The Hot Momma’s Project Guerrilla Mentoring program being held this Saturday in Washington DC is officially sold out. If you’ve been waitlisted, you’re in luck! We’re picking a commenter at random to get a free ticket to the event!

To enter, all you need to do is make a comment on this post telling us why you want to attend. Again, the winner will be picked at random, we’d just like to find out later how close you came to your goals for a possible follow-up article about your experience.

We’ll notify the winner on Thursday at 3 pm Eastern time via email. (So make sure you use an email you check on a regular basis when you fill out the commenting form!) We’ll also try and notify you via Twitter if you’ve filled out that information.

What’s Guerrilla Mentoring?

In a nutshell, it’s a process that takes the best information and processes for mentoring – the same ones used by million dollar executives – and distills what usually takes 100 hours to kick in, into a two hour period. It’s not just for those who’d like to be mentored – if you’d like, you can learn how to BE a mentor too.

Here’s more from the sign-up page:

What you’ll learn at Guerrilla Mentoring:

Women with mentors are more successful and have higher confidence. But, did you know that the number of mentors you have also impacts success factors? You’ll link in with the network to unlock the tools to find them and gain access to this proprietary data.

Not sure what to say to your mentor? We’ve got you covered. See above. You’re in the right network once you attend a Hot Mommas event.

Want to be a mentor yourself? Participate in the most addictive mentorship exercises ever- live. This was the hands down favorite exercise at #sisUdc – our annual university event – and we’re bringing it back in a focused format.

All this and more is brought to you by the Hot Momma’s Project, run by the Chief Hot Momma, Kathy Korman Frey.

Wait. What’s a Hot Momma?

In the Words of the Hot Mommas Project:

Got women and girls in your life? We increase their confidence, courage, and clout. The Hot Mommas® Project is an award-winning social venture that pairs the world’s largest digital case study library of female role models with cutting-edge teaching tools. The result? Confidence and key success factor increases of up to 200 percent among women in Gen Y, Gen X, and beyond.

Enter now and you can win our first Women’s History Month prize!

Share Your Thoughts on this article here: Guerrilla Mentoring Giveaway! #sisUdc #wgbiz

Are you suffering from a nasty case of “the shoulds?”

Symptoms include: Habitual doing of what you think you SHOULD do versus what you WANT to do, feeling detached from your job, wondering what happened to that life or career dream, a general angst for doing the dishes…

Sound familiar?

Several, major bodies of research actually focus on the cause and impact of that nasty case of “the shoulds”: Confidence.

Well, “should” no more, because the Hot Mommas Project has a treat in store for you!

The Hot Mommas Project has cracked the code on women’s confidence, and has packaged it up in a half-day seminar. Until now, these teachings were only available inside the classroom of an exclusive, nationally ranked Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership course.

Today, The Hot Mommas Project brings you groundbreaking research and the best practices in leadership education. The result:  To help YOU solve, improve, and reach higher; a real world toolkit with the guidance to use it. In the Sis U Bootcamp coming up, you’ll:

• Understand the hard-hitting facts behind the value of women and girls in society. We raise GDPs and company profitability. There’s a reason. Learn what we can do to bring it to the forefront.
• Learn about the “confidence crisis” and how to neutralize it. It’s rampant among women and girls, but we’re so well educated and awesome, we’ve been excelling in spite of it.
• Master the Sisterhood of Success Equation: GRIP, GOAL, GET and see how you can replicate this in your career in any situation ranging from work life balance to salary negotiation to running for office.
• Experience one of the most addictive mentorship exercises ever, and walk out with “Your 5″ – what their research shows is the make-or-break between mediocrity or pursuing your true potential.
• End strong with a pay it forward plan – because that’s how the Sisterhood of Success rolls.

Here are the deets:

When: Saturday, October 15th, 2011, 10 am to 1 pm

Where: The George Washington University School of Business, CFEE

How much: $99 with our special discount code until October 7^th (30% off original ticket price)

How to get the discount: Register here and enter the code wgbiz

With whom: Kathy Korman Frey, The Hot Mommas® Project Founder, Harvard MBA, Entrepreneur in Residence and Professor of the award-winning Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership class at The George Washington University School of Business, Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence.

Having heard from Kathy during last year’s #wgbiz bootcamp, I can tell you she is a terrific speaker, energizing, and knows how to put you to work. So I strongly suggest you sign up soon. It’ll probably be the best $99 you’ve spent in a while. Remember, the special discounted WGB rate is good through Oct. 7, so don’t delay!

Image: snigl3t via Flickr, Creative Commons

Outgoing Women Grow Business editor Shonali Burke is the award-winning principal of Shonali Burke Consulting, where she turns your communication conundrums into community cool. Adjunct faculty for Johns Hopkins’ MA/Communication program, she publishes Waxing UnLyrical under the watchful eyes of Chuck, Suzy Q. and Lola, her three rescue dogs. Her long-suffering husband has accepted that Shonali can most often be found on Twitter.

Share Your Thoughts on this article here: Sis U Bootcamp Aims to Turn Shoulds Into Coulds

DISCLAIMER to readers: Darth Vader was not harmed in this recording.

She just gave a great speech on the benefits and stress from having so many available choices.

She has resolve, success, and a great depth of reflection.

She’s got one heck of a sense of humor, is a Women Grow Business blogger — and she’s a clear winner too.

This ‘she’ is Ann Bevans, a business owner and prize winner of this year’s case study competition for the Hot Mommas Project.

The Hot Mommas Project is an online mentorship library for women and girls, comprised of case studies accessible for free. People from across the globe submit case studies reflecting their life experience about entrepreneurship and different professional industries.

What challenges did they face?

What decisions or fears or obstacles helped to crystalize their success?

These questions are often framed and answered in the most personal and triumphant ways in these case studies.

Ann’s case study won top honors this year, revealing her sense of purpose for her business and resolve to look at specific choices.

In this video talk: Darth Vader talks shop.

And Ann shares more on what compelled her to write her case study. Her potent acceptance speech was a hot topic too, looking at the trials of choice in & beyond business — all this from the Hot Momma’s Awards Ceremony earlier this week.

Congratulations to Ann (and also Liz Scherer, a Women Grow Biz blogger who received Hot Mommas honors this year and was unable to attend the ceremony).

More from Women Grow Business:

• May, Memorial Day, Military: lessons for now, by Patricia Frame
• Life doesn’t stop, and neither does business, by Thursday Bram

Cited by ForbesWoman as one of 30 women entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter, Jill Foster is principal of Live Your Talk and founding editor of Women Grow Business. Believing strong communities come from strong conversations (and thus public speaking skill), she specializes in speech coaching for women in technology. A social tech enthusiast, she co-founded DC Media Makers – a peer learning community that teaches digital technology. Jill won the Apps for Democracy Social Citizen Award for a co-produced project on how technology could help Washington, DC neighborhoods. During the 2008 presidential election, she fulfilled a lifelong dream by serving as a “Big Tent” credentialed blogger for the Democratic National Convention.

Share Your Thoughts on this article here: Hot Mommas Project Winner Ann Bevans Talks Business & Darth Vader

So, this is pretty cool.

Actually, it’s SO cool, it’s hot.

Or “hawt,” as former WGB editor and my good friend, Jill Foster, would say.

Two of our regular contributors, Ann Bevans and Liz Scherer, are both winners in the Hot Mommas 2011 annual case study competition.

Why is that a big deal, you ask?

Well… here’s what the site says (and I’m copying/pasting because there’s no point in reinventing the wheel):

Hot Mommas Project is an award-winning women’s leadership research venture housed at the George Washington University School of Business, Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence.  On January 31 of 2010, the project became the world’s largest women’s case study library providing free, online, global access to stories of female role models and mentors.  The result? Measurable increases in self-confidence among women age 18 and older. To get involved, get on the quarterly alert list here.

So it’s a big deal. No, let me rephrase that: it’s a BIG deal.

Read Ann’s and Liz’ cases here and here.

And if you’re free on May 3 from 6:30 – 8:30 pm and in the DC area, why not cheer them on in person at the award ceremony? There will also be a princess (yes, a real-live one!) in attendance.

Way to go, Ann, Liz, and all the other women who’ve been showcased. We’re so proud of you!

Hawt hawt HAWT!

Women Grow Business editor Shonali Burke is the award-winning principal of Shonali Burke Consulting, where she turns your communication conundrums into community cool. Adjunct faculty for Johns Hopkins’ MA/Communication program, she is also featured on BNET as The Startup Storyteller, and publishes Waxing UnLyrical under the watchful eyes of Chuck, Suzy Q. and Lola, her three rescue dogs. Her long-suffering husband has accepted that Shonali can most often be found on Twitter.

Share Your Thoughts on this article here: Cheers To WGB’s Own Hot Mommas

Chief Hot Momma aka Kathy Korman Frey (you’ll remember her electrifying keynote if you attended the 2010 #wgbiz boot camp) tells us that the submission deadline for HMP’s annual case competition is January 31 – that’s Monday.

What is it? From their site:

“The Hot Mommas^® Project is an award-winning venture housed at the George Washington University School of Business.

“We make women’s stories teachable using our “case wizard” at www.HotMommasProject.org. The Hot Mommas Project library is the first of its kind, providing scalable, global access to role models and virtual mentors that can be used by peer support groups, educators, trainers, and parents.

“We’ve been featured in Prentice Hall textbooks, the Washington Post, NPR and are the winner of a national Coleman Foundation case award.”

What’s the competition?

They are currently accepting nominations for the 2011 case study competition (the 2010 case study competition closed midnight, January 31, 2010.)

Nominated women receive a nomination notice, write their story at HotMommasProject.org using their “case wizard,” then click “publish” prior to January 31, 2011. Writers are permanently archived in their case library. Winners will be judged in February 2011 and published in a leading Prentice Hall textbook.

What to do next?

Go to www.HotMommasProject.org to learn more, see their recent press release, and browse their library of teachable stories (aka “cases”).

Nominees registered at www.HotMommasProject.org will receive updates on prizes and honors.

Don’t wait! Nominate a dynamic woman 18 or older (yourself included). You can also email your nominations at support [a] hotmommasproject [dot] org.

More from Women Grow Business:

• Jen Consalvo shares lessons from Austin for women in business
• 4 lessons learned from co-founding with a friend, by guest contributor Jessica Valenzuela

Image © our own “social media swami,” Shashi Bellamkonda of Network Solutions

Women Grow Business editor Shonali Burke is the award-winning principal of Shonali Burke Consulting, which specializes in “integrated communication to the nth degree.” In other words, she turns your communication conundrums into community cool. Featured on BNET as The Startup Storyteller, she also publishes Waxing UnLyrical under the watchful eyes of Chuck, Suzy Q. and Lola, her three rescue dogs. Her long-suffering husband has accepted that Shonali can most often be found on Twitter.

Share Your Thoughts on this article here: Deadline Jan. 31: Are You A Hot Momma?

I’m still recovering

from the first-ever Women Grow Business Boot Camp, sponsored by Network Solutions and Steptoe & Johnson LLP, this past weekend. Though “recovering” is probably a poor choice of word; it was anything but draining. It was energizing, fun, empowering… I could go on and on.

Even for those of us who bond easily with other women, I don’t think we can quite imagine what it’s like to be in a roomful of women – around 100 or so on Saturday – all with a common goal: to be the best that they can be at their businesses and lives; and often the two overlap.

I started the day nervous but excited; even though we’d planned for pretty much every eventuality, you know Murphy’s Law has a way of insinuating itself just when you don’t need it to.

I ended the day exhausted, emotionally overloaded and literally tingling with the electricity generated by the women I had the great fortune to encounter during the entire experience of pulling the boot camp together.

Our terrific keynote speaker, Kathy Korman Frey, put it best, I think:

“I started the day excited, but unsure – as I am before every talk I give. I ended the day thinking, ‘These are women who could change the world, and probably will.’ Let this be a lesson to all women out there about how a couple of hours, and a room full of the right people, can change your day, your week, your year, and beyond.”

Image: (cc) Shashi Bellamkonda www.shashi.name | Social Media Swami | www.networksolutions.com

Much more to come in terms of information we want to share with all of you who weren’t there – after all, you are ALL our community – but for now, you can see the photos taken by our own Social Media Swami, Shashi Bellamkonda, here. Embedded below is the great keynote Kathy gave, and you can read her blog post here.

And if you’re serious about growing your business, you should sign up for the Sisterhood of Success webinar Kathy’s teaching this Wednesday.

You’ll come away feeling your eyes have just been opened. I guarantee it.

Shonali Burke is editor of Women Grow Business and one of the country’s leading business communicators, who was named to PRWeek’s inaugural top “40 Under 40″ list of US-based PR professionals. She specializes in creating and implementing integrated (online and off), results-based, measurable communication programs for clients both large and small at Shonali Burke Consulting. An accredited business communicator, she is also Adjunct Faculty at Johns Hopkins University’s M.A. in Communications program and active in the local communications community as President of IABC/DC Metro. Talk to her via her blog, Waxing UnLyrical or Twitter.

Share Your Thoughts on this article here: Reflections on the Women Grow Business Boot Camp

Professor Kathy Korman Frey at the George Washington University School of Business has kicked off the 2009-2010 HotMommas Case Study Competition.

Share your experience
It’s a unique project that takes the stories of the women and makes them teachable in a “case study” format, thus providing scalable, global access to role models and virtual mentors.

Need a refresher on Kathy’s great work?
Read this interview with Chief Hot Momma, Kathy Korman Frey, that we published a few months ago.

You have until January 31st:
If you want to nominate someone (yourself included) for the 2009-2010 competition, go to the HotMommas Facebook page or send an email with their information.

Links you may find useful/interesting:

The HotMommas Project

Nomination Form

Why Role Models Matter for Women and Girls

Hot Mommas Project Everyday Revolutionaties

Washington Post article

Share Your Thoughts on this article here: Deadline January 31st: Calling All Hot Mommas

Ladies, I’m back.
-with more of the top 10 women’s networking groups in the DC area. I hope you found the first five of this list useful. And the added suggestions from Women Grow Business readers to that list were fantastic (so if you have any more to add, please do in the comments for this post!).

1. YES!Circle.
   YES!Circle is the creation of Margarita Rozenfeld, who is an exceptional career coach, and completely committed to both entrepreneurship and helping others. YES!Circle brings together entrepreneurs from all industries, in all phases of the business lifecycle. Many of the YES!Circle events are held in the downtown DC area. The events provide an intimate setting of brainstorming and learning, and are true peer advisory groups for anyone looking to learn the nuts and bolts of entrepreneurship. One of YES!Circle’s most popular annual events is a weekend-long visionary retreat. The next one happens June 26 – 28, 2009 at Berkley Spring, WV. These retreats are for entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs and creative types who want to get crystal clear about their vision, mission and action steps to get to their next level of business growth. There are still a few spots available, so check the website for details if an immersion in entrepreneurship interests you. Yes!Circle meets monthly, and the meetings are always full of successful, passionate entrepreneurs looking to connect with like-minded individuals.
2. Executive Women’s Roundtable.
   EWR has evolved into an outstanding group of executive women from all facets of business and government in the DC region. This rapidly growing group meets monthly at Maggianos in Tyson’s Corner, VA. This wonderful setting provides great networking opportunities, and the luncheon speakers are among the best that any networking group has to offer. Speakers include leaders and business owners from all types of businesses, government leaders, political experts, national news correspondents, business coaches, chefs, international authors, women’s rights advocates, health experts, and many more. The leadership of Executive Women’s Roundtable is extremely strong, which ensures top-notch programming and ongoing participation from the best and brightest in our business community.
3. eWomenNetwork.
   eWomenNetwork has been around for many, many years. What started out as a small networking group has mushroomed into one of the most far-reaching women’s networks in the United States. The group has hundreds of networking events occurring during any given month, and the DC Chapter is particularly active. It is run by Susan Wight, who has transformed the DC chapters (meeting in both Tyson’s Corner and Leesburg, VA) into excellent networking events with strong speakers and great attendance. The unique aspect of eWomenNetwork is its national reach. The founder of this group had a vision to create a nationwide, cost-effective network for women, and she has achieved it. There are annual conferences, an author’s network, a coaching network, a speaker’s network, and many other benefits. You can find Susan’s information on the main website, under Managing Directors.
4. National Speakers Association.
   I am a newcomer to NSA, but I attended an event last week, and I know the President of NSA, Susan Trivers. I also know several incredibly gifted colleagues (Sally Strackbein, Jennifer Abernathy, Vernice Armour) that are active in NSA, and they are among the best speakers you could ever hope to see. Not only was I very impressed with the quality, talent, creativity, and diversity of the speakers I saw at their monthly June meeting; I learned so much in the short time that I was there. Professional speaking is truly an art. It is a discipline that requires knowledge in many aspects that extend way beyond an understanding of a specific topic. If you have any interest in pursuing a speaking career, or if you are required to give presentations in your line of work (and most business owners are required to do so), you should consider attending a NSA event or explore their membership options. I hope to be spending more time with NSA.
5. Women’s Business Center of Northern Virginia.
   The Women’s Business Center of Northern Virginia is one of the SBA-run women’s business centers around the United States. It is the flagship women’s business center; truly setting the standard for what all women’s business centers should be. These centers fall under the supervision of Ana Harvey, President Obama’s appointed Assistant Administrator for the Office of Women Owned Business within the SBA. Ana is dedicated to ensuring all of the Women’s Business Centers nationwide provide the resources that women business owners need to thrive. This center offers so much to women business owners. It provides classes in virtually every topic, from writing a business plan to securing financing. It provides excellent conferences and workshops, and is a phenomenal springboard and resource for all women business owners.

So there you have my top 10 list. I hope you found a few resources that you have not experienced, and I hope you have been inspired to get out there and connect with other like-minded women.

One more resource
I would like to mention just one more resource. The Hot Mommas Project was launched by an amazing, inspiring woman named Kathy Korman-Frey — who has contributed to Women Grow Business. She’s been teaching women’s entrepreneurship and leadership at George Washington University for years. And here is a description of the Hot Mommas Project:

The Hot Mommas Project is an award-winning women’s leadership program housed at the George Washington University School of Business. The research initiative started in 2002 to fill a gap in the education system:

Scalable access to role models, particularly female ones. Thus, our mission is to increase self-efficacy of women and girls across the globe through exposure to role models. To accomplish our mission, we are building the world’s largest women’s case study library to produce not just vignettes, but credible academic tools that can be utilized in a classroom environment.
I encourage you to visit Hot Mommas to learn more about this groundbreaking program, and to be inspired by heroic tales of entrepreneurship from across the globe.

Thank you for reading my post … more valuable information to come for sure. And what other networking groups and events have been a great support to you in the Washington, DC area?

Happy Networking!

More from Women Grow Business:

• Marissa Levin and her series on sales strategy and leadership;
• Liz Scherer and building quality partnerships (hint: would you marry them?);
• Patricia Frame and women entrepreneurs: value of building your development plan for 2010.

Guest contributor Marissa Levin is Founder and CEO of Information Experts. Launching a new Women Grow Business series on sales strategy, Marissa was named a 2008 BRAVO Award winner by SmartCEO Magazine (which honors the region’s 25 most influential women CEOs) and recently was listed in Washington’s 100 Technology Titans by Washingtonian Magazine. Describing her true passion as “helping other business owners be successful with their own business growth”, Marissa can be reached through her blog Marissa Levin.

Image High Five by LinksmanJD, Creative Commons.

Share Your Thoughts on this article here: Value of Face Time as Entrepreneurs: Top Women’s Networking Groups in the DC Metro Area

It was a recent pleasure attending a fundraiser / panel event and reception for the Hot Mommas Project.

Motivating to see: 3 minute video chat
Hot Mommas’ Founder Kathy Korman Frey talked shop on the goals for this event and where the project was headed in regard to women’s entrepreneurial leadership. Thanks for the time Kathy (and congrats!):

Share Your Thoughts on this article here: Toward 1 Million: Fundraiser Impacts Resources, Leadership, and Mentoring for Girls (video chat)

Kathy Korman Frey aka Chief Hot Momma recently shared with Women Grow Business on her women’s leadership program and overall mission to help expand women’s mentoring opportunities aka Hot Mommas Project.

She with her team is geared up to continue connecting emerging women leaders and entrepreneurs to needed experience this summer. And Kathy remains mindful of how to teach life balance while launching new business dreams.

Idea creation, evaluation/research, planning, and pitching
That’s the core curriculum intent of this summer workshop based in women’s entrepreneurial leadership (WEL). It’s a teleseminar format, involving (4) one-hour sessions with action-oriented assignments in between each segment.

A word on deadline
It approaches I think, with the first cycle of classes starting August 17th. Please clarify directly however with her team as I think there’s flexibility available for students (but that’s a theory that’s yet 100% confirmed on my end).

Where to ask questions, how to sign-up, and what to expect
Course planners ask for inquiries to be sent via email from those interested. And the offered guarantee for this program: a measurable increase in the advancement of a core business idea.

More pay dirt:
Those pursuing the Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership workshop may also be interested in the “Virtual Mentoring” class.

To register and learn more on the WEL workshop
Send a shout-out via email to support(at)hotmommasproject(dot)org.

And a word to the students!
If you go through the WEL workshop, please visit back at Women Grow Business to relay your lessons learned and achievement as an emerging entrepreneur.

(Image Path to Success by A. Hill, Creative Commons)

Share Your Thoughts on this article here: Idea Creation, Research, Plan, and Pitch: Women's Entrepreneurial Leadership Summer Workshop