National SBA advocacy representative to host roundtable for local women entrepreneurs
In an effort to collect information about women entrepreneurs in the Central New York region, Teri Coaxum of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Advocacy will host an open roundtable discussion on Friday, Dec. 16, from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the WISE Women’s Business Center, 2610 S. Salina St., Syracuse.
Coaxum will conduct the roundtable discussion for all women in business and corporate positions and government decision makers in order to hear their concerns and needs in creating and growing successful businesses.
The SBA Office of Advocacy is the collection point for all official data for the federal government and recently published a major findings report, “Developments in Women-Owned Businesses,” in June 2011. As regional advocate, Coaxum is the chief counsel for advocacy’s direct link to small business owners, state and local government agencies, state legislators, trade associations, and small business organizations throughout the region.
“The WISE Women’s Business Center is looking forward to hosting this roundtable discussion. It is important for the government to be aware of the everyday challenges that women entrepreneurs face on a daily basis,” says WISE director Joanne Lenweaver. “We encourage all women in business, either entrepreneurs or resource supporters, to join us and share your experiences.”
The purpose of the Syracuse roundtable is to feed even more information into the data set, share it with the federal government (which funds women’s business centers) and ensure the value of women’s business centers is appreciated and continuously funded.
The WISE Women’s Business Center is a street-level, walk-in center for those interested in starting a new enterprise. It is supported by a federal grant from the SBA and a matching grant from the Whitman School of Management and Falcone Center for Entrepreneurship at Syracuse University. Upward of 1,000 people (both women and men, of all cultures) enter the intake process or training sessions at WISE each year.
