-
Partner of
Book: Why Women Mean Business
The Web, Women and the Weather are the three challenges of the 21st century that the book Why Women Mean Business seeks to discuss.
They mean it
While it may appear to be a title on female empowerment, the book is, In fact, a book for anyone in the workforce. Published early 2008, it is a response to the growing pressures felt within the industry to find solutions to gender specific issues. Why Women Mean Business puts forward the idea that ‘Gender is a business issue, not a women’s issue’ and seeks to eliminate positive discrimination and introduce flexibility for anyone - young and old; men and women, fathers and mothers. Read more
Priceless Laptop
Pinkish delight
Hot on the heels of the credit crunch, the ASUS EEE PC 901 laptop is still the perfect all-rounder with a fantastic specification and free of the strangling tug of purse strings associated with so many of its competitors.
Unveiled 2008, this 12GB SSD ASUS is widely considered one of the best laptops on the market. Ultralight, it is easily carried in your purse, while, with no moving parts and a robust design, it can resist the shocks of a busy business woman’s lifestyle. It even comes with online storage. Read more
Online collection of art murmurart launches
A first online platform offering art has launched this month. The site is dedicated to the promotion of emerging artists and can be found at murmurART.com.
Find artists..online
Over the last six months murmurART, with the help of the former editor of Art Review Catriona Warren, has searched through hundreds of artists to pick those it wanted to represent on the site. As a result, murmurART has now put the work of 40 of the most talented emerging artists in the UK for sale online.
Taking a lower commission than galleries, the site hopes to attract people who want to invest in emerging art by artists at the start of their careers. Read more
Art Project: dresscode of social groupes in Exactitudes
London city girls
European Director of TED, Bruno Giussani, points us to “Exactitudes“, a truly amazing art project about similarities in the dress codes of different social groups. Take a look at the dress code of Babes, Formers, Ghoullies, Women in Charitas (Rotterdam) and London City Girls (see photo) and many more social groups.
(How would the dresscode be of TheNextWomen or Femal Internet Heroes?)
The Quality Living Network seeks mentor
Mirjam Spronk, founder of the Quality Living Network
Whenever we can, thenextwomen tries to bring together entrepreneurs so they can meet, match or work together.
A while ago, Mirjam Spronk got in touch with us, an aspiring entrepreneur who had the original idea to create her own yellow pages for professionals and tradesmen in New Zealand. Her business the Quality Living Network launched a year ago but now Mirjam is looking to grow and expand it. To help her do that, she is looking for mentors, which is why we interviewed her to find out a bit more about her business and why she is looking for mentorship.
Can you offer her useful advice, do you want tot tell her about your experiences with a similar business? Are you her mentor? let us know and we will put you in touch!
How did you come up with the idea of your start-up?
Conny Dorrestijn in Blueshots on online banking
Cony Dorrestijn of SHIRAZPARTNERS talks about online banking, banking at Chanel and the banking crises in SHE programme (in Dutch on Blueshots). In the programme she also has an advice for Minister of Finance Bos of The Netherlands. Appoint more women! With her international marketing and communications background and more than 17 years experience in technology and the financial services industry, she comes up with some bold statements.
SHE, sponsored by Bizner Bank, features interviews with women entrepreneurs, female internet heroes and discuss marketing to women cases. It is presented by Marianne van Leeuwen of Sisteract and Simone Brummelhuis of TheNextWomen.
Change the world in –just- 29 days
Do you also feel the urge –sometimes- to change the world? By yourself, and not by lots of charities asking you to donate so they can bring their change? Well, there is a small light in these dark days. Cami Walker invented the 29-Day Giving Challenge.
‘Give a little each day, make a big impact’ is her motto. To see the world change, you have to do something to change the world, she argues. Walker: ‘The best way to attract abundance into your life is to be in a perpetual state of giving and gratitude. Be an important part of the global giving movement that inspires more generosity on our planet.’
To help you change the world in less then a month, she designed a postcard and a ‘my 29gifts calendar’. To get inspired you can read some stories on the website, or you can submit your story to the 29gifts book (submission deadline: 29th of November). And, of course, you can join the 29-Day Giving Challenge community. Cami Walkers goal is to reach 29.000 committed givers.
Start-up Interview: Remote Employment
Paula and mentor Karen
An amazing 3,4 million people in the UK work from home and many more millions have flexible employment, knows Paula Wynne, co-founder of remote employment. Her website is dedicated to home based, flexible and remote working and is promoting the idea that a modern day approach to working lives has many advantages; an increase in business productivity and competitiveness, reduction of transport congestion and a harmonisation of work and family commitment.
Since founding Remote Employment in January 2008, Paula has already been recognised as a pioneer in her field. She has been awarded for her business efforts to understand and reduce their impact on the environment and society by BT Business and charity Global Action Plan. In addition, she participated in the FreshIdeas Events competition for a mentor and was awarded, as one of ten promising businesses, a mentor in the form of Karen Darby, founder of comparison site simplyswitch. Karen will mentor and guide Paula for the duration of six months to achieve her business goals.
In our start-ups series, we talked to Paula about her company and her mentor.
How did you come up with the idea of Remote Employment?
Help, what shall I wear? Are pink suits against business strategy?
No to pink suits?
Asked for a speaking assignment, the first thing, I would think of is: “Oh my G’d what shall I wear?’ Way before I know where to talk about, that’s the easy part.
Apparently many more women have the same question, also every morning when they dress for work. It made British firm Ernst & Young to hire image consultants for a class on how to dress for the office. However, in the small letters it read: “how to dress appropriately“. About 400 female accountants showed up, according to The Daily Telegraph, for the voluntary classes.
Low-cut tops, strong perfume or evening bags during daytime office activities are all no-go. And red lips and super high stilettos are also deemed inappropriate, at least for accountants. Colours should match skin and hair.
I can still remember that in 1992 a colleague at the law firm I worked at was asked not to wear bright pink. So it seems that has not changed.
So instead of dress to kill, it is dress to negotiate as dressing becomes an integral part of the business strategy to maximize achievement in firm and career…..
Europe gets online, just for 24 hours, at Europeana
Digitising European History
An online library with thousands of digital files including pictures of paintings, love letters by writers, ancient pieces of music, children’s literature and more have been made accessible at a European library.
The project is an attempt to digitise Europe’s history and show its rich cultural heritage and is available in 23 languages including English, French, German and Spanish.
National libraries have contributed material including digitised copies of rare and valuable books, whereas museums like The Louvre in Paris and The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam have submitted digitised paintings and other digitised objects from their collections. Read more
-
Sponsors
-
Extras
