Newsletters
A quarterly publication of the Women's Business Development Center
October 2011
A Word from the Co-Presidents
Anniversaries are a wonderful time to reflect and celebrate, reconnect with friends and focus on the future. This year, during the WBDC’s 25th Anniversary, we’ve done all of those things and more. We had a successful
25th Anniversary Entrepreneurial Woman’s Conference on September 14, where we were joined by over 2,000 women business owners, corporate and government supporters, and even the Windy City Rollers, Chicago’s own women’s roller derby team.
We are also proud to present to you, our friends and supporters, our
25th Anniversary Annual Report. The report artfully captures the reach and impact of the WBDC over the past 25 years, and we hope you will take a minute to download and read it. Please
click here to download a PDF of the report. We are extremely grateful to Fleishman-Hillard for their creation of our 25th Anniversary logo and the annual report design, and to Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois for underwriting the printing, provided by certified WBE Consolidated Printing Company.
While much progress has been made in 25 years in women’s business development, the next 25 years are our future. There is much to be done, and we look forward to your continued partnership in the years to come.
Warm wishes,
Hedy M. Ratner & Carol Dougal
WBDC Co-Founders & Co-Presidents
WBDC 25th Anniversary Entrepreneurial Woman’s Conference Wrap-Up
September 14, 2011, McCormick Place-West, Chicago, IL
The WBDC held its 25th Anniversary Entrepreneurial Woman’s Conference and Women’s Business & Buyers Mart on September 14, 2011 at Chicago’s McCormick Place-West, attracting over 2,000 participants seeking contract opportunities and resources to start or expand their businesses.
The annual Women’s Forum Breakfast kicked-off the event, featuring nationally-recognized women business owners who shared their personal stories of business success, and how they overcame their greatest personal and professional challenges. Moderated by best-selling author and Chicago Sun-Times syndicated financial columnist Terry Savage, this year’s panel included: Leylani Cardoso of Bolzano Handbags; Maxine Clark of Build-A-Bear Workshop; Cathy Hughes of Radio One; and Lynn Tilton of Patriarch Partners.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel delivered the keynote address at the 25th Anniversary Hall of Fame Awards Luncheon where the WBDC honored entrepreneurs, advocates and corporations for their advocacy and support of women’s economic development and empowerment.
The 25th Anniversary Hall of Fame Award recipients are:
- 25th Anniversary Entrepreneurial Woman of the Year – Sharon Avent, president and CEO, Smead Manufacturing Company
- 25th Anniversary Entrepreneurial Woman of the Year – Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) Success – Marilyn Jones, founder and president, Consolidated Printing Company
- 25th Anniversary Entrepreneurial Woman of the Year – Rising Star – Teresa Ging, founder and president, Sugar Bliss Cake Boutique, Inc.
- 25th Anniversary Advocacy Award – U.S. Small Business Administration
- 25th Anniversary Corporate Support Award – Bank of America
The
Women’s Business & Buyers Mart, the oldest and largest business opportunities fair for women business owners in the country, featured more than 200 government and corporate buyers who are committed to purchasing products and services from women business enterprises. Over 160 appointments were held through
Contract Connections, one-on-one prescreened meetings between certified Women’s Business Enterprises (WBE) and WBDC corporate and government partners. The event concluded with the WBDC’s
25th Anniversary Celebration honoring the work the WBDC has done over the past 25 years of helping over 65,000 women.
To view photos from the 25th Anniversary Entrepreneurial Woman’s Conference, please
click here.
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses
Key Investment for Chicago Small Businesses
The WBDC is a proud partner of
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses at City Colleges of Chicago. The program is a $25 million investment designed to help local small business owners create jobs and economic opportunity by providing them with greater access to business education, financial capital and business support services.
“This is an excellent opportunity for small businesses to gain access to capital and practical business knowledge to take their business to the next level. We applaud Goldman Sachs’ recognition through this initiative of the importance of small businesses to grow our economy,” says WBDC Co-President Hedy Ratner.
The WBDC is excited to assist Goldman Sachs in recruiting qualified applicants for the first class of Chicago program participants. Qualified applicants should meet the following criteria:
- Applicant must be the owner or co-owner of the business
- Business in operation for at least two years
- Business revenues in tax year 2010 must be between $150,000 and $4 million
- Business with a minimum of 4 employees
Applications are being accepted through Wednesday, October 26, 2011, and interviews for selected finalists will be held in December 2011.
Selected participants will attend a free 11-session business development program, which will meet from January-May 2012, every other Friday, from 8:30am – 5:30pm, and must commit to an additional 6-8 hours per week of out of class activities. The program will also give the businesses opportunities and tools to position themselves to access capital.
Goldman Sachs has already executed this successful business growth program in Houston, Long Beach, Los Angeles, New Orleans and New York City. Additional community partners of the Chicago program are the Chicago Urban League, the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
For more information and to apply, please visit
www.ccc.edu/10KSB. To protect your privacy and financial information, the WBDC strongly advises submitting the application package in person at Harold Washington College.
Goldman Sachs also welcomes prospective applicants to attend an application assistance session. Sessions will be held:
- October 20, 6:00 pm, at Olive-Harvey College, Room 1205, 10001 S. Woodlawn, Chicago, IL 60628
- October 21, 12:00 pm, at Harold Washington College, Room 201, 30 E. Lake Street, Chicago, IL 60601. Hear from Jessica Johnson, alumna of the 10,000 Small Businesses program, at this session. Jessica owns Johnson Security Bureau, a third generation family-owned armed and unarmed security firm located in the Bronx. Since joining the program, Jessica has experienced revenue growth and has hired new employees. Light lunch will be served. Space is limited, so please RSVP to 10ksb@ccc.edu to reserve your spot.
Funder Spotlight Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, a division of Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC)
The WBDC is honored to be funded in part by
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, a division of
Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC). One of the WBDC’s longtime sponsors, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois and HCSC has provided funds to support the ongoing programs of the WBDC and our annual Entrepreneurial Woman’s Conference since 1994. In 2011, they generously doubled their support to the WBDC becoming a Marquee Sponsor of the 25th Anniversary Entrepreneurial Woman’s Conference and underwriting the printing of the WBDC 25th Anniversary Annual Report.
"We are proud to work with the WBDC in supporting the aspirations of women business owners. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois has worked with the WBDC for many years and in many ways – always with the realization that women need and deserve equal opportunity and access in the business world," says
Patricia Hemingway Hall, CEO, Health Care Service Corporation, who generously served as the co-chair of the 22nd Annual Entrepreneurial Woman’s Conference in 2008.
"Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois and Health Care Service Corporation have been incredibly supportive of the mission of our Center as a whole, and the programmatic and advocacy achievements we have made for nearly two decades. They have always been there when we needed them, and as one of the few major corporations in our country to be led by a female CEO, we are incredibly pleased to call them our partner. We applaud their commitment to corporate and social responsibility and their generosity to the WBDC," says WBDC co-president Hedy Ratner.
For more information about Health Care Service Corporation or Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, please visit
www.hcsc.com or
www.bcbsil.com.
WBDC 2011 Technology Makeover Competition
Over $100,000 in FREE Technology Available!
The WBDC is excited to announce our 3rd Annual Small Business Technology Makeover Competition! Visit
www.wbdctechnologymakeover.com where you can apply to win over $100,000 in FREE technology products and business services to help your business grow.
The prize package will include:
- 1 small business server, 1 networked printer, 1 projector, 2 headsets
- 7 laptop computers
- $30,000 scholarship to Executive Business Training
- Website development, including brand design and content
- Installation and configuration hardware, labor and support
- 5 licenses of Microsoft Small Business Server Premium 2008, Microsoft Office Professional 2011 and Windows 7 Ultimate
- Business training on Microsoft Office 2011and much more!
Eligible applicants must be a for-profit business located in Illinois with a minimum of two years of business operations, maintain a minimum of four employee workstations and have at least $1,000,000 in revenue. For a complete listing of competition rules, please
click here. Applications are being accepted now through December 9, 2011. For complete information and to apply please
click here.
United States-South Africa Women’s Business Forum
Building Bridges through Women Empowerment
The WBDC is a proud co-sponsor of the first annual United States-South Africa Women's Business Forum (USSAWBF), presented by the South African Consulate-General. The Forum, being held in Chicago October 24-28, 2011, will bring leading women executives and entrepreneurs from South Africa to Chicago to discuss business opportunities between the two countries.
This is a unique opportunity for U.S. and South African women business owners to gather together, network and build business relationships. The Forum will offer women business owners solutions to business challenges, access to new opportunities and connections to corporate and government buyers, business experts and other women business owners. It will also serve as a powerful new agent for progress on gender equality and women's empowerment in business, for although women in South Africa have continued to make visible progress, the trend remains slow and women tend to be under-represented in top positions. Empowering women in business in South Africa, as well as the United States, is a major step towards building stronger economies and solidifying a presence in an increasingly globally integrated world.
The WBDC is excited to be involved in this upcoming Forum, along with the Chicago Minority Supplier Development Council, the National Association of Women Business Owners - Chicago Area Chapter and WVON.
For more information on attending the Forum, please contact
dkovac@wbdc.org.
Carolina Diaz, Danae Kovac and Janice Lopez
The WBDC is pleased to announce new staff positions for Carolina Diaz, client database analyst; Danae Kovac, director of operations; and Janice Lopez, associate director of Latina programs.
Carolina Diaz joined the WBDC in May 2011 as a marketing intern and was hired in September 2011 as client database analyst. Previously, Carolina was a learning opportunities facilitator at the YMCA Metro Chicago and held a post at The Aparecio Foundation. She was a tutor for retail mathematics and computer software at the Illinois Institute of Art where she will graduate with a B.A. in fashion marketing and management in December 2011. Carolina is fluent in Spanish, sewing and patternmaking.
Danae Kovac has been promoted to director of operations at the WBDC. In this role she is responsible for the oversight and management of the WBDC’s marketing, technology, client databases, human resources and administrative departments. Danae joined the WBDC in 2008 as special projects coordinator, and was promoted to manager of marketing and special projects the following year. Previously, she worked at the American Educational Research Association, in Washington, D.C., and was an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer at The Enterprising Kitchen in Chicago. In 2010, she served on the young women’s leadership council of the Chicago Foundation for Women. Danae received a B.A. in sociology and a certificate in Urban Studies from Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL.
Janice Lopez rejoined the WBDC in September 2011 as associate director of Latina programs. In this role Janice provides general business management, counseling and training to WBDC clients in both English and Spanish. Janice has over 15 years of experience in business and economic development. Previously she held the position of area manager and certified business analyst for the Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida, where she was responsible for providing consulting services for start-up and second stage businesses, review of business plans and analysis of business financial statements. Janice received a B.S. in finance from Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago.
