Upline Times - Coy Barefoot

UPLINE TIMES

News bytes in this edition of Upline Times:

1. She's Gotta Have It
2. Health Report
3. More Good Press
4. Network Marketing Growth Stats
5. Late-Life Poverty Higher For Women
6. World Village
7. Commuting Buzz

She's Gotta Have It

According to the Small Business Administration, entrepreneurship is increasingly seen by women as an alternative to the corporate ladder as a route to success. Women are going into business at more than twice the rate of men and now own more than a third of the nation's small businesses.

Why are women leaving corporate America to start their own businesses? They leave for many reasons, according to Susan Phillips Bari, the executive director of The American Woman's Economic Development Corporation.

Some are fed up with not being promoted; many are tired of inflexible hours "which make dealing with growing children and suddenly needy parents a stressful, guilt-ridden nightmare-- the plight of the Sandwich Generation" ; others want to build something they can leave behind for their kids; some are fed up with corporate ethics, which they find "distasteful," and go off to pursue more value-based work experiences; and many women simply feel that they can do it better.

"Women are not so much fleeing the corporation," Bari writes, "as they are taking advantage of an increasingly visible alternative. Their education and work experience provide a good grounding in the economics of business ownership. When this is combined with the spirit, emotional commitment and risk-taking of the entrepreneur, it is a winning combination."

(Source: Women Trends, Winter 1998)

From this month's fitness files comes the following fit facts:

• There are over 20 million fitness club memberships nationwide and over 70,000 personal trainers.
• The number of sports-related injuries for people over 40 is up 60% in the last decade.
• The current elderly generation will be the longest living age group in the history of the world.

(Source: NBC News, July 4, 1998)

Network marketing continues to garner mainstream positive press-- even in the hot new virtual world.

ComputerWorld recently announced that the Avon Products stop on the information highway had won Best E-commerce Web Site Overall. Congratulations!

The ComputerWorld study asked consumers to rate a variety of web sites in various categories. The Avon shopping site, which was established in early 1997, won first place for Best Cosmetics Site and first place Overall-- beating out such worthy challengers as L.L. Bean, F.A.O. Schwartz, Macy's, and the book lovers' www.amazon.com.

Avon boasts $4.8 billion in annual revenues, and markets its cosmetic line to women in more than 130 countries through its 2.3 million strong direct sales force.

Without a doubt, this is the most exciting time to be involved in Network Marketing: New opportunities, stream-lining, and growth, growth, growth!

Consider these numbers: The industry grew by more than 18% between 1980 and 1996. And there are no signs of a slow-down.

Non-store retail formats now account for roughly 15% to 20% of all general retailing-- and within 15 years they are projected to be more than 55%.

(Source: Kurt Salmon Associates)

Facts are facts: Women are more at risk than men to live in late-life poverty. Consider the following:

• Millions of elderly American women-- one in four-- live exclusively on Social Security in retirement. Although the benefit varies, the program provides at best a scant or subsistence living-- an average of $644 a month or $7,728 a year.
• Nearly half of divorced, widowed, or never-married women depend on Social Security for at least 90% of their income.
• On average, Social Security benefits for women are about $200 less than those for men.
• As a group, working women-- both full-time and part-time employees-- earn less than $15,000 a year. Three-fourths of full-time female workers earn less than $25,000 a year.
• Only 4% of working women earn between $50,000 and $74,999 a year; only 2% earn more than $75,000.
• Nearly one fourth of all women in America between ages 25 and 44 are not employed. Most of these are stay-at-home moms.
• More than half of all women don't even have their own pensions, and those who do receive about half of what men receive. Women get an average pension of $4,800 a year, compared with $9,780 for men.
• On average, women only stay with an employer for 3.5 years.

(Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch, July 6, 1998)

This month's virtual award for Most Fascinating Pit Stop on the Information Superhighway goes to the gang at Worldvillage.com-- who bring us an eye-opening portrait of the human community.

According to the website, if we were to reduce the world population of nearly six billion people down to a village of 1000 inhabitants, with all existing human ratios remaining the same, then this would be our reality:

• 520 of the villagers would be women, 480 would be men
• Only 52 of the villagers would be from North America, while a whopping 584 would be from Asia.
• 330 of the 1000 people in the village would be children.
• Only 60 people would be over the age of 65.
• 200 people would control 75% of the wealth.
• Another 200 would receive only 2% of the wealth.
• 70 of the 1000 people would own automobiles.
• Only about one-third of the people would have access to clean, safe drinking water.
• 200 people in the village would be unable to read.
• Only one person would have a computer, and that person would likely not be connected to the Internet.

Each work day, 100 million Americans climb into a car for the commute to and from their jobs. Thirteen percent of these commuters spend 45 minutes or more getting to work in the morning. Prospecting with audios anyone. . . ?

(Source: American Demographics, July 1998)

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Reprinted with permission from Upline, Upline Times-October 1998, 888-UPLINE-1, http://www.upline.com

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