Women Business Owners Weather The Economic Storm


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Women Business Owners Weather The Economic Storm

Issue: 2009mar

Women business owners are surviving and even improving the outlook for their companies despite the economic downturn, according to a recent survey by the National Association of Women Business Owners® (NAWBO).

The survey’s findings show more than half have no plans to reduce employment while nearly 25 percent are planning to increase their workforce. Also, 53 percent intend to expand into new markets. This positive outlook is shared by some women business owners in promotional products, who say their unique position can be an advantage when recruiting new clients.

Cassie Omohundro, MAS, is president of Midlothian, Virginia-based distributor SJM Promotional Marketing, Inc. (UPIC: SJM). While her client base includes government contractors who must hire some women-owned businesses, Omohundro says that characteristic can be a positive one.

“We’re in a branding transition process, but most of our accounts have the potential to be national accounts, so when we target them we will be using our certification [as a woman-owned business] as a selling point,” says Omohundro.

Carol Rogers, president and owner of Bryan, Ohio-based supplier Airmate Co., Inc. (UPIC: template) says while she hasn’t emphasized her company’s certification in efforts to recruit new business, the distinction is helping to open some doors by garnering invitations to shows they might not otherwise have had access to. “We’ve been invited to some events to be paired up” with other companies looking for the services Airmate offers, Rogers says.

Being a woman-owned business hasn’t kept her company from having to downsize, though—an unfortunate reality in today’s market.

Omohundro says while her company has also reduced the size of its workforce, the move came as a result of changing SJM’s structure, not the economy. She adds that women who may want to open a business shouldn’t let the current situation hold them back.

“I think if a woman has the financial ability to start a business, this is a great time,” she says. “There may be some unable to keep their business and others who are changing the way they do business, but people are still doing business.”

Rogers agrees. “They say half of all new businesses fail in the first year, but there are success stories. If you have a good product or plan, then I say go for it.”

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