Don’t make the mistake of worrying about making mistakes
Helping women entrepreneurs grow sustainable businesses is the goal of Nell Merlino
Segment 1: Neil and Barbara explore why successful entrepreneurs make mistakes. They maintain that “mixing it up” avoids stagnation and helps forge new and better paths in achieving success. Levi Strauss went to California during the Gold Rush, but instead of mining gold, he made a mint selling picks, shovels, and blue jeans to prospectors. AIRSIS CEO Dean Rosenberg explains how his company developed PortVision®, which recently won CONNECT’s Most Innovative New Products Award. He reveals how his past mistakes along with the trials of raising money from “angel” investors have honed his skills in developing successful ideas
Segment 2: Women are starting businesses in record numbers, yet 70 percent of them have revenues of less than $50,000 per year. Nell Merlino, founder of Count Me In, a micro-lender aimed at promoting economic independence and growth of women-owned businesses, says access to capital is only part of the problem, mentorship and best practices teaching are key to women entrepreneurs growing their businesses to the next level. The goal of their new program Make Mine a Million $ Business is to inspire one million women entrepreneurs to reach annual revenues of $1 million by the year 2010. Neil and Barbara offer a smorgasbord of entrepreneurial thoughts including recognizing that “Aha!” moment, raising money and breaking the glass ceiling for women entrepreneurs.