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Shaila Rao Mistry
(Orange County) has been invited by the US State Department to represent the United States as an official delegate to the 2017 Global Entrepreneurship Summit.
GES 2017 is an assembly of notable entrepreneurs, investors, educators, government officials, and business representatives who represent the full measure of entrepreneurial talent from diverse backgrounds across our nation and the world. This year's theme is "Women First, Prosperity for All".
Premier member
Schenae Rourk
(Los Angeles) of Redwood Resources helps businesses new to market internationally and domestically leverage certifications - theirs or others - for public agency procurements.
One of Redwood Resources' clients was just awarded part of a $70 million contract with a local public agency.
Rourk
will also serve as the 2018 Co Vice-Chair of the Small Business Diversity/Labor & Employment Committee of
BizFed
, the Los Angeles County Business Federation.
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I'm a big believer in the power of teamwork. As my business began to grow from just myself to 2 - 3 staff, then 4 - 5, the work of running a company mushroomed. It felt like all the administrative tasks were getting in the way of me getting my work done. The talented and wise professionals who joined our team enabled and encouraged me to step back from a lot of day-to-day client work.
But it was at my first NAWBO national conference, in San Diego in 2011, that I learned the concept of working
on
your business, rather than
in
your business
. That was a game changer as I realized all that administrative work WAS my job, and I saw the results that we could create as a team when I led.
I've read about and learned insights for building and empowering high-performing teams, and actively nurturing our culture so that growth doesn't choke it out.
My business coach has also been instrumental in my growth and education. Now, with over a dozen teammates, professional development and training for our team is a big focus. I can honestly say I am more proud of our team culture even than I am of our financial success. We have several work groups that are led by staff, including one for planning and implementing Professional Development, as well as other teams for Onboarding, Policies & Procedures, and our Fun Committee, which plans and implements our monthly team building activity. Yay team!
I've also experienced great personal and professional growth from meditation and mindfulness, but I never thought of mindfulness as having anything to do with teamwork. So, I was very interested when I ran across this article
by Dr.
Matthew Lippincott
.
In-depth interviews with 42 especially effective leaders across the U.S. explored the role of mindfulness in strengthening their leadership capabilities.
The results showed "teamwork was the competency most highly referenced by the participants." These leaders "linked teamwork to a variety of benefits, including greater innovation, employee autonomy, and business growth." "
Finally, participants credited mindfulness with helping them understand their own role in being a good team member in the context of relationships with subordinates, peers and superiors. Leaders tied these improvements to their effectiveness, directly attributing career success to the combination of greater team capabilities, and the willingness of others to help them."
What surprised me
:
I realized that I had thought of team building mostly as training and empowering our team to work together with less reliance on me for direction. I wasn't expecting to learn that investing in my own professional
development, including practicing mindfulness, is the most important factor in success.
"More effective teams result from a leader's
investment in their personal development of
self-awareness, emotional self-management, social
awareness, and relationship management."
Don't be fooled if you're a solopreneur. (About a third of the American workforce is made up of solopreneurs.
) All businesses have a company culture whether it is just you or you have many employees. And if you have collaborators, contractors, clients, vendors, and mentors, you have a team. Nurture it. And start by nurturing yourself!
The other arena where we all have opportunity to grow as leaders is within our NAWBO chapters. My experiences serving on my local chapter board and the NAWBO California board have greatly enhanced my growth as a leader.
So - what will you do in this new year to nurture yourself and grow as a leader?
Anne Staines
NAWBO-CA President
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PROPEL 2018: The Conference of Small Change for Extraordinary Gains
NOW is the time to register for Propel 2018! This dynamic, fun, surprise-filled event will deepen relationships, expand your business acumen and improve your leadership!
There are limited seats this year since we are in a really cool boutique hotel. Our registration numbers are already at 45% of 2017 numbers!
Don't miss the mentoring opportunities! We are calling you to invite and sponsor 16-25 year olds so these bright young women of the future are exposed to the brainpower and natural compassion of the women breaking down barriers and kicking it before them.
We will learn the concept of Kaizen from the experts at Toyota. Bank of America has signed on as our event sponsor - they ALWAYS have a few surprises planned. Our Happiness Reception (Sponsored by YNOT Web and Communication Works, Inc.) will be talked about for years! Be there! And bring your sisters from your chapter.
Be sure to:
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Help to shape your 2018 PROPEL conference!
Connect with Mindy to volunteer. Teams are forming for programming marketing, sponsorship, ad sales, and giveaways committees.
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Applications for Business Tax Credits
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The Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) is now accepting applications for the
California Competes Tax Credit
. There are $100 million in tax credits available during this application period for businesses that are expanding and adding full-time jobs in the state.
The deadline to submit applications is
Monday, January 22, at 11:59 p.m. (Pacific Time) and the online application website will automatically close once this deadline has passed.
Online application can be accessed here;
FAQs and program regulations are available here.
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