Business nominated for national award

Her explanations are clinical.

People read newspaper ads because they're ready to buy. Women read health and environmental articles because they want to feel safe. And people are persuaded by radio ads for logical reasons, too.

"This is how it works," said Pat Lynch, chief executive officer of the Carson City-based Women's Online Media and Education Network. "What you hear goes to a nerve that links the inner ear to the limbic system of the brain. The limbic system of the brain is the motivational part, the part that is unconscious for the most part."

She said people like to think they make logical decisions, but nobody does. They make emotional decisions.

She had to hunt down explanations to build a successful business. It helped her business get nominated, too, as most innovative businesses of the year for The Stevie Women's Business Awards. The national awards will be held in Las Vegas on Monday.

Lynch's business runs Web sites with business calendars, online media tools, radio shows and articles targeted at high-profile women 40 and older.

She said educating women is one thing she can do to make the world a little more balanced.

Lynch started online in the late 1990s by building a base of business owners and leaders in government and nonprofits with her free national online calendar. Women like this are involved in a lot of organizations, she said.

"These are the women who had big ideas in the '60s," she said. "And some of them tried to climb up the corporate ladder and got bashed in the head. They went out on their own, like a good many of us, some sooner than others. The others made it through or decided to stay."

She branched out the network to include radio programs and articles specifically for her target group. Research confirmed what she thought they would be interested in: safety, health, environment, wealth - pregnancy and boyfriends were for other media.

Then she started an easy-to-use system called Audio Acrobat, that allows people to record, publish and share audio.

As David Barrett, head of the program, said "women like easy."

Next Lynch wants to syndicate her radio programs on different sites and radio. She wants to expand the audio system to allow video.

She said she's never content.

"Women seem to think they need to know everything before they begin," she said. "Our job is really teaching women you can do this. It's not hard.

"You know how the guys did it? They needed a new toy and they went and bought a radio station. They just figured it out."

Michael Gallagher, president of the Stevie Awards, said his series of business awards are the oldest and biggest in the country. Lots of businesses who enter have good credentials, he said, but what is most important is a businesses' submission.

"People are suckers for good stories," he said.

• Contact reporter Dave Frank at dfrank@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.

On the Net

To learn more about the Stevies, visits one of these Web Sites:

www.WomensRadio.com

www.WomensCalendar.org

www.AudioAcrobat.com

www.StevieAwards.com/Women