Guest Post by Michelle Patterson, CEO of EventComplete (Learn more about Michelle at the end of this post)
The balance of power is tipping toward the feminine with more women taking on the workforce by graduating en masse from higher education well and above their male counterparts as well as starting businesses and taking a leading role in how major companies around the world are run. When it comes to women on business, they are coming out on top, but there is still more that they can do to make a difference and help to stimulate the economy on the road to recovery.
Here are some key areas where women can help other women start taking the lead:
Mentor Each Other
Women are, by their very nature, nurturers. They want to help others beyond their own children; they feel compelled to reach out and encourage others. Whether it is listening, offering words of encouragement, or providing advice on how to start or grow a business, women can serve as mentors to guide other women to fulfill their own goals and shoot to the top.
Invest in New Business Ideas
With financial strength in their pocketbooks and in their bank accounts, women can now even think about investing in other business ideas conceived by others women who are having trouble getting financed the conventional way. This could mean serving as an angel investor and participating in business development or offering funds as a friend or family member. Whatever it takes, this new power women have can stimulate the launch and sustainability of many new women-led businesses that can contribute to economic health.
Use Buying Power
There is power in the pocketbook with women driving $7 trillion in consumer and business spending as well as influencing 85% of all consumer purchase decisions. That can be used to influence companies to make the products that are more useful to women whether it be for their personal, family, or professional lives. They can also use it for the greater good, convincing more companies of the need to be socially responsible or encourage them to bring on more female executives or talent that can make the products and understand what this powerful purchasing demographic wants.
Start a Business
It might even be time to step outside of the norm and known of corporate life and start a business. With so many tax incentives and programs devoted to trying to stoke the entrepreneurial fires that have fueled our domestic economy for so long, there has never been a better time to take that niche business idea and turn it into a viable business. It provides for more jobs for men and women alike and offers further stimulus for the economic recovery.
Host Events and Conferences
Women are social creatures so what better way to help encourage their entrepreneurial spirit as well as educate them on what is possible and how they can wield their power effectively than to conceptualize and launch events and conferences dedicated to the power of women? These conferences bring together the best and brightest to brainstorm and find solutions together as well as bolster the power base that has already been created. These are well worth participating in and supporting.
Participating in any or all of these are the best strategies for maximizing the power of the Women’s Economy.
GUEST AUTHOR: Visionary and lauded business accelerator Michelle Patterson is CEO of EventComplete—a full service event management company. She also serves as Executive Director of the largest women’s symposium in North America: the California Women’s Conference that has featured esteemed First Ladies, A-list Hollywood celebrities, and high caliber business influencers. Michelle may be reached online at www.eventcomplete.com.
