We wrapped up our Vision to Venture tour with a sold-out event in Redmond on May 9, and I feel blessed to have been part of this amazing entrepreneurial road show. We met some incredible women (and men!) during our cross-country tour – and each one of their inspirational stories touched me.
In Redmond, for example, there was the woman who has had 20 businesses fail – and never gives up! There was the young woman who jumped up in response to a speaker’s comment and proudly proclaimed that her goal is to make LOTS of money. And there was the entrepreneur who received very pointed advice from audience members when she explained she was working full time, starting a business on the side, and still doing the housework because her husband didn’t want her to hire help.
The sharing, the excitement, the camaraderie – and even the occasional squeals from the two 10-month-old future entrepreneurs in the audience – were magic. We talked about formulas for success, about low-cost marketing strategies, about making business plans that mesh with life plans … and so much more.
The good news is if you weren’t able to attend, you can join the 15,000 women who have already registered to watch the free on-demand webcast taped during the Redmond event. You’ll be able to hear our awesome presenters – Susan Wilson Solovic of SBTV.com, Rich Sloan of StartupNation.com, and John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing – plus our panel of Seattle-area businesswomen.
You can also do what so many attendees did during every stop on the tour, and that’s sign up for a free Web site from Microsoft Office Live Small Business. During my presentation I walked everyone through our free service and some of the add-on tools we offer – and was delighted to see so much interest.
Though the tour is over for now, I want you to know our commitment to helping entrepreneurs is not. Besides registering for the webcast, you can bookmark the Women’s Resource Center , which we’ve loaded up with advice and inspiration for women entrepreneurs. And you can make connections 24/7 in the Facebook group that has grown out of our Vision to Venture networking.
Is there more we can do? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Karen Dayan
