Central New York’s business sector of women-owned entrepreneurs are part of the total of 9 million businesses who are creating new products, services and jobs across the United States. For some, the Wise (Women Igniting The Spirit of Entrepreneurship) Symposium 2015 is their first introduction to making the right connections to launch their own. They gathered at the Carrier Dome for the 13th annual Symposium on Tuesday. The Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, Maria Contreras-Sweet was a presenter. She explains that young women realized their parents were only earning five percent raises in corporate America.
“I think that our young women are saying that I can control destiny and I can do something very different with my life. And so they’re starting their own companies and they don’t think anything of it. It’s very exciting to see this movement take hold.”
Contreras-Sweet is a remarkable success story herself. She told the audience that she came from a poor family who came to the U.S. from Mexico.
“And my Grandmother would always say… someday, all the family of migrant workers, if you continue to go along this path, someday you might be able to work in an office and even be a secretary. So, the good lord heard her prayers and allowed me to hold office and to be a Cabinet Secretary.”
Contreras says the US Government has a goal to contract with 5 percent of women-owned businesses that hasn’t been met. The Wise Center at Syracuse University is funded in part by the SBA and co-sponsored by the Whitman School of Management. Director Joanne Lenweaver says 2014 was a positive year, locally.
“We saw more than 113 women last year as we helped them grow or start a business. And if you totaled their gross revenues, it totaled more than 5.5 million in sales.”
Lenweaver adds that by moving the symposium this year to the Carrier Dome, it's also a way to engage with SU students who are also launching their own businesses.
