New Moms Inc.

Posted on February 16, 2012

Chicago has an amazing entrepreneurial community that allows us to thrive, and it's no secret. The support system and energy that surrounds the Chicago startup community is inspiring and extremely conducive to high success rates. Household names such as Morton's, Wrigley, Groupon and GrubHub have paved the way for new startups to thrive. But it’s important for the members of this inspirational startup community to remember to support and give back to the greater Chicago community where we can. The Sharp Skirts chapter is full of powerful leaders who have the experience and ability to encourage and motivate others to dream big. We’re excited to leverage this network of women for a day of sharing, teaching and inspiring with the women of New Moms, Inc. New Moms, Inc. is a Chicago...
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Ain’t Too Proud to Beg

Posted on February 7, 2012

Sharp Skirts is pleased to announce its first foray into video, inspired by a modern-day Muse. When we first started planning Skirts at South By, we knew exactly who we wanted as our featured speaker - Tina Fey, the epitome of a Sharp Skirt. How to do that in a Skirt-ish way though? We rounded up a few sharp women on film and asked them to talk. Here's what we came up with. Sharp Skirts's own Ellie Scarborough (founder of Media Bombshell) directed and produced, while Mary Kang shot and edited. We're proud to have such talented women as part of our organization - but obviously, not too proud to beg our favorite kick-ass woman to come to Austin! Check out the video, give it a thumbs-up, and pass it on!
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Skirts at South By

Posted on January 24, 2012

You may have already heard some whispering, but here's your official announcement: On Saturday, March 10, we'll be putting on Skirts at South By, a day-long SxSW event celebrating all things women in startups! Skirts at South By will be SxSW's first day-long program targeted to entrepreneurial women. We'll be located in the downtown Hilton as part of SxSW's Startup Village and will have the kind of programming and networking you'd expect from Sharp Skirts. Hear usable advice on building your business. Connect with companies who are serious about hiring women. Get inspired to start your own business and learn from women who have already been through the process. No Botox booths, scented candles, or personal growth allowed - just tips for success from smart women. We'll share more...
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Kick Ass Women

Posted on December 21, 2011

I'm not a big fan of lists. There are 10,000 of them - especially this time of year - all aiming to make a definitive statement on who is hot or cool or successful at that moment in time. We're doing one anyway, partly because Forbes has pissed us off again. This probably is not the best way to make business decisions. But one could argue that the very existence of Sharp Skirts is due to annoyance with entrenched attitudes and ideas. When there is nothing left at which to be annoyed, we'll go away. Forbes published its '30 Under 30' list earlier this week and, not only were there a measly two women on the list, they shared their spots with men. It was stunning and exasperating. The original Sharp Skirt, Chris Shipley, first spotted it and emailed me. Let's come up with our own list, she...
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TEDxWomen : 5 “Aha!” Feminist Moments

Posted on December 6, 2011

Today, Sharp Skirts is so pleased to share Bronwyn Saglimbeni's coverage of TEDx Women! [caption id="attachment_678" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Bronwyn Saglimbeni"][/caption] Many young women I know are questioning the role of feminism in today’s post-Oprah world. Personally, I know that feminism is barely in its awkward teenage phase, and that we’ve got more years in front of us than we do behind us. But I also know I have struggled to articulate what feminism will represent to the coming generations. I had the great fortune to attend last week’s TEDxWomen event in Los Angeles;  with a lineup that included the likes of Gloria Steinem, I hoped I might hear something that would answer the question of where are going from here. And to those questioning whether feminism...
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Confessions of a Real-Life Peggy Olson

Posted on December 1, 2011

For 18 years now, I’ve made a living as an advertising copywriter. If you don’t know what an advertising copywriter does, watch Peggy Olson on Mad Men. [caption id="attachment_642" align="alignleft" width="216" caption="Stefani Zellmer"][/caption] I’m Peggy. Only without the panty hose and pointy bras. That show resonates for people in advertising as much as it does with the general public because it gives a more accurate portrayal of our business than we’ve ever seen in fictional dramas. We don’t sketch ideas out with markers as much anymore. We don’t have three-Martini lunches. We don’t blow smoke rings in the office. But other than that, not much has changed in the way we come up with advertising ideas and how we sell those ideas to clients. Unfortunately, there...
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Who Has Enough Time?

Posted on November 23, 2011

All day I hear people talking about how there’s not enough of it. Well, I think that’s just silly. Saying “not enough” implies we can somehow get more. That’s unheard of. We all get 24 hours in a day. You can fill that with anything you’d like. You can sleep. You can work. You can eat red velvet cupcakes. (I say go with the cupcakes.) But you can’t do everything because your time is obviously limited. I know. You’re all shocked because for the last 40 or so years, women have constantly been told we can do it all, be it all and have it all as a reversal of the previous million years of being told we couldn’t do anything at all. It’s almost a requirement that you have it all. If you don’t have a million things in the air, you’re lazy and unmotivated. Why aren’t you...
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Austin Women Unite for Inspiration, Empowerment and…Botox Coupons?

Posted on November 15, 2011

Leila Kalmbach is a freelance writer and a native Austinite. Her work has appeared in Austin Monthly, Tasmanian Life, the Austin Business Journal, Yoga Sanga, Austin WeddingDay, Texas School Business and TravelMuse, among others. She writes people's life-changing true stories at How We Live. This post originally appeared at Culture Map Austin, and Leila has graciously allowed us to reprint it here! On Wednesday, November 2, 2,000 Central Texas women met at the Austin Convention Center for the Austin Women’s Conference & Show, an event designed to inspire and empower women in both their personal and professional lives. The event featured keynote speakers, workshops, local musicians and a variety of booths selling products and giving away coupons and, often, chocolate (how did they know?!). In...
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Choosing Entrepreneurship Over a Lifelong Dream

Posted on November 8, 2011

[caption id="attachment_612" align="alignleft" width="278" caption="Social Katy's Meagan Lopez"][/caption] This is the opposite of any story I ever expected to tell. My 16-year-old self would have been shocked, and perhaps, appalled to hear it. However, once I explained to her the true merits of what I had done, I’m hoping she would understand. Then again, she was quite stubborn, and didn’t really like to listen to anyone. Such is the mind of a 16-year-old. Ultimately, I have to know that my -- ahem -- 29-year-old self feels really good about her decision, although it was the hardest one she ever had to make. A bit of back story: My life in social media started when I was living in England. When I moved there in 2008, I found that developing a blog was my ultimate outlet for...
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ForbesWoman, you’re doing it wrong

Posted on November 2, 2011

I subscribe to ForbesWoman on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, co-hosted a SxSW panel with writer Megan Casserly last year - I'm on the Forbes wagon, one could say. Hell, they named Sharp Skirts one of the top ten sites for entrepreneurial women this year, a designation I quickly added to my email signature. So I am clearly about to burn a bridge. But that bridge isn't going to be worth much unless Forbes starts re-thinking its writing about women in business. Here are a few headlines from ForbesWoman published in recent months weeks last week: 'Beauty and the Brood' - Oct. 30th piece on how women with more attractive facial features want to bear more children 'Halloween Costume Dilemma' - Oct. 27th piece advising us not to dress slutty on Halloween 'Not Everyone's Cheering J.Crew...
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