Want to leave the cubicle behind? Want to learn how to concept and execute a sound business plan? Want to venture on a new career path but don’t know where to begin? Want to learn how to earn a living doing what you’re most passionate about? On Sunday, July 29, four successful female entrepreneurs: Alex Beauchamp, Emira Mears, Lauren Bacon and Michelle Goodman will deliver practical career advice on for women who want to escape the cube.

Leading up to the live chat (which will take place live at 7pm EST/4PM PST on www.writersrevealed.com, rather than on our live podcast show), our guests will post tips and advice to get the conversation started and will introduce themselves to the WR community.

Got questions for our guests? Or are you a female entrepreneur or a budding one and want to leave your tips, advice and secrets for cultivating a successful career? Are you struggling and need advice? Post your comment/question and you’ll be eligible to win a *free* copy of The Anti 9-5 Guide! And remember, you’ll have an opportunity to ask your questions live, in our comments field, 7.29.07!

More about our guests after the jump!

Lauren Bacon and Emira Mears met while working for a website design firm on what turned out to be the eve of the Dot-Com bust, in Vancouver BC. It wasn’t long before they decided we weren’t cut out to fulfill other people’s dreams, and over regular sushi lunches and after-work coffee dates, the two hatched a plan to become our own bosses. Less than six months later, in February 2000, we founded Raised Eyebrow Web Studio Inc. - a successful, mission-driven business that primarily serves not-for-profit organizations, women-run small businesses and arts groups.

As business partners, they set out with goals that would be considered modest and unremarkable within traditional business models: build a successful business that would pay both partners competitive salaries and allow them the freedom to pursue our personal lives. In seven years, they have not only built a highly successful business which now employs two staff people; they have also consistently turned a profit. And as an added bonus along the way, they went from partners in business to best friends, who decided that working together 40+ hours a week wasn’t quite enough, so they decided to also co-author a book.

After fielding countless inquiries from aspiring young businesswomen on a wide range of topics geared at answering the question “how do I start my own business?”, the pair decided it made sense to write business book we had longed for when they first set out on their own. The book, currently titled The Boss of You: Everything A Woman Needs to Know to Start, Run, and Maintain Her Own Business, is being published by Seal Press and is due to hit bookshelves in Spring of 2008. It’s our belief that there are plenty of other women out there with similar business goals to ours, and who would benefit from hearing about some of the lessons we’ve learned (sometimes the hard way) over the years.

Listen to a podcast of Alex, Laura & Emira on their Boss Lady panel at SXSW.

In 2001 Alex Beauchamp left a successful corporate career to pursue an creative entrepreneurial one and chronicled her transition on her blog, GirlatPlay.com. Instantly attracting media attention and a loyal fan base, Alex began to create more sites dedicated to helping others live life fully and expanded her work to include photography, production and design. Combining 20 years in technology, 10 years of high-profile blogging, and 5 years experience in Hollywood (development and production), Alex has created a successful company which passionately works and consults on projects from new media to film to art.

Links:
Girl at Play: Chronicles of Leaving a Corporate Career to pursue an independent creative one.
Another Girl at Play: 30 Female Creative Entrepreneurs discuss how they work

About The Anti 9-to-5 Guide: Life in the cube doesn’t have to be forever. In The Anti 9-to-5 Guide: Career Advice for Women Who Think Outside the Cube, I show hopeful cubicle expats how to transition to part-time, flextime, at-home, outdoor, overseas, nonprofit, or self-employed work. If you’ve ever wondered what life is like without the golden handcuffs, or you’ve ever felt grossly out of place in the corporate world, this book is for you.

About the Author: Michelle Goodman fled the cube in 1992 to become a freelance writer and has yet to look back. Her reported pieces about alternative careers, human mating rituals, and popular culture have appeared in Salon, Bust, Bitch, Bark, the Seattle Times, and several anthologies, including (hot off the presses!) Single State of the Union: Single Women Speak Out on Life, Love, and the Pursuit of Happiness. In 2006 she was a 2006 writer-in-residence at Hedgebrook, a women’s writing retreat in Washington. Her freelance writing career has allowed her to work with everyone from book publishers to high-tech empires to peddlers of new-age products, wrangling text on pet accessories, video games, voice recognition software, marital aids, home colonics, and just about anything else that can be sold. She frequently gives talks and workshops on the freelance life in an effort to help aspiring cubicle expats avoid the same mistakes she made early in her own solo career.

More Links
Michelle Goodman’s website
MediaBistro Interview with Rachel Kramer Bussel

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 22nd, 2007 at 6:09 am and is filed under Live Chat, Non Fiction. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.