A recent survey from Wachovia Bank shows we women must start to take control of our financial future NOW. The third annual fitness survey of 2008 along with Richard Day research and the U.S. census bureau show that only 30% of women track and manage retirement assets compared to 58% of men. 17% of women make investment decisions compared to 49% of men. Why? What are we afraid of?

I want to challenge everyone who is reading this blog to start today and get control of your financial life. I am not a financial guru. I am someone who has won and lost with investing but is still in total control of my finances and has a financial retirement plan. You’ve got to start somewhere. If it is just a little seed money, grow that seed corn because no one else will!

I am challenging you not to be dependent on your husband or partner or your children or anyone else! Please, listen to Lisa….if I can do, this so can you!!! Not sure where to start? Email me and I can suggest some publications or people to help you get started. Today, we celebrate Independence Day. But are we truly independent? Think about it!

Have a happy 4th!

Men spend an average of three months of their life waiting for their date! Women spend three years of our lives getting ready! Drying and styling hair eats up 32% of our total prep time. Putting on the little black dress makes up for less then 5%. But aren’t we worth it?!?!

Summertime is usually vacation time for most of us. Make sure your checklist includes protecting your home and office so you can enjoy your time off and not worry.

1. Arrange for someone trustworthy to handle your voice messages.

2. Set up an out of office email auto-responder so people know you are not ignoring them.

3. Alert key people of your vacation in advance of your upcoming absence.

4. Pay your bills in advance.

5. Consider installing a home security system if you don’t have one.

6. Have trusted neighbors or family members routinely check on your home or office.

7. Have someone pick up your mail and newspapers. Or instruct the post office to hold your mail.

8. Leave a light on an automatic timer to go on when it starts to get dark.

9. Advise the local police that you will be gone and ask if they can drive by occasionally.

By being proactive and taking these simple steps your vacation should be worry free, at least on the home front! Enjoy and happy summer.

Getting a good accountant to advise you could make all the difference to the financial success of your business. The key is to get an accountant who understands your business and knows exactly what you want from them.

There are two types of accountants you will need as you continue to grow:
1. An in-house accountant which could be a part-time bookkeeper, or if you are just starting out and are accounting savvy, you could do this yourself.

2. An outside professional. Even if you are not making a lot of money, I encourage you to retain an outside accountant.

The best way to find an accountant who can service your needs:
- Ask others in your community who they would recommend.
- If you belong to any civic associations ask your fellow members for a reference.
- Go through the local AICPA chapter where you live to get a listing of accountants.

Make sure you interview a few accountants first before you select one. It’s important to see if you connect as they will be doing YOUR books, and you need to build a sense of trust. Also, a good listener is imperative as they do need to understand the financial area of your business plan in order to help you achieve your financial objectives.

As your business grows, you can always obtain additional advisors, but an accountant needs to be with you from the start to help keep you straight. After all, you need to be out there do business development, pr, customer service, the web, etc.etc.etc….

Attention Investors! I will be presenting at the NoteWorthy Convention (October 2-5) in Las Vegas, Nevada! Wise Women has made special arrangements for you to attend this valuable convention at a reduced price -click here for registration form. Hope to see you there!

Last weekend, Hillary Clinton officially backed out of the race for President and showed her support for Barack Obama. No matter what your political views are there is a lesson here for all of us who are trying to climb the corporate ladder, build their business or whatever we deem to succeeding in life.

By showing she has the brains and the brawl to run, she has made the path to the White House smoother for those who will follow. Even her harshest critics admit she is smart, tough, disciplined and incredibly hardworking.

Thanks to Hillary, there cannot be many Americans left who still doubt that a woman could be president. The real message here is thanks to Hillary Clinton’s highly visible example, it more plausible and more socially acceptable for Americans in every field of endeavor to imagine a woman at the top.

So we all owe her a debt of gratitude.

Whether you are in a relationship or looking for one, if you are a woman, chances are you will out earn your man. Times have changed, women are more educated, we are rising in the professional arena and have a higher degree of success as business owners.

The shift in economic power has caused many problems for men who were raised with the mindset that they need to be the bread winner. They may also feel threatened taking on household duties and child care in order to help out and share responsibilities.

The time has come where we don’t have do be super women. It is a commonly accepted fact that we can bring home the bacon and the men can fry it up in the pan!

In a couple, the person who makes more money tends to feel more powerful. It is important if you are a woman who is either in or looking for a good relationship that you treat your partner as an equal regardless of who earns more money. This means he can still continue to treat…but so can you! Celebrate your success!

Did you know that at least 40% of seats on company boards in Norway must be held by women? Corporations there are embracing women! In 1993, this number was at 3%. Sweden is number 2 with 21.3%, Britain is number 3 with 15.2% and then the U.S. is 4th with 14.8%. Most of us who sit on boards of companies or associations have had to fight our way up the ladder. With the mandate in Norway, companies actually recruit, train and put future professional and entrepreneurial women through the company culture to where they can eventually end up as CEO. Interesting isn’t it?

Over the weekend I decided I needed to treat myself to something special. I was tired from traveling and needed a pick me up. I scheduled myself for a facial. I love facials! If I could afford them I would have one every week, nice music playing, soft hands applying lotions and potions to my face, ahhhh.

I scheduled the appointment with a day spa I had not visited before. I arrived on time for my appointment, got changed into the nice soft robe and sat in the waiting room waiting for my therapist.

My name was called. As I stood up to meet the person who would be treating me for the next 60 minutes, I assumed it would be a she. Imagine my shock when it turned out to be a he—Joe from Brooklyn NY was going to do my facial. I thought I would walk out right there and then. I have never had a male facial. A massage I could understand, but a facial? Don’t people go through cosmetology school for this? My mind was racing. Ok, hair dressers are men as are some massage therapists. I even had my nails done by a man once, but a facial?

I followed Joe back into the treatment room. I explained I never had a male facial. He laughed and said he gets the same response every time he treats someone new. He went on to say it will be an experience I will never forget.

So for the next hour, I let him apply the lotions and potions, scrub my face, apply the steam, the mask and the eye gel, with a bit of apprehensiveness. We talked a bit about real estate investing and what his objectives were. It was not at all relaxing.

When we were through I looked at my face; it looked dewy and relaxed. But I did not feel that way. Maybe I am a bit prejudiced here but I do feel more relaxed having a facial from a woman. I am not a chauvinist. I believe in equality. I just could not relax having a man touch my face no matter how hard I tried.

So now I have learned in the future when I want a facial to request a female therapist. Hope you are enjoying some time for you on this Memorial Day! Lisa

I sit on a national “professional” board. We meet three times a year. These meetings are supposed to help grow the association, among other things. I just came back from a board meeting which was painful to sit through. It was completely disorganized, and communications became brutal.

If you find yourself in a position where you must conduct meetings with more than just a couple of people, please utilize the following 4 tips to help you stay focused and be productive. Your participants will appreciate it.

1. Have a complete agenda with starting and ending times. This will keep everyone on track.

2. Send the agenda in advance of the meeting and ask for any additions or corrections.

3. Control the trouble makers or the big talkers—it is your responsibility as the leader to stay on track.

4. End on time.

These may seem like simple, common sense tips. However, after spending two days listening to ramblings and fights, I cannot stress enough the importance of staying focused and communicating a positive outcome.