We’re not men.  I hate to waste precious words stating the obvious, but it bears repeating: we’re not men.  We don’t always have the same well-entrenched support systems and networking opportunities.  Yes, there are a lot of highly successful women out there (just look at our Board of Directors, or any of our M3 award winners), but I would bet that every one of them wishes she had had more support on her way up.  That’s why we want you to share this e-newsletter with a friend.  Know a woman who’s striving to grow her business?  Dreaming of starting a business?  Or even one who so outshines her bosses that she should be running her own business?  Then show her a vote of confidence by forwarding her this e-newsletter.  Introduce her to Count Me In.  Our organization is only as strong as the women who support it.  So click the “Forward to a Friend” button (below) and make our community one woman stronger.

Believe in you!

Nell Merlino
President/CEO Count Me In

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Everything a Businesswoman Needs
(Minus the Caffeine)

We love inspiring our members.  We love it when our events motivate you to rush home and rework your business plan or announce your entrepreneurial intentions to your friends.  Your enthusiasm is contagious, and we know just how you feel!  But we’ve also been doing this long enough to know that the thrill eventually wears off.   

And when it does – when your third cup of coffee’s gone cold and you’re still sitting with your fingers poised over your keyboard – what you’ll need is a step-by-step guide to propel you forward, and the tools to turn your inspired vision into an inspiring reality. 

That’s why we’ve teamed up with AIG, a world leader in insurance and financial services and a Count Me In Corporate Sponsor, to build an innovative online learning center called “Business Answers.”  Here you’ll learn the nuts and bolts of starting and growing your company, discover the 5 Keys to Business Growth, and get proven tips for overcoming obstacles to success.   

Our “Business Answers” is your one-stop shop for business advice.  Articles, videos, workbooks and downloadable templates are there to help you with everything from creating a business plan and applying for credit to hiring – and yes, firing – employees.  Think of the website like a brainstorming session with the 20 smartest, most successful women you know – all focused on helping you and your business grow.  You can ask them questions, get their advice, and even learn from their mistakes …and you can do it all in one place.  (Watch the video below to see a sample of what you’ll find on our website.)

Go ahead – Google “writing a business plan.”  You’ll get 340,000 hits to sort through.  Much of the information you find will be marginally relevant at best, and some will constitute downright bad advice.  That’s why we encourage you to go directly to our website.  There you can quickly get the answers you need and find accurate, timely information that’s particularly relevant to women business owners. 

“This new site pulls together all the information that women entrepreneurs need,” says Ned Cloonan, Vice President of International and Corporate Affairs at AIG and a member of the Count Me In Board of Directors.     

Cloonan, who has represented AIG at a number of Make Mine a Million $ Business events around the country continues, "What strikes me about this online tool, this website, is how close it is to almost being at one of the Count Me In Events.  There’s excitement there.  There’s energy there.  There’s talent there.” 

What value does AIG – the world’s leading international insurance organization – see in sponsoring the development of the “Business Answers” website?  According to Cloonan, “Basically we are risk managers.  We know that people taking risks is something that is an integral part of our future growth as a company, and we know that women entrepreneurs are growing at twice the rate as other entrepreneurs.” 

In other words, it’s good business – for AIG and for women entrepreneurs like you.

Spend some time on our website, and we can promise you you’ll find not just the answers you need, but more of that inspiration you crave.  Before long, we bet your spirits will be soaring again, and your fingers will be flying over that keyboard. 

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What to Expect When You’re Attending

"I was blown away. The speakers were awesome. The information was powerful, REAL, inspiring, and fresh."
– M3 Attendee, Scottsdale, AZ

We’re blushing.  Honestly.  We should be used to it by now, but after every Make Mine a Million $ Business event we host, we hear raves like the one above from so many enthusiastic participants. 

But because the woman quoted above also said, “I wish I had known ahead of time what to expect as I would have encouraged dozens of my friends and clients to apply and attend the event with me,” we want to be sure you know what you’re in for when you attend one of our events.

EXPECT to network with a diverse group of accomplished women who share your passion for entrepreneurship.  As one of our Scottsdale attendees told us, “It was so empowering to be out of my business for a day and to hear the experiences and aspirations of other women who are in the same place in time.” (Print some extra business cards – you’ll need them.)

EXPECT to get real-world business advice that can make an immediate difference in the way you run your business.  After hearing marketing guru Simon Sinek speak in Scottsdale, one attendee wrote, “While he was speaking I mapped out an entirely new marketing strategy that combined his ideas with what I learned from the coaching to get my message across more effectively.”

EXPECT to get a fresh perspective. If women entrepreneurs were jugglers, they’d be juggling balls, plates, flaming torches and machetes.  While riding unicycles.  On tight ropes.  When you’ve got that much going on, it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture.  That’s why it’s important to hear how other women are keeping it all together.  In the words of one M3 event attendee, “I met some very inspirational women and learned that I can actually be myself AND succeed in business. I thought success was always about being power-hungry or working 24/7.  While working hard is important, working smarter is even more crucial.”

EXPECT to play Paula Abdul (or Simon Cowell, if you have a mean streak).  At each event, 20 finalists in our Make Mine a Million $ Business competition will take the stage to present a three-minute elevator pitch.  Then – a la American Idol* – the audience will vote for the top 10 presenters, each of whom will receive an envy-inducing awards package designed to help propel her business to the million dollar mark. 

EXPECT to be rewarded.  Sure, even if you just hung around the fruit plate at one of our continental breakfasts, you’d be rewarded with fabulous new contacts, eye-opening advice and life-changing inspiration, but wouldn’t it be great to win free stuff too?!  Well, thanks to the generosity of corporate sponsor Dell, one lucky attendee at each of our events will receive a $1,000 gift certificate good toward any Dell product.  (See our “Sponsor Spotlight” below to learn why Dell thinks giving us free goodies is good business.)  A second attendee – the winner of our audience pitch contest – will be rewarded with a year of free mentoring. 

EXPECT to laugh.  A great entrepreneurial idea may get you far, but a sense of humor will help you endure the journey.  That’s why we make sure to inject a little humor into all of our events.  (See an excerpt from Governor Janet Napolitano’s speech for a sample.)  Besides – call us paranoid – but we’re pretty sure that if you’re not occasionally laughing at yourself, somebody else is ...

If all of that appeals to you, check out our list of upcoming events.  Next up: Newark, New Jersey on June 3rd and Seattle, Washington on June 11th.  Can we expect to see you there? 

*No, we don’t have time to watch it either.  Except when we do.

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The Million $ Business Club

Last year, 20 more Make Mine a Million $ Business Award Winners did what they pledged to do when they first joined Count Me In – they propelled their businesses to a million dollars in annual revenues.  And they did it with the help of the mentoring, marketing assistance, peer network, financing and technology tools that are part of the Make Mine a Million $ Business award package. 

Of course, as Awardee Leah Brown will tell you, reaching the million-dollar mark takes more than the right tools; it takes tenacity.  Her company, Aten Solutions, identifies & provides skilled staff to run clinical trials.  Aten’s biggest challenge in getting to the million-dollar goal was convincing its large pharmaceutical clients that the company could handle bigger jobs. 

“They would give us the small, unsexy projects that no one else would do,” she explains.  “We had to put our feet to the fire and approach our clients with an unrelenting ‘we want more, and expect more, and are asking for more.’ The result: we got more.”

All together, 29 of the current 122 Make Mine a Million $ Business Awardees have hit the million-dollar mark, and they represent a wide range of industries – from construction to IT to winemaking.  (Click on this link to see a full list of these companies.)  With less than 3% of women-owned businesses in the U.S. currently earning a million or more in revenue, these Awardees have joined what has so far been a very elite club.  But many more M3 Awardees are knocking at the club door. 

Like many of those up-and-comers, Susan Wilson of the Judgment Group experienced explosive revenue growth in 2007 (in her case, 84%).  Shortly after winning, Wilson says she upgraded her goal from one million dollars to ten million.  “It’s been six months and I can truly say that we’re on track to do $10 million dollars and I am personally happier than ever.”

Diana Mercer of Peace Talks, a mediation services provider, could say the same.  Prior to becoming an M3 Awardee in 2006, she says, “I secretly thought that maybe I wasn’t cut out to be an entrepreneur and maybe it was time to get a day job.  I was coming off the worst month ever in my business’s 7-year history.”  Since winning, though, “The coaching, mentoring, and peer support of Make Mine a Million $ Business taught me how to think like a businessperson … now I think ‘expansion’ not survival.” 

With revenues up 115% year-to-date as of March 2008, Mercer is poised to break the million-dollar mark this year.  When she finally hits it, she’ll be in excellent company.

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Why, Yes, I Am a Governor

Admit it.  Running your own company is pretty cool.  Sure, it can be exhausting and unpredictable and sometimes unnerving, but it’s kind of a kick to drop, “Yeah, I run my own business” into a casual conversation, right?  Well, now try to imagine what it feels like to be a Governor running your own state.  “Yeah, I’m Governor.  And – oh, that group of people behind me?  Just a little entourage I threw together ...” 

We bet that’s even cooler.  And it’s one reason we’re so tickled to have the high-powered support of Governors Janet Napolitano of Arizona and Chris Gregoire of Washington State.  In fact, we’re still chuckling to ourselves over the speech that Napolitano delivered at our Make Mine a Million $ Business event on March 4th in Scottsdale.  (Click here to watch an excerpt.) 

As a popular and accomplished 2nd-term Governor who was also the first female Chair of the National Governor’s Association, Napolitano could have chosen to speak about her outstanding record – but she chose, instead, to speak about the importance of ignoring gender stereotypes, taking risks and maintaining a sense of humor.  “There’s nothing like a good laugh to take the edge off,” she told the rapt audience at our Arizona event.

The Governor also explained why she was eager to welcome the M3 program to her state.  “When I heard about Make Mine a Million, I said, this is a group I want to see and talk with because these are the kinds of things that get it going.  You can see people really envisioning their future, thinking about what they can do with their lives.”

Now, we can’t wait to hear what Governor Gregoire has to say when she headlines our June 11th event in Seattle.  Maybe she’ll talk about the value she sees in supporting the Make Mine a Million $ Business program.  Like Governor Napolitano (and Mayor Cory Booker who will be headlining our Newark event on June 3rd), Governor Gregoire knows that where Count Me In goes, economic growth follows. 

The stats are these: by propelling one million women-owned businesses to the million dollar mark in revenues, we will create four MILLION new jobs and add $700 BILLION dollars to the U.S. economy. 

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Dell Delivers!

If you ever find yourself doubting the value of your entrepreneurial idea, just look to Count Me In’s Information Technology Sponsor for reaffirmation.  Michael Dell was a student when he launched Dell from his college dorm room in 1984 with just $1,000 in start-up capital.  His idea – to create customized computers and deliver them directly to customers – quickly took off.  And now with annual revenues topping $60 billion, that $1,000 looks like real chump change. 

While Dell’s entrepreneurial origins may be appealing to many of Count Me In’s 48,000 members, it’s the company’s reputation for reliability that appeals to their business sense.  Just ask M3 Awardee Doctor Nancy Tranchel, founder of the Liberty Laser Eye Center in Vienna, Virginia. 

“Dell technology has allowed Liberty Laser Eye to be on the ‘cutting edge’ of technology on the web as well as in the OR suite” she explains.  “My Dell server runs my whole practice - no down time in 5 years!”

Carolyn Morse of medical device manufacturer PowerLung in Houston, Texas says her M3 company is a “Dell only shop.”

“It started slowly and then mushroomed when our server ‘crashed’ and we had to replace it,” she explains.  “The assistance we received was invaluable -- we almost purchased the wrong server for our needs and it really would have cost us in the long run.  The products are so dependable we have only had to contact support once on any of our devices.  We now have 1 server, 3 laptops, and 3 desktops.”

As the No. 1 supplier of PCs to small businesses like PowerLung and Liberty Laser Eye Center, Dell understands the critical role technology plays in helping companies grow and compete.

According to Lorrie Schultz, Dell’s Director of Small and Medium Business Marketing Communications, “We know smart use of technology is a competitive advantage,” and by partnering with Count Me In and the Make Mine a Million $ Business program, “[we’re] helping budding entrepreneurs access technology that is affordable, reliable and easy to use.”

In addition to providing all Count Me In members with discounts on its computer products, Dell provides each M3 award winner with a new Vostro laptop designed especially for small business use.  Dell also donates a gift card to be raffled off to one attendee at each M3 event.  The value of that card: $1,000.  After all, no one knows better than Dell what a difference that amount of “chump change” can make.