I loved how Elizabeth answers these questions! If I didn't already have the book I would want to get it!

  It is a great book (and I know reading takes time - so if I'm going to ask you to invest time it's going to be for a good reason) and I definitely need to establish a game plan with it as my "play book".

  My smart phone – I speak to groups, network and travel constantly. Even though I have an employee that sifts through the thousands of email I receive each day and manages my schedule, I have to be connected to my business, my calendar, my correspondence and my contacts. A laptop is just too cumbersome these days. I love that technology is getting smaller – it’s definitely more chic. 

  I was in acquisition talks with another business recently. With the rapid growth, we are seeing I am now looking at adding other synergistic companies to complement my consulting practice and allow me to build a portfolio of holdings. The owner of the other business commented to me “This only makes business sense if it makes personal sense for you and allows you to achieve what you want in your life.” 

  Your business exists to serve you, not the other way around. When you keep this in mind, it will help you to be more strategic in your decisions. Holding this belief will help you to use the business to empower yourself, instead of letting it rule you.   

3. How did you come up with the name for your book?

  I was actually working on a business fable and used the word chic in the working title. Then I started to see the word Chic everywhere. It resonates with people (although plenty of people get it confused with chick). It’s what people want to be. And the word entrepreneur resonates with business owners. I wanted a title that would resonate with women. I liked the sound of being a "Chic Entrepreneur." The more I defined what that meant, and this whole idea of succeeding with style, the more I liked it.  I knew it was something I wanted to be and I could see many others aspiring to be one as well.   

  Luckily, I was right and people everywhere are flocking to self-identify with the moniker. I also wanted a subtitle that would be chic-speak for taking your business to the next level. That phrase ‘taking your business to the next level’ ubiquitously describes this universal desire to achieve more success that all small business owners have yet is sufficiently vague enough that many question its true meaning. 

  ‘Put your business in higher heels’ was a phrase I had used in an article I’d written for businesswomen about a year before and it came up as the natural subtitle. High heels are worn for attractiveness and in business, we always talk about making our product or service more attractive, so I knew that would resonate with most women, too.  

  I personally find that I learn best through teaching others. When I was in high school, I used to have sleepover parties for my friends the night before big exams so that we could review the material together. It wasn’t that I didn’t know it. In fact, I was a quite the attentive student. However, I knew the best way for me to prepare was to teach the material back to others. That was indeed the means through which I could truly master the material. I’ve continued to use this type of studying throughout my academic career, but I’ve also employed the concept in my own personal and professional development. I think it is important to find others that you can help, and by doing so you will grow yourself. We often take for granted the profound impact our experience can have on the life of someone else, and the glimpses and reminders of this that you get when you mentor others are a reward in and of themselves. 

  I am a member of the American Association of University Women, an organization dedicated to the education and advancement of women and girls. When I joined the branch in Atlanta, I was asked to be on the board. Getting involved in that group has been extremely rewarding as their mission is one that I am passionate about. Over time as I’ve gotten to know the ladies, it has been good for business as well. I’ve even been asked to do a book signing at their annual book fair as well. 

  First of all, I’m bright pink! I’m a high quality, patent leather pump with a sturdy two-inch heel and a rounded toe. I’m not afraid to stand out in a crowd though more for entertainment value than for vanity. Cute, a little bit flashy, but surprisingly comfortable, you can’t miss me in a crowd of shoes!

  *This is not to be confused with what types of shoes I wear. Pink high heel shoes need to be well thought out to suit outfit and occasion, as they could easily become a fashion faux pas.  

  I am constantly evolving my role within my company to suit my own personal desires for meaningful work. That’s the fun part of owning your own business. You get to create your own ideal job description. As time goes on, I look forward to starting, acquiring and investing in other business ventures. Wellness and hospitality are two industries I would enjoy exploring.  

  My first few jobs that involved a sales component are what started to uncover my inner entrepreneur. I mention in my book how I began by foray into entrepreneurship “selling knives to housewives.” Interestingly this Tuesday in the Wall Street Journal there was a big article about people who also worked selling Cutco knives (which are awesome) and how invaluable the experience was for early professional development. Being a salesperson is as close as you can get to being an actual entrepreneur, and as you become good at sales, you start to understand and derive enjoyment from the direct link between your efforts and your compensation. Once you realize that you are in charge of your own income level and have total power over it, an interest in entrepreneurship soon follows if you also have the creative and visionary components. Often entrepreneurship is induced by outside circumstances suddenly coming together and making you feel like this would be the ideal time to start a business. 

  I am pushing for people to embrace the idea of working a Chic Schedule, meaning working 4 days a week instead of 5. I think increasing time away from work can be one of the best ways to unlock your inner genius and achieve more in less time.  

There are so many outdated norms in business culture that I look forward to seeing waived as more women proliferate business. A client and I were talking recently about how great it would be if it was as socially acceptable to tell people you were out of the office on a Wednesday afternoon having a spa treatment and pedicure done with some clients, like it’s OK for men to say they’ve taken the day off to golf with clients. I believe one day it will be.   

  Amen! Women are unfortunately financially inferior to men. Whatever the reason, this can and hopefully will change. Three things to keep in mind are:

  1.      Practice talking about money is less stressful or threatening situations. Get comfortable with words like thousands and millions, and create an affirmation that you repeat to yourself daily of “I make (insert your desired amount, and shoot high) a year,” and run that mental audio in your head. 

  2.      Think strategically about your prices. Don’t just make an arbitrary decision to charge similar to others in your space. Your prices can be as unique as your business. Set a price that is fair for you as a business owner and that factors in your overhead and future goals. People get what they pay for, but women often undervalue their business because they worry that a price that is too high will drive customers off. This is actually the opposite of the truth.

  3.      Get comfortable with your financial reports. I meet a lot of women who don’t know where they are financially because that’s not the part of the business that they enjoy. Regardless of whether or not this is enjoyable, it’s critical for your business. Find the fun (you do like money, don’t you?). Know your money status, know your cash flowing and keep your eye on these things at all times because they will influence your spending decisions. And they should!

11.   Where do you see your business ten years from now?

   Flourishing internationally. I’m not going to share my whole business plan with you ; )

  If you have any kind of existing platform, try to go the traditional publishing route, have a roadmap for your book and have honest critics who will tell you where the weaknesses are – these are not your family or friends.

1.  There is a lot of value in self-publishing and there are many reasons that people choose to self-publish, but for my business it has been a very big boost that an outside legitimate party gave my book their seal of approval. It suits my needs and they have also put a lot of time, energy and most importantly money into the cover design and the publicity of the book. You can’t get that with self-publishing.

2. Having a roadmap to follow will allow your book to flow from you and keep you on track when you run into writer’s block. I based my book on my business’ Flourishing Business Methodology, which is a nine-dimension model of how to build a business successfully. I used this methodology to setup my chapters and fill them with content. That was how I could finish the book in the two months that the publisher allotted me.

  3. I also chose to hire an editor separate from my publisher’s editor because I found someone who was knowledgeable about business and who had an eye for detail who would be an honest and open critic of my work. You might be able to find a friend to do this for you, but often personal relationships get in the way of much needed criticism. Invest the time and effort to do it right so you have a product that makes you proud.

13.   What are your personal inspirations?

    I find nature to be very inspirational and I enjoy spending much time outdoors. It helps me to keep things in perspective and to remind me of a larger purpose in life. I also enjoy running and mediation, and use both to stimulate creative problem solving. I am a big believer in accessing the other 90% of one’s brain capacity that is seldom tapped into and I enjoy activities that expand the use of the subconscious mind. Being from Philadelphia, one of my favorite movies is Rocky. I think the love of rooting for the underdog that came out of Rocky is part of what attracted me to working with small business owners. I guess I’m inspired my a lot of things. All of life can be tremendously inspiring when you look at it from that lenses.

  I actually love the big picture of it all, which is why I suppose, I do what I do. I like strategizing and doing business deals. I enjoy the business building process, which is actually the opposite of the typical entrepreneur, who derives more pleasure from the craft itself than from the building a business part of it. Not to say that I don’t enjoy my craft, I love consulting. It has always been my favored line of work. I enjoy working with clients, digging into a project to gain further understanding, devise solutions and creating powerful results as well as doing training and speaking aspects. But I have to say that since I’ve become an entrepreneur and grown as one, I’ve fallen in love with the building a business process and I think that many other women would as well as they get more seasoned and comfortable and experienced in the business world. And that’s part of what I hope to affect with The Chic Entrepreneur – help more women fall in love with the idea of building a business.

  "The Chic Entrepreneur" provides a cohesive framework for a woman business owner who wants to build a company that ultimately works without her having to do all the work, by teaching a powerful business methodology using female friendly case study analysis and fun narrative stories – that’s what makes it unique. Readers learn the 9 key dimensions they must master to create a flourishing business, along with chic tips they can implement for an immediate return.  The book helps the readers by enlightening then about best business practices, showing them through fictional stories how those practices can pan out and the “How Chic are You?” self assessment questions at the end of the chapters help the reader give themselves an honest look in the mirror and address areas that may be holding them back. Encouraging and enlightening, everyone seems to find it an intellectually stimulating yet easy and enjoyable read.   

  It has been fun for me to see what types of people are gravitating to the book. It’s a good mix of women who already have had their business for several years, to those who are just starting or are still in the early days. I’ve also had many people read it who are still just dreaming of starting their own business. The examples educate them and give them a sense of what it would be like. 

  A good friend of mine that read it had never even thought about starting a business and was comfortable in her corporate job as a proposal manager. She just read it because I’m her friend, but afterwards she said it made her really start to think about it and that it gave her a well rounded picture of the different things to take into account when planning a strategy. She remarked how broader your view needs to be as a small business owner compared to when you work for a large company, where you most likely only focus on one function within the organization versus needing to understand how to make the entire entity work together cohesively across all functional areas, united with a common purpose.

  Another woman I met at a book signing who has started and sold 5 businesses and is on her 6^th, bought a copy for her and another for each of her 4 daughters that she will be passing her business on to. She said that her daughters lack practical business sense and she knew The Chic Entrepreneur could give it to them.

17.   Do you have examples of readers who’ve succeeded because of your book?

  Since it’s only been out for 3 months now, I can’t take credit for any overnight success stories quite yet. Building a successful business does take a little more time than that. I can say that it has had a profound impact on the way many people think about their businesses, not as a job, but as an asset of inherent value and a means to own their own economic power.

  When you sign up for our Chic Tips newsletter on www.chicentrepreneur.com you receive a free ebook and a download of latest interview in my Chic Perspectives expert series. 

  The book is available for purchase wherever books are sold, including Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and Borders.