The I-WE Newsflash is our (bi-)monthly newsletter, bringing you the latest on what we and our partners are up to, as well as inspiring profiles, important news regarding policy, capital access, and the latest research. Sign up, today!

DECEMBER 2020

August 2020

DECEMBER 2019

OCTOBER 2019

AUGUST 2019

JULY 2019

MAY 2019

MARCH 2018

JANUARY 2019

December 2018 - ANNUAL REPORT

October 2018

September 2018

August 2018

April 17 2018

April 5 2018

March 2018

Relieved, Hopeful….and Inspired.  These are my dominant feelings as this year winds down, and I think these emotions are shared by so many women in our field.  Enduring this roller coaster ride with our businesses and organizations during the pandemic has showed us how resilient and innovative we are- and need to be. We are so fortunate to have the warm support of organizations that are devoted to helping women entrepreneurs, such the Association of Women Business Centers (AWBC) with 116 (and growing!) Women Business Centers (WBCs) around the country.  AWBC enabled triple the amount of funding for WBCs in the CARES Act.  Their members stepped up and quickly expanded services to women entrepreneurs hard hit by the pandemic:  with help accessing PPP loans, PUA benefits for self-employed and by providing coaching and training to help them sustain their businesses.   

It will take some time to assess the impacts of these services in terms of reducing the mortality rate of women owned businesses during this prolonged economic crisis, but there are reasons to be hopeful. My own experience in entrepreneurship development, covering 3 recessions, showed me that businesses that got help – in the form of coaching, capital, and connections to markets-- were more likely to thrive than those that did not.  Since women on the whole tend to seek out supportive resources more than men (like asking for driving directions!), they are thus more likely to make course corrections.  Sometimes being smaller and more nimble has its advantages! 

I’m hopeful that the new administration will see the importance of women business owners – and the organizations that serve them - in our economic recovery.   The California Women’s Business Center Network conference celebrating Women’s Small Business Month in October, "Women Shaping the New Economy", discussed the challenges and triumphs of owning a business.  Their data, and the inspiring stories of three intrepid women entrepreneurs, made the case.   The case was made even stronger by Nancy Swift, Chair of the Network, in the Op-Ed published in The Hill on November 26th Women business owners are contributing to our economic recovery: Give them what they need.    

In August, amidst a summer of national conversations and protests on racism in the United States, we discussed this moment and the unique opportunity for transformative change. Our aim is to go beyond ally-ship and become accomplices for creating an equitable system where we can all thrive, together. We wanted to celebrate two organizations on their commitment to this transformation.

Last month, American Express announced their "100 Black women entrepreneurs selected for its "100 for 100" program. The list of Innovators is impressive and we encourage you to check them out. For more information about the "100 for 100" program, please review the press release.

On December 1, Nasdaq asked the SEC to adopt a new requirement to "require boards to have at least one woman and one director who self-identify as an underrepresented minority or LGBTQ.  You can learn more about the details in this NYT article. 

This year, I’m inspired by so many stories: 

• How WBEC-West, serving 2300 Women Business Enterprises, offered their members free therapy sessions to help them handle stress.

• How Gabrielle Moe, owner of Season’s Catering in Ventura, pivoted her business to prepare and deliver meals to the local hospitals, opening up a whole new market.

• How the young entrepreneur, Brianna Williams, creator of Catrina’s Gourmet Popcorn, who hired 30 young women who were trafficking victims, helping them on the road to employment and empowerment.  It is not too late to order her delicious product for the Holidays!

More Inspiration: We’d like to introduce you to the Sky’s the Limit, if you or someone you know is inspired to mentor or coach. Through their digital platform, Sky’s the Limit connects pre-launch and early-stage entrepreneurs with seasoned entrepreneurs and businesspeople wanting to provide mentorship and advice. Their young entrepreneurs are 70% female, 80% people of color, 90% low income. You can learn more about their mentoring model and get involved via our Blog Post.

So, as this difficult year winds down, may you too feel Relieved to be alive and healthy, Hopeful for a focused and productive year ahead, and Inspired by the courageous, creative and positive women entrepreneurs in your community.

• Claudia Remembers Bob

• Meeting this Moment

• Women’s Business Centers Expand during COVID

• 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment

• I-WE Team Updates

Remembering Bob

It has been a long while since we sent out a NewsFlash to our influencers and supporters.  The COVID shutdown affected my family, particularly when my husband, Bob Gnaizda’s health began to fail due to a chronic illness.  We brought him home from the hospital because we wanted his family and friends to be able to visit.  He passed away on July 11th, leaving a big hole in my heart, and a bigger one in the world.  Bob was a warrior for social justice.  He founded Public Advocates, the Greenlining Coalition/Institute, and in his retirement served as General Counsel to the National Asian American Coalition and the National Diversity Coalition, the latter which he founded along with our I-WE Steering Committee member, Faith Bautista.  Bob pushed me to be bold, to set ambitious goals for supporting women entrepreneurs, and not to back off in the face of opposition.  He taught me that, for the most part, people want to do the right thing, and we need to give them that opportunity – and then push them to do more.  But, he admonished me, don’t take it personally if they refuse…. I invite you to read his wonderful obituary in the NY Times, if you want to get inspired. 

Meeting this Moment

The murder of George Floyd on May 25th triggered a fresh wave of protests that haven’t ceased, as well as a national conversation on racism in the United States. For those of us that are white in this country, there have been eye-opening articles and personal essays flooding our news feeds. Some of us have sought to be better allies to BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) at this time. At I-WE, lifting up women has always been central, and we have always attempted to amplify the voices and successes of WOC (women of color), but we recognize that simply showcasing success stories and recommending women of color for leadership roles is not enough to overcome systemic racism and oppression, and we want to be a part of the learning and unlearning process.

One of the ways that we at the I-WE lift up women is through active listening and applying what we’ve learned from them to our lives and organizations. One of the biggest challenges that BIWOC face is well-meaning white people that are ultimately dismissive or defensive and can’t hear what they have to say. This is why BIWOC are sometimes unwilling to share racialized experiences - it is emotionally draining to share, and when one is dismissed it becomes an even greater emotional burden. For white women, like me, this is often easier to understand when we frame it with our experiences with some men; we can explain our experiences to men, but then that experience may often be dismissed, no matter how universal or compelling the evidence. This can leave us feeling exhausted, defeated, and angry. White women need to remember that race adds a layer to the challenges we face not being at the top of the food chain. Stephanie Podue has written a blog post that goes deeper into this topic and shared resources for further reading (Please see Stephanie’s Blog post on the I-WE website).

As an organization, we want to take this reality into consideration. First, we are working with AWBC to create a program specifically for BIPOC. Nicole Liatos, AWBC Board member and Director of the Cleveland Ohio WBC, is leading this effort, initiating a co-created a program that will meet members’ needs. Just like it is important to have women-centered business centers, it is important for BIWOC to have a space centered around their unique challenges.

The experiences of a poor white woman and a wealthy black woman are still going to be defined first by the color of their skin before the money in their bank account, and that must be taken into consideration when we assess the needs of women entrepreneurs. I-WE, as an organization, will have an even stronger focus on adding BIWOC to our Sphere of Influencers, so that their voice is contributing to where and how we focus our resources.

This moment in time is a unique opportunity for transformative change, and we do not want it to pass us by. It is time to raise up BIWOC on their terms, for white women to learn to be better listeners and to go beyond ally-ship.   We all need to be accomplices in creating an equitable system where we can all thrive, together.

Women’s Business Centers Expand during COVID Crisis

In most of the country, Women’s Business Centers (WBC) have seen a huge increase in demand from small businesses struggling to survive during this pandemic. Historically under-funded, WBCs found a silver lining in the CARES Act:  114 WBCs received $48m, $421K per center or 3x previous SBA allocation.  New funding allows centers to reach new markets of women business owners, offer bi-lingual services and most importantly, provide the hands-on assistance needed to pivot their business model in order to sustain operations. 

All WBCs are helping women entrepreneurs get PPP loans and in California, CAMEO is managing legal assistance to enable self-employed to access the PUA benefits.  This has been a huge challenge since the State EDD is not designed to understand self-employed with pass- through income and owner’s draw, e.g. Caregivers, Caterers, Housekeepers, Dogwalkers, Handypersons. Many of these entrepreneurs are lower income and women of color.  However those who can verify income with 1099s have been more successful in obtaining benefits.  There needs to be more research into the utilization of PUA by self-employed and also advocacy to retain this benefit into the future.

CA WBC Network: I-WE worked to retain $1.9m in State funding in California during a horrible pandemic-induced, budget crisis. This was made possible by a generous grant from Union Bank as part of their WE-CAN project.  This grant also enabled the gathering of key data, through the services of Marian Doub, an expert in microbusiness impact measurement.   Here is a quick summary of WBC impacts in CA:  Overall, of the 7,500 WBC clients served in 2019, 56% were people of color, including 13% African Americans, 27% Latino, 14% Asians; and 60% came from low income households (< 80% HUD AMI) at entry. 

Since March, California’s WBCs tripled their services overall meeting the dramatically increased demand for services due to the COVID health crisis.

This data helped I-WE promote the significant contributions of women entrepreneurs.  We were thrilled to have ABC-TV in the Bay Area in June profile the stories of three business owners who benefited from the Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center’s WBC.

100th Anniversary of 19th Amendment

On August 26th, we commemorated the 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment and the role it played in moving the needle on women’s right to vote. As the November Election Day draws near, let’s use our vote to promote women’s business agendas and drive our local economies.

The New York Times has a fantastic feature titled “Suffragists Transformed America’s Democracy” and “Suffrage at 100: A Visual History”. The Times did a great job of highlighting the struggle to pass the 19th Amendment as well as the continued struggle for BIWOC who were not guaranteed the right to vote until   the Voting Rights Act was passed.

Additionally, the California State Archives’ digital exhibit, “On the Road to Ratification: California and the Struggle for Women’s Suffrage” highlights the California approval of Proposition 4 in 1911 which guaranteed a women’s right to vote and how these efforts helped the fight for women’s voting rights nationwide.

I-WE Team Updates

We’re pleased to announce Stephanie Podue welcomed a baby daughter Harleen on July 2nd.  While Stephanie is spending important time with her growing family, we welcome Elizabeth “Beth” Orbison to the team as Director of Communications (interim). Beth has a knack for business operations and her most recent professional experience is in non-profits and start-ups.

In Gratitude for Our Collective Advancement

It’s been quite a year! So much ground has been covered by our small but mighty team at I-WE, and even more when we take a look at our larger family of women.  This Sphere of Influencers is leading the way in a new and exciting time for women entrepreneurs, as illustrated by the presentations during our second Annual Meeting.  In just two years we are seeing steady progress towards our goal of more resources for women entrepreneurs and the organizations that serve them:

• More Funding for Women’s Business Centers

• I-WE Annual Meeting

• CAMEO’s 25th Anniversary

• Focus Group with WBEC-West and Bank of the West

• Advancing California’s WBCs 

Breaking News...The Senate approved a spending bill that includes a 22% increase for SBA’s Women Business Centers, in the amount of $22.5 million.  While not the $35m approved by the House, it is a positive step forward. Hopefully, if /when! the bill to reauthorize the SBA’s Office of Women’s Business Owners passes next year, the WBC budget will significantly increase as well.  I-WE congratulates Corinne Hodges, CEO of the Assoc. of Women’s Business Centers for her leadership in getting this increase, and for her continuing vision for a robust ecosystem for women entrepreneurs.

WE CAN Initiative from Union Bank

We were thrilled to have helped design Union Bank’s new We CAN (Women Entrepreneurs Capacity building, Advocacy and Nurturing growth) program that will commit $500,000 over the next two years to six WBCs, fund CAMEO to offer leadership training and collaborative resources, and the kicker, to fund statewide advocacy towards establishing regular funding of our WBCs in the State of CA budget!

This is the first comprehensive technical assistance and capacity building program for women entrepreneurs, funded by a major bank in the US.  The advocacy component is unique and shows that the bank is committed to the sustainability of all Women’s Business Centers in our state. WE CAN will be holding an event to announce the launch of the program during the first quarter of 2020, most likely in Sacramento. We will let you know the exact date soon so that you can help us celebrate this significant investment in WBCs.  

I-WE Annual Meeting

This year's gathering illustrated how our collaborative, catalytic model is working, as a number of members of our Steering Committee shared their progress this year and their plans for the coming year. Looking to the future, our group is interested in the impact of tech on women-owned businesses, and how the gig economy is impacting women entrepreneurs specifically. 

Reporting in were:  Corinne Hodges of the AWBC on their advocacy work with the US Senate; Jenny Kassan, attorney, on crowdfunding; Heidi Pickman and Carolina Martinez of CAMEO on statewide capacity building; Nancy Swift of the CA-WBC Network on state advocacy; and Amy Beck from Women’s Capital Collaborative  While Pamela Williamson from WBEC-West wasn’t able to join the call, Claudia Viek shared the outcomes of the recent focus group she facilitated between Women Business Enterprises and Bank of the West (more on the focus group, below).

Corinne Hodges, AWBC: The legislation creating the WBCs has a unique cap – other SBA grants don’t - that has limited the funds to $150,000 per center for the past 31 years. (Why did we put up with this!!)  Fortunately, AWBC has sponsored a re-authorization bill, HR 4405 that would increase the funding cap and raise the overall appropriation.   Another item in the pipeline is the Prisoner to Proprietorship bill which “empowers WBCs to go to facilities and provide education.” This is also waiting to pass in Congress. 

Jenny Kassan:   An attorney specializing in securities law, Jenny was a catalyst in the creation of the Jobs Act, which opened up three new ways to do investment crowdfunding, her area of expertise. Title 3 of the Jobs Act allows entrepreneurs to raise a little over $1m, though they must go through an intermediary platform; most of these platforms are owned and operated by younger men with venture capital and are focused on quick growth. However, Jenny works with a women-owned platform, Crowdfund Mainstreet, which hosts primarily women and people of color. One of Jenny’s clients is Kube Ice Cream a woman-owned vegan ice cream manufacturer in Oakland. Since the passage of the Jobs Act and increased access to investment crowdfunding, 82% of women entrepreneurs are getting funded; it’s been an incredible tool for empowering women entrepreneurs!

Heidi Pickman, CAMEO:   CAMEO is working with the CA-WBC Network on Measure-Up,  a data collection program connecting the entire network and establishing best practices. This will allow not only the Network, but partners like CAMEO and the AWBC to create strong case statements for their advocacy work. The project is funded in part by an SBA grant, as well as support from Bank of the West and Union Bank. 

Nancy Swift, Chair, CA-WBC Network:  Through the Network, the 13 CA WBCs have been able to build the capacity of all the centers, including the data collection Measure-Up project. Through biweekly meetings and peer sharing, they are building best practices and sharing strategies. They’ve attracted more attention as a group, leading to a Union Bank commitment of $100k.

Amy Beck, RSF-WCC: RSF Women’s Capital Collaborative has raised $4m for their fund towards their goal of $10m. They make loans and grants to women-led social enterprises that serve women and girls, and “democratize grantmaking”  by gathering these groups into a gifting circle to determine how to distribute the available grant money. 

CAMEO Celebrates 25 Years!  

CAMEO celebrated 25 years this month! Held at the Wells Fargo Community Center in San Francisco, the celebration included all of the former CEOs, Co-Founders, current and past board members, Award Nominees, financial institutions, and many other friends of CAMEO. 

Three of the original co-founders, Sheilah Rodgers, Mimi Lufkin, and Forescee Hogan-Rowles, presented the 2019 Faces of Entrepreneurship Awards to three amazing business owners.

CAMEO CEO, Carolina Martinez, captured the feeling of gratitude and excitement, celebrating not only the impact that CAMEO’s members have on small and micro businesses but the impact that those businesses have in their greater communities. 

You can read the full recap of the evening, here. 

WBEC-West and Bank of the West hold Focus Group on Capital Needs of Women Business Enterprises

I-WE facilitated a focus group in Orange County with eight representatives from the Women’s Business Enterprise Council-West. These women business owners were eloquent about their struggles seeking growth capital.  And Bank of the West’s Relationship Managers shared their underwriting requirements, expressing their commitment to assisting these WBEs to navigate the loan process. An interesting outcome was the acknowledged need of the WBEs for more training on topics ranging from financial forecasting to role-playing the application process.  We are now coordinating the creation of a series of webinars to be delivered during Q1 in the coming year. Ultimately, our goal is to develop a pipeline of loan ready WBEs for lenders like BOTW and others committed to serving this “missing middle “ of successful, mature, but under-capitalized businesses.  

CA-WBC Network Awards Advocacy contract to I-WE

With the goal of securing a line item for WBCs in the CA State budget, the Network hired Claudia and the I-WE team to promote the economic impacts generated by their women entrepreneur clients...  The goal is to raise $2 million in funding to deliver new programming for women in both rural and urban regions. We believe that there could not be a better time for advancing this agenda.

May 2020 become “The Year of Women Entrepreneurs”!

 - The I-WE Team: Claudia, Stephanie, and Erin

TOGETHER WE ARE UNSTOPPABLE

The I-WE network is on FIRE! Collaborations have been created that have advanced our goals to the point that success feels close at hand. Women entrepreneurs and their advocates are standing up for what they actually want, not just for what they might get. We gave lenders the opportunity to respond, and they are! Now we invite you to take a look below at the groundwork laid this month, to join us for future planning, and celebrate the successes of women entrepreneurs and the people that support them.

·         The Power of a Dream, Maria Rogers Pascual

·         The Future of Responsible Lending

·         WBEC-West Conference in Tucson- 9/10-11

·         NWBC Roundtable in Los Angeles, 9/17

·         AWBC Conference, Washington DC 9/23-26

·         I-WE Annual Meeting Invitation and RSVP

·         Recommended Reading

The Power of a Dream: Maria Rogers Pascual, Executive Director of Prospera

We need women to be in the lead right now in our society. And it’s not even women as a sex or a gender, but a more feminist way of leading is what the country, what the world, is really calling for; more caring for people, families, communities, and the environment. It’s more of a paradigm shift and an unlearning that we need to do. This is the moment, right now, that women need to lead, and that informs Prospera's mission. In order to lead, we need to heal, we need to support one another, we need to be unapologetic, and we need to make money. This is what gets me up every morning. – Maria Rogers Pascual

Maria Rogers Pascual is a stream of sunlight through an open door. She is inviting you to the other side, to something more collaborative and communal in the lonely world of entrepreneurship, particularly entrepreneurship for Latina immigrants, who face very particular challenges when they come to the U.S., like having a family to care for and often holding multiple jobs. Maria is the director of Prospera in Oakland, CA, a space that is changing the way we think about entrepreneurship, and how to build a strong, sustainable, and equitable economic future for everyone. 

Continue reading on the blog…

The Future of Responsible Lending

California State Legislature passed the most significant financial protection bill in the nation for small business owners. SB 1235 is the first law in the country to respond to the growing need for small business finance truth in lending standards for online lenders, following calls for action by the leaders of the Federal Reserve, the U.S. Treasury Department, the nonprofit sector and the small business finance industry.

The proposed regulations recognize that small business financing has changed. Many small businesses now commonly pay effective APRs of higher than 90%—sometimes as high as 350%—without these rates ever being disclosed to them. While the federal Truth in Lending Act requires consumer creditors to disclose key information about transactions in a clear and comparable way, no such national standard exists to protect the millions of small business owners seeking financing online to grow their businesses. See this link for details on proposed regulations.

I-WE supports these rules in particular, because, women businesses are increasingly using online financing and therefore paying overly high rates of interest.  In fact, 32% of small businesses indicated using online lenders in the latest Federal Reserve Survey of Small Business Credit Needs. Thank you, members of the Responsible Business Lending Coalition, for your leadership in shining a light on this potential black hole in small business financing.

WBEC-West Conference in Tucson- 9/10-11

400 energized Women Business Enterprises gathered in Tucson to refine their marketing strategies to corporations and to pitch their coaching and support programs to each other - all focused on “getting the business.”  The stated goal of the conference was the “cultivation of sustainable relationships between certified WBE and Corporate America”. Claudia interviewed a number of women about their financing needs. After a long search, several had found a bank that provided the line of credit they needed; others were uncertain if any bank could meet their needs.  These women reflected the findings from our survey of 1800 WBEs and reinforced our commitment to communicating to lenders how they are missing out on great customers.

National Women’s Business Council Roundtable in Los Angeles (NWBC), 9/17

Liz Sara, Chair of the NWBC Board and several board members met with a roomful of women business owners, lenders, angel investors and advocates for women-owned businesses as part of their nationwide outreach and information gathering to shape their policy positions on women’s access to capital and investment.  Key issues included:

• Women need more education on how to use capital in order to grow; even larger Women Business Enterprises don’t know about equity capital yet fear getting into the hole with debt capital. Thus their growth is stymied and our economy suffers.

• If you are not tracking loans to women, you don’t know if you are discriminating, i.e., we need implementation of Dodd Frank 1071.

• More women investors, asset managers, etc.  generate more funding for women entrepreneurs. 

• Healthcare and Consumer companies are two sectors where women-owned businesses succeed, yet they are not getting the VC funding; therefore should focus on these high potential sectors for investment in women.

• Women own 50% of the wealth in the US

• Women led venture capital firms have better returns than male-owned VC firms.

Learn more about NWBC’s Small Business Roundtable Series, here. 

Assoc Women’s Business Centers Conference, Washington DC 9/23-26

300 leaders from Women’s Business Centers, their sponsors, and government supporters convened for a high-powered, highly focused conference.  Corinne Hodges, CEO of AWBC for only 9 months, provided not just rich content, but even more important, generated an empowering spirit, seasoned with dancing and fun.

Claudia moderated the plenary session on State Advocacy where California panelists shared lessons learned in their collective efforts to gain State funding, and Sarah Chamberlain, CEO of Republican Main Street Partnership, urged a practical approach – reach out to Republican Senators in contested seats and show them why they need to vote on doubling the appropriations for WBCs in next year’s budget.  With the House appropriating $35million, we need to see the Senate at least match this long-awaited and justified increase. John Stanford of Prism Group, AWBC’s lobbyist, presented a strategy for re-authorizing WBC funding. John asserted that women are the most important political constituency for the foreseeable future. Holding aloft that message, all WBCs set off to promote their impacts to their legislators.  We shall see what prevails after the conference committee on appropriations meets in November. 

Join our Annual Meeting!

Everyday it’s clearer that I-WE network collaborations are advancing our shared goals of increasing funding for WBCs nationally, showcasing the economic impact of women entrepreneurs, and increasing access to capital by identifying what women want in growth financing. Everyone on the Steering Committee and in our Sphere of influencers has contributed to this momentum and progress. However, there is still much to be done to bring our goals to fruition.  Therefore, we are inviting you to both celebrate our progress and share your wisdom in strategizing how to reach our goals in the coming year.

We wish we could hang out together in person, but since we can’t, a Zoom meeting will have to suffice. Please join us on Thursday, November 21st from 12 - 1:30 PM PST, 3-4:30 ET.  RSVP, here!

Recommended Reading:

• Business Insider:  Women are more bullish then men on revenues and hiring, but remain frustrated by limited access to funds.

• The Hill:  Entrepreneurs create the most new jobs: why aren’t we talking about them?

• San Francisco Chronicle: California makes gig-work reform bill law

• Venture Capital fund for black female entrepreneurs

Thank you for your continued support of our vital work! And Happy National Women’s Small Business Month!

                - The I-WE Team: Claudia, Stephanie, and Erin

99 YEARS AND COUNTING

• Reflections on Auntie Kay and the Power of Women - Claudia Viek

• Let's Talk About Growth Capital, on the blog

• Join the NWBC Roundtable in Los Angeles, September 17th

This week marks 99 years since the passage of the 19th Amendment, affording women the right to vote, though Jim Crow laws continued to disenfranchise black women for the following 44 years. Giving women the voice that they deserved from the beginning - the voice that Abigail Adams told her husband to include in our nations founding documents (ultimately deemed too radical) - created and continues to create positive change in the advancement of our declared national values. Representation is vital to the understanding and preservation of freedom and equality for all. In this issue, our founder Claudia Viek, reflects on the first woman in her family to vote, and the positive and powerful change that has come about since then.

REFLECTIONS ON AUNTIE KAY AND THE POWER OF WOMEN

August 26 was Women’s Equality Day, which celebrates the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, when women were granted the vote, though to be real, it was white women that were able to exercise the franchise, and it was not until 1964 that most Black women could vote after the Voting Rights Act was passed.

I remember my Great Auntie Kay, born around the turn of the 20th century.  She was the first woman in our family to register to vote.  Her father forbade her from going to college and would not let her register my grandmother for college when she turned 17.  My grandmother then eloped and had my mother at 18. She ran a micro business for 40 years. (Some life lessons there!)

More and more, women are becoming the deciding voters in elections. According to data from the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP), women have continuously voted at higher rates than men since 1980. In the 2018 midterm election, CAWP reports that it was women of color who ultimately helped the Democrats take over the U.S. House of Representatives, with 92% of black women and 73% of Latina women voting for Democratic House candidates.  “Simply by the nature of their numbers and reliability as voters, [women] play a key role in shaping political outcomes,” says Kelly Dittmar, a Scholar at the Center for American Women and Politics at the Eagleton Institute of Politics.

“I think it’s an important thing to watch in this next election if the Democratic Party is being responsive to the demands, agendas and priorities of women, especially women of color;  Republicans should also be mindful of their female voter base," says Dittmar.

These facts and the inspiration we get from the suffragettes that struggled to fully enfranchise women should support us as we work for equity for women entrepreneurs.  Funding increases for Women’s Business Centers are driven by consistent contacts with our legislators, where we make the economic case- over and over again-- for investing in women entrepreneurs.  It’s gratifying to see a breakthrough with $35 million recommended by the House Appropriations Committee. Thank you, Maxine Waters, for the additional $5m which effectively doubled the previous year’s allocation. But let’s not take this for granted—we need to keep up the pressure on the Senate Small Business Committee and Senate Appropriations Committee members.   Additionally, we should be mobilizing groups of women, e.g. NAWBO, National Women’s Political Caucus, and so many others in our community, to support funding of Women’s Business Centers. Let’s use the fact that both Dems and Reps are listening to women to promote our agenda.

Building a movement entails the cultivation of women voters and our legislators, both at the State and Federal level.  Women entrepreneurs are increasingly driving local economies. We have the facts; let’s keep telling the story, so we don’t have to wait another 99 years to achieve full equity.

"LET'S TALK ABOUT GROWTH CAPITAL"

Stephanie & Claudia interviewed two certified WBEs about growth capital after building a successful business - what they had to say is eye-opening and incredibly moving. Read their stories, here.

What challenges do you face in your business?

NWBC ROUNDTABLE IN LOS ANGELES - RSVP!

NWBC is an independent federal advisory committee established to provide advice and policy recommendations to the U.S. President, Congress, and the Small Business Administration on issues related to women’s business enterprise. In doing so, the Council regularly convenes women business owners and entrepreneurs from across the country to connect their voices to policymakers in Washington, DC. 

On September 17, 2019, NWBC will convene local women business owners and entrepreneurs, educators, investors, and community leaders, in Los Angeles, California, to listen to their perspectives on the barriers that affect a woman entrepreneur’s access to capital, specifically, access to angel and venture capital. 

INSPIRING READS:

 - "No longer invisible: Native Women Entrepreneurs of Arizona celebrates two years of achievements"

 - "How to start a successful business: 17 Women Entrepreneurs share their stories"

 - "Resilience and true wealth with Veronica Dagher"

 - "What black women need to know about scaling their company successfully"

• • • • • • • •

Thank you for reading! We are so grateful to all of you, fighting for further the representation of women in this country and around the globe. If you want more, or want to see what we're reading throughout the week, be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook!

 - Claudia & Stephanie

WHAT WOMEN WANT, WHAT WOMEN NEED

• "WHAT WOMEN WANT IN GROWTH FINANCING"

• $30 MILLION FOR WOMEN'S BUSINESS CENTERS

• I-WE FACILITATES EMPOWERMENT OF CAWBC NETWORK

• PROFILES: THE WOMEN WHO GOT THEIR LINE OF CREDIT

  
  

“WHAT WOMEN WANT IN GROWTH FINANCING” SURVEY FINDINGS

The results are in! In a first-of-its-kind survey, in a partnership between I-WE and WBEC-West & WBEC-Pacific, we have been able to produce a historic report that outlines the specific growth financing products that women business owners want and need, and have outlined the huge potential benefit to the economy!

With this report, I-WE and others are presenting solid data on women’s needs to banks and CDFIs, positively influencing future products and services offered to women-owned businesses. In particular, this report identifies and benefits the “missing middle” - women-owned businesses that generate $250,000 - $5 million, annually. Additionally, this report offers predictions on the economic opportunity outcomes when women business owners receive the funding that they themselves have stated they need. Our modest estimate is 10,000 jobs created if women receive the growth financing outlined. 

By surveying WBENC certified WBEs, we were able to target a group of individuals who go through a rigorous vetting process similar to that of bank underwriting, making them a highly desirable market for lenders.  Read the full report here! If you would like a copy for distribution, please reach out to us directly. 

$30 MILLION FOR WOMEN’S BUSINESS CENTERS

A record proposal of $30 million for the SBA Women’s Business Center (WBC) Program has been allocated by the House Appropriations subcommittee for the Fiscal Year spending bill! There are 114 WBCs nationwide, serving 150,000 women in urban and rural communities alike. These funds would significantly expand training, mentorship, counseling, and access to capital for tens of thousands more women entrepreneurs, who create wealth and increase household income. 

According to AWBC CEO, Corrine Hodges, This funding increase is in line with the explosive growth of female entrepreneurship America has experienced in the past three decades. If American women business owners were their own country, they would have the 10th largest GDP in the world, outstripping entire nations like Canada, Mexico, and Russia.

We are heartened to see the AWBC leadership and its members taking a more assertive stance about what is needed to support women entrepreneurs.  I-WE will be supporting AWBC's request for a similar amount in the Senate. We're on a roll, ladies!

Read more in the statement released by the AWBC.

I-WE FACILITATES EMPOWERMENT OF CA WBC NETWORK

The 14 WBCs in CA invited I-WE staff to facilitate their first strategic planning conference in Sacramento in April.  They agreed to continue operating as their own entity with Steering Committee and the fiscal agent services provided by Southwest College in San Diego (host of the San Diego WBC).  Their focus will be on raising new funds to support advocacy to ensure re-funding by the State of their SBA match, which failed to make the Governor's Budget this year. Nancy Swift, Steering Committee Chair, said "It was a terrific day filled with deeper understanding, deepening connection and lots of synergy regarding the future of the network and our work. I attribute this in part to I-WE's wise and rambunctious presence guiding us through discussion and presentation."

THE WBEs WHO GOT THEIR LINE OF CREDIT

In our survey, we found that the Line of Credit is by far the most desired form of growth financing. Here are a couple of the women who have gotten just what they needed:

Caron Ng, NU-SET Lock

 Caron Ng has been in business for over 16 years and currently employs 20 people. Caron emigrated from Hong Kong with dreams of building an international company. She settled in Los Angeles, CA, and now has distribution centers in Los Angeles and Oklahoma City. She proudly tells us that “[NU-SET Lock is] the only women-owned lock manufacturer and direct distributor with 25+ worldwide trademarks and patents,” in the U.S.

Caron learned about WBENC certification when she was applying to become a vendor with Home Depot. The educational programs provided by WBEC-West proved to be instrumental in acquiring growth funding for Caron’s business. She had been turned down a multiple times before finally securing the funding she wanted, a Line of Credit. Previously, she had relied on angel investors and a lump-sum bank loan, but these weren’t sufficient for her needs. To this day the most valuable form of growth funding for Caron’s business, and that which she wishes she had had earlier, has been the Line of Credit. 

Karie Cowden, Connect the Dots Promotional, LLC

Karie Cowden, the owner of Connect the Dots Promotional LLC, has been in business for 11 years, employs four people, and has been certified by WBENC since 2015. Her company serves businesses large and small, nationally, specializing in consulting on their clients’ specific promotional needs.

When Karie started the business in 2008 she was already a recognized leader and expert in her industry. As many women do, she was self-financing to start and grow the business, but it was important to Karie that the business eventually stands on its own. Before applying for growth financing, she built a strong relationship with her local bank. When the time was right, she consulted with her banker and was able to secure a Line of Credit so that she could take necessary risks on new employees, better facilities, and technology to keep her business thriving. Karie’s fortunate growth financing story is an exception, but we hope to see it become the rule.

Do you have an inspiring growth story that you’d like to share with us? Share it on social media with #IWEinspire and tag us at @IWEinitiative on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

THANKS FOR READING!

- Claudia and Stephanie

WE ARE THE SUPERMAJORITY – WE ARE FABULOUS!

• Our Deepest Fear: a poem by Marianne Williamson to inspire you

• CA WBC Network Gets Rolling

• AWBC Expanding Mindsets

• Promoting Economic Impacts of Women Entrepreneurs within USDA Rural Development

• Exciting Developments:  Supermajority; Wisdom Fund

  
  

OUR DEEPEST FEAR EXCERPT

By Marianne Williamson

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure

It is our light, not our darkness

That most frightens us.

We ask ourselves

Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God

Your playing small

Does not serve the world.

There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking

So that other people won’t feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine……

This beautiful poem helped to inspire the creation of the Invest in Women Entrepreneurs Initiative.  We share it with you to encourage you to think big, be fabulous and shine. Read the full poem, here.

CA WBC NETWORK GETS ROLLING

On April 18, Claudia and Stephanie, our new Communications Director, supported the first strategic planning meeting of the 14 WBCs operating in California.  All the members embodied a common spirit and agreed on structure and functions for sustaining operations of the Network. Priorities are advocacy for State funding, sharing of keystone programs, and communicating metrics that show the high impact and economic value of the WBCs.  Corinne Hodges, CEO of the National Assoc. of Women’s Business Centers participated and brought back ideas to share with her 104 WBCs. (see below)

AWBC EXPANDING MINDSETS (AND PUSHING THE ENVELOPE!)

AWBC is advocating for $30million appropriation for the 2019-20 federal budget, a 64% increase in the SBA’s budget for the Office of Women’s Business Ownership (OWBO).  This request reflects a true broadening of the mindset of AWBC, thanks to the leadership of their new CEO, Corinne Hodges, and her Board. It represents a strong statement of capability, and what is minimally needed to develop the economic potential of women entrepreneurs throughout our country.  You go girls!....and guys, too!

PROMOTING THE IMPACT OF RURAL WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

Claudia and Corinne Hodges, CEO of the AWBC, met recently with senior staff at USDA Rural Development in DC to explore potential support for women entrepreneurs, whom we see as the economic drivers in rural communities.  USDA has never targeted women entrepreneurs, although women business owners (including agriculture) are the fastest growing sector in rural regions. AWBC reports 60 rural-serving WBC locations serving an estimated 30,000 entrepreneurs annually; 72,000 jobs were created and a conservatively estimated $1.8 billion in revenues generated.  Since these are locally owned businesses, these revenues multiply three times, bringing the total economic value to $5.4 billion. These figures make a pretty good case for investing more resources. Therefore, I-WE and AWBC will collaborate to raise public awareness among legislators and stakeholders, about this economic opportunity. In fact…..

The National Women’s Business Council just published their first study on rural women, Rural Women Entrepreneurs:  Challenges and Opportunities.  Every finding provides justification for expanding and promoting the role of WBCs; e.g. “the most desired services related to:  identifying new customers, tax assistance and financial management” (P. 14); “while small loans under $100,000 are most impactful in rural regions…capital access must be paired with other strategies to be effective” (p. 16). This report is designed to serve as a springboard for the work of the NWBC, which has “made rural entrepreneurship a priority this year” according to Liz Sara, Council Chair.

EXCITING NEW OPPORTUNITIES TO EMPOWER WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

• Supermajority: Last week, a new organization, Supermajority, was introduced by a trio of high-profile, progressive leaders: Cecile Richards, the former president of Planned Parenthood; Alicia Garza, a founder of Black Lives Matter; and Ai-jen Poo, executive director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance. Their goal: to train and mobilize two million women to become organizers, activists, and leaders ahead of the 2020 election — an effort Richards called a “women’s new deal.”  This is a broad-based coalition where advocates for women’s entrepreneurship need to be heard and contribute policies that build wealth. Sign up for orientation this May!

• Wisdom Fund: launched in March by an I-WE Influencer, Cat Berman, CEO of CNote, and a collaboration of women lenders, the Wisdom Fund aims to close the lending gap for women. The Fund will channel impact investments to experienced CDFIs in the US, who will, in turn, make small business loans to lower income women-owned businesses in their communities.

Stay connected all month long, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

Opportunity Zones

• The Women's Capital Collaborative

• AWBC Welcomes New CEO

• Crowdfund Mainstreet

• Further Reading

SIGNS OF SPRING

Winter may not be over yet but things are in bloom at the I-WE with lots of new opportunities springing up through our energized network of activist women. Our team recently traveled to Watsonville to meet with budding entrepreneurs at the El Pajaro Kitchen Incubator. We were inspired by the creativity and hard work of their 30 food producers, 60% of whom are low or moderate income women - such as Hakouya who make a hugely successful miso dressing. 

The kitchen incubator partners with a cold storage facility used by organic farmers and it is building out a new co-packing plant for its producers. Carmen Herrera, CEO of El Pajaro CDC, has created a center of influence for food production that is having a substantial economic impact in this very low income region, which, by the way, is a designated Opportunity Zone (see below). We look forward to El Pajaro generating some exciting projects for local investment.

Next week Claudia will be taking off for Washington DC with I-WE Steering Committee member Faith Bautista and the National Diversity Coalition to meet with major legislative, regulatory, and cabinet leaders about ways to further support women entrepreneurs.  We'll provide an update on how the I-WE Network is buzzing when she returns!

OPPORTUNITY ZONES

Opportunity Zones are a source of heightened attention since they were created under the December 2017 federal tax reform. The provision allows investors who’ve earned capital gains in any line of business to reinvest the income in real estate projects in one of the 8,700 distressed zones the Treasury Department approved last year, deferring taxes on those gains, or, if they are held for 10 years, waived completely. The Internal Revenue Service released a first round of proposed regulations and guidelines for opportunity zones in October 2018, with a second public hearing held in mid-February.

While the legislation seems geared to give investors favorable treatments, the program ultimately is intended to help revitalize American communities. While there is a huge focus on affordable housing, new business creation, jobs creation and reduced carbon emissions are also goals. Investors are expected to obtain market rate returns. 

The Rockefeller Foundation and social investment groups want to see strategies and experiments that actually increase household wealth for the 30 million low income people who reside in these OZs. They remind us that the best solutions are local, if we are to avoid displacement of residents or existing businesses while fostering entrepreneurship. Therefore, public -private partnerships are essential to guide the deployment of a projected $30 billion in investments.

What’s in it for women entrepreneurs? Women-owned businesses tend to be local. They could find financing to expand; they could buy or lease space in new developments; they could join as an investor  or developer and participate in the ROI; they could take leadership roles in planning to ensure their communities benefit and not get displaced. 

Remember: If you are not at the table, you get eaten for lunch…

To sign up for the PPS newsletter about Opportunity Zones, email jcampbell@publicprivatestrategies.com. I-WE will be following the progress of OZs and reporting on issues pertinent to women businesses. Thanks to our Steering Committee member, Jane Campbell, for her leadership in helping to shape policies in this arena.

THE WOMEN'S CAPITAL COLLABORATIVE

I-WE has been working with the RSF Social Finance Women's Capital Collaborative (WCC) to recruit investors and donors. The WCC reaches out to private wealth managers and individuals to persuade them to offer a wider range of opportunities in their investment portfolios. The goal of the WCC is to raise a $10 million fund to invest in women-led social enterprises that benefit women and girls. We encourage our network's members to make a donation to the WCC and/or and investment in RSF. Check out the attached report for an update on their progress from I-WE member Deb Nelson, VP Client Engagement for RSF.

AWBC WELCOMES NEW CEO, CORINNE HODGES

This year the Association of Women's Business Centers welcomes a new CEO, Corinne Hodges. Corinne has been a successful woman entrepreneur herself, creating her own advertising/PR business which she sold upon taking on a leadership role at Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia nine years ago. Corinne is putting her wealth of experience to work in steering the AWBC towards enhanced sustainability and increased capacity. She brings a value of community service, having led teams in volunteer efforts and served in the Georgia Chamber of Commerce as well as the Technical College System of Georgia Foundation. 

Upon recently leaving her role at THINC charter school as its Board Chair, Corinne said, "I am excited to start fresh with a new dynamite team that dares to take a different bite out of the economic development apple by growing women in business. I am eager to find ways for our association to help women business centers that serve new businesses and help women expand the capacity of their existing businesses. As I work on the advocacy piece, I am looking forward to building new relationships on Capitol Hill and within the executive branch as well as agencies like the SBA." Welcome, Corinne, and we look forward to supporting your leadership in promoting the value of WBCs!

CROWDFUND MAINSTREET

Steering Committee member Jenny Kassan recently launched Crowdfund Mainstreet (CMS), an investment crowdfunding platform to help women and underrepresented entrepreneurs raise capital. They have closed 5 successful campaigns, all featuring female founders or co-founders through their platform, which is designed as a tool for building a more equitable and sustainable economy. CMS hosts investment offerings by small businesses that are committed to making a positive contribution to people, communities and the planet. 

CMS offers everyday investors the opportunity to action their values by investing in the kinds of companies they want to see in their communities and in industries that need to be held accountable for the mark they leave on people and the planet. As a Public Benefit Corporation, CMS is committed to the retention of capital in communities and including those who have been isolated and under-resourced. 

I-WE is excited to support CMS in promoting this new form of financing. Jenny is always paving new ways for women entrepreneurs to get better support and financing, so join us in contributing to this excellent work!

FURTHER READING

Check out "When Women Control the Money" from the New York Times on March 3. It's an inspiring examination of how women are creating their own angel capital and pipelines of women entrepreneurs.

With gratitude,

Claudia

• Annual Meeting Recap

• Data Gathering

• Expanding Access to Capital

• Sphere of Influencers

• Upcoming DC Meeting

• Further Reading

2019 WELCOME

The Federal shutdown and daily conflicts continuously reinforce the divisions in our country and culture, which is why a positive message of common cause and economic possibility is needed more than ever. Women entrepreneurs embody this positive message of creative energy, opportunism and community building. Of course growing a business is hard work, but the rewards are real and translate into increased household and personal wealth. Let's be inspired by the millions - 12.3 million! - of bright, determined women and their successful enterprises that contribute trillions of dollars to our local economies.

This is why we are committed to the Invest in Women Entrepreneurs Initiative: we want to break down barriers that have kept women from growing their businesses. To accomplish this, however, we need to stretch outside of our normal silos to embrace new resources. We need to reflect on our own mindsets: what may be holding us back? What do we fear?

Many in our network have emphasized that this is the year of the Woman, thanks to the newly elected Congress members and an apparently heightened sense of women's economic and social power. Let's take advantage of this opportunity and find new champions for women's entrepreneurship, and we mean entrepreneurs all along the spectrum - from Etsy sellers in rural regions to million dollar Women's Business Enterprises.

ANNUAL MEETING RECAP

A dozen I-WE members joined together for an end-of-2018 review to discuss our annual report and set goals for 2019. Our group identified an interest in finding allies of women entrepreneurs among the fresh faces in Congress and the Senate. We recognized the need for more information and better metrics for examining women-owned businesses.  And, we are building momentum in expanding capital access for existing and aspiring women entrepreneurs. Our targets for 2019 include:

• Convening a small group of our supporters in DC to discuss strategy to develop champions in the Congress and Senate

• Focusing on national survey of financing needs with WIPP:  will want to publicize findings; identify and contact journalists with "women's beat"

• Reaching out to major banks with women CEOs regarding survey findings and the finance products that women want

• Participate in WBENC's big conference in June

DATA GATHERING

• Except from the SBA, we have been frustrated in our ability to get numbers on women and minorities from government agencies funding small business support and lending programs. Therefore, we secured the assistance of Kamala Harris’ office in getting this information. We will use this data to estimate the overall economic value obtained and frame a case for increasing investment in women.  

• Sample Survey outcomes on What Women Want to Finance Business Growth revealed need for lines of credit and purchase order financing between $250K and $500K. We plan to conduct another survey of WBEs in California to further strengthen the data and then approach lenders - both banks and CDFIs- that have expressed interest in reaching this market of the "missing middle" women business owners, i.e., too big for micro loans and not a good fit for bank loans. Thanks to Janice Greene, CEO of WBEC-Pacific, for collaborating on our sample survey.

EXPANDING ACCESS TO CAPITAL

• Thanks to the advocacy of Faith Bautista and the National Diversity Coalition, Charter Communications will be investing $30 million over the next three years in CDFIs in order to make micro loans to under-served small businesses. Claudia and Faith met with Charter to advise on their planning and Carolina Martinez will be convening CDFIs in Southern CA with Charter to explore the next steps, since a good portion of this capital investment will be in California.

50% of CDFI small business loans in CA go to women, therefore this investment will result in a number of new loans to low and moderate income women entrepreneurs.  Charter is to be commended for taking this innovative step by investing in our communities, and we are proud of Faith and Carolina for their stepping up to make it happen!

• Deb Nelson from RSF Social Innovation Fund that operates the Women's Capital Collaborative is collaborating with us on strategies to market both their investment and donation opportunities to private wealth managers. Our common objective is to have wealth managers offer these opportunities to their women clients who seek more social impact from their portfolios. Small gatherings are being organized to introduce the RSF products to wealth managers and their clients. Stay tuned for progress reports!

SPHERE OF INFLUENCERS

Betsy Berkemer-Credaire, CEO of 20/20 Women on Boards has joined our Sphere of Influencers. 20/20 WOB seeks to achieve 20% women members on corporate boards by year 2020. She and her national affiliates provide training to women on how to prepare to seek corporate board appointments. Check out www.2020WOB.com if you feel called to participate in this groundbreaking movement. I-WE believes that all of our members have the chops to guide corporate boards, whose companies depend of women consumers.

UPCOMING DC MEETING

I-WE is preparing for meetings in Washington DC the week of March 11. Our members will advocate for capital access and gender data from government agencies serving women entrepreneurs, and will convene to explore how to increase our effectiveness on Capitol Hill.

FURTHER READING

• Aspiring business owners in Oakland are getting a boost from the Runway Project, an organization that offers loans and mentorship to black entrepreneurs. The San Francisco Chronicle recently published an article about Runway's work, which has started small with 13 loans in the past year but has a 100% repayment rate and an enthusiastic, successful group of entrepreneurs it has supported. Claudia shared her insights and was included in the article: "The racial wealth disparity is a big gap. Providing that early-stage, more-patient capital meets an acute need. It’s a way to interject some balance in capitalism.”

• The New York Times examined women entrepreneurs who are rejecting the traditional venture capital model, exploring the risky high-stakes game of venture capital and look towards slower, sustainable growth

• The New York Times explored the changing face of power as women boast historic gains in political power and look towards growing it further: "From these women, the message is clear: Their strength comes from collaborative, generational efforts to move toward the good . . . powerful women seem more interested in their role in improving an evolving and complex ecosystem."

Grateful and Energized for 2019!
- Claudia

I-WE ANNUAL REPORT

After conferring with a range of women business leaders, including a number who are active in Republican politics, Claudia Viek launched the  I-WE Initiative formally in November 2017.  She created the Steering Committee who  enthusiastically supported the purpose of changing the status quo of chronic under-funding for women entrepreneurs.

 In February 2018, Rebecca Kee was hired to serve as Communications Director, and she promptly created our website, logo and NewsFlash monthly letter. We love that mauve and yellow logo and many have complimented our look and website design.  In June we hired a summer intern, Tidani Berhe, to help us gather gender and race data from federal agencies supporting women entrepreneurs. In August we contracted with Erin Musgrave of EMC Strategies to provide PR consultation in crafting and disseminating our messages effectively.  We have built out our bi-partisan Sphere of Influencers (SOI) network and mailing list.  We published one Op-Ed in the American Banker, several blogs and entrepreneur profiles.  We convened our network members in Washington DC and in San Francisco to further define our strategies vis a vis our aspirational goal-- generating $50 million in more funding for women’s business assistance and $50 million in new capital to fund the start- up and expansion of women-owned businesses. 

In the past year, many directions opened up where I-WE could provide expertise, serve as advocate or as a catalyst and connector to advance our goals.  Our immediate objective is not to significantly grow the organization, but to stay small and focused on actions in partnership with our network members.  In 2019 we will need to discern the best opportunities to stay focused and effective. 

Following is a progress report on the three strategy areas currently governing our activities:

1.     Increasing Capital Access

·       What do Women Want for Financing Growth:  Completed sample survey of 405 Women Business Enterprises certified through WBEC-Pacific, the West Coast affiliate of WBENC. 134 (33%) responded and 45% of these respondents reported need for growth capital with majority indicating need for lines of credit $250-$500K.(survey)   We were invited by WIPP to include our survey questions in their upcoming national annual survey of thousands of WBEs.  This information will be used to develop a profile of WBE borrowers that we will take to lenders to advocate for the types of products indicated and to set up a channel for WBEs to access capital from lenders that participate. We will approach several lenders in CA with the sample survey outcomes to assess interest.

·       Home Equity Financing for Business Needs:  The NY Federal Reserve included our question of whether home equity was used to finance business needs in their 2018 Annual Survey of Small Business Credit.  This will be the first time that this key national study will have such data on all businesses, broken out in segments on women and race.  This information will create better understanding of how personal assets are used for business financing and will indicate possible policy directions, e.g. support for homeownership for LMI women.

·       Connecting Private Wealth Managers with Impact Investing in Women Entrepreneurs:  currently testing approach to reaching private wealth clients of banks, offering the opportunity to donate to the RSF Social Finance Women’s Capital Collaborative (WCC).  The bank would offer this tax exempt contribution to their clients to illustrate the bank’s CSR commitment.  We developed this offer as a result of trending research that shows that investors, and especially women, are interested in socially responsible options.  The WCC staff are following up with interest expressed by First Republic Bank.   WCC’s overall goal is to raise $10million in capital to loan to women entrepreneurs whose businesses include social impact goals.  (rsfsocialfinance.org/give/give-to-rsf-projects/capital-collaborative/ ).

Challenges

·        Convincing lenders to create relevant financing products for growth- oriented women owned businesses

·       Creating referral channels between WBENC/WIPP WBEs and interested lenders.

·       Identifying and attracting wealth managers to support the RSF Women’s Capital Collaborative.

2.      Increasing Funding Resources for  Business Assistance Programs and Women’s Business Centers

·        Supported California legislation that provided matching funds and expansion funding for 14 SBA WBCs.  I-WE Steering Committee members, Carolina Martinez of CAMEO, and Marsha Bailey of WEV, did the heavy lifting as did a number of our SOIs, notably Nancy Swift of JEDI and Bianca Blomquist from Small Business Majority.  The total amount accessed was around $2.5 million. This legislation could serve as a model for other states considering support for their WBCs which are chronically under-resourced.  

·       Approached Union Bank to create a special TA program for women entrepreneurs in CA. (Pending)

·       Advising Bank of the West on development of their new Women’s Entrepreneur Platform and array of resources for women-owned businesses.  This is the first financial institution in CA to create a women-focused program.

·       Crowdfunding for Women:  Sponsored and participated in I-WE Steering Committee member Jenny Kassan’s Fund and Fuel Your Dreams Conference in Baltimore. Jenny created the platform, Crowd Fund Main Street, to direct investors to her women entrepreneur clients.  We are discussing further opportunities for collaboration.

·       Advocated to Increase federal funding for SBA’s Women’s Business Centers and the Assoc. of WBCs.  No progress was made in this area due primarily to lack of agreement on a coordinated strategy.  A better approach, according to WBC leadership feedback, would be to direct funding support to the AWBC to work with their members to build capacity for growth.  

Challenges

·       Achieving consensus on a coordinated strategy for increased funding for WBCs

·       Identifying and developing supporters and champions that will advocate to increase budgets in federal agencies serving women entrepreneurs.

3.       Aggregating Data on Women-Owned Businesses

·       Various I-WE members have asserted that “we need new metrics for women-owned businesses.  What doesn’t get counted, doesn’t exist”.  Shining a light on the landscape of women entrepreneurs has been the most frequently requested and responded-to area of our work.  There is the general perception among policy makers that women owned businesses are too marginal to make a difference in the economy.  Too often we hear the word “hobby” applied to businesses that are bringing in household income that is significant i.e. enabling home purchase, college education, etc. 

·       We are seeking data on gender and race from the following agencies that provide entrepreneur support and loans to women: SBA, HUD/CDBG, USDA Rural Development, EDA’s Minority Business Development Agency. The objective is to show the current federal commitment and estimating the economic impact. 

·       We publish Op-Eds, Letters to Editors, and blogs, aggregating information from various studies on women-owned businesses:  American Express, Bank of America, Nation Business Women’s Council, Federal Reserve, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Emergent Research’s State of Independence Report, etc.  We respond to opportunities to frame our case in major media.

Challenges

·        Except from the SBA, we have been frustrated in our ability to get numbers on women and minorities from government agencies funding small business support and lending programs.  Therefore, we secured the assistance of Kamala Harris’ office in getting this information.  We will use this data to estimate the overall economic value obtained and frame a case for increasing investment in women. 

·       I-WE needs to develop specific strategies to address the lack of relevant metrics for women-owned businesses.  We see this as an opportunity to re-frame how women businesses are valued.  For example, we could host a webinar with several presenters that offer alternatives for measuring impact of women businesses; we could develop white papers on more appropriate metrics; we could collaborate with NWBC and the Federal Reserve to encourage more research and advocacy in measuring economic impacts.

Future Planning

Guidance is needed in defining a focused work plan, based on the varied opportunities that have emerged in our first year and are briefly described above.  I-WE is a catalyst, using our network to identify opportunities for actions that will advance our mission.  Are there other areas we should be addressing?  Where can we be most effective? 

Some I-WE members encouraged the identification of champions in Congress that would put  women’s funding “on the table”.  There’s agreement that the new members of Congress, a large number of whom are women and/or were elected by women, would be good prospects to approach for support.  Who are the best partners for I-WE to collaborate with?  Should we soft-pedal the advocacy and focus on metrics and education of policy makers?   

Financial Summary (projected through December 31, 2018)

Revenues

Individual Gifts                     $27,000

Grants

   First Republic Bank          10,000

Total                                   $37,000

Expenses

Staffing

   Communications             6,362

   Intern                                     1,000

Consultant

  EMC Strategies                     1,000

Travel/Lodging                    2,322

Food                                           852

Supplies/Printing                     192

Web(hosting, subscript)         483

Conferences                             650

Total                                      12,861

Net                                       24,139

• What Women Want: WBEC Pacific Survey

• Truth in Lending Act in California

• National Worker-Owned Cooperative Conference

• "Fund and Fuel Your Dreams" Event

• Op-Ed: It Makes Economic Sense to Invest in Women, HR5050 Anniversary

WHAT WOMEN WANT: WBEC PACIFIC SURVEY

The I-WE partnered with WBEC Pacific to survey women business owners about their credit needs. Based on the responses from 134 women entrepreneurs, banks are still failing to meet the needs of women who want to grow their businesses. Of those in search of financing, one-third said that they are looking for lines of credit, term loans, or equity investments in the range of $500,000 or more. The I-WE Initiative will be publishing a report soon outlining the results of this survey in greater detail. 

SB 1235: TRUTH IN LENDING SIGNED INTO LAW

Last month we spotlighted proposed legislation, SB 1235, requiring lenders to lay out loan terms in ways that new business owners can understand. On September 30 Governor Brown signed this bipartisan bill into law, requiring those providing commercial loans to clearly disclose the borrower's total costs of financing. While the federal Truth in Lending Act similarly protects consumers, this is the first law to apply similar protections to small business owners. 

Congratulations to CAMEO's Carolina Martinez and Small Business Majority's Bianca Blomquist who championed this legislation, and wishing them continued success as they push for similar legislation at the federal level. 

NATIONAL WORKER-OWNED COOPERATIVE CONFERENCE

In September Claudia attended the National Worker-Owned Cooperative Conference in LA. Out of the 500+ attendees, a majority were women and many women of color, a sign that traditionally underserved communities are exploring new ways to become business owners

Recent legislation in DC allows the SBA to finance and provide technical assistance through SBDCs to cooperatives and small businesses that are transitioning to employee ownership cooperatives. This strategy allows lower income entrepreneurs to explore ownership opportunities, and for retiring business owners to see their businesses endure. Here in the Bay Area we have Prospera which trains and supports Latina entrepreneurs who wish to start cooperatives. WBCs could embrace cooperative ventures and approach SBA for funding support for this purpose. Prospera is also is a great resource for all SBA Resource Partners, (WBCs, SBDC, etc) who would like to use their training curriculum.

"FUND AND FUEL YOUR DREAMS" EVENT

Claudia also participated as a sponsor in Jenny Kassan’s Fund and Fuel Your Dream conference where 50 women business owners gathered in Baltimore to learn how to successfully seek growth capital through crowdfunding. Jenny and her team offer a new platform, Crowd Fund Main Street, that both supports the funding campaign and directs investors to qualified businesses. Through this initiative they have helped clients raise millions of dollars from values-aligned investors. Thanks in part to Jenny’s pioneering work and that of Kathleen Minogue of Crowd Fund Better, a movement is gaining momentum that will fill the gap between traditional debt financing and venture capital. I-WE is proud to have both Jenny and Kathleen participating actively in the I-WE Network and fulfilling one of our goals – more funding to more women!

OP-ED: IT MAKES ECONOMIC SENSE TO INVEST IN WOMEN

I-WE Founder Claudia and CAMEO CEO Carolina Martinez wrote the following op-ed in recognition of the 30th anniversary of the Women's Business Ownership Act of 1988. 

October 25 marks the 30th anniversary of the Women’s Business Ownership Act of 1988, the landmark legislation which eliminated state laws requiring women to have a male relative co-sign a business loan, in addition to other benefits. We remember Esther Orioli, owner of Essi Systems, a successful local corporate training business in San Francisco. In 1987 she was turned down by 13 banks as she sought growth capital to meet demand for her services. Not one of them would give her the capital she needed because she was unmarried with no male relatives. She was forced to “play bank,” taking loans from friends and colleagues at 20 percent interest. She pulled it off and Essi Systems operated for another 28 years, creating dozens of jobs in San Francisco.

Thirty years later, women-owned businesses number 12.3 million, according to the 2018 American Express Report on the Status of Women Owned Business. That’s 40 percent of all businesses, and 49 percent of all self-employed. Furthermore, the growth rate of women businesses has surged over the past 10 years – 58 percent as compared to 12 percent of businesses overall.  

These businesses create significant economic impact – 9.2 million jobs and $1.8 trillion in revenues. Yet these women entrepreneurs receive only 4 percent of bank loans and only 18 percent of Small Business Administration-guaranteed loans. As a result, an estimated 26 percent of these borrowers have migrated to online alternative lenders, who are viewed as less discriminatory. However, this is a mostly unregulated marketplace where even the most cautious business owner can get into trouble with high-cost, opaque financing deals.

Let’s face it, this is a market failure which needs to be addressed.

First, women need coaching and small amounts of capital in order to grow. California’s new governor should continue the current investment in Women’s Business Centers and set a new goal of doubling it. Governor Jerry Brown’s budget for this year allocated $2.4 million in funding for Women’s Business Centers (WBCs) that matches and expands funding from the SBA to provide technical assistance services. These 14 WBCs served 9,000 women entrepreneurs last year, out of a pool of approximately 1.5 million. While we’re moving in the right direction, that’s still less than 1 percent of all California women business owners. Considering the growth trends and economic value generated, California’s new governor should embrace the opportunity and set a new goal of at least double this amount.

Second, we need to create new avenues to capital that will encourage growth and sustainability. This means invest in innovative firms that are targeting women businesses, such as the following:

• CNote: offers a savings account with impact. The company takes deposits at 2.5 percent, and then invests them in nonprofit Community Development Financial Institutions, such as CDC Small Business Finance in California, which then makes loans to small businesses in low- and moderate-income communities. (myCNote.com)

• RSF Social Innovation Fund’s Women’s Capital Collaborative: provides loans to women owned businesses with a social mission. (rsfsocialfinance.org)

• MEDA’s Adelante Fund: makes loans to Latino-owned and immigrant-owned businesses in the Bay Area, from $10,000 to $150,000, providing intensive business consulting and ongoing support. Two thirds of their borrowers are women. (medasf.org)

• Opportunity Fund: one of the nation’s leading nonprofit lender, headquartered in San Francisco, makes small business loans throughout California and the nation and is targeting women businesses. (opportunityfund.org)

These are only examples of many organizations throughout California serving women business owners, which, just as the lenders cited above, are looking for investors and donors who see the potential in the women’s business market for strengthening our communities and local economies.  

Third, banks should recognize this market opportunity and step up with products and services that women entrepreneurs want and need. Traditional banks, such as Key Bank in Ohio, have created targeted programs for women. California is a leader in so many areas—we should lead on this issue, too.

Women entrepreneurs are the Sleeping Goddesses of our economy. When a woman business owner is successful, she buys a house, invests in her kids’ education, and her purchases, donations and taxes circulate locally.   

As we watch the wealth gap widen, instead of wringing our hands, let’s invest in women entrepreneurs. It is in our self-interest to do so.

In gratitude,

Claudia

• SB 1235, Truth in Lending Bill

• Washington D.C. 

• Bank of America's Women Business Owner Spotlight

• Anita Gardyne and Funding for Women

• Fund Your Dreams Training - Baltimore October 18-20

• Further Reading

SB 1235: TRUTH IN LENDING

Entrepreneurs need financing and most need it yesterday. So when an internet search offers new business owners quick ways to access small or large amount in funding, it's easy to be tempted. Last year the California Department of Business Oversight analyzed many of these alternative, online lenders, reporting that many have hidden unusually high interest rates and fees, some going as high as 300%.

California State Senator Steve Glazer proposed SB 1235, a bill that requires all lenders to lay out their loan terms in a way that new business owners can understand, so that the financing costs are clear. I-WE partners CAMEO and Small Business Majority advocated for the bill. Thanks to Blanca Blomquist from Small Business Majority, and Carolina Martinez and Heidi Pickman from CAMEO for their successful efforts! The bill passed vote on Friday September 1 and now heads to the Governor's desk.

WASHINGTON D.C.

Claudia and Steering Committee member Faith Bautista, CEO of the National Asian American Coalition, recently did a quick trip to DC together.  While Faith met with her CDFI Advisory Council colleagues, Claudia checked in with Kathy McShane, Director of SBA's Office of Women's Business Ownership, who has agreed to keynote at Jenny Kassan's October 18 crowdfunding for women conference in Baltimore, Fund and Fuel Your Dreams. They will be celebrating the 30th Anniversary of HR 5050 that day, the legislation that created OWBO and allowed women to sign for their own loans without a male co-signer. Interestingly, women are more successful with crowdfunding campaigns than men, due in part to their need to rely on strong social networks and the persistent lack of bank financing. It's called "working it....."

Claudia also met with Candace Waterman, the new CEO of WIPP, who offered to include our questions on women's business financing needs in her annual member survey of thousands of Women Business Enterprises (WBEs).  We will use this data to encourage lenders to create products to meet these needs. Candace is a dynamic leader and we are proud to have her in our Sphere of Influencers!  

Shout out to both Katie Vlietstra (NASE) and Barbara Robles (Federal Reserve Board) for their insights, support and connections as we build this movement. As Barbara said, "what is not measured, does not exist." Economists do not "see" self-employed, home-based, non employers as true businesses, contributing to the economy. They don't understand how these enterprises are actually creating employment through the 1099s issued to other contract workers. We at I-WE rely on the data produced by Emergent Research to balance the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and we will continue to aggregate various studies in order to shine a light on the economic impact of women businesses in this sector.

BANK OF AMERICA: WOMEN BUSINESS OWNER SPOTLIGHT

Bank of America published their 2018 Women Business Owner Spotlight report, with 84% of respondents saying that access to capital for women has improved in the past decade. However 68% reported that it is more difficult for them, than for men, to secure financing. A large proportion expressed that reducing gender disparity in financing would have the most impact. This tracks with the data from the Federal Reserve's annual Survey of Women's Business Credit Needs which showed that 26% of women sought alternative financing, e.g. online lenders. 

It is interesting to note that 24% of those surveyed cited more education for women would help increase access to capital. This indicates the need for more business training and technical assistance.  Heads up SBA Administrator Linda McMahon! In California two years ago, a million dollars in TA funding leveraged $200 million in new loans. Just imagine how many women businesses and local economies would benefit if our Women's Business Centers had more funding for this purpose.

FUNDING FOR WOMEN

When African American women represent a tiny fraction of startup CEOs, and raising $1 million in capital is a longshot for any CEO, Anita Gardyne is truly the exception to the rule. With decades of experience in the tech world and a relentless appetite for networking, Anita has distinguished herself as one of very few women of color at the helm of a successful start-up, Oneva. Stay tuned for an upcoming I-WE feature about how Anita was able to beat the odds by obtaining this level of funding, and her advice for other women fighting the uphill battle to build a business.

FUND YOUR DREAMS TRAINING

In Baltimore on October 18-20 Jenny Kassan, I-WE Steering Committee Member, crowdfunding maven, and author of Raise Capital on Your Own Terms: How to Fund Your Business without Selling Your Soul will be hosting a three day training on how to fund and grow your business. Gain insights into how to identify your needs, find ideal investors, and create a plan that works for you. Mention you were referred by Claudia Viek for an additional 20% discount at www.fundandfuelyourdreams.com. 

FURTHER READING

• Turns out that the I-WE home base of San Francisco has been ranked the best city to own a business if you're a woman. Although a recent study by Dell argues otherwise. 

In gratitude,

Claudia

• Areas of Focus Updates

• Meet Tidani

• I-WE SF lunch

• Catherine Berman of CNote

• Further Reading

AREAS OF FOCUS: RESEARCH, CAPITAL, AND FUNDING FOR WBCs

The Invest in Women Entrepreneurs Initiative has three major areas of focus: research on resources for women entrepreneurs, capital access, and funding for Women's Business Centers. Here are our latest updates on those fronts.

Research: The I-WE team is taking a look at the landscape of resources available to women entrepreneurs, especially through government organizations and initiatives. Agencies such as the SBA, Department of Commerce, HUD, and many others offer programs (grants, loans, etc) that impact women in business. We're tackling the enormous challenge of finding the right people in each agency who can help us pull demographic information on what percentage of their resources go towards helping women specifically. Esther Morales has been an enormous help in pinpointing a few dozen of the biggest programs nationwide.

Capital: The I-WE Sphere of Influence brought together women leaders from the RSF Women's Capital Collaborative with First Republic Bank to explore directing investments and grants to women social enterprises. In addition we are working with the Women's Business Enterprise Council- Pacific that certifies WBEs for corporate contracts, to identify the financing needs of these businesses and develop new loan products- with banks and CDFIs-  that will enable them to grow. Only 2% of women business owners have revenues over $1 million. WBEs competing for corporate contracts are on a growth trajectory, but lack the right type of affordable capital and business support to take full advantage of these opportunities. Banks and CDFIs want good customers but need to develop the appropriate products to reach this segment of women business owners. I-WE's role is to serve as a bridge to connect needs with opportunities so that WBEs can grow to their full potential.

Funding for WBCs: We were thrilled to see Governor Brown approve $23 million in new funding for small business technical assistance in California. These funds include matching grants for all 14 SBA funded Women's Business Centers, as well as expansion grants for WBCs, SBDCs, Veterans (VBOCs), Procurement (PTACs) and Minority Business Development Agencies. We owe this win to the long-time advocacy of CAMEO, plus some great collaborations between often competing groups. This state funding will serve to leverage other government and corporate funding for WBCs. I-WE is activating our network to nurture such opportunities so that we can achieve significant growth in support to women entrepreneurs.

SUMMER RESEARCHER: MEET TIDANI

Investing in the next generation of women leaders is crucial to the long-term success of women entrepreneurs, so the I-WE Initiative is happy to announce the hiring of our summer communications specialist, Tidani Berhe. Tidani will be taking on research projects such as quantifying government support for women business owners and looking into disparities in financing options. A special thanks to Marsha Bailey, I-WE Steering Committee member, who handed over her speaking invitation at UC Davis to Claudia who then met and recruited Tidani for this position!  

I-WE SF LUNCH - JUNE 1

A fantastic, passionate group of I-WE leaders and supporters came together in SF for a collaborative discussion. We strategized about how to combine the strengths and resources of our bank leaders, policy experts, experienced marketers, and more to drive more funding to women business owners. These gatherings represent the "expanded kitchen table" of our work, where women business leaders can bring their hearts, minds and contacts together on behalf of our mission.  

CATHERINE BERMAN OF CNOTE

Cat Berman, co-founder of CNote, has made it her mission to help women and other underserved entrepreneurs by giving people a straightforward way to invest in mission-based ventures. CNote customers derive a better rate of return on their savings accounts, which are invested in CDFIs such as CDC Small Business in California. Furthermore, our communities benefit from the success of all of the small businesses accessing this capital. I-WE is proud to be collaborating with innovators like Cat as we advance our common mission of getting more capital to women-owned businesses. Check out the CNote post on the importance of socially-conscious investing. 

FURTHER READING

• CAMEO's partnership with the USDA was described in a USDA economic development report (p.19-22) and featured in a USDA video about their support for microbusinesses

• Slate published Heather McCulloch's (Closing the Women's Wealth Gap) article, "Building Women’s Wealth Is Key to Economic Security."

Stay tuned!

- Claudia

• Op-Ed in American Banker

• Save the Date: June 1 lunch in San Francisco

• New Steering Committee members

• Internship Opportunity

• Further Reading

AMERICAN BANKER OP-ED

We are thrilled to have our first Op-Ed published in the American Banker this week. Both steering Committee member Esther Morales, and Claudia made the case for directing government agencies and private banks to better target and support women-owned businesses: "Women entrepreneurs are the sleeping goddesses of our economy. When a woman business owner is successful, she buys a house and invests in her kids’ education. At the same time, her purchases, donations and taxes circulate locally." 

SAVE THE DATE: JUNE 1 LUNCH IN SF

The Invest in Women Entrepreneurs Initiative will be hosting a lunch in San Francisco for our Sphere of Influencers to contribute to a strategic discussion to advance our I-WE goals of new funding for resources supporting women-owned business. Mark your calendars now for this Friday, June 1, 12pm-1:30pm gathering at the Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center at 275 5th St. in San Francisco. Delicious sandwiches and homemade cookies included!

WELCOME NEW STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS

The I-WE Initiative would like to welcome two wise and talented new members to our Steering Committee:

• Katie Vlietstra, who serves the National Association for the Self-Employed as Vice President for Government Relations and Public Affairs; and

• Jane Campbell, who serves as Director of the Washington Office for the National Development Council

INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITY

If you know of a talented student looking for a summer gig, please direct her to our new Summer Research Director position for the I-WE. Working remotely and receiving a $1,000 stipend, this intern will spend about 50 hours  researching the landscape of government support for women-owned businesses in the US as well as the correlation between homeownership and business capital for women. These issues were identified as important by our network members at our recent lunch meeting in DC. FURTHER READING

• Locally in San Francisco, the city government is pioneering a program that offers micro-grants to women business owners who wish to expand operations, finance new projects, make improvements to facilities and create additional marketing campaigns. Read more about the new Women's Entrepreneurship Fund here. 

• 99designs recently published the results of their survey of 3,000 entrepreneurs. Their research lays out the challenges women entrepreneurs face in raising capital, but also shows some surprising similarities in industry distribution. Read more here. 

Stay tuned!

- Claudia

• Omnibus Spending Bill

• Sphere of Influencers update

• Entrepreneur Spotlight: Jessicurl

• Further reading

SPENDING BILL

The Omnibus Spending Bill approved on March 22 held surprising good news for small business.  The SBA saw small increases for both the Women’s Business Center – from $17m to $18m- and the Small Business Development Centers – from $125m to $130m – 5.8% and 4% increases respectively.  The often-eliminated PRIME program for lower income communities was preserved at $5 million.  The SBA overall fared relatively well, which is a sign that the Republican legislators in both houses value its mission.

Even more surprising, the allocation for USDA’s Rural Development was increased by 42% from $24 million to $34 million.  A large portion of this funding benefits small business development, which is a good sign, since non-farm businesses are now the largest employers in rural regions and 90% of these businesses are small or micro.

And finally, we were thrilled to see the CDFI Fund restored to $250 million which means that more women entrepreneurs who can’t get bank loans will benefit from nonprofit lenders serving their communities.  But this good news does not mean that we should lessen our efforts to encourage banks to substantially increase both their lending to women and their investing in CDFIs.

The meaning we can draw from these positive outcomes is that legislators are listening to their constituents, with active input from advocates such as CAMEO, AWBC, ASBC, Small Business Majority, NASE and others. And the upcoming mid-term elections, with so many contested seats, offer us an opportunity to make a strong case for why investing in women entrepreneurs creates healthy local economies. 

SPHERE OF INFLUENCERS

We'd like to welcome to the I-WE Sphere of Influencers:

• Bianca Blomquist  Northern California Outreach Manager, Small Business Majority

• Saundra Davis  Executive Director, Sage Financial Solutions

• Sharon Miller  CEO, Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center

• Claire Kramer Mills  Assistant Vice President and Community Affairs Officer, Outreach & Education, Federal Reserve Bank of New York

• Kathleen Minogue  Founder and CEO, Crowdfund Better

• Heather McCulloch  Founder and Director, Closing the Women’s Wealth Gap Initiative

• Pamela Prince-Eason  President and CEO, WBENC (Women's Business Enterprise National Council)

ENTREPRENEUR SPOTLIGHT: JESSICURL

Read our latest profile on an entrepreneur who took advantage of women's business resources to build a successful company.

FURTHER READING

• The California Assembly is proposing AB-2463, the "Small Business Assistance Act of 2018." This bill would create the California Small Business Assistance Program under the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), with the goal of assisting small businesses by forging partnerships with existing federal small business technical assistance centers, providing grants to them to maximize collaboration and impact.

• Entrepreneur Magazine profiled a women-only coworking space called The Wing, where women can grow their own businesses in a supportive, collaborative environment.

Stay tuned!

- Claudia

• Meet the Invest in Women Entrepreneurs (I-WE) team

• Upcoming Sphere of Influencers Lunch in DC

• Advancing our work

• Further reading

The Invest in Women Entrepreneurs Initiative has launched!

Staffing, Steering Committee, and strategy plans are underway!

OUR TEAM

Welcome Rebecca Kee, our communications director who will be developing website content and connecting people with the research, studies, and articles that support our ambitious goal of five-fold growth in support for women business owners. Rebecca has worked in political advocacy, public education, and once led food tours of San Francisco (she'll point you to the best baked goods in SF!)

Our Steering Committee is still in formation, attracting women business leaders from a diverse array of backgrounds. We seek to be bipartisan by working together across political affiliations, which will make us more effective in changing the status quo, i.e., the extraordinary lack of capital and minimal government funding for Women's Business Centers. All communities benefit when women entrepreneurs thrive! Check out our current (and growing!) list of leaders and influencers here. 

LUNCH

I-WE Influencers in Washington DC will be gathering for the first time at our lunch next week on March 7 at the lovely offices of the American Sustainable Business Council. We're looking forward to a lively session of charting out key strategies and connecting in-person with some of our talented and resourceful leaders in this cause. 

ADVANCING OUR WORK

I-WE leadership will be creating strategies that leverage government funding for women entrepreneurs, in particular targeting under-served regions. We will also be working to connect with private lenders who can do more to fund women-owned businesses. We have a host of ideas and avenues for change:

• In California, Governor Brown has proposed significant funding ($20 million) for small business development that would include matching funds for women's business centers. We will work to direct this funding in strategic, effective ways. Already, CAMEO's new CEO Carolina Martinez is taking the lead along with Small Business Majority and other partners to shepherd this bill that will have a significant impact on women entrepreneurs.

• We are scheduling meetings with bank leaders who have expressed an interest in creating loan funds that are accessible to women.

• We will celebrate and promote the 30th Anniversary of HR 5050.  Check out  “Spotlight on H.R. 5050: The Bill that Changed Everything for Women Business Owners,” the white paper, published by NAWBO, reflects on the provisions that transformed the course for women business owners and highlights the current areas for improved policy and better women involvement. HR 5050 allowed women to apply for loans without a co-signer and created the SBA's Office of Women's Business Ownership that today funds over 100 Women's Business Centers, serving 145,000 women entrepreneurs annually. This is a great opportunity to yes, celebrate, but also to point out the continuing need to achieve real equity for women both in capital access and in getting business assistance resources.

FURTHER READING

Support for women-owned business frequently makes the news for being a proven, bipartisan way to improve the economy. Check out some current research and articles to learn more:

• "Accelerating the Future of Women Entrepreneurs - the Power of the Ecosystem" with policy recommendations that support women-owned business was published by our Steering Committee member, Esther Morales, when she directed the National Women's Business Council

• Time Magazine reported on Washington DC as a women-friendly counterpoint to the Silicon Valley boys' club.

• Profiled on our website is Judi Henderson, a small business owner who turned the chance opportunity of a warehouse full of mannequins into a successful business. Judi benefited from the Renaissance Women's Business Center in San Francisco when she was starting her business. 

Welcome, and stay tuned!

- Claudia