I am looking for stories from
1) women business owners in different countries,
2) women expats who have left their home country to establish business in another.

There is a lot of information on how to conduct business overseas, but a lot of it is written by people who have never left their homeland. I am seeking firsthand accounts so that we can provide women with quality information and access to some of the nuances that only come from being there.  

Feel free to comment here and submit stories to herstartup@gmail.com along with a brief bio and your photo (photo optional).  

Joy gin!
Khrys

My life took an unexpected turn a few weeks ago. Just when you think you know what you know or have made peace with your suspicions, you discover you know nothing. I won’t bore you with details, but long story short, I am 40 years old and just found out I am adopted.  

Growing up, I was very much daddy’s little girl. On the other hand, my mom and I were more like oil and water. Nonetheless, I had a good family and was raised in a loving home. Other than that I was teased periodically by relatives my age who told me she really was not my mom. But kids can be cruel so that was quickly dismissed. After my dad died, I became a teenager, my mom and I really stopped getting along, and we haven’t really spoken that much as a result.

For some reason I decided to call her out the blue after years. I must admit, it was good to talk to her. But she must have been so happy to hear from me after all this time that she told me everything. Not only am I not her daughter, but I am not my father’s either. It was the last part, that really threw me.  

Even though I do not know who my birth parents are, I found out some interesting things through the agency. They were both in college. She was 19 and loved dance (I do too), he was 21 and an athlete (does Nascar count?). Both of them were in college.  They gave me up at four days old. I had no name. But I was placed with the parents that raised me the following month. I did not have to be here, but I am. I had no name, but God had a plan. And even though my mom and I have our differences, they seem almost non-existent now. I think all children have their opninions about what parents should have done or could do better, but with this as the beginning of my life, I now have no complaints. I had it good for someone that did not have to be alive, yet alone taken in by a family so for everything, I am exceedingly more grateful.  

Will I try to find my birth parents? Possibly – even if only to know my heritage which is questionable and to let them know I turned out okay. But for now, it sure is good to be alive and a good time to be thankful.

Hello Ladies –
This is an fyi post. I am hoping to get 100 women to sign up since it is a wonderful promotional package.  If so, we will be able to do some other things to help women business owners with promotions and create ad co-ops to get them noticed. It is a free service so sign up yourself if you have not already.  

Thanks!
Khrys  

----------------------

Small Business Is Big News
Special Offer from Her Startup and PR Newswire
We’re helping women-owned business start up their PR program!

Her Startup has teamed up with PR Newswire to offer you a 12-month membership at no charge.  Just submit your contact information through the Sign Up Now section of the PR Toolkit and someone from PR Newswire will touch base with you to get you signed up. This is a $195 value!! As well, save with PR Newswire by taking advantage more than $2,000 in free and discounted services!  

Visit the PR Toolkit for some great free resources to get you going in the right direction in promoting your business.

    * Drive traffic to your Web site

    * Launch a new product or service

    * Increase your visibility

    * Announce a new business or storefront

Included with your waived annual membership – more than $2,000 in free and discounted services*:

    * Waiver of first year PR Newswire membership fee (value of $195)

    * FREE MediaAtlas™ Microlist with first domestic news distribution (value up to $525)

    * Discounts on eWatch™ Web Pubs (up to 50% OFF)

    * Discounts on ProfNetSM (50% OFF)

    * Discount on NewsCom Photo Archival (50% OFF)

    * Discount on Basic Multimedia New Release (25% OFF)

• Offer only available to new PR Newswire members.

About PR Newswire

Get Noticed, Increase Sales
PR Newswire, the world’s largest electronic distributor of news releases, has over 40,000 members worldwide – many of which are small businesses just like yours. These companies benefit because their releases are read by editors across the country. A well-placed article, even in a small local publication, can often lead to significant business rewards. Whether you use local advertising, telemarketing, a sales staff, or simply work solo on the phone, you need to communicate your message and increase the profile of your company. Sending out a news release is an excellent tool you can use to help achieve your marketing goals.

With PR Newswire, you reach critical audiences, including:

 Print and Broadcast Points:    Each release is distributed via satellite directly into the computer networks at daily newspapers, news services, magazines, television stations, and radio stations.

Industry Trades :   Releases are sent to appropriate vertical markets automatically. Utilizing wire, fax, email and the Web, trade reporters can select a broad array of news.

Web Reach :   With most Internet searches beginning at search engines, directories and information portals, PR Newswire is one of the most accessed news sources on the Web. More than 4,300 web sites, databases and online services, including Yahoo!, AOL, Bloomberg, MSN.com, CNET and Dow Jones Interactive, carry content from PRN.

Investors :   The Investor's Research Wire delivers your full-text news release to the desk of more than 1,000,000 institutional investors. PR Newswire's Investor's Research Wire transmits your news directly to Dow Jones, Reuters, Bloomberg, Bridge, and numerous other financial databases and online services.

The Cost - Less Than Postage
The standard news release that runs about 400 words can be sent to all media in your state, appropriate trade publications, and to more than 4,300 web sites, online services, and databases for as little at $180. Get more information now.

I was interviewed on Blog" rel="nofollow" target="vblank" href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/TCE/">Blog">http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ Talk Radio yesterday by 'The Career Engineer.' All went well and I enjoyed being a guest on such a great show, but one question was asked of me that touched upon something that resonates not only with me, but within my business.  The question asked was “What do you wish people would do more of?”  Perhaps to your surprise, especially in light of current economic conditions, I did not say plan more or plan better, I did not say network more vigorously. My response – "realize it is possible to do well by doing good". In other words, earning an income and meaningful work need not be polar opposites.  

My family and I moved across the country a few months ago. The first thing I did after setting up business was not launch a huge marketing campaign, but to get out, meet the women here, and find out what their needs were. I attended a womens conference and met Karen and Kristin who both suggested I contact Kathy.  

Kathy is the founder of Connections to Success.  Her organization empowers individuals from various walks of life by helping them develop a life plan to achieve economic self-reliance so excellent programs were already in place.  What they did not have, however, was the ability to meet the needs of individuals wanting to start businesses. After connecting via email and meeting several times, Kathy and I discovered a shared commitment to helping women.  The result:  On November 1st, eight women will have completed our 90 Days to Launch pilot program and join the ranks of women business owners. The cost to me – my time. The cost to them - $0. The rewards for all – priceless.    

I am not advocating forgetting business sense, kicking profitability out the door, or taking a vow of poverty. What I am advocating is realizing that no matter who you are or the size of company you have, you can do something to make life better for someone else and in today’s economic times, giving back makes even more sense. We can no longer afford to solely be focused on the bottom line, and most of us have acknowledged that the government is not capable of being all things to all people. Historically, women have struggled with doing work that’s meaningful versus work that pays the bills. What better time than this to combine skill with passion to create a life worth living and a legacy worth leaving.  

CARE’s slogan is ‘I am powerful’. Women are powerful. We own 10.4 million firms in the US and generate more than $1.1 trillion in sales. But we are also hurting.  In Canada alone, human trafficking generates over $400 million annually, and of the 100 million people living in poverty, two thirds are women. We can be the change we hope to see. We can research organizations and determine what percentage of our dollars actually go to the people needing help versus the organization’s overhead. We can volunteer from time to time whether to write letters on the organization’s behalf, run email campaigns, or by working with the people we hope to help. Or can use our businesses to bring on-going awareness to a situation and use a portion of our programs or proceeds to resolve it.  

You may only be one person, but you can make a difference. And then together, we can do something – We can be powerful.

While all women are created equal, all women do not think alike and should not be expected to for the sake of being female. While we are quick to compliment eachother and applaud one another's accomplishments, we can just as easily discern gaps in qualification or needs not met. Now before, you lift your finger to declare your undying support and adoration, or jump on the bandwagon against, this post is not about Sarah Palin. It is about what we have seen as a result of the nomination. So no hate mail or party comments please.

The Palin nomination has shown on a very public forum, that women are not afraid to be honest with eachother, voice differing opinions, or share conflicting concerns. It has also shown that we can easily detect veiled attempts to gain our support. Are we happy to see a woman on the ticket? Yes. Are we happy for women in general? Of course. Do we believe Palin is qualified to be VP/ready to be President? Simply put – some do, some don’t. But guess what. Either way, we are not afraid to say so.  

I wonder what would happen if women used the passion expressed during this election to fuel our own dreams. If we engaged in frank and honest discussions for the purpose of breaking down barriers (cultural, economic, or otherwise). If we compassionately addressed conflicting concerns, and agreed to disagree, even strongly at times. I wonder if we would realize that differences in opinion were okay, no reason to use language ‘unbecoming a woman‘, and no reason to end lifelong friendships.

Perhaps we would discover how well we complement eachother. That even though we may compete at times, we could use it as an opportunity to bring out the best in eachother rather than the worst. Women are not only capable of doing this and more, but are fully alive, fully aware, and able to embrace all life has to offer. We have internal conflicts, sometimes conflicting goals and values, but are able to thrive in spite of whatever is thrown at us. We have shown we can do all of this for an election. Now how about as a way of life?

My laptop was officially pronounced dead a few days ago. Even the data forensics expert couldn’t bring it back to life so thus begins my journey of recreating whatever I can.  

Speaking of things that die, let's talk about a few attitudes that should but still prevail.  My husband is a corporate trainer and travels periodically. He was out of town on business and happened to strike up a conversation with someone who owns a company. Things were going along just fine til the conversation turned towards families, sports, etc. Long story short, my husband told this guy about the work I do with women and a little bit about my company. The guy's response - "When is she going to work with real people? Doesn't she know that men exist?"  Let's just say my husband ate him alive and went on to the next discussion. By the way, did I mention this guy has a wife and several daughters?  

Let me guess. You're stuck at the real people comment. So was I, but let's put this into perspective. It's no wonder the proposed SBA rule came up earlier this year with language alluding to the fact that 'real people' just do not apply for government contracts.  It's also no wonder that set aside and other such programs are still needed. If a person sees no  value a particular group, their biases carry over into their business dealings and fairness cannot prevail. Am I making too much of this? Possibly, but businesses are made up of people, and people make decisions, and those decisions have the ability to impact both lives and other businesses.  

Impact is one thing. Determination is yet another and often more powerful. I would have liked to ask this guy if he knew that Real People firms without employees generate more than $167 billion in annual sales. That Real People owned firms account for 41% of all privately held firms or that 2.4 million firms owned by Real people of color in the US employ 1.6 million people and generate $230 billion in sales annually. You see, in spite of the lack of fairness experienced at times or bias in decisions, Real People continue to thrive and do so in surprisingly innovative ways and in some of the most adverse conditions. Where there is a will, there is a way. We've obviously found it ladies so in spite of all, let's continue to thrive!

(C)2008 Khrys Vaughan, Her Startup, LLC