Wednesday Wisdom: Healthy Discarding
Motivation, Inspiration, Wednesday Wisdom for Women Entrepreneurs, Female Business Owners
Garage sales, estate auctions, and eBay all have something in common; they are places where individuals have selected prize possessions to discard. At some point in their lives, people assessed their material possessions in order to know what to keep, discard, sell, and let go.
I’m not sure women entrepreneurs conduct the same type of assessment within their own enterprises on an annual basis. I’m not referring to looking through and cleaning out file drawers or storage cabinets and de-cluttering space but instead taking a measurement of every corporate product and service offered to see if each is worth the time and effort to keep selling.
I remember years ago hosting an online store of personalized Women TIES products on my website certain that members would want to purchase business items with our logo on them to use within their companies or identify them as a member of our organization. The store was open for a year not costing any money and only taking up space on my website. I realized after a year of having the online store it was bogging me down because I wasn’t getting the financial results I projected. I had to make the assessment to either keep this part of my business going or discard it and let it go.
Today’s post is to inspire you in the next few weeks to analyze the parts of your business whether they are products, services, or new ideas that haven’t gotten off the ground, and make the assessment to either keep holding onto them or discarding them. Did you establish a division of your company that is taking too much time and producing too little income? Have you purchased items to sell that just haven’t sold? Do you have a page on your website that is irrelevant now? If you do, make a decision to let go of what’s not working.
Only in discarding once valuable pieces of our company will we set free the space, time, energy, and revenue opportunity so we can fill that space up with something better and more financially productive. I hope you are inspired today to kick those unproductive parts of your business to the curb this month!
Living in a Pink Barbie World is Good for Women
Inspiration, Feminism, Friday Feelings for Women, Female Entrepreneurs, Women in Sports
As I scoured my very pink-colored wardrobe for the perfect outfit to wear to the Barbie movie, it wasn’t hard to see I’d have an easy job. For a long time, I was one of those women who didn’t wear pink because I thought it was too girly and I was a sporty, strong, business-minded woman. I thought pink was only for baby girls, cheerleaders, and cotton candy.
But there were two things that changed my mind about loving and wearing the color pink. The first was my 30-year entrepreneurial career promoting women-owned businesses and women in sports. If I wore blue, I didn’t think I could represent my brand of “women supporting women in business, sports, equality, and life” so I choose a strong fuchsia color to wear and have on all my marketing materials.
The second time I decided to start wearing as much pink as I could was when I lost all my hair to alopecia and a man at a deli counter called me “Sir.” Although I’m large chested, my breast size was hidden under a dark blue coat probably making it hard for him to tell I was a woman. Right after that, I got my ears pierced, stopped wearing dark colors, and wore all hues of pink to be recognized as a woman, because when you lose all your hair to alopecia, you don’t feel girly anymore so switching to more feminine colors helped me mentally.
So, dressing for the Barbie movie made me feel comfortable since I adore Pink. I also adored the movie in all its pink glory, woman-power, and empowerment of women in all their careers, sizes, shapes, and forms. It was only today I noticed the National Alopecia Areata Foundation has an Alopecia Barbie – called “Brave Barbie” that can be ordered for girls who don’t have hair so they can have a doll that represents their self-image. I bought one immediately for any future granddaughter I may have that wonders why her grandmother is bald.
The only part of the movie I didn’t like was when all the “Kens” started taking over Barbieland with their typical male stereotypical attitudes and props. I much preferred an all-pink world, although I have two sons and a husband, and love my life with them. But, I especially love the idea of women empowering other women and the all-female community so much that it will continue as my life work and career passion as I enter my 4th-decade of supporting women.
I hope, like me, you’ll embrace wearing pink more often and all it represents – women, power, female friendships, unlimited possibilities, and more. To the pink moon and back, I say – oh yeah, and buy from woman-owned businesses and support female athletics. Change the world – just like Greta Gerwig, Barbie’s, powerfully pink female director, is doing!
Thursday Thoughts: Give When You Can
Thursday Thoughts, Inspiration, Motivation
Walking up the steep hill to the Uticuse Rubgy field, I noticed another woman waiting for some team members to bring t-shirts and tank tops ordered in June to support their annual “Ruck Cancer” fundraiser. Annually the team chooses someone in the rugby community who is fighting cancer or is connected to cancer somehow to be the beneficiary of their annual tournament.
The woman at the top of the field happened to be the mother-in-law of the person and family the team benefited from this year – the Cassidy family. Through t-shirt sales, team fees, sponsorships, and food/drink sales during the June tournament, they raised $6,200.
“He came home yesterday from the hospital to be put on hospice,” the woman told me. “I am so sorry to hear that,” I responded as I expressed my sorrow for everyone in her family.
As I walked back to my car with my black and yellow “Ruck Cancer” tank top in my hand, the meaning of the $20 I spent to purchase it felt small, yet somehow significant. Without knowing the family, I wanted to thank the Uticuse Rugby team for letting me practice with them one night to learn the game for my ultimate “try every sport once” list, so I bought the shirt as a gesture of support.
Sometimes it is so simple and easy to make a difference. We do it every day but do we stop to realize the significance of gestures small and large?
It is the reason I bought the shirt. It is the reason I’m running in the Boston Half Marathon for the Dana-Farber Cancer Center team. My goal was to raise $500 but I surpassed that already so the goal was reset at $1,000. It is also why every day I end it by thanking God for my blessings big and small – like meeting this woman who has a tough road ahead for her family.
Today’s message is very simple – give when you can because you don’t know who you’ll be standing next to who might just need to know you took the time to love, give, and support a stranger important to them or a cause.
Wednesday Wisdom: It Takes Time to Build
Wednesday Wisdom, Wednesday Motivation for Women Entrepreneurs, Female Athletes, Small Business
As the girl at the Dunkin’ Donuts window took my money for my cold brew coffee and noticed I was sweating, she also asked me if I was having a good morning. I told her I just completed a training run for the Boston Half Marathon in November. She said, “How did it go? I’m interested because I’m trying to run my first 5k in the fall.”
I told her my training method of starting slow by building miles and combining a run/walk sequence needed due to my age and asthma to complete any run. She said, “My boyfriend told me I couldn’t walk and run, only run!” I told her to ignore her boyfriend and listen to me and read up on the run-walk method, a training and racing technique popularized by Olympian Jeff Galloway.
In order to obtain my 2017 Boston Marathon medal, I had to complete the Boston Marathon in six hours or less. I trained specifically with the run-walk method, timing myself, knowing if I could run a certain amount of time, and then fast walk to catch my breath and rest my legs, I could achieve my goal. It took lots of miles to build to that six-hour time frame but I did it and in April 2017 got my medal with a marathon time of 5 hours and 52 minutes.
Like anything in life, you can’t just start and complete something big in one day, not if it is a major goal like running a marathon, building a business, starting a Ph.d. program, or even having a baby. It takes time! Patience and getting in the “miles” are what is needed to be confident you can do what you set out to do. You don’t succeed at something because you want to succeed.
As I drove away from Dunkin’ Donuts sipping on my much-needed cold coffee, I told her to trust me and begin a walk-run program because if she did, she could accomplish her goal. She thanked me with a big smile on her face – and that was worth more than any successful training run in my books.
175 Years and More to Go: Women’s Equality
Friday Feelings, Inspiration, Feminist Message for Women on the 175th Anniversary of the Seneca Falls Women’s Rights Convention
I was back in the audience of two hundred women, this time not in the city’s hall on a wooden bench in Syracuse, but at the beautiful Executive Mansion in Albany. The date July 20th and the years – 1998 and again in 2023.
The first time I was invited due to my role as Syracuse’s only women’s business owner as its group leader as female entrepreneurship was rising in popularity. The second time as a guest to our state’s first female governor Kathy Hochul, a woman I had the pleasure of knowing from participating in the 100th Anniversary of New York State’s Suffrage Anniversary in 2019.
At the 1998 event, female leaders from the Central New York community like Karen DeCrow, an attorney and past president of N.O.W., civic leaders, and community activists verbally read aloud the exact words from The Declaration of Sentiments – the Seneca Falls Convention’s manifesto – describing women’s grievances and demands written by Elizabeth Cady Stanton. The convention was where women were fighting for their Constitutionally guaranteed right to equality as United States citizens.
That event inspired me to invite a woman who acts the part of Elizabeth Cady Stanton to appear at my annual retreat for women entrepreneurs, as a surprise to inspire today’s women to remember our continued fight for equality.
As Governor Hochul reminded us in her speech that women’s rights have in fact decreased since the last celebration including a reversal on Roe vs. Wade, non-passage of the Equal Rights Amendment, and more, we all stood in disbelief that it has taken so long to barely achieve what our foremothers started out to do 175 years earlier!
What will it take?
It takes continued individual action in areas of passion to make changes.
It takes combined work with other women (and men) to push for legislation.
It takes not backing down.
It takes commitment.
It takes a renewal of intent.
It takes US!
I truly believe the world won’t change for women unless women change the world for women. Although men have helped along the way, it takes every single woman to stand up for injustice, inequality, and unfair practices to march, write, speak, and act so the next generation of women can finally achieve the equality our foremothers intended 175 years ago.T
Wednesday Wisdom: Undaunted Women
Wednesday Wisdom, Inspiration, Motivation for Women Entrepreneurs, Female Business Owners
Someone once asked me what animal I would want to be if I could be one. It only took a second for me to say any bird that can soar and swim. It wasn’t until I tried the sport of parasailing Saturday that I agreed with my assessment.
High above the tranquil waters of Lake George, NY, the peacefulness of soaring in the sky above a boat that looked like a miniature toy, is where I found the beauty and serenity of soaring. Although I was attached to a parachute and harness with one of my members next to me, we flew and I realized I was absolutely spot on with wanting to be a bird that could take off and land on water.
The clouds drifted even higher than we parasailed although we felt high enough to touch them. The Adirondack Mountains were miniature in comparison to what they looked like on land. The quietness of only air with small bellows of wind was far more peaceful than the hustle of the tourist destination below us. Simple peace and beauty is how I would describe it.
Five of the women parasailing for the first time were scared of heights, where I was not, so I give them extra credit for joining me on this adventure. Their anxiety levels matched my excitement level of trying a new sport to check off my list. Having a stepfather who flew a Tiger Drummond four-seater airplane and getting to fly in it once in a while made the experience a reminder of how peaceful it is in the sky. I never get the same feeling on a commercial jet.
All of my fearless female friends said they loved the experience and would do it again, which means my goal of helping other women become more undaunted in their life and business worked. You only need to look at the photos of us on Facebook to see the thrill it brought to their faces. Their trepidation of heights is stripped away in a single hour of time – that is a powerful decision.
So, this Wednesday Wisdom is to remind you the next time you stop yourself from doing something you are fearful of, remember the smiling faces of the five women I brought with me on the trip, the empowerment you achieve when you try something new with anxiety, and give it a try. You will find yourself soaring higher and braver than you thought you were.
Thursday Thoughts: The gift of an eyebrow
Inspiration, Wisdom for anyone facing cancer or alopecia
The beauty of this story was so unexpected, I had to share it with you.
As I entered a store to do some quick clothes shopping, which I never do anymore due to having alopecia and not loving my image in the mirror, a man walked in over to me. He said, “Do I know you?” to which I replied, “No, I don’t think so.” Having been in the media quite often in my life before and after becoming bald, I thought he was going to say he saw me on television, in the newspaper, or a magazine.
“I’m recovering too,” he replied. I noticed he had some bristles of hair on top of his head so I assumed he was recovering from alopecia. “You are in chemo, right? I can tell because you don’t have any eyebrows,” he continued. “No, I have alopecia, not cancer.” He said, “Oh, I’m sorry for the mistake.” At this point, a store manager was witnessing this exchange and came over and took us both in her arms and embraced us saying, “This is such a special human moment, you are touching my heart.”
As the man and I eventually came out of our group hug, I told him my story and how people mistake me for having cancer quite often and that it is okay because I know they are just sharing their cancer stories with me. I said, “Two days ago, I signed up to run in the Boston Half Marathon for the Dana-Farber Cancer Center in Boston to raise money for cancer research because I’ve known so many people who have cancer.” He replied, “How wonderful of you.”
As we parted ways, the warmth of the group embrace and interaction with this kind man, put a warm smile on my face. Earlier in my home bathroom mirror, I hated seeing my left eyebrow start to disappear again as my new alopecia medicine stops working. “Yuck, here we go again,” I thought. But if my eyebrow wasn’t disappearing the encounter with a stranger wouldn’t have happened and the warmth of a hug wouldn’t have occurred.
My perspective changed on how I viewed myself as I tried on clothing in the dressing room. Removing my hat, I stared at my fading eyebrows, and balding head, and was thankful for once that my appearance brought two kind strangers into my life, if only for a moment, and reminded me how important it is to run in Boston and raise money to help those truly fighting cancer.
I am blessed – eyebrow or not.
Wednesday Wisdom: Power of Purpose
Wednesday Wisdom, Inspiration for Women Entrepreneurs, Female Business Owners, Female Athletes
Sometimes you transition from what you love to do to what you do to help others. In my case, starting my half marathon training for the Boston Half Marathon in November will have me giving up my daily bike joy. But in doing so, I get to raise money for cancer research, run for friends and members who currently have cancer, remember friends who left this earth due to the disease, and remind myself there is more to our lives than our pure contentment.
Never underestimate the power of purpose.
I am sure you have a purpose for what you do daily – inside and outside your business. Having a strong sense of purpose is a powerful thing. It helps you determine what you do with your hours, days, weeks, and years. A Psychology Today article by Sebastian Salicru states, “Purpose and meaning can be achieved by integrating five unique human capacities: intention, intentionality, will, freedom, and responsibility.”
In my case, I am so frustrated by more people I know having cancer that the decision to run for the Dana-Farber Cancer Center team on November twelfth in Boston came after reading a high school classmate’s emotional story about his cancer spreading in his body and his struggle to decide to continue chemo or not. It was as if the emotional steam pulsating out my ears, triggered my immediate decision to run in Boston again when the day before I never thought I would.
Sometimes pure energy and emotion produce purpose.
Today’s Wednesday Wisdom is filled with the hope that you are inspired to reconnect with the primary purposes in your life including your business, relationships, and personal goals. If you aren’t feeling aligned anymore with what once moved you, it is okay to transition into something different. If you are still fueled strongly by what you are doing or working on, awesome – keep going. It isn’t so much about our immediate purpose, but rather if we are energized by it so we are motivated every day.
If you know someone now who has cancer, recovered from cancer, or passed on because of it, I would love for you to consider giving to my 2023 Boston Half Marathon fundraiser for the Dana-Farber Cancer Fund at this link so we can together have a purpose in November to fight this disease.
Wednesday Wisdom: Light It Up Again
Wednesday Morning, Wednesday Wisdom for Women Entrepreneurs, Female Business Owners
As the bright blue water in our pool calmed down for the first time in five days, I sat poolside with my coffee taking in the sounds of the birds, the hush of no splashing or traffic on our road, and the quiet of the beautiful July morning. Our son departed for the Big Apple an hour earlier, back to his apartment with his wife, and another lively venture home evident from the extra wet towels, Jets football floating in the pool, and empty water bottles and beer cans on the deck.
His visits liven my husband and me up a bit as we recounted the extended weekend where we went to the Counting Crows concert on a last-minute whim, hosted 15 of his high school friends on a rainy day in our pool house, and pool, where he still wanted us to light off fireworks like we always did, and made enough food to feed an army. As I type this wisdom my husband is still sleeping and catching up from the excitement and extended joyful activity.
So if the youth in our lives can shake our aging bodies and minds back into a younger state when we said YES to most things, then why can’t that be the way we act as women entrepreneurs? Once our businesses age, like us, we might limit our enthusiasm, activities, and adventures. Does it take watching up-and-coming or new businesswomen to reignite our flame for entrepreneurship? If we are physically or mentally aging, do we age our business actions as well? It’s a thought worth pondering if you are coming off an enthusiastic Fourth of July extended weekend.
Today’s Wednesday Wisdom is to remind you that we can soak in the energy from the young at heart, adventurous, do-it-anyway generation, and funnel some of that energy into ourselves and our businesses. Perhaps, if you have some fresh lemonade or watermelon left over you enjoy it a bit more today and ponder what new energy you can bring to yourself as an entrepreneur and your company or customers.
If you hosted a big affair as we did, take another half day or so to reflect on the energy of the holiday and instill some of those feelings back into ideas and feelings about your company. We don’t need the bright lights of fireworks, the buzz of the fireflies, or the endless laughter of our children to lighten our vision, we can do it ourselves.
Wednesday Wisdom: Athletic Business Networking
Wednesday Wisdom, Inspiration, Motivation for Women Entrepreneurs, Women in Sports
The skies were pitch dark and it was only 3 p.m. as I traveled west on the Thruway to an event I had already rescheduled once due to the Canadian wildfire smoke filling the air with deadly toxins. That decision was pretty easy to make based on air quality and our event requiring deep breathing yoga on paddleboards on the water. As any good event planner would do, we moved it ahead twenty days expecting conditions to be much better.
As a 30-year event planner, I know with certainty that weather is the one major unknown factor in making an event stellar or spooky. Not even the Farmer’s Almanac can predict the unpredictability of weather, especially in this quickly global climate-changing world. So with trust in our vendor an hour away, I took to the roads dodging major downpours imagining an hour west had already gotten the heavy precipitation.
Thunder boomed as I approached the Tiki Hut where registration for SUP Yoga was being held. There the yoga instructor apologized that the weather had turned since telling me our event was on. Two women had canceled already since they were traveling from Syracuse, but one-by-one four women showed up ready to tackle the elements.
Growing up on a lake, I knew the water conditions were perfect for SUP Yoga based on the passing storms – nice, calm, beautiful, and inviting. The ‘perfect’ conditions our instructor said if we didn’t have the rumbling above our heads. So with disappointment and caution, we canceled the experience. My face might have looked a bit glum when these four women said, “Let’s go get a drink and food so your trip wasn’t wasted,” to which I agreed.
Sitting at an intimate table in a nearby waterfront restaurant we chatted more than we would have on Standup Paddle Boards, and found really close connections between the women at the table. Our conversations went from vegan food to a wild trip to South America, to new ways of doing business, and to a real-time Harlem Globetrotters men’s baseball team called the Savannah Bananas which has a team member dating one of the woman’s daughters. You never know how a conversation between women entrepreneurs will go but I can tell you one thing it is always full of personal stories filled with laughter. No wonder every one of the women hugged after the “meeting” vowing to try to do SUP Yoga again.
Today’s Wednesday Wisdom, as the Fourth of July vacation week for many begins and business doesn’t boom, only the fireworks above do, is to remind you that it is okay to not be serious in your business everyday especially during times of the year when taking time off is expected and well deserved. I say gather around with your family and friends, and some women entrepreneurs with the holiday off too, and chat, laugh, and make warmer connections.
Also, remember we owe our freedom to the men and women who fought to gain our independence in 1776 (and beyond) ensuring they are part of your discussion.
Women TIES 