Recently in the WIPP Category

Thanks to an invitation through WIPP to participate in the U.S. State Department sponsored Business Women's Summit in Jordan in 2007, I now have the honor of  visiting Syria next month. Courtesy of my friend Khulud Halaby, who became my partner during the exchange, I have met the Syrian Ambassador to the United States and will be meeting the Ambassador of the United States to Syria during my visit.

Khulud has visited us twice here in California since 2007, where she toured many businesses and met many new American friends. Damascus is one of, if not the oldest cities in the world. Experiencing this part of the world and being hosted so graciously is an unexpected benefit of my association with WIPP. If you ever have the opportunity to participate in an exchange program of any kind, I highly recommend it.

~ Ann Blackburn, WIPP National Partner and President of Blackburn Advisory Services

As the Founder/CEO Ombrella, Inc., I found the process of searching for a women's organization that could assist me with successfully growing my business quite arduous. Very often I saw women's organizations boasting of the benefits they provide to their members, guaranteeing advantages for business growth. However, time and time again, in all business ventures, it is about whether you can DELIVER on the promises you provide to your clients (or members in this case).

While wading through the masses of women's organizations out there, I luckily found Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP). WIPP is THE VOICE for women in business in our nation's capitol, advocating for and on behalf of women in business in the legislative process. WIPP sets the bar high, by not only providing the latest policy information on issues that affect YOU as a woman business owner (WBO) but directly connecting their members to key decision makers on Capitol Hill.

Case in point, I personally met with Senator Feinstein last week to discuss healthcare issues. Not only did WIPP connect me with my Congressional Delegate, but assisted me in preparing for the meeting.

I was able to discuss my personal experience as a WBO dealing with insurance premiums, rates, penalizations, benefits, costs, etc. Additionally, I was able to relay how due to rising employee costs and business tax in California, I was forced to close my La Jolla office. If there were small business incentives in California, I would be able to re-open immediately. For now, it is cost prohibitive. Overall, the meeting was informative, mutually collaborative, and resulted in vital connections made.

It is examples like this that I continue to be so involved with WIPP. I can say with complete validity that WIPP keeps promises made regarding what benefits they offer to their members. If you are not a member yet - what are you waiting for? Check them out at www.wipp.org.

I recently read some interesting statistics released from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research that deeply resonated with current practices at WIPP.

The new study compares organizational adoption of social media by the 200 largest charities in the United States in 2007, 2008, and 2009. According to the results, nonprofits are utilizing social tools more rapidly and broadly than Fortune 500 giants, small companies and even universities!

From the beginning, WIPP has been on social media outlets - Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, the WIPP blog that you are currently reading - you name it, we've done it. With nonprofits shown to be leading the way in social media deployment, WIPP will continue to reinforce our strong social networking presence to advocate, educate, and get involved!

Are you?

This morning, the Senate voted for cloture - a procedure where the Senators vote to limit debate on the Small Business Jobs Bill H.R. 5297. If cloture is achieved, the bill would have been set for a final vote. In order to achieve cloture, sixty (60) votes must be achieved.

Today, only fifty-eight (58) Senators voted for cloture. What this means is that the debate for the bill will continue.

WIPP continues to express support for this bill. This bill contains a number of provisions that stand to benefit small businesses, such as:

·         Restoring parity to the Small Business Administration's (SBA) small business contracting program

·         Addressing contract bundling and subcontracting in federal procurement

·         Increasing loan limits and available capital for small businesses

·         Providing tax incentives for small business owners

·         Repealing the 1099 reporting requirement enacted after the healthcare law

We need your help in expressing your support for this bill. Contact your Senators and tell them to support this bill!

To read WIPP's latest letter of support for this bill, please click here.