I am not sure how typical that was in the fifties when this story started. But it is rarely true anymore.

Maybe you have experienced one of these life-changing events:

• Becoming the sole provider for your family through divorce, widowhood, singlehood, or layoff

• Becoming part of a “yours, mine, and ours” family

• Taking care of elderly parents

• Juggling corporate/business life, family life, and work/life balance

• Having no pension and depending on social security and your investment acumen to live out your retirement years

• Discovering that your investment accounts are not enough to live on

If you have experienced one or more of these (or know someone who has) you know the myth of having a secure income with one job is just that: a myth.

For most women, failure is not an option.

When you have children, you must figure out a way to feed and clothe them. Whether you are single or married, you can no longer count on a company that will take care of you for the rest of your life. You HAVE to be successful just like the following three women who created their own success.

• LS had always been the breadwinner. Her husband was a stay-at-home dad raising their three children. LS had a successful career in the financial world near New York City – until she was laid off. She had to find another career and fast. Not wanting to face a future of layoffs, she studied how to invest in real estate. Failure was not an option. She has become a successful rehabber on the Gold Coast of Connecticut.

• MM and her husband had built a portfolio of rental properties while she worked for a large telecommunications company. She made a strong six-figure income but could see the writing on the wall. She needed to be prepared in case she was laid off. By the time she was offered a golden handshake to retire (a nice way of saying you are fired), she received training on how to raise capital and how to evaluate apartment buildings. She now runs a portfolio of 950+ units in multiple states. Her adult son and daughter have joined the business.

• LA was a divorced mother of five and a grandmother of one. She had always liked renovating her own homes. When she realized it was time for her to make her own career, she turned to real estate. Since then, she has raised over $1 million in private funding, renovated houses, and purchased apartments. She said, “I made more money in this one deal than I had ever made in my entire life.”

For these three women (and I know many more stories like these) real estate investing was the ticket to financial security and financial freedom. Even if your current life seems secure, I invite you to act as if you need a back-up plan.

My Story

My father worked for DuPont for thirty years. When he retired, he received a full pension and full medical benefits to support him and my mother.

My story has been totally different. I read Future Shock by Alvin Toffler before I graduated high school in 1974. In his book, Toffler predicted we would change jobs six or seven times during the course of our lifetime. This was a shocking concept at the time.

[ToffLer, Alvin, Future Shock, Random House, New York, 1970]

However, this prediction would become my life story.

After graduating from college in 1979, I was hired and laid off four times in four years. In fact, a recruiter told me that if I didn’t figure out a way to keep a job for a longer period, I would become unhireable! My longest position was five years.

Two weeks into my last job as a technical writer, I saw the writing on the wall. My supervisor, who had hired me, was met in her office by two security guards. She was told to pack up her personal items and was escorted from the building. Not only was she laid off, but she was faced with this indignity!

Every employee soon received a letter saying: “This company will be going through a transformation in the next ninety days. You may apply for up to three jobs including your current position. We will let you know if you are being moved to a new position, keeping your position, or being laid off.”

I knew my days were numbered, once again.

As I was looking for health insurance (contractors didn’t receive benefits), the salesman invited me to come work for him. He represented benefits for entrepreneurs. For the first time in my life, I saw the vision of making a whole lot of money while serving a whole lot of people.

From Employee to Entrepreneur

So I quit my job as a tech writer and started my own business. Never again would I be laid off! Never again would my present be determined by someone in the big office! I was in charge!

Once I learned how to sell and how to market, I knew I would never be laid off again. I might change products or might change situations, but I would never be broke again.

I learned how to make appointments, how to discover what people needed, and how to sell them the perfect product. I went from being broke to being the top representative in my region and being in the top ten in the country! I soon became a $3 million producer, one family at a time.

In our next letter, I will start sharing the exact strategy to this breakthrough success.

Now It’s Your Turn

I am not telling you my story so you can copy it. I am telling you so you know it is possible.

Right now, let’s discover YOUR best business idea. It doesn’t have to be perfect. We are brainstorming here to get you started on your own business.

It can be full time or part time.

It could be an evolution of what you are doing now.

It could be taking advantage of new technology or going back to the “old school” ideas.

So grab your special pen and journal or your favorite app or lovely software and let’s get started today.

• What have I done well in my career or life that others have paid me for?

• What would I do even if no one paid me?

• When in YOUR life did you meet “failure is not an option” and succeed

Now, brainstorm here for your next (or first) business. Nothing is off the table.

Share your answers here. I read every single one.

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The National Women’s Business Council, the non-partisan organization that advises the United States President, Congress, and the Small Business Administration, put it this way:

“Women entrepreneurs are different. They start different businesses for different reasons with different types of financing in different spaces. Rather than asking women to measure up to criteria not designed with them in mind and to meet the expectations of lenders, investors, and grantors who do not look like them, it’s time to start from scratch. Institutional change cannot happen by making small tweaks to an unstable foundation. Instead, it needs to be from the ground up.”

And the numbers back it up.

Between 1997 and 2014, the number of women-owned businesses in the United States grew at one and a half times the national average. By 2014, we were starting an estimated 1,288 new businesses every single day. Not every year. Every day.

By 2023, women-owned businesses were generating over $1.7 trillion in receipts and employing millions across every industry and every state.

Here is the statistic that stopped me cold when I first found it.

In real estate, women are the most competitive with men of any business category. Female real estate sole proprietors earned 81.7 percent of what their male counterparts earned, the closest parity of any industry measured. And we participate in real estate at nearly the same rate as men, 13.5 percent compared to 12.4 percent.

In an era when women are still fighting for equal footing in boardrooms and courtrooms, we are nearly matching men dollar for dollar in real estate.

That is not a coincidence. That is a clue.

Women are relationship builders. We listen before we act. We think long term. We consider the whole picture, the family, the community, the future. We persist through setbacks without ego getting in the way.

Those are not soft skills. Those are entrepreneurial superpowers.

And yet, you may feel the naysayers everywhere. The spouse who thinks it is too risky. The friend who asks when you are going to get a “real job.” The family member who reminds you of every person they ever knew who tried something like this and failed.

Here is what you need to know in your bones:

The data does not lie. Women are not catching up to men in business. In the categories that matter most for building lasting wealth, we are already there. We have been there. The world is just catching up to what was always true.

That is exactly why I created this publication, Women Are Simply Better.

To celebrate women already in business. To encourage and inspire women who are ready to start. To build a community where we have real role models for success and we choose our own support network.

I know firsthand what that community can do. Back in 2003, I co-founded the Connecticut Real Estate Investors Association because so many people believe real estate investing and entrepreneurship are just too risky, too complicated, too much. Instead, we built a community, training programs, and networking to prove something simple: you are not crazy for wanting this. Being successful is not an anomaly. It is already inside of you. We are here to help you find your tribe, your home, your support network. We are here to provide you the training and resources you will need to reach your goals. And we are here for brainstorming the best strategies to pivot your business as we all go through these curious times.

You do not need permission. You do not need to measure up to a standard that was never built for you. You need to trust what you already know and take the next step.

So I want to ask you directly.

In what way are you a strong entrepreneur? Which life and business skills are you transforming to meet the challenges at hand? What business are you building, rebuilding, or just now stepping into?

Tell me in the comments. I read every single one. 🌸

Twenty-five years ago, I declared to the world:

I am the possibility that ordinary people are extraordinary.

This declaration has shaped my life ever since. Since this life- changing moment, I have striven to identify the extraordinary qualities of each person I meet.

Above all, I am committed to helping people recognize their extraordinary qualities. You will hear stories from some of these women in this publication.

Simply being born makes you extraordinary. You are special and you are unique.

Your opportunity, as you go forward, is to recognize the extraordinary in yourself and apply it to your next venture in real estate and in business.

You came into this world with ten fingers and ten toes. You learned to walk, and you fell down, and you got back up. You learned to read, to play, to love. You built friendships. You created a home. You showed up for the people who needed you.

You did all of this while the world was still figuring out whether to let you in.

During the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, there have been so many firsts for women. For the first time, women “earned” the right to vote, to sign contracts and to apply for credit cards.

We have now become congresswomen, senators, governors, prime ministers, Secretary of State (and other cabinet positions), CEOs, CFOs, COOs, physicians and pharmacists, and soldiers.

Women have even become sports columnists, reporting from men’s locker rooms.

Women have become successful police officers, firefighters, and licensed tradespeople.

These firsts didn’t happen by accident. They happened because ordinary women refused to accept the limits the world placed on them. I saw this up close.

In 1997 I attended the Women in the Trades and Non-traditional Occupations Conference. All around me were pioneering women who were learning how to do construction so they could join the unions. Now we see women in non-traditional jobs all over.

As a woman you have always done what you needed to do to survive. You have taken the actions you needed to take to excel. As a woman you have had to do more than the guy next to you to gain respect, to get the grades, to get the pay raise and to get the promotion.

You have taken extraordinary actions to take care of your family, your children, and your parents. As a woman, you have looked around your community and performed extraordinary acts of kindness to support your neighborhood, PTA, place of worship, and charitable organizations.

My mother is such an example of this. I am Jewish and my family celebrates Chanukah each year. Aside from presents, playing dreidel, and lighting the menorah, a favorite tradition is eating potato latkes (pancakes). Growing up, my sisters and I helped Mom grate the potatoes and onions, mix them with eggs and fry them on the griddle. When I was in first grade, Mom brought in enough latkes for my whole class. They were delicious! My teacher, Mrs. Gussie Seres was a short stout woman who was a force of nature and could convince anyone to do anything. She asked Mom to come in and cook latkes for the Sunday school. Of course, Mom said yes, thinking she was making enough for our little class. Before she knew it, Mrs. Seres had somehow convinced Mom to make them for the entire Sunday school!

Does this sound familiar to you? How many cookies or cupcakes have you baked to raise money for your child’s sports team or band? How many field trips have you chaperoned? How many car washes have you helped your teenager with? How many phone calls have you made to sign up other parents? How many marches, demonstrations or strikes have you attended? How many marathons have you walked, run or biked to raise money? And how many causes have you supported, waiting for your opportunity?

Historically, U.S. women supported the Abolitionist Movement to end slavery in the 1800s, and then hoped the men would support them in their right to vote.

In the 60s (my coming of age), women demonstrated against the Vietnam War and fought for civil rights. And then hoped the men would support them in the Equal Rights Amendment. In the 80s and 90s, women organized and participated in AIDs marches to get medical care for and end discrimination against AIDs patients. And hoped men would support them in equal rights.

As women, we have been supportive of other folks. And now it’s OUR turn. Our turn to pursue our dreams. Our turn to test our powers. Our turn to practice creativity. Our turn to create a business that will give us financial freedom and security.

The irony? As we become more and more successful, everyone else around us benefits. Our newfound success creates well-paying jobs, quality housing, role models and a legacy for generations to come.

This is what this Substack is about. How women can be, and are, successful entrepreneurs, especially in real estate. More importantly, I will give you the tools to be successful yourself. My dream is that you, an ordinary woman, will discover how extraordinary you really are. My dream is that you too will see the extraordinariness of each person you meet.

I would love to hear. How has your extraordinariness shown up in your life and the life of your family and community?
Who would you like to recognize here?

What challenges do you have that get in the way of your power and self-expression and what information, tools, inspiration would you like to see here to move you forward?

Share your answer here. I read every single one.

Hands rose immediately!

I had my own ideas of course and then heard ones that I hadn’t thought of. We have to support our families! We want to build a legacy! We ask for directions!

From this one evening, I wrote a book (which you will get to read here) and discovered stories of so many women stepping into their power, using their natural-born strengths, gaining skills and taking action.

From this one evening, I have been so inspired to meet and interview women real estate owners and entrepreneurs who overcame personal and business circumstances to build their own empire, support their families, and make their mark on the world.

Including myself. I too have had to reinvent myself professionally many times. Here is a little of my story.

I graduated school in 1979 just before the commodities crash of 1980. We transformed from mainframe computers to desktops. And everyone was trying to figure out how to survive. And then the world wide web with the internet bubble appeared.

I became a tech writer, an insurance salesperson, a trainer, and event manager. I changed jobs so many times, a job recruiter threatened that if I didn’t keep a job for 3 years, he would never be able to place me. It wasn’t my “fault”. Technology was changing so fast, employers couldn’t keep up with it and I was laid off multiple times.

When my manager was escorted from the office by two “henchmen” and the rest of us were told we had to re-apply for our own jobs and two others, I knew I had to make a move.

Gone were the days of working for someone for 30 years with a pension. If I didn’t learn how to adapt, I would be left behind. With the AI revolution, we are facing these times again.

Along the way, I picked up life skills and kept on growing. I certainly discovered that I didn’t want to work 40+ hours and only get 2 weeks of vacation. Life is too short and I wanted the flexibility to visit my family all across the country and travel around the world. Turns out, real estate gave me the freedom to actually live my life

Selling health insurance to self-employed people is when I first fell in love with entrepreneurs. I was amazed at the variety of businesses out there and the courage it took to create an idea and turn it into money.

From the insurance business, I also discovered the power of recurring or residual income. Sell a policy one time and get paid commission every month for as long as they keep the policy. So that’s how I discovered real estate investing. Fix up the property one time, sign up a tenant one time, and get paid monthly for as long as they lived there.

So I fell in love with real estate investing and the opportunity to fix up a neighborhood, provide safe housing, and collect rental income from my tenants from anywhere in the world. I could stay with mom for months at a time without losing any income.

My mentors were women who had pioneered the real estate investing world. One woman came from a family of male apartment owners. She was so proud to show us her 12-unit building of studio units for primarily single divorcees. Another woman ran a rooming house - her husband had to be on title because women back then couldn’t sign a contract or get credit. Isn’t that crazy? Another woman ran away from her abusive husband and supports her children through real estate.

I know women who own 100s if not 1000s of units. They joke that their husbands have no idea what they own but they are happy to enjoy the wealth.

But my most proud moments are when a single mother discovers she can stay home and make a living with her own creative skills so she can take care of her momma and children with special needs.

Or when an unmarried school bus driver bought her own home using grants and other people’s money, or when another woman bought a 2-family home and their tenant pays all of their expenses. She will never become homeless again.

Or an artist who used her renovation profits to support her artwork and foster teenagers. Or a woman who supports her family through her real estate as her husband’s business disappeared through changing technology.

So it’s about time, that I share these stories, interviews, and lessons with you here on Substack. It just seems like the right place for me to share real stories, the good and the challenging, with you and then to hear back from you of what you are creating and what you need to grow your business.

Here you will read stories/interviews with women business owners sharing their real (not sugar-coated) story including the downs and the ups and the breakthroughs.

You will discover how women entrepreneurs are pivoting their businesses simply because their family or job situation has changed.

Rather than being a victim of sudden economic or technological changes we are all experiencing, you will discover how businessowners just like you are pivoting to take advantage of, and even make more money, adjusting to these changes.

Let’s explore all kinds of businesses, real estate investing in all its flavors, main street retail businesses, technology, home-based businesses (like crafting, translation, customer service).

And every week bring home a new resource to support you in your endeavors.

We are building a loving goal-oriented community to support each other in our quests while going through this crazy world of ours.

Ready to get started?

Why do YOU think women are simply better at real estate investing and business and everything else?

Share your answer below - I read every single one.