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Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Women Owners Emphasize Career-Long Learning

How does being a woman affect leadership style? For the executives who spoke to the Business Journal as part of its annual list of the region’s largest Women-Owned Businesses (beginning on page 12), it all depends on the person. “I consider myself one of the guys,” Lindsey Carnett, founder of No. 23 Marketing Maven in Camarillo, said. “I don’t think that I necessarily quote-unquote ‘lead like a woman, throw like a girl.’” In contrast, No. 18 Abacorp CNC Machined Parts Chief Executive Kim Frankel has found that her management style is a bit more motherly. “It makes me very compassionate,” she said. But what they both likely have in common is confidence. While that quality may vital to success for anyone in the world of business, it’s especially true for women, explained Gail Lara, who runs the Women’s Collaborative Mentoring Program through the Valley Economic Alliance. “We are taught to be good and quiet and behave,” Lara said. “But women speaking out, connecting and being heard is making a big difference.” To stay at the top of their game, women in business, as evinced by the leaders profiled starting on page 15, are also constantly learning. Carnett has completed the Babson College curriculum-guided Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program four years ago at Long Beach City College, and routinely has her employees engage in development opportunities through webinars and conferences. “I feel like I’m educating every single day,” she said. “I’m still learning and that’s a big deal,” added Mitzi Like, chief executive of LBW Insurance and Financial Services in Valencia, the No. 16 company on the list. Nancy Lazkani, chief executive of No. 10 Icon Media Direct Inc. in Van Nuys, was one of only 23 women selected for BNP Paribas’ inaugural Executive Program for Women Entrepreneurs in 2015, which gave her the opportunity to learn from a professor at Stanford University who had educated Steve Jobs. “That was a highlight for me,” she recalled. As technology leads to the evaporation of old jobs – and pensions, too – educating women and men alike on entreprepreneurship is going to become increasingly important, Lara said. “Everyone is going to have to learn to have a business and sell what they do,” she said. “You can’t depend on being well-taken care of (by a company).” The women on the Business Journal’s list are one step ahead – and they’re eager to pass on the lessons they have learned during their journey to the next generation. Frankel is especially passionate about helping young people find their way into skilled trades. “The future of manufacturing lies in the hands of our youth, it is not in my hands,” she said. The List: Women-Owned Business Profiles No. 10: Nancy Lazkani, Icon Media Direct Inc. No. 16: Mitzi Like, LBW Insurance and Financial Services No. 18: Kim Frankel, Abacorp CNC Machined Parts No. 23: Lindsey Carnett, Marketing Maven Public Relations No. 27: Michelle McCue, http://sfvbj.com/news/2018/jul/09/women-entrepreneurs-27-michelle-mccue/ No. 34: Carrie Nebens, Equis Staffing

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