Women Winning Contracts

The SBA is hosting the “Women Winning Contracts” event on Tuesday, Sept. 17 from 7:30 a.m. – 4 p.m at the Oscar Event Center

Shannon Feucht, a Business Development Specialist with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), is on a mission to develop new small businesses with a focus on female entrepreneurs.

According to Feucht, small business is crucial for the economy as over 65 percent of new jobs are created by small startup companies. Feucht leverages various SBA resources to assist small businesses based in the Tri-State. Resources such as SCORE, which offers small business owners in person and virtual meetings with a seasoned business professional, help new business owners get assistance and advice from seasoned business owners and executives.

The SBA also offers The Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) which provides free assistance to entrepreneurs and small business owners. “All it takes is a call,” says Feucht. Other SBA resources include: a performance metric tool titled “Size Up,” which lets small business owners compare their business to big corporations and their competitors.

In addition, the SBA offers exporting assistance to all small businesses and guarantees loan programs with over 200 participating lenders. According to Feucht, the SBA is continuing their efforts to support and strengthen women-owned business and female entrepreneurs. In fact, she says, the Columbus District Office announced the opening of the Women’s Business Center in January 2013 to help female business owners in the region.

“The SBA established the Women’s Business Center program in 1998 to help women overcome barriers to success and represent a national network of nearly 100 educational centers designed to assist women start and grow small businesses,” Feucht explains. “WBCs operate with the mission to level the playing field for women entrepreneurs, who still face unique obstacles in the world of business.”

To access these services and many others, the SBA training network at www.sba.gov has more than 100 training tools to utilize for any entrepreneur or small business owner. The SBA is hosting the “Women Winning Contracts” event on Tuesday, September 17 from 7:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. The event will take place at the Oscar Event Center located at 5440 Dixie Highway in Fairfield. Sponsors of the event include the SCORE chapter of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, the Ohio SBDC and the Urban League of Greater Cincinnati Business Development and Entrepreneurship.

Various local small businesses will also be showcased throughout the event. In addition, there will be workshops covering the following topics: Selling Strategies, Researching Opportunities, Certifications, Securing Contracts and Registering to do Business with the Government. Plus, there will be plenty of time to network and keynote speakers during lunch.

Click here to learn more about the event and register to attend.