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Welcome to the 2008 National Symposium Blogsite

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(3:52 P.M.)

Sharon Hadary, executive director, closed the day by thanking the staff for putting together a symposium jam-packed with solid information, great speakers, and tools women business owners can use.  She praised the facilitators who gathered data from the research participants around the country. The symposium brought more than 200 entrepreneurs together, and she encouraged them to practice the Number One rule of business success: Network, network, network.  

"Today was only a milestone, not an ending. It was the first step in sharing ideas and information," Hadary said. "We'll have more research reports, but also, as we've talked to you, you've given us all kinds of suggestions for programs. We're going to take all those ideas and come up with a plan for now until the end of 2009 and beyond of what we can do to expand the research that you've participated in."
Stay tuned....There is obviously a lot more to come!

****

The final session of today....time's running out, but the energy level is high and the ideas are still flowing.

We went back to the town hall format to answer the question: what will you do with what you've heard today?

Here are some of the answers: disseminate the center's research through blogging and other means; focus on education and training; network with the women who attended this symposium; and forget about the barriers.

(3:19 P.M.)

The final panel of the day had one of the hardest tasks of all: discussing the progress that entrepreneurial women of color have made, and doing so in a way that honored all the achievements, but didn't gloss over the challenges that remain.

The central question posed by Donna Stoddard was, what are some indicators of progress that will tell us when the playing field is level?

Maria de Lourdes Sobrino, founder of Lulu's Dessert Corp., had a simple answer: sales and profits.

For Lena West, president of xynoMedia Technology (and a sister blogger here today), the ultimate measure of success would be "not being the only black woman at a technology conference, not having to work twice as hard to get just as far, and not needing a study to show corporate America what we realize every day."

Cynthia McClain-Hill, managing partner, Strategic Counsel said she would know businesses owned by women of color have arrived "when companies do business with us not because they have a number to reach, but because they recognize the talent and quality we bring to the table. And that's going to take a while."

Ensuring equality and fairness in the procurement process will be the key measure of progress, said Deborah Stallings, president of HR Anew, Inc.

(2:58 P.M.)

Dr. Donna Stoddard, associate professor at Babson College, gave a brief overview of five case studies of businesses that are growing, despite the obstacles that businesses owned by women of color face.

Several factors explain the women's success, including their often unique approaches to marketing. arranged for several pregnant women show up at the Rockefeller Plaza studio of the "Today Show" with a large banner proclaiming the company's name.  And here's the kicker...the women visited the show on Labor Day! They got on camera and got a great plug for the product.

Other strategies included forging a partnership with a former employer, as the owner of New Steel Technology has done, or articulating a mission in a unique way. For Milwaukee's Legacy Bank, it is to "bank the unbanked and serve the unserved."

(2:29 P.M.)

Now we all know that a review of economic statistics can be a downer -- especially in an economy like ours. But Gina Martin, director and senior equity strategist of Wachovia Capital Markets, actually pulled some uplifting data from those dreary numbers -- even though she uttered the dreaded "R" word.

For one thing, she says that the current recession actually creates some opportunities for creative-minded women entrepreneurs. (That's all of us, right?) M artin pointed out that while consumers are cuttting back on many purchases, they are still spending a lot of their discretionary income on items related to health and well being. (My personal favorite: the entire Oil of Olay Regenerist line.)

"We're spending money to feel and look younger, we're living longer, and we're buying more services." In fact, we're purchasing fewer goods and more services.

Furthermore, while certain categories of lending are tough these days (need a mortgage, anyone?), it is actually easier today to get a business loan than it was was during the 1990-91 recession. But Martin stressed that making money in this economy takes above all an ability to track the consumer's needs, and meet them.

Her prediction? Our economy will improve in six to nine months -- and small business owners will make a huge difference.

(2:10 P.M.)

Greg Spragg, executive vice president of Sam's Club, took the floor to talk about his company's commitment to a diverse supplier network.  "Because of our size, we believe we have a tremendous opportunity to use our scale for good and drive change in the world, Spragg said. But that's not the only goal: Supplier diversity also helps Sam's Club to meet the needs of its diverse customers at all of its locations.

Spragg pointed out that after a recent supplier diversity event, Sam's Club ended up meeting with more than half of the 150 companies that attended the event to pursue possible business opportunities. And right now, Sam's Club has a $25 million supplier diversity fund.

"Do we have more work to do? Absolutely. But we expect to see that figure continue to grow year after year."  Considering how many companies talk the talk and then forget about the walk, the commitment Sam's Club has made to broadening its base of suppliers is admirable -- and worth emulating.

(1:53 P.M.)

Margaret Smith, chair of the Center for Women's Business Research Board of Directors, began the afternoon session paying tribute to Gillian Rudd. Rudd founded the center and decided that it was time to change the fact that the world of government knew next to nothing about women entrepreneurs.

So Rudd came up with the idea of  a law that would establish the Women's Business Ownership Act -- and on October 28, 1988, H.R. 5050 became law. (By the way, Smith pointed out that the government has yet to hit the targets for federal contracting outlined in the law, but...that's another subject.)

Then Smith talked about the "harmonic convergence" that led to her personal connection with Terri Dial, president of Wells Fargo from 1998 until 2001. Their friendship paved the way for a major coup for NAWBO and women entrepreneurs.

That coup was the subject of Smith's "story of the napkin." Maybe you'd heard this tale before and thought it was one of those urban legends that's always floating around. But it's true! Here it goes:

Terri Dial invited Smith, who was then president of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), to have lunch at Wells Fargo. Before she went to the lunch, Smith talked with other NAWBO executives about what their "ask" of Wells Fargo would be. They decided to go for it and ask Wells Fargo for a $250 million loan fund to finance women-owned businesses. 

...Or at least that's the figure Smith had in mind before Wells Fargo told her what they were thinking.  Smith was quiet while Dial wrote a figure on a napkin and pushed it across the table. The number on the napkin? $1 billion.  And that, Dial told Smith, would be just a start. The moral of the story: Sometimes, a little bit of silence pays off. Big time.

That loan program today is worth over $30 billion, and Wells Fargo has loans out to 467,000 women-owned businesses.

*****

(12:09 P.M.)

"Putting the Face on the Facts" was the subject of the Town Hall meeting, and at each table, groups hashed out this question: "What needs to happen to create fundamental change for women of color businesses?" Hmmm. Good question.

The town hall included a high-tech twist. The women talked about the question at their tables, typed up their answers on laptops, and those answers were then projected onto screens located throughout the room. Think this is a hot topic? You bet --  in only 15 minutes, the women came up with 237 solutions. Moderator Elizabeth Thorton, vice president, diversity, Babson College, summed up their responses and encouraged the women to talk about their favorites.

The solutions included: continuing research on women of color who are entrepreneurs and providing educational opportunities on strategic planning, winning government contracts, preparing and understanding financial statement analysis, and entrepreneurship itself.

More answers: Changing our perception of ourselves from the inside out; creating lending circles for women; and providing more opportunities for women to interact, engage, and get to know each other, like this National Symposium.

Phew! Busy morning. Now it's time to break. But there's no doubt that this topic -- along with related subjects that delve into the challenges of entrepreneurship, both societal and personal -- will continue to be the subject of much discussion over lunch.

****

(10:30 A.M.)

Michelle Norris,  host of NPR's "All Things Considered" and a former Washington Post reporter did some investigative journalism -- the friendly kind -- as the moderator of a panel of four women who told their personal stories of entrepreneurship.  

The panelists, Dr. Faye E. Coleman, president and CEO of Westover Consultants, Inc., Margaret Henningsen, founder of Legacy Bank, Joyce Takiguchi, co-founder and president, ComStar International, Inc., and Josefina Aguilar, president and CEO, Espresso Mi Cultura, had the 200-plus members of the audience applauding their successes and chuckling at the highs and the lows.

Josefina Aguilar, a former city planner who owns one of the most successful coffeehouses in Los Angeles, says her business didn't really result from a detailed plan, but bubbled up much more organically with a simple idea.  She considers her business an "urban experiment" that has brought people from all walks of life together, with Latino culture -- including books and art -- as the draw.

"You'll walk in and hear that music, taste the different coffees from Latin America and read the books that are written about us," says Josepfina. "What motivates me is seeing what happens right in front of me -- seeing how the energy of the college students who come in and tap into WiFi feeds the soul of other people who walk in and out."

Margaret Henningsen, founder of Legacy Bank in Milwaukee, talked about the goal she and her partners set to raise $5 million to start Legacy. They found many willing investors among family and friends, and in the business community; ultimately, they raised $7.5 million. But more people than she can count said no.

Don't get bogged down in no, she advises. "I talk to so many women who agonize over something that went wrong. Give yourself 15 minutes -- kick a table, maybe your husband. And then move on. Start thinking of a plan." And keep focused on the goal. In Henningsen's case, it's "the motivation to make money and also to prove people wrong."

Faye E. Coleman says the single most important thing you should do if you want to mentor a fledgling entrepreneur is to "reinforce in them that if this is something they really want to do, if they are really committed to doing it, that it's important that they pursue it and give everything they possibly can to it." She adds that she doesn't have to look for opportunities to mentor; they come to her. "I find them in the course of doing what I do -- building a successful business and trying to make people around me successful, to grow to their fullest potential."

Joyce Takiguchi, whose company manufactures environmentally safe products, said there was enough talent in the room to create a "hot women's network" that could easily counter the "old boys' network." She went to at least 10 banks before she found one that would finance her business. She was hampered along the way by stereotypes about what women could and couldn't do and even people's perceptions of who she was.

She had the audience laughing when she talked about how so many people assume that all people of Asian descent are alike. Some people even openly praise her for speaking English so well. "I tell them, I'm fourth-generation Japanese American. I've had four generations of practice."

All of the women talked about the value of networks and establishing business connections that cross ethnic and gender boundaries -- joining groups of white male business owners, for example, and learning to play golf because so many key decisions are made on the putting green -- well, if not on the green, then back at the clubhouse.

*****

The sankofa bird has roots in West African mythology and is a reminder that we must go back to our roots in order to move forward -- in other words, reaching into the past, gathering what's good about it, and moving foward. For Dr. Jane Smith, executive director of Spelman College's Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement, the mythic bird is an appropriate metaphor for entrepreneurs who are women of color.

In a rousing address, she challenged the women to remember that they are descendants of the "best of the best" -- the ancestors who survived countless odds and upon whose shoulders they now stand."You, my sisters, are tried and proven, women warriors who have been tested for generations...the best of the best that America has to offer."

(9:10 A.M.)

Marilyn A. Dahl, regional president, Small Business Banking, Wells Fargo, had the honor of sharing major research findings that highlight the tremendous progress that's been made since 2002 by business owners who are women of color. Drumroll, please...1.9 million businesses in the nation are owned by women of color -- a 30 percent increase since 2002. What's more, those businesses have created 1.2 million jobs, an increase of 27 percent since 2002, and generate $165 billion in revenues -- an increase of almost 50 percent over 2002. 

****

There was lots of good news, but there was also some bad news in the research report.  Women of color face myriad issues when they take the entrepreneurial path, including not being viewed as a standard of success, hardships in attracting the right talent, and confronting unstated assumptions about their firms' ability to compete.

And of course there's the elephant in the room: The face tremendous challenges in gaining access to the capital they need to grow their businesses.

But the research study didn't just list the bad news; it provided action items for business owners and corporations in order to change the status quo. For business owners, supporting each other and creating affinity groups was one of the suggestions. Corporations were encouraged to mentor women business owners of color and empower women of all races with decision-making authority, among other recommendations.

The research focused on 173 women of color who participated in one of five forums between February 2007 and January 2008. The women participated in recorded discussions and listed their obstacles, and proposed strategies.

****

(8:30 A.M.)

Sharon G. Hadary, executive director of the Center for Women's Business Research, kicked off the 2008 National Symposium with a simple question that underlies "Accelerating the Growth of Businesses Owned by Women of Color," the center's groundbreaking research study: "Why did we do this?"

Here's the why:  Even though women of color are creating businesses at three to five times the rate of other groups, they are not achieving success at anywhere near the same level. So the center launched one of the most ambitious studies in its history. 

The center found an enthusiastic partner in Babson College and then set about finding corporations that would financially support a  project that would not directly benefit their bottom line -- and to do so for multiple years. They found willing funders in Sam's Club, Wachovia, Wells Fargo, IBM, Verizon, AT&T, UPS, MasterCard, and American Express. More on the results of this study later....

Posted by Joye Barksdale on May 05, 2008 at 03:51 pm

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