Clutch-Me.Com

Empowering Women: Why it should matter to you!

International Women’s Day – March 8th.  As someone whose company’s motto is “Putting Women in Business!”, this day of recognition of women on a world-wide level is one I wanted to take time to express my thoughts about.

I have found that by supporting women (from stay-at-home moms, work-at-home moms, unemployed women, college students, part-time graduates, retired grandmas, fully employed women with an corporate job/career, military wives, single moms, and many other women in all kinds as aspects in their personal and professional lives…) I have gained much more in return.  You will never lose by supporting another woman.

I have long advocated and tried to foster this camaraderie.  Instead of seeing other clutch makers as your competition, I have shown you scientific proof that by banding together and taking advantage of consumer behavior of “taste uncertainty”, you will increase your chances of making a sale.  It has been to my heart’s fulfillment that the Facebook fan page for WhileBabyNaps.Etsy.com has been filled with you leaving positive and congratulatory comments about each other’s work.

Here are a few recent ones:

So other than it positively affecting your pocketbook, why else should you support other women?  Because when we help women succeed, all of humanity succeeds.

Some things that bear this out:

1) Educating a girl one year beyond the national average boosts her earning power between 10 and 20 percent.

2) Countries with higher levels of female secondary-school enrollment have lower infant mortality, lower rates of HIV and AIDS infection, and better child nutrition.

3) According to the WEF, the US could boost its GDP by as much as 9 percent by putting more women in leadership positions in business and government and working harder to correct pay inequities.

4) Women still earn 33 cents less per dollar than men.

5) When women earn their own money, they spend on their families at more than twice the rate of men.

6) Worldwide, companies perform better and produce better ides when their highest ranks have gender diversity.

*Source: Newsweek, March 14, 2011. The Gender Metric.

Speaking of women, check out the issue of Newsweek on your newsstand featuring Hillary Clinton on the cover – politics aside – a trailblazer.  It was edited by who else?  Tina Brown!  Go Tina!  I like where Newsweek is headed under your direction.

I want to go back to point #5 above:  When women earn their own money, they spend on their families at more than twice the rate of men.

When women earn their own money …

When women earn their own money …

When women earn their own money …

This is where they can get their power and have control in their lives.

But I know that it takes money to make money.

It takes money to make money.

It takes money to make money.

You cannot start your own business unless you have cash (either a microloan, bank loan, angel investors, family loans or you happen to have a load a cash under your mattress) to buy your materials.  You can have all the bright ideas in the world and not get anything off the ground.

I have helped several women through my Etsy shop by donating frames and greatly discounting slightly marred frames so that they can make clutches for a church sale.    I have not promoted this because I simply cannot do it on a great scale.

Until now …

In the next two weeks, you will be hearing from me about a new launch helping all women.  Over a year of thought has gone into this new arena, tugging at my heartstrings, and I have come up with something that will:

*Give you another product to add to your line of clutches.

*Lower part of your materials cost.

*Lower start-up cost overall.

*Upcycles my slightly marred frames thereby reducing waste and energy by re-melting and re-making them.

*Allows women to start a business at their local school fair, weekend craft shows, church fundraisers and other community initiatives for a much lower cost.

*Easier to make and requires a lower level of skill than my classic clutches.

I am extremely excited about this new venture.  I hope you will be too!  I’ve got a lot to do still before it’s launched, but stay tuned!

Peace and Joy to all you wonderful women ~ Winn and Y.

March 12, 2011 Posted by Thy K | WhileBabyNaps General Updates | home-based business, International women's day, microloans, pay disparity, SAHMs, starting a new business, stay at home mom, supporting women | 5 Comments