Kerisma

An article last year in eWeek,“Why Are There so Few Women Tech Entrepreneurs?” featured a report from Business Week showcasing the best young entrepreneurs in tech most likely to shape the world’s digital future. Of the 45 entrepreneurs, only three were women. It still rings true today, where I’ve noticed a gap with many online start-ups dominated by men with engineering backgrounds who continue to gain the attention and support by the media and venture firms. There are a select group of women professionals who have gone out on a limb and have been noted for their accomplishments in technology and digital developments. Well, maybe it’s a matter of time more women come together highlighting the accomplishments of other women.

Joan of Arc was a peasant girl, who despite her circumstances and an army of men, felt obligated to help lead the people of France to defeat the English. At a time of battle, she was capable of raising the spirits of the French troops securing control of Orleans.

Many times, women are the brainchild for new ideas and unfortunately still aren’t given the recognition or taken seriously for their work as some men. Center for Women’s Business Research (CWBR), reported that 10.1 million businesses are owned by women and this accounts for 40% of all privately held firms in the United States. These women run operations attribute to generating 1.1 trillion dollars in sales.

Is it really still a boys club and can’t the gals play with the venture capitalist crowd? I’ve thought it would be a great alternative to create a women owned VC firm that supports women driven businesses. Forbes magazine selected some of the top women with the Midas Touch to support the growth of new businesses after going out on their own to create their own firms. Many were tired of playing only with the boys club and decided it was best to be entrepreneurial as well. Myra Hart, a retired Harvard professor, conducted a report alongside Patricia Greene of Babson College, and other notable women researchers called The Diana Project. They reviewed many of the myths for women entrepreneurs seeking venture capital funding. In the report, “there was a noticeable trend where women received a disproportionately low amount of the venture capital available in the United States,” as reported in eWeek. During these tough economic times, it has created new challenges for both men and women entrepreneurs to seek the necessary funding for the growth of their business where new sources of financial support will be in need.

Why is it some men work together and become mentors for one another, while for the most part some women compete often against one another? Women need to bond together as much as men to move the army of talented individuals to the forefront of the battleground to win. I was considering today that there are few resources that promote the success stories, as well as hearing the challenges for women in the digital space. It would be great to share these experiences first-hand with others, or help connect people that want to make a contribution to new developments. It always interests me to create programs that can cultivate new talent to thrive, brings together people of different backgrounds and different areas of expertise to help new ideas, inspire entrepreneurship, or provide the proper tools to individuals about marketing, sales, and creating further awareness. I would like to join the ranks of women in leadership for making a remarkable and memorable change to empower people, while celebrating our similarities and embracing our differences.

I continue to work towards leading others, or learning from other leaders which include both men and women. It’s about time in 2009 that more organizations such as Girls in Tech have started to develop local chapters to support women of all ages seeking advancement and resources.

For some reason the competition between certain women in power remains strong and not supportive, while men look beyond that with their colleagues in the workforce. New programs for women is a positive thing, however, there is much needed focus at an earlier age for young girls and older women to change the old attitudes about competition and be in touch with collaboration and mentoring one another.

Are you a Joan of Arc in the Making? Or, do you know of one? Let me know!

In the words of Seth Godin from his book, Small is the New Big, “What if, just maybe, we quit making stuff and started making a difference?” How many of us have had the opportunity to go out there and really think about making a difference.  Whether it’s starting your own business, reaching out to the community, assisting someone to get through a project, or just taking the extra time to listen to someone in need. That doesn’t seem like much, but during these tough economic times many are only focused on how can I get through the day to save my job, keep food on the table for my family and are worried about their financial future and retirement plans. Yet, if all of us took $1, or the extra ten minutes out of our day to do something to inspire someone, educate someone, shake up the status quo and seek to make a difference, the world would be a better place.

Obama recently passed legislation to help stimulate the economy after sitting in on a boardroom listening to Top CEO’s about their gripes, concerns and issues in today’s marketplace. Although we do need something to stop the bleeding in this country, I disagree that the big CEO’s need to continue to gain money to bail out their businesses. In fact, I think it’s more about bailing out their personal interests, rather than the little guy like you and I.

Yes, we want to create new jobs, yes we want to encourage people there is hope for the future, and yes we want to get this economy working for us in our favor. However, it’s the smaller businesses that are seeking to change things from the norm and should be really gaining from new investments. For the most part, these are the people that worked for big businesses, may have seen the inefficiencies and don’t have ulterior motives. They have the desire and passion to revolutionize how we do business which could potentially save our economy. Seth Godin continues to state, “In a time of rapid change, the best organizations are small and fast, and the people who run them have a chance to make an impact that will last.”

This should not be a time of giving out handouts to others that aren’t willing to make drastic changes, but may continue to do what they know best which actually started this mess. Others think this is a time of doom and gloom when it’s really not for the ones that are seeking to make a difference. It’s a time for these new leaders to shine. It’s a time for every major organization to evaluate how one conducts business. How we can be more efficient, how we can rely on new technology for production, embrace change and seek out ways to collaborate with others through social networks, as well as building relationships with other experts face-to-face. “Big companies are big companies because they’re very good at yesterday’s business,” states Godin. The world is changing rapidly and it’s up to us, as Obama suggests, and for years others have preached, to see how we can individually contribute to the growth. No it won’t happen overnight, no man is an island also, but if we can put on our thinking caps together, stand fear in the face, be a little creative and mix things up from the norm, we can hopefully identify the new hope for the future. The more in numbers that take strides to do this each day will inevitably put us all in a better place than we are today.

I am determined to make this year a time to focus on my desires, to learn more skills, as well as make a difference. I strive to stand out in the crowd and work with others that want to help climb to the top in hopes to contribute to the growth of each individual. We must invest in the new entrepreneurs, listen to bloggers, the youth, and the men and women seeking to make a change in this society with their important messages and ideas. Those are the people I would like to take my tax dollars and invest in our future. No more can we risk letting  new actions from falling on deaf ears.  It’s unfortunate that some of the crooks will continue to get ahead being deceptive, look for the easy solution, or their best interest. I certainly hope in my lifetime, that it’s the individuals like myself that will do what it takes to see “the nice guy get ahead,” and the individuals making a difference thrive in our next generation.

Okay, so you’ve been terminated from your employer due to lay-offs and NOW WHAT? For more and more professionals it’s becoming a reality one has to face each day. Don’t despair; people may want to help you just when you think the world maybe turning its back on you. First thing to do after it all sinks in, get out there and NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK.  Do whatever it takes to STAND OUT IN THE CROWD and make yourself known, and take the time to contemplate more about your personal goals, interests, dislikes and what may make you happy.

I am one of the many that has been laid-off in the last few weeks and I feel that keeping my options open to a few different career paths is important. I have been fortunate to be given opportunities in previous roles that I had no prior knowledge about that particular industry. Whether it was learning about the teen market, the B2B space, or how to send the best email campaigns to avoid Spam and much more. An individual was willing to give me a break, the chance to prove myself with my transferable skills and thankfully I had achieved success and recognition. In the past, I’ve noticed that anything I’ve applied myself to having little or no knowledge, I make it a concerted effort to surround myself around a particular topic, understand the industry and become known as an expert for others to turn to for guidance. It shows that my hard efforts, focus, research skills and drive can be applied to achieve a particular goal.

After being laid off, this is the perfect time to evaluate who you really are and where your future career may bring much joy. Ask your friends; ask your colleagues for a recommendation, you may realize that certain individuals have noticed your hidden talents that you may have never thought to promote.

Job Search & Professional Trade Journals
There are many good tools online that can start to spread the news about you. Yes, one can turn to Monster.com, Careerbuilder.com, Hotjobs.com and so on. Yet, turn to others sites, such as Indeed.com, a search engine for job seekers of all types. This site allows you to put in your preferred job role and it will crawl the web for all sorts of postings relevant to your interests. Try also finding an association or trade magazine that is specific to your industry to learn of opportunities available. For example, GPS WORLD specializes in helping professionals in an industry focused on navigation. They have recently launched the GPS Career Locator which provides niche specific industry job postings.

Blogging
Here is your chance to write your own blog and provide your accomplishments to others directly online. Look to see what the buzz is about in your industry, write your thoughts and respond to other blogs contributing your ideas. Believe me, someone should notice your responses and here is your opportunity to reach out to others.

Business Cards & Other Online Resources

Don’t forget to create business cards and make sure your resume has links directly to your blog, LinkedINprofile, Facebook page, or any other resource that can get your name out there to STAND OUT IN THE CROWD, as well as highlight examples of your work. You can also add any important links featuring your work and personal messages about your search on many social media community sites. For example, rather than just writing on Facebook, “what are you doing now?,” use that opportunity as a billboard to promote your search!

Check out mine:Keri’s Facebook page, Keri’s LinkedIN profile

If you like to explore another new phenomenon, start using Twitter.com to reach out and follow others, while also respond to their daily postings, or share your work on SlideShare.com to offer examples of your presentations from the past.

Cover Letters, Resumes and Get Out There!

Don’t forget the traditional ways of perfecting your resume, cover letter, making phone calls, as well as making a point to go to networking events in person are key to building relations and making yourself marketable. Check out Meetup.com, or try MarksGuide.com, as great alternatives to finding out where and what’s going on in your neighborhood to connect with individuals that share similar interests and backgrounds. You could not only meet new people, but also explore new things that actually could add a new dimension to your world.

Your Next Job: Looking for Work

Looking for work is a full-time job, especially in a competitive marketplace. It does add a lot of responsibility to make an effort to update your online profiles, seek out others via email, phone, or social communities, and look for  the many new ways to get noticed. I have a lot to accomplish and hope my efforts pay off to get recognized once again by my next employer.