Men Are Welcome, Too

Since my last blogpost, quite a few men have told me "Don't leave men out. We are concerned about our well-being, too."

I agree. Concerns about personal safety and security are not gender-specific. Neither are the dangers. But there are differences.

Not so long ago, an article in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune discussed concerns about the new cell phone service for Sarasota County employees. A county worker who was trimming overgrowth in a rural area fell from his ladder, suffering broken ribs and a concussion. When he regained consciousness, he tried to call for help on the cell phone on his belt.

Suppose this accident had happened at home. Would he have easy access to a phone on his belt? My guess is that many men would. I also guess most women wouldn't. When we get home, we either attach our phones to a charger or leave them in our purses.

What about you? What do you do with your phone when you get home?

I am building a solution to bring peace of mind to anyone with the concern: "if I get sick or injured, how long will it take for someone to notice my absence and come to my aid?" Women living alone are the largest group fitting that description, so my marketing will be primarily directed at them.

But men are welcome, too. I promise the color pink won't appear anywhere.

Finding My Niche - Part 4

Fast forward about 20 years from what I talked about in my last blogpost (Finding My Niche - Part 3). In the interim, I spent a dozen years dealing with the challenges life throws at us, and the rest of the time trying to find my passion -- trying to find a new niche.

I am no longer in California surrounded by women raising children. I am now in Florida surrounded by retirees. Did I mention? I'm 20 years older now, and so are the women like me. Our interests and needs are completely different from what they were 20 years ago.

Something that women like me -- independent women who live alone -- rarely talk about is the fear: "if I get sick or injured, how long will it take for someone to notice my absence and come to my aid?"

I was part of a conversation like that after a Memorial Service for a friend who wasn't found in time.

I thought of it while I was painting a bathroom in my home -- just as I was about to climb a ladder I had placed in the tub so that it was stable -- sort of.

I think of it when I read in the newspaper about women meeting "Mr. Very Wrong" on the Internet.

I know my sister thought of it when I told her I was driving 1,300 miles to a public event.

I sometimes wonder what opportunities and new experiences I pass up because of this underlying fear.

When I draw women like myself into a conversation about this fear, most admit "if there were a low-cost product or service that solved the problem, I'd buy it in a minute."

I found my niche.

Finding My Niche - Part 3

The late 19th century was a time of change for American women. So many men had been killed during the Civil War that hundreds of thousands of women would remain unmarried. With neither the legal restrictions that marriage imposed on women at that time nor the financial safety net of a husband's earnings, women built new businesses and assumed control of their late fathers' or husbands' companies. In the process, they introduced new ways of conducting business in America. 

These women's lives and business decisions held lessons for modern businesswomen, so I decided to tell their stories. My first book would be Out of the Kitchen, Into the Boardroom, a popular biography of three women in the food business: Fannie Farmer, Rose Knox and Margaret Rudkin.

Associating Fannie Farmer with the cookbook that bears her name is only a snippet of her story. And the candy? Not hers, but she did license the use of her name (with a spelling alteration) to a candy company. Farmer started working at the Boston Cooking School in 1890 when immigrant women were working as cooks in middle class households. But times were changing. Immigrant women were choosing factory work, and middle class housewives who now needed to do their own cooking sought instruction in preparing simple meals. The Boston Cooking School didn't change with the times, but Farmer did. In addition to establishing her own cooking school, she took full advantage of the media with regular newspaper and magazine columns, lectures, and a half dozen books, all driving customers to her other ventures.

Knox Gelatin is what remains of the industrial company which led Fortune Magazine in the 1930's to name Rose Knox as "an exception that proves the rule" that women can't be captains of industry. Fortune had already excluded women running major cosmetics firms, because the editors didn't think any business marketing primarily to women worthy of consideration. But gelatin is an industrial product used in photography and pharmaceuticals in addition to food and cosmetics. Knox assumed leadership of the company when her husband died in 1908. During her tenure, she distributed promotional booklets of gelatin recipes and instituted the novel labor practices of a five-day workweek, paid vacations and paid sick leave. Knox's personnel policies and contributions to community improvements fostered employee loyalty that helped the company survive the Great Depression. The business was still thriving when she stepped down in 1947 at age 90. In retrospect, we know she made at least one significant business error when she claimed that home cooks wouldn't prefer pre-flavored gelatin.

Of the three, Margaret Rudkin was the only one who started her company from scratch. Rudkin left her job as one of the first women on Wall Street soon after marrying to raise a family at their suburban home, Pepperidge Farm. As a mother, one of the challenges she faced was feeding a son with severe allergies and asthma. After a doctor recommended all-natural stone-ground whole wheat bread, Rudkin tackled the task of making it palatable. She eventually succeeded in making her home-baked loaves delicious, and quickly expanded from selling to friends and neighbors to selling to a specialty grocer in New York. (The grocer met her husband at Grand Central Station to pick up the loaves he transported on his daily commute to Wall Street.) Two keys to Rudkin's success were maintaining quality as the business grew and keeping her eye open for new products -- like Belgian cookies --  to introduce to American consumers.

Don't search on Amazon for Out of the Kitchen, Into the Boardroom. Life got in the way, so my research and drafts were packed away before the book was completed.

But life goes on, and new opportunities and challenges make themselves known.

Finding My Niche - Part 2

The mid-1990's (when I began this journey) was an era when companies were down-sizing, women like me were starting their own businesses, and business "how to" books were selling briskly. I decided to tap into that market. My plan was to write and self-publish biographies of late 19th century American women who made their mark in business. Each book would offer both inspiration and business lessons to the woman entrepreneur. 

In studying the business of nonfiction publishing, I discovered that authors made more money from seminars at which their books were distributed in bulk than from retail book sales. No problem! Give me a microphone and a chance to speak on a topic I'm passionate about and I'm ready to go.

But first I had to write a book that women would want to buy.

What's every woman's #1 interest, regardless of marital status, political leanings, ethnicity, or age? Food! 

My first book would bring together short biographies of three 19th century women who started food businesses that are household names today. Why three women? If a potential buyer isn't particularly interested in one of the subjects, she's bound to be interested in one of the others. And the book could include a few recipes, for those so inclined.

Next stop: Out of the Kitchen, Into the Boardroom

Finding My Niche -- Part 1

They say authors should write what they know and investors should stick to businesses they understand. I suppose entrepreneurs should offer products and services they'd buy themselves, or at least target a market segment they belong to or understand.

I left IBM close to 20 years ago with a plan to start my own business. No more being subject to the whims and missteps of a large corporation for me!

The local branch of AAUW had started a project in 1985 to bring women's history alive in local schools. Each year, a committee researched and wrote profiles of historic women. Then, during Women's History Month, they went into local schools dressed as these historic women and delivered monologues about their lives. By the time I got involved, the project had expanded throughout California and beyond, dozens of scripts had been written, and a book committee had published Profiles of Women Past & Present, an illustrated collection of 15 scripts and instructions for introducing a women's history program into the reader's school system.

I worked on the book publishing committee for several years, helping to produce and market three more volumes. I was surrounded by women interested in women's history and we were successfully selling our books nationwide. 

I had found my niche.

Welcome to my new blog!

Welcome to my new blog!

In April, I was seriously considering becoming a candidate in the 2012 Elections. After much reflection and soul-searching I realized that the community would benefit more if I invested that time, energy and money in building a new business instead of running for office.

Two years ago I had an innovative idea for addressing a problem faced by women like me, but I put it on the back burner. Well, it's front and center now. As this blog develops, I'll give you more details about my idea.

I attended my first SCORE class on April 30, and have been working with them since to develop a business case and make a rational decision whether or not to move forward. The answer is YES! I am about to become a "job creator!"

One of my first actions as a "job creator" was to contact a marketing firm. Grace Carlson referred me to Trudy Anderson of AdGals. In the course of our conversation, Trudy said, "You should put that in your blog." 

Blog? This blog will follow my journey as I face the somewhat daunting tasks and decisions along the way to developing a thriving, profitable, national business.

Please join me.