When Vicki Roberts partnered with her father at an Austin Subaru dealership in 1982, the 21-year-old University of Texas accounting major was not only a novelty in the automotive sales industry, but her actions also marked a first for three generations of family members. Roberts’ lineage only saw their sons rise through the ranks of car franchise executives, she said.
“The women were not allowed to own a [car dealership] store,” Roberts said of her family’s traditions. “The other generations didn’t think I could handle the load like a man could.”
As dealer principal, Roberts assumed the helm of her father’s Lexus franchise after his death in 2005 and opened a second Lexus dealership—Lexus of Lakeway—in July. She has served the brand for more than 26 years, she said.
Roberts carved out new territory in a male-dominated industry.
As of May about 9.4 million women-owned businesses operate in the U.S., generating nearly $1.5 trillion in revenues and employing more than 7.9 million workers, according to The 2015 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report commissioned by American Express.
Nationally, Texas ranks second in the number and economic clout of women-owned firms, up 116 percent compared with 18 years ago, the report states.
According to entrepreneurial resource BiGAUSTIN, women-owned businesses account for 26 percent of the Greater Austin area’s privately held firms, generating $5.3 billion in sales and employing 43,000 workers annually in 2010.
In Lake Travis and Westlake, local women agree they have had opportunities for growth through western Travis County’s entrepreneurial spirit.
Getting started
Government help
According to their website, the city of Austin’s Small & Minority Business Resources department aims to promote minority, women, and disadvantaged business owners to participate in business opportunities with the city. The agency provides a certification process that allows these businesses to compete for contracts for city projects, it states.
However, women-owned businesses applying for the certification must adhere to certain limitations, including documenting that at least 51 percent of the business is owned by a woman, the business is a small business as defined by the Small Business Administration, the owner’s personal net worth does not exceed $1.45 million, and the business facility is located in Texas, the website provides.
The SMBR administers the Small Business Development Center as a local resource for women in business.
The SBA Women’s Business Center provides help to women entrepreneurs who seek business loans or advice. The center, funded by small-business development organization BigAUSTIN and the SBA, provides training, one-on-one counseling and networking opportunities for women business owners.
The center’s lending program allows startup companies—in operation for at least three months—to apply for up to $2,500 without having a comprehensive business plan and up to $15,000 with a comprehensive plan. Established businesses—with at least one year of sales and a filed business income tax return—can apply for up to a $50,000 loan.
Resources
The SBA Women’s Business Center
5407 N. I-35, Ste. 200, Austin 512-928-8010
Small Business Development Center
7719 Wood Hollow Drive, Bldg. 6, Ste. 211, Austin 512-610-0996
Finding a mentor
Service Corps Of Retired Executives, or SCORE, is a national mentoring organization with a local chapter, SCORE Austin, located at 5524 Bee Caves Road, Bldg. M, Ste. 100, Austin. The volunteer group composed of former business owners, executives and managers provides confidential business counseling and advice to entrepreneurs wanting to start a business and also to existing business owners seeking expertise in specific problem areas. There is no charge for counseling, but there are fees for some workshops.
Women@Austin was created in the fall of 2013 by local female entrepreneurs and executives to increase the number of women leading Austin businesses. The group provides mentoring, access to role models and help to obtain business funding.
The Women’s Chamber of Commerce of Texas, focuses on economic empowerment for women and holds monthly meetings with keynote speakers. Most members are professional, college graduates, between 25 and 55 years old, and earn at least $70,000 annually.
The Lake Travis Chamber of Commerce Women in Business program was founded in early 2015 and provides mixers and speakers for female business owners in the Lake Travis area.
“We noticed an increasing number of women-owned businesses in the area and thought it would be beneficial to start the group,” President Laura Mitchell said. “We founded [Women in Business] for members to share ideas, network and learn from one another.”
Giving back
Nonprofit DiscoverHope is a forum for local entrepreneurs to give back to a community in need following their success.
About half of the program’s donors are women who provide funding for small loans and business training for Latin American women in poverty wishing to start their own business, founder Maggie Miller said.
“It’s a tool to give them a hand up mentality rather than a handout,” she said of the Austin-based program begun in 2007.
Miller said the women receiving the first round of loans—about $150 each—are part of a social circle of women receiving the same amount. Although the loans must be repaid in four to eight months, the in-need entrepreneurs have no collateral to use for their investment and learn to rely on each other to proceed to the next round of loans in the event of a missed payment, she said. The loan also comes with an education component to help teach the entrepreneurs what they need to know in order to succeed in their business, she said.
“The credit is a fishing pole for the women to learn to fish for themselves,” Miller said. “The education [they receive] is a way to maximize that pole.”
Good advice
Christie Barany (left) and Courtney Turich display Monkey Mat.[/caption]
The Monkey Mat
For West Lake Hills entrepreneurs Christie Barany and Courtney Turich, the Monkey Mat was created out of necessity.
In 2012, Barany said she was waiting with her family during a layover at a Denver airport. Her children had nothing to do but crawl on the airport floor, treading alongside other travelers, she said.
Turich said she had searched for a similar device to sit on during concerts. Together, the friends created The Monkey Mat, a portable, washable fabric mat that is easy to carry.
In July 2013 the entrepreneurs found themselves winning the admiration and partnership of Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner, judges on the “Shark Tank” television show that awards business owners with funding in exchange for a percentage of the company. They also found two partners in their manufacturing process.
Following the April 2014 episode airing, Monkey Mat sales rose from 120,000 units sold at airing to 600,000 units sold after airing, Turich said.
“We have an entrepreneurial spirit, and we are both driven individuals,” Barany said.
She said the women had been “giving it their all” in their workplaces—the male-dominated fields of medical device and biotech industries.
“We took a leap of faith and put that drive and energy into our own baby, Monkey Mat,” Turich said.
Becker Wright Consultants
Entrepreneur Jennifer Wright said she decided to enter a career in executive recruiting after reading the results of a high school aptitude test.
Jennifer Wright opened her recruiting firm in 2003.[/caption]
Now in its 12th year, her firm, Becker Wright Consultants, has added four employees since January—a trend the Lakeway resident expects to continue.
“For years I put a lid on [adding to my business],” Wright said. “I wasn’t ready. Personally, my kids were little, and I wanted to be there with them. Now, my increased time at work has helped, and I’ve developed more clients.”
Wright said she is self-motivated and, while her children were toddlers, relied on that to work from home.
“I report to myself,” Wright said. “All the risk [of this business] is in my hands.”
