I had the pleasure of attending an Ewomen’s Network event in New Jersey aptly put together by Marilyn Kleinberg and the featured speaker was the women who founded this fabulous organization, Sandra Yancey.
Over 100 bright, creative women, mostly solopreneurs, mompreneurs, with a smattering of corporate women listened to Sandra talk about CASH. Yup, cash, the kind you want in the bank, the kind you want in your wallet, the kind that you love to see multiply like yeast rising into bread.
Wait a minute. She was talking about CASH in a much more interesting way. Let’s peel back what she said. “C” in this vital word stands for care. As women it is something we forget or put at the end of the “to do “list. It really is so important for women who are working and so often still at the helm of family to stop and smell the, well, whatever makes you feel good.
For some it is sitting down in the middle of the day with a cup steaming with brewed tea. For another it means getting on the treadmill and sweating it out. Someone else wants to take a quiet walk or get a massage, or……fill in your own personal or. Just remember that a major route to the bucket of cash is in taking care of yourself.
The “A” in cash has to do with “ASK”. That is a new word for most women in business. It is hard to ask for the loan, for the advice, for the start-up money. Men have learned how to do this after generations of modeling and practice. Most women today are the models for the future and we are not going to take generations to catch up. Did you know that only 2% of all women owned businesses are over $1 million?
The “S” in cash is one we are more familiar with. Share is what we learned to do when we first got toys to play with as toddlers. However, share can have many subtle meanings. Here Sandra challenged us to look at giving back to ourselves what we put in as sweat equity. It means not waiting to pay ourselves last; sharing the burden as well as the bounty.
Finally there is “H” time to celebrate the harvest and enjoy the fruits of the loom (see this is way more than underwear)! Getting to the harvest means weeding, feeding and pruning and then celebrating; something we can all do and do well.
I was so encouraged with the women, the message, the fact that we have some so far that we are taking all of Sandra’s advice and having our first “GUTSY WOMEN RETREAT” May 20-22. May is women’s health month so we will have modules for nutrition, wellness, massage time, team challenge outdoor program. We will also look at the underpinnings of how ingrained behavior patterns can be tamed so we can stand on the shoulders of the women who came before us and be great role models for the next generations of GUTSY women. It’s what the world needs now!
And if you happen to be in the Philadelphia area Sandra will be guest speaker at the EWomen’s Network program on March 24. Contact Angela Thell at 610-202-3943 for more information and MaryJane Saras ([email protected]) for the GUTSY WOMEN RETREAT.
Sylvia Lafair
Sylvia Lafair, PhD, is President of CEO – Creative Energy Options, Inc., a global consulting company focused on optimizing workplace relationships through her exclusive PatternAware™ Leadership Model. Dr. Lafair is the author of Don’t Bring It to Work: Breaking the Family Patterns That Limit Success published by Jossey-Bass. As an executive coach and leadership educator, she has more than 30 years of experience with all levels of management from leading corporate officers of global companies to executives of non-profits and owners of leading family-owned businesses. She is now offering GUTSY Women Weekends, giving women the opportunity to dialogue and clarify next steps.
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