Published June 16th, 2007
in Women and Money.
The last time I checked women comprised about 15% of my mailing list. As a service to them, I often read articles on Women & Money and share the good ones that I find. Many articles have the same premise claiming that “women tend to invest more conservatively than men.” I just stumbled upon one that takes it a little farther.
The article states that a “Financial Gender Gap” study conducted by Prudential Securities revealed significant differences in how men and women invest. The study places investors in one of the following three zones: Action, Comfort and Caution. Continue reading ‘Overcoming the Financial Gender Gap’
Published May 13th, 2007
in Women and Money.
I see articles like this all of the time and just chuckle. It may sound good, but people most often do what feels right. So, in this case your mother or wife gets the flowers and the financial literacy is postponed for a date to be determined.
Source: The Buffalo News
Flowers are nice and chocolates are sweet, but if you really want to do something loving for your mother or wife this Mother’s Day, teach her how to invest — if she isn’t already savvy about investing.
And if you don’t know how to invest, learn with your mother or wife.
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Published April 26th, 2007
in Personal Finance 101 and Women and Money.
Articles written specifically for women on money issues most often include lessons for men as well. I found the following table quite interesting and alarming.
This quote follows the table:
“You’ll notice there aren’t any contribution suggestions for you 45-year-olds if you don’t have at least 3 times your income saved. That’s because T. Rowe doesn’t think you have much of a chance of making your goal.”
If you find yourself light on savings and short on time start preparing yourself to work past 65, but most importantly - if you have kids take this table and plaster it on their foreheads!
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Published April 7th, 2007
in Women and Money.
Survey Finds Many Women Concerned About Retirement, But Not Taking Steps to Address Those Concerns
BELLEVUE, Wash., April 4 /PRNewswire/ — When it comes to personal finances, many women are worried about their financial future, but are either unwilling or unable to take action to improve their situation, according to a new survey conducted by Harris Interactive for ShareBuilder Securities Corp. The ShareBuilder 2007 Women & Investing survey reveals that this theme of “worry outweighing action” manifests itself in everything from women’s participation in retirement plans, to having a brokerage account, to whether or not they have a financial game plan in general. Continue reading ‘Women and Their Finances: ‘Worry’ Outweighs Action’
Published March 17th, 2007
in Women and Money.
Barbara Boxer, a practicing attorney in Milwaukee, knows just how difficult it can be for women entrepreneurs to raise money. She ran her own mail-order medical supply company for 20 years before selling it in 1990, and now many of her clients are women who own businesses. After participating in a conference for women trying to raise funding, the 56-year-old decided to take matters into her own hands. Last summer, Boxer started Women Angels, a group of women investors that focuses on women-owned businesses in the Midwest. Now the group’s 22 members are getting ready to make their first investments. They will put $150,000 to $500,000 in each of two companies, one in biotech and one in transportation.
Boxer is part of a small but growing legion of women angel investors, who are using their own money to back young companies. Often, those are companies led by women.
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Published March 9th, 2007
in Women and Money.
Source: Ms. Money
Over the course of the last several years, it has become obvious to me while teaching seminars and classes that many women believe that people who invest in the markets were “born knowing.” I am living testimony that it’s simply not the case! As you read more about my starting point, you’ll have a hard time believing that I am now a successful speaker, author, and owner of my own financial services firm. In fact, sometimes I find it hard to believe myself!
While it pains me, I must confess to being an aging Baby Boomer. Like many in my generation, I was reared to believe that men do the providing, and women are provided for. Remember, mine was hardly the Golden Age of strong female role models on television. While “I Love Lucy” was outrageously funny, Lucille Ball was hardly a model for women taking charge of their financial future. This was also the era of “Father Knows Best”–doesn’t the title say it all?
Continuing on the path into womanhood, my college experience fed right into my previous beliefs. I can still remember my college counselor asking if I would rather be a nurse, teacher, or social worker. There was one woman in the business program, and we all thought she must really be odd. Given my choices, I opted for social work.
After college, I met the man of my dreams. He was in the process of getting an MBA, and I was getting an MSW. He seemed to know everything about the mysterious world of finance, and I generally had no clue what he was talking about.
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Published March 3rd, 2007
in Women and Money.
Source: Startup Nation
Listed are resources for women who have a desire to connect with, support and learn from other emerging and established female business owners.
National Association of Women Business Owners - A premier organization for women entrepreneurs.
eWomenNetwork - All about networking
Center for Women’s Business Research - Helps build your case when seeking financing, government contracts or support.
Principal Financial Group Free Teleclasses for Women Entrepreneurs - For-women-by-women teleclasses cover topics such as negotiating tactics, client service, motivating employees and goal setting.
Make Mine a Million Business - The sole goal of this organization is to help women-owned businesses pass the million-dollar mark.
Read more details at Startup Nation.
Published February 23rd, 2007
in Women and Money.
Source: Naples News . com
A few of us were having a conversation in one of the restaurants at Waterside Shops, when the topic of shoes stepped forward.
Lisa is a tall, smart, pulchritudinous blonde who’s in the high-end retail clothing business. Clothes and accessories are integral to her life. In an introspective mood, having just turned 30, Lisa concluded that in three decades, she had accomplished little except having a good shoe collection.
“I’m good at investing in shoes” she said.
Being a supportive person, I complimented her on her achievement and asked if she would start on handbags next.
“That market is way out of my league. Prices are too high.”
Hmmm, like Google stock?
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Published February 15th, 2007
in Women and Money.
Source: CBS Evening News
February 12, 2007
(CBS) “When somebody says, ‘Well, what do you invest in?’ I could say, ‘Well, you know, I own stocks or bonds or mutual funds,’ but I say that I have invested in other women,” Janet Hanson says.
Hanson knows a good investment when she sees one, CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric reports. For fourteen years, she worked at the Wall Street powerhouse Goldman Sachs, and became the firm’s first female sales manager and eventually, vice president. But when Hanson quit to be a stay-at-home mom, she realized she was missing a lot more than her six-figure salary.
“I felt really cut off. And I felt a horrible sense of disconnection,” she says, adding that she got very depressed. “And so I made a little promise to myself that if I ever kind of got it together, that I would start a network so that this didn’t happen to other women,” Hanson says.
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Published February 9th, 2007
in Women and Money and Entrepreneurship.
This article is was written for women, however its conclusion applies to all. “When we stop looking at ambition and risk as an enemy of life balance and see it instead as a way to achieve it, then perhaps we’ll be ready to start thinking big.”
Kristi Hedges
Entrepreneur . com
A thought-provoking Harvard Business Review article I once read by Anna Fels asked “Do women lack ambition?” It found that women pursue their goals only after they’ve satisfied the needs of their family, including caring for children and elderly parents. It also found that women underestimate their abilities (while their male counterparts overestimate them) and are therefore less likely to pursue lofty career goals.
Here’s what else studies repeatedly show us:
- Only 1.8 percent of women-owned businesses in the U.S. have revenues above $1 million per year, according to the SBA.
- Women lag behind men in their willingness to seek bank financing for their ventures.
- Women are far less likely to receive venture capital. In my own experience, I’ve only seen two women receive it, and one was replaced shortly after the check cleared.
Whether or not you buy any of this–and certainly there are always exceptions–the fact remains that female entrepreneurs are less likely to take the big risks to get the big rewards.
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