If you've ever stopped to think about what makes your
company successful, there's one important factor you may have
overlooked: your state and local governments' policies toward
woman-owned businesses.
Is your own government good to entrepreneurial women? The
following checklist excerpted from the Center for Policy
Alternatives' State Policy Checklist: Investing in
Women's Entrepreneurship will help you figure that out.
Give one point for every circled "yes." (Give half
points for partial offers):
Content Continues Below
1. Does your state have and fund any of the following
programs?
Yes/No A women's advisory council to provide input to
the governor
Yes/No A commission on the status of women
Yes/No A statewide women's entrepreneurship summit
Yes/No An interagency task force on woman-owned businesses
to look at how agencies can increase investment in woman-owned
firms
2. Do woman legislators serve on any of the following
committees?
Yes/No Economic development
Yes/No Banking
Yes/No Technology
Yes/No Budget/Appropriations
3. Yes/No Does your state economic development agency
have programs and staff dedicated to addressing women's
business and entrepreneurial development?
4. Yes/No Do your state/local governments have a business
covenant with local entrepreneur organizations to promote
purchasing from woman-owned businesses?
5. Yes/No Does your state have Small Business Development
Centers or other such programs that work alone or in partnerships
to specifically target women?
6. Yes/No Does your state have programs (microloans, loan
guarantees, incubators, Small Business Investment Companies,
venture/angel capital resources, etc.) that increase access to
capital for woman businesses of all sizes and types?
7. Yes/No Do all of your state's organizations that
provide services to woman entrepreneurs have Web sites with
information on procurement opportunities, woman-owned firms,
certification information and applications for services and
loans?
8. Yes/No Does your state encourage small businesses to
partner with other smaller firms in order to win large public- and
private-sector contracts?
9. Yes/No Does your state market to woman business
owners, encouraging them to become government contractors and
providing details on achieving that goal?
10. Yes/No Does your state offer mentoring programs that
bring together women looking to start or grow their businesses with
successful woman entrepreneurs? Are there educational programs with
structured curricula to train women entrepreneurs?
Scoring
12-16: Lucky you! Your state/local government is in great
shape; keep monitoring to make sure things stay that way.
8-11: Adequate, but you should encourage officials to
implement more programs.
5-7: Needs improvement. Your state should get in gear and
work with women's business organizations to implement programs
to benefit this constituency.
4 or fewer: Dark Ages alert! Gird yourself for a long
battle, because your state is truly behind the times when it comes
to understanding just how vital woman-owned businesses are to the
economy.