inspire
“It’s just so rewarding because it empowers women.”
::sw
CATHY POKINES
Deputy Director, Small Business Administration in Syracuse BY LAUREN BOUDREAU I PHOTO BY rick needle
When Cathy Pokines started at the Small Business Administration in Syracuse there was no center or program to help women in business in this area. The whole helping women in business initiative that took place nation-wide, Cathy says, “came out of a White House conference on women entrepreneurs held back almost 20 years ago.” The conference determined that women entrepreneurs were not served as well as men. They did not have access to the same resources to help them start their businesses like, counseling, financing, and training. Thus, women business centers were born. “Right now, women owned business are starting at almost twice the rate as their male-owned counterparts,” Cathy says, “so there’s been some success.” But it was Syracuse University that approached the SBA to help fund a women’s business center in Syracuse. This led to the creation of the WISE Women’s Business Center, and around the same time the WISE Symposium was also developed. Cathy actually worked with SU in the planning and organizing of the first WISE Symposium about 10 years ago. As a part of the University’s expansion of the Institute for Veterans and Military Families, V-WISE was born; an organization committed to women Veterans by providing them the tools to become successful entrepreneurs. “This is something that the SBA supports all across the country,” Cathy says. V-Wise is offered at many different locations. Cathy first became interested in the Small Business Administration when she was still working with Oswego County Tourism where she would help small businesses in tourism. However, the SBA caught her eye because it was still helping people with small businesses, but all different kinds. “When I learned what the mission of SBA was, to help small businesses succeed and grow, it was a natural fit for me.” That was also the first time the SBA was interested in helping small business in a hands-on way, and for 16 years, Cathy has never looked back. But why are so many women turning to owning small businesses? Cathy says it offers women flexibility, especially for those with families and children. “It gives them the opportunity to be their own boss instead of working for someone else,” she says, and quite frankly, it’s the American dream. “There’s an awful lot of satisfaction that can be gained from that,” she says. But as far as women wanting expand their business into larger corporations, Cathy says that women tend to want to be comfortable and when they reach that perfect stage in their business growth, they’ll stay there. Even so, in 2013 woman-owned businesses account for generating more than $1.3 trillion and employing nearly 8.6 million people, according to a study by Women Able, a for-profit social enterprise that works to enable women’s entrepreneurship worldwide. The importance of helping women in business is still great, though. Cathy admits that most women “have it in their mind that they’d like to try it but don’t have the confidence to make that leap” into entrepreneurship. That’s why Cathy says her job is so exciting. “By providing them the resources
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April april 2014 :: syracuseWomanMag.com
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