Obama Administration Announces Efforts to Increase Access to Contracting Opportunities for Minority-Owned, Small Businesses

Secretary Locke, Administrator Mills will lead government-wide initiative; federal officials to participate in more than 200 procurement events across the country

Yesterday the Obama Administration reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that minority-owned and small businesses, including women- and veteran-owned businesses, have greater access to federal government contracting opportunities.

Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and Small Business Administrator Karen Mills announced a government-wide plan that includes federal agency procurement officials holding or participating in more than 200 events over the next 90 days to share information on government contracting opportunities, including those available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

“Small and minority-owned businesses must play a significant role in our efforts to restore economic growth. Small businesses employ half of the nation’s private sector workforce; create a large share of the Nation’s new jobs; and introduce many groundbreaking ideas into the marketplace,” President Barack Obama said. “It is essential that we provide our Nation’s small businesses with maximum practicable opportunity to participate in Federal Government contracting.

“In order for the Federal Government to better meet or exceed the goal of 23 percent of prime contracts for small businesses, Vice President Biden and I have tasked Small Business Administrator Karen Mills and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke with leading a federal government-wide initiative to increase outreach,” Obama continued. “Over the course of the next ninety days agency officials will take an important step forward by holding or participating in more than two-hundred events focused on sharing information on government contracting opportunities.”

“In these tough economic times, the Recovery Act is providing billions of dollars in opportunity and incentives to help businesses grow – and the President and I are committed to ensuring that small and minority-owned businesses are part of our economic recovery every step of the way,” said Vice President Joe Biden. “By taking advantage of the expertise of an array of companies, we are going to be able to build a stronger, more secure foundation for long-term economic growth.”

“It has been a priority from day one of this administration to ensure that small and minority-owned businesses are aware of and have access to federal contracts and funding opportunities,” Locke said. “Over the past 40 years, minority-owned businesses have grown from 300,000 to nearly 4 million today. Their success and the success of small American businesses are vital to our economic recovery.”

“Government contracts can play a key role in helping small businesses turn the corner in terms of expansion and job creation,” Mills said. “But make no mistake, the benefits the government receives are equally as impressive – working with small businesses allows the federal government to work with some of the most innovative companies in America – with direct line to CEO”

As part of the Commerce-SBA initiative, over the next 90 days:

· Federal agency procurement officials will hold or participate in more than 200 events to share information on government contracting opportunities, including those available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
· SBA and Commerce will expand their outreach to fellow contracting officials across the federal government, passing along best practices for outreach and education to every agency to ensure they have the tools they need to meet their annual contracting goals.
· Locke and Mills will promote small business contracting opportunities in remarks, events and discussions with small business groups across the country, including minority, women and veteran groups.

Beyond the next 90 days, Commerce and SBA will support, monitor and track the impact of these efforts going forward to help ensure the Administration is maximizing opportunities for small businesses.

Small business owners can find out about federal contracting opportunities by visiting www.fedbizopps.gov. Local Commerce and SBA officials are also available in local offices across the country to assist small businesses interested in contracting opportunities. Contact information for local offices can be found www.commerce.gov and www.sba.gov.
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Atlanta-based Women's Group Announces Partnership with Women For Hire

24-7 -- The Joy of Connecting, a national non-membership organization headquartered in Atlanta announces a new partnership with the Women For Hire network.

Bonnie Ross-Parker, CEO and founder of The Joy of Connecting shares her excitement about this partnership, "I'm proud Women For Hire acknowledges our organization as one they endorse for women in business. We are here to empower women by providing opportunities to help them grow their businesses. This partnership gives our supporters the necessary tools they need to help them along their journey to career success."

At a time when corporations are laying off and cutting budgets, organizations such as The Joy of Connecting and Women For Hire are serving as anchors to help women with their 'Plan B' and 'Exit Strategies'. Women For Hire is the nation's only producer of high caliber career services expos connecting professional women with leading employers. "Women For Hire is invested in fostering partnerships with organizations that are equally dedicated to promoting women's career advancement and development. We are proud to work with Bonnie and The Joy of Connecting as well as other professional organizations and diversity networks throughout the country as they work to empower and inspire women to provide for themselves and their families," says Michelle Atkins, Marketing Coordinator for Women For Hire.

This partnership benefits supporters of The Joy of Connecting by providing career advancement resources and events available which are exclusive to JOC Licensees. It also allows premium membership to Women For Hire Career Network. These member benefits allow women to make new contacts with other professionals with shared interests and stay in touch with existing contacts as well as allow access to ask career questions to Tory Johnson, CEO and Founder of Women For Hire, directly.

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Women Entrepreneurs: A Fast-Growing Segment in Franchising, FranNet Says

(BUSINESS WIRE)--According to the International Franchise Association (IFA), women have founded 23 franchise systems in the United States, and the number of women-owned franchises continues to climb. Within a 10 year span, women-owned franchises increased nearly 17 percent according to the International Franchise Association reports. In addition, women, in general, put a strong emphasis on networking, and building and maintaining positive workplace relationships, the Association said.

All in all – women continue to make strong impacts in the franchising market.

To keep momentum going, while recognizing Women's Small Business Month this October, FranNet salutes local women and their success in the corporate world, especially in franchising, said Jania Bailey, president and COO of FranNet.

"Franchising offers so many options for both men and women. However, through franchising, women can attain an enjoyable work-life balance," Bailey said. "Owning a small franchise business allows a woman to work around her lifestyle, instead of her having to work around her job. And, owning a franchise is like being in a family – an environment from which women naturally enjoy being a part of."

The success of women business owners spans across various markets. But there are certain sectors that are more popularized by women, Bailey said, including:

* Child-focused franchises: Tutoring/educational companies, fitness programs, fun centers/birthday parties, creative and art-related businesses, daycare franchises
* Service franchises: Fitness centers, expense management, residential cleaning, marketing, home décor, home improvement, business coaching, pet services, executive counseling, and consulting.
* Computer/Internet franchises: Web site creation, search engine marketing, consulting, and repair are all fields that are excellent as home-based businesses.

"There are many opportunities in franchising and more women will seek a work-life balance – making franchising a more desirable alternative for business ownership," Bailey said.

FranNet consultants work individually with clients who are interested in purchasing a franchise business. They use a specific profiling and consultative process to determine a business model unique to each person, suggesting specific franchises that would best fit with each person's goals, skill sets and interests, both personally and professionally.

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Pathbuilders, Inc. Launches 20th Achieva® Class: A Leadership Development Program for Women

BUSINESS WIRE--High-performing professional women have been selected from 30 metro Atlanta companies to participate in Pathbuilders’ 2008 Achieva^® class, a year-long professional development program designed for mid-level executive women with senior executive potential. Pathbuilders kicked off its 20^th Achieva class on May 13 at the Omni Hotel at the CNN Center.

“Over these 20 classes, we have positively impacted 300 companies and more than 2500 women,” said Helene Lollis, president of Pathbuilders. “This year, 13 executive-level women from Fortune-ranked organizations, who were themselves mentees in earlier classes, are serving as mentors in the program. A record 85 percent of our mentors are returning to participate in this year’s programs.”

Achieva includes one-on-one external mentoring with a senior executive to create a deep, professional relationship that challenges each participant to dramatically expand her perspectives.

“Much of the reward I take away from being a mentor is having the opportunity to personally impact the growth of an upwardly mobile woman,” said Jacqui Welch, six-time mentor, 1998 class alumna and vice president of Employee and Organizational Effectiveness at Rock-Tenn Company. “My relationships with my mentees have broadened my perspectives and have provided me with invaluable insights into my own organization.”

The program also includes educational sessions and peer networking to help position each woman as an influential leader within her organization. Participants learn how to build their executive presence, develop more strategic views and lead their companies toward greater success.

Pathbuilders offers professional development and mentoring programs designed to address each of the four key stages in a woman’s professional career:

• Insignia^SM focuses on entry-level women, up to two years into their careers.
• Percepta^SM is tailored for junior-executive women learning to manage people and projects.
• Achieva^® is comprised of mid-level, high-potential women, recognized as having senior-executive potential in their organizations.
• Inspiria^® is designed for senior-level women leading and setting vision for their organizations.

Mentees in the 2008 Achieva program are sponsored by the following organizations:

AT&T Corporation

Avon Products, Inc.

Ceridian Corporation

Cisco Systems, Inc.

Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc.

Deloitte

Ernst & Young LLP

Georgia Power, a Southern Company

Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc.

Heatcraft Refrigeration Products, LLC

Holder Construction Company

InfiCorp Holdings, Inc.

InterContinental Hotels Group

Kimberly-Clark Corporation

KPMG LLP

McKesson Provider Technologies

Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce

Munich American Reassurance Company

NCR Corporation

Oglethorpe Power Corporation

Piedmont Healthcare

ProCore Solutions

RBC Bank

Rock-Tenn Company

Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc.

Solvay Advanced Polymers LLC

Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Southern Company

The Weather Channel Interactive, Inc.

Verizon Wireless