Your Biz : Women/minorities

Breezin through this economy

Andrew Littell — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 21:21:00 GMT

From JJ Ramberg:

This past weekend our senior producer Chris and I went down to Tampa to do a story on small businesses that were working with the NFL around the Big Game. As so often happens, there were so many more interesting things about the companies we covered than we had time to talk about on air.

We met a woman named Cindy Dervech who owns a company called Breezin Entertainment and Productions which provides bands and other entertainment for events. She was thrilled to be working with the NFL since, as you can imagine, business had been down recently....(read more)

If the shoe hurts, shrink it

Eve Tahmincioglu — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:55:00 GMT

I'm going to confess to you all that I have a really bad back. I can throw it out at a moment's notice. Play boxing with my son, or taking a fork out of the dishwasher are all potential back land mines.

But for me the biggest back buster is high heel shoes. I know, women are insane for wearing stilettos, but I love the way nose-bleed shoes look. Alas, my back hates them.

So, it's little wonder that my interest was piqued when I got an e-mail from a source at entrepreneurial business school Babson College who told me a group of undergrad students has come up with a high-heeled shoe with a retractable heel.

...(read more)

Women entrepreneurs -- don’t miss this boat!

Eve Tahmincioglu — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:42:00 GMT

It's amazing to me that more women-owned small businesses are not taking advantage of a huge revenue stream -- the federal government.

Only 3.4 percent of all the federal contract dollars went to female entrepreneurs last year, according to data released by the Small Business Administration last week.

That figure's just unacceptable.

...(read more)

No small biz slam dunk for McCain, Obama

Eve Tahmincioglu — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:28:00 GMT

Sean O'Rourke, owner of a technology consulting firm in New York called Syzygy 3, doesn't yet know which presidential candidate he'll be pulling the lever for this November.

"I'm undecided," he says, even though he considers himself a Republican.

And Rae Hostetler, who owns Zionsville, Ind., -based Hostetler Public Relations, says, "At this point I'm the skeptical voter and I can choose to skip the polls or exercise my vote. I choose the latter. My pick is with caution -- the lesser of two evils."

While you might think John McCain would be the slam-dunk choice for entrepreneurs at this November's presidential election because Republicans are often thought of as pro business, many small business owners don't see things that way.

...(read more)

Should you go into business with your spouse?

Eve Tahmincioglu — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 18:28:00 GMT

Last week, I was a guest on "The Big Idea," a show on CNBC hosted by Donny Deutsch, and the topic of the day was whether a husband and wife should start a business together.

I was on hand to talk about why this is probably not a good idea for most couples out there.

My mom has a saying -- "never with your husband."

She came up with it after years of trying to run a business with my late father.

...(read more)

Mom entrepreneurs are stressed out

Eve Tahmincioglu — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 12:25:00 GMT

“I have quit feeling guilty that I’m a mom first.”

I recently read this line in Working Mother magazine while I was sitting in the pediatrician’s office waiting to have my son’s tonsils checked. Ah, guilt -- every working mom has it at one point or another. How do you quit it?

I had to cancel an important story interview to get my son to the doctor’s office, and I only started reading the magazine as a way to take my mind off a number of stressful thoughts: Would I make it back to my office in time to finish an article that was due? Would the doctor tell me my kid needed his tonsils out? Would dinner be ready by 6 p.m. when my father-in-law was coming over?

The source of the quote above was Sarah Stevens, the owner of a technology security business in Charlotte, N.C., and mother of four kids, ages 9 and under.

The article talked about how she sometimes attends meetings or work dinners with a baby in tow, and “I’ve had children spill on clients,” she says. “I never really find balance, but I’m comfortable with who I am and what I do.”

Turns out many mom entrepreneurs are having trouble staying on the business balance beam, according to a new survey.

...(read more)

Don't wait for burnout to pack your valise

Eve Tahmincioglu — Tue, 27 May 2008 06:09:00 GMT

What did you all do during the holiday weekend?

Our last-minute plan was to go to my father-in-laws summerhouse and leave my laptop at home.

The drive is about 90 miles and my husband and I promised each other we wouldn’t go out to eat because money was a bit tight these days. The plan was to ride our bikes and catch up on some reading.

Even going on this mini vacation with the kids was sort of a luxury because of gas prices. But to heck with common sense, I needed a break from my hectic schedule.

Seems like many of you small business owners out there are feeling the way I am. But should we be waiting until the breaking point when we say goodbye to work?

Roy Morsch / Corbis file

...(read more)

Idea Watch: Attacking acne on a budget

Eve Tahmincioglu — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 07:43:00 GMT

I was one of those teenagers who had really bad acne growing up, and I tried everything to clear my skin up.

I even swore off chocolate and Kalamata olives for 2 years but it really didn’t make much of a difference.

When I hit my twenties a friend of mine treated me to a facial for my birthday and I was in shock how much it helped my skin problem. I vowed to get lots of facials so I to could become one of the lucky clear-skinned humans. That is until I found out how much my really nice friend ponyed up for the facial.

It was nearly $100 for a half-hour treatment at some fancy schmancy Manhattan salon. Being a poor journalist at the time, I figured it would be the last time I’d make it to a facial spa.

But what if there were drop-in facial shops that offered cut rates on facials? (Look at all the cheap manicures you can get on almost every street corner today.)

Ivan Hunter / Getty Images

...(read more)

Male entrepreneurs are control freaks, women are wimps

Eve Tahmincioglu — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 10:12:00 GMT

Ha! Made ya look.

I’m not trying to anger all of you out there, but when it comes to business, men want to be in control, while women are the nurturers and consensus builders.

Isn’t that what’s drummed into our heads day in and day out!

Yet another survey points to just this phenomenon among entrepreneurs.

“Small business owners want to control their destiny,” says Sastry Rachakonda, director of Discover's business credit card, which polled 1000 small business owners with five employees or less in its monthly Discover Small Business Watch is a monthly survey. “However, men and women do this in different ways. For men, it is about being in control and being their own bosses, while for women, it is about having more flexibility with their time.”

...(read more)

Is it too little too late to help women entrepreneurs?

Eve Tahmincioglu — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 09:58:00 GMT

It took the federal government almost seven years to finally submit a proposed rule that would help women-owned small businesses get a level playing field when it came to the federal contracting procurement process.

Some argue -- most notably the sponsor of the original bill in 2000 -- the new rule doesn’t go far enough to help women business owners.

Rep. Nydia M. Velazquez (D-N.Y.), the chairwoman House Committee on Small Business, sponsored the “Equity in Contracting for Women Act of 2000” that created the Women’s Procurement Program as a way to give women some needed traction when it came to competing for government jobs.

But the program never passed go, mainly because the federal government spent years reviewing and assessing how the plan would be implemented.

Even in the government’s own Q&A that accompanied the announcement last week by the Small Business Administration, the long time delay gets top billing:

“Q. Why did it take so long to implement these procedures given that Congress passed the law authorizing them in 2000?

A. Supreme Court decisions require legislative findings to justify a gender-based preferences program such as the Women-Owned Small Business Contracting Procedures. In general, set-asides and other preference programs are subject to a high degree of Constitutional scrutiny and require careful study and thorough justification. For this set-aside, Congress delegated the complex and controversial responsibility to SBA — we believe a first for a federal agency.

Understanding this hurdle, SBA did attempt timely implementation. The agency completed its initial study in 2001, but during the review process substantial questions were raised, which necessitated an independent review by the National Academy of Sciences. Following the conclusion of this review, SBA contracted with the RAND Corporation, which specializes in government studies, to perform a new analysis, which provides the basis of the proposed rule.”

Velazquez saw the delays as merely stalling tactics.

But now that the procedures are on the table, will it mean women entrepreneurs will finally find parity when playing in the government-contracting arena?

Not quite, Velazquez argues.

“After nearly seven years of studies, delays and empty promises, the Administration had a chance today to finally show its commitment to women-owned firms – unfortunately, this did not happen,” says Velázquez. “These entrepreneurs are being shut out of billions of dollars in federal contracting opportunities, yet their concerns are falling on deaf ears. This is extremely disheartening and it cannot continue.”

What’s got her angry is that the government has limited the number of industries where the program can be implemented to four including, national security and international affairs; coating, engraving, heat treating and allied activities; household and institutional furniture and kitchen cabinet making; and motor vehicle dealers.

After a “rigorous process” of review, the SBA says these were the four industries where women-owned business were underrepresented.

Velazquez is crying foul. “To suggest that the only women who deserve support are in industries as small as kitchen cabinet manufacturing is downright insulting,” she explains. “The Administration needs to go back to the drawing board and come up with an effective program that will help ensure the success of female entrepreneurs across the country – this is what the women of America deserve and it is the right thing to do.”

The House Small Business committee will hold a hearing this month to address the new procedures.

If you’ve got an opinion on this either way contact the SBA pronto. The agency is accepting public comment for about two months. Speak up now or shut up later when you can’t get your foot in the door.