Owning your own business

1.	Let's test your knowledge of women-owned businesses.
2.	Are you the entrepreneur type?
3.	Divide into 4 teams. Each team will select one of the following topics to research and report out. (No 2 teams can have the same topic.) Each team will also select a woman entrepreneur from #4 below, write her name on the board so no other team selects her, and be prepared to report out on her.

A. What are women-owned businesses like?

How successful are they?

What were the characteristics of women business owners?

Key facts from the National Foundation for Women Business Owners

B. What general characteristics of women make them successful with small businesses? Is it right for you?

Do women have the 'right stuff' to be good at owning a small business?

Women's Versus Men's Needs

Is it for you?

C. What's it take to succeed?

11 rules for success

10 myths

When is the right time to start a business?

D. Working from home

Trends in home-based small businesses

Pros and cons of working at home

Special considerations

4. Read about some women entrepreneurs (optional):

(The following are thanks to http://www.independentmeans.com/):

Elizabeth Wilcox is founder of www.strivemag.com, a career site and online career community for entry-level job seekers. The site provides individual and corporate profiles, career tips, news, job listings, book reviews, chat sessions, and career help to anyone seeking to get ahead.
Rachel Bell is a co-founder and director of JobDirect.com, a leading online recruiting service established in 1995 which has grown to 24 employees and features the largest searchable database of entry-level job seekers in the country.
Patty DeDominic is founder and Chief Executive Officer of PDQ Personnel Services, Inc., providing innovative staffing solutions for clients in business, industry and government.
Brenda Do developed her company MindFoodMedia.com, an e-commerce site that sells over 2.6 million book, music, software and video titles from education to entertainment.
Christina Fagan is the owner of the MacKeen Gallery in Boston, Massachusetts, representing Fine Art and Furniture artists.
Sara Miller McCune is the founder and and Chairman of Sage Publications, Inc. in California.
Audrey Rice Oliver is the President and CEO of Integrated Business Solutions, Inc., a multimillion dollar computer systems company.
Rosalind Resnick, a veteran on-line publisher and marketer, is the President and Chief Executive of NetCreations, Inc.
DeAnn Sopsic started "Vail Personal Concierges" to fill some of the service needs that have been going unanswered in her resort community for many years.
Lillian Vernon is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Lillian Vernon Corporation, a specialty catalog company that markets gift, household, gardening, decorative, and children's products.
Terrie Williams is the founder and president of The Terrie Williams Agency, one of the country's premiere public relations and communications firms.

5. Try your hand a starting your own imaginary business! (optional)

Requirement Fulfilled: 1/2 of Requirement 4
Research 2 fields in which women are not the majority