Recently in the Women Business Owners Category

President Barak Obama announced a new plan that would reform the way government agancies work for small businesses and announced a move to elevate the position of SBA Administrator to a cabinet-level position. The plan will consolidate the various departments focused on business, commerce and trade to a single, streamlined department.

WIPP strongly supports this effort and released a statement applauding the President's plan.

This reform should help make the government work better for small businesses by consolidating the efforts fo such agencies as the Small Business Administration (SBA), the Commerce Department, the Office of the US Trade Representative, the Export-Import Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corp. and the Trade and Development Agency into a one-stop shop for business needs.

The plan, which will require Congressional approval, also aims to rpovide a more accessable, more efficient resource for small business owners. SBA Administrator Karen Mills pointed out that the small business arm of this consolidated department would provide a greater range of programs and opportunites for small businesses and assured that small business interests would be at the core of this new department. WIPP has strongly advocated on behalf of its members for reduced regualtions and simplified resources for small business owners and fully supports this major step in that direction.

WIPP also applauds the Presidents' related move to elevate the position of SBA Administrator to a cabinet-level position. WIPP is pleased to see the President's recognition of the vital role that small businesses play in growing jobs and growing the economy and looks forward to seeing the additional progress that the elevation of the SBA can bring to the small business community. With this move, small businesses will have a stronger voice to advocate for change on the policies and issues that affect them. During this time of economic recovery, it is more important than ever that small business has a seat at the policy-making table.

More than 150 leading women business owners from Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) gathered at the Annual Leadership Conference to celebrate the recipients of this year's prestigious WIPP 2011 Awards. Denise Farris, attorney and managing member of the Farris Law Firm, LLC, based in Kansas City was the recipient of this year's "WIPP Member of the Year Award" because of her outstanding commitment of vision and resources in service to WIPP as an organization and to the membership-at-large.

"Denise is an inspiration to all of us.  For over a decade she worked tirelessly to help ensure that the Women Owned Small Business Federal Contract Program would be a reality for all women business owners,"said WIPP President Barbara Kasoff.

Farris is recognized by Martindale Hubbell in its national "Preeminent Women Lawyers" list, the Kansas City Business Journal's "Best of the Bar" and the KC Business Magazine's "Kansas City's 150 Most Influential Women." Farris is also a Small Business Administration "Regional Women in Business Champion", the State of Kansas "Woman Business Advocate of the Year" and Women Impacting Public Policy's "Public Policy Advocate of the Year."

Farris Law Firm provides services in general business, commercial construction and equine law. Visit www.farrislawfirm.com.

The WIPP Awards Ceremony was part of WIPP's three-day Annual Leadership Conference in Washington, DC, that ran from October 11th - 13th. The conference agenda included important economic briefings on current policy issues impacting women business owners growth, a high-level briefing by The White House, a Congressional Luncheon and the exciting unveiling of WIPP's updated Economic Blueprint used as the organization's call to action to the Administration, Congress and Federal Agencies.

WIPP is a national nonpartisan public policy organization, advocating on behalf of nearly 1 million women-owned businesses representing 59 business organizations. For more information, please visit www.wipp.org.

Washington, D.C. is lighting up in October with WBO's attending WIPP's 10th Anniversary and Annual Leadership Conference, this October 11-13th.  Please click here to listen to a special interview by WomensRadio with Ann Sullivan.

We are in the midst of a large shift in economic history. Join WIPP and industry leaders October 11-13 as they meet and discuss how to realign and remove barriers. Explore solutions focused on expanding sources of capital and building access to markets to bring economic growth and spur job creation. Strategize on how to support the rise of women leaders in the public and private sectors, for they know, first-hand, the challenges we face and how to eliminate the barriers.
 
Click here for a special message from Magdalah Silva. Click here for details and registration.

Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) was honored to recently receive an invitation from Rosie Rios, Treasurer of the United States, to a special symposium on Women in Finance. The symposium, which took place on July 12th, was hosted by the Department of Treasury and focused on the institutional investment space and the leadership role that women are playing with pension funds, foundations and endowments. Nicolina A. Stewart, CPA, PFS, President of CMA, Inc. and Grant-Wise, Inc. and Vice-President/Treasurer of the WIPP Board of Directors, attended on WIPP's behalf.
 
The purpose of this Symposium was to recognize the new phenomenon of female investment executives, connect their new roles to the story of the financial recovery, and inspire women who may consider finance as a future career. Below, Nikki Stewart shares her thoughts on the symposium:
 
"It was truly an honor to attend the Women in Finance Symposium hosted by the Department of Treasury.  In addition to the incredible women who were involved in the 3 highlighted panels, the women who attended the Symposium from across the country were also able to interact with each other and we discussed our respective businesses, our various outside activities and Board appointments,  and our own opinions of the importance of women in finance and what we think the future holds for those of us in this industry.
 
To be able to have such so many intelligent, powerful women together in one room and hear frank opinions about asset allocation, trends in economic sector focuses and how setting policy affects these decisions was an amazing experience and I hope I have the opportunity to attend others when they are held in the future."
 
Women in senior positions at domestic public pension funds, corporate pension funds, foundations, and endowments manage well over $2 trillion worth of assets in the U.S., according to research from the Council of Institutional Investors. Many of these appointments have occurred in the last few years and have not been widely publicized, much less recognized. The leadership role that these women play is crucial to America's economic recovery.
 

Even if you're not a federal contractor, there are many lessons to be learned from the 11-year struggle to make the Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contracting Program a reality.  It is, among many other things, a lesson in perseverance, finding your voice, and the importance of having a strategy.  The Late Spring 2011 issue of The Exchange, the Women's Leadership Exchange newsletter, featured an article by Barbara Kasoff, WIPP President, "Why You Should Celebrate the Women's Procurement Program Even if You Are Not a Federal Contractor."  Follow the link, or read the article below:

I was having dinner with a friend recently and she said "enough already" about the women's procurement program.  She doesn't want to be a federal contractor and so all of WIPP's attention to this program seems a bit much to her.  Not at all surprising, but I would submit this "case study" is applicable to every woman business owner even if you never plan to be a contractor.  Below is a list of lessons learned from this 11-year journey, which I hope you will find helpful in your business or policy organization.

•    Women Business Owners Won.  If there is ever any doubt in your mind whether the Congress listens to women business owners, think no further.  Women business owners are the sole reason behind this program from passage of the law to implementation by SBA.  If you are a woman business owner, this victory is yours.

•    The Importance of a Strategy.  While passion is required for good advocacy, strategy makes the difference between success and failure.  In the case of this program, we had to know how to play the Congressional rules to our advantage.  We had to build a record, know when to mobilize, when to push and put in place a program to increase the number of women interested in contracting.

•    A Lesson In Perseverance.  It took eleven years to make this happen.  This goes to show that even though making changes in government are not necessarily fast, persistence will result in change.  This lesson applies to anyone running a business.

•    Mobilizing Many Voices Works.  If you want to affect change in your community, state or national level, assemble a large coalition of supporters.  While one or two people can make inroads, a coalition will make change possible.  In this case, millions of women spoke out and many, many organizations registered their support.

•    Take Criticism With A Grain of Salt.  Someone once wisely stated that if you are an effective leader, you will be criticized.  In this case, while we did everything we could to minimize animosity, pushing for change subjected us to criticism within the government.  But that just comes with the territory.  Don't let it derail you.

•    Find Your Champions.  In the case of this program, women Members of Congress really stepped up to the plate.  A majority of women in the House supported implementation of a good program and every single women Senator supported us.  Even though women are not the majority in Congress in terms of numbers, they pack a mighty punch.  There were also many unsung heros that worked behind the scenes to help. Elected officials are not the only ones who will step up to be champions.

•    Repeat Your Message Often.  Even though you think the whole world knows your message and can recite it word for word, think again.  Studies show that it takes in the range of 25-40 repetitions to learn.  WIPP and its coalition partners repeated the message that women needed this program to succeed in government contracting and we kept repeating it to Congress, federal agencies, and the White House for 11 years.

•    It Takes Leaders - Are You One?  There is no question that without leadership within the women's business community, this program would simply have died due to unanswered opposition.  Women who head women's business organizations provided leadership at the national level. Individual women business owners who are influential in their communities provided leadership at the local level.  Hundreds of thousands of women business owners responded to action alerts, sent letters when asked, visited their legislators and supported organizations like WIPP who provided the united voice.

Now That We Have the Program, We Need Your Help To Make It Work.  Getting this program in place is just the first step although it took 11 years.  Now the challenge lies ahead- making it work.  That will require visits to the federal agencies and local SBAs to promote the program.  It will require identification of contracts which could be utilizing this program.  It will require educating women on the specifics of the program.  If you don't want to become a contractor, consider supporting the women who do.  They will be there for you when you need their voice on your issue.  And don't forget to celebrate- you won.

Barbara Kasoff is the President and CEO, and Co-Founder of Women Impacting Public Policy, Inc., a non-profit, nonpartisan public policy advocacy organization with over half a million members including over 50 business organizations, educating and advocating on economic issues for women in business.  For more information visit www.wipp.org.