Girl Power For these entrepreneurs, helping other women is more than just good business.

Are you a social entrepreneur? We're not talking about beingable to network effectively. Social entrepreneurship means lookingat the way your business fits into your community and the world andmaking a conscious decision to contribute to the social good. Thesebusiness owners did just that-and found ways to help women andgirls by using their companies.

The Art ofHelping
Lisa Hammond, 36, started her $6 million catalog company, FemailCreations, in 1996 "out of a passion to make a differencein the lives of women and girls." Says the Las Vegasentrepreneur: "Our catalog features handcrafted items made by,for and about women. Our goal is to empower and inspire females, tocelebrate women in art, and to give shoppers the opportunity tomake a difference."

Femail Creations works with the artists who contribute to thecatalog to feature and promote the charities the artists work with.In each issue, a portion of the profits from the sale of certainitems goes to affiliated organizations, which specialize in issuessuch as domestic violence, women's health and empoweringgirls.

Shaking ThingsUp
For Katherine Jones, principal and founder of $3 million-pluscreative agency Milkshake Media, based in Austin, Texas, her strongbelief in social entrepreneurship inspired her to offer pro bonoservices to GenAustin, a nonprofit organization devoted toencouraging and empowering girls.

"Milkshake has donated our time to rebrand theorganization-renaming, new logo, new Web site, new business system,redesigned calendars and stickers--and we worked with printers andpaper companies to get them to donate [their] services aswell," says Jones, 34, who also sits on GenAustin's board.But what exactly does Jones get out of helping the organization?"Even [if] you can't solve the big problem, you can effectchange. Touching lives is one of the greatest fulfillments thereis."

On a Mission
After discovering she couldn't have children of her own,Patrice Tanaka decided to channel her energies into helping womenand girls. "If you are fortunate to achieve success, you havean obligation to help other women and girls do the same," saysTanaka, who co-founded $5 million brand marketing PR agencyPatrice Tanaka andCo. Inc. (PT & Co.) in New York City in 1990. PT & Co.helps major corporations develop programs that benefit women,including Avon's Breast Cancer Awareness Crusade and LizClaiborne's "Women's Work" program to raiseawareness of domestic violence. PT & Co. also represents theGirl Scouts of the USA, and Tanaka, 50, sits on their New YorkCouncil board. She has also served on the boards of the AsianPacific American Women's Leadership Institute and the FamilyViolence Prevention Fund.

"Our role as women seems to be that of caretaker andcaregiver. We can't hide behind the excuse 'It's notpersonal--it's just business,'" Tanaka says. "Forwomen, business is personal, and we find it inexcusable for aperson or a business to behave irresponsibly as a citizen of ourcommunity."

"As consumers, women survey a brand holistically, and itdoesn't just come down to price," says Andrea Learned,president of ReachWomen LLC, a consultancy in Bellingham,Washington, specializing in understanding women consumers."Women notice a company's investment in causes." Ifyou're marketing to women, being socially responsible can begood for your business as well as your soul.

Aliza Pilar Sherman is an Internet pioneer, netpreneur,speaker and author of the book PowerTools for Women in Business: 10 Ways toSucceed in Life and Work(Entrepreneur Press).