Women's Entrepreneurship Event and Networking
Reception
Dingman Center Newsletter
By Lisa Rassenti BA 2007
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Smith School's Dingman Center
for Entrepreneurship welcomed keynote speaker Julie
Lenzer Kirk.
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On September 28, 2006, the Smith School's
Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship welcomed some of the region's
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 Penny Pompei and author Julie
Lenzer Kirk — all who discussed the do's 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 it's 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 it's 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 people's 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," she said.
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.
