Best 50 Women in Business - PA

On Monday, May 19th, I had the distinct pleasure to spend time with some of Pennsylvania's most amazing women at Pennsylvania's Best 50 Women in Business 2008. We had a fantastic reception at the Governor's mansion where Judge Midge Rendell shared some words and insights.

Governor Edward G. Rendell congratulated this year's Best 50 Women in Business stating that the "varied accomplishments reflect of the state's economic growth and diversity." He said, "[These women demonstrate] how varied and talented the commonwealth's professional landscape has become."

Lieutenant Governor Catherine Baker Knoll also congratulated each recipient with a formal recognition. (Pictured L to R: Lt. Governor Baker Knoll, Gina Rubel, C. Scott Rubel.)













(Photo by Bonnie Squires. L to R: Gina Rubel, Donna Teitelman and Kimberle Levin)















Gina Rubel and Bonnie Squires.

Furia Rubel Wins Awards for Public Relations Service

The results of a first-of-its-kind Top Corporate Givers in Greater Philadelphia list were debuted on April 30, 2008 which included Furia Rubel among the top 60. I cannot begin to tell you how proud I am because this is a true testiment to the core values of every member of the Furia Rubel Team.

We received awards for ranking number one for In-Kind Donations Per Employee and number two among the region’s small companies for Community Impact and Top Volunteer Hours.

The Philadelphia Business Journal hosted the inaugural Partners in Corporate Philanthropy Summit designed to give credit to the region’s companies that give back to the community. As the owner of Furia Rubel, I am thankful for our core team - each member of whom has truly given back.

At the summit we heard an inspiring keynote by Joe Banner, President and COO of the Philadelphia Eagles and Co-chair of the Philadelphia City Year Board. Banner invited a local City Year man on stage who share his awe-inspiring story of being a drug dealer turned community activist, volunteer and college student. There wasn't a dry eye in the place.

Then, a CEO panel discussion was moderated by Andrew Swinney, President of the Philadelphia Foundation. The panelists included Pamela Browner-Crawley, Senior VP & Director of Public Affairs, Citizens Bank; Chuck Pennoni, Chairman, Pennoni Associates Inc.; Jim Rudolph, CEO, Rita's Water Ice; Rosemary Turner, Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, Metro Philadelphia District, United Parcel Service (UPS).

Additional sponsors of the event included The Philadelphia Foundation, Community Foundation of South Jersey, Citizens Bank, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, FOX 29, KYW, PECO, Comcast, Deloitte, Sovereign Bank and US Airways; and in association with: Arts & Business Council of Greater Philadelphia, Delaware Valley Grant Makers, Greater Philadelphia Cares, The Nonprofit Center La Salle University, and United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania.

SBA Report About Women Business Owners

If your business targets women business owners in its marketing, advertising, public relations or business development efforts, then listen up. Business Development Advisors Darrene Hackler, Ellen Harpel and Heike Mayer issued a report for the Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy this month that details information and statistics about women business owners..

According to the SBA, “the report, Human Capital and Women’s Business Ownership, shows that self- employed women differ on most human capital variables compared to wage and salary-earning women. Self-employed women have more education and increased their educational attainment at a faster rate compared to other working women. The percentage of self-employed women in managerial occupations consistently exceeded the rate for other working women, and self-employed women participated in different industries than other working women. Self-employed men and women differed little in education, experience and preparedness. Important differences remain when considering occupational and industry experience.

A full copy of this report is available at: http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/rs323tot.pdf

The research summary can be found at: http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/rs323.pdf

Information about this report can be obtained by calling Chad Moutray at (202) 205- 6533 or advocacy [at] sba.gov.

To sign up for Advocacy updates via RSS feed, visit http://feeds.feedburner.com/sba/rAIO.

Do You Want Productivity in Your Life - Read Neen James

There's one productivity expert that I've worked with who has made a huge difference in my life and she's Neen James. Check out her blog at http://neenjames.blogspot.com/. The bottom line is this: if you want to get more done in less time, make more money and sleep better - just give Neen a call.

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

Here is an interesting article I found on Philadelphia.bizwomen.com: It's a must read and I hope you all enjoy!

Who wants to be a millionaire?
October 4th, 2007

Make Mine a Million, a contest for women business owners described as a cross between “American Idol,” “The Apprentice” and “Queen for a Day,” is featured in today’s New York Times.

The article by Lisa Belkin cites these two well know statistics:
More than half of today’s startup companies are owned by women. But 43 percent of women-owned businesses have sales of $10,000 or less.

That combination led to the formation of the Make Mine a Million contest, which lets women business owners who want to take their businesses to the $1 million mark and beyond compete for help to get big, including business coaching and a line of credit from OPEN by American Express.

The goal of the contest, according to the founding nonprofit Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence is to inspire a million women entrepreneurs to reach annual revenue of $1 million by 2010.

Fortune's 50 Most Powerful Women

When I came across “Fortune’s 50 Most Powerful Women of 2007” on CNNmoney.com I couldn’t help but give a shout out to these powerful and dynamic women.

Let’s draw from each others’ success and use that inspiration to reach our dreams!

I encourage you to check it out, it's truly remarkable what one person can achieve.