Support Other Women Owned Businesses

As you consider holiday gifts for everyone on your list this year, consider, too, purchasing those gifts from other Women-Owned Businesses. There are so many benefits that can come from supporting fellow female entrepreneurs:

1. We Build Each Other Up - it's easy to look at someone else's successful business with envy. But the laws of the universe will reward those that throw away the envy and support others embarking on the same journey.

2. Networking Works - Purchasing gifts from female business owners opens the door for entrepreneurs to talk with each other, share ideas and potentially create a partnership for the future.

Below is just one example of a Women Business Owner who was able to create an event that promotes Female Entrepreneurs.


HOLIDAY SHOPPING IDEAS FROM WOMEN BUSINESS OWNERS

A Hillsborough business owner and maker of soy candles has organized a holiday-shopping event featuring products from 40 crafters, artists and retailers, all women owners of home-based businesses. The event will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 16 at the Days Inn, 1260 Route 22 East in Bridgewater.

Lisa Johnson, owner of Candlelicious, makes and sells soy candles and candle accessories. She created the event to showcase the products of women-owned business, especially those who donate a portion of their profits to to nonprofit organizations.

“What has intrigued me the most about the women I have met is many of them donate a portion of their proceeds to various organizations. So, not only are these women … selling at craft shows to make some extra money for their households, they are also thinking of those less fortunate,” Johnson said.

The holiday-shopping event will feature the work of crafters who donate some of their profits to a tribe in Thailand to help educate the children, Autism research and awareness and educational funds for children of underdeveloped countries. The event will also feature the work of an artist who is deaf and legally blind, who has partnered with a friend to create a clothing line featuring various sign-language symbols.

“It is a good time of the year for people to come out and support home businesses owned by women of their own communities. There are so many wonderful items that will be available, such as homemade candy, jam, jewelry, personalized gifts, clothing, home and holiday décor, just to name a few,” Johnson said.

Breakfast and lunch are available at the event.

* from the Courier News website www.c-n.com

$5,000 For Top Recipe!

I consider myself a pretty great cook and baker and one out-of-the-ordinary business idea I've been pondering and researching is Recipe Contests.

There is a contingent of very astute cooks who, as a hobby, enter recipe contests. Many of them are repeat winners. The prizes vary from cash prizes, to trips to products and services.

For those who have a knack for what's hot in the food world, entering recipe contests could prove to provide a nice side income. (Of course, you have to win, but that's just a technicality!)

The deadline for the Athens Phyllo Cup Recipe Contest is December 29, 2007. The Grand Prize is $5,000.

Give it a try, there's nothing to lose and you just might create a great recipe that your family will love for years to come.

Just click the Title Link of this post to learn more about the Athens Contest.

What Is It That You Think About Everyday?

It's Holiday Shopping time and I've been going crazy searching for one of those "hard to find" items for my six year old daughter. She would love to have a digital camera to call her very own. So I began searching high and low, then decided on this Fisher-Price Kid-Tough Digital Camera. It's pink, has a LCD viewer on the back, perfect!

Only to find out that it's one of the hottest toys out there this season. Impossible to find and if you did want to buy it, you'd have to spend double the retail price to get it from ebay or another retailer.

But, as I searched the internet for the camera, I discovered a blog dedicated JUST to Digital Cameras For Kids. The author had compiled information on many of the digital cameras geared toward kids and put the information all in one place, along with Adsense and Amazon links.

"Now how come I didn't think of that!", I thought!

All the research I had done and I could have found a way to monetize that research in a small way.

So, as you go about your daily business of living life, think about what you think about! If you are thinking about a particular subject, product, process, etc. chances are there are many others who are thinking about that same exact thing.

Chronicle your information on a blog or simple web page. Create a small report to sell to internet searchers. Attach an affiliate product or Google Adsense to the information and you may just find a few extra cents (or dollars) in your bank account.

Smart Money Special Series On Women Business Owners

Kudos to Smart Money Magazine. They have just started a new series all about Women-Owned Businesses.

And though they may be focused on what we might consider "high power" women, it is motivational as all get-out to learn about other women who have gone down this road.

I do believe Anyone, let me say it again, Anyone can be a successful business owner.

Check out the Smart Money Series and let me know what you think. Click on the Title of the Post to go to Smart Money.