: I was wondering if you knew of any business programs you could tell me about designed especially for women entrepreneurs. I have been in business for a few years and would like to take it up a notch, but don’t really know how to and why I am stuck at the same plateau.
Thank you. Emily:
A: Well Emily, I am happy to report that I do in fact know of such a program, and I think it could help you, and plenty of other women entrepreneurs, a lot. The program is called Make Mine a Million, run by a non-profit called Count Me In.
Count Me In is an organization dedicated to helping women start and succeed in their own businesses. It was the first online microlender (making loans to women from $500 to $10,000) and they also offer counseling, training, and networking opportunities. Count Me In was co-founded by Nell Merlino; you may remember her as the woman who created the Take Our Daughters to Work Day for the Ms. Foundation in 1993.
Count Me In was designed to help women entrepreneurs get access to capital that is too often difficult to get, especially that all-important first loan. They have been incredibly successful in this regard, but as explained to me recently by Ms. Merlino, the organization found that not only were first-time women entrepreneurs having a hard time getting funding, but so too were more established women-owned businesses that needed capital to take things to the next level.
What really spurred them to act however a shocking statistic Ms. Merlino discovered: While there are 10 million women-owned businesses in the country, only 243,000 had $1 million or more in revenue. She figured there had to be a way to help already-established women entrepreneurs get their ventures to the million dollar mark.
Therefore, in 2004, Nell Merlino went to American Express with a plan: Let’s help these women-owned businesses get ahead. They agreed, she got a partner and some funding, and Make Mine a Million was born. What started out as an idea to help some women breakthrough has turned into a vision of “inspiring 1 million women to make a million by 2010,” says Ms. Merlino.
And a little more than two years later and they are well on their way, but it’s not easy. As you may know from personal experience, growing a business is a challenge, and taking any business with revenues from say, $300,000 every year to $1 million, quickly, would be a feat indeed. To date, Make Mine a Million has helped eight women do just that, and the number is growing exponentially.
This last year, 400 women applied to get into the program. The online application process begins with asking the applicant to draft an executive summary. According to Merlino, even though these are successful businesswomen, this is often the first time they have had to write such a document. “They are too busy working on their businesses,” she says.
The applicant pool is narrowed down and then the live “auditions” are held. Applicants give their elevator pitch before a live audience at live events, and the audience and selected judges pick the winners. Winner get:
- A year of free counseling
- A line of Credit, up to $50,000
- A technology audit and package of products
- Shipping discounts
- Software discounts and training
But the program is not just for applicants, it could help any woman get ahead; just check out their website for more info.
When I asked Ms. Merlino what traits the winners seemed to share, traits we all could learn from, she mentioned four things:
- “A focus on sales. “Sell, sell, sell!”
- “They’ve learned to delegate.” Merlino said that women tend to bring to work their home-personalities (where they may do everything - from carpooling to shopping to helping with homework). Successful women entrepreneurs learn that at work they have to share the load to get ahead. This often means hiring more staff.
- “They know their numbers.” That is, they learned about business finances.
- “They have a clear vision of what their business is and where they want it to go.”
Bravo!
Today’s Tip: This year, Make Mine a Million will have events in six cities: Boston, Madison WI, Atlanta, Austin, New York, and Burbank. |
