It’s amazing to me that no matter what is going on in our economy or those around the world, the entrepreneurial spirit blazes on.  There are niches that thrive regardless of the dark clouds looming overhead.  This is great inspiration for those of us who have taken up the entrepreneurial banner intent to ’soldier on’ and battle the financial forces that seem to want to hold us at bay.

While browsing information about business women and economic trends, I found that there are several industries that are listed as part of a survey done by a group called Forrester Research that states online retail will rise this year to $204 billion, that’s a whopping 17%.  I don’t know about you but there was a singing in my heart when I read this news.  Ladies, this means that if you are following trends or currently doing business in cars, clothes and computers, there is money to be made in 2009.

Advertising and marketing dollars are being watched very closely in other media markets like television, radio and print.  However, according to various reports, retailers are sprucing up their web pages to be poised for the coming online rush.  As more and more women become familiar and comfortable with the internet and e-commerce, online retail sales are starting to take off.

WISE women who may be looking to change careers or start a business will want to research some of these trends for opportunities to fatten their purses.  Entrepreneur Magazine states the rise in fuel and health costs, the credit crunch and home foreclosures are fertile ground for business opportunities.  Here are some of the trends to watch closely:

The one that catches my eye is the ‘Greening of America’ surge which is in its infancy.  If you get in the Environmenal industry now, you will emerge at the top when the dust settles.

Health Care reform is on President Obama’s agenda.  Carve out your niche plan now to help those who are currently without health care or have inadequate health care, become covered; then, watch the president’s men bring your money bags.

Alternative Fuels are a hot topic.  We are all trying to save energy in light of the rising costs.  Keep your focus on those up and coming products that will bring about change in how we fuel America and channel them through your company to market them to new prospects.

Business Coaches will be needed to help guide all the start up entrepreneurs and the newly created businesses to success.

Discount Retailers, heads up!  We are in an economic slump and we are looking for any and every thing that we can get to stay on budget.  Can you say C H E A P?

A few days ago i was talking about wigs and it peaked the interest of one of the members and rightfully so.  Hair, nails and skin are on the A list for most women.  So, it stands to reason that Spas and Salons would be a great business choice because most current budgets have taken their Dr. 90210 fund to pay the mortgage and feed the kids. 

Believe it or not the rich are still hanging in there.  Some still refuse to acknowledge their financial woes even though Bernie M had his hand in their pockets up to his arm pits.  Luxury items are still selling well.  If I were to sell a luxury item, it would be a shower.  Recently, I saw one that had twenty seven jets!  WOW! I know that would be an invigorating shower to get you started in the morning.

I haven’t covered everything out there but these are the industries that appear to be inviting choices for those who are seeking to enlarge their territories or change their paths.  Any one of those niches could be a great money maker for men or women business. 

One last thing I want to cover is Social Networking.  I don’t know why so many people tend to shy away from Facebook, Twitter and other social networking media are not just ways to keep up with your family and friends.  I’m talking about those forty plus.  Listen closely, Social Networking is e-marketing at its best.  Facebook can be a goldmine of connections and will help you grow your business.  I know I had a concern about Facebook and their Terms Of Service, however, it appears they have corrected that issue for the moment. 

I have a Twitter account and one of the trends I see there is that you will be able to use those short tweets to generate interest in a product or service by using it as a blast post.  John Chow actually sent a tweet for a drink while he was out one evening AND he got one.  This was interesting to me because it shows the impulsiveness of people who use their mobile devices as part of their social connection menu.  As far as mobile devices are concerned, don’t be afraid to consider them as part of your marketing arsenal.

Blog Clog:  I want to apologize for the problem with subscribers not receiving their daily updates.  To review the posts that you may have missed go to www.womeninspiritualexpression.com and click older entries at the bottom of the page.  Hopefully, Google/Feedburner will work out this ongoing issue.  I will publish this ‘clog’ for a few days because I am aware that some subscibers are receiving posts on days that others are not getting.  Thank you for your continued support.

If you are a WISE woman or want to become one, please sign up to receive updates by RSS or your inbox and leave your comments. Please keep your comments valid to the posts.  You can also reach me at onewizeone@yahoo.com. I will reply to you.  If you have a blog leave a link back so others can visit your site as well.

Tags: Alternative Fuels, Business Coaches, Discount Retailers, Entrepreneur Mag, Environmental, Facebook, Health Care, Luxury Items, Salons, Social Networking, Spas, Twitter

As you have gotten older, have you decided to take a ‘realistic’ view of what it is you want to accomplish?  Have you decided to take the ‘realistic’ approach?  What were the deciding factors?  These are questions that came to me when I started thinking about why some of us give up their dreams.

I remember as a child, how I used to love to lie on the grass and look up at the sky on a warm summer day.  I was the center of the universe, yet, felt so tiny.  I would close my eyes and my imagination would take me to anywhere it wanted to go that day.  I didn’t try to direct it but allowed it to carry me along any path it desired. 

Sometimes, I would ascend to the sky, other days I would bring the sky down to me.  There were no boundaries; all obstacles were overcome by sheer thought of what I wanted to accomplish.  Though I was a child, I never thought about my age.  I never thought I couldn’t do it because I was too young or too little.  It never occurred to me that some obstacle could obstruct my progress.  I was free to firmly focus on what I wanted and create ways to achieve it even if it meant taking flight or becoming a magnet.

Even when I opened my eyes there were no regrets.  In my mind, I had captured my dreams and the reality I faced did not deter but simply delay them.  I knew how to dream without reservation.  So, what happens to us as we age that we adjust our dreams to fit our perceived abilities? Why is it that many of us have lost our ability to dream?  What are these things called realistic goals?

 The unattractive answer to these questions is fear in its many forms; fear of failure; fear of how you will be perceived by others; fear of not being up to the task; fear you are too old.  Fear! Fear! Fear! Somewhere in your experience the concept was learned in part and like any half truth it distorted our ability to dream without reservation.

In most instances, fear of failure or how you will be perceived by others occupies number one or two at the top of our fear list when we are young.  This is when we are most self conscious.

While fear does have its place and should not be ignored totally; it does not have to take control over your life to the extent that it causes you to regret living it. Also, fear should not be confused with anticipation.  The sensation may be similar however; anticipation is the expectation of an action not the dread of one.

Dreams are actions that have not yet been manifested.  They are the realities that are yet to come.  Big dreams are energetic.  They give spice to our lives.  Big dreams are what drive us to look forward to the next minute, day even year.

Once a guy told me he was “too old to think about starting a business.”  He was just thirty four.  I immediately ‘lost’ his number.  At the time, my seventy-two year old uncle Arthur had just returned to university to get another degree, this time in Mathematics.

As people age sometimes they redirect their goals.  What was interesting when we were younger might no longer holds appeal.  There is nothing wrong with changing your mind.  But aging does not mean you are ‘grown up now’ and need to only allow your dreams be no larger than what you think you can accomplish.  That is not dreaming.  That’s called existing, that’s called fear.  It is saying I dare not reach beyond what I can see because I don’t know how to reach it.

“I’d rather think big.
Why should anyone think small?
I’d rather think big, if I’ve got to think at all.” Unknown

Those are the words to a children’s song that I heard long ago and it struck a chord with me. (No pun intended)  Those are the words that famous musicians, inventors, risk takers probably enlisted when they were working on their masterpieces, not with their mouths but with their attitudes; especially, those who were older when they finally reached their success in life.

If you are alive, you still have an opportunity to achieve your dreams; there is no reason to think otherwise.  As we age, this is not the time to pack away our dreams but to do what the women in Prill Boyle’s book Defying Gravity: A Celebration of Late Blooming Women did; they dusted off their dreams and sought opportunities and defied gravity’s claim on their lives.  One achieved her dream of flying at age 70.  Another graduated at age 50 from medical school, the same year her daughter graduated from college.
All of these women were over forty and for some it took as many years to achieve their goals.  Prill Boyle herself graduated Georgetown University at thirty five, received her MA at thirty eight and began writing full time at age forty seven.  Defying Gravity was her first book.

I am one of those people who roots for the underdog.  I love stories of people who will not accept the general diagnosis of living your life.  I know of a woman who was ordained in her forties and is now a writer.

I believe in that adage you have to play to win.  I believe that sometimes the battles are hard fought but perseverance usually pays off.  I am not only talking about women
I mentioned my Uncle Arthur who went back to get his masters in mathematics.  He is one of my heroes; unfortunately he died before he got his degree.  However, if he were here to talk to us, he would tell you that it was an adventurous journey and he would rather have left this world trying than regretting.

Too many stay in unfulfilling jobs because they view their external circumstances with jaundiced eyes. They view age as an insurmountable barrier between where they are and where they want to be.  I stand firm that no matter what your age or health, whether twenty or forty, we all have to make adjustments but that does not mean shrinking your dreams.  It simply means making corrections on your course like any good navigator would do to reach a distant shore.

Start today and map your quest, make adjustments as necessary but never shrink start for the closes shore when the distant one is your lifelong dream.