Thanks to everyone who participated in the contest. There were so many great responses about small business ownership, I’m glad I wasn’t the one to choose the winner! I compiled the responses, removed the names, and passed them on to three different judges to make the contest fair.

The judges all voted on Vicki’s response the first time around. Here’s what she has to say about small business ownership:

“In my work, I am focused on helping women who dream of working for themselves. By contributing to the empowerment of beginning female entrepreneurs worldwide, I feel I am adding my flame to the growing bonfire of women in business. I am choosing freedom, self-expression, growth, and contribution and am demonstrating to the next generation behind me (and sometimes the generation ahead of me too) that women are competent, capable, strong and effective leaders in business, in the world, and in life. To live a passionate life doing meaningful work is all I have ever desired and being a small business owner allows me to follow that ideal to its sweet and fulfilling completion.”

Vicki’s new Epson Workforce 600 has already been shipped. Congratulations again Vicki and many thanks to all the participants!

Are you taking advantage of being a woman-owned business? If you’re not, you could be missing out on a lot of money.

Figuring out how to take advantage of being woman-owned can be an overwhelming and daunting task, so Janet W. Christy provides all the groundwork in her book Capitalizing On Being Woman Owned.

Christy’s book will show you how to maximize your business potential by teaching you how to position yourself and your company to be recognized as a woman-owned business. Capitalizing On Being Woman Owned provides the ins and outs of gaining minority contracts with:
*Government
-Federal
-State
-Local
-Military

*Institutions
-State supported education
-Private education
-Public K-12 education

*Business

The book is brilliantly laid out, organized, and broken down into simple steps. Janet Christy tells you exactly where to begin, where to concentrate your energy, and guides you through the information gathering process. While some women could find exactly what they need to read from the index, I highly recommend reading through the entire book to ensure certain areas of doing business aren’t overlooked. Pay extra close attention to Christy’s time-saving tips on organizing your search!

Think of Capitalizing On Being Woman Owned as your complete guidebook on how to take financial advantage of your woman-owned status. Whether you’re new to the process or have already conducted a bit of research, Christy’s book will point you in the right direction.

At the very affordable price of $13.99 ($10.19 on Amazon), how can you not take advantage of owning this book? It’s a true (and highly recommended) bargain that will save you countless hours of back-end research so you can concentrate on what’s really important.

Janet W. Christy is the founder and president of Leverage & Development, LLC, a consulting firm that helps women- and minority-owned businesses use their status to their advantage. She is based in Greer, South Carolina.