YFE News

Motivation Monday is here and rather than just sharing this one with those who subscribe to the Latest or our Young Female Entrepreneurs podcast, YFE is posting the audio here for you to listen to.

Friday YFE asked you what the advantages and issues are that come along with being young, female and entrepreneurial. In this episode you will hear 5 advantages shared by myself and others. Listen if you need a little pick me up.

Why am I asking now? I’m very excited to announce that I along with another member of our community, Erica from Sittingaround.com am being highlighted as a ‘Champion of Change’, which is part of President Obama’s Winning the Future initiative ( you can find out more about it at whitehouse.gov/champions).

Each week, the white house features a group of Americans, businesses or organizations who embody ‘Innovate, Educate, and Build’. Different groups are highlighted ranging from educators to veterans to community activists. I have been chosen along with other young CEOs and entrepreneurs for the innovative enterprises we’ve created. The Office of Public Engagement will host an event at the White House to honor those who are “Winning the Future” and empowering and inspiring others in their communities.

At this event, agency representatives and White House Policy Offices will participate and host a discussion on amplifying best practices learned in each area. Along with each White House event, we will be featured on the White House website.

So here’s the deal… I want to make sure that the website is flush with awesome, young women who are turning lemons into lemonade, making a difference in their communities, and paving their own way through entrepreneurship.

Here are the ways you can get involved:

1. Comment on this post with what the advantages/disadvantages are of being young, female and entrepreneurial or call (206) 408-1910 and leave a message so that YFE can share the audio with the community (listen to the podcast for details).

2. Complete a profile to be posted on YFE. It’s easy and there is a good chance you will be featured.

3. Email Jenn with a blog post concept or give her a call at the number listed above. You can reach YFE at support@youngfemaleentrepreneurs.com

Whatever you do, YFE has been given an amazing opportunity and we as a community need to make sure we are taking full advantage of it. Share, share, share!

Thank you for your participation in advance! I’m looking forward to hearing more from you soon!

IMG Courtesy Seansie

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Young, female entrepreneurs rest assured, YFE has gathered the links you have been looking for to review over the weekend for your convenience below.

Happy business building,
Jenn

PS. Next week YFE will feature posts on the topic of personal branding (hence the brand image used above).

YFE Related:

Sign up for the Latest at YFE for information on upcoming events, YFE news, Profiles, and more. Plus, list your company information when you sign up for the opportunity to be contacted for a blog feature.

YFE Online Monthly Meetings just got a makeover! Find out all about it here and while you are at it be sure to register for the upcoming Wednesday, August 31st meeting.

Thank you to those of you who came to yesterday’s #YFEchat. I hope to see many, many more of you for the chat on August 25th when we have our Special Guest!! **Announcement coming soon!**

PLUS, have you checked out the YFE Profiles from the last few weeks yet? Catch up with some AMAZING young, entrepreneurial women by reading their profiles and connecting with them over Twitter and Facebook. Read on.

Relative ‘In the News’ YFE Shared Links:

Susan Gregg Koger, 25, and founder of ModCloth is featured on the Forbes website today as being an innovative young, female entrepreneur. In what ways are you being innovative today in your business?

Most powerful Women? Susan Gregg Koger is just among the most innovative… via Forbes

Ouch! Is where you live and do business out of killing your bottom line? Today, so many of us can just pick up and pack out; what do you think? What makes for an ideal environment to build your business?

Entrepreneur Tells California to Kiss Off via Portfolio.com

What do you think about these 5 ways to build credibility as a young entrepreneur?

How to Build Credibility as a Young Entrepreneur
Five steps to make your business a success when experience is not on your side. via Entrepreneur

IMG Courtesy derekGavey

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Young Female Entrepreneurs meet online the last Wednesday of every month at 7pm PST/10pm EST via Ovaleye web conferencing. The meeting agenda has been in need of a serious makeover and today YFE is giving you a sneak peak of what you can expect at the August meeting (reservations are open!). The biggest change is the addition of a panel– we will have a panel of 3 to 4 of our peers featured to answer questions that attendees submit prior to and during the meeting. The subject for August is on personal branding.

Our meeting room opens 10 minutes before 7pm PST when we begin. During that time, login using the link and password you received after reserving your place at the meeting. Call in to the teleconference line and get yourself a glass of water, wine, or cup of tea to get comfortable. On the go, but still want to listen in? You don’t HAVE to be sitting at your desk; you are welcome to just call in.

The agenda for the meeting will be this:

7 to 7:05 we review instruction for making the most of our time in the meeting

7:05-7:20 we will do some quick intros, depending on attendance we may feature a few YFE businesses

7:20-7:50 Panel time! The host for the meeting will ask the panel questions that were sent in by attendees prior to the meeting around the subject of personal branding.

7:50 to 8:00 we do Q&A and save a few moments for YFE announcements

Reserve your seat at the meeting today. Are you a YFE and have something to say about personal branding? We want to hear from you. Contact YFE to be considered as a panelist for our August meeting.

Img Courtesy JapanBlack

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Young, female entrepreneurs rest assured, YFE has gathered the links you have been looking for to review over the weekend for your convenience below.

Happy business building,
Jenn

YFE Related:

Sign up for the Latest at YFE. This is how I know who you are ladies. As the Director of YFE I will get calls or emails every once in a while for recommendations, etc. The more information you provide me in the sign up the more likely you may get noticed. Include your company name, first and last name, and your website and be sure to use an email you actually check. I will always contact you before to ask for permission before giving out your information to anyone.

YFE profiles young, female entrepreneurs on the website, so you may be contacted for that. Finally, we will also ask for quotes from YFEs here and there for certain posts and are sure to always highlight you and your business when we do so. (Plus, this keeps you up to date on online meetings, Twitter chats, what other YFEs are doing, and what is going on with our IRL meetups).

Sign up for the Latest here or edit your information by submitting your address again.

If you have ever wanted to meet other young, female entrepreneurs out there next week is your chance! Add #YFEchat on your calendar. It is next Thursday at 4pm PST/7pm PST on Twitter. The theme is heroes and mentors where we will share resources, discuss where we are finding motivation and the know how behind our businesses, and ask questions.

Find out more about the upcoming chat specifically, here. Find out what #YFEchat is here.

If you are a YFE in Seattle we have 3 IRL meetups for you to attend! Thhhhrrrreeeee!!!! Be sure to make it out to one. YFE meets in real life at others’ events. Our hosts for Seattle in August include Seattle Chamber of Commerces’ Young Professional’s Network, Sweat and the City, and the Columbia Tower Club. Find out more. (PS. I will be at each- Jennifer Donogh, Director of YFE- but you will also have a chance to meet our YFE Seattle Rep for August Devani Freeman. Her profile will post soon for you to find out more about her).

Find out which event suits you best and then look for Devani and I while you are there!

Relative ‘In the News’ YFE Shared Links:

Wow! 1/3 of Poland’s registered businesses are owned by someone who hasn’t celebrated their 30th birthday yet!! What do you think? Is that a good or bad sign? (Article is worth the extra effort to click translate).

Read on: Coraz więcej absolwentów zakłada działalność gospodarczą. Skąd biorą pieniądze na własny biznes? via Gazeta Prawna

“Building a product is easy, tracking users is also easy, raising money is even easy; but walking in to that door of a Fortune 500 company as a 22-year-old is really intimidating.” – GenJuice CEO, Arielle Patrice Scott. {Fun interview!}

Read on: GenJuice CEO On What Makes Women Better Entrepreneurs Than Men via the Huffington Post

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Young Female Entrepreneurs is and has alwas been a support group and incubator for entrepreneurial women in their 20s and 30s. This is a post that has been a long time. About a month a go I finally put everything that was in my mind onto my whiteboard in my home office and I’ve been looking at it since then. Today I’m putting those words into action and sharing it with you. So, to answer, “what is Young Female Entrepreneurs?” read on…

What are young, female entrepreneurs?
More literally you are a YFE if you are: In your 20s/30s, you are female, and are someone “who undertakes a commercial risk for profit” (Oxford Dictionary). On a more visceral level YFEs are multifaceted, social, fashionable, busy, knowledgeable, passionate, and philanthropic.

What do young, female entrepreneurs want?
Success on their own terms, to feel validated, to help, make money, expand their reach, feel inspired, to share, to grow, to change, and to love.

Entrepreneurship is not for everyone and it looks different to many different people. YFE is not here to sell you on the idea of owning your own business, but to act as a medium for support to those who are already in the process of ownership. YFE as a support group and incubator is not all about Jenn (the Director), it’s not a coaching club, it’s not a men vs. women society, it’s not a non profit, it’s not locally focused, and it’s not a website you can just add a profile to. As young, female entrepreneurs we are a community of like minded people that help and encourage one another; YFE acts as a facilitator.

Why are young, female entrepreneurs different from their male counterparts?
We have different issues when it comes to health, different takes, needs, and wants when it comes to fashion, we have and use our emotions in different ways in business and in personal affairs, and societal pressures are at times gender biased.

While YFE has and always will, like mentioned previously, be a support group and incubator you will see YFE evolving this year as it did last. Young women who are entrepreneurial have a wide array of schedules, geographic locations, and are in different stages of their business making in person meetings difficult at this time for YFE to arrange.  Therefore, to serve Young Female Entrepreneurs’ purpose events will continue to be online via a web conferencing environment and via Twitter chats.

Support and incubation comes from those meetings, but also from active participation within the website. You don’t have to wait until the end of the month or every other week to connect with other people like you. Do it when you can. Contribute a blog post or Podcast, add a comment, or reach out to someone who has through your own means. YFE is a support group and incubator by providing a sounding board, inspiration, fun, promotion, discussion, networking, and answers.

To sum this up, how are you a member of Young Female Entrepreneurs? What does this all mean? It means that you 1. do something 2. show up and 3. contribute. I feel like adding a hashtag to the end of that sentence like #thatisall, but alas on Twitter I am not.

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You will be hearing much, much more from us very soon, but in the meantime- What resolutions have you decided to stick with this New Year?

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