Secrets of Six-Figure Women

by Barbara Stanny (now Huson)

“Women think you have to make a choice to do good or have money,” said Joline Godfrey. “I never understood that. Why do you have to make the choice?” She always wanted to be a social worker, she told me, but was also determined to make “significant income.” She didn’t see those goals as mutually exclusive. After college, she found a job in the social work department at Polaroid. “In 1977, I was probably the highest-paid social worker in the country,” she said, laughing. “Everyone in my class thought I sold out, that social workers shouldn’t be working in private industry.” That’s not at all how Joline saw it. “I had impact. I made a difference. I did great social work inside that company,” she asserted. “And I also had a condo in Harvard Square.” “Money is a tool. It depends on how you use it,” said six-figure entrepreneur Vickie Sullivan. “You can enrich yourself to the detriment of others, or you can use it to make the world a better place. Do I have enough money? Yes. Do I want more? You bet. Wouldn’t it be great to give fifty grand to Habitat for Humanity so they can build houses for people? That would be amazing.”