Dear Enterprising Women in Business Community:
Happy Fourth of July to all women small business owners. I hope you all got to spend time with your loved ones.
Our mission here in the SBA and the Office of Women’s Business Ownership is to enable and empower women entrepreneurs through advocacy, outreach, education, and support. And I am proud to say that under the leadership of SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman, we are doing just that. Our Women’s Business Centers (WBCs) provide management and technical assistance, training and counseling on a vast array of topics in many languages. I am proud of the work we do. Work that has helped women entrepreneurs like Jenny Steffensmeier, president of Steffensmeier Welding and Manufacturing in Pilot Grove, IA. You can read more about Jenny’s story below. Her inspiring testimony shows us that nothing can stop a women business owner from achieving her goals, not even a global pandemic. Regards,  Natalie Madeira Cofield
Assistant Administrator
U. S. Small Business Administration |
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SBA’s Council on Underserved Communities Convenes in Chicago, IL
On July 7-8, Natalie Madeira Cofield, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Women’s Business Ownership, attended the Council on Underserved Communities (CUC) conference in Chicago, IL.
The CUC is part of the SBA’s ongoing efforts to expand its reach into underserved communities. It focuses on communities and populations that traditionally faced barriers in accessing credit, capital, and the other tools they need to start and grow businesses. These communities include inner cities and rural areas and may include populations such as women, minorities, veterans, tribal groups and others.
Register for the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center’s 2022 Fall Milestone Makers Program
 The Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center (NEC) is committed to investing in individuals taking big risks to solve problems in new ways. Milestone Makers is a way to help mid-stage entrepreneurs set, hit, and celebrate milestones critical to company growth. The NEC works with a small cohort of entrepreneurs one-on-one to define a critical business goal and accelerate their path to achieving it. What does the program offer? The program begins with access to the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center’s prestigious network, partners, and community, including professional resources offered by leading industry experts. This includes: - Milestone setting strategy and practice for this quarter
- Coach (1:1 professional coaching)
- Business mentors and peer support
- Development of key marketing assets, including participants’ photo & logo on the Nasdaq tower in Times Square, New York City, upon graduation. Plus, media coverage and distribution through the Nasdaq Center and Nasdaq media.
The NEC, in partnership with its sponsors, is proud to make this 12-week program free with a pay-it-forward philosophy. Milestone Makers return to teach, share, and nominate the next cohort of great leaders. Applications are due July 27th, 2022! Register for an information session today. |
Women-Owned Welding & Manufacturing Company Breaks Industry Barriers
 Some entrepreneurs invest years researching and planning before starting a business. For others, life experiences turn them into accidental entrepreneurs. Jenny Steffensmeier knows the latter journey well. The president of Steffensmeier Welding and Manufacturing in Pilot Grove, IA, took over the family business following the death of her husband. Starting in a small shop in a small rural town, the business now has 12 employees and a 40,000-square-foot facility. The one-stop shop for all things metal offers machining, welding, and precision laser cutting to Iowa and surrounding states’ industries. Trained as an X-ray technician, Steffensmeier commuted to area hospitals, while raising five young children. After her husband passed away, she found herself in unchartered territory. Steffensmeier acknowledges she was lost the first few years, just going through the motions as an entrepreneur. She eventually realized she wasn’t alone in the journey and began tapping into the wide range of available small business resources. It didn’t take long for others to seek her out for business advice. She now serves on Iowa’s Association of Business and Industry’s board of directors and represents the manufacturing sector on the governor’s Economic Recovery Task Force at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. From the beginning, Pilot Grove Savings Bank has been in Steffensmeier’s corner. The community bank partnered with the SBA to finance an SBA Express loan for its working capital needs and two Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans to cover its payroll and utility expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic. An SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan also played a role in keeping the business afloat as the pandemic had a domino effect on the farming industry and its supply chain. Steffensmeier took a leap of faith and made a major capital investment in alternative energy. Working with Ideal Energy Solar, she installed nearly 1,500 solar panels in the fields behind the business. Steffensmeier Welding and Manufacturing now boasts one of the largest solar installations in Iowa. The investment is paying for itself by reducing the company’s electric bills from $92,000 to less than $30.00 a month. Today, Jenny Steffensmeier knows her worth. The company website says it best, proudly identifying the manufacturer as woman-owned: “Yes, you read that right. In a predominantly male industry, there is an ambitious woman who is breaking barriers and defying the odds. By not only working in the industry but by leading.” It has been quite a journey, but she is no longer an accidental entrepreneur.
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Apply to the SBA’s T.H.R.I.V.E. Emerging Leaders Reimagined Training Series  T.H.R.I.V.E. Emerging Leaders Reimagined is an executive-level training series designed to develop strong leaders and accelerate the growth of high-potential small businesses across the United States.
Apply to T.H.R.I.V.E. and join the ranks of 5,000+ graduates who have accelerated their growth with this free program. The next Cohort runs from July-December 2022.
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