Stanny - Secrets of six-figure women surprising strategies to up your earnings and change your life

From the moment this book was conceived, a multitude of angels came into my life. I lovingly and gratefully thank all of you.

Thank you, Candice Fuhrman, my wonderful agent and friend, for planting the seed that would blossom into this book and for your unwavering support throughout the process.

Thank you, Diane Reverand, for seeing the potential when no one else did. Lisa Berkowitz, my savvy editor, I cant thank you enough for adopting this project with such genuine enthusiasm. Working with you has been a joy.

Thank you, Doris Ober, for your skillful pruning and shaping, your perceptive critiques, and your priceless encouragement. I couldnt have done this without you!

Thank you, Beena Kamlani, for your uncanny ability to tidy up the clutter and whittle down the excess. You are truly a gift. As are you, Arlene Mikelsons. Thank you for meticulously, efficiently typing the transcripts and dropping them off at my door along with a basket of freshly laid eggs.

Thank you, my amazing referral network, especially Stuart Williams, Susan Davis, Karen Page, Gayla Kraetsch Hartsough, Eileen Michaels, Dee Lee, Pamela Ayo Yetunde, and Karen McCall. When I was at my wits end, wondering how the hell I would ever find enough women to interview, you blessed me with more names than I could ever use.

Thank you, Melissa, Julie, and Anna, my beautiful daughters, for your constant, caring inquiries into my progress and for your obvious pride in my success. Melissa, thank you for your excellent feedback.

Above all, thank you, six-figure women. Many of you are mentioned by name, while some preferred anonymity. My conversations with you inspired me in ways I hadnt expected. As others read your stories, I suspect theyll say the same.

And Carruch, thank you for everything!

So much has happened since my book was first published. Our country went to war. The economy went to hell. Corporate ethics went down the tube. The stock market went south as well. Companies folded. Budgets were slashed. People lost jobs. Employers stopped hiring. Pessimism hung over the workplace like a layer of pollution.

This was a far different world than when I did my initial interviews. How did the women I interviewed fare after the bubble finally burst? Were the strategies they used in an economic expansion effective during a downturn as well?

Ive stayed in touch with many of these six-figure women over the years. And Ive noticed something quite fascinating. My conversations with them were remarkably different than those I would have with most other people. While everybodys been fixated on doors that were closing, feeling cynical and resigned about what struggles might lay ahead, high earners were consistently finding, and opening, windows of opportunity.

These women demonstrated, once again, how different life can be when you stop thinking, and talking, like everyone else. Thats what the mind-expanding strategies in this book are designed to dotransform your beliefs and assumptions about whats actually possible, no matter whats happening around you.

And the strategies work. Theyve withstood the test of the most troubling times and proved my major thesis: our state of mind, more than anything out there, determines our level of success.

Consider this: No matter how tough things are, there will always be people who are prospering .

For the record, there are 950,000 women making six figures. Eighty-six thousand of them are working part-time! Thats according to the 2002 census. My guess is theres over a million of us today. Whats more, the New York Times (May 12, 2002) reported that there are actually 3,253 women earning $1 million or more.

Forget how these statistics compare with the men. The fact is, there are a hell of a lot of women making a whole lot of money, and the numbers are growing rapidly.

Why couldnt you be one of them?

Ive heard from thousands of women (and quite a few men) all over the country who read Secrets of Six-Figure Women , applied what they learned, and achieved success, in spite of unfavorable conditions. Even my assistant, Juliette, doubled her salary soon after she picked up my book. (What can I say? Im proud of her!)

Over and over, I heard how these womens businesses were booming; their careers were thriving; their lives flourishing. They were finding new jobs, negotiating raises, winning promotions, doubling (even tripling) their client base, making more money than ever before.

Just because its a down time, said Vickie Sullivan, whose coaching business is up 40 percent, you dont have to go down with it. Theres lots of opportunity. Youve just got to find it.

Sure, I heard from corporate casualties and exhausted entrepreneurs who spoke of lost work, lower profits, and lousy times. Some were still making six figures. Others were not. Yet even these former high earners were amazingly upbeat about their future. When it comes to making money, said Barbara Blair, one of my interviewees, attitude is everything. And that holds truest when life is toughest. Virtually every conversation I had with high achievers facing hard times went something like this:

Its rough, its really rough, theyd say, just before waxing on about the opportunities that were out there.

Of course Ive had some bumps, exclaimed six-figure author and consultant Karen Page. You can choose to see setbacks as the end of the road or the beginning of a new path.

Similarly, entrepreneur Carol Anderson told me, Business has really slowed down, so Im using this time to go back to school for my doctorate. As my dad always said, its not what happens to you, but how you handle what happens that makes a difference.

Thats certainly how Barbara Doran viewed her situation. I asked how she felt when the hedge fund she had raised funds for tanked. Her reply: I regard it as a godsend. As long as the money was so good, it was tough to leave and look for something more challenging.

These women werent blind to the slumping economy or other barriers they ran into. They just didnt see them as permanent or terminal. They regarded the hard knocks as part of a cycle, a difficult period that would eventually pass, or the perfect chance to explore something different. While the rest of the world was focusing on adversity, six-figure women (and those destined to become one) were seeing growth potential and opportunity.

The economy has given us tons of new challenges, said business owner Gayla Kraetsch Hartsough. To me, theyre opportunities. Any wonder her companys profits have stayed steady?

Six-figure women seem to instinctively know: Tough times are no time to keep a low profile or be risk averse. Its not that they werent scared. As youll often see in the following pages, there is no such thing as fearless among even the highest flyers. And like most everyone else, the worse the economy, the higher their anxiety. Yet, they never used economic slumps, or sheer terror, as an excuse not to act.

Im excited and totally terrified, said Rachel, a TV reporter who was quitting a plum position to move across the country. People tell me Im crazy. Maybe I am. Maybe there arent any jobs, she confided. But I cant let my mind paralyze me. Every day shed look in the mirror and repeat to herself: This is an opportunity, until she began to believe it. The last time I talked to her, she was considering several offers.