Women in business
Owning and growing our success
by Nelda Holder
So you want to be a woman in business? The 55 examples of entrepreneurs and service providers in this year's "Women in Business" supplement will provide sample role models. And you would, it seems, be following both a local and statewide trend.
Last fall, a new Small Business Administration report ranked North Carolina fifth in the nation for states with the most growth in women-owned firms. The state outpaced the 1997-2002 national average for women-owned businesses as well as overall business growth in the country.
"North Carolina provides a business climate where those with drive, ambition and vision can succeed," Gov. Mike Easley commented. And the women in the greater Asheville area seem to be proving his point.
What's more, the area offers numerous resources for women who are just starting up their own enterprise -- and even for those who are still in the imagination stage.
Carol Hensley, assistant vice president for small business and entrepreneurship at the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce, names three specific programs she recommends for people starting a small business: "Great Beginnings," offered through the Small Business Administration and Asheville SCORE; the more comprehensive "Foundations," offered by Mountain BizWorks; and "So You're Thinking of Starting a Business," sponsored by the Small Business Technology Development Center, which is linked to the state's university system.
Tom Tveidt, director of research at the Chamber, confirmed the vibrancy of the small-business model in the local economy, noting the fact that "we're not dominated by a handful of real large businesses." Thus, local entrepreneurs create their own niche, and at least a quarter of them are women.
According to the 2002 Economic Census, women owned 27 percent -- or approximately 174,000 -- of the nonfarm businesses in the state, with total receipts of almost $27 billion and a payroll in excess of $4.9 billion. Asheville measured only one point behind, at 26 percent women-owned businesses, and the Asheville metro area (Buncombe, Haywood, Madison and Henderson counties) was only three points off with 24 percent.
Sharon Oxendine, head of the Women's Business Center at Mountain BizWorks, puts such statistics into human terms. She says she is amazed that in a heavily service-dominated area, so many women are able to differentiate themselves professionally and make a living. And she salutes the persistence of the women she serves: "It's just an inspiration to me."
For more information on training for small business owners, both start up and expansion, contact: Mountain BizWorks at 253-2834 (Asheville), 631-0292 (Sylva) 692-5826 (Hendersonville), or at www.mountainbizworks.org; NCSBTDC’s regional office in Asheville at 251-6025 or www.sbtdc.org; Asheville SCORE at 271-4786 or www.ashevillescore.org; the Chamber’s Small Business & Entrepreneurship Department at 258-6117 or www.ashevillechamber.org; the A-B Tech Small Business Center at 254-1921 or www.abtech.edu/sbc.
