20 October 2008

FCEM Congress in Brussels


Meeting women entrepreneurs from around the world is always inspiring for me. This time around the feeling was a renewed sense of energy and positive outlook. The global financial crisis was unable to cast a shadow on the passion of these women. The opportunities that arise from change are embraced, rather than shied away from. I was honored speak with the founding president of honor, Madame Armand Dutry. Her presence and warmth was felt by all that she interacted with. She should be proud of the women from all corners of the globe that assembled to support each other and FCEM.

15 October 2008

K.I.S.S.

We continue to receive great feedback on the content of the site. Returning to the base principle, "keep it simple, stupid." BUT, what to do, why and how to start are not as apparent. So, thanks to the feedback (keep it coming ladies) we are redesigning the user interface of 2BalanceU. It will take us a few months. Please let us know what does and doesn't work for you. Your thoughts and opinions matter. We are looking forward to relaunching with a fabulous new simple and user friendly design.

08 October 2008

The New Inner Circle

Encouraging to see the rise in the new woman executive. Fortune magazine recently profiled a group of women in Silicon Valley. This region has a reputation for being cut-throat, where women who must behave like men survive. It is encouraging to see women like Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, and her A-list women only parties that encourage women to share their bits of wisdom and provide a sounding board for each other. It shouldn't have to be lonely at the top.

Sukhinder Singh Cassidy of Google stated the balance beautifully. " We are hitting our stride in our careers just when we are having children. We are not willing to give up the joys in either." As well, you shouldn't.

It is a wonderful thing to hear the success stories. In my travels to global professional women's conferences, I meet many of the women who paved the path for us but whose mates could not handle the challenge. A strong woman needs a strong man. Power couples, or whatever you wish to call them, are on the rise. Dual entrepreneur couples are no longer a rarity. Being part of one myself, I am inspired to continue building a similar support network for my peers in Sweden. There are still lessons to be learned from the Valley.

Thanks ladies for the inspiration. You look great!

03 October 2008

Economic downturns - What did we learn?

Following this great discussion on Connected-women.com is inspiring and encouraging. There is much to be gained by the current economic climate, both from the business sense and from the personal sense. How we view our futures and how we proceed to achieve that.

My point is that we need to appreciate and nurture the assets that we have both personal and physical and recognise the excess that can be helpful to others. This applies to all areas of our lives. Reconnect with your network, build bridges to help others do the same. Appreciate and learn more about that which we have instead of focusing on what will be. Live in the present for a moment and enjoy it. Built healthy habits that will continue when the lean times are over.

Simple things: don't spend what you don't have, don't buy what you don't need, give away what you don't use to someone who needs it. All of these apply in both the physical and metaphorical sense. I look at this downturn as a gift that has helped me recognise how fortunate and rich I am. I have a wealth of wonderful people in my life, a roof over my head and health. My goal now is to nurture all these things to feel success. I will continue to dream, but not live in the dreams so that I lose appreciation the process of achieving them.