Panelists cite opportunities for entrepreneurial women

How do women approach business differently from men? What”™s the best attitude to take when you”™re confronted with difficulties? What are the lessons to be learned from your mistakes?

Four accomplished women ”“ a CPA, an engineer, a college executive and a founder of a nonprofit organization, who also happens to be New York”™s first lady ”“ provided some answers to these questions while participating on a panel at The Successful Women in Business Forum breakfast at the Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel April 19.

Hosted by KeyBank and the Mid-Hudson Small Business Development Center”™s Women and Minority Business Institute, the panel was moderated by Joan Lawrence-Bauer, who has assisted businesses with public communications, marketing, strategies and restructurings and is also the executive director of M-ARK Project, a community development agency serving five municipalities.

The panelists were Silda Wall Spitzer, the new governor”™s wife, who is founder and chairwoman of Children for Children, a nonprofit that creates opportunities for youths to volunteer time and resources helping needy children; Cynthia Andela, a mechanical engineer and president of Andela Products Ltd., a manufacturer of glass-recycling equipment and systems; Karen Hansen, a CPA and partner at the accounting firm Sedore & Co.; and Ann M. Marrott, vice president and dean of enrollment at Ulster County Community College.

Go your own way

Perhaps it”™s no coincidence that all of these high achievers got off the corporate track. Indeed, the panelists said entrepreneurship offers opportunities to women that don”™t exist in the corporate world. “The numbers for women getting more board (of director) seats is not good,” said Spitzer. Formerly a corporate lawyer, she decided that “my energy and creativity are better spent being an entrepreneur rather than butting heads against a dinosaur. It”™s more efficient to go out on your own.”

She”™s not alone: Arnaldo Sehwerert, Ph.D., director of the NYS Small Business Development Center in the Mid-Hudson region, introduced the panel by citing statistics showing women small-business owners are a force to be reckoned with. Women own close to 40 percent of these businesses and are starting ventures twice as fast as men. In New York state, some 1 million businesses are women-owned, and one in seven employees work in a women-owned business. Nationwide, revenues from women- and minority-owned small businesses amount to $2.7 trillion.

So what is it like to give up the security and paycheck of a corporate job and pursue your passion? What drove each woman to take the plunge, despite the risks?

For Hansen, becoming a CPA offered opportunities in the Hudson Valley that didn”™t exist for her training as a biologist and chemist. She joined a firm and thrived, but ultimately left to start her own company with another woman. “You have to go with your gut,” she said.

Andela worked for GE as an engineer for five years before leaving to become self-employed. While this initially meant “going into poverty,” she wanted “freedom and flexibility” as well as the entrepreneurial experience of being involved in all aspects of the business.

Marrott left a lucrative job at a large New York City-based insurance firm to work at a small community college in a rural area at half the salary. “I was at a crossroads,” she said, explaining the opportunity to join national accounts at the corporation didn”™t excite her. “What did excite me was the community college experience of working with a diverse group of people and helping them discover talents they didn”™t know they had.”

Spitzer was in a different position: she had left her position as a corporate lawyer to be a stay-at-home mother. When she had the idea for Children to Children, it quickly became apparent “this is an entrepreneurial venture, since it meant taking an idea and moving it out to the marketplace and getting people to buy into the idea.”

Like any startup, this also involved hiring employees with different skill sets than her own and searching for office space. “You can”™t always see what”™s around the corner,” Spitzer said, noting that opting out of the corporate world to stay home had been a frightening step. “It”™s wonderful to circle back around.”

Flexibility, strategies

Each of the panelists said having flexibility was key to achieving a balance between work and family. Recognizing the value of flexibility in her own career, Marrott said she cherished the same principles in managing the 30 employees under her supervision. The result is a more productive workplace: “My colleagues don”™t take advantage of this flexibility. They work harder. It”™s a powerful event.”

Besides valuing flexibility, women approach business differently from men in that they are more oriented toward building relationships and forming consensus. “There are things you learn in bringing up your children that are pertinent to being in business,” said Andela, who as a female engineer represents a minority. What”™s required is “being smart and competent, and it”™s an advantage if you”™re a relationship person. It all boils down to relationships.”

There are challenges common to any entrepreneur, regardless of gender. Hansen noted the importance of having a well-thought-out business plan, hiring the right team, networking (not just to make contacts, but also learn) and having an exit strategy. A theme in Andela”™s life has been not succumbing to fear of failure, which “keeps you isolated from other people” and also prevents one from “stepping out in an areas where you haven”™t been before.”

After responding to questions from the moderator, the panelists answered a few from the audience. These spanned a variety of topics: asked whether they hired friends and family, a couple of the panelists said they did (in a small business everyone becomes family anyway, noted Andela). And asked about the difficulties in providing health insurance to their employees, Spitzer said her nonprofit did offer insurance but admitted, “it”™s a real challenge. I have strong opinions on the subject. Health insurance is expensive in New York state. Finding the best options are a challenge for anyone.”