Women@Work: Sharon Collins by David Pereyra Snapshot: I've Become the Man I Always Wanted to Marry "I think it was Gloria Steinem who said, 'I've become the man I always wanted to marry.' And that's kind of how I feel these days," says Sharon Collins, a 40-something mother of an eight year old daughter. Sharon would deny she's a BlueSuitMom, and technically she's not. Originally from Tallahassee, Florida, where she earned an MFA in art history, she might view herself more as a citified country girl. But she certainly fits the blue suit bill, sans blue suit. Highly educated and motivated; primary breadwinner, caregiver and bill payer; and now, with her aging father's health in question, she's taken on multi-generational responsibilities. In need of a Time Management Coach, a Career Coach and maybe a Financial Planner and of course an executive assistant. Sharon is well versed in the competitive issues facing women and mothers in the workplace. As the owner of her own design company, SecondSiteStudio.com, she set out several years ago to transition her business online, a practitioner of the B2B before it was industry jargon. "The Internet has changed the way everyone works, particularly entrepreneurs and people like me. It's changed the way we communicate and do business. And now, you can have clients that you never meet." she adds, "I think the computer was a much more profound change for people in my industry." Blues Jeans Mom As an owner of her own business, Sharon, by choice, works out of her own home. Jeans casual is the attire. As a graphic designer, she is very hands-on and the flexible hours allow her to work steadily, as her schedule demands. She may be tinkering with a website at midnight or preparing a client's proofs at 7 a.m., while getting her daughter ready for school. Currently, Sharon's mulling over the idea of buying a separate house for the business. "I love to solve problems through design," she says about her decision to keep her company small and to stick to what she likes doing best -- creative development and execution. "The Internet makes you more isolated but then you get more work done," she adds, commenting on the dual challenges of new technology and running a small business. So, Sharon finds herself surrounded by computers that hum all day and into the night and, she swears, sometimes even speak to one another as she sleeps. A problem solver by nature, moving her business online was invigorating. She finds the that developing Web sites and e-commerce solutions has given her work a dimensionality that print never provided. Along the way she's developed a network of friends, mostly strong women who are accomplished and knowledgeable in areas that she's not as versed in: marketing strategy, writing code and providing other IT solutions. Her view of the business world, from an entrepreneur's perspective: "You know, it's like a battlefield out there, with bullets flying, everyone scurrying from bunker to bunker, hunkering down for a while, for a visit. That's the friendly, good part. Then it's -- everyone out and move on." When asked how she balances family and work, her response is singular and almost rote: by working late at night. "I guess I'm a workaholic," she says. "But then I have a lot of expenses, a lot of mouths to feed. But a lot of this, this work and trying to stay connected, is about our kids," she continues. "I think we're all BlueSuitMoms. I mean, we're really second generation working women and maybe we were kind of afraid to go for it. Our daughters won't be. They'll learn to be real people--a person, not a girl. That's what we're giving them." More snapshots: • Julie Meringer, Research Director at Forrester Research • Kellie Smythe, Director of Internet Partnerships at ANC