All businesses take a tremendous amount of time and energy, but startups can be totally consuming. Determined for success, eager entrepreneurs don a "whatever it takes" attitude and enthusiastically pledge their unending commitment to their new ventures. But they often exhaust themselves in the process of building their business -...

I've heard one too many female entrepreneurs preface a challenge they've had with the statement "maybe it's just because I'm a woman but I find it hard to"...(you can fill in the blank): ask for what I want; settle for something less than perfect; not to try to do it...

As entrepreneurs, we look for inspiration, advice, and instruction everywhere. We find that we can learn and adapt something from every business we encounter. Given that our business, In Good Company, was a first-of-its-kind community, learning center, and co-working space, we knew we had a lot to...

This piece was written with my co-founder and co-author, Amy Abrams.

Two weeks ago in the Sunday New York Times a piece called, "Maybe It's Time for Plan C" revealed the unexpected disenchantment of several new entrepreneurs. They lamented how the experience fell short of...

There is no such thing as a "typical" entrepreneur. We come in all shapes, sizes and flavors. Still, myths abound, and most of us walk around with a specific caricature of what an entrepreneur is like in our minds. Most often that image includes someone who is bold, daring, comfortable...

A few weeks ago we had a meeting with a lovely gentleman from Astia, a terrific organization that helps women entrepreneurs gain access to capital. During our conversation he made the distinction between high-growth businesses and "lifestyle" businesses. I visibly winced and sharply responded that I really hated...

I give the same answer to at least half of the business advice questions that I am asked.

"How should I get the word out about my new service?"

"What's the best way to reach my target market?"

"What conferences are worth attending?"

"How much should I pay my...

As an expert on women entrepreneurs, I'm often asked questions such as:

Why do female entrepreneurs have a problem of scale? Why do they continually start and run businesses that are low-profit, low growth, small enterprise, and low-tech? How can they be encouraged to build larger, higher-tech, more noticeable businesses?

Apparently the independence we women entrepreneurs seek is coming at a big price. The benefits of entrepreneurship are driving more women than ever into self-employment, yet the financial rewards necessary to make this trend stick, still elude most of us.

In October the Center for Women's Business Research published...