BOOK REPORT: CAREERPRENEURS

by Dorothy Perrin Moore, published in 2000

Careerpreneurs is about the need to thoughtfully manage and consider the many options for women along an indirect career path. Changes in our culture and the way businesses think about their employees has opened up many new possibilities for women. With new opportunities comes an increase in decisions. Careerpreneurs, takes on the challenge of decision-making by providing success stories, a mixture of academic and practical advice in critical areas such as negotiating and transitioning, and offering exercises for self-assessment.

10 Points for the W2W Community from Careerpreneurs

1. The world of work in the past two decades has changed from dependence on life-long corporate jobs to individuals’ focus on portable skills, knowledge, meaningful work and fluid movement.
   • Without being able to count on corporate loyalty the burden of career planning falls on the individual.
   • Job security is measured by the skills you command. Therefore, continuous learning and honest assessment of one’s skills is a necessary component to building a successful and rewarding career.

2. 10 questions to ask yourself before making any difficult decison (Originally presented by Adele Scheele)
   • Do I have to make the decision alone?
   • What is the basic issue I must address or resolve?
   • Do I have all the information I need?
   • Who, outside or inside my firm, can I consult?
   • How have I handled similar issues in the past? Would I do anything differently?
   • Do I have a track record of making poor decisions? If so, what has been responsible for it? Is it something I can change?
   • Do I rely too heavily - or not heavily enough - on experts' opinions?
   • If the stakes appear too high, is there a compromise that I can settle on as a safety net?
   • Whose style of decision making do I admire, and why?
   • If I were to set my alarm clock to ring in 10 minutes, what would my immediate decision be?

3. Many women turn to entrepreneurship as a reaction to the cultures in place in the organizations where they work.
   • The main reason women entrepreneurs leave their corporate jobs is a lack of flexibility (51% of a Catalyst survey put this as a reason for leaving cited by female entrepreneurs – more than any other reason)

4. HP is a good example of a company recognizing the need to stem the tide of draining female talent by offering a range of flexible work. The chairman responsible for implementing the policies, Lewis E. Platt, lost his first wife and was faced with the challenge of raising their children. (p. 45)

5. Women entrepreneurs differ from their male counter-parts in some striking ways:
   • Females are more likely to be internally motivated – e.g. they want to be their own boss. while males are more externally motivated or opportunistic – e.g. they see a market need.
   • Females more focused on doing the work they want to do than the money
   • 59% of male business owners started a business in a field related to their previous profession, while 56 percent of women are not in a related field.

6. 94% of women entrepreneurs said mentoring was either crucial or very helpful to their success.

7. Two recent studies have found women entrepreneurs had greater use of referrals, community events, telephone directories, and fliers than males in marketing their businesses (referrals ranked the highest).

8. Being an entrepreneur and a small business owner are not exactly the same thing – a small business owner often replicates the path of others. Being an entrepreneur often means being focused specifically on spotting opportunities that others miss.

9. Before jumping into something entrepreneurial, make sure you have the financial strength. Don’t count on making any money for the first year. Some even advise setting a two-year hurdle.

10. "Best Companies to Work For" lists for researching businesses include: Fortune Magazine, Working Woman, Working Mother, Catalyst Annual Diversity Awards (catalystwomen.com), National Association of Businesswomen, Local Chamber of Commerce Awards, National Association of Women Business Owners