Staples Grad's Award-Winning Website Helps Women

At the time Sollmann, who resides in Wilton, was a partner in a company focused on networking for current and returning professional women. Her primary focus was executive recruiting, which left little time for more creative pursuits. She always had a passion for writing, but found that she was doing little more than editing poorly written job descriptions employers would provide.

Reinvention can be daunting, even for a woman who has helped so many women navigate positive changes in their lives. Sollmann learned that the impetus for change often springs from the “unplanned, unexpected and unrehearsed.” 

She spent a summer on Nantucket with her two daughters, her niece and her sister-in-law in what they called a “mermaid house.” She brought her work along with her, but the change of scenery gave her the space to think more broadly about her next career move.

A new entrepreneurial venture started percolating -- but one that still focused on women. 

“My observation was that women were put into one of two boxes -- either working or not working. But it’s not that black and white," Sollmann said. "Most women spend many years with one foot in and one foot out of the workforce, and I wanted to find a way to help women in all work and life stages from college through retirement years.”

So Sollmann launched a blog site in early 2012 that would not have the typical “one size fits all” content. Instead she created 9 Lives for Women -- a multi-channel blog site with separate content for women in nine different work+life stages.

In each blog post, Sollmann aims to give women a dose of "Vitamin C" -- the confidence to “find the work that fits your life.” 

“General career advice has limited value," according to Sollmann. "I tailor my advice to recent college grads launching their first careers -- as well as mid-career women refining careers, and women searching for new jobs, contemplating a hiatus from the workforce for family reasons, volunteering during a hiatus, waffling about a return to work, itching to return to work after a long hiatus, contemplating reinvention and planning for a productive retirement.”

Sollmann’s approach -- and strong belief that “work” has many definitions beyond the all-consuming full-time corporate job -- has caught the attention of many larger blog sites that also feature her career guidance. 9 Lives for Women content can also be found on ForbesWoman, Yahoo, 85 Broads, WorkReimagined, BlogHer, IvyExec, The Conference Board, and more.

The blog site is now in the global zeitgeist, too. The site was just awarded a “Gold” in the Hermes Creative Awards, an international competition that recognizes outstanding work by creative professionals involved in the concept, writing and design of both traditional materials and upcoming technologies. The site is in very good company, along with winners such as Fidelity, Bloomberg, Blue Cross, Mercedes and NASA.

Closer to home, 9 Lives for Women also just won a “Bronze” in the Big W Awards sponsored by the Advertising Club of Westchester (ACW) to celebrate work produced by top creative professionals in advertising, design, marketing, public relations, and photography.

“Winning these awards tells me that I’m on the right track -- as well as the great kudos I receive every day from women who read my blog around the world,” Sollmann said.

What’s in store for 9 Lives for Women now that a great foundation is in place? 

“As a longtime entrepreneur I have no shortage of ideas -- and I’m writing a book, speaking to women’s groups, creating webinars and developing alliances with companies focused on women," Sollmann said. 

"But I’m also listening to the second part of the advice I’ve always given to women -- to stay focused on a core value. That’s why most days you’ll find me writing new posts for my blog.”