Leading Female Entrepreneurs Join at Smith for Evening of Sharing

On September 28, 2006, the Smith School's Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship welcomed some of the regions most successful female entrepreneurs as well as aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners to the Women's Entrepreneurship Event, co-sponsored by the Smith Association of Women MBAs. Speakers included business owners Amy Nichols, Gina Schaefer, and Penny Pompei, and author Julie Lenzer Kirk all who discussed the dos and don'ts of starting your own business.

Keynote speaker Julie Lenzer Kirk, entrepreneur and author of Secrets of a Mompreneur: What Raising Children Teaches You About Running a Business, due out fall 2007, spoke about how a yes from clients, advisors and others isn't always a good thing. She compared these yeses to bobbleheads and warned that nodding heads aren't helpful and every entrepreneur should surround themselves with people who tell you what you need to hear, even if its not what you want to hear.

Amy Nichols, founder of Happy Tails Dog Spa, recommended effective growth strategies and advised that, simply, to grow, you have to start. She also discussed the benefits of franchising and how its helped her company grow from one location to an expected 100 by 2008.

Gina Schaefer, a member of the Ace Hardware Cooperative, owns three Ace Hardware stores in Washington, D.C., and has become an expert on how to use other peoples money to finance a business and help it grow. She advised that you have to have money to make money. Most people may be able to start a business, but that doesn't mean they can start a cash flow. Schaefer advised that women need not be afraid of the financial aspect of a business. Even if you have to go to seven different banks, do it. You never know what's going to happen.

Penny Pompei, a self-proclaimed serial entrepreneur, has founded three very different companies and advised the audience that becoming an entrepreneur is a terminal decision. She emphasized the need for an exit plan when starting a business because it ensures goal committal and optimism, even in a downward business cycle. Her main point, however, was that in order to be a successful entrepreneur, especially as a woman, you have to have passion.

The speakers were followed by an audience Q&A and networking reception where questions ranged from how to pick a second-in-command to suggestions for helpful books.

Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship: http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/dingman
Smith Association of Women MBAs: http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/organizations/sawmba

▓ Andrea Galati, Marketing and Operations Manager, Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship