Home is Where the Purse Is – Kaira Sturdivant Rouda to Speak at Marketing to Women Conference

RISMEDIA, May 6, 2008-Kaira Sturdivant Rouda, president of Real Living Inc., one of the nation’s first women-focused real estate brands, will speak at the 4th annual M2W®–Marketing To Women Conference in Chicago on May 8. Rouda will present “Home is Where the Purse is,” explaining the immense buying power women have when it comes to real estate transactions.

M2W is a premier national conference for marketers wishing to learn how to expand their brand and engage the female buyer. The conference will feature case studies, research and workshops. Rouda will focus on the female real estate buyer and how to reach her.

Equipped with 20 years of marketing experience, Rouda established the Real Living brand in 2001, and the company has grown more than 300% since its inception. She knew that women are the driving force in real estate transactions. In fact, women make 91% of the home-purchasing decisions and 85% of all buying decisions. And single women are the second-largest group of homebuyers in America, after married couples. This became the basis for the creation of the first woman-focused brand in real estate. In 2007, the company was named one of the top 50 fastest-growing women-led companies by Entrepreneur magazine.

“Today’s woman is buying more than just a home; she’s buying a lifestyle,” Rouda said. “And these women are buying during life stages, so there’s a huge opportunity to reach them during these moments.” Marriage, the birth of a child, a growing family–savvy marketers can capitalize on all of these life transitions.

As the author of Real You Incorporated: 8 Essentials for Women Entrepreneurs, Rouda shares her experience in the areas of marketing, brand building and entrepreneurship. In the book, she makes the point that a woman’s ever-increasing empowerment in the workforce means she has even more to spend where she chooses-and that often reveals itself in home ownership.

For more information, visit www.RealLiving.com or www.m2w.biz.