Valerie Naifeh Selling Jewelry on Shop NBC

Oklahoman Valerie Naifeh recently debuted her jewelry on the home shopping network Shop NBC. This Tulsa native started her business in 1993 and initially sold out of Samuel Gordon Jewelers. She set up her own business, Naifeh Fine Jewelry, in 1998. Naifeh is a graduate of Tulsa University and now has her own store in Casady Square in Oklahoma City. You can follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/Valerienaifeh or on Facebook. She also blogs at http://naifehfinejewelry.blogspot.com/.

Karen James is New REI Board Chair

Karen James has been elected Chairwoman of Rural Enterprises of Oklahoma, Inc. She is the BancFirst regional executive for south-central and southeastern Oklahoma. She is a graduate of east Central University and has a masters degree from Oklahoma City University. Congratulations, Karen!

When REI was founded, I served on the Board of Directors. (Rep Wes Warkins called one day and said, "Jean, I want you to serve on this board. It's an exciting new initiative and it will be e fun!")

He was right. I hardly knew what I was doing though and didn't stay on very long but it was a wonderful honor and a great adventure at the time. It was brand new and inventing itself.

Who knew today it would have a wonderful section that focuses on the needs of women business owners across Oklahoma? You can learn more about REI, Inc at www.ruralenterprises.com and their Women's Business Center at http://www.ruralenterprises.com/womens-business-center/.

Girls Gone Wine Celebrates 5 Years

Girls  Gone Wine is a winery located near Broken Bow Lake and Beavers Bend State Park in Southeastern Oklahoma. It recently turned 5 years old.

It is owned by three women - Chandra Rickey, Rhonda Reed, and Michelle Finch. The company has a staff of 12 women.

You can sample and purchase their wine at a tasting bar, make your own wine and shop in their gift shop. They now sell 14 wines plus a special wine at Christmas. Their most popular wine is a pomegranate zinfindel named Twisted Sisters.

Visit their website at http://thegirlsgonewine.com/. Happy birthday, ladies!

Rebecca Manzer Honored by Metropolitan Tulsa Chamber of Commerce

Rebecca Manzer and her husband run Certified Carpet Cleaning and Restoration in Skiatook, Oklahoma. Rebecca was recently named "Small Business Person of 2011" by the Metropolitan Tulsa Chamber of Commerce. Her 10-year old business saw sales increase 84% over the past year. Manzer also supports schools and organizations that assist women and children. Congratulations, Rebecca! You can read more about the award ceremony on the Chambers website by clicking here.

Image is from the Metropolitan Tulsa Chamber of Commerce website

Teresa Knox Honored by Tulsa Chamber for Entrepreneurial Success

The Metropolitan Tulsa Chamber of Commerce recently honored Tulsan Teresa Knox for her "Entrepreneurial Success." Knox is founder and CEO of Community Care College, Clary Sage College, and Oklahoma Technical College. These private colleges employ 200 and offer 47 degree programs.
Read a nice interview with Knox in the Tulsa Tribune in 2008 HERE. You can read more about the awards event on the Metropolitan Tulsa Chamber of Commerce website by clicking HERE.

Images is from the Clary Sage College Facebook page.

Liz Hunt Named 2011 Women in Business Champion by Tulsa Chamber

Liz Hunt is Chief Executive of Hunt Media and Marketing, a 10-year old full-service public relations firm in Tulsa. She developed and executed a project that connects small business owners in all 77 Oklahoma counties -- many of which are women-owned -- and is developing leadership opportunities  for these women. She has been named by The Journal Record one of the "50 Women Making A Difference in Oklahoma" and one of Oklahoma's outstanding "Achievers Under 40."  Last month, the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce named Hunt their 2011 Women in Business Champion. You can read the article on the Tulsa Chamber's website HERE.

Margo Gray-Proctor Named Minority Small Business Champion

The Metropolitan Tulsa Chamber of Commerce recently named Margo Gray-Proctor their 2011 Minority Small Business Champion.

An Osage business woman, Gray-Proctor is President of Horizon Engineering Service Company. She is the only woman to have served as Chair of the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development.

You can read about the awards presentation by clicking HERE.

Lori Montag Honored With 2011 Innovator of the Year Award

The Journal Record's Innovator of the Year award recently  went to Broken Arrow based Big Time Brands which is owned by Lori Montag and Jim Howard.

Among their hugely popular products are the zany bandz, the Slap Watch and the Splash Watch. See a Tulsa World article on the watches popularity.

You can read all about Lori and Jim and the awards banquet HERE and view JR photos by clicking HERE.

State of Women-Owned Business Report

American Express OPEN has released a report entitled
State of Women-Owned Business Report.
Here are just a few findings:

• Women-owned firms now account for 29 percent of all businesses.
• But, the share of women-owned firms at the highest levels of business accomplishment has remained essentially unchanged over the past 14 years.
• When compared to all privately held firms, women-owned businesses employ 13 percent of the workforce and account for 11 percent of all business revenue.

Check out the infographic HERE and the full report HERE.

Oklahoma is #1 in Growth of Women Entrepreneurs

Oklahoma ranks #1 in the nation for the growth rate of women entrepreneurs -- 40% higher than the national average!  Oklahoma ranks #9 for women-owned business expansions and #30 in new women-owned business starts between 1997 and 2011. 


Thinking of starting a business in Oklahoma? There are lots of good resources to help you along the way. A good place to start thought is with the Rural Enterprises' Women's Business Center. They have offices in Durant and Oklahoma.

Learn more at http://newsok.com/women-changing-the-world-one-venture-at-a-time/article/3559209#ixzz1KN4PDi00

Small Business Administration Launches Women's Program

The U.S. Small Business Administration on February 4, 2011 launched a new women-owned "Small Business Federal Contract Program." This initiative allows set asides for women-owned businesses - 5% federal agencies' contracting dollars.  Questions? Contact REI Women's Business Center in Oklahoma City at (405) 319-8190. This program was 11 years in the making! It is finally launched. Women business owners, check it out.  Read more here. 

Teresa Moisant Honored By Her Peers

Need a promotional ... anything? Check out Oklahoma City based Moisant Promotional Products. This firm's  owner, Teresa Moisant, was recently named one of the top ten "Women to Watch" by the Advertising Speciality Institute. Moisant was recognized in 2009 by The Journal Record Publishing Company as one of "Fifty Women Making a Difference" in Oklahoma. Way to go, Teresa!

Majick RavenHawk Named "Women in Business Champion of the Year"

The Oklahoma District office of the US Small Business Administration has named Majick RavenHawk their 2011 "Women in Business Champion of the Year." She has had a talk radio show since 2009 on Contact Talk Radio. She has a PhD in religious studies and metaphysics. Check out her show schedule and more at her RavenHawk Talk Radio website. She and other honorees will be recognized at the Oklahoma SBA annual luncheon April 21 at the Oklahoma History Center. For details, click here. Congratulations, Majick!

Lisa Thiessen Named 2011 "Veteran Small Business Champion of the Year"

Congratulations to Lisa Thiessen, business development specialist for Southwestern Oklahoma State University's Small Business Development Center in Weatherford. She has been named the SBA "Veteran Small Business Champion of the Year."  She will be honored at the US Small Business Administration's annual banquet on April 21 at the Oklahoma History Center.  Read more here.

Kelsy Eakin is SBA's Oklahoma Young Entrepreneur of the Year

Dottie Overall, The U.S. Small Business Administration Oklahoma District Diretor announced recently that Kelsy Eakin "Oklahoma Young Entrepreneur of the Year."  Eakin is president of Keltec in Tulsa. You can view her company's website here and the article about her company's start. Congratulations, Kelsy!  She will be recognized during the SBA's annual small business luncheon April 21 at the Oklahoma History Center, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Dr. in Oklahoma City. The luncheon is set to start at 11:30 a.m.

Rose Pearson Starts Up Switchblade Skate Company in OKC

Rose Pearson, aka "Switchblade Rosie" with the Oklahoma City Roller Derby team, has started a store that targets roller derby participants. Oklahoma City has three roller derby teams. Oklahoma has 10 teams. And there are many more all across Oklahoma. At the Switchblade Skate Company (2132 SW 74th Street in Oklahoma City) you can buy quad (4-wheeled) skates, elbow pads, helmets, etc.... for women and men. You can follow the store on Facebook at http://on.fb.me/eS9QvD. Watch for a website which is coming soon! Read more at http://bit.ly/gu8ExC.

Women-Owned Businesses: Census Bureau Update

Forbes has an article by Caroline Howard entitled "Women-Owned Businesses: Numbers Climb, Revenue Lacking" which is very interesting. It summarizes a recently released report entitled Survey of Business Owners: Women-Owned Businesses: 2007.

 Here are a few highlights but click on the title above and read the whole thing for yourself.

There are more women-owned businesses in the U.S. than businesses owned by men but the women's are generating less revenue.  States with the largest pool of women-owned companies were California, Texas and New York. Maryland was top as the state with the highest percentage of businesses with a female owner.   Oklahoma falls in the 24.8% to 28.7% of all businesses are women-owned. The national Average is 28.7% Women control the majority (52%) of all businesses in the health care and social assistance sector.

Here is the Census Bureau's Dec 7, 2010 press release on their recent survey.

Oklahoma's Largest Women-Owned Businesses

Q. What do YOU think are Oklahoma's largest women-owned businesses? 

A. Enterprises (Oklahoma City)

Bonus Building Care (Indianola)

Bentley Hedges Travel Service Inc (Oklahoma City)

Terry Neese Personnel (Oklahoma City)

Source. The Journal Record, August 17, 2010

Click on image above to enlarge.

Businesswoman Edna Hennessee Inducted into Oklahoma Women's Hall of fame

Edna Hennessee was born in Ryan, Oklahoma and raised on an Oklahoma cattle ranch during the Depression. She graduated from Union Valley High School in 1936 as valedictorian. After receiving a scholarship from Central State University in Edmond and finding a place to work for room and board, she still decided to go directly into the work force in Oklahoma City as the family would have to sell the cattle to buy her textbooks. While living in Oklahoma City, she received a gift that changed her life - Merle norman Cosmetics. Hennessee washed clothes at night and worked as a department store clerk during the day to pay the gift back. What began as a dream from a small gift of cosmetics grew into Cosmetic Specialty Labs, a family-owned and operated company serving more than 10,000 customers in all 50 states and 23 foreign countries. Read more HERE.

Sandra Dickinson, Audrey Pirtle Honored

The Oklahoman reported today that "Four Oklahoma companies were recognized for excellence in service and business performance Thursday evening at the 18th Annual Minority Business Leadership Awards Dinner in Oklahoma City." Two of the four firms were women-owned businesses. They are B&S Quality Printing Inc., a Hispanic-American company owned by Sandra Dickinson in Oklahoma City that since 1984 has provided printing services using the industry’s top multi-color Heidelberg presses and Trans-Tel Central, a Norman-based American Indian company founded in 1974 and owned by Audrey Pirtle, providing solutions in IT, communications systems and information systems. Congratulations to both Sandra and Audrey!