s residence and Atlanta International Airport, provided that the Winner’s residence is outside of Fulton County, Georgia; (ii) two (2) nights’ hotel accommodations (double occupancy) within the Atlanta area; and (iii) transportation between Atlanta International Airport and hotel accommodations in the Atlanta area and between such hotel accommodations and the site of the Awards Ceremony.

All entries must be posted by June 15, 2010.

Please visit http://www.entrepreneur.com/e2010/ for information on eligibility.

Spanx you very much……from a pair of pantyhose to millions!!!

There aren’t many women you will talk to today who have not heard of Spanx, even Hollywood starlets swear by the product. Spanx are the fabulous undergarments that give women a slimmer and shapelier appearance . So many women own the product, but do they really know the story behind it?

Spanx is the brainchild of Sara Blakely who was just a photo copier sales rep when she dreamed up her idea in 2000. Her inspiration for the product came when she noticed her panty line was showing through her white pants. She wanted a quick solution for the problem, so she took a pair of pantyhose and cut the feet off. After trying her product,  she realized she had a potential hit on her hands.With a prototype in hand and a lot of determination, Sara pounded the pavement and approached a few stores.

All her hard work paid off, and In 2005 Spanx made its debut in major department stores like Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. Oprah Winfrey was a huge fan of the line and decided to feature it on her show, as a result Spanx became an international sensation. Today Spanx is a $150 million dollar company with over 55 employees.

You can read more of Sara’s story at:

http://www.spanx.com/corp/index.jsp?page=sarasStory&clickId=sarasstory_aboutsara_text

Business Incubators can help your business…find them here!

Business incubators are programs designed to speed up the growth of startup companies. They typically provide an environment where start-up companies can benefit from favorable rent and services.

Incubators help to create a firm foundation for companies whose main business is the development of new products, technologies or services. This is great for startups who lack the resources and funding necessary to build their business.

According to Wikipedia .com successful completion of a business incubation program increases the likelihood that a start-up company will stay in business for the long term: Historically, 87% of incubator graduates stay in business.

Incubators help with:

Business Networking

Marketing Assistance

High Speed Internet Access

Accounting/FinancialManagement

Access to Bank Loans, Loan Funds and Guarantee Programs

Links to Strategic Partners

Access to Angel Investors or Venture Capital

Comprehensive Business Training Programs

Advisory Boards and Mentors

Management Team Identification

And much more!.

Acceptance criteria vary from program to program, but in general only those with feasible business ideas and a workable business plan are admitted.

To find a Business Incubator in your State, you can visit the National Business Incubation Association’s website at www.nbia.org

Home based businesses you can start right now!!!!

Hi Ladies,

I am always on the lookout for startup stories that will inspire CGBC members. One of my favorite websites Inc.com sometimes feature stories of entrepreneurs who fought their way through challenges to achieve success.

In 2009, Inc.com posted a list of businesses anyone can start from home, it was an interesting read.  I would like to share it with you as I think it still applies today.

1) Online Dating Site Markus Frind the founder of PlentyofFish.com is pulling in $10million a year from his dating website which he launched from his home.

2) Pet Care Paul Mann of Fetch! made $3.5 million in 2008 from his home pet care business.

3)Virtual Assistant Tawnya Sutherland of VANetworking made $150,000 from her online social networking site for virtual assistants.

4)Technical Staffing Bill Foster and Ruben Santana of XRoads Consulting made $5.8million in their first two years in business.

5)Home Improvement and Organization Allan Young of ShelfGenie was able to turn his home business into a franchise.

6)Green Construction Nic Darling, Chad Ludeman, and Courtney Ludeman launched a construction company called Postgreen right from their own homes.

7) Graphic Design Services Sam Feuer of Mindsmack created a full service web design firm right from his own home.

8)Resume Writing Kathy Sweeney of the Write Resume saw a 21% increase in revenue in 2009.

9) Corporate Educational  Services In 2008 Joseph Pickett of Expert Briefings saw an increase in revenue . He went from $25,000 to $300,000 in less than a year.

10)Bargain Hunting Website Karen Hoxmeier of MyBargainBuddy was able to make a business out of her hobby.

11)Accounting Services Melissa Nash Andrews launched a full service collection agency from her home.

To read the full story and learn more about these businesses, visit http://www.inc.com/ss/11-businesses-you-can-start-your-pajamas-2009#0

Looking for Angel Investors?

Finding an Angel Investor for your business can be a difficult process, however Angelsoft.net makes it very easy.

Angelsoft is a platform that angel investor groups, and many VCs use to manage deal flow. It is an automated system that allows an entrepreneur to submit information to one or many early stage investors in one application process.

Angelsoft is the leading business planning and funding platform on the web today. 20,000+ investors trust the Angelsoft platform to manage their end-to-end deal flow and manage their early equity investments.

Special mention: Golden Seeds is one of the the Angel Groups featured on Angelsoft.net. The reason they get a special mention is because they are a woman owned organization, and  they invest solely in women owned companies.  To find out more about Golden Seeds, you can visit their website at www.goldenseeds.com.

13 year old business mogul!!!

Hello Ladies,

I have always said if you have an idea no matter how ridiculous it may seem at the time, Jot it down. The reason I say this is because it just may be the next big thing. As you may know I am a big fan of taking “calculated” risks no matter where you are in life, or how old you are. I don’t think those ideas come to us by accident.

Meet Maddie Bradshaw who launched a fashion accessories line at age 13.

Maddie Bradshaw was looking for a way to decorate her school locker and came up with the idea of using colorful magnets. She then decided she would expand on the idea, and make interchangeable bottle cap necklaces for herself and her friends. With $300 and the help of her mother and sister, Maddie launched her company M3M designs. In just two years the company grew into a million dollar business with over 25 employees.

Maddie Bradshaw www.m3girldesigns.com

Advice: Sometimes in life, you need to have that childlike innocence and just trust that things will turn out okay . It’s okay to be ambitious, its okay to be a dreamer, it’ okay to have goals, it’s even okay to fail. What is Not okay, is being afraid to go after what you want.

Virgin wants your ideas

Sir Richanrd Branson wants to help entrepreneurs take their ideas to the next level. According to Virgin they are ” always looking for the next BIG thing”.

Areas of interest are:

• Travel and tourism
• Communications
• Financial services
• Leisure and entertainment
• Retail
• Health and Wellness

There are two ways you can submit your idea to Virgin:

1) You can upload a video to Virgin’s PitchTV.  They will  highlight a selection of the best videos and then let everyone rock or knock the featured pitches. A combination of the judges’ favourites and the most popular video pitches will make it on to the PitchTV show which will premiere on Virgin Atlantic’s in-flight entertainment – to be seen by top business professionals from around the world.

2) You can also visit the link below and follow the submission guidelines.

http://www.virgin.com/entrepreneur/got-a-big-idea/got-a-big-idea/

Please make sure you really pay attention to the rules. Virgin does NOT sign Non Disclosure agreements.

Visit http://www.virgin.com

Good luck!

The best social networking site for local businesses!

Hi Ladies,

As I’m sure you are aware, there are a ton of social networking sites out there. Each site caters to a different niche, but which one is the best when it comes to advertising your local business?

Meetup.com www.meetup.com in my opinion is a fantastic website that combines online and offline networking opportunities.

Meetup.com is the world’s largest network of local groups. Meetup makes it easy for anyone to organize a local group or find one of the thousands already meeting up face-to-face. More than 2,000 groups get together in local communities each day.

Perhaps you’re a consultant that wants to expand your client list?

Or you own a bakery in a small neighbourhood and want to attract more customers?

Or you want to start a pet sitting service and need some exposure?

Meetup.com is perfect for all three.

What I love about the website is that you can join as many groups as you want, and meet as many people as you want. No advertising budget required.

To your success!

The City Girl Business Club launches new startup guide

We are very excited at the City Girl Business Club. We just launched our new start up guide which helps women who are interested in starting a business.

In addition to the City Girl’s Guide to starting a Business you will also receive:

Over 100 Resources

Guide to Finding Your Passion

Simple Home Based Business Ideas

Positive mind strategies

Business Templates

Certificate of Completion

Pricing and information can be found at our website at www.citygirlbusinessclub.com

Homeless to Millionaire….fabulous!

Here are CGBC we love inspirational stories and believe it is important to read as many as possible to keep you motivated.

Today we give a big City Girl salute to Lucinda Yates who overcame homelessness to become a millionaire.

After a terrible divorce, Lucinda Yates found herself homeless and living in her van with her daughter. During that time she learned how to make jewelry from homeless people she had befriended. After some time on the streets, Lucinda was lucky enough to find a part time job that enabled her to provide food for herself and her daughter. On her way to work one day she found a trash can filled with scrap matteboard and started cutting them into shapes, those shapes later became pieces of jewelry that she sold to shelters to raise money for the homeless. Within her first year, Lucinda made $89,000, the following year she made $300,000. Lucinda’s company has now sold over 4 million pins and has grossed over $24 million dollars. She currently employs over 50 people and has helped over 6,000 non profit organizations worldwide.

You can read more about Lucinda at http://www.lucinda.com/

My two cents: I have always said that blessings sometimes come disguised as something else. If Lucinda had not been homeless she would never have had the opportunity to achieve what she did. If you have lemons, make them the most fabulous lemons you ever had. The choice truly is yours!