the next steps should be. She has witnessed a competitor who recently went out of business after remodeling the studio where his business was located – his business was growing and he felt compelled to increase and beautify the studio but apparently did not plan appropriately for all the necessary steps. We discussed the impor- tance of having an advisory board which should include your CPA, business lawyer, insurance agent, banker, business consultants and industry experts. Having access to business workshops, summits, seminars and courses to be held at local colleges and/or universities was discussed with representatives from the Wake Forest Univer- sity School of Business. In January of 2012 Wake Forest will be relocating their Charlotte campus to Uptown, where they will occupy nearly 30,000 square feet of space in the former International Trade Center building located at 200 North Col- lege Street. Wake Forest University School of Business was also a sponsor of this event.
After the roundtable sessions, we went around the room and each moderator spoke about the various issues, challenges and solutions proposed by the participants at their respective roundtable.
Many felt that the Federal Government is not do- ing enough to help women business owners in educating them on how to start, manage and/or grow their businesses, contracting, and busi- ness loans. Again, knowledge is power, but YOU MUST DO YOUR HOMEWORK.
Lynn Douthett, District Director of SBA’s North Carolina District Office, gave everyone in the room her office phone number and business email ad- dress so that they can contact her directly with any questions or concerns that they may have. Ms. Douthett has a strong team of qualified pro- fessionals that are always ready to guide any business owner that contacts the SBA, which is located in the South Park area. Within the SBA office are members of SCORE, comprising of entrepreneurs, business leaders and executives, some which are retired, and volunteer as mentors to small businesses. Also, a Women’s Business Ownership Representative is available to assist all women business owners in the Charlotte area. You may contact April Gonzalez at 704-344-6811 or email her at
april.gonzalez@sba.gov – all you have to do is ask!
www.womenwithknowhow.com OCTOBER 2011
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