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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Posted in Kick the But, Lessons Learned | View Comments

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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Agile Worlds Hit the Legal Industry

Posted on November 1, 2011

The old way of practicing law is just that – old. As a small business owner, I ponder the adaptations necessary to maintain a successful business. What do clients want and expect? Gone are the days of exponentially increasing billing hours, large legal fees, impersonal work and well, paper. Associates and partners alike are dissatisfied with the traditional method of climbing the ladder to achieve “Partner.” On the other end of the spectrum, savvy customers want counselors with specialty knowledge in one or more subject areas, such as employment law, corporate law or immigration, for example, spelling demise for the generalist solo practitioner or small firm. To top it off, the general public (and customer) does not know what to expect from a legal service provider. One might...
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Lesson Learned: Read, Read, Read the Contract

Posted on October 25, 2011

We’re all successful/budding businesswomen here, right? We’ve all devoured all the information about our industry we can. We’ve all educated ourselves as much as possible about doing business effectively, intelligently and successfully. So we all know that when money or anything else valuable is involved, we need to have a written contract in place to protect our interests. So, I’m not going to insult you by telling you to get a contract but I will add this caveat to this age-old advice:  Don’t forget to read the contract. Yes, that’s right. Don’t skim it. READ it. And I say this as someone who has not read many contracts. When I first started working for myself, I knew enough to get the contract. Even on small jobs, I would insist that we put our agreement in writing....
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Call For Submissions: “We Are Sharp Skirts”

Posted on October 17, 2011

Sharp Skirts’ big hairy goal of taking over the world won’t be achieved without a sense of cohesion for our members - a united front against tedium and silliness toward women in business. Your contributions are integral, so today we’re announcing a couple of fun ways for you to get involved: a new Tumblr blog and a unique approach to our existing blog. First, Tumblr. Inspired more than just a little bit by We Are the 99 Percent and sites like PostSecret and WYDWYD, we’ve created We Are Sharp Skirts. What frustrates you about current resources and networks for women in business? About being a woman in a male-centric business world? About building a business in a crappy economic climate? Get creative – photos, videos, screenshots. We want We Are Sharp Skirts to be a visual, personal...
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Evolving Our Brand

Posted on October 12, 2011

Sharp Skirts launched in 2010 with a “No Pink. No Platitudes” philosophy that was welcomed by women weary of being talked down to in business. As time has gone on, we've come to realize how pervasive that phenomenon really is. And we're tired of beating around the bush. Here are some other things we're tired of: -Discussing how we "make it all work!" -Being called mompreneurs -Anything vaguely resembling personal growth -Cutesy packaging of business advice -"You go, girl!" This article lit a fire under us to put our plans into overdrive. Note the complete lack of mention of any father, partner, or other human besides the mother and her children. Marvel at the frequent mentions of home-cooked meals. Question which situations call for "emergency high heels." Then...
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Stop Thinking

Posted on October 3, 2011

Recently, I told a friend that I was considering removing the membership fee from Sharp Skirts but was worried that it would be seen as bad business - backing off from an early tenet of the company, that sort of thing. She measured her words carefully for a moment, then said, "Your business isn't as important to anyone else as it is to you. I can pretty much guarantee that no one remembers what you said a year and a half ago. And honestly, no one's going to remember what you say tomorrow. Follow your instincts, deliver a product that people need, and keep moving." She couldn't be more right. People are busy with their lives, their businesses, their relationships - the minutia that eats you up on a daily basis isn't a blip on the radar, even to your biggest fans. If you need to make a change...
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Brief Introduction Into The SBA Loan Programs

Posted on September 27, 2011

A powerhouse in commercial lending and business development, Helena Hauk helps grow the Texas economy by assisting small to mid sized businesses with capital, strategic management and planning, and no-nonsense business development advice. As the President and founder of 5th Gear Consulting and the 2011 SBA Financial Services Champion of the Year, Helena has facilitated the injection of over $30 million in SBA lending into the Central Texas economy. Learn more by visiting www.5thgearconsulting.com. Image via Wikipedia Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, creating jobs and adding new and innovative products to the market. The Small Business Administration exists to support both emerging and growing small businesses by offering services, tools, and resources at affordable...
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