Winning Strategies for Women Entrepreneurs Marketing to Corporations

Washington, DC (July 17, 2003)— Women entrepreneurs now have a one-stop resource guide to help them be successful in one of the nation’s largest business markets, corporate America. Methods that Work for Creating Corporate Clients, A Resource Guide for Women Business Owners, was prepared by the Center for Women’s Business Research and underwritten by the PepsiCo Foundation to provide knowledge, tools and best practices to help women business owners successfully navigate the challenges of corporate markets.

The resource guide is the outcome of the study, Access to Markets: Perspectives from Large Corporations and Women’s Business Enterprises by the Center for Women Business Research released earlier this year.

"On average, nearly half (48%) of the revenues of the women’s business enterprises surveyed came from large corporations," said Myra M. Hart, Chair, Center for Women’s Business Research and Professor, Harvard Business School. "Gaining access to this market has a very positive impact on the bottom line. The resource guide distills the findings of our comprehensive study into research-based intelligence that individual women business owners can use to be successful in this lucrative market."

"PepsiCo is committed to ensuring that women’s business enterprises have every opportunity to participate in corporate markets," said Bob Gonzalez, vice president of supplier diversity, PepsiCo. "We are so pleased to participate in a project which helps further this commitment, and we recognize the contributions that women-owned firms make to supplying quality products and services at a good price."

The guide has five success strategies that serve as a roadmap for women entrepreneurs to gain access to corporate markets. Along with the core strategies, the guide gives real life examples of women business owners who have successfully marketed to corporations. It also gives women entrepreneurs the overall trends in corporate purchasing as well as step-by-step guidance on how and where to become "certified" as a women’s business enterprise, and a list of useful Web sites, organizations and publications that can help create corporate clients.

How to get a copy

• Download your FREE copy by going to the Center for Women’s Business Research Web site at http://www.womensbusinessresearch.org/resourcesandlinks/index.htm
• Purchase your personal hard copy for only $25.00. Call the Center for Women’s Business Research at 202-638-3060 ext. 10 or email at info@womensbusinessresearch.org

Many thanks to the underwriters of the original study, Access to Markets: Perspectives from Large Corporations and Women’s Business Enterprises, Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), Women Entrepreneurs’ Connection, FleetBoston Financial, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

Center for Women’s Business Research
Center for Women’s Business Research is the premier source of knowledge about women business owners and their enterprises worldwide. The Center’s mission is to unleash the economic potential of women entrepreneurs by conducting research, sharing information and increasing knowledge about this fast-growing sector of the economy. Since 1989, Center for Women’s Business Research has "painted the picture" of the women-owned business landscape by providing original research documenting the economic and social contributions of women-owned firms. This knowledge transforms entrepreneurial opportunities for women worldwide and is changing the face of the global business environment. The Center shares its knowledge with policy makers, financial institutions, corporate leaders, government agencies and the media through research reports, press releases, newsletter publications, seminars, speaking engagements and worldwide on the Internet at www.womensbusinessresearch.org.