Entrepreneurial Woman Magazine

If Rieva Lesonsky ever doubts that women in business have special concerns, her doubts disappear when the switchboard operator goes home for the night. Usually, that leaves Lesonsky, editor-in-chief of Entrepreneur Group magazines in Irvine, and publisher Jim Fitzpatrick answering late-evening telephone calls. "Sometimes (callers) ask me: Can you keep trying that number?" Lesonsky said. "I explain that I'm not the operator. No one ever asks Jim to do that."

If Rieva Lesonsky ever doubts that women in business have special concerns, her doubts disappear when the switchboard operator goes home for the night. Usually, that leaves Lesonsky, editor-in-chief of Entrepreneur Group magazines in Irvine, and publisher Jim Fitzpatrick answering late-evening telephone calls. "Sometimes (callers) ask me: Can you keep trying that number?" Lesonsky said. "I explain that I'm not the operator. No one ever asks Jim to do that."

Entrepreneur Group, publisher of Entrepreneur magazine, has postponed a conference that was to have brought about 900 businesswomen to Irvine on Saturday. The company would not say why the second annual Entrepreneurial Woman's Seminar is being delayed. Entrepreneur's staff members and volunteers spent Wednesday faxing and telephoning people who had planned to attend, said Toni Chan, the company's special events manager.

Entrepreneur Magazine, the fast-growing publication for start-up businesses, is in joint venture discussions with a Swiss publisher and several other overseas media companies, Chairman Peter Shea said Wednesday. The discussions are aimed at assuring the long-term financing necessary for the company's continued growth, Shea said, and a deal could be announced within the next couple of months.

Jeanne M. Florance, 24, of Irvine will leave March 1 for the Dominican Republic and John W. Graham, also of Irvine, will leave the same day for Thailand, both to serve as Peace Corps volunteers. Florance, a Brea-Olinda High School and Whittier College graduate, will train teachers and others about health and nutrition. Graham, 23, a UC Irvine graduate with a degree in psychology, will use the skills gained as a Boy Scout, lifeguard and student in his Thailand assignment.