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WBO Press Room Celebrating
Woman Entrepreneurship In 1978 when Women Business Owners (WBO) was founded, women-owned businesses totaled just 1,000 in the Puget Sound area and 5% of all businesses nationwide. Today, 28% of businesses are women-owned. The 70,000 women-owned businesses in the Seattle-Bellevue-Everett area employ 100,000 people and bring in $13 billion in annual sales. The number of women-owned employer firms grew at three times the average rate of their male counterparts. Nationally, these numbers translate to 6.2 million firms employing 9.2 million workers and generating $1.2 trillion in revenues. The tremendous progress women entrepreneurs have made positively affects the economy not just in numbers. These highly educated and skillful entrepreneurs are excellent employers and exemplary corporate citizens. They employ a more diverse workforce, are more likely to offer flextime, tuition reimbursement and profit sharing, and are more inclusive in their decision making than their male counterparts. More importantly, women business owners and executives are generous philanthropists: 70% volunteer at least once a month and 31% contribute $5,000 or more to charities annually. With this historical back-drop, the meaning of the Nellie Cashman Woman Business Owner of the Year Award is more significant than ever. Women entrepreneurs pursue consistent, managed growth. They are spirited and persistent when called upon to deal with adversity. They value integrity and giving back to the community. These are the criteria used in the intensive nominating and judging process making the Nellie the most prestigious award of its kind in this area. These are also the very same attributes exhibited by Nellie Cashman, the legendary entrepreneur of the 1800s. Recognizing women entrepreneurs are business leaders who value personal growth and work-life balance, WBO breaks new ground this year in presenting the Nellie Summit which will precede the Nellie Award dinner. Keynoting the Summit is Cheryl Scott, who has made an incredible impact as the CEO of Group Health. Joining Cheryl in the panel are former Nellie honorees Susan Bittner, Rosemary Brester, and Diane Symms. They will share their stories and field questions from the audience. Looking ahead, woman entrepreneurship will continue to gain in momentum and influence. The powerful voice of these women who are always willing to share their ideas and wealth is built from the collective strengths of the spirited and entrepreneurial individuals. At WBO we invite all women entrepreneurs to join the power – to innovate, to create and share wealth, and to build on the legacy of Nellie. We invite all to celebrate the accomplishments of women entrepreneurs who continue to make new marks in business and in their communities. Eva Chiu is 2004 president of WBO, the presenter of the Nellie Award and a professional organization of women entrepreneurs in the Puget Sound area. She is also the president of her own Web consulting firm, InfoAdvantage, LLC. Contact Eva at echiu@infoadvantage.com.
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