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Saturday, March 25, 2006


This week's featured woman entrepreneur is Karen Chung, CEO of Nomadic Group of Companies (Chicago, IL), a holding company that specializes in minority company financing and retained executive search for diversity candidates.

about Nomadic Group
Nomadic Group is a holding company that includes Nomadic Capital (www.nomadic-capital.com), a boutique investment banking firm providing venture capital and merger & acquisition services to minority-owned businesses, and Nomadic Consulting (www.nomadicconsulting.com), a boutique strategy consulting firm specializing in retained executive search for diversity candidates and human capital consulting. The secret to Nomadic Group's success? A wealth of industry experience, proven structured methodology to ensure excellence and consistency, and unparalleled understanding of each client's business that assures every financial transaction or search assignment is positioned for success. Karen formerly served as an Executive Coach and Group Leader for Inc. Magazine's Eagles CEO program and holds a Masters of Management degree from Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.

Karen's Top 10 Tips


1. Be 10 times better than your male counterparts.
Let's face it, we still work in a world dominated by male decision-makers. Most of us won't be able to bond with them in the traditional way (i.e. playing golf or talking sports). We need to make sure that we stand out by being heads and shoulders above our male counterparts; we need to be better, smarter, faster...

2. Use your stronger emotional skills (i.e. ability to connect with people) to develop unshakable bonds.
At a certain level of your career or business, you will realize that you can't do everything by yourself (even though many entrepreneurs fight this tooth and nail). In this environment of "transient relationships" it is critical to surround yourself with individuals that will "go to the mattresses" for you. The only way to accomplish this is by developing strong emotional connections with people based upon reciprocal respect and integrity. We can count on our best friends to be there for us.

3. Become very comfortable at asking for things from people.
While it may be true that "good things come to those who wait" -- why wait? Ask. Remember, your business and your career are at stake. Don't you want to achieve success sooner rather than later" If you don't ask for things (money, contacts, advice, support, etc.) you may not get those resources that may be critical for your continued success. Ask.

4. Surround yourself with successful male and female mentors who have a vested interested in seeing you become successful.
While it may be comforting to have female mentors with whom you can relate, male mentors are often in a better position to help you achieve your career or business objectives due to their position in the company, relationships, financial net worth, etc.

5. Identify and cultivate relationships with capital sources long before you actually need the money.
One of the biggest reasons for small business failure is due to lack of proper capitalization. This problem is especially exacerbated within the women and minority entrepreneurs. As you develop relationships in the earlier stage of your business, spend an inordinate amount of time cultivating relationships with those individuals and sources to whom you can turn in your time of need. This includes friends and family, bankers, personal investors, angel investors, and VCs.

6. Prioritize your relationship development time.
The 80/20 rule is particularly relevant in this area. Too often women seek to develop relationships with individuals for the sake of developing relationships. Unless you are in a business where broad superficial relationship are necessary, target and develop deep and close relationships with a handful of people with whom you can develop a long-term reciprocal relationships.

7. Prioritize your business development activities.
Not all events and activities are created equal. The most precious commodity for a busy executive or business owner is time. Make sure that you strive to get the biggest "bang for the buck" by critically evaluating networking opportunity by developing an Events Listing and "force-ranking" them by applying a perceived value judgment to give more focus to your activities.

8. Don't lose yourself in your job or business.
No matter how passionate you are about your job or business, don't let yourself get lost in the sole pursuit of your career. Allow the other side of you (the non-business side) an opportunity to express itself by indulging in hobbies or activities that you enjoy. Never lose focus of the important people in your life. Allow them to support you but also to set boundaries to keep your grounded. Thirty years from now, you may or may not have a career, but you are going to want to have your friends and family. Don't let relationships wither away from neglect.

9. Don't be afraid to emulate male characteristics.
We look up to strong male executives and business owners for their ability to think critically through difficult issues, to make solid business decisions (devoid of debilitating emotions), and to provide appropriate communications, even in the most difficult of times. Those rational "male characteristics and behaviors" are desired traits and key success factors for people in leadership positions, regardless of gender.

10. Don't be afraid to lend a helping hand.
Successful female executives and entrepreneurs have often been criticized for being self-centered in the pursuit of their individual career goals and for not offering to lend a helping hand. While you may agree or disagree with this assessment, one can only take responsibility for your own actions. If you have ever received help from others; be willing and available to extend yourself to those who can benefit from your knowledge, experience and relationships.


Karen's Favorite Marketing Tools

- Hoovers database (for lead generation)
- Economic Club of Chicago membership (and committee participation)
- Crain's Chicago Business (to keep up-to-date on current Chicago news)


Contact Information

Contact Information:
Karen Chung
CEO of Nomadic Group of Companies
Nomadic Consulting
www.nomadicconsulting.com
312-664-1734
Nomadic Capital
www.nomadic-capital.com
312-664-1732

A big thanks to Karen for her wise words.


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