Susan Wilson Solovic is a woman of many talents. She’s an award-winning entrepreneur, a CEO, and a journalist, bestselling author, multimedia personality, and attorney. But behind every achievement, Solovic embodies ideas that make her universally—and intimately—relatable to all entrepreneurs: hard work, fortitude, and persistence. She is a rare commodity in a world of quick and incredible viral fame: She is what she preaches.
Raised in rural Missouri by entrepreneurial parents, Solovic learned early on the value and meaning of becoming one’s own boss. At the age of 15, while most adolescents are preoccupied with growing up, Solovic had already started her own business giving baton-twirling lessons. Since then, Solovic’s journey has taken her a long way from her twirling start, yet she has never lost grasp of those indelible early years. She would go on to be the first in her family to graduate from law school—made possible by working full-time. But later on, feeling that law was not her ultimate calling, Solovic tapped into her entrepreneurial spirit by building a company from the ground up. As the CEO and cofounder of ItsYourBiz.com (formerly SBTV.com), Solovic led the company from a concept to a multimillion-dollar, award-winning enterprise. In 2006, Solovic accepted the Stevie Award on behalf of ItsYourBiz.com for the Most Innovative Company under 100 employees; that same year, ItsYourBiz.com was voted the Best Investment Opportunity presenting to a Venture Forum event in the Silicon Valley.
Solovic is a self-proclaimed overachiever, and her litany of achievements does not end there. She is also a sought-after keynote speaker, as well as a small-business contributor for ABC News. She appears frequently on MSBNC, Fox Business News, Good Day New York, WABC, WCBS, and many other stations across the country. In 2011, Solovic launched a nationally syndicated radio show, It’s Your Biz with Susan Solovic, during which she invites leading entrepreneurial experts from across the country to share their unique perspectives on the world of small business. In conjunction with PBS, she created a feature program called Reinvent Yourself Now: Become Self-Reliant in an Unpredictable World. In addition to television and radio appearances, Solovic is a featured blogger on numerous sites, including Huffington Post, AllBusiness.com, ConstantContact, WSJ.com, U.S. Small Business Administration, and Fast Company.
Solovic has written three bestselling books: The Girls’ Guide to Power and Success; Reinvent Your Career: Attain the Success You Desire and Deserve; and The Girls’ Guide to Building a Million-Dollar Business. As a fervent activist for women entrepreneurs, she is a Vice President of the Board of Directors of WIPP, Women Impacting Public Policy. In 2009, Solovic received the Institute for Women’s Entrepreneurship Leader of Distinction Award, and in 2008 she was the first recipient of AT&T’s Innovator of the Year Award for being a pioneer in a new industry. WIPP honored Solovic with the President’s Award in 2007, the organization’s most prestigious recognition.
Apart from her professional achievements, Solovic also currently serves on the advisory board for the John Cook School of Business Entrepreneurial Studies at Saint Louis University, one of the top-rated entrepreneurial schools in the United States. Previously, Solovic served on the National Women’s Business Council, which counsels the President, Congress, and the SBA on issues impacting women business owners. She is also a past member of the Women’s Leadership Board at Harvard University. And all the while she still finds time for hobbies. Solovic is an avid cook and pianist, and believes in living a healthy lifestyle. She has a passion for meeting and learning about new people and making a positive impact on their lives—this is her raison d’être. Having reinvented herself time and time again, while still holding on to core principles, she is an archetype of the entrepreneurial spirit that affords her a unique vantage point from which to share information and insight with business owners around the world.
You can contact Susan at info@itsyourbiz.com or www.ItsYourBiz.com.
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Ellen R. Kadin is Executive Editor at AMACOM Books and a part-time writer. Kadin launched her glamorous publishing career updating a perennial bestseller—the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code. A marketing-oriented editor, she has since brought to life hundreds of successful books in a wide range of business, professional, and general-interest subject areas, specializing in business books.
Kadin was a contributor to Paul B. Brown’s otherwise splendid book, Publishing Confidential: The Insider’s Guide to What It Really Takes to Land a Nonfiction Book Deal. Rumors that she participates wantonly in each book she publishes are unfounded.
Ms. Kadin lives in New York City, currently spending too much time contemplating whether José Reyes will still be the Mets shortstop at the time of this book’s publication.