The National Women’s Business Council (NWBC) held a semi-annual meeting on September 19 in Washington, DC. During the meeting, Council Chair Tami Longaberger presided over the swearing-in of several new Council members. In addition, the Council reviewed recent projects and discussed new plans for FY 2008.
Council members and guests also were briefed by Deputy Chief of Staff of the Small Business Administration (SBA) Raul Cisneros about the status of the Women’s Small Business Procurement program, Chief Council for Advocacy Thomas Sullivan about the Office of Advocacy’s Regulatory Review and Reform Initiative, and by staff from the Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship about current legislation affecting women-owned businesses.
The public is invited to attend future meetings of the National Women’s Business Council, which are held twice a year.
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Rebecca Herwick, President and CEO of St. Louis-area Global Products, Inc., has been appointed to a three-year term on the National Women’s Business Council. Global Products, Inc. provides quality giftware, head wear, collectible and promotional products worldwide through their design, manufacture and distribution capabilities. Under Rebecca’s leadership, the company has expanded its international distribution capabilities through the addition of wholly owned subsidiaries in Munich, Germany and Burlington, Canada.
Click here to learn more about Rebecca.
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The National Women’s Business Council released a new report this week featuring the outcomes of its first two town hall meetings held in early 2007. “Voices from the Field” presents the outcomes and discussions from the Council’s March 13, 2007 event in St. Louis and June 5, 2007 event in Portland.
At each event, women business owners discussed their challenges and priorities, with particular focus on the policy issues such as access to capital, health care, and taxes. This new report outlines the highlights of both events and suggests policy directions to address the challenges discussed. To download a copy of the report, visit www.nwbc.gov.
To build on the policy discussions of the first two meetings, NWBC will host three new meetings in the coming year. These events, which NWBC plans to host in Houston, TX, Columbus, OH, and Miami, FL, will allow members of the Council to hear directly from women business owners about their priorities, challenges and concerns. For more information, or to be added to the mailing list for future town hall meetings, contact Emily Reynolds at emily.reynolds@nwbc.gov.
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The National Women’s Business Council recently updated its Issue Brief on Federal Contracting with Women-Owned Businesses. The updated brief examines the current state of contracting with women-owned small businesses on a government-wide and agency-specific basis.
Drawing upon newly-available information on FY 2006 agency goaling achievements, as well as data for previous years, the report highlights women-owned small businesses’ share of contract dollars and contract actions and includes graphs indicating trends over time. The brief was last updated in 2004, covering FY 1998 through FY 2003.
The updated issue brief is now available on the NWBC web site.
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Two members of the National Women’s Business Council, Rebecca Boenigk and Kathy Eshelman, were selected earlier this year to participate in the Iraqi Women's Economic Empowerment Partnership, an initiative launched by the U.S. Department of State to link American business women with current or aspiring Iraqi women business owners. The long term goals of the initiative are to increase cross-cultural communication, to build sustainable relationships and networks between American and Iraqi women, and to promote entrepreneurship among Iraqi women. Several months into the pilot program, Boenigk and Eshelman both report positive communications with their Iraqi contacts.
Since the beginning of the program, Boenigk has communicated frequently with her partner and has enjoyed learning about her counterpart’s life and family in Iraq. Boenigk has had the opportunity to offer advice on growing the woman’s current business and getting a new business started. In her email communications, Eshelman has learned about the business of her Iraqi counterpart, which often has her traveling to various areas of the country. They have discussed contracting opportunities and the possibility of meeting in the United States.
Boenigk and Eshelman believe that the experience has been very valuable so far, both for the American business owners who have an opportunity to learn about life and business in Iraq and for the Iraqi women who receive advice and insight into the American way of business. Both Council members hope the program will be expanded past the pilot stage so that more women business owners have the chance to participate. They expect to continue communications with their Iraqi partners after the pilot program is completed.
For more information on the Council’s participation in this initiative, contact Margaret Barton.
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Council staff member Katherine Stanley participated in a panel discussion attended by seventeen women from francophone Africa on September 13. Organized on behalf of the U.S. Department of State by the Phelps Stokes Fund, the session was part of the International Visitor Leadership Program, which invites emerging leaders from around the world to the U.S. to meet with their professional counterparts.
The panel, which focused on women entrepreneurs and the issues they face, allowed the visitors a chance to examine the role of women as political and economic leaders in the United States. In addition to Stanley, the panel included representatives from the National Association of Women Business Owners, the Center for Women’s Business Research, and the SBA Office of Entrepreneurial Development.
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The SBA Office of Advocacy released a new working paper this month that examines why performance differences exist for female- and male-owned businesses. The study, Are Male and Female Entrepreneurs Really That Different?, finds that gender does not affect new venture performance when controlling for other factors. However, several factors, such as differing expectations, reasons for starting a business, motivations, opportunities sought and types of businesses, vary between the genders, and these result in differing outcomes.
The report shows that male entrepreneurs were significantly more likely than female entrepreneurs to found technologically intensive businesses, businesses that will lose their competitive advantage more quickly, and businesses that have a less geographically localized customer base. Female entrepreneurs were significantly more likely to prefer low-risk/low-return businesses than male entrepreneurs. The study found no evidence that female entrepreneurs perceive that they face greater problems in the organizing process than male entrepreneurs.
The study makes several contributions to policy discussion, including providing useful information about structural barriers to female entrepreneurship. For more information on this study, visit the Office of Advocacy web site.
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The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) will build on its series of successful workshops in 2006 and early 2007 with three new conferences for minority and women-owned small businesses this fall. The Expanding Horizons conferences, being held in cooperation with NWBC and the Minority Business Development Agency, will take place in Newark, NJ (September 27), Houston, TX (October 18), and San Francisco, CA (November 15). NWBC Executive Director Margaret Barton will speak at the events.
Like the first series, which drew more than 500 participants, these workshops are designed to address the unique challenges that minority- and women-owned businesses face in their efforts to gain entry to the global marketplace. Participants will learn about challenges and opportunities of overseas and cross-border investment, assistance programs offered by the U.S. government, and accessing capital for overseas projects, among other topics. Speakers will include senior government officials from OPIC and other agencies, international bankers, and representatives from businesses investing overseas who will share their insights and experiences.
To view a draft agenda for the workshops or to register, visit www.trademeetings.com.
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On May 24, 2007, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives both passed by unanimous consent an amendment that calls for permanent renewability funding for Women’s Business Centers (WBCs). Included in the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act of 2007 (H.R. 2206), this legislation allows established WBCs to apply for 3-year grants on an ongoing basis. For the first time, WBCs will have a permanent funding stream established by law.
Currently, the House and Senate are in conference to reconcile differing Entrepreneurial Development Act bills (S. 1671, H.R. 2397). Both pieces of legislation aim to reauthorize and improve the entrepreneurial development programs of the Small Business Administration, of which the WBC program is a part. Both bills address program funding levels and clarify roles and responsibilities for the programs. Check back here for future updates.
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The Social Security Administration has launched a new website for employers. Business Online Services (BSO) offers information on W-2s, electronic filing, verifying Social Security numbers, free software, technical specifications, among other resources. The new site is designed to help employers save time and effort when completing wage reporting paperwork. Visit the BSO web site for more information.
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