innovate arkansas

As a 20-something vice president of brand management at New Creature, Amber Savage rubbed elbows with Gov. Mike Beebe and made a name for herself in Northwest Arkansas’s marketing industry.

But in early 2008 Savage said goodbye to the corporate world and traded in her office and meetings for a laptop and party favors.

In January, Savage and her mother officially started The Design Team, an online firm that creates a variety of “parties in a box.”

Savage, who is now one of the more than 59,000 female business owners in Arkansas, admits that leaving a steady paycheck was a bit nerve wracking, but the opportunity to be her own boss was just too good to pass up.

Nationwide, only 41 percent of all privately held firms are at least 50 percent owned by women.

Females today aren’t settling for eight-to-five jobs in corporate America. Instead they are taking different paths. Over the last decade women have started new businesses at twice the rate of men.

Female entrepreneurs are still struggling to secure relationships with large retailers and land big-dollar corporate and government contracts. But the lack of equilibrium isn’t stopping women from becoming entrepreneurs. Many are instead choosing to rely on their own time, devotion and energy to make their ventures successful.

“At the end of the day it all comes down to hard work,” Savage said. “It is up to me to make this work and luckily I have a good understanding of business from my time at New Creature, but this is my project now and I am the one that has to make sure it succeeds.”

Inroads

Data from the Women’s Business Research Center indicates there are more than 10.4 million firms owned by women in the U.S., which generate more than $1.9 trillion in sales annually.

In the state of Arkansas 24.7 percent of all privately held firms are owned by women. In 2002, female-owned firms created more than $6.34 billion in sales and receipts for the state.

Larry Brian, director of the Arkansas Small Business Development Center at the University of Arkansas’ Walton College of Business, said 16 of the 20 businesses they helped start in 2006 were at least 51 percent female-owned.

Brian said women are increasingly finding new opportunities and new ways to make a living.

But capital investment and government and corporate dollars given to women-owned firms are not keeping pace.

In 2006 only 2.3 percent of all venture capitalist dollars were invested in female-owned firms.

Joe Hays, president of Diamond State Ventures, said the firm does not track the ownership demographics of the companies it invests in.

Women-owned businesses are also less likely to earn supplier contracts with large chain retailers.

Debbie Hurst, executive director of the Women’s Business Council Southwest, said women-owned firms receive less than 5 percent of all corporate and government contracts.

“That’s hard to swallow,” Hurst said. “Our organization is dedicated to bringing female business owners and corporations together but the process is and has been a slow one. Women are opening more businesses than men but they still aren’t making those important connections.”

In 2000, the Small Business Administration was charged with developing and implementing a women’s procurement program that would help female-owned businesses secure 5 percent of all government contracting dollars.

In January, the SBA unveiled a plan that would award earmarked contracts to women-owned businesses in four industries it believed women were under-represented in: national security and international affairs; coating and engraving; heat treating and allied activities; household and institutional furniture and kitchen cabinet manufacturing and other motor vehicle dealers. The plan quickly came under fire and many women cited the North American Industry Classification system list that found more than 2,300 industries that female business owners are under represented in.

For many business owners, the lack of contracts and funding is not a gender issue but simply a lack of connections and resources to land big-dollar contracts.

“In the beginning it was hard to earn people’s trust and to get them to buy into my service,” said Diana Ryan, owner of the Northwest Arkansas Planning Room in Bethel Heights. “I was starting from scratch. I know the estimating business but I didn’t know a lot of people in the construction business. People already had their estimators and partnerships so it took some time to make contacts and establish relationships.”

And it’s not always a lack of corporations not opening their doors. Companies like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Alltel are both members of WBCS and dedicated to diversifying their suppliers.

Lori Madden, sales director for Arvest Bank-Rogers, said females habitually put off networking and coordinating because they are so focused on the day-to-day aspects of their businesses.

In January, Madden started Investing in Women, a monthly luncheon for female business owners and women in business.

“We want to help these women make connections and establish themselves in the community and among other business owners,” Madden said. “Women don’t always devote the time that is really needed to network and market themselves.”

While the number of female business owners in Northwest Arkansas is growing, there’s not a common denominator, such as an organization or alliance, which would make it easier for women to work together on issues.

The WBCS is also bringing their services to women in Northwest Arkansas. On April 17, the WBCS will host “Doing Big Business with Wal-Mart” at 11:00 a.m. at Embassy Suites in Rogers. The event is open to all women but online registration is required.

Wal-Mart vice president for supplier diversity Theresa Barrera will speak to women about how they can become connected with the world’s largest retailer.

Hurst said WBCS will begin hosting annual events in Northwest Arkansas that will help educate women on how to get their foot in the door and establish relationships with corporations.

Alternatives

Corporate contracts and venture capital investments are not the only avenues to success. Many women are navigating thriving careers using their own fortitude and “ground up” mentality.

Elaine Longer, owner of Longer Investments Inc. in Fayetteville, opened her investment firm in the mid-1980s. Longer said she has grown her business through hard work and top-shelf services.

She started the business with support from her father-in-law and a loan from Loyd Swope at what was then the Bank of Lincoln.

“I could not collateralize the loan, had no clients or revenue stream but had high hopes,” Longer said. “I asked John Lewis [a mentor of mine] if he winked at Loyd Swope to get that loan for me. He said they figured if I fell on my face, I’d end up working for one of them and they’d get their money back eventually.”

Falling on her face was never an option. As of Sept. 30, the firm had more than $160 million in assets under management, a 5.5 percent increase from 2006.

Tracey Jeffers, owner of ValuePath Advisors, said she gets all of her business from referrals, which means networking and connecting with new people is a must.

Ryan, owner of the planning room and whose services went digital in 2007, said she simply took to the streets, shaking hands, meeting new people and finding contacts whenever and wherever possible.

“It takes fortitude to make a business work,” said Ryan, whose client base numbers in the hundreds. “I have grown my business slowly but steadily. It has taken a lot of long hours and hard work but I have done it all and held my own because I have to. This is my livelihood.”

Savage said she was able to gain an understanding of business from her time at New Creature but opening her own business still comes down to hard work and dedication to success.