Websites for busy women

Eight years ago, US businesswoman Deb Nyberg had a double mastectomy and found her whole world turned upside down. Until then she had been operating her own document conversion service from home.

"Boxes and boxes of daily papers were loaded into my van and brought to my home-based office in Chicago," she says. "While I was recuperating from surgery and undergoing intensive therapy, I took to surfing the internet as a pastime. I soon discovered all these businesswomen out there communicating on message boards. It was then I had the idea for Field of Dreams.

"The idea came from the movie called Field of Dreams. It had a central theme: 'Build it and they will come.' It really worked. Soon, thousands of women flocked to our community website and it grew to more than 500 pages of supportive resources for women."

Nyberg claims businesses, big and small, have come to depend on the services offered by Field of Dreams because: "All our services are based on ourselves and our individual pride of accomplishment."

Nyberg's idea may sound like a wacky wheeze from over the water, but she was not alone in believing there was a market for women's websites.

"It's a quick and efficient way for women to access information, promote their businesses, find clients and just be in the know," explains Glenda Stone, who set up Busygirl.co.uk two years ago. Busygirl is sponsored by Pricewaterhouse-Coopers and is aimed at women entrepreneurs who are using technology for their advancement in businesses or careers. "That means all our 5,000 members want to grow their businesses or are looking for accelerated career advancement," explains Stone.

Busygirl is aimed at two target users: "The women who use the online features tend to be small-business owners and entrepreneurs seeking the support of likeminded women," explains Stone. "Offline we offer monthly forums which attract around 200 women who tend to be those looking for mentors, role models, leads and information.

"At the time we set up Busygirl, there were quite a few women's websites around but they were all about dieting, dating and horoscopes. That's fine, and we all like a bit of that, but in terms of women on fast-track careers, making money and growing businesses, there was nothing around. Busygirl is a quick, timely and efficient way of getting information. It's like the modern equivalent of talking over the back fence," she says.

According to Justina Hart, careers editor for Freeserve's women's channel Icircle, women's websites really hit the spot. "Working women often have a very different agenda from men and we cover all those areas. Whether that's working from home, self employment, freelancing, temping or sorting out your work/life balance, there is something for every working woman at the click of a mouse," she says. Hart believes women are extremely discerning when it comes to information on the web. "There's a huge gap in the UK for quality, cheap and accessible careers advice which is being served by the web," she says.

Often women's websites aim to help so-called "time poor" women make more of their working and leisure time. TenUK is a lifestyle management site which does exactly that. "We save our members around 105 hours a year doing all those tasks you simply don't have the time, expertise and information to do yourself," explains marketing manager Martine Schaffer. For £1,500 a year, TenUK provides a team of lifestyle managers who take on any task you ask of them, from booking your summer holidays to finding new office space. For £250 a year you get a concierge service, where you pick up the phone and a consultant will recommend the best company for whatever it is you want to get done. "It's all about having the nouse to hand over your 'to do' list to somebody you trust and letting them get on with it," she adds.

Mek Rahmani set up Desk Demon to champion "unsung heroines of the office", such as secretaries, PAs and office managers. "It's an online package which gives them access to all sorts of information such as travel, stationery, couriers and other essential services they need to access on a daily basis," he says.

The business grew out of his frustration when his own secretary was off sick for two weeks and he "foolishly" thought he could do her job in addition to his own. "How wrong I was. I had no idea just how much a secretary does every day. I realised there was a business opportunity to provide online help and support to this section of the workforce," he says. " Secretaries can be very isolated, but now they can join debates on the forum and share views on topics from what their job title should be to where the best travel agents are."

? wholewomen.com

? busygirl.co.uk

? TenUK.co.uk

? DeskDemon.com