Expat Women Welcomes SIRVA Relocation!

Hello Everyone, We would like to give a big shout-out today to our new Expat Women Gold Sponsor: SIRVA Relocation. 

Expat Women depends on the support of fine companies such as SIRVA, who are willing to invest in our online, niche community.  So to return the goodwill, if you are looking for a reputable, global relocations company to look after you and your family, please recommend SIRVA Relocation to your employing Company…

"As a leading provider of relocation services, SIRVA Relocation has been redefining the industry with hassle-free relocation services focused on customers' diverse needs.

SIRVA Relocation provides innovative relocation solutions to manage the entire relocation process for corporations and their employees. By considering every aspect of their move and their new location, we make sure your employees are free to focus on their work.

With services in over 130 countries, SIRVA Relocation has the global reach and local expertise to help relocate lives: anyone, anytime, anywhere.

SIRVA Relocation delivers international and domestic assignment management with a single point of contact and co-ordination in real time. This is achieved through having dedicated specialists based in our Centres of Excellence and Global Certified Partner Networks to provide on-the-ground services in over 130 countries.

Our process is supported with state-of-the-art technology that can cost record, track and report on every aspect of an assignment. This system enables the client to access information in any part of the world at any time.

SIRVA Relocation's core business includes:
• Global Mobility Consultancy
• Visa and Immigration Services
• Destination Services
• Assignment Management Services
• Household Goods Move Management
• Expense Management
• Cross-Cultural & Intercultural Management Programs

As each organisation has its own unique culture and operating style, SIRVA Relocation can tailor a portfolio of services to meet the client's mobility needs.  The single-point of contact is what relieves clients of the burden of administering international and domestic assignments, providing more time to focus on their core business.

Click Here to enquire about SIRVA Relocation's services."

Thank you in advance for supporting the companies that support us! Andrea

Expat Women September 2010 Home Page

Hi Everyone, Please take a look at, share and tweet about our new September Expat Women home page, which features:

Success Story
Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda
General Secretary, World YWCA
An energetic champion of women's rights, Zimbabwean Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda was appointed General Secretary of the General Secretary, World YWCA in November 2007, following ten years of strong advocacy experience with the United Nations...
Read more...

Business Idea
Sentinella Network (& Word Queen)
Keidi Keating
Tired of the rain and gloom of London, copywriter and editor Keidi Keating moved to the sunny beaches of Spain. After struggling to find work, an unexpected turn of events brought her to the helm of a popular local expat magazine...
Read more...

Inspiring Women Abroad
Book: Beyond Borders: Portraits Of American Women From Around The World
My-Linh Kunst
Beyond Borders: Portraits of American Women from around the World celebrates “seemingly ordinary”’ American women living abroad, who have assimilated into the culture of their host nations and achieved something meaningful in their chosen path…
Read more...

Expat Confession
Teen Suicide
Expat Women Girlfriend
Three weeks ago, an expat girl in my daughter's class committed suicide and the whole school is still in shock... My daughter is 14 years old and seems extremely affected by the girl's death, the finality of suicide and her suicide note which blamed her family for moving her abroad...
Read more...

Expat Volunteers
Celebrating Two Great Expat Volunteers
Anne Ponti-Riggins & Pamela Musselman
Be inspired by the stories of Anne Ponti-Riggins and Pamela Musselman: two women whose volunteer efforts abroad exemplify some of our incredible, selfless, unsung expat heroines abroad...
Read more...

Repatriating?
Repatriation: Tips And Advice To Ease The Transition
Dana Frost
Filled with anticipation and expectation, we go home after living abroad, never imagining that it could be more difficult than the countries and cultures we have manoeuvred in foreign lands. But the real journey ‘home’ is an emotional and mental marathon that in reality is not so fast...
Read more...

* * *

Not A Member Yet?

Just a reminder that our blog is separate from our main site, so if you are reading this blog post online or you are only subscribed to our blog, you will not automatically receive our Expat Women monthly newsletters.

To receive our newsletter later this month and to go in the running to win our monthly prize of a complete set of Explorer Publishing's Mini-Guides, please sign up today to our main site ExpatWomen.com, and also receive your link to our free e-book of Winning Stories!

Thank you very much and best wishes for a wonderful September! Andrea

Expat Forum 2010: October 12, Washington

Hi Everyone, I am very excited today to share with you news of the upcoming Expat Forum 2010 (a guest speaker panel event discussing issues about expatriate life), being hosted by our wonderful Silver Sponsor, Clements International, at the U.S. Navy Heritage Center, Washington, Tuesday October 12, from 8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. 

I am really looking forward to being on the panel, and if you are an expat in the Washington area, a visiting expat, a provider of international benefits or perhaps a global mobility manager interested in expat issues, please try to join us.

Joining me on the panel will be:

* Alan Paul, “The Expat Life” columnist for WSJ.com and author of the forthcoming book, "Big in China";

* Alyson Rose-Wood, Foreign Service Youth Foundation Board member; &

* Maureen Johnston, resource specialist at the Overseas Briefing Center for the U.S. Department of State.

So it should make for a great discussion and audience Q&A session.

To find out more, please click here to read the full press release today and click here to register.

Washington-based expats/providers/managers, I hope to see you there!  Warmest thanks for your support, Andrea.

Please tell your friends and tweet this for us.  Thanks. :-)

Clements International is a leading provider of insurance solutions for expatriates and international organizations. Founded in 1947, Clements offers worldwide auto, property, health, life and commercial insurance with superior customer service and claims response to customers in more than 170 countries.

Expat Writers & Creative-Types: Missed Some Great Twitter Links?

Hello Everyone, I hope your week has started really well!   For the keen writers amongst you, here are some of my recent tweets that might interest you, as you write your expat stories and/or you write for business or pleasure:

Be Inspired: Writer, former expat, self-publisher Tania McCartney http://bit.ly/cwZbFG

A must-read case study about publishing: Aimed at writers creative entrepreneurs: http://bit.ly/d8rg2p

5 Tips To Maximize Your Book Publicity http://bit.ly/atvE0y

Entrepreneurs and Writers: Thinking of stopping your blog in favor of email newsletters? http://bit.ly/dvCsee

Freelance Writers: What Should You Be Paid? http://bit.ly/aa2b2I

6 Personality Types Who Will Fail As Writers: An Editor's Opinion http://bit.ly/92QPGG

Writer's Abroad competition http://bit.ly/csTkhG Entries due October 15th.

New book launching August 8th to help you create e-books for the Apple iPad http://bit.ly/bXMGVu

Writers: Selling Foreign Language Rights http://bit.ly/bdBf9R

Writers: Great Links & Info on Self-Publishing: Should You Or Shouldn't You? http://bit.ly/bs5aWW

Writers in Paris: Short Story Contest For Stories About Paris: 200 Euro Prize & Best 12 Published http://bit.ly/9l6nWx

10 Tips To Help Consultants & Coaches Write A Short E-Book To Attract Clients http://bit.ly/auC5iM

21 Ways to Get Publicity and Increase Sales http://bit.ly/azzZpz

Amazon Kindle Conspiracy: Chris Brogan http://bit.ly/b0UEWo Versus: iPad http://bit.ly/9c05ir

Top 10 Ways Authors Can Use Twitter http://bit.ly/aaUXMp

How To Make Money Selling Your E-Books http://bit.ly/92crhD

Speaking For Free To Promote Your Book Or Business? http://bit.ly/bzZvau

Should Published Authors Go to Conferences? http://bit.ly/9qNgXA

Great Idea To Get Your Book Into Chain Stores http://bit.ly/ExpatWomen98hWlz

Writing with a co-author, Chris Brogan style http://bit.ly/bqC70T

Want to write about your life experience abroad? See Jo Parfitt's tips in Khiruna article http://bit.ly/boJGfI

Build A Killer Brand In 6 Steps http://bit.ly/chTMLs

4 Ways To Get Great Speaking Engagements http://bit.ly/a3zS9f

Writing a book? Agent Rachelle Gardner says to bore yourself with menial tasks to clear your mind http://bit.ly/bQTS3u

Case-study for writers and publishers: John T. Reed: A successful "folk-art self-publisher" http://bit.ly/9FABXK

Is It Important To Keep In Touch With Clients, Would-Be Publishers & Allies? http://bit.ly/bAYxOO

What Should You Ask An Agent Who Wants To Represent You? http://bit.ly/djouTA

If you would like to follow me in 'real time' on Twitter, my Twitter ID is @andreaexpat, or you can just click here.  Twitter is surprisingly easy, once you take a look.  And I try not to overtweet. 

Best wishes, enjoy your day/evening!  Andrea :-)

Expat Women: Update On Our New Look

Hi Everyone, For those of you curious about when you will see our 'new look' website, we want to assure you that we are still working very hard at this behind-the-scenes.  We expect it will take us another 2+ months to update all of our pages, as we have thousands of pages on our main Expat Women site.

Thanks for your patience - and thanks as always for your support!

Repatriation Survey: Can You Help?

Hi Everyone, Alexandra Luxton is a 4th year Honours student at Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand.  She is kindly looking for repatriates to survey, for her study: Bringing the knowledge back: Expatriates - the knowledge, can it be extracted?

Expats who were working abroad but have now returned home are invited to take the 20-25 minute survey here.  Many thanks.

What They Don’t Tell You About Successful Product Launches

Hi Everyone, When reading a great article today on ProBlogger by Darren Rowse, entitled How To Get Things Done When You're Feeling Overwhelmed, (interestingly, it has been retweeted nearly 500 times, so it seems that those of us feeling overwhelmed are certainly not alone!)...

I came across another great article by Darren: What They Don't Tell You About Successful Product Launches - which I watched first in video form (Darren is very genuine and great to watch and listen to - I highly recommend the video), but then I read the transcript as well.

Essentially, Darren says the following (but in a more animated way and with more anecdotes):

1. Build a Content Base.  He emphasized that this does not happen overnight, but that a genuine content base takes time.  He said he has been building his online content base over the last 8 (!) years.

2. Build Relationships.  "Every day you have the opportunity to take yourself closer to that big launch by getting to know someone else on the web, whether that be a potential reader, whether that be another blogger, whether that be just someone who’s interested in the same kind of stuff as you on Twitter, you never know where those relationships will take you."

3. Build Your Skill Set.  Add to your repertoire daily.  Learn new things. Connect more dots.

4. Build Your Email List.  Build a greater audience, over time, and be rewarded with a bigger launch impact.

Darren concludes:

"I guess the point of this video is not to come up with a conclusive list of things that you can do that will take you closer to your, your goals one day, but it’s to get you to think about what you can do today, what you can do tomorrow and to think about some of those little things that will take you closer to your ultimate goals.

Set yourself some tasks this week. Just little things that you can do, posts that you can write, people that you can interact with, just features that you can add to your blog, new skills that you can learn. All of these things will take you closer to that ultimate goal.

It’s great to have the idea of a big product launch in the back of your mind, but at the front of your mind needs to be these sorts of daily activities that will take you closer to that."

I highly recommend Darren's video. Have a great weekend!  Andrea

HR Professionals: Want To Attend This Year's Worldwide ERC Conference For Free?

Yes, good news from Peggy Smith, the new CEO of the Worldwide ERC®... If you are a government or corporate Human Resources Professional, Peggy is inviting you to attend this year's annual conference for free, as her invited guest.  That is a saving of anywhere from US$1095 to US$1495, depending when you register and whether or not you are a member of the Worldwide ERC®.

Now, I do not know Peggy personally, but I have to commend her clever strategy.  Conference organizers are always crying out for more HR 'decision-makers' to attend and vendors are always crying out for more decision-makers to attend.  The upcoming Worldwide ERC® conference in Seattle, Washington, October 25-27, has more sponsors than ever... so one can only guess that Peggy is under some moderate pressure to attract HR decision-makers to match-make with the (likely many) attending service providers.

Need some justification to explain the ROI of attending to your boss?  Well, I smiled to find that they have this covered too, in their Justification Toolkit! :-)

To me, Peggy's offer this year is a win-win-win.  If you are a Corporate or Government HR Professional, why not take advantage of this offer?  The zero registration fee reduces your organization's outlay, and you never know, in addition to networking with peers and learning about current trends... you might actually find some products/services that you would like to contract.  A win-win-win: for you; the Worldwide ERC®; and for the service providers.

To everyone going to the conference, enjoy!  Andrea

Expat Women: Can You Share A Story?

Hi Everyone, This is a call-out to all expatriate and repatriate women...  Living abroad fills your treasure chest with a wealth of stories.  We would love it if you could please take the time to share at least one of your stories with our readers in our stories section here. 

We have around 300 reader-submitted stories now, but we are always looking for fresh, interesting, well-written submissions.  It is a really popular section of our site for our readers, so please, contribute if you can. We would love to hear from you.  

Many, many thanks!  Andrea

13th Annual Talent Management Summit: September 27-29: Las Vegas, United States

For HR Professionals: Next month, Las Vegas will play host to the 13th Annual Talent Management Summit, September 27-29.  The overarching theme this year will be Using Talent Management to Accelerate Strategic Change.

Here are the 7 sub-themes for the Summit:

* Running Talent Management Like a Business

* Measured Financial Benefits of Your Talent Management Competencies and Metrics

* Recognize Authentic Leadership and Self-Aware Emotional Intelligence: Metrics and Measurement to Evaluate Performance

* Successfully Leverage Subject Matter Experts in your Organization - Developing Training for Maximum Management Performance

* Growing Leaders from Within: Developing Critical Leadership Talent

* Creating a Comprehensive Talent Acquisition and Onboarding Process to Positively Impact Company Objectives

* Managing Risk and Influencing Organizational Success through Clear Talent Management Strategies


List of Speakers:

* Allison Allen, Senior Manager, Learning Solutions, Royal Bank of Scotland

* Allison Friend, Chief Human Resource Officer, Goodwin Procter

* Alysia Vanitzian, Head of Talent Management, North America, Zurich Financial Services

* Andrew LaValle, Executive Director, Worldwide Recruitment, Entertainment & Networks, Time Warner

* Arturo Poire, Global Head of Talent Management, Marsh & McLennan

* Brian Fishel, Senior Vice President, Executive and Leadership Development, Bank of America

* Carolyn Turman, Chief Learning Officer, Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division

* Cheryl Thomas, Senior Vice President, Director of Human Resources, Johnson Financial Group

* Claire St. Louis, Vice President, Talent and Career Development, United Water

* Dale DeLetis, Presentation Skills Specialist and Coach, Suffolk Construction

* David First, Vice President, Learning & Development, Suffolk Construction Company

* Dr. David S. Cohen, Owner, Strategic Action Group

* Dr. Lynn Schmidt, Director, Learning & Talent Management, Raytheon

* Doug Bryant, Director of Aerospace Organizational Development, Honeywell Aerospace

* Ed Bancroft, PrimeGenesis Executive Onboarding and Author

* Elizabeth Nieto, Global Talent and Diversity Director, Global Functions, CITI

* Eva Lynne Disbro, Vice President, Human Resources, McKee Foods Corporation

* Twyla Salaiz, Manager, Learning & Career Development, Raytheon

* Gary Wise, Senior Director, Learning Architecture, Education & Training, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

* Glenn Gutmacher, Vice President, Arbita ACES

* Jason Lauritsen, Vice President and Director of Human Resources, Union Bank and Trust Company

* Jeff Klem, Leadership Development Director, Healthways

* Karen Tracy, Vice President, Talent Management, Oldcastle Materials

* Kathleen Edge, Vice President, Talent Management, Oldcastle Products and Distribution

* Kathy Brooks, Vice President of Organizational Culture and Internal Communications, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters

* Kelly Chapman, Director of Diversity Recruitment, Microsoft

* Larry Israelite, Vice President and Manager, Human Resource Development, Liberty Mutual Group

* Marc Effron, Founder, New Talent Management Network, Recognized as 100 Top Influencers in HR and Author of One Page Talent Management

* Mark Feurer, Global Human Resources Director, Bunge

* Melissa Lytell, Director of Human Resources Shared Services, US Department of State

* Michael McNeal, Vice President, Talent Strategy and Acquisition, Intuit

* Michelle Braaten, Director, Recruitment, Human Resources, Royal Bank of Canada

* Scott Dolny, Senior Vice President, Leadership Development, Enterprise Leadership Development, Bank of America

* Sherryl Stalinski, Director Organizational Development & Talent Management, Parsons Corporation,

* Thomas Rottenberger, Senior Vice President & Chief Human Capital Officer, Univision Communications

* Thorn Jenness, Managing Director, Human Resources, Societe Generale

To find out more, please click here. 

Thanks, and do enjoy if you are a HR Professional and decide to go!  Andrea

12th Annual Corporate University Week: Expo & Conference: November 15-18, 2010

Hi Everyone, If you are a Corporate/Government HR Professional, you might be interested in the upcoming Human Resources IQ’s 12th Annual Corporate University Week Expo and Conference, which is taking place at the Buena Vista Palace Hotel and Spa, Lake Buena Vista, Florida, from November 15 to 18.

If you register before 27 August, you/your company can receive a discount up to US$1,000.  Here are some details...

"Human Resources IQ’s 12th Annual Corporate University Week Expo and Conference focuses on aligning learning and development with corporate goals. Discover how to run training as a business by acting as an internal strategic consultant, measuring performance, and tracking ROI.

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to gain insight into:

* Integrating learning and development with short and long-term business goals

* Developing your next generation of leaders and building employees’ skills as a strategy for business growth

* Leveraging social media, serious games, mobile learning and virtual worlds to improve learning

* Building a sustainable talent pipeline by driving personal development and succession planning

* Running training as a business by acting as an internal strategic consultant, measuring performance and tracking ROI

Attend the Free Expo Hall

The Expansive Expo Hall will include the Brilliance Bar, interactive roundtables, product demos and the Presentation Theater, featuring:

* Transforming your Leadership Development Program for Excellence - Mary Kay Kopp, Global Learning Network Director, UPS

* Translating Results to ROI and Learning Effectiveness - Linda Landry, Senior Director, Global Learning and Organizational Effectiveness, Nuance Communications, Inc.

* Sustaining and Growing a Corporate University to Align with Business Objectives - Tricia Danielsen, Manager, ACI University, ACI Worldwide, Inc.

* Global Training Programs - Abigail Fuchs, Technical Training Manager, Aristocrat Technologies"

"A learning revolution is taking place, again - you can lead it or follow it....” - Christopher R. Hardy, Ph.D., Director, Global Learning and Technology Center, Defense Acquisition University

Click here to learn more, find prices, watch webinars and listen to podcasts.  Thanks.

Successful Living Abroad: Expat Expert Robin Pascoe's Video Lectures Now Online

Hello Everyone, I am excited to announce today that at last, those of you who were not fortunate enough to enjoy Robin Pascoe's lectures in person during her international speaking tours, you can now enjoy online video lectures from Robin, absolutely free!

Just click here (...and no, unlike many sites, there is no compulsory sign-up to be able to view the lectures).  You are free to come and go from the lectures at any time.

Semi-retired from the speaking circuit, but never one to sit too still, Robin has teamed up with a (fellow Canadian) professional cinematographer to present these nearly 20 (approximately 3-minute) lectures, perfect for trailing spouses and/or expat families living the global nomad life abroad.

If you have not yet read Robin's books, this is a great opportunity to see what Robin and her books are all about. Thanks again Robin, for providing another high-value resource for our expat community!

Warmest wishes for your day/evening, Andrea.

Expatica's 'I Am Not A Tourist Fair', Amsterdam

Hi Everyone, Expatica's annual expatriate fair returns to the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam for its 7th outing, offering free resources, information, networking opportunities and entertainment to internationals living across the Netherlands. 

I attended last year and it a really fun, lively day.  If you are an expat in (or moving to) Amsterdam, do drop in and see what 2010's fair offers.  Warmest regards, Andrea.

"Amsterdam, 10 October 2010 – On Sunday, 10 October at the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam, Expatica will host their trademark “i am not a tourist” Fair. This one-day event has become an institution and is the largest fair of its kind, offering internationals a wealth of information, as well as the opportunity to meet with dozens of expatriate-oriented service providers and mix with thousands of other internationals.

The “i am not a tourist” Fair 2010 is the only fair of its kind for internationals living across the length and breadth of the Netherlands. Following its tried and tested formula, this year’s fair will be geared toward those who have lived here for some time and want to touch base with the expatriate community at large, as well as expats who have just arrived.

"’i am not a tourist’ 2010 will offer all the basic resources that are so important for newcomers, but also present entertainment and culture for those who have already found their way in the Netherlands,” said Event Manager Danielle de Groot. “In this respect, ‘i am not a tourist’ 2010 is a lifestyle fair for even the most experienced international.”

This year’s fair will offer a wealth of entertainment and events, such as wine tasting and speed dating, with an eye toward integrating with Dutch culture. Visitors will also have the opportunity to meet with expat-orientated groups and clubs, well-known expatriate authors, universities, and many other organisations.

For those that are still finding their feet, over 55 companies will be available to offer advice in housing, employment, relocation, taxes, and banking. In addition, approximately 10 educational institutions, including schools and universities will be present."

To register for your free tickets, please click here.  Thanks and enjoy! Andrea.

Stevie Awards For Women In Business: Deadline August 31

Hi Everyone, If you are interested in entering the 7th annual Stevie Awards For Women In Business, you had better be quick, as the deadline closes Tuesday August 31 (although late entries will be accepted through September 30 with a US$35 late entry fee).  To find out more, please click here.

This competition invites international entries, so I hope some of you talented expat women apply.

All the very best if you do!  Andrea

Want To Submit An Article For Expat Women?

Hi Everyone, We are regularly asked how a volunteer contributor could submit an article to our main Expat Women site.  Luckily, we are always looking for quality, well-written articles, so if you have any ideas/ articles, we invite you to please follow these 3 steps:

(1) Browse http://www.expatwomen.com/ to find what types of articles we publish and what article ideas we have already published (this is important because we try to avoid publishing the same ideas twice); 

(2) Send your article plan or your completed article (ideally 1000-1200 words, full of useful information and practical tips and/or anecdotes) to contactus@expatwomen.com; and

(3) We will review your plan/article and give you feedback about whether we might publish it on our site and/or what edits we would like made.

Why contribute? Well, apart from the fact that you desperately love helping us, if we publish your contribution, it:

• may be featured on our home page (which is a fabulous opportunity to 'boost your brand' because we receive over 30,000 unique visitors a month to our site now, with most of these visitors coming via our high-profile home page);
• may be included in one of our monthly newsletters (sent out to our nearly 9,000 members worldwide); or it
• may be published solely on our Expat Women site (which means it can still be read by potential clients and it can still be found by the big search engines).

So if you have some expertise to share, do not be shy, write your ideas out clearly and get in touch, anytime.

Warmest thanks, Andrea.

W.I.N. Conference, Paris, October 2010

Hi Everyone, The annual Women's International Networking (W.I.N.) Conference is only just over two months away.  If you would like to be inspired in Paris, with hundreds of other (typically amazing women like yourself), I highly recommend the experience (having attended in Oslo in 2007)!

"Inspire & Be Inspired...
The W.I.N. 2010 global leadership conference is the 13th in a series of visionary leadership events that inspire thousands of women, enhance their careers and improve business practices.
October 6-8 (9)
Be a part of it!

Learn - from world-class speakers about current trends, politics, humanity, and work-life balance

Discover - the importance of giving and receiving support to realize your vision

Be Inspired - by stories from successful professional women working around the world

Gain - new personal and professional skills through our 40 outstanding workshops

Create - Business connections and alliances within a dynamic international network

During the three-day interactive forum, we will explore the authentic journey and the importance of how you do all you do as a way towards realizing your vision. As we discover clarity, truth, beauty and how your enthusiasm can help mobilize others. Panel sessions and workshops are complemented by social and professional networking events and free one-on-one coaching sessions."

If you would like to go, please ask for our "Expat Women 100 Euro discount".

It is a great conference.  Enjoy!  Andrea

Expats Employed Abroad: Looking For Survey Participants

Hi Everyone, Lisa Gulick is a student at George Mason University, completing her Ph.D. in Industrial Organizational Psychology. She is currently working on her dissertation, which investigates the role of international experience on expatriate adjustment and performance.  She is desperately seeking 75 more respondents to her expat survey. If you can help, please do.  Thanks. 

"I would like to survey individuals currently working abroad in a country that is not their native country of residence. The survey would be confidential, administered via a web link, and should take about 20 minutes to complete. To participate, please click here.  Thank you!"  Lisa Gulick, lgulick @ gmu.edu

Expat Women's 5 Friend Challenge

Hi Everyone, If you missed our 5 Friend Challenge in this month's newsletter, it's simple, here it is…

Can you please help ‘spread the word’ about ExpatWomen.com by sending this month's newsletter to at least 5 friends and encouraging them to join up to support us?

We depend on your valuable word-of-mouth support to gain new members.  The more members, the more sponsorship money we can raise to keep the site running and growing for you!

T-h-a-n-k   Y-o-u   V-e-r-y   M-u-c-h!       Andrea

Expat Women August Newsletter Highlights

Hi Everyone, Here are the highlights from our Expat Women August 2010 members' newsletter, sent out this week:

(If you are a member and did not receive your newsletter, please email us here, thanks)

* Success Story: Toni Brendish, Managing Director, Danone Dumex (Malaysia);

* Business Idea: Little Broadway, Tiffany Jansen;

* Home Exchanging: Tips For A Successful Home Exchange, Zoe Hine;

* Boost Your Brand: 10 Ways to Boost Your (Relocation) Brand Online, Andrea Martins;

* Learning Disabilities: The Evolution Of Learning Disabilities: A Global Guide For Parents, Kristina L. Dooley;

* Expat Confession: He Wants To Go;

* Mothering Abroad: Nora Kohri, Founder Of Care The World;

* The name of our Explorer Publishing mini-guide pack winner; and

* Our winning story by Expat Women member Lauren (again!) (an American in China), entitled The Strays of Dingbo.

Read our August Newsletter Here

If you are not a member of our main site, ExpatWomen.com, please join today to support us (and receive a link to download our free Expat Women e-book "Winning Stories"). This will also mean that next month your newsletter will be delivered directly to your inbox.

Thanks Everyone! Andrea

Kickstarter: Get Inspired, Get Creative

Hi Everyone, I read a fabulous case study today by Craig Mod (via The Book Designer).  It documented Craig and his co-author Ashley Rawlings' experience in using Kickstarter to buy back the rights of their book Art Space Tokyo (which sold out it its first year then was never reprinted by its publisher) and re-launch their book.

Craig's case study intrigued me:

"$24,000 in 30 days, a room full of books in 60 & a new way of publishing in 90... In April 2010, Ashley Rawlings and I used community fundraising to raise nearly $24,000 to breathe new life into our book, Art Space Tokyo. My goal here is to outline what we did and why we did it, with the hope of inspiring anyone with an itch, gumption and a good narrative, to do the same. To bring beautiful, well-considered things into the world."

If you are a published or wannabe writer and/or if you are interested in self-publishing and/or you are an entrepreneur wanting to think more creatively, I highly recommend reading Craig's case study.

But beyond that, I encourage all of you to visit Kickstarter.com.

Kickstarter's premise is to give you a platform to promote your creative project idea, then help you open it up for community funding on their site.  You nominate the funding goal and the timeframe, then supporters of your project can pledge money to kick-start your project, in return for the benefit or experience you promise to your supporters.  If you do not meet your funding goal in the required timeframe, no one pays their pledge.  So the challenge is not only to come up with a cool project, but to get as many supporters as possible in your nominated timeframe, so that you reach your goal and your project goes ahead.

Whether or not you have a creative idea, this site are very inspiring.  Immerse yourself in the site's creativity, and who knows, maybe it will ignite a new spark of creativity in your own ideas...

Have a fabulous week! Andrea

August Edition of Mobility Magazine Online

Hi Everyone, The August edition of the Worldwide ERC® Mobility Magazine is now online, featuring the following:

U.S. Immigration Issues for U.S. Employees Assigned Abroad
By Matthew T. Phillips

Visas and Volcanoes: Crisis Planning for Immigration
By Sophy King and Andrea Elliott

Recruiting Foreign Workers in the United States - How to Remain Competitive and Ensure Compliance in a Climate of Increased Government Scrutiny
By Sarah L. Tobocman, Esq., GMS,; Jay Carmichael, Esq.; Luciana C. Melo, Esq.; and Mariana R. Ribeiro, Esq.

Seven Essential Steps to Making the Right Relocation Pay Decisions
By Shari Dunn

The Promise of Personal Branding
By Galen Tinder

10 Ways to Boost Your Relocation Brand Online
By Andrea Martins

Personal Perspectives on Temporary Housing
By Stefani R. Schreck, CRP, GMS

Making the Big Move: Relocating to Singapore
By Siew Kiang Ng

Group Moves: an Analysis of Key Considerations
By Allie Williamson, CRP

If you are in the expat, global mobility and/or relocation industries, happy reading!  Andrea

Expat Women August 2010 Home Page

Hi Everyone, Please take a look at, share and tweet about our new August 2010 Expat Women home page, which features the following:

Success Story
Toni Brendish
Managing Director, Danone Dumex (Malaysia)
Toni Brendish is the Managing Director of Danone Dumex Sdn Bhd in Malaysia, part of Danone: a Fortune 500 company which is one of the most successful healthy food companies in the world. Toni is responsible for the Malaysian and Brunei businesses and oversees more than 450 people...
Read more...

Business Idea
Little Broadway
Tiffany Jansen
Trained in musical theater and dance, Tiffany Jansen started Little Broadway, a musical theater program for international school students in the Netherlands. Its mission, 'bringing a little bit of Broadway to the Netherlands', is fulfilled through a series of fun and interactive workshops...
Read more...

Home Exchanging
Tips For A Successful Home Exchange
Zoe Hine
As the tough times look like they will get tougher, people are finding new ways to dodge the credit crunch. One money-saving technique that has seen an incredible surge in numbers is the concept of home exchange (or home swapping), which enables people to experience a city more like a local...
Read more...

Boosting Your Brand
10 Ways to Boost Your (Relocation) Brand Online
Andrea Martins
Relocated families love the Internet. It feeds their need for information about new destinations and keeps them “connected” with friends and family when their companies transfer them thousands of miles from home. Logic follows then that if your relocation-related business is trying to tap into the valuable online relocation market, you need to be online media savvy...
Read more...

Expat Confession
He Wants To Go
Expat Women Girlfriend
My boyfriend and I both moved to Belgium for work just over a year ago. I am really enjoying my job and I love living here but my boyfriend does not and he wants to go back home. I am now in a dilemma about what I should do. I love him and cannot imagine being here without him, but...
Read more...

Learning Disabilities
The Evolution Of Learning Disabilities: Information & Tips For Global Parents
Kristina L. Dooley
According to a Roper Starch Poll, 44 percent of parents who noticed some indication of learning difficulty in their children waited a year or more before openly acknowledging that the problem may be serious. Educational Consultant Kristina L. Dooley shares information and tips for global parents...
Read more...

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Just a reminder that our blog is separate from our main site, so if you are reading this blog post online or you are only subscribed to our blog, you will not automatically receive our Expat Women monthly newsletters.

To receive our newsletter later this month and to go in the running to win our monthly prize of a complete set of Explorer Publishing's Mini-Guides, please sign up today to our main site ExpatWomen.com, and also receive your link to our free e-book of Winning Stories!

Thank you very much and have a sensational August! Andrea