Some 10.4 million U.S. businesses are owned by women. The U.S. Census reports that professional engineering, scientific and technical services has been one of the fastest-growing business categories in the last decade. Increasing numbers of women are moving into these "nontraditional" industries, says Sharon Hedary, exec director of the nonprofit Center for Women's Business Research (Washington, DC, www.cfwbr.org).
"Women-owned business enterprises (WBEs) are important to companies looking for a vital, experienced source of talented service providers," Hedary declares.
"We are seeing a lot of expansion in new firms with a lot of talent, and this has a trickle-down effect on the economy."
WBENC certified
Hedary notes that WBEs certified by the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC, www.wbenc.org, Washington, DC) are more likely to have the opportunity to do business with larger companies.
WBENC provides third-party certification for WBEs. It's the certification most commonly accepted by corporate America, declares Linda Denny, WBENC's interim president. "Obviously, women-owned businesses are a huge section of the market. Corporate buyers have found that these companies can provide a good product or service at a good price, and are excellent suppliers," says Denny.
WBENC members include seven WBEs that earn more than $1 billion in annual revenue, fifty-two companies that bring in $100 million or more and another sixty-one with annual revenues of $50 million and up. The median member brings in about $7.6 million a year, has been in business fourteen years and has forty-six employees.
Deborah Sawyer heads up Environmental Design International
Deborah Sawyer, an environmental scientist and certified hazardous materials manager, owns Environmental Design International, Inc (Chicago, IL, www.envdesigni.com). This full-service engineering services and consulting firm is, she notes, "on the leading edge of the greening of America."
In 1991, when she started the business, Sawyer was SVP of a Midwest consulting firm. "The firm was financially unstable, and for some time I never knew when my next paycheck was coming. I decided that I could be that poor on my own," she says with a reminiscent smile.
"I knew there was a need. I had done environmental consulting work at other companies and I was sure there was a place in the market for somebody like me: a female and a minority."
Today Environmental Design International has locations in St. Louis, MO, Columbus, OH and Lemont, IL as well as its Chicago HQ. It employs a staff of eighty techies.
The firm has been a member of WBENC from the start. It is also an MBE and DBE and is SBA 8(a) certified. Sawyer received the SBA's U.S. small businessperson of the year award in 1994.
The firm does a lot of marketing through professional and trade association shows, and Sawyer says the WBENC trade fair is one of the best, a way to meet many Fortune 500 businesses. WBENC thinks highly of her, too: Sawyer's company was honored this spring as one of WBENC's "2007 Business Stars."
Petroleum microbiology pays off
Sawyer started with a BA in political science from Emory University (Atlanta, GA) and went on to an MS in petroleum microbiology from the University of New Mexico. She managed a synthetic fuels research lab and worked for the Ohio EPA.
She began consulting as program manager of the toxic and hazardous waste group at URS Corp before joining Beling Consultants (Moline, IL) and subsequently founding her own firm.
Sawyer belongs to the American Council of Engineering Companies of Illinois and the Consulting Engineers Council of Illinois. Her company has some eighty state and local certifications in seven Midwest states and several federal departments. But although certification "may get you in the door, it won't keep you in," she says. "You have to keep right on doing good work."
WBENC performs the invaluable function of always being an advocate for women's business issues, Sawyer says. "We still have a lot of work to do to level the playing field. WBENC's work is far from done."
Shaila Rao Mistry: growing Jayco MMI
Shaila Rao Mistry is president of Jayco, MMI and VP of Jayco Interface Technology (JIT, Corona, CA). JIT specializes in user interface components like control panels, membrane switches, keypads and touch screens for medical equipment, aircraft, security and high end domestic appliances. Jayco MMI designs, engineers and manufactures cutting-edge interface products that make complex technology easier to use. MMI has a presence in seven countries and employs more than a hundred people.
"Our vision is to be pioneers in our industry," Mistry declares. "International trade was not such a big thing when we started Jayco MMI fifteen years ago, but we envisioned growth in that area. Today it's a global market, so we know we made the right decision.
"When I started there wasn't much support available to women business owners," Mistry adds. "I think many of us were isolated from each other. But in the last few years I've become aware of many other WBEs and much support. In fact, I'm doing a lot of mentoring myself for other women-owned companies, locally and internationally."
Jayco MMI is a WBE and an MBE. Mistry is the public policy VP of National Women Business Owners (NAWBO) in Orange County, CA; chair of NAWBO's international forum and a member of the organization's public policy forum at the national level. For the past twenty years she's worked for the American Association of University Women on local, state and national levels, and has served the International Federation of University Women as a delegate to United Nations summits.
"Other women and men have gone ahead to make changes for us. We have to continue their work," she says.
Corporate travel: Bonnie Lorefice manages through technology
Although it is hardly a technical WBE, Corporate Travel Management Group (www.corptrav.com, Lombard, IL) makes clever use of technology to serve its needs and build its business. "With technology today, we don't need bricks and mortar," says Bonnie Lorefice, owner and CEO. "We take reservations from all over the world. We are open twenty-four hours a day and never close."
More than thirty years ago, Lorefice saw a need for a travel management company that specializes in corporate business travel. Today she employs about 200 people in offices in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Dallas and overseas.
She started out by visiting companies in person to explain her services. Today her company receives many inquiries through its website, while serving its loyal cadre of repeat customers. "We handle Pitney-Bowes' travel needs in the Midwest," she notes. "With some companies, we handle as much as $15 to $20 million annually in their travel needs."
Lorefice has been named one of the 200 most powerful women in travel by Travel Agent magazine, and one of the most influential women in business by The Business Ledger. In addition to WBENC, Corporate Travel Management is certified by women's councils in Chicago and Dallas.
Corporate support for WBEs
"Women suppliers are vitally important to us," says Kevin Beirne, manager of business diversity development for Pitney-Bowes (Stamford, CT). "We've been working with women suppliers informally for forty years, and the relationship has been formalized in the last decade."
Women suppliers also play an important role in the supply chain at Allstate Insurance (Northbrook, IL). Margaret Klinsport, director of procurement, notes that "A woman's unique perspective and approach bring us a greater diversity of options to achieve business results."
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