Seattle, WA - In Washington State there are approximately 137,475 women-owned businesses including over 71,000 listed in the Puget Sound Business Journal. Few of these businesses ever reach a million dollars in revenue. In the 1997 Survey of Women-Owned Business Enterprises conducted by the US Dept of Census Bureau News, “receipts for women-owned firms averaged $151,100; for male-owned firms, average receipts were $582,500 and for those owned equally by women and men, they were $259,200.” A small subset of these firms — 98,870 or 2 percent of the total — had receipts of $1 million and accounted for 68 percent of the total receipts of women-owned firms. “What most folks don’t know is that businesses that achieve the million dollar revenue mark are five times more likely to succeed,” says, local business consultant, Corey Hager..

Why haven’t women owners broken through the million dollar “glass ceiling? As with everything in life, the problem is complex but there are several variables:

• SELF IMPOSED LIMITING BELIEFS –perfectionism, doing for everyone but you, inability to say “no,” lack of a clear plan.
• SUCCESS PATTERNS – Lack of focus, not deliberate in their actions, lack clarity of purpose.
• CAPITAL FUNDING - Lack of access to capital and venture capital in particular.
• BUISNESS PLANNING - Fail to address revenue, profitability, and longevity.
• MATCHMAKING AND COACHABILITY – Lack of branding, marketing, equipment, and consulting.
• COLLABORATION – Fear of collaborating--co-branding, co-marketing and creating joint-venture strategies.

When business women address what blocks them from the inside (self-imposed, limiting beliefs), what blocks them on the outside (branding and marketing) and get aligned with what is needed to succeed (partners, capital, goods, products, services and more) they can achieve the million dollar revenue mark. Learn more about how women can unlock their full business potential at the 1st Annual Women’s Empowerment Summit: Inspiring Women in Business, Leadership and Life, June 6 & 7, 2008 hosted by Women in Small Biz in Seattle, WA.

EDITORS
For interview requests contact Bettina Carey at 206-349-4297 or send email to Bettina@womeninSmallBiz.com.

ABOUT BETTINA CAREY
Bettina Carey, founder and business matchmaker for Women in Small Biz, conducted interviews of successful women CEOs and Presidents for the book, “The Glass Ceiling is A Myth: Top Reasons Women Give For Their Financial Success" (due Fall, 2008). She currently teaches women in small businesses how to unlock doors they previously believed were closed to them through conferences and inspirational presentations. Her skills in leadership, strategic thinking, communications, and networking are sought out by clients for her executive level marketing strategy sessions.

REGISTER NOW!

Women’s Empowerment Summit: Inspiring Women in Business Leadership and Life!
June 6-7, 2008