Women, Business and Confidence

Recently there has been quite a bit chatter in the news regarding women, business and women's inability to move ahead. A report recently on MSNBC cited the following two key elements for the reason:  "Glass Walls" and confidence (specifically, a lack of confidence).

When I was watching these news broadcasts, the lack of confidence resonated with me, as I believe we've all had our confidence shaken and challenged more than once as well. Similarly, I connected with the reference to the Glass Walls. I never personally believed in the Glass Ceiling excuse, but I do see the truth within these newly identified walls.

What confines us behind these walls are the following three parts, as set out in the news broadcast:

• Doing everything
• Lack of network support
• Thinking small

But I would like to add a fourth part: emotional trust.

The first three are obvious in their definitions, but the fourth—emotional trust—may not be so obvious since it also contains a few elements of its own. Being part of the human race means we're emotional beings; we use our emotions to learn, experience and grow. As women we embrace our emotions on an even greater and deeper level, resulting in our having a larger emotional investment in all that we do. When our emotional investment causes us pain or we experience negative backlash, our emotional trust is challenged and we become more cautious regarding where we place this trust in the future.

All our decisions are based on where we stand emotionally with regard to...

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Weight Training for Women

Why Do Women Need to Lift Weights?
When women hit the gym, more often than not they end up completely ignoring weights. The problem is that most women do not realize strength training or lifting weights is almost as important for their fitness as cardiovascular exercises are!

When we hear the term “weight training,” most of us conjure up images of big, muscled men sweating it out in the gym. And if you have a vivid imagination, you probably even add a few grunts that punctuate men’s weight lifting exercises to your vivid mental image. The truth of the matter, however, is that whether you are man or a woman your exercise regimen is incomplete unless you make weight training a part of it.

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Yoga for Pregnancy

Keeping physically fit during your pregnancy is extremely important; after all, you are responsible for two lives: yours and the tiny fragile one growing inside you. Though physically strenuous exercises should normally be avoided during pregnancy, most doctors advise women to stay active or take up light exercises during this period. Yoga is one such exercise.

While pregnant women who are especially new to yoga need not attempt all Yoga asana, they can perform some of the following poses under expert supervision.

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Parents Arriving and Other Thoughts

Today my parents arrive from Spaniard's Bay Newfoundland Canada; they were suppose to arrive last night but they were delayed due to fog. A little dissappointed? Yes but I would rather they arrive safely than not at all.

Starting your own business can be extremely stressful. There are many decisions to make and in most cases with limited funds. I have been a management consultant for the last four years and as a result I do have an income already. These funds are obviously useful to pay ongoing bills but it is enough to allow me to have a little extra for starting this company.

We decided one of the most important elements to inject some of our hard earned savings into is the logo - you know - the icon which gets burned into consumers minds so they instantly recongize you. Through a resource directory - The NW Women's Directory - I found an amazing young woman - Kelli who is a graphic designer. We hit it off with immediately, she is extremely talented and also very reasonable on my wallet. We are excited about this new partnership and how positively it is going to support our business plan.

Why at this point might some of you ask is the importance of spending a few thousand dollars on such an item? Well it is all about setting yourself apart, making yourself instantly recognizable, establishing yourself only once, and effectively communicating who and what you are. This ladies and gentlemen is called Marketing 101. One of the biggest mistakes a new company can do is to keep changing their 'icon' or their main visual message(s); doing this keeps your consumers confused and in the mind set that your organization is not established. This lends to your target audience (the people you would like to have use your goods/services) to go somewhere else. As you know yourself the last thing you want to do is go into a partnership (the moment you exchange any goods/services with another you enter into a partnership - it is just the length of the partnership which becomes questionable) with another individual/company that is unstable. It is because of this we are choosing to invest, yes it is an investment, into our new company these funds to ensure our message to our audience is clear, concise, consistent, and effective.

Well, I am off to write and establish policies today before my parents arrive ... fun eh?

Embrace your inner wisdom!

Until next time, I'm in gratitude for all you do.
Karen