The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Capitalizing on opportunities for small businesses
Main Street Connecticut deserves a boost. At the Women’s Business Development Council (WBDC), we believe The Office of the Secretary of the State’s effort to coordinate a statewide network of business owners and economic development experts will provide much needed support.
Through entrepreneurial and financial education services provided by WBDC, women are empowered, and womenowned businesses and their communities are strengthened. With so many challenges facing minority business owners, WBDC understands that enabling access to resources is critical to the vitality of these businesses and the economy. This is why WBDC fully supports The Office of the Secretary of the State’s efforts.
Secretary of the State Denise Merrill just released an optional survey on the state’s business filing website asking whether the business owner is a woman, minority, veteran, or person with a disability. The data collected will be used to match eligible businesses with targeted resources on both the state and federal level. This simple survey can streamline the process of connecting business owners with development resources. It will give Main Street Connecticut the boost it deserves.
We at WBDC are excited about this initiative and encourage business owners to complete the survey when they start a new business or file annually for their existing business. There is no question the resources offered to eligible businesses will help to bolster the economic vitality of communities across Connecticut. WBDC and our clients understand the value added by such opportunities.
Now in its third decade, WBDC has provided entrepreneurial and financial education to more than 14,000 clients. We have connected countless small business owners with direct access to markets, capital, and a host of other opportunities offered by local resources as well as the state and federal government.
When Kelsey Hubbard first came to WBDC, she had a big idea and admittedly little knowledge of how to make it happen. As a new working mom, Kelsey was interested in opening a family friendly business which offered a playspace for kids, a work space for parents and a coffee and snack area that provides healthy food choices for families. Her WBDC instructor broke her idea down and explained that she needed to devise a plan and competitive analysis to truly understand what was needed to make her vision a reality. After many classes on everything from writing a business plan to marketing and social media, Kelsey was ready to move forward with her completed business plan. WBDC then provided her with access to local community partners, and through an introduction to a local bank, Kelsey secured funding to start her business. As Kelsey states, “Without the resources of the WBDC, I would never have been able to understand and navigate each important step on the path to finally, now, opening my business, Recess PlayWorks (recessplayworks.com).”
It is that kind of access that has helped enable nearly 6,000 businesses WBDC has worked with to scale up their operations. Further, it is that kind of access that the Secretary of the State’s Office is working to provide all small business owners across Connecticut.
At the close of National Women’s Small Business Month, Kelsey was one of many WBDC clients honored at WBDC’s Annual Luncheon Gala on Nov. 1, in Greenwich. This event provided more than 700 Connecticutbased entrepreneurs, business and community leaders, and legislators the opportunity to network and create meaningful connections to small business owners.
The theme of WBDC’s event, Women Rising, is emphasized in the latest State of WomenOwned Businesses Report, published annually by American Express. The report states that over the past five years the number of womenowned businesses grew by 21 percent. In businesses owned by women of color that rate was doubled.
These successful womenowned businesses would not be possible without the kind of access and opportunity being enabled through the Office of the Secretary of the State’s initiative.
We call on all business owners, men and women, to take full advantage of this important survey. The economic strength and vitality of communities across our state will depend on it.