Sandy Bartow, Executive Director of the Jacksonville Women’s Business Center (JWBC) in Jacksonville, FL, has been appointed to a three-year term on the National Women’s Business Council. The JWBC, a program of the Jacksonville Chamber Foundation, delivers mentoring, training, networking and consulting programs and services to over 1,000 clients. As part of her role with JWBC, Sandy formerly served two terms as a National Board Member of the Association of Women’s Business Centers and was also named head of the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business Center in June 2007.
Sandy serves on the board of Women Business Owners of North Florida, the City of Jacksonville’s Small and Emerging Business Advisory Board, and the Center for Women’s Business Research National Advisory Council. She is also a member of the Jacksonville Women’s Network. Previously, Sandy served as Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Kansas Women’s Business Center.
Click here to learn more about Sandy.
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The National Women’s Business Council may be coming to your city! Following the success of the first two Town Hall Meetings for Women Business Owners in 2007, the Council will be hosting three more events this year, in Columbus, OH on March 12, Houston, TX on April 3, and Boca Raton, Florida on May 14.
NWBC’s town hall meetings are free half-day events designed to promote dialogue among the women’s business community and local, state, and federal policymakers on the issues and challenges faced by women business owners. Topics to be covered include Access to Capital, Affordable Health Care, Government and Corporate Procurement, among others. Insights gathered during the 2007-2008 Town Hall meetings will be compiled in a comprehensive report that will contribute to the Council’s policy recommendations given to the President, Congress, and the Small Business Administration. Click here to read the report from our 2007 programs.
Please visit the Council’s web site for more information about these events. Online registration will be available soon. In the meantime, if you are a woman business owner interested in attending one of the upcoming meetings, please contact Emily Reynolds or 202-205-6829.
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On January 7, the National Women’s Business Council presented a panel at the 5th Annual Conference of the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE). During the presentation, entitled “Best Practices in Women’s Entrepreneurship Education,” a member of the NWBC research team presented preliminary findings of an ongoing research project on currently available research and best practices of Women’s Business Centers and other educational institutions in addressing the needs of aspiring women entrepreneurs. In addition, NWBC Executive Director Margaret Barton discussed the Council’s mission to promote increased educational opportunities for women entrepreneurs and Council member Sandy Bartow discussed many of the characteristics of her programs at the Jacksonville Women’s Business Center.
Panelists discussed the importance of providing programming targeted to women entrepreneurs, tracking programs through surveys and reports, and considering the scheduling needs and learning styles of women in developing programs. Finally, community college attendees were encouraged to work with local service providers like women’s business centers when developing and marketing their entrepreneurship programs.
Immediately following the NACCE conference, the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) held its annual conference. During the event, Margaret Barton joined Julie Weeks, President and CEO of Womenable and former NWBC Executive Director, Gwen Martin, Center for Women's Business Research Managing Director and Director of Research, and Chatham College's Mary Riebe for a workshop on the twentieth anniversary of HR.5050, the Women’s Business Ownership Act. The panel discussed landmarks of progress and current challenges facing the women entrepreneurs, as well as a current effort to plan a ‘roadmap to 2020’ for the women’s business community.
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The U.S. Small Business Administration submitted a proposed rule regarding the creation of a women-owned small business (WOSB) contracting procedure at the end of December. Based on the results of a study commissioned from the RAND Corporation released earlier in 2007, the proposed rule authorizes contracting officers in federal agencies to set aside contracts to WOSB within four industries identified as under-represented or substantially under-represented. The industries identified were: National Security and International Affairs; Coating, Engraving, Heat Treating and Allied Activities; Household and Institutional Furniture and Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturing; and Other Motor Vehicle Dealer.
Under the rule, only small businesses owned or controlled by economically disadvantaged women would be eligible and contracts may not exceed $3 million. In addition, prior to reserving procurements exclusively for WOSBs, each agency is required to conduct an analysis of its own procurement history in the relevant industry to determine whether there is sufficient evidence of discrimination by the agency.
The House Small Business Committee held a hearing on January 16 to assess the SBA’s progress in implementing the women’s procurement program. Witnesses at the hearing included SBA Administrator Steven Preston, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Elizabeth Papez of the Department of Justice, women business owners, and women business owner advocates. Preston and Papez defended the proposed rule based on legal precedents and constitutional grounds. In addition, SBA Administrator Preston stated that the rule was only one tool the SBA would be using to increase the number of contracts going to women-owned businesses in the future. Committee members and witnesses criticized the proposed rule, arguing that the SBA has little basis for requiring individual agencies to demonstrate discrimination or to limit the program's impact to four industries. Committee Chairwoman Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.) urged the SBA to throw out the proposed rule and start over. Click here to watch video highlights of the hearing.
The proposed rule is open to public comment until February 25. Interested parties may submit comments, identified by 3245-AF40, online at the Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov, or by mail to: Robert C. Taylor, Office of Contract Assistance, Office of Government Contracting, U.S. Small Business Administration, 409 3rd Street, SW, Washington, DC 20416.
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On December 17th, NWBC Executive Director Margaret Barton and Director of Communications & Research Analysis Allison Gilmore participated in a meeting at the Federal Reserve Board to discuss the recent discontinuation of the Survey of Small Business Finances (SSBF). The meeting was attended by economists and researchers from the Federal Reserve and organizations such as Johns Hopkins University, the Brookings Institute, MIT, the Kauffman Foundation, and the SBA.
Participants discussed how the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) could be adapted to compensate for the data that would no longer be collected through the SSBF. Three options were discussed during the day-long meeting: an increase in sample size, the introduction of a limited panel dimension, and the addition/restoration of additional data on private businesses. During the meeting, NWBC staff urged the Federal Reserve Board to reinstate questions relating to sources of credit for women and minority business owners. Council staff has been invited to return to meet with staff of the Federal Reserve in the coming weeks to discuss further how to include those new questions in the next SCF, to be conducted in 2010.
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On January 8, NWBC staff member Katherine Stanley participated in a meeting with eight women from Iran who were company executives, students and leaders of non-governmental organizations. The session, organized by the U.S. Department of State, was part of a three-week program, designed to study the fundamental issues facing entrepreneurs growing their businesses, entitled “Women in Management and Business.”
The project allowed the participants to learn how government and non-governmental organizations support and empower the development of women entrepreneurs and small business owners, explore strategies to promote gender equity and expand opportunities for women in economics, government, and business, and share experiences with women business leaders. In addition to Stanley, the panel included representatives from SBA’s Office of Entrepreneurial Development, Office of Women’s Business Ownership, and Office of Advocacy.
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The Center for Women’s Business Research has launched a “first of its kind” national research panel which will utilize internet technology to gather up-to-the-minute research on women business owners and their enterprises. The on-line research panel, W-Biz Insight, will contribute to the creation of an ongoing body of knowledge that can respond to emerging trends and will inform programs and policies that support all women business owners.
Women owners of both large and small businesses are invited to participate. To read more about this panel and to learn how you can be involved, please visit the Center’s web site.
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The Center for Women’s Business Research, in collaboration with Babson College, will host its fifth and final Accelerating the Growth of Businesses Owned by Women of Color research forum in Chicago, IL on January 23, 2008. This multi-year research effort engages women of color entrepreneurs in a dialogue about the factors that are preventing them from growing their businesses, and the actions that are necessary to meet and overcome those barriers. Previous forums have been held in Philadelphia, Atlanta, San Francisco, and Dallas.
Information gained from this series of forums will help lead to action plans for overcoming barriers to business growth for women of color entrepreneurs on the individual, community and national levels, as well as help formulate public- and private-sector policy recommendations. A National Symposium announcing the results of this multi-year project will be held in May 2008.
Asian, Latina, African-American & other multi-ethnic women who meet established criteria are encouraged to apply online for the Chicago forum.
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In December, the SBA Office of Advocacy released the 2007 edition of its annual report on the state of small business, The Small Business Economy: A Report to the President for 2007. According to the report, more than 99% of American businesses are small and small businesses employed just over half the private sector workforce in 2006. In fact, in 2004, small firms with fewer than 500 employees posted a net gain of 1.86 million new jobs, while all other firms had a net loss of 181,000 jobs.
Other topics covered in the report include small business financing, federal procurement with small businesses, minority and veteran-owned businesses, and social entrepreneurship. For more information and a complete copy of the report, visit the Office of Advocacy web site at www.sba.gov/advo.
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The Internal Revenue Service has released a new guide, Publication 15 - (Circular E) Employer's Tax Guide, for businesses with employees This guide includes new wage withholding tables, information on Social Security and Medicare tax for 2008, and other new regulation and tax law changes for employers. In addition, the archive of a recent web cast hosted by the IRS earlier this month entitled “Getting Ready for the Filing Season 2008: Part 2 (Businesses),” is currently available at www.TaxTalkToday.tv.
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Several pieces of legislation affecting small businesses advanced in December and the first few weeks of January. Before the holiday recess, the House passed the Small Business Contracting Program Improvements Act (HR 3867), which would increase the limit on sole-source contracts for 8(a), HUBZone, and Service Disabled Veteran-owned firms to $5.1 million from the current $3 million, and $5.5 million for manufacturing, up from $5 million.
Likewise, before the break, the Senate Small Business Committee passed its own version of contracting legislation known as the Small Business Contracting Revitalization Act (S. 2300) with provisions similar to the House bill. The Senate’s legislation also would authorize set-asides on GSA schedules and other multiple reward contracts. Now that lawmakers have returned to session, the full Senate must approve S. 2300. Once approved, both the House and Senate contracting bills will go to conference to resolve their differences.
On December 26, 2007, President Bush signed The Temporary Tax Relief Act of 2007 (HR 3996) into law (PL 110-166). This legislation temporarily raises the exemption limits for the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) for one year. The impact of the AMT on middle-income taxpayers will be examined again in 2008 as lawmakers prepare the budget resolution for fiscal year 2009.
The Council will be tracking these and other legislative issues very closely over the coming months and will provide updates as they arise.
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