Previously, I never talked about my personal life in work and I try not to bore my friends too much about my business. But really I’m kidding myself; the two elements are inextricably linked. They literally rely on one another. So in a certain degree of seriousness what can business owners learn from the Military spouses? In my opinion, all you need is G.I.N. – Grace of all trades, Inferno Fighting, Necessary Assistance. No article referencing the military should be without an acronym. It looked fun, I wanted a go.   Grace of All Trades Sorry, Jack was busy. Military spouses assume many daily roles including that of a mother, a father, a friend, a neighbour, an agony aunt, a plumber, a teacher, a taxi driver, a dog walker, a negotiator and a crisis solver. It’s a lot of hats for one person but it’s not dissimilar to running a business. You need to be adaptable and put on many different ‘hats’ every day. Example: You might start with your ‘admin hat’ and wade through the emails, then move to your ‘manufacturing hat’ and ‘crisis hat’ as an element in your production process breaks down and by lunchtime you’re wearing a ‘bookkeepers hat’. You might spend all afternoon wearing your ‘PR and Marketing hat’.   Inferno Fighting Plan A, Plan B & Plan C and a plan for when all of those don’t work. You’ve never met a bunch of planners like military spouses. There’s a wet weather plan, a dry weather plan, plan A early return (jokes), Plan B delayed returns (you) & Plan C – call Granny. Business Owners, like military spouses, are the greatest metaphorical fire-fighters. Every day you have to prioritise, it’s easy to get bogged down and barely get through the top quarter of all the possible jobs you could be doing. But it’s all about planning for the unplannable…judging in advance what you would consider to be time critical and long reaching and what can wait without affecting your turnover. Those choices change profit margins. Example: Sometimes you have to choose to respond to a journalist request for an article – over producing excess stock for the storeroom or clearing out emails.   Necessary Assistance One thing I’ve learned as part of the Military community is that you never stand and watch. You put out the forgotten bins, you spread the grit on an icy night, you mow the neighbour’s lawns, you search for the missing child’s toy, you drink tea (gin), you watch the children on the road and you ask for help when you need it. You just do. Everyone works better with a little helping hand here and there. As a business owner, nothing will affect the success and outcome of your labours better than being able to recognise what you do best and outsource the rest… whether that’s business coaching, accounting or PR skills. But more than that, let’s create an environment of skill sharing and support for each other; there’s nothing to lose and so much to gain when many heads are put together. Until next time, think G.I.N. and boss it!   AJ Stanning runs specialist Food and Drink PR Service www.prtoolkit.co.uk , an online platform where business owners can access the tools and services provided by a PR agency. With do-it-yourself resources and training you can achieve the same (if not better) results as an agency – but at a fraction of the cost. From press release templates, to help with writing and media distribution services, our online tools will help you with all aspects of PR, whether you’re a start-up or an established company looking to grow. Any questions, please head on over to the PR Toolkit Business Club  on Facebook.

Women small business owners are saving America! The economic recovery has been a long, slow slog. Without women starting businesses, we’d all be in much tougher shape. Here’s why: women start businesses at a rate five times faster than men. In fact, women launch 1000 new businesses every day. Women would do a whole lot more to save America if only America would return the favor and treat women small business owners equally. Sunday, April 30 kicks off National Small Business Week, a time to recognize the many contributions of small business owners. This year, let’s focus on the critical role women business owners make in keeping our economy afloat. Since the recession, new businesses and jobs have grown slowly. Women-owned businesses have been a beacon of hope: they’ve grown five times faster than the national average, according to The Sixth Annual State of Women-Owned Businesses Report, commissioned by American Express OPEN. Between 2007-2016, all new business formation had a 9% annual growth rate, while women-owned businesses formed at a 45% annual growth rate. In 2016, there were: 11.3 million women-owned businesses. 9 million jobs in women-owned businesses. $1.6 trillion dollars in revenue. That’s trillion with a “t.” Minority women start businesses at the fastest rate within all women-owned businesses. Between 2007 and 2016, women of color launched nearly eight out of every 10 women-owned businesses. The picture is not all rosy. While women now own 38% of the nation’s companies, they only employ 8% of the private sector workforce (up from 6% in 2007) and only contribute 4% of the country’s overall revenues – a figure unchanged in 20 years. Why? Why with all this entrepreneurial spirit and drive, why aren’t women business owners reaching greater parity in terms of employment and revenues? Part of the reason may be personal choice, but women business owners face substantial external obstacles keeping them from achieving their full potential when they want to grow. What are some stumbling blocks in women entrepreneurs’ paths? Lack of affordable, quality childcare. Without affordable, quality child care, it’s not only more difficult for women to run growth-oriented companies, it’s difficult to retain and advance female employees. The founder of Kinko’s, Paul Orfalea, made child care a major initiative of his charitable foundation because he realized lack of childcare was the number one reason valued female employees could not show up for work. Lack of funding. Women receive a much smaller share of financing from all funding sources. Venture capital levels are almost laughable for women: only 3% of venture dollars went to women in 2016 and 5,839 male-founded companies received VC funding compared to a measly 359 female-founded companies, according to venture tracker Pitchbook. When funded, they get less money: an average of $77 million compared to $100 million for males, according to Bloomberg. Similar disparities exist with angel investors and with lenders from all sources. According to lending site Fundera, women business owners get offered smaller loans for shorter terms at higher interest rates than men. Persistent negative perceptions of successful women. Even today, a confident and successful woman is often seen as unpleasant – not ‘feminine’ enough. A confident man who promotes his abilities is rarely seen as cocky. The same behavior in a female is seen as bossy, pushy. This negative attitude towards strong women holds women back. Male funders are often less comfortable with overtly capable women than men. Women themselves become more reticent to tout their accomplishments and strengths, afraid to be seen as unlikeable. Bro culture and sexism. There’s been a lot of high profile sexual harassment cases in the news: Bill O’Reilly, Uber executives, even the President. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The business world rewards companies embracing a culture of unrepentent sexism and coddle, even celebrate, men who act like the worst jerks in junior high, making it more difficult for women to get the experience in top startup jobs, get promoted, or funded. What can entrepreneurs do to help combat these obstacles? Support politicians who support women’s issues, including child care. Create and support networks of women entrepreneurs. Mentor young female entrepreneurs. If you’re a successful woman, consider becoming an angel investor. Stay positive about other strong, successful women. Read the original article here http://bit.ly/2ppvvJs

GSK’s Emma Walmsley steps into Andrew Witty’s shoes – BBC News reports Emma Walmsley, who has described herself as “extremely competitive”, will become the most powerful woman in British business, as she steps in as boss of the UK’s fifth largest company. She has run GSK’s Consumer Healthcare unit since 2010. But she lacks any previous experience in a chief executive role and has no background in pharmaceuticals. Consequently, she will start on a pay package 25% lower than her predecessor Andrew Witty, who retires on Friday. GSK’s most recent annual report indicates her basic salary will be about £1m, in contrast with Mr Witty’s £1.1m. Her pension and potential for earning through bonuses and long-term performance targets are also lower. “Taking into account the fact that this is Emma’s first chief executive role, reductions have been made to all elements of her remuneration package in comparison to Sir Andrew’s,” the report said. “Constructive feedback” about remuneration from shareholders had also played a role, it said. GSK is the fifth largest company traded on the London Stock Exchange and as head of its Consumer Healthcare business Ms Walmsley was responsible for brands such as Sensodyne toothpaste and the malted drink, Horlicks. Before joining GSK she spent 17 years at French cosmetics giant L’Oreal. ‘Bias for action’ Ms Walmsley originally studied classics and modern languages at Oxford before moving into business, taking up a management and marketing role at L’Oreal, which included several years at its Shanghai office. Nicholas Hyett, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said he did not see her lack of scientific background as a disadvantage. “It’s not as if GSK lacks people with a pharma background,” he said. “If anything, there’s more strength in her having a firmer grip on the consumer business, as that’s something that… maybe wouldn’t be done as well by someone from the pharma side.” Ms Walmsley has described herself as having a “bias for action” and as highly competitive. She also said she had been inspired by other business leaders such as Alibaba founder, Jack Ma, and Facebook’s chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg. She is married with four children, but has said in the past that she did not see herself primarily as a woman in business but as a business person. She said that she was supported through her maternity absences and was aware of her responsibility to keep supporting young talent as well as acting as a role model to encourage young women “to stay ambitious, aim high and think big”. Read the full article here http://snip.ly/h3rgs

  The 9 Richest Self-Made Female Billionaires in the World. According to a recent report, there are 88 self-made female billionaires across the world with a combined wealth of $194 billion. The 9 Richest Self-Made Female Billionaires in the World – read the full article here http://bit.ly/2opLByC

Share a Tweet, Be a Global Problem Solver for Women http://bit.ly/2mirns8

#LeadLikeAGirl: Tacy Byham, CEO Of DDI, Helps Women Leaders Ignite Their Impact On International Women’s Day http://prn.to/2mJp9Q7

Sisters Unite: These 3 Chic Home Brands Support Women Worldwide http://bit.ly/2mJgTzp

A Photo Exhibition for International Womens Day http://bit.ly/2mibQIZ