Annual Reports Archive - Page 2 of 4

The National Women’s Business Council is a bi-partisan Federal Government council created to serve as an independent source of advice and policy recommendations to the President, Congress, U.S. Small Business Administration, and the Interagency Committee on Women’s Business Enterprise on economic issues of importance to women business owners.

Members of the Council are prominent women business owners and leaders of women’s business organizations.

The mission of the Council is to promote bold initiatives, policies and programs designed to support women’s business enterprises at all stages of development in the public and private sector marketplaces.
The Council has established public/private sector partnerships to promote an economic environment conducive to business growth and development for women-owned businesses and has focused on the following key areas of program and policy development:

Increasing access to capital and credit for women entrepreneurs;
Expanding public and private market opportunities for women-owned business;
Promoting the development of a research agenda and data collection to create a comprehensive profile of the women’s business sector and public awareness of this profile; and
Strengthening the training, technical assistance and networking infrastructure that serves the women’s business sector.

To the President and Members of Congress:

We are pleased to transmit the Annual Report of the National Women’s Business Council (“NWBC” or “Council”) for the year 2000. This year, the Council focused on procurement opportunities, access to capital and data collection as key issues where changes were needed to increase opportunities for women. In its efforts, the Council has made collaboration and partnership vital to achieving its goals. Through the prestigious organizations that serve on the Council and our public sector partner, the Interagency Committee on Women’s Business Enterprise (“IACWBE”), we have established a strong and effective communications conduit to amplify the voices ofwomen entrepreneurs.

Our annual report contains a wealth of information on the three key issues identified above. For example, the report discusses our effort with the Milken Institute, where the Council examined the best practices initiated by government, non-profits and financial institutions to address the demand for credit from one of the most dynamic new market sectors –women-owned businesses. Further, the report explains the Council’s initiative with the National Foundation for Women Business Owners, where we examined the characteristics, contributions, and challenges of women-owned businesses in the Federal procurement arena. In addition, the report details the Council’s and the IACWBE’s case study of successful public and private sector initiatives fostering the growth of women’s business ownership.

The report also contains recommendations for legislation and administrative actions that the Council considers appropriate to promote the development of concerns owned and controlled by women. These recommendations stem from the Council’s initiatives, policies and programs designed to foster women’s business enterprises.

Despite the advancements made in the last year, the Council believes that there is still much more that needs to be done to promote and assist in the development of women-owned businesses. We look forward to working with Congress and the new Administration to continue the dialogue on the women’s entrepreneurial agenda and in finding the means to implement the Council’s recommendations.2000

To the President and Members of Congress:

The National Women’s Business Council (NWBC or Council) is pleased to transmit its 2001 Annual Report. This report includes important findings from research conducted by the NWBC on women-owned and women-led businesses, with an emphasis on access to capital and contracting opportunities.

In addition, this report contains recommendations for legislative and administrative proposals we believe will help women entrepreneurs with their endeavors.

During the past decade, the number of women starting firms has increased at twice the rate of all U.S. concerns. These women-owned businesses (WOBs) are growing faster in employment and revenues than the average U.S. firm. Unfortunately, WOBs are still having a difficult time accessing capital for start-up or expansion, and not receiving a commensurate share of contract opportunities in either the public or private sectors. Access to education, technical assistance and capital can improve the chances that WOBs will have the opportunity to grow and remain an important component of our Nation’s economic health and stability. The NWBC has placed great efforts toward meeting and further exploring these needs of WOBs.

We are honored to have the opportunity to advocate for the interests of the fastest growing segment of our Nation’s economy. Although the NWBC has much to celebrate with respect to the economic accomplishments of WOBs, the members of the Council recognize that there is still much work to be done to address the capital and business development needs of the Nation’s women business owners. We look forward to working with Congress and the Administration in implementing these recommendations and formulating new policy in the upcoming fiscal year.

National Women’s Business Council

To the President and Members of Congress:

I am pleased to submit, on behalf of its members, the National Women’s Business Council’s Annual Report for fiscal year 2002.

The Council is honored to advocate for the nation’s more than 9 million women-owned businesses. As one of the fastest growing segments of our country’s business community, women-owned enterprises are a vital contributor to the well being of our economy.

This report reflects a transition period in the momentum of the Council from one of relative inactivity due to the absence of a Chair, to a period of accelerated action in the last quarter of the fiscal year.

Upon accepting the appointment to the Chair in May, actions were taken to fill staff positions, nominate members for council vacancies and identify projects for funding that would be most meaningful to the business development needs of women business owners. Among these are:

• Evaluation of a women-friendly credit scoring system;

• A Capitol Hill Roundtable on healthcare issues;

• Outreach “issues discussions” in major cities to identify the business development needs that most impact the success of women-owned enterprises (in association with The Schlesinger Library’s national touring exhibit “Enterprising Women”); and

• Further analysis of existing census data to better understand the trends and economic contributions of women-owned businesses.

In keeping with the Council’s mandate to inform the policy debate through adding to the body of research available on women-owned businesses, two significant studies were completed in 2002:

A national evaluation of best practices in access to capital programs; and
A study that demonstrates that the capability of women-owned firms is not a rationale for under-representation in federal subcontracting.

The National Women’s Business Council is committed to continuing the important work of identifying those issues which are fundamental to the success of women-owned businesses, to educate and connect the women’s business community, and to serve as a leading advocate for our nation’s women entrepreneurs. In this way, the Council can best advance all of our economy’s stakeholders to create a stronger business community and nation.

Respectfully,

Marilyn Carlson Nelson
Chair, National Women’s Business Council

To the President, Members of Congress SBA Administrator and the Women’s Business Community:

I am pleased to submit, on behalf of its members, the National Women’s Business Council’s Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2003.

The Council is honored to be the Federal Government’s only independent advocate for this Nation’s 10.1 million businesses with 50% or greater women’s ownership.

The unprecedented growth of women-owned businesses during the past decade continues its historic run. Privately-held businesses in which women are majority owners – 6.2 million firms – are growing in number at twice the national average, and adding jobs at 1-1/2 times the national average.

Overall, businesses in which women own at least 50% of the company generate $2.3 trillion in annual revenues and provide jobs for 18.2 million people. Still, there remain numerous obstacles to sustained vitality. Foremost among them are: the escalating cost of small business health insurance, barriers to accessing capital and difficulty entering government markets.

As I look back over this past year, I am gratified that the National Women’s Business Council continues to identify, research and advocate for those issues which are most influential to the success of women business owners. Not only have we found new and innovative ways to bring critical facts and research to policy discussions but, most importantly, we have achieved our objective to engage more and more women business owners in those discussions.

During the past year, the National Women’s Business Council has published a number of research studies, Issue in Brief papers, and other publications on topics of significance to the women’s business community, which are summarized in this report. We have expanded our communications outreach activities and launched initiatives to help further connect the women’s business community to current public policy debate. Of special note are the following:

The publication of a background research report and proceedings from a roundtable discussion held on Capitol Hill focusing on access to affordable health care for small business owners;
The publication of an analysis of the availability and common characteristics of successful mentoring programs available for women business owners;
A summary of the findings related to women’s entrepreneurship contained in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor research reports from 1999 to 2002;
A summary and analysis of Federal procurement from women-owned small businesses from FY1997 to FY2002;
Fact sheets pulling together information on several populations of women-owned businesses (including African-American, Asian American, Latina and Native American) from multiple sources;

The establishment of a monthly toll-free issues conference call, “Women’s Business Connection,” which provides a platform for dialogue between policy experts and women business owners; and
A summary of the state economic networks that exist to promote women’s enterprise development and provide policy guidance, including a resource guide with contact information.

And we have only just begun. Research is a vitally important tool for both program development and public policy action and in the coming months, the Council will publish several important studies, including:

Analysis of the growth, the number, and economic impact of women-owned employer establishments from 1997 to 2000, based on tabulations received from an exclusive agreement with the Census Bureau;
A summary and analysis of loans and loan guarantees made by the U.S. Small Business Administration to women-owned businesses over the past five years;
A distillation and summary of the best practices in the public and private sectors of the United States for women’s enterprise development, updating a similar report published in 1999 by the Council in advance of an international women’s business conference; and
An analysis of the correlates of success of the SBA’s women’s business center program, based on an analysis of the information submitted to the SBA by these centers, plus macroeconomic and other data.

New in this year’s Annual Report, is a compendium of notable research projects published over the past12monthson topicsrelatedtothestateofwomen’sentrepreneurship.Asthestudies confirm, that women-owned businesses are a vital force for growth – making significant contributions to the well-being of our economy.

I look forward to continuing our good work in the year ahead. On behalf of all the members of the National Women’s Business Council, I commit the Council to carry out its mission to promote bold initiatives, policies, and programs for women’s business enterprises.

Respectfully,

Marilyn Carlson Nelson
Chair, National Women’s Business Council

Fiscal Year 2004 continued the active and inclusive tone set over the past two years, with the publication of numerous research reports, Issues in Brief, and Fact Sheets; the hosting of several well-attended issue discussion events; broad communication via the Council’s Web site and the issuance of press releases and an electronic newsletter; and activism in the public policy arena.

This Annual Report summarizes these myriad activities, and includes a brief summary with links to other publications related to the state of women’s entrepreneurship.

Fiscal Year 2004 saw the publication of four primary research reports conducted with support and direction from the Council, 11 Issue in Brief publications summarizing other important information related to women’s entrepreneurship, and five Fact Sheets making key information about trends in women’s entrepreneurship more accessible and digestible to the women’s business community and to public policy makers. They are summarized in the next section of this report.

In addition to holding two Council meetings and several conference calls, the National Women’s Business Council hosted two issue-focused discussion events, participated in the organization and conduct of a regional women’s economic summit with the Department of Labor and the Small Business Administration, and participated as co-organizers in three expert roundtable discussions. These events are likewise summarized in this report.

The Council continued to expand its communications outreach activities, to better inform the women’s business community of important issues and events and to engage women business owners in policy issue discussions. These activities included: the publication of a Resource Card for women business owners; the distribution of a bi-monthly electronic newsletter, Engage!, featuring news about Council activities and the activities of other women’s business organizations; and the hosting of a monthly issues conference call, the Women’s Business Connection, which features subject matter experts discussing information of value to the women’s business community.

This report also contains a section summarizing key research and other publications related to women’s entrepreneurship published by other organizations, including links to the publications or to the organizations that published them. It is hoped that the synopsis of these studies will provide further value for our audiences, and will better inform the debate and discussion of important issues facing women business owners and their enterprises.

Fiscal Year 2005 continued the active and inclusive approach set over the past three years by the National Women’s Business Council.

This year saw the publication of numerous research reports, Issues in Brief, and Fact Sheets; the hosting of several well-attended issue discussion events; broad communication with the women’s business and policy communities through the Council’s Web site and the issuance of press releases and an electronic newsletter; and activism in the public policy arena.

This Annual Report summarizes these many activities. This Executive Summary briefly summarizes our activities, as well as the policy recommendations that resulted from our research, communications and outreach activities.

In addition to holding two Council meetings and several conference calls, the National Women’s Business Council hosted a Web cast and wrote and produced a video chronicling some of the “founding mothers” of the women’s business movement.
Members of the Council traveled the country to speak on behalf of the Council. Council staff attended and participated in hundreds of intergovernmental and outreach meetings. The Council was called on by the International Council on Small Business to provide input for the International Best Practices paper competition.

Communications outreach activities continued to expand at the Council, to better inform the women’s business community of important issues and events and to engage women business owners in policy issue discussions. Our activities included: an expansion of the Resource Card for women business owners, the redesign and launch of a new logo for the Council’s publications and Web site, the continued expansion of the Council’s database of contacts, the distribution of news announcements, and the NWBC Web site publication of several archived documents.

The NWBC produced several successful comment letters which resulted in policy adjustment: consideration of the implications to the women’s business community by redefining size standards, the re-insertion of the gender-based data collection by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the consideration of SBA’s 7(a) and 7(b) loans.

It has been a successful year, though many challenges remain. Based on research conducted during the year, on numerous discussions with the women’s business community at conferences, meetings and roundtables, and on comment letters filed during the course of the year by the Council, the National Women’s Business Council makes the following recommendations to the President, the U.S. Congress, and the U. S. Small Business Administration:
Access to Capital- The Council has expressed concern with certain proposed changes to the SBA’s 7(m) microloan program, and the Council would like to see federal programs such as SBA’s SAIC program increase their outreach to women business owners and women’s business organizations.

Access to Federal and International Procurement Markets- The Council encourages the Administration to continue its efforts on behalf of subcontractors on the issue of contract bundling to ensure that procurement opportunities remain open to all small businesses, including women-owned businesses. We would further recommend an increase in access to international markets, and size standards should be tiered to even the competitive playing field.

Access to Training/Technical Assistance: Women’s Business Centers- In letters to the SBA and to the leadership of the Senate and House Small Business Committees, the Council reiterated its position in favor of ongoing financial support of the program.

Fact-Based Policy Making- Policy making can only be strengthened when it is based upon sound research and other factual information. The Council recommends that all relevant programs, such as the Women’s Business Center program, should provide such information on their outcomes.

Ongoing Advocacy- While gains to the women’s business community have been notable during the last several years, the Council recommends constant vigilance and ongoing advocacy to maintain that progress. The Council urges the women’s business community to remain active and engaged in public policy discussions, always mindful of efforts to undermine the progress in support of women’s enterprise developments.

We invite public comment on our Annual Report, and on the research and other programmatic activities of the Council.

Fiscal Year 2006 was one of transition and growth for the National Women’s Business Council. Over the course of the year, eight Council members completed their terms and five new women joined the Council. Together, the members of the Council worked throughout the year to promote policies and programs designed to support women’s entrepreneurship.

The Council chose to focus on communications and outreach, initiating many new programs and projects to expand the Council’s ability to reach the women’s business community, policymakers and other target audiences. In addition to holding two Council meetings, the National Women’s Business Council produced several research reports, host- ed a Web cast on policy priorities of women business owners and several issue-based conference calls, and communicated broadly with the women’s business and policy communities. Members of the Council spoke on behalf of the Council and Council staff participated in numerous of intergovernmental and organizational meetings. For the third year, the Council was called on by the International Council for Small Business to support and judge the Best Paper Award for Women’s Entrepreneurship.

Based on research conducted during the year, numerous discussions with the women’s business community at conferences, a Web cast and conference calls, meetings and round tables, the National Women’s Business Council makes the following recommendations to the President, the U.S. Congress, and the U.S. Small Business Administration:

Access to Federal and International Procurement Markets – The Council encourages continued aggressive efforts to increase access for women-owned firms in federal contracting, including stronger efforts to reach the five percent goal for women-owned small businesses. As part of this goal, the Council suggests providing adequate funding to Offices of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization in the federal agencies.

Access to Capital – The Council believes that Federal programs, such as the SBA’s Small Business Investment Company program, should increase their outreach to women business owners. The Council also encourages policymakers to support private and nonprofit programs offering capital funding to help women-owned small businesses to reach new milestones.

Access to Health Care – NWBC urges policymakers to address the escalating costs faced by women business owners seeking to provide health care to their employees and supports policy efforts to assist women business owners in improving coverage options for themselves and their employees.

Access to Training/Technical Assistance – The Council urges Congress to continue its financial support of the Women’s Business Center program.

Fact-Based Policy-Making – The Council believes that agencies such as the Federal Reserve Board and Census Bureau should be required to continue compiling and publishing research on the overall business environment, availability of capital, and policies affecting women-owned businesses.

The members of the National Women’s Business Council worked together throughout Fiscal Year 2007 to promote policies and programs designed to support women’s entrepreneurship. Over the past year, the Council’s activities focused primarily on the following areas: communications and outreach, research, and policy engagement.

In reaching out to the women’s business community, policymakers and other target audiences, the Council held two town hall meetings, produced written and electronic communications, and participated in national and international events promoting women’s business ownership. In addition, the Council produced research reports and fact sheets, partnered in research events with other organizations and began an audit of available research in the field. Members of the Council spoke on behalf of the Council and Council staff participated in hundreds of intergovernmental and organizational meetings. For the fourth year, the Council was called on by the International Council for Small Business to support and judge the Best Paper Award for Women’s Entrepreneurship.

Based on research conducted during the year, numerous discussions with the women’s business community at conferences, meetings and roundtables, and comment letters filed regarding research and procurement, the National Women’s Business Council makes the following recommendations to the President, the U.S. Congress, and the U. S. Small Business Administration:

Access to Federal Procurement Markets

As advocates for women business owners, the National Women’s Business Council believes that women-owned businesses must have the opportunity to compete for their fair share of federal contracts. Therefore, the Council encourages the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to move swiftly in implementing a program to reach the government-wide five percent goal for women-owned small businesses. The Council suggests making procurement officers accountable for reaching the goal reflected in their annual performance evaluations and focusing additional efforts on ensuring prime contractor compliance with subcontracting plans and goals for women-owned and all small businesses.

Fact-Based Policy-Making

Policymakers and government leaders cannot responsibly react to, manage, and make policy recommendations based on data which is not measured. Therefore, the Council urges continued and adequate funding for data collection and research conducted by federal agencies such as the Census Bureau, the Federal Reserve, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Recommendations from Town Hall Meeting Participants

During the Council’s Town Hall Meetings in March and June 2007, participant discussions resulted in several policy recommendations, including increased funding of Women’s Business Centers and Small Business Development Centers, an evaluation of whether SBA-backed lending programs are meeting the needs of small and women-owned businesses, adoption of an Association Health Plan system, establishment of a clearinghouse of government contracting and subcontracting opportunities set-aside for women-owned businesses, and tax incentives to help small business owners offer health insurance or educational opportunities for their workers.

This Annual Report summarizes these many activities, offers policy recommendations, and previews Council initiatives for the coming year. We invite public comment on our Annual Report, and on the research and other programmatic activities of the Council.

Throughout Fiscal Year 2008, the members of the National Women’s Business Council collaborated to promote policies and programs designed to support women’s entrepreneurship. The Council’s activities over the past year focused primarily on communications and outreach, research, and policy engagement.

In reaching out to the women’s business community, policymakers and other target audiences, the Council held three town hall meetings, produced written and electronic communications, and participated in national and international events promoting women’s business ownership. In addition, the Council produced research reports, partnered in research events with other organizations and initiated a report on best practices in entrepreneurship education for women. Members of the Council and Council staff participated in several intergovernmental and organizational meetings. For the fifth year, the Council was called on by the International Council for Small Business to judge and support the Best Paper Award for Women’s Entrepreneurship.

Based on research conducted during the year, numerous discussions with the women’s business community at conferences, meetings and round tables, and comment letters filed regarding research and procurement, the National Women’s Business Council makes the following recommendations to the President, the U.S. Congress, and the U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA):

Increased support for outreach and marketing by the many government-sponsored programs that are designed to assist women business owners;
Increased funding for government-supported entrepreneurial development centers like Women’s Business Centers, Small Business Development Centers, and SCORE;
Evaluation of the SBA-backed lending programs to determine if they are meeting the needs of the small business owners for which they are intended;
Monitoring of the federal government contracting process to ensure that the five percent procurement goal for women-owned businesses is met;
Enforcement of subcontracting relationships by holding prime contractors accountable for fulfilling their agreements with subcontractors;
Establishment of a clearinghouse for information on government contracting and subcontracting opportunities which may be designated for women-owned businesses;
Introduction of tax incentives to help small business owners provide health insurance or wellness programs and education and training for their workers benefits that women business owners care deeply about; and
Identification of successful workforce initiatives and best practices of large companies, particularly in the areas of health care, education and training for employees, and leadership, that can be adopted by small businesses.