First Open Air Marketplace Attracts Visitors from All Over Concord

Author: Guest blogger, Mechthild von Knobelsdorff, SuccessLink Fellow

Sharon Plousha selling her delicious cookie

Sharon Plousha could not even take a small break – she had just celebrated her graduation from Women's Initiative's Simple Steps program the evening before when she sold her own cookies at the Open Air Market Place in Concord. She was one of 22 local women to exhibit the products of her local business. The range of products was accordingly broad. Visitors could buy products as diverse as sweets, wine, jewelry, special barbecue sauce or a photographer's service. Entering one of the rows of nicely decorated stands, they could already smell the beautiful bees wax candles Jan Schubert crafted. On the other side, Perry's Catering helped to keep bellies full and minds happy as the time passed by. Visitors lined up to taste some of the barbecue and potato salad prepared by the graduate. The next stand invited visitors to enjoy delicious desert of fruit salad and Mexican ice creams.

Barbeque from Perry's Catering

People from all over Concord came to attend this special event, and business people around Water World California used their lunch break to buy a nice gift for Mother's Day, wander around, and eat something. They enjoyed the experience of the market as all vendors were extremely friendly and they had the special feeling that their money would stay in their community. Moreover, the sun broke its way through the morning clouds and warmed people's souls. For Jan's bees wax candles, it almost got too hot, causing them to sweat slightly. “This will give them a nice polish tomorrow,” Jan said.

Jan Schubert's beeswax candles

Surprisingly for many visitors, the open air marketplace was the first of its kind. Very well organized and well attended, the event was a huge success. Sharon sold almost all of her cookies. Her new clients are surely waiting for the next market place already.

Productive Economy ≠ Higher Living Standards

Author: Allyson Stewart, Research & Public Policy Fellow, Women’s Initiative


In a recent issue brief, “The wedges between productivity and median compensation growth,” Economic Policy Institute President Lawrence Mishel debunks a common misconception: Increased productivity growth in the American economy does not benefit the average American. Instead, productivity gains have translated into exacerbated income inequality.


“We are often told that greater competitiveness and higher productivity are the keys to higher living standards,” said Mishel. “In fact, productivity growth only establishes the potential for improved standards of living. In the past four decades, and especially recently, it has not translated into proportionate gains for working families.”


The brief highlights a major divergence between productivity growth (growth of the output of goods and services per hour worked) and compensation growth for the average worker that has contributed to rising income inequality over the past thirty years and in particular the last decade. According to the brief, “Productivity in the economy grew by 80.4 percent between 1973 and 2011 but the growth of real hourly compensation of the median worker grew by far less, just 10.7 percent.” The figure below shows the rising gap between productivity and compensation:





The brief attributes this phenomenon to three causes: The rising inequality of compensation, the erosion of labor’s income share (and corresponding increase in capital income’s share), and a more minor cause, the deterioration in “labor’s terms of trade.” Essentially, firms are making more money, but not sharing it equally, or even close to equally, amongst workers. Instead, most of the gains are going to the highest paid employees and shareholders, and at the same time the cost of goods workers purchase are going up faster than their wages increase. Unless productivity gains are distributed more equally, those gains will continue to exacerbate income inequality.


At the Women’s Initiative for Self Employment we create opportunities for working class Americans to create better paying jobs for themselves, build assets, and make greater investments in labor (as opposed to capital) through small business ownership. Just one year after graduating, our clients' average household income leaps from $22,008 to $34,980—an increase of nearly 60%. Graduates also double their rate of home ownership in the two years after training, and their average household net worth grows by more than 300%, from $12,968 to $53,572. In keeping with The Andersonville Study of Retail Economics finding that local businesses spend 28 percent of revenue on labor compared to 23 percent for chains stores, we find that our graduates consistently make significant investments in their workers - Women’s Initiative graduates provide an average of 2.5 jobs through their businesses and pay an average wage of $16.45 per hour—more than double the federal and State minimum wage. These outcomes suggest that increased investment in microenterprise training and support offered by organizations like the Women’s Initiative could help close the gap between productivity growth in the U.S. economy and the well-being of the average worker.

Small is the New Big in Business

By, Guest Blogger, Allyson Stewart

More businesses are starting small and staying small according to a new study published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in March 2012. Reversing the trend seen in the late 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s, the study finds that the average size (measured by employment) of business establishments is falling – startups went from an average of around 6.8 employees in 2001 to 4.7 employees in 2011.

You might be wondering, “Isn’t that just because businesses have had less access to capital to hire employees?” In fact, this trend toward starting small and staying small has persisted throughout the economic upswings and downturns over the past decade, with average number of employees dropping during the recessions and staying constant through the period of economic expansion. The study attributes the trend in declining establishment size in part to shifts in industry composition and in part to the age of the establishments, hypothesizing that the trend toward starting small and staying small may be in part due to an increased emphasis on technology, and a lesser emphasis on labor.

The study also finds that while the share of employment in the smallest businesses remained constant throughout the 2000’s, the share of businesses classified in the smallest size category increased – during the 2003-2007 expansion, the share of private sector businesses with fewer than 5 employees increased from 50.4% to 51%.

As more entrepreneurs decide to start small business, we expect to see an increase in demand for business training and support services appropriate for the smallest of businesses here at the Women’s Initiative, where on average our graduates provide an average of 2.5 jobs for others 5 years after graduation and see an average increase in income of almost $13,000 just 1 year after graduation.

An Inside View of Women’s Initiative (Part 2)

By, Guest Blogger, Arriel Sherman, Marketing/Events Fellow

In my last blog post, I told you about my experience as a Women’s Initiative client.  Today, I want to share my experience of being part of the Fellowship program at Women’s Initiative.  I am in my last stretch of my Fellowship and have gained so much knowledge and appreciation for Women’s Initiative by being in the office these past 12 weeks. I have witnessed the hard work and dedication that the staff and volunteers have in order to sustain a positive growth in the microenterprise community. Each position is integral to the success of the Women’s Initiative and ALAS clients. When Julie Castro Abrams, CEO of Women’s Initiative, attended the company-wide meetings out of the Oakland office I was able to admire her success and bask in the wisdom she shared.

On a more personal note, I have changed during this experience. I have learned the importance of being humble as well as becoming a strong advocate for oneself and for others. By researching and writing Success Stories about our graduates, conducting Business Status Updates, and helping to plan the 10^th Annual Fundraising Gala, I have acquired skills that I had not expected. This experience has inspired me to uplift members of my community. I believe that joy and success should be tangible for everyone, especially in their own ways. So, if I can help others to feel as I do, that would mean a lot to me. As I sat at my desk for three months, I could hear the progression of women’s ideas in the adjacent conference room and that alone keeps me motivated to support Women’s Initiative as well as motivated to continue my own entrepreneurial journey. The stories and laughter that was shared among these groups of women, has made me reminisce about my 12-week experience during the Simple Steps course. These snapshots of my hard work and perseverance, have propelled me to aggressively strive toward owning and opening my lounge in the Bay Area.  

Lastly, my goals going forward are to extend my Fellowship with Women’s Initiative so that I can continue to work with the Marketing Communications Director in preparation for the 10^th Annual Gala in May. I’ll also continue my connection to Women’s Initiative as a graduate of the program by attending the Gala as a Graduate Ambassador and access networking events. In addition to this, I plan to seek an advanced degree in business in the Fall of 2013. I have plans to center my concentration of study in entrepreneurship, marketing, or management. I am excited about my future endeavors and will continue to prepare for the amazing road ahead of me.

I hope that my story has inspired you to become involved as a volunteer with Women’s Initiative where your voice and experience is respected and much appreciated. Your assistance will help graduates become even stronger as women entrepreneurs in our local community.

Start-Up Funding Challenge 2012

Opportunity Fund—California's largest non-profit microlender to small businesses—is proud to announce the Start-Up Funding Challenge 2012. New Bay Area businesses can apply for loans and grants to expand their business as well as further their success. Through the Start-Up Funding Challenge 2012, Opportunity Fund offers loans up to $50,000 and grants up to $5,000.

All applications are due by April 15^th, 2012. Visit www.opportunityfund.org/startup to apply.

This is a great way for Women’s Initiative graduates who are looking for the funding to hire employees, produce more materials, create marketing materials and need help taking their businesses to the next level. For more information, go to: Opportunity Fund.

Invisibility of Women and Growing Poverty

By: Guest Blogger, Arianna Samuel, Research Intern

Up from 13.9 percent in 2009 to 14.5 percent in 2010, the poverty rate among women is the highest it has been in 17 years. Somehow the mainstream media has failed to mention the disproportionate representation of women in these figures. They have not, however, been forgotten.

The feminization of poverty can be attributed to a number of odds stacked against women in the current economic climate. It is undoubted—the recession impacted everyone—however, it is largely the jobs in woman-dominated sectors such as education and other public sector jobs that are unlikely to be restored anytime soon. Throughout the post-recession time period of June 2009 through May 2011, while the unemployment rate for men decreased, the overall rate for women increased to 8.5 percent; women lost 218,000 jobs while men gained 768,000.

The role of microenterprise in both the lives of women and the economy is, increasingly significant. Not only is microenterprise in part in the business of creating jobs, it is also geared to provide women the opportunity to fulfill family-oriented responsibilities and work enough to become financially fit. For single mothers, a population who has one of the highest numbers of individuals living under the poverty line at 41 percent, microenterprise truly could be an answer. It is not an immediate answer—as some self-confidence, networks, and financial and business skills are necessary in order for microentrepreneurship to be successful—but, fortunately there are microenterprise organizations like Women’s Initiative to help women cultivate these skills, giving them both a boost out of poverty and a hand into financial stability.

Must Know - Unlucky Number 13 as in FY13 Budget

In their recent newsletter, CAMEO talked about issues with the President's recommended budget for FY 2013 and issues with lack of funding for small business:

I was reading the President's recommended budget for FY 2013. You can read the SBA budget starting on page 191. It's not good. PRIME is eliminated. Please don't shoot the messenger. Martin Feeney, our guy in DC, put together this budget chart.

CAMEO issued a press statement* on Tuesday about our disappointment over the SBA budget.

President Obama's FY 2013 Budget will not help nine-tenths of small businesses. The Budget contains support for small business in name only. The recommended cuts to programs will hurt the majority of small businesses.

2011 Cheers To Our Year

View our inspirational video about our fundraising breakfast!

An Inside View to Women’s Initiative (Part 1)

By: Guest Blogger, Arriel Sherman, Marketing/Events Fellow

I would like to introduce myself to you, the reader. My name is Arriel Sherman and I am a Women’s Initiative Marketing/Events Fellow. I want to give you just a bit of my background and how Women’s Initiative found me.

In 2010, I graduated from California State University, Long Beach. I was bright-eyed and bushy tailed; ready to take on the world. The only problem is that I had absolutely no direction of where to start. The only message that pumped through me was “just graduate from college, no matter what it takes.” But no one really told me to focus on what I liked and how I could incorporate that into the “real world.” So, I decided to work with a university as an advisor. I had the same schedule every day. Wake up, get to work on time, go to my cubicle, then speak with students, clock out, and go home. My 9am to 7pm routine just didn’t mesh with me. So, in December, I quit; just after 6 months of working. Feeling lost and overwhelmed, I returned home to Richmond, CA.

At the beginning of 2011, I was on a quest to try new things. I remember thinking about my graduation day and how I felt so accomplished and how I wanted to become truly successful. I thought that the only way I could do that was by working for myself. I would ensure that my company would run efficiently, my employees would be happy, and most of all, I would be happy. So, I spoke to an advisor, Bridget Anderson from Making Waves Education Program, and she mentioned Women’s Initiative. She said that she met Julie Abrams, at a previous event and it would be great if I signed up. So I did. I signed up for the My Business Action Plan session, the following week. 

The moment I stepped foot in the door at the San Francisco office, I was greeted by lots of women; women who were employees and women who were developing their business ideas. I felt an immediate connection. We were here to share our ideas and grow them into something larger than a notion. We were supportive of each other. Keep in mind, we were all perfect strangers but because we were here, at Women’s Initiative, we smiled and shared, and empowered each other during this hour long session. I think that because we all had the courage to get to this class, share our ideas (many of us, for the first time), and feel supported in our decisions, instead of doubted, we connected as “women with visions.” I can tell you that this is something I have never experienced in a college classroom, ever. After this experience, I knew I was ready to take the next step; I knew that I was ready to begin my journey as an aspiring entrepreneur. In this moment, I was finally ready to feed my entrepreneurial soul.  

Technorati Tags: Education, Entrepreneurship, Women and Support

Microenterprise and Self-Employment Should be Included in Job Act! Your Thoughts?

By: Anonymous Guest Blogger

We are all in support of job creation. We all want the new Jobs Act to succeed and to help the economy recover. The act outlines the guidelines for how states must use federal funds to provide job training to their unemployed citizens. However, this training is only for existing jobs, and not for microenterprise training. At Women’s Initiative, we invest substantially in partnerships with other agencies and organizations who share our mission. Therefore we are attempting to partner with local Workforce Investment Boards to provide self-employment training to unemployed workers. Despite the success of our training program, we are not succeeding in such partnership attempts, because the law does not include funding for self-employment training.

Job training to support self-employment provides more numerous opportunities for job creation. The Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO) conducted a study which found that if one in three microenterprises hired just one employee, the U.S. economy would reach full employment. The Microenterprise sector can play a powerful role in helping the American economy emerge into recovery and create jobs through small businesses. Please share your thoughts. What would you like to see in the new jobs act with regard to self-employment?

Click here for a summary of the jobs act: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/09/08/fact-sheet-american-jobs-act

Click here for more information on the AEO’s study and the resulting “One in Three Alliance”: http://www.microenterpriseworks.org/