Nell Merlino is on a mission. As the CEO and Founder of the non-profit Count Me In (http://www.makemineamillion.org/), she is heading the effort to inspire one million women across the country to build their companies into million dollar businesses. Merlino was in Scottsdale today, as Make Mine A Million $ Business debuted in Arizona. What’s to be gained by such a movement? The creation of four million jobs and a $700 billion infusion to the economy … and that’s conservatively. It would be the equivalent of creating the second largest economy in the world.
When asked by a reporter whether the coming recession would impact her efforts, Merlino waved her hand at the more than 200 female entrepreneurs in the audience and replied: ‘The answer to the recession is sitting right here in this room.’
The program included a panel presentation with successful Make Mine A Million graduates: women who had taken their companies to the million dollar mark and beyond during the past year. Their advice to their fellow entrepreneurs? Think bigger, sooner. Learn from your mistakes. Have confidence. Don’t wait, do it now.
Confidence is the key ingredient to entrepreneurial success. Confidence, faith and courage. As successful entrepreneurs, we can inspire this in others, and we should. We can encourage them to take risks, reach beyond their comfort zone and go after what they want. We can give them the tools they need to succeed and the support they need to stay focused.
Most importantly, we can … and should … applaud their efforts. And today we did..