Start A Business

Maybe you’re waffling about a return to work because you think you have to completely give up your freedom and work for an inflexible boss.  That’s only one possible scenario:  don’t forget the option of working for your flexible self.    The entrepreneurial path isn’t for everyone—but those who can roll up their sleeves for…

It has often been said that necessity is the mother of invention.  Especially when two smart mothers identify a need. One day Kirsten Lambert and Joan Ripple of Hingham, Massachusetts were walking their dogs and talking about their college freshmen.  That morning’s topic?  Sheets that never seemed to leave the bed and enter the washing…

Are you a wallflower in the social media world? If you’re looking to advance your career in any industry, you have to jump in and join the online conversation.  It’s especially important for small business owners and professional services firms to use social media to their best advantage. That sounds strange to the many professionals…

When Christina Paul and her husband, Matt, were students at the University of Connecticut Law School, they were moot court partners—and once their relationship took a serious turn they talked about some day starting a practice together. Three high powered, big law firm jobs, one apartment, two houses, four children and thirteen years later they…

There’s lots of talk about starting a business, but that’s just the beginning.  True entrepreneurs have an idea a minute, and they could put one of those ideas in motion by tomorrow morning.  The trick is not launching—but growing—the business, and knowing when to exit if your business dream probably won’t come true. Entrepreneurs are inherently…

Reinvention often involves a longheld business dream or consulting venture, but not all dreams should become realities. I’ve always said that only about 1% of the population should be involved in entrepreneurial ventures.  That’s an opinion shared by Carole Hyatt, a pioneer in the executive coaching field and entrepreneur who has helped thousands of women…

Trying hard to make a go of a new business?  Frustrated and ready to join your retired friends for marathon tennis or golf?  Losing sight of your business purpose? According to Business Strategist Belinda Pruyne of BIG (Business Innovation Group), you may have a case of internal roadblocks. Belinda says that new business owners often…

Work is truly fun only if you’re following a passion.  Making money is great, but if you have alternate resources, you’ll stall the work/don’t work decision until a potential job ignites a current passion—or chases a long-held demon. Life coach Susie Bedsow Horgan’s passion meter surged when she realized a slightly different career path could…

Thinking about owning a business some day?  That’s what I hear from many women who spend their volunteer years dreaming about an entrepreneurial venture. After the flexibility women enjoy out of the workforce, an independent venture can seem like a logical transition.  Donna Pace, a three-time entrepreneur, says “it’s certainly logical, but not simple.” Today…

Work or not work?   It’s a decision that many women struggle with—or ponder hardly at all.  Though some women declare they will never work again—I’ve seen many return to the workforce out of unanticipated necessity, fate or unfinished business. Unfinished business definitely played a role in Monica Kridler’s return to work.  From the ages of…