Kansas City's Women Who Mean Business Awards Event Friday

It takes a lot to be a successful businessperson, but perhaps it takes even more to be a successful businesswoman.  This week, The Kansas City Business Journal is honoring KC's Women Who Mean Business at an awards luncheon on Friday, August 24th.  Some of Kansas City's best and brightest women will be honored for overcoming difficult challenges, standing out in business, formulating growth plans and improving work, community and the city for women.



Congratulations to the following Women Who Mean Business:

1. Vickie Cackler (Bridal Extraordinaire)
2. Jamie Clayman (Loud Clayman Promotional Group)
3. Lisa Garney (LMG Construction Services LLC)  
4. Patti Grozdanich (UnitedHealthcare)
5. Jean Hansen (Consultants in Gastroenterology PC)
6. Geri Higgins (Portfolio Kitchen & Home)
7. Darcy Howe (Merrill Lynch)
8. Kim Isenhower (Nationwide Transportation & Logistics Services Inc.)
9. Kimberly Jones (Seyferth Blumenthal & Harris LLC)
10. Elaine Koch (Bryan Cave LLP) 
11. Cynthia Laffey (Inlanta Mortgage)
12. Melanie Mann (Mann Development Co. LLC)
13. Valerie McCaw (VSM Engineering LLC)
14. Paula Porsch (Porsch Financial Group)
15. Sandy Price (Sprint Nextel Corp.)   
16. Sandy Sampson (Hays Cos. of Kansas City)
17. Tami Schademann (BATS Global Markets Inc.)    
18. Theresa Schekirke Samson Dental Practice Management LLC
19. Rachel Smith (Smith Coonrod Mohlman LLC)
20. Marga Spangler (First National Bank)  
21. Shannon Stites (Ernst & Young)
22. Janet  Thompson (The Cottonwood Group)
23. Julie Wellner (Wellner Architects Inc.)
24. Andrea Wickerham (The National Center for Drug Free Sport Inc.)  
25. Susan Witcher (Faultless Laundry Co.)

The Women Who Mean Business award ceremony will take place Friday, August 24 along with a feature in the Kansas City Business Journal.  Congratulations to all of these Women Who Mean Business!

Entrepreneurship Advice from the Smartest Women in the Biz

Smart Women Entrepreneurs and Their Lessons for Us All:

Panelists: 

Panelists:

Kelly Tyler – Kelly Tyler Training Services

Michele Markey – Kauffman FastTrac

Belinda Waggoner – hr-haven, inc.

Jill Meyer – Technology Development and Commercialization Specialist at UMKC

More women are starting businesses than men, but a lot of them are doing it as “just a hobby” and aren’t expanding their businesses at the same rate as their male counterparts.  This is just one of the many problems faced for women entrepreneurs today.  At iKC, the “Smart Women Entrepreneurs and Their Lessons for Us All” panel had a roomful of eager women (and a few men, too!) ready to soak up the knowledge of Kelly, Michele, Belinda and Jill.  The panelists mostly focused on the (generalized) differences between men and women entrepreneurs.

If there’s one thing any entrepreneur doesn’t need, it’s a yes (wo)man.

The panel was mainly concerned about women feeling more comfortable in their own circle of friends.  However, the practice of using friends on your advisory board (when there are more qualified people you could have chosen) is a dangerous idea.  Friends tend to say “Gee, that’s good” instead of offering constructive criticism. 

Making “someday” today.

Michele said, “Life is full of somedays. Make someday today.” Jill did just that and discussed the difficulties of dropping everything—the security of your job and its 401K in particular—to start a new business.   She had been working for ten years at the same job and was essentially running the company without the financial benefits of doing so.  She was single when she decided to leave her cushy corporate job, and so she had no additional source of income to “piggyback on.”  However, she did it because she “knew [she] could do a better job than what [she] saw in around [her].” After taking a leap of faith (along with lots of hard work), she became successful on her own and would have never changed a thing about her decision to do so.

Don’t forget the handshake!

One of the things Kelly noticed is that businessmen typically give a handshake upon meeting, and some women may feel that this is too formal.  So after she goes into the handshake, she’ll feel awkward, then she’ll think about the awkward situation instead of remembering her new acquaintances name!  So avoid this by going all in for a firm handshake—it’s what’s expected in the business world—and then focus on the more important things.

The advice given by the panel was useful for both men and women—much of what was discussed were common mistakes in the entrepreneurship world.  The greatest takeaway? Start brainstorming how to solve the world’s problems and then go do it…and make that “someday” today!