CONVENTIONS
Businesswomen seek clout
BY AMY MARTINEZ
aemartinez@MiamiHerald.com

27 June 2006

Nearly 3,000 women are gathering in Miami Beach this week for an annual event presented by the Women's Business Enterprise National Council. More political clout is one of their goals.

Sure, soccer moms and NASCAR dads are a force to be reckoned with. But politicians may just want to pay closer attention to another fast-growing constituency: WBOs -- women business owners.

Article Link:  http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/14908283.htm?source=rss&channel=miamiherald_business

(c) Copyright 2006, The Miami Herald. All Rights Reserved.

SMALL BUSINESS

Certification helps women-owned firms compete;

The Women's Business Enterprise National Council will hold its annual convention in Miami Beach June 26-28 to promote women-owned businesses.

BY JIM WYSS
jwyss@MiamiHerald.com
12 June 2006

Shoving aside an oversized spool of electrical cable and casually grabbing a pair of wire cutters to pose for a picture, there's little doubt that Mercedes LaPorta feels at ease in her sprawling warehouse in Medley, surrounded by more than $3 million in electrical supplies.

Article Link:  MH-Certif Helps Women

(c) Copyright 2006, The Miami Herald. All Rights Reserved.

Council helps women succeed

Certification encourages ties with other businesses

By News-press.com Staff And Wire Reports
Originally posted on June 22, 2006

Holly LaFontaine loves to prove people wrong.

The 34-year-old Fort Myers resident did it when she took over as president of GFS Building Maintenance Inc., a commercial janitorial company in Fort Myers.

Article Link:  http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060622/BUSINESS/606220356/1075&template=printart#EA#EA

Certification as a woman-owned business is just a start
Marcia Heroux Pounds
Business Strategies

July 3, 2006

Mercedes LaPorta's business, Mercedes Electric Supply in Miami, was doing just fine without being a certified woman's business. Now that it's certified, the company is doing even better.

LaPorta, majority owner of the 27-year-old electrical supply business, had annual revenues last year of $27 million and employs 43 people. Her firm has only been certified for three years, but LaPorta says it has helped her expand her business on a national scale.

Article Link:  http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/local/sfl-ybmarcia03jul03,0,368182.column?coll=sfla-business-headlines

Female-owned companies' clout is on the upswing
Marcia Heroux Pounds
Business Strategies

June 29, 2006

"We can't hear you," the audience of women business owners complained about a panel this week at the Women's Business Enterprise National Council's annual meeting in Miami.

Microphone snafus are uncomfortable moments that no one wants at a conference. It's disruptive and sends audiences packing. The speakers on this panel were the heads of supplier diversity programs from major companies and women business owners who have experience winning corporate contracts. The audience was several hundred women business owners from around the nation.

Article Link:  http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/local/sfl-zmarcia29jun29,0,6366443.column?coll=sfla-business-headlines

Group helps firms find perfect match with women entrepreneurs

By Rachel Hatzipanagos
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

June 22, 2006

Annette Taddeo's LanguageSpeak translation service has received five clients and millions of dollars in revenue through matchmaking sessions hosted by the Women's Business Enterprise National Council.

WBENC, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that helps support women business owners, conducts annual conferences with matchmaking sessions that give women-owned business the chance to meet with corporations and get contracts.

Article Link:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/local/sfl-zwomen22jun22,0,3044783.story?coll=sfla-business-headlines