Blog Posts by ForbesWoman

Our best advice for holiday shopping online.

Holiday spending is sure to be down this year--a recent survey shows 54% of consumers plan to spend less due to difficult economic times. But online shopping seems to be on-track for a record-setting year. Between consumers looking for the biggest discounts available, trying to squeeze shopping into harried work schedules and avoiding face-to-face contact in hopes of not catching the swine flu, sitting in front of our computers might be the safest and thriftiest solution for gift-giving this season.

But where the shopping mall has its challenges (crowds, parking, etc.), online shopping has its own set of festive idiosyncrasies. Paying for shipping fees to 10 different sites for 10 different gifts is a drag, as can be deciding whether it's best to have packages shipped to the office or home. And with the seemingly endless numbers of discount and price-comparing sites out there, how can you really be sure you're getting the best deal?

We've

When the world's largest fragrance company showed Halle Berry a prototype bottle for her debut perfume, Berry said no. The simple rectangular design failed to convey her personality.

She suggested an imprint of waves on the back of the bottle--to express a connection to nature--and added rugged copper-colored rings--which resembled a bangle she was wearing at the time--to the bottle's neck.

"My strategy was to present something to people that was honestly me," the Academy Award-winning actress told ForbesWoman of her collaboration with Coty. "If I don't like it, my name's not on it. If I haven't been in there dibbling and dabbling, giving my opinion on things, my name's not on it."

What's in a name? If your name is Halle Berry, a lot.

Berry's first fragrance, Halle, debuted in March 2009 after two years of development--just as the economy was tanking. On March 9, the Dow tumbled to 6,547.05, marking its lowest point in more than a decade. Berry had her doubts about

A recent study called "The Female Factor," commissioned by Women@NBCU, a new NBC Universal content and marketing initiative, reveals that women's spending habits have changed dramatically in the past decade. Women are more involved in their family's finances now and are actively involved in making big-ticket item purchases.

Today's women are rolling up their sleeves and managing their money more proactively. According to the study, 90% of women now deal with financial planners, a jump of 18% since 2000. And eight out of 10 women say they buy and sell stocks to make money, an increase of 20% in only nine years.

But not only are they savvier about how to earn and manage their money, they're also bolder and more decisive about how to spend it. During the past year, according to the study, 97% of women negotiated how much they would pay for a car, compared with 86% in 2000.

Women are also more tech savvy, and six out of 10 women describe themselves as their family's "chief technology

Nicole Williams is obsessed with jobs. Not just her own--as an author, public speaker and career strategist--but yours too. With her newest title, "Girl on Top," Williams is looking to connect with young women searching for their dream jobs, angling for a raise or steadily making their way up the ladder. All in a language that hits home: dating.

Think of it as "The Rules" for career success.

The intersection of love and career run throughout this collection of 20 tenets, spanning from "Follow your heart" (love your career) and "Keep the fire alive" (maintain the "heat" in your professional relationships) to "Don't waste the pretty" (nix the job with nothing to offer and where you're not appreciated). Another classic, "Don't give the milk away for free," is something your mother might have warned you during a chat about having sex before commitment. Williams chastises professional women everywhere for doing just that: Giving our talent and ideas away without negotiating a fair price,

Yes, kids should get an allowance, but why: for chores, good grades, to teach the value of a dollar--or just because?

I missed the memo on allowances. Literally.

Apparently, my children's pediatrician sent one home almost two years ago, after my daughter's sixth-year checkup. I must have recycled it. Luckily I have two kids, so after my son clocked in for his recent six-year checkup, I happened to read a few lines of the five-page memo they thrust into my hands at checkout.


Provide a small allowance, it advised. Time to teach them how to handle money.

At six?

Back in 1831, when Lydia Marie Child recommended children's allowances in her advice tome The Mother's Book, the suggested age was 12. (Yes that's right: Lydia Marie Child, who's best known as one of America's first abolitionist writers).

Parents of teenagers, read and weep--and try not to gag on the gender roles of the early 19th century:

According to Child, a good mother would ask her good husband, the guy with the

Business travel doesn't have to be just, well, business. Here's how to add a little oomph to your life on the road.

Business travel sounds glamorous. You get to visit a faraway place on the company's dollar. But then reality sets in and before you know it your once-glamorous trip is reduced to exhausting transit (Think: 15-hour flights), complex navigation (Underground in Tokyo, anyone?) and sightseeing that focuses on the inside of an office building.

But travel experts say that business travel doesn't have to be dull or stressful. In fact, while the total number of business trips has fallen because of the recession, more professionals are seeking to make the most of their travel experience.

A report by the U.S. Travel Association shows that business travel declined by more than 6% in the first six months of 2009 alone. At the same time, a recent Orbitz survey found that three-quarters of business travelers have added a leisure component to their business trips. Indeed,

In these challenging economic times, companies and individuals recognize the importance of differentiating themselves in the marketplace and taking steps to secure their future.

Interested to learn how?

Below are 10 tips from the Inforum Center for Leadership, the education and research arm of Inforum, for anyone looking to take her career to the next level.

(1) Have an Elevator Speech

What do you do, and how do you contribute to the success of your company? When you get that question, you should be prepared to answer it in a brief, compelling and confident manner. Even if you never literally find yourself in the elevator with the CEO, your elevator speech can be the best tool you have when it comes to building your personal brand. See also: Seven Common Body Language Mistakes

(2) Get Connected at Your Company

If your company has an internal networking or mentoring program, get involved. You enhance your chances of moving up when you increase your

Shop Smarter with Social Media by using Twitter, Facebook and more to find the perfect looks and save big online.

Charlie Graham, founder and CEO of Shop It To Me, an online sale-alert e-mail service and Web site, wants to help you make better use of your time, particularly time spent shopping online.

Shop It To Me, launched in 2004, was born out of Graham's love for all things sale: "I'd always find out about sales after the deal was over," he says. "I thought, 'Wouldn't it be great if you could tell someone what you like and your sizes, and they could make sure you never missed out?' So that's what I did."

From an idea to a successful business. Shop It To Me now has over 2.5 million subscribers who receive daily e-mails with links to items available both on sale and in their sizes from over 100 retailers, including Nicole Miller, Miu Miu, Ralph Lauren and Nine West.

Graham and other media-savvy entrepreneurs are putting the Web to work to help their customers shop smarter, whether