What I love about Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is a really special day for me.  Besides being my birthday, I use this day to take off from my job every year and evaluate where I am in my personal and professional life.  It's the day I evaluate how much time I am spending doing this or that and what that categorically looks like for my family, my full time job, and my business.  

I have always been overloaded in one category or the other.  When my children were all under 10, I was 'all mom'.  Now that they are all over 10, I am no less of a mom, but as they grow, I feel that I too have to grow in education, invest in knowledge, continue a progressive career and prepare for a stable retirement.  Valentine's Day is my day to do that.  

A couple of years ago I was working as a promotional model and spent a great deal of my spare time outside of my full time job traveling and promoting companies' products.  Mom-time was down; business time was up.  I had a time limit on keeping all those balls in the air for a goal that I had and once I met it, I took a break from promoting and re-balanced.  And isn't that true of all our lives as women---as business women...a constant set and reset, balance and re-balance?  That is why I love Valentine's Day.  It's the day that I remind myself to be as confident and as prepared as I can possibly be in every step of life.  It is my day to balance and re-balance.

Whitney Houston

Back in third grade, I was one of those little black girls that had my mama go out and buy me a new dress so that I could amaze people with my note-climbing ability by singing "The Greatest Love of All"...not really. My school was K-12 and in a very small town, so small that I was only one of about 9 African American's in my entire school and I was related to 6 of them, so no one else was competing with me on singing that song! No one did and I thought I was the next Whitney Houston that night as I walked out with my third place trophy and check. After that, the sky was the limit for me. I was off to a good start and bound for success, just like Whitney.

Even after I lost interest in singing, it was Whitney was the first woman that I remember being able to relate to in terms of looking in the mirror and seeing someone that resembled me. She was on the cover of magazines, on t.v. and award shows; everyone loved this woman. Her brown skin, dark brown eyes and amazing smile made her a princess to me.

Girls grow into women, have their own experiences and choose their own paths. As I grew older, I became more interested in Xscape, EnVogue, and Mary J. Blige. But I will always see Whitney as the one who (in my 8-year-old eyes)  first brought African American beauty, grace, and class to the screen, a real hero for me to look up to. The year was 1986 and that is the image that I will hold on to when I talk and think about Ms. Whitney Houston.

Handling Our Business

SheEO's, are we 'handling our business' handling our businesses? These 25 sure are. Here is some Friday morning inspiration! Have a fantastic weekend and come in Monday morning ready to 'Make It Happen'~!

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/fortune/0909/gallery.women_highest_pay.fortune/index.html

SheEO Tools We Can Use

SheEO's, want to cut down on texting while driving?

Tool: ZoomSafer http://www.zoomsafer.com/about.aspx

What it does: GPS software that will automatically turn off your phone's keypad at speeds above 10mph.

Tool: REQall http://www.reqall.com/about

What it does: Voice activated system that sends your dictated command as a text message to your contact's e-mail or cell phone.

Unimaginable

"When asked to close your eyes and imagine a business leader, the majority of people imagine a man." ~Catalyst CEO Ilene H. Lang

What is your take, SheEOs?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCdRfFJ8E1Y

Intro to the SheEO

This blogspot is dedicated to my desire for empowering my fellow women CEO's or business owners on this immensely rewarding and sometimes challenging road of being the boss. My passion for business has taught me a great deal over the years and I have learned to run a successful company because of it. However, I continue to be a student. This is a place where readers are encouraged to chat, vent and high five one another in our business ventures (whatever they may be). There will be lots of statistics, data, and stories on women who shine in the profession, as well as 'SheEO tips' to help us reach our goals. Get ready to form relationships with those who truly understand "it costs to be the boss"! Talk to you soon!