2/27/07 Women’s Business Development Center - Minnesota (WBDC-MN) First Annual Evening of Celebration & Awards Ceremony
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RELEASE DATE: October 21, 2005
CONTACT:
Kristin Johnson Doherty, (612) 781-0455; e-mail: kdoherty@wbdc.org
Natasha Fedorova, (612) 659-7233; e-mail: Natalia.Fedorova@metrostate.edu
Jane Winston Gustafson, (952) 220-0106; e-mail: jwgustafson@msn.com
Beth Kieffer Leonard, (612) 381-8775; e-mail: bleonard@lblco.com
Ramona Wilson, (612) 330-6048; e-mail: ramona.wilson@xcelenergy.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Minnesota WBEs
Minnesota Women’s Business Enterprises Reach the 100 Mark
The Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) Certification offered by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), the only nationally recognized certification for women-owned businesses, has reached the 100 membership mark in Minnesota this October, boasting 103 certified women in the state. WBEs are companies that are majority owned, operated and controlled by women. “Since its launch in Minnesota just two years ago, the program has undergone tremendous growth, more than tripling the number of businesses in Minnesota that are certified by WBENC,” says Kristin Johnson, the Minnesota WBE Consultant.
The WBE Certification program in Minnesota is made available through an exclusive affiliation with Chicago based Women’s Business Development Center (WBDC). The WBDC, responsible for certifying women owned businesses in the Midwest, is one of WBENC’s 14 regional partners. The Center for Women Entrepreneurs at Metropolitan State University and Lurie Besikof Lapidus & Company, LLP are sponsors of the Minnesota affiliation. Center for Women Entrepreneurs and Lurie Besikof Lapidus & Company, LLP facilitate networking and business development opportunities and offer post-certification programs that are exclusive to certified WBEs in Minnesota and Wisconsin. One of the main goals of the WBE program is to help women owned businesses develop relationships with Minnesota corporations including the program’s local sponsors Cargill, Carlson Companies, Deluxe Corporation, Target Corporation, US Bank, Wells Fargo, and Xcel Energy. “Because of the incredible support received from these corporations, women entrepreneurs in Minnesota are getting certified at a faster rate than any other state in the Midwest,” notes Johnson.
“It has been so exciting being a part of this organization since the beginning of the Minnesota chapter to see first hand the impact the WBDC is having with women business owners in MN,” says Ramona Wilson, Xcel Energy Supplier Diversity Manager. “That success was demonstrated most recently with the WBDC’s Marketing Matchmaker hosted by Xcel Energy's Supplier Diversity Program. We had over 15 women business owners attend to meet directly with Xcel Energy Marketing Representatives. Soon after the meeting, a WBE was presented with an invitation to bid--this was a huge success!”
WBENC is the largest third-party certifier of businesses owned and operated by women in the United States. Accepted by over 700 major corporations across the country, as well as a number of federal and government agencies, the WBE Certification is the most widely recognized and respected in the nation. Go to www.metrostate.edu/com/cwe/certification.html or www.wbenc.org for more information and/or to apply.
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CONTACT:
Chris Ruys (312) 337-7746; e-mail: chrisr7746@aol.com
Mia Delano (303) 691-0821; e-mail: mdelano@wbdc.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 13 - 14, 2005 Event
Two Minnesota Women Entrepreneurs
To Play Key Role in Entrepreneurial Woman’s Conference
Two Minnesota entrepreneurs will play key roles in the 19th Annual Entrepreneurial Woman’s Conference to be held Tuesday and Wednesday, September 13 and 14, 2005, at Chicago’s Navy Pier. The event is presented by the Women’s Business Development Center (WBDC) which partners with Minneapolis based Center for Women Entrepreneurs to help women owned businesses develop relationships with Minnesota corporations including Cargill, Carlson Companies, Deluxe Corporation, Target, US Bank, Wells Fargo and Xcel Energy.
Sharon Hoffman Avent, president and CEO of Smead Manufacturing Company, in Hastings, Minn., will speak at the annual Women’s Forum Luncheon on Tuesday, September 13, at 12 noon in the Grand Ballroom of Navy Pier. Avent will join other entrepreneurs to discuss the rewards and challenges of being a woman business owner. Smead is a leading provider of filing and record keeping solutions currently celebrating 50 years of woman ownership.
Cynthia Cook, president of Cynthia Cook, Inc., in Bloomington, Minn., will receive the 2005 Entrepreneurial Woman of the Year – WBE Success Award at the event’s “Hall of Fame” Awards Luncheon on Wednesday, September 14, at 12 noon, also in the Grand Ballroom. Her company is a woman owned employment solutions provider that is ranked among the top 25 temporary employment firms in the Twin Cities.
The Conference will again feature the Women’s Business & Buyers Mart at which women entrepreneurs can present their credentials and forge business relationships. The Mart will feature more than 150 corporations and government exhibitors seeking to do business with women business owners.
“The Conference and Mart have continued year after year because they are so effective for everyone involved,” says Hedy M. Ratner, Co-President with Carol Dougal of the WBDC. “Women business owners are able to network with those who are in a position to buy their products or services, thereby enabling them to make connections that can lead to increased sales.”
Participants can register online at www.wbdc.org or by phone at (312) 853-3477, ext. 24. Tickets for Women Business Enterprises (WBEs) are $175 and for all others $200 before August 31, 2005; after August 31, 2005 the cost to attend becomes $225 for everyone in advance and at the door. This is an all-event fee and includes access to all Conference events. Individual tickets for the Women’s Business & Buyers Mart, the Hall of Fame Awards Luncheon, and/or the Women’s Forum Luncheon are $100 each.
Sponsors are Ariel Capital Management; Avon Products, Inc.; Bovis Lend Lease; BP America; Charter One Bank; Chicago Housing Authority; Chicago Sun-Times; Citibank, F.S.B.; City of Chicago, Department of Business Affairs and Licensing; City of Chicago, Office of the Treasurer; CNA Foundation; Comcast; ComEd, An Exelon Company; Crain’s Chicago Business; Entrepreneur Magazine; Ernst & Young LLP; Harris Trust and Savings Bank; IBM; The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, IEN SBDC; LaSalle Bank; Merrill Lynch; Microsoft; Motorola; NBC 5 Chicago; National City Bank; Northern Trust; Northwestern Memorial Hospital; OfficeMax; PepsiCo Beverages and Foods; RSM McGladrey; Sara Lee Foundation; SBC Communications; Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal LLP; Staples, Inc.; Today’s Chicago Woman; United Airlines; United Parcel Service (UPS); the U.S. Department of Energy; The University of Chicago Hospitals and Health Systems; Washington Mutual; W.W. Grainger; and WVON Radio.
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Mary Riebe empowers women in business - Paula Jota , The Metropolitan, February 2003
"These are especially exciting times for women in business," Mary Riebe proclaims. Out of an estimated 20 million small businesses in the United States, more than 6 million of them are owned by women. Riebe is a successful entrepreneur who started her career when most women in the world had not yet awakened to the work force. She has helped and continues to help women become successful entrepreneurs.
Today, in addition to managing her own business, Mary Riebe is a faculty member and the founding director for the Center for Women Entrepreneurs and Entrepreneurship Education at Metropolitan State University. The center helps women shorten their learning curve to continued success by providing practical, professional assistance focusing on business owner growth rather than start-ups.
After receiving her B.A. in English and Speech from the University of Minnesota in 1970, she started her corporate managerial career path at the International Dairy Queen. Hungry for knowledge, she continued to pursue her education and earned her M.B.A. from the Kotz Graduate School of Management at the University of St. Thomas and her Ph.D. in Business at National University in Ireland. She eventually became an entrepreneur opening her own marketing consulting business in 1987, working as a principal marketing consultant. She has helped more than 150 clients in a wide range of industries develop and implement strategic marketing plans. Riebe continued to hold a variety of corporate positions, including stints at McDonald’s corporate headquarters as an advertising manager and at Carlson Companies as director of field marketing.
The Center for Women Entrepreneurs and Entrepreneurship Education took two years to be implemented and provides necessary resources and services for women business owners who are facing challenges growing their business. “The center was created to serve an unmet community need. There are many resources for women starting a business, but few resources for growing,” Riebe says. “We can help these women with any issues dealing with business growth, including alliances with community; mentoring programs; and a ‘smart growth’ program offering legal, banking, accounting and marketing access for business owners,” Riebe concluded.
The Center for Women Entrepreneurs and Entrepreneurship Education opened on July 15, 2002. The center has supporting alliance with Lurie Besikof Lapidus & Company LLP (LBLCO) accounting firm. For more information, visit www.metrostate.edu/com/cwe/.