Let’s face it, in the world of business (and in most places) there are inequalities in how the sexes perform. Rather than waste precious energy getting upset about that, it is time to use our natural gifts, combined with large dollops of practical business advice and training, to make our own niches in this world. The Secret Women’s Business Network focuses on the following

• ensuring members receive the very best in business foundation training (how many of us have “started a business” by putting up a website… secretly we knew that wasn’t a business, that’s a stab in the dark)
• hothousing women’s natural talents as a basis for how you do business
• encouraging masterminding at all levels and providing tools and tips on how to best do that
• pushing our members to be the best they can be by accountability checks, not just dumping you to find your own way

The need for this kind of environment has become painfully apparent, and at the time of writing, debates rage across the internet about WHY it is that women are not seeming to compete with the men at the top of the business. To put it simply, we choose to do business OUR WAY. Define success OUR WAY.

Doing business OUR WAY does have its drawbacks. It can be lonely, be fraught with uncertainty and when every male guru says you are doing it wrong, well that puts a bit of a dent in the confidence. Thus the birth of the Secret Women’s Business Network.

In the last weeks of August 2008, while the 30DC was wrapping up, I (Allison) decided that someone should do something about the glaring need for this kind of women’s training and environment. Seeing as there was nothing available that was exactly what I wanted, I decided to partner up with two of the smartest, craziest and fun loving women on the internet (that would be Lisa and Barb) and do it for everyone.

In the heady days since we shook hands electronically in a Friendfeed room we have had a massive amount of support, encouragement and interest in where we are taking this thing. This blog is our public face. Available to all users of the internet it will be a combination of sweet and sour, serious and silly and a heap of stuff in between.

You will note that it is not slathered in ads, we want to give not take. If there is a link to a product that we will earn money from, it will be clearly marked, and we will never, EVER recommend something for money we have not tried ourselves. Sure the “big boys” will say we are “leaving cash on the table”, but we like to think of it as integrity..

If you have any questions or comments about the SWBN, leave us a blog post, contact us via Twitter or drop us a line on our contact page.

About Allison

From the desk of Allison Reynolds:

I have no idea from what angle I should tackle this bio. I could go the “age, kids, job” thing. I am 42, two teenage children and I am a manager for a multi-national IT company. I could mention my Multiple Sclerosis but that will just fix a picture of an invalid in your mind and I am by no means an invalid.

I could talk about my marriage to an alcoholic in my 20s, my liberation in my 30’s and my now against-my-will sagging in my 40s…. I could run you through a string of jobs from professional gambler to IT technical specialist, supermarket shelf stacker to self employed antiques dealer (and plenty of other things in between).

I could talk about my volunteerism which has ranged from venomous reptile rescuer and carer, to trying to raise $1 million for MS research.

How I never finished high school, but studied my way into university to read Law.

I don’t know what you really want to know about me, and this bio is for you, so feel free to ask me anything you want to know…

About Lisa

From the dusty and very untidy desk of Lisa Hartwell:

I could tell you all about my work as a voiceover, writer and internet marketer, or my former life as a radio presenter, but that seems a bit dull, so I thought I’d share some more “interesting” information from my past and present.

I was born in Leamington Spa and spent my life surrounded by other children – my own brothers and sisters (two of each) and a whole host of kids that my mum childminded. On one occasion I remember squeezing into my mum’s Mini Estate with around 10 Vietmanese children, two of my own siblings, and our family labrador, after my mum offered to take a Vietmanese child to the park (from a group staying at a local hostel) and found herself unable to turn the other children away.

The rest of my childhood was equally crazy and filled with mass outings, near death experiences, and birthday parties that became legendary in the neighbourhood!

From the age of 4, I took dance classes and tapped and pirouetted my way through numerous dance exams and shows until the age of 15, when I realised I was never going to be a Dance Floor Diva. I then joined a local youth theatre and appeared in a variety of musicals and plays. Some say I have been a Drama Queen ever since!

From a very young age, I planned to be an actress and singer – boring my poor Grandpa every Saturday with my shows and dance routines (he had Multiple Sclerosis so was a captive audience whether he wanted to be there or not). I went to university and studied Drama but changed my mind and decided that the life of a broadcaster was far more glamorous and secure (and, boy, was I wrong).

In the early days, while doing voluntary work for a local radio station, I held a number of unusual temping jobs: heat sealing books, cleaning factory units (amazing for someone who hates cleaning her own home), constructing single-use cameras, and a building site labourer.

Travelling has always been one of my greatest loves, and my trips have included spending 9 months driving around Australia in a beat-up Volvo Estate, backpacking across Europe (including being thrown out of Austria at gun-point) and 6 weeks on a youth exchange in the remotest villages of the Solomon Islands. I plan to travel a lot more in the future and want to meet as many SWBN members as possible.

OK, just a little about my qualifications in business. I have been self-employed most of my adult life and as a fresh-faced, extremely naive radio presenter I quickly realised that I had to learn how to market myself both on and off-air. This became even more important when I left my regular on-air slot to become a full-time voiceover. I discovered a passion for Internet Marketing, and helping others learn more about it too.

And, as you have discovered already, my motto is “why say in a few words what can be said in a few paragraphs”!

About Barb

From the Zero-Gravity Recliner of Barb Sabathil:

Hmmm…what to write, what to write…

Well, let’s start with the fact that I’m a 42-year-old Canadian recovering perfectionist farm girl geek. That should tell you everything you need to know.

Kidding

I’m a daughter of entrepreneurs, sister of entrepreneurs and friend of entrepreneurs. And yet I’ve been a bit of a late bloomer, having “fallen” into corporate life at age 18.

I’ve worked for some big dinosaurs, like Nortel and the now defunct Digital Equipment Corporation, as well as a high-tech startup, a natural health magazine and a 2-person management consulting firm (which I to this day call my “hands-on MBA” experience).

Along the way, I’ve studied some interesting things, like “Structural Consulting” with Robert Fritz (life changing stuff) and handwriting analysis, and I used to compete in equestrian competitions as a teen.

In 1999, I burnt out from my mind-numbing corporate career, and two years later, happily escaped with a “golden parachute” and took off to travel solo around New Zealand for two and a half months.

Now I know most people leave their hearts in San Francisco, but being the odd chick I am, I left mine in New Zealand. I dream of one day splitting my time between there and my current home in Victoria, BC.

Next I got myself a diploma in New Media Design, because I wanted to take my geekiness to the next level. That was one of my smarter moves, and I can now say that I love HTML (sick, I know, but it can’t be helped).

In 2005, I received two gifts that changed my life: the first was Ed Dale’s Thirty Day Challenge, and the second was a diagnosis of Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

As challenging as my health issues are, they forced me to finally reinvent my life, and choose work that suited me, at a pace that suited me.

As for the 30DC, that was the missing puzzle piece I needed to start my new girl geek online career!

Now, along with the mischief I get up to with the SWBN gals, I also market my father’s harpsichords online. It seems we’re the only harpsichord makers in the world who are using social media (so far). I hope our secret doesn’t get out.

I couldn’t live without animals and chocolate-chip cookies. I especially love horses, dogs and cats, and live on a hobby farm with my sister and her 2 kids, 3 ponies, 4 rabbits, 1 cat and a hamster (not to mention the assorted wild critters that pass through).

I’m also a bit of a natural health nut, and love travelling and sailing when I get the chance, which is never often enough.