Join us on Wednesday, June 18^th at 11 AM EASTERN TIME for an Interview with Sarah Miller Caldicott , Co-Author of Innovate Like Edison

“If we all did things we are capable of doing we would literally astound ourselves.”  That quote by Thomas Edison begins a wonderful journey on his amazing accomplishments as an inventor and more importantly sets the stage for a book filled with a blueprint to help each of us through the process of innovation, Innovate Like Edison: The Success System of America’s Greatest Inventor.  Innovate like Edison was co-authored by Sarah Miller Caldicott, A great grandniece of Thomas Edison and his second wife Mina Miller Edison and Michael Gelb the world’s leading authority on the application of genius thinking and the author of nearly a dozen books, most notably “How to Think Like Leonardo DaVinci.  

ABOUT Sarah Miller Caldicott:

Sarah has been surrounded by creativity and innovation throughout her life.  When she was seven years old, Sarah learned of her unique relationship to her great great aunt Mina Miller, and Mina’s world-famous husband, Thomas Edison.  Curious about why the Edison phonograph and cylindrical records in her home worked so differently from the small plastic record player that spun 45’s and wax LP’s, she wondered, “How did they get this way?”

Intrigued Sarah went on to learn about the accomplishments of Mina Miller Edison’s father – Sarah’s great, great grandfather, Lewis Miller (1829-1899) – an agricultural equipment inventor whose Buckeye Mower & Reaper dramatically improved the productivity of American farmers in the 1850’s and beyond, later inspiring development of the modern Combine Harvester.  A recipient of 92 patents, Lewis Miller was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2006, and co-founded the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York in 1874 – a place Sarah and her family still visit every year.

Sarah received her MBA from the Amos Tuck School of Business, and began her 20-year career as a Marketing executive with brand-driven firms including Pepsico and Unilever. For 12 years, Sarah spearheaded domestic and international rollouts of mass brands including Cycle, Suave, Salon Selectives, and Degree.

Desiring to pursue more entrepreneurial projects, in 1998, Sarah established StarWave Associates, a strategic marketing and branding consultancy assisting CEO’s and business owners in transforming the growth of their brands. StarWave clients have included DHL Global Mail, Cox Enterprises, Andrx Pharmaceuticals, Shay Financial Services, and Lucent, as well as numerous entrepreneurial firms. 

Sarah speaks to audiences across the country, and leads executive seminars on how to embed Edison’s Five Competencies of Innovation in their organizations.  These competencies propelled Edison to generate a record-breaking 1,093 US patents and 1,293 international patents over 62 successive years.

You can visit Sarah online at PowerPatterns.com.

In this session, Sarah is going to share her Five tips for jump starting your invention prowess and getting the creative juices flowing, give an overview of some of the five competencies as well as other innovative practices.

To join us send a message to heidi (at) inventingwomen.com with “RSVP Innovate Like Edison” in subject line. Instructions will be sent in a reply.

By Mary Clare Hunt of In Women We Trust

According to the Natural Marketing Institute (NMI), a research firm, Conscious Consumers will take the $209 billion LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) products market past the $400 billion mark by 2010.

Last month we conducted our own WECAI survey about what drives us green - if it’s a given that the market is going in that direction, then understanding the women who are motivating to buy “green” is the first step. It turns out that just like “diet and exercise” are the ultimate answers to weight loss, there are consistent motivators emerging in green consumers as well.

Our greenest SHEsponders fell into two groups, either died in the wool tree huggers from way back or those new to the green game.  I have to give kudos to those in the middle. They came into their ways during the blazing days of the 80s and 90s when many stopped caring. What’s really interesting is that less than 2% turned green this year. My take away on that 2%?  Mass advertising doesn’t work, not on our habits anyway. Think about all the TONS of green “everything” that’s out there now from Gore to non-profits  and TV stars to products. One would think that we’d all be screaming green at this point and yet…

How long have you been a Green thinker?

 Less than 1 year – 1.85%

 2 to 5 years – 44.44%

 5 to 10 years – 9.26%

 10 to 20 years 9.25%

 20+ years – 35.19%

How Socially active are you?

In our self-selected surveyed green group, 66% were bloggers and 22% were ready to join.  To me that shows a willingness to be socially engaged.  You’re the type with things to say and they aren’t afraid of saying them.

Are you a blogger? 

Yes – 66.04%

No – 11.32%

Not yet – 22.64%

We also asked, how many of you belong to ONLINE and OFFLINE groups? We were curious as business is focusing on women for our word of mouth potential. If you were trying to influence a greener world where would you go?

ONLINE 46.24% average 2-5 groups,

OFFLINE - 67.92% average 2-5 groups.

Does that mean we’re more loyal to our face-to-face groups and add more groups vs. leave and form new friends? (probably) I know that I stayed in a book club for much longer than I would have because of the friendships formed - dropping out of an Internet group doesn’t carry any social stigma.

Are you selling a green product? Intersect with the ground groups. Want a quick “buzz”? Stay online.

Who are the groups? Over 44 of the groups we joined were business related and 18 were green. We had 10 social type groups. All in all, we are taking our business lives seriously and building up our social skills and also our green connections. Granted this was a self selected group of survey takers interested in the green movement, but oddly enough no one named a religion in their “groups.” That surprised me. Perhaps we don’t see the weekly grouping around a spiritual theme as a group or maybe, the greener the crowd, the less ties to religion. What do you think?

 To read the full results, visit: http://wecai.org/Attachments/WECAIGreenSurvey.pdf

 To see the survey, visit Women’s Green Commerce.

 Women who took the survey received a list of more than 100 Green Resources.  If you’d like that list, leave a comment and you too can access the Resources!

Join us on Friday June 6th at 12 noon Eastern time (11 AM Central, 10 AM Mountain, 9 AM Pacific)

Topic: How to Leverage Linked Ito Grow Your Circle and Your Business with Chuck Hester

Chuck Hester is Director of Corporate Communications at iContact, the industry-leading web-based emarketing communications software. Chuck has over 25 years experience in public relations, marketing and branding, with stints as an in-house marketing director, and public relations director for two marketing agencies. Some of the clients Chuck has worked with include TEAC, Western Digital and the Department of Defense Technology Transfer Program.

A LinkedIn power connector, Chuck has more than 6000 direct connections. He is a sought-after expert on the subject of using LinkedIn for personal and professional branding, and how to use social media to build business contacts.

Chuck is the host of LinkedIn Live Raleigh, an in-person networking group that brings together more than 300 professionals for networking in the Triangle.

A published author and blogger, Chuck also teaches marketing and public relations for Duke University’s continuing education department and has taught at the University of Irvine, California. He holds degree in Journalism and Communications from the University of Southern California.

During this session, Chuck will share his experiences and other people’s examples of how LinkedIn can help you grown your circle and your business. He will talk about the best ways to connect with other on LinkedIn, some of the best tools LinkedIn has and how to use them, common mistakes people make when setting up their LinkedIn profiles, how you can use LinkedIn to improve your Google Page Rank and enhance your search engine results, and more!

Friday June 6th at 1PM Eastern time (12 Noon Central, 11 AM Mountain, 10 AM Pacific)

Topic: IS ANYONE READING YOUR BLOG? How to go from 0 to 2,000 subscribers in 3 months! Interview with Tina Sue of Think Simple Now

Tina Su is very passionate about Personal Development, Spiritual Growth and Photography. Working full time with amazon.com as an experience designer and technical program manage, Tina is able to flex her creative muscles and with it lots of freedom & flexibility. She is also a professional photographer with her own studio in downtown Seattle.

On the side, Tina is the co-founder of an internet startup. She also consults part time critiquing websites on their ease of use. In 2006, Tina ran a very profitable ebay business selling wholesale women’s apparel.

To realize her vision of helping others on their personal development journey Tina Su started a little blog called Think Simple Now on September 27th, 2007 with zero experience in blogging, internet marketing or writing. By the time Christmas came, 3 months later, she had 2135 subscribers.

‘Think Simple Now’ focuses on finding clarity, motivation, productivity, creativity and happiness. Think Simple Now  gives you simple steps towards positive change. She knows your time is valuable. The goal of Think Simple Now is to create practical and applicable articles aiming at making a positive contribution to your life.

There are two ways to attend these sessions: In our Web Conference Room or our Teleconference Bridge Line.

To gain access to either of these, send a message to Heidi@wecai.org with “RSVP 1st Fridayz” in the subject line and you will receive instructions via email
response.

*These sessions are being recorded and will be made available to our Charter, Charter Elite and Lifetime Members of the Women’s eCommerce Association (after the sessions) as well as all guests who are online or in our conference room during these interviews.

To find the time and date in your area, visit www.timeanddate.com.

Hope to see you there!

Heidi

   Ethical Business or just the `Green Wash’? by Suzy Miller

Coming off the sea at the end of Brighton Pier, and blasting its way through the air conditioning system of the Horatio Bar, a gale was blowing down the back of my neck. 

Despite this, sitting wrapped in my coat as if about to leave, I listened with great interest to the ‘ethical’ businesses who bravely gave their websites up for scrutiny at the ‘Striding Out - Ethical marketing and branding event’ held in Brighton, UK, at the end of February. It was a great event, but I do have a general gripe about these kind of sessions.

As an entrepreneur, I am frustrated by the lack of goody bags at these kind of events. Yes, we get the information and inspiration, but what exactly am I supposed to DO now? What can I take away that allows me to put this new found knowledge straight into action?

I believe one thing is to create an ethical sustainability policy for my business, but what I really want is to walk away from these kind of events with a template for creating my own, with links to appropriate help if I need it (even if that means paying for that help).

I was inspired by Sam Wilson of EcoEvents who has done so much homework in creating ways for events to be more ethically run, but also (and just as importantly) defined systems and mechanisms for measuring the successes and failures, and making the organisers of the events accountable.

And if businesses want to not just be part of the `Green Wash’, they should be accountable, at least to themselves.

What is the point of me creating a sustainability policy if my vision is not balanced by my commitment to achieving deadlines? And buffeted by the realities of every day life, will I not need to make constant revisions for my ethical goals to still be attainable?

I spoke recently with Vania Phitidis, an elected member of the Green Party, who is working with Wealden District Council on awards for `green’ businesses. Vania is keen to give advice and encouragement. Businesses should not be shy to make use of their local green MPs to get feedback and advice.

Getting expert guidance would be even better, but that costs money, and sometimes I think it is good to make the first steps on your own, since it is your own passion and commitment that will lie at the heart of any ‘policy’, and that may need some uninhibited development first.

To read the rest of the article, check out the Spring Issue of WE Magazine for Women - A Tribute to Mother Nature.

In Search Of Sustainable Life: Our Own and That Of Our Good Earth by Bea Kunz

I believe in order to learn better ways of sustainability we must look at and accept the damage we have done to our existance.

To human life, and all other living, breathing systems that make up the total of the ecosystem.

We are all a part of the natural world and subject to the same growth and death.

We are now facing a two edged decision, on the one side we are at a point of making choices that brings us back to individuality, taking care of our own, focusing on the family and small worlds of people, our little world so to speak.

The other side requires us to look at a broader range of accountability. To expose and take actions that will reverse or at least stop the progression of some wide range damage to our earth, the Mother Earth, the earth that is home and life to many families.

We can no longer afford to be complacent. This is one of those issues that surely define us as either being part of the answers or part of the problem.

Each individual in this world can do something every day this will make an impact on the outcome.

Research, read, ask questions, speak out…get involved. You  and I must be the answers we seek to find.

Here is a few great women in the field of working to better our earth. Some are women of today, some have gone on to a greener place.  My point is find someone that inspires you to take an action that will carry the legacy of these women into the future.

Barbara Kingsolver

Jane Goodall

Mable Loomis Todd

Susan Fennimore Cooper

Emily Dickinson

Bea Kunz

http://www.sagehillfarmsandvintagestore.com

Be sure to read the Spring Issue of WE Magazine for Women - A Tribute to Mother Nature

If you haven’t already done so, take the Women’s Green Commerce Survey!

Time to get out the flag, the red, white and blue streamers and dishes and celebrate!

THINGS TO DO ON MEMORIAL DAY:

Watch the Sun RISE

Have a Barbeque

Go Fly a Kite

Visit a Memorial

PRAY

Thank a VETERAN

Ride a Hot Air Balloon

Go to the Movies

Watch a Parade

Be the Parade!

Watch the Sun SET

HAVE FUN!

If you are planning a barbeque with family and friends, here are a few recipes to whet your palate and get the celebration going:

Lunar Lemon Quencher

• 1 can of frozen BACARDI® Mixers Margarita mix
• 1/2 can of frozen BACARDI® Mixers Margarita mix
• 1/2 cup of BACARDI® Rum
• 6 ounces of Minute Maid Lemonade
• 5 cups of ice
• Lemon for garnish

Blend together BACARDI® Mixers Margarita mix, Minute Maid Lemonade and BACARDI® Rum. Add ice and blend for 45 to 60 seconds or until uniform. Garnish with lemon slices and a small paper flag. Serves five people.

(Source: Bacardi)

Mushroom-stuffed Pork Burgers

3/4 c Mushrooms; fresh, thinly sliced
1/4 c Green onion; thinly sliced
1 Garlic clove; minced
2 ts Butter
1 1/2 lb Pork; lean, ground
1 ts Dijon-style mustard
1 ts Worcestershire sauce
1/4 ts Salt
1/8 ts Black pepper; freshly ground

In skillet, saute mushrooms, onion and garlic in butter until tender, about 2 minutes; set aside.
Combine ground pork, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper; mix well. Shape into 12 patties; about 4 inches in diameter.

Spoon mushroom mixture onto center of 6 patties. Spread to within 1/2 inch of edge. Top with remaining 6 patties; seal edges. Place patties on grill about 6 inches over medium-hot coals.

Grill 10 to 15 minutes, turning once. Serve on buns.

Makes 6 servings.

Grilled Brown Sugar Sweet Potatoes Sticks

6 sweet potatoes
1 tbsp. butter
1/4 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts)
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp allspice
2 tbsp. cider vinegar

Prepare outdoor grill or stovetop grill pan.

Pierce potatoes with fork. Place potatoes on piece of paper toweling in microwave oven. Microwave 10 min. until partially cooked but still very firm. When potatoes are cool, cut each lengthwise into quarters.

In skillet melt butter. Add nuts, brown sugar, salt, pepper, allspice and vinegar, cook 2 minutes. Remove skillet from heat.

Brush the cut sides of the potatoes with brown sugar glaze, leaving walnuts in skillet.

Grill the potatoes, cut side down, uncovered, 5 minutes. Keep grilling and turning potatoes and brushing with glaze until potatoes are tender.

Transfer potatoes to platter. Spoon remaining glaze with nuts over potato wedges.

(source: Razzledazzle.com)

And my good friend Betty Lynch, Author of My Country Kitchen has a great recipe for  Pepper and Potato Salad here: http://mycountrykitchen.com/rachael-rays-pepper-and-potato-salad

And her Avocado Boats are yummy! Check that recipe out athttp://mycountrykitchen.com/avocado-boats-

In honor of Memorial Day, I’d also like to share the following words (from the song Proud to be an American):

“I’m proud to be an American where at least I know I’m free, And I won’t forget the men (and women) who died who gave that right to me, And I gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today, ‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land God Bless the U.S.A.” Lee Greenwood

Here’s a YouTube video tribute to America’s Soldiers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZZf619DIpo

For those of you who served in ANY Armed Forces, I SALUTE YOU and thank you for giving your time to protect others. and for those of you who had family who served or gave their lives for a similar cause, I thank them from the bottom of my heart.

With love and deep appreciation,

Heidi

Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, Have you read the latest issue of WE Magazine for Women yet?

Divorce is a highly emotional topic. When children are involved the consequences are far more dramatic – and, not surprisingly, so are our opinions. I know there are many people who sincerely believe that no divorce is a good divorce. That children are always and inevitably harmed by the physical and emotional separation of their parents. And that parents should – for the sake of the kids – just stick it out and not rock the boat with divorce or separation until the children are grown.

This is a particularly prevalent view for many who are grown children of divorce. These adults have experienced the dramatic life changes that come with divorce and feel permanently scarred as a result.

This response is certainly understandable. But it’s not the final word on this subject. I have another perspective based on the experience of being raised in a family that chose to stay together “for the sake of the kids.” My parents should have divorced early in their marriage. They were both miserable together, had little respect for each other, and raised two children in a home fraught with anger, tension, frequent loud arguments and discord.

I remember my mother asking me one day when I was in early adolescence whether she should divorce Dad. “No,” I cried. I wanted a Mom and a Dad like the other kids. My childhood was miserable and filled with insecurity.  Immersed in that insecurity I feared what life would be like if my parents were divorced. Mom didn’t have the courage to do it anyway (those were vastly different times, especially for women) and she continued in her unhappy marriage for decades more.

To read the rest of the article, check out the Spring Issue of WE Magazine for Women - A Tribute to Mother Nature.

Showcasing Women Who Promote Their Businesses on the WEB

The Who’s Who Directory of Women in eCommerce is an annual publication recognizing women who promote their businesses to a global marketplace via the Internet. It’s THE Directory for Business women providing links to women’s business ownership, business owners, business service, women’s business advice, business enterprises, shopping, jewelry, fashion, beauty, wedding, and much more. This registry serves as an outstanding resource for networking and consulting as well as cultivating strategic alliances.

The mission of The Who’s Who Directory of Women in Ecommerce is
“To support and promote women entrepreneurs around the globe.”

Comments from women have included:

“What an exciting project! I have been looking for a way to connect with other women in business and “Who’s Who Directory of Women in eCommerce-2008″ is just what I envisioned!… I am always looking for other women in business to network with and share resources and see this as a great opportunity to expand my business.  To a new venture, Julia Rhodes, Inventor – Kleen Slate

“Thank you for the opportunity to be a part of this brilliant initiative. I look forward to seeing the final product and to make contact with women around the world.”
Michelle Driman, Trade Lateral

“This is a fantastic opportunity to help promote each other in our ecommerce businesses. Thank you for providing this great forum for women to connect and support one another.”
Leah Messina, Book Divas

Inclusion in the 2008 Edition of the Who’s Who Directory of Women in Ecommerce was open to woman-owned (at least 51%) companies and individuals who have been doing business via the WEB for at least one year prior to the date of publication.

The publication is unlike others of the same genre in that once accepted, each woman is given the opportunity to determine the category that best represents her business. The result is that this registry represents more than 200 professions/industries from the US, Canada, Europe, Africa, and Australia.
Each basic listing (FREE) includes the name of the individual, the name of her company, her company website URL and slogan or tagline.  Enhanced listings include additional contact information and a company logo (where available). In addition to the listings, there is a special report at the end of this directory entitled “Promoting Your Business on the WEB - 13 Strategies to Establish Your Brand, Get More Traffic, and Make More Money on the Internet.” It is filled with WEB 2.0 strategies and more to grow your business online (and off).

The 2008 Edition of the Who’s Who Directory of Women in Ecommerce  is published by The Women’s eCommerce Association, International – an organization whose mission is to “help women do MORE business on and off the WEB.” To contact the publisher, write Heidi Richards at 7100 Pembroke Road, Miramar, FL 33023, call her at 1-877-WISDOM7 (947-3667) or visit: www.wecai.org.

What lessons you can learn from small children!  One day I was watching two youngsters, ages 3 and 5, playing with “bricks” constructed out of heavy cardboard.  The brick blocks came in three sizes:  a 10” x 16” rectangle, a 10” square, and the standard 3” x 10” brick size.  Over time they spent hours creating structures.  At the beginning there was no understanding of larger pieces providing a stronger foundation for the smaller pieces and so things would come tumbling down without using all of the bricks.  With lots of trial and error the children discovered that if they started with the biggest size, they were more likely to be able to use all of the bricks.

An effective daily schedule can also be constructed with three types of blocks.  How much you can pile on (your productivity) each day depends on how well you organize your time. 

Large Blocks – Your Day’s Foundation 

Make your day’s foundation an uninterrupted block of time when you can focus on difficult, involved projects.  The ideal length is an hour and a half, approximately twenty percent of an eight-hour day.  If you cannot possibly find that length of time, try for an hour.  Even with 45 minutes of uninterrupted time you can get a significant amount of work completed because you are not requiring twenty additional minutes after each interruption to get back into the “flow.” As you develop this routine, aim for the hour and a half each day.

 During this time, do not answer every phone call.  Turn off your general email alerts.  If you want to ensure that a certain person or message gets through immediately, set up your software rules to notify you of that specific message.  When you can block twenty percent of your time, you will accomplish about eighty percent of your work for the day.

To read the rest of the article, check out the Spring Issue of WE Magazine for Women - A Tribute to Mother Nature.

It is not uncommon for people to choose natural alternatives to health care, preventative maintenance or specific healing, at least once.  Those that found the proper solution stick with and often research natural alternatives even more.  However, many skeptical people try it once, find no help and swear it off.  Witch doctor stamped on ‘natural alternatives’ and resulting in poor health care for the rest of their lives.  Convert the underlying fear into a strong desire to conquer the law of averages and protect your health from deteriorating as quickly. That fear symbolically declared as ‘it didn’t work for me’ is a roadblock you can transform into wellness.   Naturopathic Practitioners are the forward thinking and solutions oriented Doctors that care enough about themselves and their patients to use natural solutions and bypass making the patient worse before better.    This form of wellness is widely recognized but rarely used by the majority of our population.  It is millenniums old and successful; but hey, it might hit the pharmaceutical companies in the wallet.  Ask yourself, does your doctor really care about what he prescribes or was he prevented from learning the natural alternatives and accept it by saying it isn’t his fault.  Do you settle for less in all of your life?  It is not about him/her, it is about you.  What do you choose for your overall healthcare? Why is it that we in the

USA certify doctors to know and prescribe man made chemical compositions and have little or no education about natural alternatives?   They study and practice medicine and are the PRIMARY SOURCE we know?  They also get sued more than any other service industry in the USA.To read the rest of the article, check out the Spring Issue of WE Magazine for Women - A Tribute to Mother Nature.