I really respect doers. As a thinker-planner-worrier-maybe-eventually-doer I admire people who seize opportunities immediately and run with them all the way to the finish line. Kelly Malone of Indie Mart is one such doer. Last night I attended an open-house event at her new space called “Workshop,” which is a community art and activity space that holds classes, get-togethers and large-scale craft equipment. It’s already got furniture, signage, and an awesome room divider made of old windows. A week ago she didn’t even know about this … Read more »
9.04.2009
On November 30th, I participated in the second annual San Francisco Holiday Bazaar Bizarre. I asked many of my fellow vendors how they were doing and I got the same response from all of them: “It’s going well, but not as well as last year.” Many of them acted apologetic for having said this, abruptly adding qualifiers like, “But last year was crazy,” as if they didn’t deserve such a singular event to repeat itself.
I admit, I felt similarly. I felt guilty for the moderate success I was having during one of the worst … Read more »
12.29.2008
Today I attended a San Francisco Town Hall Meeting sponsored by the National Women’s Business Council — an advisory council that reports to the offices of the President and Members of Congress the issues that women in small business face every day. While it is obviously important to make your voice heard to your representatives in government, our concerns as small businesswomen could have been collected via e-mail or online survey. Such a method might have gotten more more responses (today’s event was limited to 200 participants) and certainly would have cost a lot less than … Read more »
Want to have your voice heard by the folks who make the laws? Register for the (free) San Francisco Town Hall Meeting thrown by the National Women’s Business Council. This event will function like a short, one-day conference, in which small business women will have the opportunity to learn from experts and one another, as well as share concerns about small business policies. There will be a general session followed by two break-out sessions, covering a number of topics. I will be attending the session on “Micro-business,” and I have suggested a session on … Read more »
10.24.2008
I was saddened to learn recently that San Francisco’s Stitch Lounge is closing its doors for good. Though it will continue to operate as an online entity, offering tutorials and a blog, their fantastic, in-person classes are coming to an end on September 12th (click here to sign up for one last class). Here is a snippet of the announcement the lovely Biz Misses of Stitch posted on their website:
Some 4 and a half years ago, three hopeful soon-to-be-Stitch-B*tches held hands and jumped and opened the first sewing lounge ever….We achieved so … Read more »
9.03.2008
The feeling you get by giving a gift, getting a tax deduction and helping someone start their new business all at the same time.
This week I was introduced to Kiva, a non-profit that allows you to contribute funds to start-up loans for individuals in developing countries. Unlike many of us, who start businesses to have more creative freedom or to be our own bosses, the entrepreneurs in Kiva are mostly starting businesses to get themselves out of poverty.
There are many ways to contribute to Kiva. You can loan money to an entrepreneur directly, donate funds … Read more »
Uncategorized
3.06.2008