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The path to success, fame and fortune starts with guts, according to three "Women of Power" recognized by Fashion Group International of Atlanta on Sept. 14. Barbara Babbitt Kaufman, author and former owner of Chapter 11 bookstore in Atlanta; Robyn Freedman Spizman, author, consumer advocate and "Super Shopper" for the local NBC affiliate's "11-Alive" news, and Beth Weitzman, editor in chief of Jezebel and Atlanta Sports and Fitness magazines, spoke to a group of more than 50 FGI-Atlanta members about how they found success.
WWD Atlanta bureau chief and fellow "Woman of Power" Georgia Lee moderated the panel, asking participants to share stories of struggles they surmounted on their steady climb to the top.
According to the panelists, however, their business success was a result of inspiration more than perspiration, and the biggest contributing factor was sheer gutsiness and an unwillingness to take "no" for an answer. (However, a female tendency to shy away from self-promotion came up later in the discussion.)
Each woman had a story of taking a plunge to get her business started. With a family history in retail as the granddaughter of the Saul's Department Store founder, Kaufman went to college to become...