Grants for Women Businesses: Taking Steps Ahead

Grants for Women Businesses: Taking Steps Ahead

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Grants for Women Businesses: Taking Steps Ahead

By: Paul Arnold
Posted: Jun 30, 2010

The business world isn’t easy for those of the female gender. Look at any movie showing a business and its advisory board. If you look closely, you will see that there are generally only one or two women, and the women shown rarely talk or make a comment. True, these are only movies, but the message it gives to others is that women have very little to do with business.

Despite suffrage and the birth of women’s rights, we still are limited sometimes. Not because we’re supposed to be limited, but because it’s hard to get funding, there’s more pressure and less support, and simply because most of the business world IS men. It’s rough. However, this is no reason to give up.

There are plenty of grants for women businesses that can help you to take your little itty bitty idea and make it a huge reality. Women don’t have to be behind the scenes of a business. With a little effort, you, as a woman, can go forth and make it big.

Look at fashion designers, and authors. Coco Chanel is one of the most prominent women entrepreneurs in history. She took fashion and revolutionized it. Some of the styles that she created were considered scandalous in her time—but look at what her company has evolved to. Everyone wants one of her handbags—there is a plethora of knock—offs and fakes and all sorts of other bags that mimic her signature purses.

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As for authors, look at J.K. Rowling. She went from being divorced, living in a flat without heat, writing on napkins in a nearby café so that both she and her small baby could stay warm, and now she’s living in a nice house, with her three children and is happily married to her second husband, a doctor. She can and does give to charity often. True, it wasn’t easy, but look at where she is now. She inspired a whole generation to read. Children who wouldn’t have thought to pick up a book are now reading at a ridiculous rate, and comprehend her books so well that they are outraged at any plot or character differences in the movies.

The point of these two examples is that, you cannot give up. There are grants for women businesses and chances for you to become a successful entrepreneur. There aren’t any excuses for why you can’t one day be as famous and successful as the two ladies mentioned.

There are several ways in which to come across the grants that you are looking for. You could apply for a government grant…which is reasonable, but the amount they give you is limited. There’s nothing wrong with that, but at the same time, you can only stretch money so far before you finally have nothing left.

And then there are websites that provide grants for women businesses. These websites allow you to find the right people who WANT to invest in your business and allow you to succeed. Some things to remember about this, however, are:

1.Don’t shortchange yourself. Don’t ask for less than what you need. This could mean failure for your business.

2.If you don’t reach the funds you need, they will be returned to the donors. This may seem harsh, but look at it from their point of view. If you don’t attain your target you are more likely to fail. Then, there goes their donation.

3.You have to get your info out there. Tell everyone. Your mom, dad, cat, dog, boyfriend, cup holder, everyone!

Paul Arnold – About the Author:

<a rel=”nofollow” onclick=”javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackPageview', '/outgoing/article_exit_link/2751197']);” href=”http://www.fundingheaven.com”>How to Raise Funding</a> for your special project. For details visit http://www.fundingheaven.com

Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/investing-articles/grants-for-women-businesses-taking-steps-ahead-2751197.html

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Article Tags:
fundraising, grants for women businesses, business funding, fundraising ideas, successful fundraising, private equity funding, startup capital

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Taking Care Of Women's Health

Various health related problems in human beings affect differently to men and women. It has been seen that women generally neglect their own health taking care of their husbands and kids. Some of the health concerns are solely feminine and some are more common in women than men. The ones more common in women are obesity, osteoarthritis, depression etc. and the ones unique to women are menopause, pregnancy, menstrual disorders etc.

A few things to be kept in mind by women for good health:

- Always plan your pregnancies. See your doctor regularly when you are pregnant. Pre-natal care i.e. before planning a pregnancy has proved that it increases the chances of delivering a healthy baby and decreases all the pregnancy related complications. 
- Go for regular mammograms. 
- Get regular screenings and checkups done by doctor. It is always beneficial to detect any health problem in its initial stage especially as breast cancer, ovarian or uterine cancer. 
- Do not leave unchecked if you are facing any of the health problems as continuous backaches, change in color of urine and stool, lumps on body, persistent cough, pains and headaches, chest pains, change in colors of warts and moles etc. Get yourself checked up by a doctor if you face any of these. 
- Sudden gain or loss in weight should also not go ignored as it may be a symptom of some serious health problem. Obesity also increases the chances of heart diseases, diabetes, sleep apnea, cancers and osteoarthritis which you should be aware of.

Health care is very essential for women as it would affect the entire spectrum of their lives. Regular checkups are very necessary as some heath problems as cardiac disease, heart attacks etc. may go unnoticed as their symptoms in most of the women are not clear. They should opt for all the possible health care steps for early detections of various health diseases and to prevent or treat them fully. A few simple and known steps are acquiring healthy eating habits having balanced diet, low in saturated fats; exercising and regular medical checkups.

The common health problems faced by women if they smoke are chances to develop lung cancer that was thought more likely in men. Women should totally avoid cigarette and caffeine to remain healthy saving themselves from harmful results. It has been researched that caffeine present in coffee, tea, chocolates etc. may also increase the risk of benign breast diseases or cancers which most of the women are prone to. And it has been seen that the women suffering from non-cancerous breast diseases are relieved from their suffering after removing caffeine from their diet.

Women should be well aware of various risk factors to avoid any health problems. Although there are a few genetic ones which can’t be avoided at all but many others are in your control. Consult your doctor on various issues to reduce risk factors. Ask that how frequent you should make him visits and what all are the screenings, vaccines and tests which you may need. This way you can take good care of your health and can fully be incharge of your health issues.

Taking a Careful Approach to Treatment for Sports Injuries in Children

With the rise in childhood obesity in the United States looming over the heads of millions of parents, many are encouraging children to become more active through daily play and recreational sports. Children as young as three participate in a wide variety of physical activities including all types of dance, football, baseball, swimming, soccer, martial arts and much more.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) approximately 3 million children and adolescents ages 14 and under are hurt every year playing sports or participating in recreational activities and the majority of organized sports-related injuries (60 percent) happen during practice. With nearly 30 million children playing team sports or engaging in recreational activities regularly, 3 million injuries annually is a big number.

Among the injuries most likely to occur, you will find the following: sprained ligaments, strained muscles, stress fractures, heat injuries, bruises, dental injuries, and head injuries. The most severe of these is the head injury. When there is a death related to childrens sports activity it will most likely happen because of a brain injury and chances are, the child will have been skating, skateboarding or on a bike at the time of the injury.

The death of a child due to any injury sustained while engaging in sports or recreational activities is very rare. More often than not, any pain or injury a child gets playing sports is relatively minor and can be treated at home using simple pain relief measures.

While some pediatric sports injuries will require medical attention, there are common injuries that can be taken care of from home. Bruises, sore muscles, scrapes and cuts can all be handled at home using simple remedies like an ice pack, a heating pad, and even over-the-counter pain medication. Older children, especially teenagers who participate in junior varsity and varsity contact sports like football, soccer, basketball and baseball, can take advantage of deep-penetrating topical creams for pain.

The best places to get the most effective topical creams for pain relief are from chiropractors’ offices or from the office of a physical therapist. Mass retailers, like WalMart and Walgreens, sell some prescription strength products over-the-counter. One that we found on a WalMart shelf is Blue-Emu, a topical cream that claims to soothe bruises, sore muscles and more using, among other key ingredients, Emu Oil. A little research showed that the Aboriginal people of Australia have long used Emu Oil to cure a myriad of aches and pains. For older child athletes, a strong topical cream may be just what they need for sore muscles.

According to the AAP, children between the ages of 5 and 14 account for roughly 40 percent of sports-related injuries for all age groups. While we want to encourage children to live active, healthy lifestyles we also need to be certain that we are taking every precaution to ensure their safety as they play.

Consider Taking Up Recreational Sports To Relieve Stress

Nobody has to tell you how stressful it is living in today’s society. Because the cost of living has sky rocketed, we have to worry about paying bills, holding on to our jobs and providing for our children. Many of us work long hours seated at a desk, leaving us unable to get much exercise. To make matters worse, after we finally get home and put dinner on the table and get our children settled in for the night, we end up plopping down on the couch, in front of the television.

Some of us may head to the computer to surf the web or answer email correspondence. The combination of daily stress and lack of exercise has a poor effect on our bodies. It also impacts our minds because without a way to reduce stress, it may adversely our sleep habits and cause forms of insomnia. This can decrease our ability to think clearly during the day and can make it difficult to complete even simple tasks. That’s why it is of great importance to find an outlet for our stress and have fun as well. One such way is to participate in recreational sports.

Participating in recreational sports is an excellent way to relieve stress. It can be as simple as joining your local bowling league. Bowling is a lot of fun and it’s something that the whole family can participate in. You can rent the shoes for it at the alley and use their bowling balls, so you don’t have to buy expensive gear. If you have extra space in your home, you can invest in a ping pong table.

It might not seem like it but ping pong is a great form of exercise because you have to move around your side of the table a lot to keep the ball in play. It also requires you to swing your arm which provides additional skill. Many people have turned to golf as a way to get in shape and relax. Golf requires a lot of walking and swinging of the club. Most golf courses are designed to look like parks so playing a game of golf can take you out of your stressful atmosphere at work and place you in a peaceful setting where you can get some exercise and relax at the same time.

There are many other choices available in recreational sports. You can choose to take a dance class, or go bicycle riding. You can team up with some friends and take daily walks around the neighborhood or even in the mall. Mall walking is very popular and many stores open early to allow people to walk through them without having to do so while the shoppers are there. There’s also tennis, running and horseback riding. For the brave, there is parasailing and extreme sports like mountain climbing that burn calories and relieve stress while providing them with the thrills of a lifetime.

This Year We Will Definitely See More Muslim Women Taking Part at Swimming and Aqua-aerobic Lessons

Only since a few years several companies threw out the world provide Modest swimwear.

For many *Muslimahs going to the beach or to the swimming pool has been very difficult in the past, due to the fact of having a very limited choice of Muslim swimwear to choose from and especially because of the Islam’s traditional emphasis on the dress code.Islamic swimwear that was been offered in the past did not allow these women to really swim. The materials and cuts that where used made it very difficult to swim in, as they consisted out of too many different pieces.

i.e. Headpiece, Jacket, Shirt, Skirt and Pants.

Which meant in return it would prevent the women to actually swim comfortably and at the same time always having the fear to loose the separate headpiece.

Luckily you will now find a variety of modest swimwear stores on the web,one of them is called: Bodykini Modest Sportswear / www.bodykini.com

The Bodykini is a modest swimming suit especially designed to enhance athletic performance while upholding the Koranic principle of modesty by only showing face, hands and feet.

The Bodykini online store was established beginning of 2007 by Oliver Momeni based in sunny Marbella,Spain.

Before Oliver designed the Bodykini he researched the market, spoke with many *Muslimahs and with his Iranian female family members. He observed what would be most important to these women if they had the opportunity to design a Muslim swimming suit themselves.He followed their advice made his notes and continued researching the market but he was not satisfied with what he saw, either the swimming suits where not tastefully designed (colors,patterns) or the where just unpractical for swimming.

Oliver said: “I knew that some very important facts would need to be fulfilled if I was going to design a modest swimsuit. The suit would need to cover well during active swimming while upholding the Islamic values of modesty and yet I wanted the suit to be fashionable. The 2 piece suit would need to be generously proportioned, not hinder your movement, provide maximum movement and comfort while in or out of the water.”

After a few months of research he came to the conclusion that the modest swimsuit that he had in

mind did not exist on the market.

So he decided to start designing his own Modest swimwear collection.

Before Oliver moved down to sunny Spain he has been working in the family textile business since over 20 years, where he collected most of his experience.

He said: “I designed the Bodykini swimwear with the respect of Islamic values and aim to enhance the lifestyle of the active sportive *Muslimah. Many Muslimahs around the world are very thankful for the modest swimsuits that we provide, it allows them to take part at those water sports that where out of reach for so long.

Oliver emphasizes: “The time has come to see more Muslim women competing at water sports, at a higher level”

The Bodykini Swimwear is a 2 piece swimsuit, a shirt with a attached headpiece and a separate pants. The suit is available in two colors: Black suit with Pink stripes and Brown suit with Orange stripes.

The swimming suit is made out of a high quality water-repellent fabric which is highly Chlorine/Salt water resistant and provides ultraviolet protection factor +50 that block the harmful sun rays.The Polyester/Spandex material drys very fast and ensures maximum comfort thanks to

“four-way” stretch. The material also provides a perfectly uniform and elegant surface that enhances the beauty and style of the garments.

The Bodykini comes with a couple of features:Two elastic bands that are attached at the inside of the

pants, that get buttoned to the inside of the suit. This function is implemented to prevent the suit from

floating up, in case the swimmer should jump in the water with her “Feet first”.

The pants also has a small pocket with a zipper (Ideal for keys, money etc.)

Now Islamic women can enjoy wearing modest swimming suits and participate at water sports, jump in to the pool, relax in a jacuzzi or dive into the sea.

Most important they are now able to stay fit with swimming and aqua-aerobic.

Modest swimwaer is gaining in popularity also with non Muslim women as some choose to cover their bodies due to cultural and even medical reasons.

Or read about Sarah’s first experience with the Bodykini Swimsuit: http://www.squidoo.com/bodykini

*Muslimah/s – Muslim women

Muslim Women are Taking Part in Aqua-aerobic and Swimming Events

All these year’s Muslim females have faced the problem of finding an appropriate swimwear which adheres to the Koran, which requires a woman to cover everything except her face, hands and feet.

The swimwears available in the market were either not targeted for the Muslim women as they led to show of skin or were unpractical for swimming. To aptly describe how uncomfortable the swimwear designed for Muslimahs was I shall quote Aheda Zanetti who wrote to the National Geographic News stating “As an active Muslim girl, I found it difficult to participate in most sports, because of all the excess clothes we were wearing. And the veil very unpractical when playing sports”.

For a market that was not targeted by big market share holders like Nike scattering small companies took the initiative of designing something fruitful for Muslimahs. People like Zanetti, Oliver Momeni and Hasema saw a great potential and design need in the market of swimwear for Muslimahs. Zanetti, is the owner of Ahiida, an Australian company that designs women’s sportswear. Oliver Momeni started his venture of Bodykini in 2007, based in Spain and Hasema a Turkish company started designing a line of swimwear for men, women and kids. Among all these products the most admired and reviewed is “Bodykini”.

Surely, Oliver had the support and opinions of his Iranian family members and an experience of over 20 years in the family textile business. Before designing the final product “Bodykini”, Oliver conducted a lot of market research and held talks with many Muslim women. In the course of his time, he learned the important attributes targeted while designing the swimsuit. He designed Bodykini which is a complete blend of a swimsuit that looks great, designed for modest comfort, adheres to Islam’s tradition and most importantly lets women swim without any fear.

It does so by removing all the excess fabric that the previous swimwear provided like the veil, pants and skirts. Oliver incorporated every thing into 2 main piece of clothing: a shirt with a hijood that serves as a close-fitting headpiece, which firmly lays on the head without slipping and a pant. The fabric used is a high quality water-repellent fabric that is not only highly Chlorine resistant but also provides protection from ultraviolet rays. The advantage of using a Polyester material is that it has low water absorbency, dries fast and ensures complete stretch in all directions leading to comfortable swimming or aqua-sport.

The Bodykini comes in two colors to choose from and two unique features. The first feature is the two elastic bands that are attached at the inside of the pants that get buttoned to the inside of the suit, which prevent the suit from floating in case the swimmer performs a feet first dive. The second feature is the small pocket with a zipper in the pants; ideal for keeping small items like keys or money.

So now, with products like Bodykini both the problems namely: meeting the Islamic traditional requirements and availability of a comfortable swimming garment for women, are solved. Bodykini is available online at bodykini.com. Along with this Bodykini has been launched in the Middle East and is available in Dubai at Al Boom Marine retail stores or at the Dubai Ladies Club.

Now, Islamic women can remain more active and enjoy the aqua sports with the power of Bodykini. The Bodykini modest swimwear is becoming popular among not just the Muslim population but also among all those women who love to cover their bodies and prevent the tans while enjoying the relaxing water.

Having said all this, Oliver Momeni is not just being thanked by all Muslim women for introducing such a wonderful product in the market but the big players are looking forward to promote products like Bodykini which is showing a very good grip on the swimwear market. Taylor, of Azizah Magazine, says that

“In another 15 years there’s going to be a sizable Muslim consumer market and lots of demand”.

I think we’re where the Hispanic market was 20 years ago, and today the Hispanic market is a big consumer market.” Further more, Arun Jain, a marketing professor at the University of Buffalo in New York State, agrees and states that given the growth potential of the Muslim community in the United States, major sportswear manufacturers could be missing out on an opportunity to break into an emerging market. Moreover, more than just the Muslim women the modern world women comprising of Christian, Jews and others don’t feel the need to show off their bodies and strive to be modest.