Seminar Aims to Help Peninsula Women Get "Ready, Set, Succeed" in Small Business

Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-San Francisco/San Mateo/Redwood City) will host Ready, Set, Succeed, a small business seminar for women, on Friday June 13, 2014at Eventbrite in San Francisco. The seminar is designed to help current and aspiring Bay Area business owners overcome potential roadblocks and succeed.

The seminar will feature keynote speakers Julia Hartz, Eventbrite President and Co-Founder, and Donna J. Davis, Regional Administrator from the U.S. Small Business Administration. Breakout sessions will include crowd funding & micro financing, kick-starting your small business, motherhood & entrepreneurship, and “The Dolphin Tank”, an opportunity for entrepreneurs to practice their pitch and get feedback from experts.

“While women entrepreneurs are the fastest growing segment in the small business community, a business owned by a woman typically makes 73% less than a similar business owned by a man,” said Speier. “We need to level the playing field so that women can succeed and as a result, America can succeed.”

Currently more than 8.9 million women-owned businesses in the U. S. employ over 8 million people and produce $1.3 million in sales annually.

Speier will address another group of women entrepreneurs at 1 pm during a ChallengeHer event at 245 Market Street in San Francisco. ChallengeHer is a partnership between the U.S. Small Business Administration, Women Impacting Public Policy and American Express OPEN that helps women-owned businesses with federal contracts.

In late May, an amendment by Speier that strengthens the federal contracting environment for women-owned businesses passed as part of the National Defense Authorization Act of FY 2015.

“My amendment will give women more access to federal contracts,” Speier said. “Even though women own nearly 30% of all American businesses and are a fast-growing force in the private sector, they are underrepresented in federal contracting and receive less than 5% of the contracts available from federal agencies.”

Who:               Congresswoman Jackie Speier

                        Eventbrite President and Co-Founder Julie Hartz

                        SBA Region IX Administrator Donna J. Davis

Representatives from Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center, Kiva, LinkedIn, CAMEO, SCORE, CircleUp, Moolahoop, Women’s Start Up Lab, Speck Design, Mom WorkForce, Wells Fargo, SF Fire Credit Union, San Francisco Federal Credit Union and other businesses

What:             Ready, Set, Succeed: A Women’s Small Business Seminar

When:             Friday, June 13, 2014

                        8:30 – 11:30 am

Where:           Eventbrite Headquarters

                        155 5th Street, 7th floor

                        San Francisco

Congresswoman Jackie Speier represents California’s 14th Congressional District, which includes parts of San Francisco and San Mateo counties. She is a senior member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the House Armed Services Committee (HASC). In her role on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the Congresswoman is a ranking member on the Subcommittee on Energy Policy, Health Care, and Entitlements and serves on the Subcommittee on National Security. She serves on the Readiness Subcommittee and the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee on HASC and is a member of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force. Congresswoman Speier was appointed to serve as a Senior Whip for the Democratic caucus in the 113th Congress.