Women's Initiative: Where Dreams Become Thriving Businesses

First Lady Visits Women's Initiative!

We had an exciting week last week. California's First Lady Maria Shriver visited our Oakland office and three client sites, including Svea Vezzone's Swarm Gallery, where we held a reception in her honor.

The visit was organized to announce Shriver's statewide initiative or invest in women entrepreneurs, called "We Invest." Shriver committed $100,000 to Women's Initiative to support 100 women's training.

The Oakland Tribune had a great article about it:

"When you give a man a loan, you help him. When you give a woman a loan, you help her children, her family and her community," said Shriver, explaining that it was in the women's nature to pass the good along.

... The event was held at SWARM Gallery on Second Street, the business of Svea Lin Vezzone, a graduate of the Women's Initiative. Before she made her appearance at the gallery, Shriver visited the businesses oftwo other graduates, Sheron Campbell, the owner of World of Braids, and Allison Barakat, the proprietor of Bakesale Betty who employs 75 workers.

Shriver, dismissing the many praises being showered upon her when she took the stage, reminded her audience that she had never started a business as they had.

"I'm completely in awe of you," she said.

The Women's Conference is an annual event launched by the governor that unites 60 world leaders with 14,000 women in one arena to share stories of success and life lessons.

... The launch of WE Invest was announced at the Women's Conference in October. Shriver said she picked Oakland for the launch venue "because I've wanted to do something in Oakland. I wanted to start in a place that really needed it."

We're not sure what to be more excited about: the money (which will help us help 100 more women with trainings and loans), the publicity (which will help bring in both support and new clients), or getting to meet the first lady!

Women's Initiative in Contra Costa Times

Okay, we're ready for our close-up.

We're feeling very rock-star-ish this week with our second major newspaper article in as many weeks! The Contra Costa Times posted their article on us today on the internet. You can read it here.

The Women's Initiative, a Northern California nonprofit training organization that's 20 years old this year, has helped low-income women start or expand more than 1,600 businesses in Northern California. Until the Concord center opened in December 2007, however, Contra Costa clients had to travel to Oakland or San Francisco to take classes, or gather in makeshift classrooms.

Now, they can take advantage of the new, immaculate center near Willow Pass Road close to downtown, where flowering plum trees are visible through the wide windows and the orange motif of the organization is reflected on the walls. Most of the center's funding came from a Small Business Administration grant of $150,000 a year for the next five years, said Maria LoValvo, Contra Costa regional team leader.

The program that jump-started Nelson's new career costs low-income women $100 or less for a 20-session program that

teaches how to create a business plan, find target markets, handle the books and "everything else about how to start and operate your own business," LoValvo said.

Women are a powerful entrepreneurial force in American business. Two in five of all the businesses in the United States are privately held, and 50 percent or more are women-owned firms, according to the Center for Women's Research. These generate $1.9 trillion in annual sales and employ 12.8 million people nationwide.

Women's Initiative in the SF Chronicle

If it looks like Julie (to the right) is throwing up her hands in delight, well, that's how we all feel at Women's Initiative this week!

The San Francisco Chronicle dedicated a wonderful, front-page, Sunday edition article to Women's Initiative last Sunday.

Sometimes it takes someone from the outside to make you see yourself anew:

Julie Castro Abrams, the organization's chief executive officer, said 68 percent of graduates are in business within 12 months of completing the 10-week program, which costs $100, although a sliding scale means the applicants most in need pay less.

"A couple years later, they're too busy to return our phone calls," Abrams joked. "But they send checks and volunteer, or they come to be guest speakers and tell other women how to do it."

The agency has served more than 16,000 women in two decades. The average client is 41 years old, and 78 percent are women of color. Twenty-nine percent are single mothers, 15 percent have a disability, and 46 percent speak Spanish as their first or only language - which is why Women's Initiative offers programs in Spanish. All of the women are struggling, with an average household income of only $13,000 a year, and some are illiterate.

"Low-income women in particular have a whole set of issues about their self-perception and some of those demons that have become roadblocks for them in the past," Abrams said. "We help them visualize and get rid of them - like not pricing themselves appropriately because they don't think they're worth it, or giving themselves all the million reasons in the world not to go out and shake a hand or make sales because they're terrified."

The organization, which has a $4.9 million budget this year, relies on donations from foundations, corporations, government and individuals. In 2007, Women's Initiative made 160 loans to clients to help with their businesses, totaling $311,363 and ranging from $1,000 to $25,000.

In San Francisco last year, eight graduates received first-time leaseholder grants of $9,000 apiece, with the assistance of the Mayor's Office of Community Development, to help overcome a frequent problem: prohibitively high commercial rents.

The article also contained some praise from a peer:

Bob Graham, founder of NamasteDirect, a microcredit organization in San Francisco, said people often ask him if microcredit is being done anywhere in the United States as successfully as it is in much of the developing world.

"I always reply that it is, in a few cases," he said. "And the best example is Women's Initiative. It has a track record second to none."

Can you see us blushing?

You can read the whole thing for yourself here. And please talk back to us in the comments below! What did you think of the article? What would you add if you were writing it?

WI in Oakland Magazine!

Oakland Magazine features Women's Initiative's October Business Conference, "Taking It to the Streets," in their "snapshots" section. The webpage has ten slideshows of photos from the conference, so check in to see if you were captured!

(The photo here, of Women's Initiative Advisor Dana Whitaker, was taken by Kali Kraum.)

October Business Conference Tomorrow!

Ladies and Gents, don't forget!

Women's Initiative's annual October Business Conference happens tomorrow, i.e Tuesday!

There will be a trade show where you can buy products from graduates of Women's Initiative's training program. There will seminars and speed-mentoring for women small business owners. There will be a fashion show and a raffle and lunch! Women's Initiative graduate Susan Grant (photo above) and Carol H. Williams of Carol H. Williams Advertising will be honored at lunch.

You don't need to register to check out the trade show from 11 am - 3 pm.

Businesswomen can register for the conference starting at 7:30 am. It costs $75 including breakfast and lunch.

The event takes place at the Oakland Marriott, 1001 Broadway at 10th Street in downtown Oakland, just two blocks from the 12th Street/Downtown Oakland BART station.

You can find more information here.

Friday Linkblogging

• This analysis of microcredit as an opportunity for Latin America (by the Council on Hemispheric Affairs) is actually an excellent summary of the global microcredit discussion as it is today. Go Read!



• Small business lender ACCION Texas is busy organizing the country's first Summit on Microfinance for November 6-7 in San Antonio.



• Speaking of summits, Making Cents International just pulled off the first Global Youth Microenterprise Conference in Washington DC in early September!

The youth population, aged 12 to 24, has reached a historical high of 1.5 billion.  Youth are the entrepreneurs, workers, leaders, and parents making an impact today, and they will be responsible for the economic and social development of tomorrow.  Many youth around the globe however continue to lack access to quality employment and education opportunities. Without a background in financial literacy or access to business development resources, youth face constraints made more difficult by their age.  Expanding the entrepreneurial culture and skills of young citizens has the potential to improve economic stability and the overall health of communities.

It is against this backdrop that Making Cents International decided to organize the global Youth Microenterprise Conference. The world's leading experts and practitioners in youth microenterprise, entrepreneurship, and livelihood development will convene in Washington, DC to address the following critical issues:

• The Role of Youth Microenterprise in the 21st Century: Facing the Challenge of Youth Unemployment and Vulnerability
• Strategies to Address the Needs of Youth Entrepreneurs
• How to Build Partnerships and Advance Youth Microenterprise to Support Social and Economic Development.

Two WI Graduates on View From the Bay

Watch jewelry-making WI graduates Darlene Roberts and Lola Hanif talk about Women's Initiative and their own stories on ABC's View From the Bay.

(Jump on it, though. The video expires after 90 days!)

Does Microfinance Really Work?

An August 2006 article titled "Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: A Mirage" by Michigan professor of business strategy Aneel Karnani takes the field of microfinance to task for being, in the end, ineffective.

This fervor suggests that microcredit really must help the poor. And many have made grand claims to this effect, including Yunus, who said, “We will make Bangladesh free from poverty by 2030.”⁴ Somewhat less ambitiously, the State of the Microcredit Summit Campaign Report 2006 states that “microcredit is one of the most powerful tools to address global poverty.”

Yet my analysis of the macroeconomic data suggests that although microcredit yields some noneconomic benefits, it does not significantly alleviate poverty. Indeed, in some instances microcredit makes life at the bottom of the pyramid worse. Contrary to the hype about microcredit, the best way to eradicate poverty is to create jobs and to increase worker productivity.

Women's Initiative Business Trainer Nika Quirk thinks Karnani's analysis too one-sided. She comments:

Enjoyable article showing how the modern world gets stuck on singular solutions to complex issues--especially trendy solutions.

The complexity of economy-work-family-community is not honored by either a singular focus on microlending or on increased labor opportunities with large organizations. As we continue to see in the U.S., employment opportunities without accessible/affordable child care and flexible work-family policies are not a total solution for ending women’s poverty.

This work-family dilemma can also be exported to other countries as they move to a Western-style economy.

How about funding a healthy blend of labor employers, small entrepreneurs and worker collectives? Diversity is key in the health of any ecology.

For example, I think many of our clients would benefit from working as a collective in some way, perhaps forming buying clubs to enjoy economies of scale in purchasing supplies, materials, inventory; sharing the cost of services such as a bookkeeper; or sharing facilities like office or storefronts. Saving on these costs could create capacity to spend on labor to increase production. It also extends our model of working as a community.

Capitalism focused on large organizations (as it does in the U.S.) inhibits both small business and collectives (especially since they are still often viewed as socialistic).

-- Nika Quirk

Here's an overview of the debate between Karnani and his colleague, C.K. Prahalad, whose book The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through Profits, called forth Karnani's disparaging response. And here are some other, varied perspectives on Karnani's piece.

Radio Annoucements Help You Reach Your Audience

Sometimes publicizing an event is an afterthought to planning the event itself. But I’ve found that publicity is equally important, especially if you don’t want to have dreams the week before where no one shows up and there are empty seats and only a handful of staff to soak up the words of your guest speaker.

Public Service Announcements (PSA) can help with getting people to your event.  A PSA is no substitute for an individual phone call inviting your circle of supporters to an event, but it can help to cultivate new people and remind people to come to your celebration.

Often Bay Area businesses partner with a not-for-profit to do an event.  If you are a small business owner, how many times have you donated something for a silent auction or provided food or services ... and not received visibility for doing it?  Write a PSA and see if it will get picked up by a radio station…you’ll be doing yourself and the nonprofit a favor.

Getting a PSA aired can be hit or miss.  Here are a few things to keep in mind so that your PSA won’t get overlooked:

1. Know who the public affairs director is at a station and address the PSA to them
2. Write 15 second and 30 second versions of your PSA and practice it out loud to make sure it falls in that time range
3. Once you send the PSA, usually 4-6 weeks before the event, follow up with the public affairs director on the phone

Last week Women's Initiative had a PSA aired on La Raza for our Fruitvale Grand Opening today. La Raza was a natural pick to pitch a PSA to because we have already done some paid advertising with them and they are going to come out to the grand opening and help us celebrate with the La Raza van.

LISTEN NOW

Meet Julie Castro-Abrams

My name is Julie Castro Abrams. I am the CEO of Women's Initiative for Self Employment. I have worked in social justice and as an agent for change for 20 years. When I found Women's Initiative nearly 6 years ago, I felt like it was the convergence of everything I believed in, and I have felt even more inspired every day.

Women's Initiative is the most successful poverty alleviation strategy around. Across the globe, every major effort to impact health and economics is focused on women because there is a clear correlation to children's health and education. Women are more likely to be committed to every extra dollar going to feed and support their children. Women are also more likely to live in poverty. Working mothers are in fact the largest population using food banks and community kitchens.

Yes, that's right. They are working and doing everything we want them to do and they can't make ends meet. Minimum wage cannot meet the financial needs of a family, definitely not in the Bay Area. While it can take months or even longer to get up and running with a business, the long term financial gains for women are tremendous and far out pace working for someone else. Women build assets in addition to their income growth ... meaning they will be able to find long term financial health.

Owning a business can be a powerful option for women who are experiencing challenges such as a disability, family care responsibilities or even women recovering from domestic violence. You can set your own hours and be your own boss. I owned my own business when I had my first child for just this reason. And it worked really well for a few years ... except I didn't have the Women's Initiative training and didn't set it up correctly. Oh what I would give to have known then what I know now.

Julie Castro Abrams, CEO poses with Muhammad Yunus, 2005 Nobel Peace Prize winner, and Karen August (Women's Initiative business trainer) at the 2007 AEO conference in Kansas City.

I had the opportunity to meet Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohammad Yunus twice this year. He has inspired and perhaps even changed me each time. He is such a strategic and big thinker who is completely committed to ending poverty. He wants to see poverty in a museum, and therefore knows we must think and act BIG. We need to change the way business is done.

Yunus expresses that perhaps the model of business has been set up incorrectly… it only focuses on profits. In reality, we are so much more as human beings than just profit. He is championing a new stock market where the dividends are social impact. You can invest your money and the return is ending poverty in a region, curing a sickness. This is powerful thinking and I hope it inspires you as it has inspired me.

I love the community found at Women's Initiative. Everyone goes the extra mile. People work and live with integrity. It is an honor to be part of it. I hope you find something that brings you in as well.