What We’re Thankful For

Meghan: I’m thankful for good friends and their support. I’m lucky that a lot of my closest, closest friends I count as my closest business colleagues too.

Patricia: I am thankful for Blackberry, which has enabled me to keep tabs on my business while getting away. I’m thankful for the amazing friends and family I have, and that I get to do what I do for a living.

Happy thanksgiving!

 

NPG On Huff Post This Week: Acknowledging The Small Wins — And Being Thankful For Them

From this week’s New Power Girls on the Huffington Post here is what Meghan and Patricia have to say about this week’s topic:

Patricia:

I remember once I was really overwhelmed about moving the needle on a project for my first startup, which I sold two years ago today. I had been speaking with my mom one morning and talking a bit about it. After a few moments, she said, “Patricia, you’ve gotten to do so many things that most people dream of, and I know it’s hard to realize but you’ve come so far and have done so well. You’ll get there. Just take a minute and think on that.” Not that I hadn’t been thankful for the past but I hadn’t really thought to recognize all that I had done or gone through as also a reminder of my efforts, perseverance and work.

Meghan:

Savoring the small wins is so important when you own your own business. Big ideas often take a long time to develop and become real in the world and along the way you have to celebrate the small wins — negotitating a great price with a vendor, a press hit, or even just the time, energy and funds to have a nice long relaxed dinner out with friends.  Giving thanks every day is an important part of being an entrepreneur and giving thanks for the small wins is a great way to keep your momentum going and your spirit lifted as you plow into another day of running your business.

Enter To Win The 2010 Veuve Clicquot Business Women Award

There is no story more Power Girl than that of Nicole Ponsardin. In 1805, she took over her husband Francois Clicquot’s vineyards and not just turned it into an enormous, respected brand that is still bullet-proof in the market today, but also pioneered an enormous of innovations and new ideas in wine making — many of which are still practiced today in the industry. It includes a system for clarifying wine that’s still used by all champagne producers, pioneering rosé champagne, and fighting trade blockades during the Napoleon era to become one of the industry’s top exporters. Her signature champagne brand Veuve Clicquot champagne saw its bi-centenary in 1972, and now operates in sixteen countries across the world.

It’s no wonder the company has an award that recognizes other great women entrepreneurs, which its been doing for nearly three decades. Who better to recognize achievement in women’s entrepreneurship than a company that was created by just that? This week, Veuve announced call for submissions for its 2010 Business Women Award. The annual honor doesn’t just look at the books but who you are as an entrepreneur, leader and visionary, as well as what you’re doing for the world around you. Awesome! To see if your company may qualify or for more details visit here. Power Girls!

San Francisco Has The Most Female Execs In California, Silicon Valley The Least

A new study by UC Davis points to there still being a glass ceiling in California’s top publicly traded companies. The study, which tracked the progress of women in top corporate roles over the past five years, said that just 10.6% of exec positions, board membership roles and other top spots at these companies were held by women — at a decline since last year. 400 of the state’s public companies were studied as part of the survey. Other stats and findings include:

15 of the 400 companies (3.8%) have female chief executives (up from 13 in 2008)

9.8% of the nearly 3,500 board seats at firms are held by women

46.3% of companies have no female directors at all

30% have no female directors or top executives at all

15.7% of the companies with women directors are located in San Francisco (the greatest percentage in the study)

8.2% of the companies with women directors are located in Silicon Valley (the lowest percentage in the study)

Experts involved with the study cited a lack of role models and mentors to help women advance in corporate careers, as well as a trend of execs hiring of the same gender — women hiring women, men hiring men. Of the companies surveyed, Bare Essentials and Bebe were two with among the most female executives.

 

NPG’s Meghan To Debut Holiday Miss Meghan Shoe Line In December

 

A look at NPG co-creator Meghan's shoe line on Shopnbc

 

 

As we’ve posted before, NPG co-founder Meghan debuted her own shoe collection, Miss Meghan, on ShopNBC in November this year. The flagship shoe was an ankle bootie in rich suede with a bow detail that Meghan designed herself, which quickly sold out in many colors and sizes. To promote the line, Meg’s been flying around the country, including to ShopNBC’s Minnesota studio where she appeared on camera three or four times a day to their 73 million homes in the U.S. as well as to New York to continue designing and meeting with key media. Coming in December this year, ShopNBC will unveil Meghan’s Holiday collection. The line includes an adorable ballet flat, easy to wear platform, silk evening clutches and custom, hand-sewn shoe clips in plum and citrine. As always, Meg’s thinking like a New Power Girl — nothing in the collection is over $50, and she designed them with a busy girl in mind.