There has never been a best time to try to move up the career ladder or start a new business for women. Why? Because lately there has been more businesswomen who have been supportive of what other women do in their lives. Take for example, Susan McGalla, a business executive who is also the President and Chief Merchandising Officer for American Eagle Outfitters Inc. Susan McGalla has come off as one of the most innovative women in the century. Virtually everything imaginable can be done by women in business. They have patents on new products and techniques; there are women who haven’t been dbothered by their gender and went on to becomes CEOs, Presidents and Vice Presidents of many institutions. Then there are women who have started on their own and made name for themselves and their communities.
Susan McGalla is one such businesswoman who grew up in a modest family in Ohio. Her father was a football coach and she has two brother. Susan McGalla was never treated like a girl or given concession for being a girl. Instead she received same treatment just like her brothers. She was active in sports during the early years and after graduating from Mount Union College, joined Joseph Horne Company. Later, Susan was recruited to American Eagle Outfitters Inc in 1994. There she opened active wear department for female customers. She took many managerial positions and went on to become the head of the company.
Today, women have more choices for every business they can think of. From starting a salon to managing food joints, women have held their head high despite the gender issue. Plus, because historically women are better at anything, be it taking care of a household or running a venture, more and more women are jumping into businesses. While it is very difficult for most of them to make a business succeed overnight, it is really easy to make it successful if they put the right energy and thought to it.
Today, people’s perspectives towards women have been changing as well. It is not anymore the way it was fifty years ago. With the perceived ease of starting a business, even if women came up with a somewhat novel idea, the chances are that they can succeed if they work on things with complete devotion. If women can come up with a new idea or product, they are still competing against the tens of thousands of ideas and products out there. What they need is motivation to do their job consistently. There is a great difference between indulging in a hobby and running a business. In the latter case, there is no escape unless serious consequences. To celebrate a victory, there is a need to reach the customers without giving consideration to who they are. Whether they are targeting consumers or other businesses, people are hard to find and it is even harder if they bring gender issue into equation. Susan wants every women to know this hard truth.