Congratulations to our finalists!
We had so many applications and nominations for our Innovative Women In Business Awards! Our readers are amazing women entrepreneurs who are doing BIG things! The categories and finalists are below! Please read about each woman entrepreneur and cast your vote. You may vote only once per ip address. Votes count for 50% of the final winner in each category. The remaining 50% will be determined by our advisory panel.
Voting Rules: Only 1 vote per category per ip address.
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If you’d like to view the current voting results, click here!
Start Up Entrepreneur Of the Year
Debbie Saviano, Debbie Saviano LLC
Debbie offers training on utilizing LinkedIn to it’s full potential as well as designing and re-designing LinkedIn profiles. Technology affords business professionals the unique opportunity to become their own personal marketing director. Individuals are now more then ever responsible for showcasing and highlighting their expertise, talents and solutions they provide. Debbie’s has been in business since 2010 and has seen her business and client base expand dramatically.
Debbie loves to see others exceed and excel online. Her first career in education as a school principal helps her now in guiding others into a new arena of possibilities. She continues to learn , expanding her business with more systems in place as well as speaking, networking and creating her first product. She is an educator for life! To read more about Debbie, go to www.debbiesaviano.com.
Trish Lay, Soul’s at Play Productions
Trish is the Founder and Creator of Souls at Play Productions. She has been coaching and motivating people to make changes in their life for over 20 years. She created Souls at Play Productions as a multi-faceted company with continued growth in mind. Souls at Play is now a full service outlet promoting individuals in the areas of: Coaching, Writing, Public Speaking, and Teaching. She utilizes her coaching style and sincere empowering presence to assist individuals to find their authentic self, to follow their passion and seek fulfillment through their work and worldly ambitions.
Trish has survived her life because of her specific talents and gifts: a sense of humor and the ability to truly listen to others and respond with sincere simple intelligence, inner wisdom, a great awareness of compassion and divine guidance by a power greater than anything any one person could ever try to explain. For more information about Trish, go to www.soulsatplayproductions.com.
Visionary Entrepreneur of the Year
Kim Somers Egelsee, Life Coach and Founder of Willow Tree Women’s Circle
Kim’s TRUE passion is coaching, inspirational/motivational speaking, teaching workshops, and helping others to be happy and empowered! She specializes in getting people’s lives to a “10 plus, discovering their life’s purpose, getting into their full positive power with 100% confidence and helping people to eliminate stress and fear, which can prevent you from moving forward. She has studied personal development for over 18 years as well as received advice/lessons and guidance from mentors and friends. With this knowledge, she has overcome and released pain, difficult times, sadness, and poor choices. She has read oracle card readings and given lifestyle advice and coaching for over 8 years, and is certified in Neuro Linguistic Programming by The American Board of NLP, The American Board of Hypnotherapy, and Niurka and certified as a clinical hypnotherapist by Robin Duncan and The Miracle Center of California and the National Guild of Hypnotists.
Kim leads mastermind groups, a women’s workshop series and group called, “Willow Tree Women’s Circle” in both L.A. and O.C., workshops on Discovering Your Life Purpose, Women’s Exhilaration Day Retreats, Full Filled in Love Workshops, and is continuously speaking at upcoming workshops and seminars. She coaches individuals, couples, parents, and those with special needs, struggles, and life challenges. She is a columnist for The Scoop L.A. newspaper, Living Fit O.C. , AKA Mom Magazine, and MILPH World; Mothers in Life, Passion and Health. For more information about Kim, go to www.kimlifecoach.com.
Darya Allen-Attar, Broads Circle
Darya founded Broads Circle in 2008 with the goal of creating an exclusive network of businesswomen and the professionals who work with them. The networking meetings began as invitation-only bimonthly breakfasts featuring guest speakers such as C-level women executives who shared their insights and lessons from the field. Since then, the membership has steadily grown and Broads Circle has added monthly lunch and evening cocktail events featuring nationally recognized speakers. Since its inception, the Broads Circle has hosted events with over 3,000 in total attendees since 2009, facilitated numerous revenue connections and built a network of more than 1,800 leaders in the Los Angeles area
With 22 years of experience in financial services, Darya’s forte is strategic wealth management for families and foundations. She is a CPA and Personal Financial Specialist (PFS), and obtained her MBA from Fordham University (where she focused on finance and portfolio management). Darya has taught as an adjunct professor of Finance at New York University and has authored many financial planning articles. For more information about Darya, go to www.broadscircle.com.
Innovative Entrepreneur Of The Year
Lisa Manyon, WriteOn Creative
Lisa Manyon president of Write On ~ Creative Writing Services, LLC founded her company in 2003 . She is an award-winning, #1 bestselling author, copywriting strategist and master of powerfully communicating marketing messages to increase results. A leading expert in copywriting, Lisa successfully challenges the notion that “copy is king,” with her message that copy is actually QUEEN, strategy is KING, and together they are the key to creating strong and effective results. She’s found that the traditional copywriting formula of “Problem. Agitate. Solve.” isn’t resonating with women. Women are looking for solutions to their challenges. What’s really working is her new copywriting formula of “Challenge. Solution. Invitation.” Her philosophies have been featured in Inc. Magazine and other media outlets. She created a program featuring her philosophies called How to Create Marketing Messages with Integrity: Attract Your Ideal Clients with Your Authentic Voice and is well known for her Manyon Marketing Web Makeovers, website copy packages and Content Strategy Plans, Lisa helps her clients build relationships, attract ideal clients and ultimately increase income online. Her expertise in planning and strategy has helped generate over $40,000 in just one focused campaign. Lisa’s mission is to give women a voice to turn ideas into something that matters. She writes copy for conscious entrepreneurs, authors, speakers, coaches and artists who feel overwhelmed as they try to write their own content. She helps articulate big missions into marketing messages that truly resonate without feeling “salesy” or “icky.” She also offers one-on-one marketing strategy coaching and consulting. You can learn more at www.writeoncreative.com
Chantay Bridges, Clear-Choice Realty & Associates
Chantay is a seasoned professional who utilizes her gifts and abilities in outreach to her community and world around her. Being a philanthropist with a strong business acumen has allowed Chantay to reach new heights in real estate services offering un-matched quality, dedication and trust to clients and all who know her. Chantay is experienced and has worked with numerous high profile clientele, celebrities, political and chief executive officers. She is a recipient of numerous awards and accolades, a Christian and highly sought after by media outlets for interviews and features.
Chantay has been published on numerous websites and voted Canterbury’s Who’s Who amongst Executives, Professionals and Entrepreneurs. Mrs. Bridges has received commendations from the white house, state, local council persons and more. She has worked with a vast number of VIP’s, political and business pioneers throughout the years including Oprah Winfrey, Donald Trump, Dustin Hoffman, Jennifer Hudson and many more. She has been featured in USA Today, CNBC, Bankrate, Wall Street Journal, Black Enterprise, Ebony, Readers Digest, Forbes, Huffington Post, Business Insider, Essence magazine and others.
Chantay is committed to excellence and putting her clients first and foremost. Her passion for real estate is evident in her resume, matched only by her sincerity, dependability and efficiency. She is known as a highly dedicated professional, philanthropist, keynote speaker, writer, coach, Realtor, entrepreneur and mentor. To learn more about Chantay, go to www.losangelesrealestatenow.com.
Service Based Business of the Year Award
Candy Messer, Affordable Bookkeeping and Payroll Services
Affordable Bookkeeping and Payroll Services energizes business owners by removing the overwhelming burden of the bookkeeping and payroll processing. As a result of using our services, they have peace of mind and the freedom to do what they love. Candy did not intend to be a business owner, but someone she knew kept asking for help to reconcile their business accounts. She finally agreed and began her business working from home or client locations in December 2002. Due to her business growth, she found she needed to open an office to more easily help her clients. Since that time, the business has continued to grow, and she has been able to offer employment to others looking for an opportunity in this field.
Bookkeeping customers are generally smaller business owners who are overwhelmed with all they have to do to run their companies or value their free time and don’t want to do this type of work. Some of the industries served include restaurants, medical offices, and home based businesses that have been operating at least two years. Payroll clients have between 1 and 100 employees including those who employ family members for tax benefits. Affordable Bookkeeping and Payroll Services also offers a bill pay service for both businesses and individuals. This has been especially appreciated by their elderly clients who no longer feel confident managing their own finances, and individuals who own multiple properties and don’t want to deal with the bills for each location.. To learn more about Candy, go to www.abandp.com.
Bibi Goldstein, Buying Time LLC
Buying Time LLC provides virtual assistance, personal assistance, organizing and bookkeeping. The business began in 2007 when Bibi’s mother wasn’t able to drive any longer and she tried to find some type of service that would run errands for her like grocery shopping or picking up prescriptions etc. She had heard about a similar service in Texas but when she couldn’t find anything local, Bibi and a friend decided to start Buying Time, LLC.
Bibi soon realized that there were so many individuals and businesses that had zero support. She wanted to be that resource where people turned to for support, occasionally or daily. Business owners wear many hats and through her service, she has been able to support many small business owners wherever the need arises. To learn more about Bibi, go to www.buyingtimellc.com.
Entrepreneur Mom of the Year Award
Tara Powers, Mama Means Business
Mama Means Business is the cheerleader for women owned businesses, providing already proven resources that help women launch successful businesses FAST. Tara Powers, the founder of MMB is an experienced business strategist with over 12 years in business as a successful corporate consultant to Fortune 500 companies around the country and has been a featured expert on The Real Mom TV Network.
Tara’s mission is to help encourage more conscious companies one person at a time. She is the founder of Mama Means Business ~ A Premier Business Resource Center for the Sophisticated Female Entrepreneur AND the host of the annual Mama Means Business Event. She is also the owner of Powers Resource Center a 12 year old consulting and training company and the developer of the at home study course ~ Get Clear and Get Rich – How To Create the Business and Lifestyle You Dream About. She developed this course after 11 years of being in business for herself, learning from the best, and experiencing what works and what doesn’t many times as a business owner. She helps women business owners to align their values with their goals and message so they can create the lifestyle they dream of and accelerate their business faster and with less headaches. Tara strives and struggles every day to maintain alignment and balance while continuing to bring in a six-figure income, working only part-time so that the rest of her time is spent enjoying and carefully influencing the lives of her two amazing daughters, Kyla and Fallon. You can learn more about Tara at www.mamameansbusiness.com.
Elayna Fernandez, The Positive Mom Foundation
In November of 2004, Elayna Fernandez became a single and sole parent to her then 1 and 2 year old daughters. Through intentional and positive parenting, Elayna was able to find and maintain a job and later start her own business from home.
The Positive Mom Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization passionately committed to strengthening families and communities worldwide by providing accessible, comprehensive character development education for parents, youth and children to partner in creating a W.H.O.L.E. Family™. She’s a best-selling author, International keynote speaker, award-winner Guerrilla Positioning Strategist and proud home educator to her 8 and 9 year old girls.
Elayna is a strong proponent of the nurturing role of mothers and their everlasting influence in their children. She highly promotes character education at home. It is her belief that teaching positive principles brings fulfillment, happiness and success at home. To learn more about Elayna, go to www.positivemom.org.
Jolette Jai, Peace of Mind Parenting
Jolette Jai, co-author of Quality Time With Your Kids, The Simple Directions and founder of Peace of Mind Parenting (PeaceofMindParenting.com), is a passionate mom, writer, and motivational speaker who inspires you to break any cycles of shame, blame, manipulation, or any form of physical, mental or emotional abuse left over from your past or the way you were parented so that you can be confident, connected, abundant and radiant right now. Peace of Mind Parenting coaches are trained and certified to utilize the Peace of Mind Parenting processes systems and tools created by us, using a foundation of non-violent communication with cutting edge brain science to redefine the way that parents engage and relate to their children.
After building a successful business helping hundreds of parents around the world over the past three years while raising a toddler on her own, Jolette truly believes that you can shift any pattern in your life at any time and that you have an incredible power within your mind that naturally wants to move towards love, connection, abundance and support. Through our programs, parents develop deep listening, empathy, and loving speech so that they can guide their children to learn unconditional ways to express their feelings and needs and to resolve their problems. To learn more about Jolette, go to www.peaceofmindparenting.com.
