A Community Conversation on Women in Business: Key Takeaways
Last week, we had a terrific event with women who own and run a range of businesses in District 4. We learned a great deal from these amazing women about what it takes to start and keep a business going in MoCo.
As a former small business owner and current Mayor, I know firsthand there is a lot we do well in MoCo and a lot more we can do to foster and support our locally owned businesses.
We have many great ideas in the County. Where we have fallen short is in our outreach, implementation, and targeting those businesses most in need.
Here are some key takeaways of what we need to change and what I promise to work on as your next Councilmember:
Change the attitude toward businesses! As Stacey stated, “One of the biggest challenges is that businessowners need to be treated like residents too…especially our small and minority owned businesses…we say we want to welcome businesses, but it is not really on the agenda.” Agree! We can’t just talk about all our great businesses – we need to make sure they are consulted, supported, and set up to succeed.
Permitting and licensing processes are a cumbersome nightmare! We heard loud and clear about the frustration of the processes we have in the County. Business owners raised experiences with departments not communicating with each other and frustrations when trying to run a business, holding down another job while getting a business up and running, and staying on top of licensing and permits.
Ferzan described her frustrations with all the websites and confusing licensing and permitting processes. Beverly talked about the difficulties of working as a school counselor and trying to get her business off the ground while navigating this cumbersome process.
A top priority! Creating a County that is not only welcoming but truly supports and promotes our businesses is a top priority for me. Here is what we need to do:
Make Permitting & Licensing Easier: Make the processes, especially permitting and licensing, much easier to navigate and increase the number of small business navigators we have in the County. We know no one has time to visit all the different websites or stay on the phone all day for information about licensing, permitting, planning, procurement – you name it. C. Marie talked about waiting so long for a small business coach that she went to DC for help. We can and must do better.
Assist in Securing Capital for Women & Black & Brown Businessowners: Our panelists talked about how people say there is money out there, but they need help finding it and securing the funds. We need to support and expand programs. We are not starting from scratch. As these women said, there are programs out there and listed on the County website. But listing resources on a website and hoping people find it on their own is not the same as actively engaging and assisting people to secure those resources. Barriers to access are real whether it is historical racism in lending practices or lack of programs in a range of languages. We need to invest more in program, such as those provided by the Latino Economic Development Center to help entrepreneurs and small business actually secure the capital they need to overcome these barriers.
Prioritize Local for Procurement: Prioritize MoCo based businesses in the procurement process. DC does this and so can MoCo.
Create PEO: Explore creating a county professional employer organization (PEO) that provides services to small and medium-sized businesses such as human resource consulting, safety and risk mitigation services, payroll processing, employer payroll tax filing, workers' compensation insurance, health benefits, and more.
Increase Incubator Spaces: As Mayor of Takoma Park, I have seen the great success of the TPSS Community Kitchen and been the benefactor of the great food being prepared there! Beverly got her business off the ground cooking at the Kitchen. Many entrepreneurs lack the capital to invest in their own production facilities and rental costs can be a barrier. Incubators and places like the Community Kitchen help meet the needs of these types of entrepreneurs. As we look to transform some of our office space since work habits have changed due to COVID-19, we need to work with property owners to create incubators to give entrepreneurs the jumpstart they need to launch their businesses.
Create More Spaces for Networking: There are a range of groups from the local Chambers and the Women Business Owners of MoCo, but it was clear during our discussion that we need to create more spaces, especially for women businessowners to be able to come together, network, and support each other.
Ensure Easier Access to Existing Resources: Finally, we need to set up systems that ensure our businesses have easy access to the resources and services that are out there. We are a county with a great deal of resources. As C. Marie said, it is how we distribute those resources that matters. So, let’s start investing in the programs and people that will support and encourage more people to take the leap and follow their dream of owning a business in MoCo.
We talked about so much last week! These women chose to open their businesses in MoCo because they love this community, its diversity and inclusiveness. Let’s do more to help them succeed and attract even more businesses to our great County.
Please check out the entire conversation here.
And, let me know about your experiences and ideas for moving our County forward.
Here are the women and their businesses:
Stacey Brown - Owner, Signarama Silver Spring
Lene Tsegaye - Owner, Kefa Cafe
Ada Villatoro - Owner, El Golfo
C. Marie Taylor - President, Equity for Action
Beverly Coleman - Owner, Gypsy Diva Fresh/ELIX Libations and Sustenance
Ferzan Jeager - Owner, Olive & Loom
Cortney Palmiero - Co-Owner, Scissor & Comb, Georgie's, and Azalea City Nails