JANE APPLEGATE
Taking advantage of a great marketing opportunity, a young woman was passing out free samples of her handmade soap to a long line of women waiting to visit the restroom between sessions at a major women’s business conference.
“Try it! You’ll love it,” she said with a smile.
The young entrepreneur was among the 1,100 women celebrating the entrepreneurial spirit at the 13th Annual Entrepreneurial Woman’s Conference, sponsored by the Chicago Sun-Times and the Women’s Business Development Center.
“Estrogen and entrepreneurship mix!” Almeda Dunn, president and CEO of Star Detective and Security Agency Inc., told the cheering crowd at Navy Pier. A former police officer, Dunn heads up the 350-employee company founded by her grandmother 75 years ago. She emphasized the importance of business owners giving something back to their communities.
“Always reach out and pull someone across, don’t reach down and pull someone up,” said Dunn. She said Star Detective fingerprints children and gives the records to their parents. She also recruits and trains former welfare recipients, and provides discounted security guard services to local churches.
Christy Haubegger, president and publisher of Latina magazine, said she received financial support and guidance from the founder of Essence magazine. The Stanford University law graduate urged the audience to do their homework. She said her start-up team conducted focus groups and a direct-mail campaign to convince themselves and investors that Latina, a bilingual lifestyle magazine, would be a success. While Latina’s first issue featured only 16 pages of ads, the November issue has 65 pages of advertising and continues to grow.
“It’s just good business to do business with women,” said Hedy Ratner, co-president of the WBDC, which offers a variety of educational and support services to Chicago-area women.
Illinois Gov. George Ryan welcomed the record crowd and outlined his plans to encourage more women and minorities to open and expand their businesses throughout the state.
“My administration is committed to opening doors wide to women and minority-owned business,” said Ryan, adding that Illinois is home to 42 of the top 500 best companies for women, as ranked by Working Woman magazine.
Many workshops at the day-long conference and trade fair focused on how small businesses can do more business with big corporations.
“For a long time, this has been a male-only game,” said Fitzroy Hilaire, director of supplier development for Avon Products Inc. “Times have changed, and corporate America has changed.”
He said that many big companies, including Avon, are reducing the number of outside suppliers they deal with, so competition for contracts is fierce. He and other speakers suggested that women business owners form strategic alliances before bidding on major contracts.
At the financing session, Natalie Tessler, president and owner of Chicago CitySpa LLC, said she encouraged people to refer investors to her by offering them a small amount of equity in her business, rather than cash, as a finder’s fee.
Attorney Denise Caplan reminded attendees to treat friends and family members who invest in your firm the same way you treat non-family investors.
“When people put money in your company, they want to know they’ll get it out before you take money out,” she said.
Other upcoming events and contests for women in business:
? WomenConnect.com is presenting the “E*Venturers: Success at the Speed of Life” conference for women entrepreneurs on Oct. 25 and 26 at the Reagan International Trade Center in Washington, D.C.
“We see this event as a conference where women can spend each day getting solid information that they will use immediately,” said Susan DeFife, president and CEO of Womenconnect.com.
She said women were responsible for $3.3 billion in consumer spending in 1997, and purchased another $1.5 trillion as purchasing agents for companies. For registration and details about the conference, visit www.eventurers.com, or call 1-888-744-8326.
? Avon Products Inc. is looking for nominees for its 14th annual Women of Enterprise Awards. Candidates must be profitably self-employed for at least five years with annual revenues of $250,000 or more. Nominees should also be active in their communities and serve as a role model for aspiring women entrepreneurs.
“For over a century, Avon has demonstrated its commitment to women’s entrepreneurism and empowerment,” said Susan J. Kropf, president of Avon North America. “Through the Avon Women of Enterprise awards, we recognize the achievements of extraordinary women, as well as the significant economic contributions they have made to this nation.”
WOE applications are available by writing to Avon Products, 1251 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y. 10020-1196; by calling 1-212-282-7110; or by visiting Avon’s Web site at www.avon.com/womenofenterprise. Applications are due in December.
Reporting by Robin Wallace. Jane Applegate is a syndicated columnist and author of “201 Great Ideas for Your Small Business.” For more resources, visit applegateway.com.
