U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office

Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800

Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001

87–582 PDF 2014

S. HRG. 113–310 

STRENGTHENING THE ENTREPRENEURIAL 

ECOSYSTEM FOR MINORITY WOMEN 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS AND 

ENTREPRENEURSHIP 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS 

FIRST SESSION 

MAY 8, 2013 

Printed for the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 

( 

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.fdsys.gov 
(II) 

COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP 

ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS 

MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana, Chair 

JAMES E. RISCH, Idaho, Ranking Member 

CARL LEVIN, Michigan 

TOM HARKIN, Iowa 

MARIA CANTWELL, Washington 

MARK L. PRYOR, Arkansas 

BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland 

JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire 

KAY R. HAGAN, North Carolina 

HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota 

WILLIAM M. COWAN, Massachusetts 

DAVID VITTER, Louisiana 

MARCO RUBIO, Florida 

RAND PAUL, Kentucky 

TIM SCOTT, South Caarolina 

DEB FISCHER, Nebraska 

MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming 

RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin 

JANE CAMPBELL, Democratic Staff Director 

SKIFFINGTON HOLDERNESS, Republican Staff Director 
(III) 

C O N T E N T S 

OPENING STATEMENTS

Page 

Landrieu, Hon. Mary L., Chair, and a U.S. Senator from Louisiana .................. 1 

Risch, Hon. James E., Ranking Member, and a U.S. Senator from Idaho ......... 3 

WITNESS TESTIMONY

Panel 1 

Johns, Marie C., Deputy Administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration, 

Washington, DC ................................................................................................... 3 

Castillo, Alejandra Y., National Deputy Director, Minority Business Development Agency, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC ..................... 10 

Panel 2 

Longoria, Eva, Founder, Eva Longoria Foundation, Los Angeles, CA ................ 26 

Morial, Marc H., President and Chief Executive Officer, National Urban 

Leage, New York, NY .......................................................................................... 34 

Parker, Sophia, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, DSFederal, Inc., Gaithersburg, MD ...................................................................................................... 53 

Lancaster, Marianne, President and Chief Executive Officer, Lancaster Packaging, Inc., Hudson, MA ...................................................................................... 60 

Kolditz, Baatseba Dixie, Owner, Brighton Enterprises, Inc., and Open-Box 

Creations, LLC, Battle Ground, WA .................................................................. 66 

ALPHABETICAL LISTING AND APPENDIX MATERIAL SUBMITTED

Association of Women’s Business Centers 

Letter dated May 8, 2013, to Chair Landrieu ................................................ 112 

Castillo, Alejandra Y. 

Testimony .......................................................................................................... 10 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 12 

Fairlie, Robert W. 

Report titled ‘‘Wealth Inequality, Business Success, and Minority 

Women’’ .......................................................................................................... 100 

Johns, Marie C. 

Testimony .......................................................................................................... 3 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 6 

Kolditz, Baatseba Dixie 

Testimony .......................................................................................................... 66 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 68 

Lancaster, Marianne 

Testimony .......................................................................................................... 60 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 63 

Landrieu, Hon. Mary L. 

Opening statement ........................................................................................... 1 

Public Law 100–533 ......................................................................................... 80 

Longoria, Eva 

Testimony .......................................................................................................... 26 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 29 

Morial, Marc H. 

Testimony .......................................................................................................... 34 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 36 

Palomarez, Javier 
Page

IV 

—Continued 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 107 

Parker, Sophia 

Testimony .......................................................................................................... 53 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 55 

Risch, Hon. James E. 

Opening statement ........................................................................................... 3 

Post-hearing questions posed to: 

Alejandra Y. Castillo ................................................................................. 94 

Marie C. Johns .......................................................................................... 96 

Women’s Economic Ventures 

Company profile ................................................................................................ 114 
(1) 

STRENGTHENING THE ENTREPRENEURIAL 

ECOSYSTEM FOR MINORITY WOMEN 

WEDNESDAY, MAY 8, 2013 

UNITED STATES SENATE, COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS

AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP, Washington, DC. 

The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:03 a.m., in Room 

106, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Mary L. Landrieu (Chair 

of the Committee) presiding. 

Present: Senators Landrieu, Heitkamp, Cowan, and Risch. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. MARY L. LANDRIEU, CHAIR, 

AND A U.S. SENATOR FROM LOUISIANA 

Chair LANDRIEU. Good morning, and if the witnesses and staff 

would take their seats, welcome to our hearing this morning on minority women in business and the challenges facing them and the 

success that they have achieved. I am happy to be joined by my 

Ranking Member, Senator Risch. I am going to start with an opening statement and then turn it over to our first panel. 

Today’s hearing will focus specifically on identifying what Federal, State, local, private, and nonprofit solutions work best to 

strengthen women business ownership opportunities for minority 

women. 

Today’s hearing is timely, because this year marks the 25th anniversary of the enactment of the Women’s Business Ownership Act 

of 1988, a landmark piece of legislation that laid the foundation for 

increased Federal support of one of the largest and most important 

segments of our nation’s economy, women-owned businesses. 

Specifically, the Act extended Equal Credit Opportunity of 1974 

to include business credit. It may be a surprise to the young 

women in the room that prior to 1974 and into the 1960s in some 

States, women could get no credit, personal or business. It was not 

protected by the law, and it took acts of Congress to make sure 

that women could get credit personally and in business on their 

own credit, not having to go through a male partner or a husband. 

It required the Census Bureau to more completely count womenowned business enterprises. If you cannot count, then you cannot 

measure, and the United States has a great interest in measuring 

the extraordinary contribution that women business owners make 

to our economy. 

And we established the National Women’s Business Council, and 

most significantly to today’s hearing, initiated a pilot program of 

entrepreneurship training that led to the establishment of the U.S. 
2 

Small Business Administration’s Women’s Business Centers, which 

have been widely supported by men and women in Congress. 

Since the law’s enactment, women-owned firms have grown and 

continue to grow in number and economic stature. Broadly, womenowned firms are holding their own, meeting or exceeding average 

revenue and employment growth when compared to all privatelyheld firms. According to a recent report by American Express 

OPEN, from 1997 to 2012, when a number of businesses in the 

United States increased by 37 percent, the number of womenowned firms amazingly increased by 54 percent, a rate of one-anda-half times the national average, which is, indeed, impressive. 

According to that same report, in 2012, these firms had revenues of nearly $1.3 trillion, employed 7.7 million workers. In that year, 

the number of women-owned companies increased by 200,000, 

which if you think about that, that is 550 new businesses a day. 

For minority women, the rates of business starts are just as impressive. Since the SBA Women’s Business Centers program was 

formally authorized in 1991, entrepreneurship and small business 

ownership among women of color has increased significantly. According to estimates by the Center for Women Business Research, 

between 1997 and 2004, the number of privately-held firms that 

are 51 percent or more owned by women of color grew by 55 percent, while all privately-held firms in the United States grew by 

only nine percent. Today, women of color own 1.9 million of the 7.2 

million firms with a majority female ownership, generating $165 

billion in revenue and employing 1.2 million people. 

Among minority women, Latina-owned businesses are the fastest-growing segment of this group. Currently, one in ten of all 

women-owned businesses are owned by Latinas, with total receipts 

of $555 billion. 

Additionally, according to the Center for Women Business Research, African American women are starting businesses at three 

to five times the rate of all businesses, despite facing financial obstacles. Companies owned by African American women grew by 67 

percent by 2002 to 2007. 

So while this hearing is specifically focused on minority women’s 

business enterprise and entrepreneurship, addressing these issues 

is a win for all business owners in America. 

As I mentioned earlier, women-owned businesses are growing at 

extraordinary rates, but women business owners, like all business 

owners, are still struggling, with limited access to capital and credit. Access to Federal contracts is sometimes difficult, and local and 

State contracts. Limited funding for technical assistance and counseling programs, sometimes it is difficult to access. And, I would 

say, regulations at the local, State, and Federal level also inhibit— 

unnecessary regulations—the growth of some businesses. So there 

are challenges out there and our committee would like to review 

them. 

As we examine ways to solve these problems, we will have opportunities to find ways to grow our economy, and that is our overall 

goal. In addition, any time small business owners achieve success, 

it leads to more job creation, which boosts our overall economy. As 

President Kennedy once said, and has been often repeated, a rising 

tide lifts all boats. We would like to see small businesses grow and 
3 

expand and accelerate, creating the jobs that Americans need and 

opportunities for entrepreneurship to really boost our economy and 

push our economy forward. 

In closing, it is critical to the nation’s economic future that we 

create more of these success stories, not less. The more direct way 

to achieve this goal is to adequately invest in programs that work, 

that harness the entrepreneurial potential of minority women that 

are such a tremendous untapped, unrealized asset in this nation. 

I look forward to hearing from our committee members on both 

sides of the aisle as well as our witnesses today, from the administration. We have Marie Johns, Deputy Administrator of the Small 

Business Administration. Marie, I know you have announced that 

you are retiring. We are sorry to see you go, but we thank you so 

much for the years that you have spent after an extraordinary career in the private sector helping the Small Business Administration reshape and refocus its entrepreneurship endeavors. You have 

done that on behalf of the 28 million small businesses in our country and we are very, very grateful. 

We also have Alejandra Castillo, National Deputy Director of the 

Minority Business Development Agency within the Department of 

Commerce, and then I will introduce our second panel at the time 

that they come forward. 

Let me recognize my Ranking Member, who is going to have to 

leave for a Joint Meeting of Congress, very important, but I thank 

him for attending this morning. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JAMES E. RISCH, RANKING 

MEMBER, AND A U.S. SENATOR FROM IDAHO 

Senator RISCH. Well, Madam Chairman, thank you very much, 

and thank you for holding this hearing. I think everyone certainly 

agrees with you that the rising tide lifts all boats and it is important that we focus on that. When we do have a rising tide, every 

single member of our community has more opportunities than they 

would otherwise. So it is important that we do focus on that and 

look at all aspects of the community, including the one we are 

going to focus on today. 

Thank you so much for the hearing. 

Chair LANDRIEU. Thank you very much. 

Ms. Johns, you can begin. 

STATEMENT OF MARIE C. JOHNS, DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR, 

U.S. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, WASHINGTON, DC 

Ms. JOHNS. Thank you, Chair Landrieu. Thank you, Ranking 

Member Risch. I am very pleased to be here today. 

Twenty-five years after the enactment of the Women’s Business 

Ownership Act, women-owned and minority-owned businesses are 

two of the fastest growing segments of new businesses in today’s 

economy. Recent estimates show the number of women-owned businesses alone have grown 59 percent since 1997, nearly double the 

rate of men-owned firms during that period. 

We know that minority women-owned firms are leading the 

charge in growth in terms of business creation. For example, from 

1997 to 2007, the number of African American women-owned firms 

increased by more than 191 percent, and Hispanic women-owned 
4 

firms increased by more than 133 percent. However, we know that 

gaps remain. While women today own 30 percent of businesses, 

they are still receiving only about ten percent of revenues. 

And while the nation’s economic recovery is moving forward, that 

recovery has been uneven, particularly for small business owners 

in traditionally underserved communities. As Deputy Administrator, I have had the opportunity to visit many of these communities and to work with small businesses to access the tools and resources they need to succeed. 

To further our efforts, SBA convened our Council on Underserved 

Communities in 2011 to create a more comprehensive approach to 

addressing the needs of small businesses in underserved communities. And the following year, we led an administration-wide effort 

in conjunction with the White House Business Council to hold a series of urban economic forums across the country. 

Building on these conversations, SBA has tailored programs to 

improve access and opportunity in underserved communities 

through our ‘‘three Cs’’: Counseling, contracts, and capital. 

As you know, the Women’s Business Ownership Act helped pave 

the way for the Women’s Business Centers program. Today, SBA 

oversees a national network of more than 100 Women’s Business 

Centers that support women who want to start or grow their business. In the last year alone, we provided counseling to more than 

500,000 women entrepreneurs and small business owners with the 

help of our resource partners and successful education programs, 

such as Start Young, which leverages our Federal and resource 

partner network to educate young Job Corps participants about 

small business opportunities. 

Across its programs, SBA has also learned that intensive entrepreneurship education for existing business owners, especially in 

underserved communities, has a powerful positive impact, filling 

gaps in training and access. And research suggests individuals in 

underserved communities are 50 percent more likely to become 

business owners and business growth in underserved communities 

equals job growth closer to home. 

Building on our current efforts, President Obama’s fiscal year 

2014 budget invests $40 million in entrepreneurial education to leverage private and public sector best practices and to help boost existing small businesses to the next level of growth. In addition to 

counseling, SBA is working to ensure that small business owners 

in underserved communities have access to the capital they need 

to start and grow their business. According to the Urban Institute, 

SBA loans are three to five times more likely to go to women and 

minority-owned businesses than conventional loans. And we are 

working to fill existing market gaps for underserved communities 

across the board with both micro loans and smaller-dollar loans. 

We have already expanded and simplified our Community Advantage program and streamlined our signature Small Loan Advantage program, and the President’s fiscal year 2014 budget plans 

to eliminate fees for borrowers and lenders for all 7(a) loans under 

$150,000 in fiscal year 2014. 

Additionally, SBA is working to ensure that more qualified 

women-owned and minority-owned small businesses are able to 

compete for government and commercial supply chain opportuni-
5 

ties. Over the past four years, SBA has made significant progress 

to create more opportunities for entrepreneurs from underserved 

communities, and I have seen firsthand the benefits of these initiatives for small business owners in communities nationwide. 

Senator, as this is my last time appearing before this committee, 

I would like to conclude by noting that my tenure as SBA’s Deputy 

Administrator has been more than just a job for me. It has been 

a fulfillment of my lifelong passion for supporting small business 

growth and economic empowerment. I am very proud of the work 

we have done at the agency, and I am deeply grateful to you for 

your support. Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Johns follows:] 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 

Chair LANDRIEU. Thank you very much. 

Ms. Castillo. 

STATEMENT OF ALEJANDRA Y. CASTILLO, NATIONAL DEPUTY 

DIRECTOR, MINORITY BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AGENCY, 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, WASHINGTON, DC 

Ms. CASTILLO. Good morning, Madam Chairwoman Landrieu, 

Ranking Member Risch, and members of the committee. Thank you 

for inviting the Minority Business Development Agency to appear 

before the committee and speak on strengthening minority womenowned businesses during the 25th anniversary of the passage of the 

Women’s Business Ownership Act. I ask that my statement be submitted for the record in its entirety. 

I would also like to take a moment to thank my friend and colleague, SBA Deputy Administrator Marie Johns, with whom I have 

had the pleasure of working closely with over the last four years. 

It is through this partnership that our respective agencies have 

been able to better assist and enhance the achievements of minority-owned businesses as well as the small business community writ 

large. 

Minority-owned businesses contribute significantly to this nation’s economy. According to the Census’s 2007 Survey of Business 

Owners, minority-owned business firms contribute $1 trillion in 

total economic output and employ nearly six million Americans. 

They strengthen our global competitiveness. Minority-owned firms 

are twice as likely to export their goods and services than non-minority-owned firms. They are also three times as likely to derive 

100 percent of their revenues from export, and also three times as 

likely to transact business in a language other than English. 

While minority-owned firms, on the whole, are helping grow our 

economy, minority women entrepreneurs are driving that growth. 

According to a recent study commissioned by American Express 

OPEN, there are nearly three million minority women-owned 

firms. Minority women-owned firms also generate $226.8 billion in 

total revenue and employ 1.4 million Americans. 

In particular, Latina-owned firms have seen tremendous growth 

over the same period. These firms have tripled in numbers while 

they have employed—their employment numbers have increased by 

74 percent, outpacing women-owned firms in general. 

The growth of minority women-owned firms is a positive accomplishment. However, there is still much room for growth. They continue to encounter many obstacles. These obstacles include access 

to capital, access to contracts, as well as the lack of informal networks to assist in the pursuit of business opportunity. 

MBDA helps firms realize their full economic potential through 

technical assistance, public and private contracting opportunities, 

and serving as a strategic partner in their growth and development. MBDA is the only Federal agency dedicated to the growth 

and global competitiveness of the nation’s 5.8 million minority businesses. 

The bulk of our work is accomplished through our nationwide 

network of MBDA Business Centers. Each center provides businesses with services to assist them in accessing capital, contract, 

and new markets, as well as helping them grow in size and scale. 
11 

Over the course of the last four years, the MBDA Business Centers 

have been instrumental in the agency’s achieving the highest performance in its history. Since 2009, MBDA has assisted clients in 

accessing $14.6 billion in contracts and capital, while helping them 

create and retain over 33,000 jobs. Some of MBDA’s biggest successes have been with firms owned by women of color. I would like 

to take a moment and share a success story with you. 

For Mariana Oprea, failure is not an option. After being laid off, 

she founded Interavia Spares and Services. Her company is a distributor and reseller of aviation parts and materials to an international market of airlines, with 95 percent of her business in export. ISS, Inc. had annual revenues of $3 million until 2009, when 

it dropped to $1.3 million, due in large part to the recession. With 

the help of Miami MBDA Business Center, ISS was able to not 

only recover, but double its profits. 

This is just one of the agency’s successes with minority womenowned businesses. Soon, MBDA will release its annual report for 

fiscal year 2012, and I encourage you to review this document and 

take notice of our ability to work with a business and grow it into 

a driver of job creation. 

Looking ahead, I want to assure each of you that MBDA is committed to strengthening the minority women-owned business community. If we are to create an economy built to last and have a nation that competes globally, the strength of this segment will be a 

determining factor. 

I look forward to working with the committee in this important 

topic and I look forward to answering your questions. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Castillo follows:] 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 

Chair LANDRIEU. Thank you very much, and we do have a few. 

Let me start with you, Ms. Johns. In your testimony, you mentioned the SBA’s efforts to provide counseling, training, and other 

technical assistance through the Women’s Business Centers program. Some have argued that this program is duplicative. There 

have been reports that have come out from any number of Senators 

arguing that there is too much duplication in this space between 

the Department of Commerce, Department of Agriculture, and the 

Small Business Administration. How do you answer those charges, 

and how are the Women’s Business Centers unique, and what kind 

of partnerships do they provide with some of these other agencies? 

Ms. JOHNS. Thank you for that question, Chair Landrieu. Our 

Women’s Business Centers are part of what we like to describe as 

the ecosystem of our resource partner network on the ground. The 

SBA is a small agency, but we have one of the best ground games 

in the Federal Government in terms of the support that we provide 

through our 68 district offices. We have a Women’s Business Center for the first time under this administration, a Women’s Business Center in every jurisdiction, and they work closely with our 

Small Business Development Centers and our SCORE volunteers 

to provide the counseling, the training, all of the support that small 

businesses need across the continuum of their job—their business 

development. 

People come to a Women’s Business Center, a woman comes 

there with an idea, and they want to talk about how to actually 

get started. Our WBCs also provide a great array of training classes that are very important for the continuum that I have described. 

But to get to some of the other elements that make the Women’s 

Business Centers unique and why they are an important part of 

the network, and that is our Small Business Development Centers 

are also a very important part of what we do. They are often located on college campuses. For some women starting a business 

that can be a bit of an imposing atmosphere. Women’s Business 

Centers are generally nonprofits. They are located often in underserved areas. I have had the honor of visiting many of our WBCs 

across the country and I am always moved and inspired by the stories that I have heard from women who started businesses and talk 

about the network, being able to talk with women, other women 

business owners and how important that has been in their business 

development. 

And our WBCs do not operate in a silo. WBC clients are regularly referred to SBDCs for the next stage of the support they need, 

to SCORE counselors for one-on-one long-term business counseling. 

So it all works together, and we could no more take our WBCs out 

of the mix than we could lop off an arm and say that the body still 

works the same. They are part of the ecosystem and it all works 

together, and we get the feedback from the over one million entrepreneurs that we counsel every year that the system works. 

Chair LANDRIEU. And how many SCORE chapters do we have in 

the country, approximately? 

Ms. JOHNS. We have, roughly—well, we have, of course, SCORE 

chapters in every one of our jurisdictions. We have about 15,000 

SCORE counselors nationwide. 
20 

Chair LANDRIEU. And I think it is about 350 chapters, I think. 

It is approximately 350 chapters, and so you have how many Women’s Business Centers? 

Ms. JOHNS. We have over 100. 

Chair LANDRIEU. A hundred of the Women’s Business Centers, 

about 350 SCORE chapters. We have about 1,000–2,000, actually, 

banks that are lending through the Small Business Lending programs. And then we have how many Minority Business Centers, 

Ms. Castillo? 

Ms. CASTILLO. We have over 40 different Minority Business Centers throughout the country. 

Chair LANDRIEU. Okay. And if the staff could put up, this is just 

one graph of the Small Business Women’s Centers, but if you lay 

it on top of that, and I am sorry we do not have it to show, because 

it is fairly impressive, but if you laid on top of this the 39 Minority 

Business Centers and then the 350 SCORE chapters and then the 

2,000 banks that are in almost every community lending through 

the small business programs, you can see the strong network of resource partners, and that is not including the non-bank lenders 

which exist in many places. 

And I think what we are going to focus on going forward is the 

coordination, maybe better coordination between all of these. I 

think there is a lot of coordination going on, but we could always 

improve and enhance so you could literally get to the point where 

within a click of a mouse or within 20 minutes of almost anybody’s 

home, even in a rural area, they can get to some partner in this 

network. Is that generally our idea going forward? What I have 

just described, is that something that you are thinking of or are already in the process of building? 

We will start with you, Ms. Johns. 

Ms. JOHNS. Well, Chair Landrieu, we know the budget situation 

that we are in and we would be remiss as an agency if we were 

not focused on making sure that we are making maximum value 

out of every taxpayer dollar. And so we have been very focused at 

the SBA on coordinating with other Federal agencies and ensuring 

that there is seamless alignment among our resource partners on 

the ground. 

To give you a couple of examples of where I think our interagency partnerships have been primarily effective, if I may, the 

President created by Executive Order the Interagency Task Force 

on Veterans Business Development back in 2010, and the SBA was 

named Chair of that task force and I have been honored to serve 

in that position since the task force’s inception. 

We are working with other Federal agencies at the table—Treasury, GSA, DOD, Department of Labor, the Veterans Administration, OMB. And then we have four individuals representing Veteran Serving Organizations from around the country. And what 

that task force has been able to do is to provide recommendations 

for how the Federal agencies can work together more effectively to 

support veterans, who are very entrepreneurial as a group. 

Why this is particularly germane for this hearing, women are 

serving in unprecedented numbers in the military. In fact, over 

280,000 women have served in the Iraq and Afghanistan arenas, 

and those women are coming back, and just like their male coun-
21 

terparts, many of them have the skills and the energy and the desire to start a business. In fact, I was just in Chicago at the launch 

of a V–WISE, which is our women veterans entrepreneurship training program in Chicago, where we focus on giving women an intensive opportunity to get the skills and the training that they need 

to start businesses. 

We also have our Start Young initiative that is a partnership 

with the Department of Labor that I referenced briefly in my opening statement. We know that young people who are in Job Corps 

Centers around the country are often gaining the skills that are 

well suited for them to hang out a shingle and start their own 

small business, whether it is in barbering or computer technology, 

culinary arts. Those are all small Main Street businesses in the 

making. 

And so the SBA has developed a curriculum for entrepreneurship 

specifically focused for Job Corps students that we are delivering 

around the country. We started a pilot in three cities in 2012. We 

have expanded that to 12 cities this year, and we hope to expand 

beyond. Our resource partners are very involved. In fact, I was at 

a Start Young graduation in Milwaukee and the Women’s Business 

Center there has been the faculty for Start Young. 

So that is an example. I hope you see those are examples of not 

only Federal coordination, but also very strong coordination of 

SBA’s resource partner network. 

Chair LANDRIEU. And so the fact is, there really are not any 

bright lines between these entities and we do not really want 

bright lines because it is sort of a blurring or a coordination of resource partners. Some are funded publicly. Some are funded privately. Some are part Federal, part State. Banks are private entities. They are not necessarily funded by the government. They access government programs of lending to some of their customers. 

So it is really a blending of, I guess, a resource partner network. 

Ms. Castillo, could you comment about the closing of some of 

your MBDA, Minority Business Development, central offices and 

your reorganization, why you thought that was necessary, and have 

you been able to focus some additional investments in centers such 

as Atlanta, San Antonio, and San Jose, and can you explain a little 

bit about the actions that you have taken there. 

Ms. CASTILLO. Sure. Thank you for the question, Chairwoman. 

We actually in 2010 started the process of the reorganization, looking at the Federal funding constraints that we had. We wanted to 

be innovative and really redirect some of our resources to where we 

actually needed them the most, and that was at our Business Centers. So, indeed, we did close the five regional offices, but we reallocated those funds into our centers and we were able to increase the 

amount of the grant in some cases and actually create new centers, 

such as in Fresno. We understood that the on-the-ground operation 

is really where it is at. This is where the business owners come 

into contact with the technical assistance that they so desperately 

need. 

And just to add to the previous question in terms of the network, 

we are leveraging every possible tool that we have, whether it is 

technology, better technical assistance, and obviously leveraging 

our Federal partners, not only SBA, but, for example, EX–IM 
22 

Bank, making sure that minority-owned businesses that want to 

export have the proper tools to export successfully. We know that 

if you try to export and fail, it takes another five to seven years 

to even consider it. So in that realm, we are actually trying to 

bring together all of the technical assistance to help minorityowned firms take advantage of the 95 percent of consumers that 

live outside of the U.S. borders. 

Chair LANDRIEU. Thank you. 

And Ms. Johns, just a couple more questions. In the budget submitted by Karen Mills, the Administrator of SBA, she submitted to 

us a new request for $40 million towards an entrepreneurship education program with some guidelines and expressions of how the 

agency would go about implementing these additional funds. 

Could you comment today about some of the thoughts that you 

are having about how this money, or a portion of it, could be allocated to help strengthen your efforts in entrepreneurship opportunity and expansion, accelerators, and growth for entrepreneurs, 

particularly with minority women? 

Ms. JOHNS. Thank you, Chair Landrieu. I would be happy to do so. What we aim to do with that $40 million is really build on best 

practices that we know work. Thanks to your leadership and support with the Small Business Jobs Act, we were given $30 million 

for our Small Business Development Center network. That money 

was allocated on a competitive process and led to some very innovative programming that SBDCs implemented around the country. 

We know that intensive entrepreneurship education is one of the 

best ways that we can support businesses that are a going concern 

and to help them grow to that next level. When we look at job creation—and really, this is all about job creation—when we look at 

job creation, a new business—every job that is started by a brandnew business, there is a factor of two-and-a-half jobs that a going 

concern can create if that business is given the resources to grow. So by focusing the $40 million on intensive entrepreneurship 

education and borrowing from the best practices that we know 

work, whether it is elements of the Kaufmann Foundation’s Fast 

Track Initiative, the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Initiative, the SBA’s own Emerging Leaders program, we have data, 

we have the experience from those initiatives that we know if we 

can expand intensive entrepreneurship education for businesses 

that are already going along, doing well, and with this additional 

support can grow to the next level, that that is going to have a significant impact on job creation across the country. 

So we are borrowing best practices. We are building on what we 

know works. And that is what the $40 million will allow us to do, 

to give our resource partner network the opportunity to bid, to 

bring their most innovative ideas for how to build on that model. 

Chair LANDRIEU. So it is not creating a new program—— 

Ms. JOHNS. Absolutely not. 

Chair LANDRIEU [continuing]. It is enhancing the best practices 

that you all have spent the last few years identifying really work 

to create jobs. 

Ms. JOHNS. That is exactly what we are doing. As I say to my 

colleagues at the agency all the time, Chair Landrieu, we serve entrepreneurs. As a Federal agency, we must be entrepreneurial. We 
23 

must be the most entrepreneurial agency in the government. And 

competition is important. That is how we get the best ideas. That 

is how we get the best creative juices flowing and the best new 

ways of ensuring that we are supporting small businesses. And so 

this $40 million is giving us an opportunity to tap into the creativity that is resident in our resource partner network, but also 

building on the best practices that have been proven successes over 

the years and that we know will work. 

Chair LANDRIEU. And let me end this round of questioning with 

just one last question, and then you are free to add another minute 

if there is something that I failed to ask you. But, Ms. Castillo, 

what would you say some of the biggest challenges still are for 

Latina women, for Latinas, for Hispanic women who are in the 

business world? What do you hear most often about some of their 

challenges? Is it lack of access to capital? Is it the lack of education 

and confidence? Is it the lack of opportunity for government contracting? All the above? But if you could be as specific as you can, 

based on your own personal experience. 

Ms. CASTILLO. So, if we start with the birth of a business, it is 

education and information. How do I start that business? What 

type of information do—what type of documentation do I need to 

register my business? So that is one area. 

But, by far, bar none, across the board, it is access to capital. 

How do I get the capital to start the business, but more importantly, how do I get the capital to grow the business? 

MBDA is focused on helping minority-owned firms grow in size 

and scale. That is the only way that we are going to generate the 

type of job creation that this nation needs. 

But it also goes further down. How do I have access to contracts? 

As my colleague mentioned, the White House, under the President’s guidance, we did a review of the Federal procurement process. We came up with 13 different recommendations. One of the 

issues is bundling, as you well know. How do we provide information, transparency, level the playing field for small businesses, particularly women, minority, and service-disabled vets, to compete in 

that procurement process? 

So there is a—we have used the word ‘‘continuum.’’ There is a 

continuum as businesses begin, grow, and, one would even argue, 

succession planning, as well. These are the type of issues that we 

are all confronting. But in particular for Latina-owned businesses, 

they are extremely entrepreneurial. Sometimes it is helping them 

understand the importance of growth and assuring them how to 

manage that growth. Growth can also be a very challenging process, and that is a type of technical assistance that we provide, making our services available to them. 

Just an example on the export, which I have mentioned before. 

The President announced the Free Trade Agreement with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea. These are the type of opportunities 

that Latinas are looking for. How do I export to Latin America, for 

example? They feel comfortable with the language, with the culture. And these are opportunities that our nation really needs to 

leverage if we are going to remain competitive in the global marketplace. 

Chair LANDRIEU. Thank you. 
24 

And Ms. Johns, how about for African American women in the 

general context? Would you agree with the testimony that these 

are still obstacles and challenges, or in your own experience and 

what are you hearing, particularly from African American women 

and other minority women about still some of the most—the toughest problems they confront or the toughest challenges? 

Ms. JOHNS. I think I would agree with the comments that the 

National Deputy Director just made. Many of the issues or challenges are the same. 

What I hear often from women as I travel the country is awareness, that we still have work to do and we are working hard to 

build those awareness gaps to ensure that women business owners, 

African American, other communities of color, women in general, 

that all small business owners know about the power of the SBA 

network, how to connect and how to avail the resources that the 

agency can provide to the benefit of growing their businesses. 

What we have done in our three C areas, we focused early on 

during our time at the agency in building the tool kit, fixing some 

of the things that we needed to do, adding new tools like Community Advantage, where we opened our loan portfolio for the first 

time to include non-depository lenders, those community development financial institutions and micro loan intermediaries who are 

excellent lenders. They also provide technical assistance. And now, 

for the first time, with Community Advantage, they are able to 

take advantage of the SBA’s loan guarantee. That is making a difference in terms of providing access to capital, particularly for 

women-owned, minority women-owned businesses, businesses in 

underserved areas. 

Our Start Young Initiative was an effort to delve more deeply 

into underserved communities to make sure that we are connecting 

SBA resources there. 

We also have—as far as outreach is concerned, we have been 

very focused on building better partnerships, because, as I said before, we are a small agency and we need partners in order to be 

effective in reaching small businesses across this country. So I 

know that you will be hearing from the Honorable Marc Morial on 

the next panel, and we are partners with the Urban League. We 

are partners with the U.S. Hispanic Chamber. We have strategic 

alliances with these organizations, with the National Minority Supplier Development Council, the U.S. Black Chamber, Women Impacting Public Policy. And all of these strategic alliances have been 

very effective in helping us reach more women, particularly minority women, and help them grow their businesses or make that decision to start a business. 

We just announced with Women Impacting Public Policy two 

weeks ago a new initiative, ChallengeHER, which is designed to— 

we are having a nationwide initiative to bring more women into 

Federal Government contracting. It is a $100 billion opportunity, 

as you well know. And we know that if we build that pipeline of 

women who are doing Federal Government contracting, their businesses will grow. They will create jobs. 

And we thank you, Senator, for your support of the National Defense Authorization Act, which allowed the ceilings on contract opportunities for women-owned small businesses to be eliminated so 
25 

that there are no more barriers, no more boxes that women businesses have to fit in. They can take advantage of any Federal contracting opportunity. and that is why the ChallengeHER Initiative 

is so important. We want to make sure women know about this opportunity and that they are taking advantage. 

Chair LANDRIEU. Thank you. 

Do you all have any parting words or comments? We are going 

to move to the second panel. Anything that I did not ask you that 

you want to get into the record, something that you want to emphasize? You can take a minute to close. Ms. Castillo. 

Ms. CASTILLO. Thank you for that time. I do want to emphasize 

several things. One is we have talked about building collaboration, 

public-private partnerships, and this is all under the umbrella of 

building synergy, building synergy, breaking down silos so that information transfers and flows throughout the network, but more 

importantly, to service our constituents who are minority-owned 

businesses. 

I also want to emphasize, MBDA has tremendous partners, not 

just in the Federal Government, but also in the private sector, the 

National Minority Supplier Diversity Council, which helps us help 

minority-owned businesses in terms of contracting with the private 

sector. The Billion Dollar Roundtable is another tremendous effort, 

as well. We are also partners with the National Urban League with 

Mr. Morial, We Bank, and so many other organizations that really 

help to supplement or complement what the Federal Government 

is doing. 

The growth of this segment of the business community is tremendous. I think for our nation, we need to pay attention. We need to 

invest, because this is the business community. This is what the 

business community is going to start to look more like in the coming years. 

And again, I thank you for the time. I thank you for giving 

MBDA this opportunity. And to my colleague, I am a tremendous 

fan and thank you for all the work that she has done. 

Chair LANDRIEU. Thank you. 

Ms. Johns. 

Ms. JOHNS. Chair Landrieu, I want to start my closing opportunity and thank you for this minute to say thank you to you. Your 

support—it is hard to describe how significant your support has 

been for so many of the initiatives that we have been able to undertake at the SBA. 

The underserved agenda at the SBA is critical work. It is timely. 

It is important. And it is not yet finished. And so what I would like 

to emphasize is that what our agency—we are poised to really 

build on a great foundation, but there is more work to do, and with 

your support, we are eager and excited to continue that work. 

You have held very important conversations about what we know 

is the very tough challenges of the wealth gap in this country. But 

I know that small business creation and the jobs that those small 

businesses create for our economy, that is the answer. And so the 

more that we can leverage the power of our partnerships, the 

power of the SBA’s network, and bring more underserved communities into job creation, small business creation, that is the answer 

to building a stronger economy for all of us. 
26 

So, again, thank you for your support and for your continued 

support for this important work of the SBA. 

Chair LANDRIEU. Thank you all very much. 

We will move now to the second panel. We will hear from Ms. 

Eva Longoria, who, in addition to being a very impressive and wellknown actress is also a nationally-known entrepreneur, has established a foundation dedicated to advancing Latina education and 

entrepreneurship. 

We will also hear from Marc Morial, former Mayor of New Orleans and currently the President and CEO of the National Urban 

League, which hosts our New Orleans Women’s Business Center. 

We appreciate his longtime work in this area. 

And we will finally hear from Sophia Parker and other small 

business owners who can speak to the importance of Federal programs, specifically in helping their businesses to succeed. And I 

think we have Ms. Dixie Kolditz and Ms. Marianne Lancaster. 

Let us start with Ms. Longoria to begin with on this panel, and 

you know to limit your opening statement to five minutes. We have 

your statement, so if you want to summarize it, it is fine, or however you have prepared it, and then we will have a series of questions. Thank you so much for joining us today. Welcome to the nation’s capital. 

STATEMENT OF EVA LONGORIA, FOUNDER, EVA LONGORIA 

FOUNDATION, LOS ANGELES, CA 

Ms. LONGORIA. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair, Ranking 

Member Risch. I am honored to testify before you today regarding 

the potential of Latina entrepreneurs and how we can better facilitate their success. 

You know me best as an actress, but I am also a Latina entrepreneur. I own two restaurants. I have two fragrance lines. I manage my own production company. And my experience as a Latina 

entrepreneur has inspired me to launch the Eva Longoria Foundation, which helps Latinas better their futures through entrepreneurial programs and educational programs. 

So I am here today because I am dedicated to advancing the 

cause of my fellow Latina business owners who still face significant 

challenges in launching and growing their businesses. But I think 

with the proper interventions, we can create opportunity for more 

of these women to succeed and to help grow our nation’s economy. 

More than 25 million Latinas live in the U.S., making us the 

largest group of minority women in the country. Latinas are one 

of the most under-leveraged resources and are currently not reaching their potential to become an economic powerhouse. So for ordering them to succeed, we need to address some of the institutional 

barriers that exist. We also need to engage the private sector to 

have substantive supplier diversity programs that will help businesses grow. 

Minority-owned businesses, especially Latina-owned businesses, 

are the future of our country, and in order for the U.S. to remain 

globally competitive, we need to leverage our diversity. Latinas are 

the fastest-growing segment in small business, as we have said before, and with access to capital, financial literacy, and high-quality 
27 

technical assistance and training, Latinas will continue to revitalize neighborhoods across the country. 

Statistics show that Latinas are incredibly entrepreneurial, and 

according to the most recent survey of business owners, the number of Latina-owned businesses has increased at eight times the 

rate of businesses owned by men. Now, even though Latinas are 

clearly driven to launch their own endeavors, they face numerous 

obstacles that prevent them from growing, and many are held back 

because of lack of access to capital. But with proper training, financial literacy, Latinas could run profitable businesses and effectively 

scale their operations. 

We are seeing women-owned businesses in non-traditional fields 

like engineering, design, construction, and IT, as well as health 

care IT, not to mention professional services. Latina-owned businesses are ahead of the curve, and therefore, it is imperative that 

we help these businesses now. 

The question, then, is what can we do to change the trajectory 

for Latina entrepreneurs? A clear opportunity is to offer the critical 

resources that Latinas lack, obviously, business training and capital access. So together with Howard Buffett, my foundation 

launched a program to do just that. During the next four years, the 

Buffett-Longoria Initiative will issue more than $2 million in micro 

loans. 

To illustrate our impact, I would like to share a story of one entrepreneur we sponsor, Maria. After years as an Avon saleswoman, 

Maria saw an opportunity to sell fashion products door to door. She 

had a great idea, but she lacked the capital to stock up on her inventory. So with a $5,000 loan from my foundation, Maria was able 

to buy merchandise and expand her offerings. In addition to the 

loan, she received training to create a solid business plan and financial literacy. 

With the proper investments, there are many people like Maria 

out there who are starting businesses and creating jobs, and we 

can address the institutional barriers that Maria and other thousands of Latina entrepreneurs out there so that they can become 

the economic engine of this country. 

So I have discussed a nonprofit intervention, but we know that 

government has an important role to play. And since 1988, the 

Small Business Administration has offered training and financial 

assistance programs through the WBC. However, without reauthorization from Congress, funding for this program is stuck at the 

1999 level. So if Congress really wants to create jobs, it needs to 

invest in programs like the WBC Centers, which give Latinas the 

resources they need. 

Similarly, the Minority Business Development Agency at Commerce has been able to deliver technical assistance through its 

Business Centers. They are also helping minority businesses to export, as Alejandra said, especially through Business Centers like in 

San Antonio, Texas. 

So, to conclude, I want to just say, helping Latina entrepreneurs 

succeed is not only important for their personal livelihoods, but 

also for our country as a whole. By 2050, Latinas will comprise 15 

percent of the U.S. population. And as Latinas become central to 

the future of America’s workforce, I encourage Congress to invest 
28 

in their potential, particularly in the fastest-growing fields of 

science, technology, engineering, and math. 

These women are our nation’s greatest natural resources and we 

have to treat them as such. By investing and giving Latinas the 

tools to unlock their potential, we can create a brighter economic 

future for our country. 

So thank you very much for the opportunity to testify today, 

Madam Chair. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Longoria follows:] 
29 
30 
31 
32 
33 
34 

Chair LANDRIEU. Thank you very much. 

Mr. MAYOR. Mr. Morial. 

STATEMENT OF MARC H. MORIAL, PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE, NEW YORK, 

NY 

Mr. MORIAL. Thank you. First of all, good morning. And to Chairwoman Landrieu, Ranking Member Risch, let me thank you, and 

I want to thank the members of your staff and other members of 

the committee for the opportunity to testify today. 

My written statement, of course, is available, and I ask that it 

be placed into the record. 

As leader of the National Urban League, this nation’s largest historic civil rights and urban advocacy organization, we serve over 

two million people a year through a network of 95 affiliates in 35 

States plus the District of Columbia, and we serve 300 communities. 

The economic empowerment of our nation’s historically disadvantaged communities has guided our work for 103 years, and the National Urban League is proud to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the great 1963 March on Washington, a watershed moment 

in this nation’s history that gave voice and momentum to a great 

movement for social and economic justice that continues to today. 

We outlined a number of perspectives on that in this year’s 2013 

State of Black America Report. One of the most fundamental concepts of economic and social justice and economic self-sufficiency is 

entrepreneurship. I share with you that according to the Census 

Bureau, minority-owned businesses owned by women grew faster 

than all other groups of firms in gross receipts and employment between 2002 and 2007, and I encourage everyone to keep that point 

in mind throughout this testimony today. 

So I commend you and this committee for also marking the 25th 

anniversary of the Women’s Business Ownership Act, another important landmark piece of legislation on this road to social and economic justice which continues today. 

Empowering minority and minority women-owned entrepreneurs 

and accelerating their levels of growth and productivity is critical 

to strengthening U.S. competitiveness and overall growth. The two 

are intertwined and linked together. And we believe that a disproportionate number of people of color, particularly women of 

color, enter the workforce through self-employment and through 

employment by businesses owned by other women of color. It is so 

critical to understand that. 

Now, when we talk about black-owned businesses, black womenowned businesses, there are approximately 547,000 of them in this 

country. It is also crucial to note that 45 percent of all African 

American-owned businesses are owned by women. They comprise 

over $20.7 billion in revenues, and this is a very important point. 

They are also crucial sources of employment and job creation. 

Those 547,000 businesses employ 176,000 workers, and the average 

black women-owned enterprise employed the equivalent of 6.5 

workers, or one worker for every $74,000 of revenue. And when we 

celebrate this important growth, it is important to note that if we 

simply empowered each of these 500,000 businesses to employ one 
35 

additional person, that would be 500,000 more people employed in 

this nation. 

I would like to point out the important work that the National 

Urban League has done in this area. We manage ten—ten—Entrepreneurship Centers which serve 9,000 small businesses. These Entrepreneurship Centers are primarily funded through private support and private contributions, including support we receive 

through our relationship with Stonehenge Capital Corporation and 

the New Markets Tax Credits Program. We are also part of the 

Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program. And our Urban 

League of New Orleans, one of our Entrepreneurship Centers, also 

manages a Women Business Center, which has been enormously 

successful in helping people and helping women business owners. 

And I just want to share with you the story, Senator, of 

Charmaine James, the owner of Condall Consulting Group in New 

Orleans and a client of our Women’s Business Resource Center run 

by the Urban League of Greater New Orleans. Charmaine commenced her business in 2004, shortly before Katrina ravaged the 

Gulf Coast. Since then, she has rebuilt that business to four fulltime employees, annual revenues of $500,000, and projections for 

this year of a million dollars in sales. She does business with the 

New Orleans Surging Water Board, the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, and other private and public agencies. 

Our work with her has helped her grow this business, and she indicates that without the 10,000 Small Businesses Education Initiative, the Women’s Business Resource Center, she would not have 

been able to do what she has done. 

So, since my time is coming to a close, I simply want to share 

with you that my testimony includes a number of very specific recommendations in terms of what we can do. 

But I leave you with this very important thought. The fortunes 

of the overall economy of the nation cannot be separated from the 

fortunes and growth of women-owned businesses, specifically businesses owned by women of color. If we want to grow our economy, 

if we want to strengthen our families, if we want to make America 

more competitive, I can assure you that there are great rates of return from investing in businesses owned by women, specifically 

businesses owned by women of color. Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Morial follows:] 
36 
37 
38 
39 
40 
41 
42 
43 
44 
45 
46 
47 
48 
49 
50 
51 
52 
53 

Chair LANDRIEU. Thank you very much, Mr. President. We really 

appreciate your passionate and so focused remarks and for your 

leadership, not only here in Washington, but around the country. 

Thank you—— 

Mr. MORIAL. Thank you. 

Chair LANDRIEU [continuing]. For being such a strong partner. 

Ms. Parker. 

STATEMENT OF SOPHIA PARKER, FOUNDER AND CHIEF 

OPERATING OFFICER, DSFEDERAL, INC., GAITHERSBURG, MD 

Ms. PARKER. Good morning, Madam Chair Landrieu, Ranking 

Member Risch, and distinguished members of the Senate Small 

Business and Entrepreneurship. My name is Sophia Parker and I 

am the owner of DSFederal, Inc. I would like to thank you for this 

opportunity and like to thank the U.S. Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce for the encouragement. 

I came to this country from Taiwan 33 years ago. Growing up, 

I did not know what it meant to have big dreams. I had to focus 

on putting food on the table at the age of seven. One day, a relative 

returned from the United States and told me that the streets in 

America were paved with gold, and I was told that as long as I 

would work hard and study hard, I would have a future. The rest 

is history. 

My transformation into entrepreneurship did not happen overnight. After graduating from school in the United States, the next 

20 years of my life were dedicated to raising two beautiful children 

and working for the U.S. State Department in places like Pakistan, 

China, and Russia. 

At the age of 50, I left a comfortable job and started my own 

company. I mortgaged my home and put my life savings into starting the business. My dream was to connect the brightest mind with 

the best technology, and I believed I could do it with a better customer focus than my larger and more established competitors. It 

was difficult at first, and there were times we nearly lost everything. I had some very trying experiences and could tell you plenty 

of stories of how we were not treated fairly by larger companies. 

We could have given up, but that is not the American way. 

In 2008, we gained our 8(a) status. The process of becoming an 

8(a) company was arduous, but fair and honest. My children always call me a ‘‘Tiger Mom,’’ a mother who is extremely demanding 

with high standards, and I will argue that SBA could give any 

‘‘Tiger Mom’’ a run for her money. 

[Laughter.] 

In all seriousness, the SBA’s strict standards and procedures 

helped our company. DSFederal could not be where it is today 

without the guidance provided by the SBA and the 8(a) program. 

Nine years in the 8(a) incubator helped us to graduate, and then, 

with the hope of mentoring other new business. The SBA District 

Office assisted us and mentored us with good business practices. 

DSFederal, in return, has thrived to fulfill our role by providing opportunities for minorities and women. We are proud to say—I 

checked yesterday—that 59 percent of our staff are women, 60 percent are minorities, and we look for ways to mentor our employees 

to help them to follow their dreams. 
54 

Rhea Somaiya’s parents came from India—Bombay, actually—30 

years ago, and she is an example of why it is so important to give 

women opportunities to excel in this country. Rhea is a high school 

student living in Virginia. She is part of a winning team that received a ‘‘Mirror Me’’ award, and they are matched with entrepreneurs who coach them with the help of business focused curriculum. When interviewed, Rhea said how the program has 

changed what she wants to do in college for her career. She wants 

to be a Washingtonian entrepreneur and at the same time be involved in public service. It is young women like Rhea who are great 

examples of why it is so important to empower young women to become entrepreneurs and leaders. 

DSFederal has been fortunate to become a viable small business. 

Since we are small and nimble, our customers get competitive pricing without sacrificing for services. What makes me most proud is 

that since winning our contract in 2009, we have never stopped hiring and we are proud American taxpayers, and every year, we pay 

more and more taxes. 

[Laughter.] 

Part of the American dream is to give back to those who are less 

fortunate. Last year, my son and I raised money and we went to 

Afghanistan. We spent Christmas and New Year helping to set up 

a library and a computer lab in a shelter in Kabul. We also spent 

time with many street children who are bright and eager despite 

the challenges they face every day on the street. When I spoke with 

the children, I told them that I, too, had spent my childhood at an 

orphanage in Taiwan. It was America that provided me the opportunities to build a life for me and my family. And I told them that 

if I could go to America for school and work hard and fulfill my 

dreams, so could they. 

The success of minority women like me represents true American 

success. America’s streets are paved with gold, mined by those who 

work hard and work diligently. Minority women entrepreneurs not 

only create more jobs for the disadvantaged, we are the ‘‘Tiger 

Moms,’’ extremely demanding, with high standards, providing a 

positive role model for others in societies with a passion to fulfill 

their American dreams. 

Your support, Senator, to foster minority women entrepreneurs 

through funded programs give hope to women in not only our nation, but around the world, who still struggle and fight for economic and social equality. Please continue your support, and I 

thank you for your opportunity. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Parker follows:] 
55 
56 
57 
58 
59 
60 

Chair LANDRIEU. Thank you, Ms. Parker. That does deserve a 

round of applause. 

[Applause.] 

Extraordinary testimony, and that will go right in, of course, to 

the Congressional record, and believe me, we will use it. All of your 

testimony so far has been so moving and inspirational. But to think 

of the State of Maryland, which you got your accounting degree 

many, many years ago, before you were married with children, and 

now to be a business owner of 65 employees paying, I am sure, 

wonderful salaries, benefits, and taxes to the State of Maryland or 

wherever else you lived and now to the United States, I mean, that 

is what this meeting is about. It is about how to—what we can do 

better to help the road that you traveled be a little bit easier for 

the next person. Not everybody is going to be a ‘‘Tiger Mom’’ like 

you. 

Ms. PARKER. Thank you very much. 

Chair LANDRIEU. We want to keep our high standards, but we 

wanted to make that road a little easier in the future. But thank 

you so much for being such an extraordinary pioneer. 

We are joined by Senator Heitkamp, and we are thrilled to have 

her here with us. 

Let us continue, Ms. Lancaster, and then we will get to Ms. 

Kolditz. 

STATEMENT OF MARIANNE LANCASTER, PRESIDENT AND 

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, LANCASTER PACKAGING, INC., 

HUDSON, MA 

Ms. LANCASTER. Good morning, Madam Chair. Good morning, 

committee, and greetings from Boston. 

In 1989, against all odds, as a recent college graduate at the age 

of 20, I started a business. Twenty-five years later, the business I 

started, Lancaster Packaging, an SDB 8(a) firm, is poised to do $18 

million this year in sales with 20 employees. The last quarter-century has not been easy for Lancaster Packaging. I am here today 

to share my story. 

Lack of access to viable funding solutions has prohibited Lancaster Packaging from being a $50 million business today. The key 

to many start-ups succeeding is often help from family and friends, 

financial help. Still today, black American families have one-tenth 

the wealth of Caucasian families. The majority of black womenowned companies are companies of two or less. Access to capital 

and just plain access to the business world for minority women has 

been a long, hard struggle. 

Even today, I struggle to get a seat at the table, or if I do, to 

be seen as a legitimate contender for their business or to contribute. When potential clients realize that there was no father, 

husband, or even a white businessman behind me, it took them a 

long time to see value in my business. It has taken even longer for 

funders to look at me and see the viability in a company run by 

a young black woman. 

I started selling military specification bags for the aerospace industry out of my house. With very little cash and a beat-up Ford 

Escort, I became a business owner. In my early days, I worked with 

the Minority Business Development Center of Boston. The organi-
61 

zation helped me write a business plan, and experienced agents 

there acted as mentors, aiding me in the start-up of my business. 

These centers are crucial for minority women-owned businesses 

just starting or throughout the life cycle of our business, and we 

are, in fact, going back for help for business development over the 

next 12 months. 

Over the years, I became a wholesale distributor of all types of 

packaging, but still having my mainstay in the military packaging 

world. The majority of our customers are American manufacturers 

in the aerospace industry. These are companies that see the value 

and benefit from doing business with small women black-owned 

businesses, and for me, one in particular, Sikorsky Aircraft of 

United Technologies. 

Sikorsky was my second customer at the start of my business 

and is one of my largest today. Sikorsky took government mandates as their own, and doing business with minority-owned firms 

is part of their culture. I point out one specific organization because 

many minority women-owned firms often succeed because they 

have one or two corporate champions that help them to grow, and 

without these corporate champions, you often see failure. 

Over the past five years—excuse me. Over the first five years in 

business, I could not get any type of funding whatsoever. In 1994, 

I applied for State-funded loan program. After two years of working 

to get it, I finally was granted the loan. Two years later and 50 

percent less of what I needed, a little too late, I somehow survived. 

In 2004, after nearly ten years in business, I finally secured a 

traditional line of credit. In 2005, my largest customer at the time, 

New England’s largest bank, was both my customer and my bank. 

The bank was bought out by even a larger national bank. Within 

three months, my business was gone from that customer. Within 

one year, that very customer who now was my banker pulled their 

line of credit, citing that Lancaster did not have enough business. 

For six months, I hunted for a new line of credit and the end result was a factoring on our receivables at an interest rate of 22 percent. Here I was, with Grade A customers, ten years in business, 

and no financial institution would touch me. I spent the years battling out a factoring cycle. During those years, I was not able to 

hire, grow, or increase the capacity of my business. Every dollar I 

had went to paying the factoring folks. 

This story is very common—is a very common story for the 

women minority-owned business. Several of my fellow entrepreneurs had both SDB business, 8(a) contracts, and larger commercial contracts, and banks will not touch them. Even business 

owners with SBA guarantees struggle to get the banking community to invest in their organizations, and often when they do, at a 

higher interest rate, much higher than the market. 

This has been our story, our history for the past 25 years, and 

not just after the banking crisis. In our world, what the rest of the 

small business community has been experiencing since 2008 has 

been our normal way of doing business, and most of us do not survive. 

I applied for my 8(a) status late in the life of my company. Observing from the outside, I saw it was a battle. Once a company 

gets certified, if you do not have a team devoted to marketing and 
62 

business development, which most of us do not, you can be plodding around in the dark searching for business. I realize not all 

8(a) firms have such trouble as I did, but I do see that there is a 

gap and a disconnect between the 8(a) firms and the government 

procurement agencies. There is not a great enough infrastructure 

to help connect the two. With the lack of access to traditional funding, you are spinning your wheels or you end up in the factoring 

group, going through the process that strips your business of any 

profits and puts you in a financial treadmill while stunting your 

growth. 

My growth came from branching out and morphing into a different kind of business. I needed money to grow and expand, and 

without that, the only way to grow was to offer additional products 

and services. Today, Lancaster is a supply management company 

offering wholesale distribution and procurement services in the 

supply chain. We often work to make sure that our suppliers are 

women and minority-owned firms and build up our percentages as 

much as we can. 

Lancaster is still dwarfed and held by the lack of funds. We are 

unable to take advantage of amazing opportunities that would aid 

us in hiring new employees and increasing our capacity. 

I am ‘‘Boston Strong,’’ and that is why I survived. I know more 

of my kind would have if the environment had been more hospitable. Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Lancaster follows:] 
63 
64 
65 
66 

Chair LANDRIEU. Thank you very much. 

Ms. Kolditz. 

STATEMENT OF BAATSEBA DIXIE KOLDITZ, OWNER, BRIGHTON ENTERPRISES, INC., AND OPEN–BOX CREATIONS, LLC, 

BATTLE GROUND, WA 

Ms. KOLDITZ. Thank you so much for this opportunity to come 

and speak before you. I want to thank you also for the Women’s 

Act and to say what a great example that you show for us, being 

a champion for women. As I was looking at the research and looking at us thinking it has only been a few years that this has happened and thinking how women have come from that point. 

I will give a little bit of a history about myself. I grew up in a 

black township in South Africa during apartheid and got to experience firsthand what it means when one group is favored another 

and having a government limit a lot of the opportunities that you 

have. And so because of that, this Act is something where I appreciate it a lot more and looking at what our government officials are 

trying to do to improve our lives and help us so that we can grow 

our businesses. So we really do commend you and the work that 

you do. Thank you so much. 

I came to the United States in 1995 after I got a scholarship to 

study at Brigham University. I studied journalism and public relations, and that is where I also met my husband. I then started a 

seven-year-long process of becoming a citizen, and in 2004, I became a citizen of this country. 

My husband and I, we own two businesses, Brighton Enterprises, 

which is a supported living agency where we take care of mentally 

handicapped adults, and we also have a wholesale company that 

does home decor. And between the two companies, we have about 

160 employees. And we run our business using a lot of cash that 

we have raised. We started this business by just working real hard 

to try to grow so that we can support our employees and also to 

support our family. 

Now the question is, we have not used a lot of the funding that 

has been provided by the government or any other group. We have 

done this just working very hard to try to grow our business. The 

challenges that we are facing, as I listen to everybody talking about 

all this growth and all these things that they are trying to do, is 

what happens after you have started a business, because now you 

have to face the struggles of the regulations that are placed before 

you. 

One of the biggest challenges that we have is employment discrimination litigation, which I like to call legal shakedown. That is 

something that, as business owners, especially as a minority 

woman, when you think of the challenges that you face when somebody comes and your employee can come and sue you for no reason 

at all and they can come and get money from you without anybody 

standing for you or kind of helping you out so that you can get out 

of that, so we end up settling. 

Another big challenge that we are also facing is the health care. 

The Health Care Act is one of those big things that everybody is 

going through right now. We pay so much money trying to help 
67 

grow our business or trying to figure out, how do we go through 

with the challenges of this bill. 

And so those are some of the things that we are going through 

right now as a business. And you think of all these women that are 

now coming out trying to ask for help and saying, we want to start 

a business. We want to grow our business. There is so much regulation that is out there. Like I said, you have done the Women’s 

Act. You have done something that is great. What else can you do? 

Can you limit the regulations that are faced in front of us as business owners? Can you help us so that we can find success? 

So we also are trying to do something in our community where 

we have started a company called District 19, and this is where we 

try to help local business owners, because we have a lot of business 

people in our area. It is a small town. And they do not have access 

to capital or do not have access to most of the businesses that we 

have had the opportunity to have. 

So what I have done is we have taken their products to market. 

So we are helping them out so that they can be put in the forefront 

and be able to create a bigger business than what they have and 

be able to access other people that they normally would not be able 

to access. 

I am so grateful that I can run a business. I am grateful that 

I can be able to provide for my family. We have eight children, and 

so I have to work hard to make sure that they have the opportunities that I never had. And so I have to work really hard to make 

sure that they can be independent business owners. Three of my 

children already have a business, and they also run a business together as a group so that they can have a better life than I had. 

Thank you so much for this opportunity. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Kolditz follows:] 
68 
69 
70 
71 
72 

Chair LANDRIEU. Thank you. 

I am interested if you could zero in a little bit more on the fact 

that you did not seem to have any trouble getting the original capital to start your business. Can you be a little bit more specific 

about where you raised the funds from and—— 

Ms. KOLDITZ. Right. 

Chair LANDRIEU [continuing]. Because some of these others have 

testified that it is a very difficult thing to access, but you are testifying, basically, that you did not have any trouble at all. 

Ms. KOLDITZ. Well, because we are coming from old school and 

we got the business, we won our first—— 

Chair LANDRIEU. What do you mean, you got the business. Did 

you buy the business? 

Ms. KOLDITZ. We bought the business, yes. 

Chair LANDRIEU. And with what? 

Ms. KOLDITZ. We had the people that owned the business, they 

gave us terms to pay for it as we worked. So when we got the first 

business, which was my husband’s parents. So they let us pay for 

it as we were working for it. 

Chair LANDRIEU. Okay. But it was a family that—— 

Ms. KOLDITZ. It was a family business. 

Chair LANDRIEU [continuing]. Provided you the family business—— 

Ms. KOLDITZ. Yes, they did. 

Chair LANDRIEU. It was your husband’s business that you basically married into and then they—— 

Ms. KOLDITZ. Well, we did not marry into it. 

Chair LANDRIEU. No, you married him. 

Ms. KOLDITZ. Yes. Well—— 

Chair LANDRIEU. You married him and he owned the business 

and the family allowed you all to work for buying it. I mean, that 

is a little different than going out on your own and borrowing 

money from strangers—— 

Ms. KOLDITZ. Right. So it is the same thing. It is more like—— 

Chair LANDRIEU. No, it is not the same thing. 

Ms. KOLDITZ [continuing]. We took a loan from them, I guess 

maybe putting it that way. 

Chair LANDRIEU. But it is not the same thing. It is a family—— 

Ms. KOLDITZ. Yes, it is a family business. 

Chair LANDRIEU. You were very, very, very lucky to marry into 

a family—— 

Ms. KOLDITZ. Oh, absolutely. 

Chair LANDRIEU. And how large was their business? 

Ms. KOLDITZ. At the time, they only had 40 employees at the 

time, and we have grown it since, and—— 

Chair LANDRIEU. To how many do you have now? 

Ms. KOLDITZ. We have 160. 

Chair LANDRIEU. Okay. So you have increased it substantially. 

Ms. KOLDITZ. We have. 

Chair LANDRIEU. It is a little different than starting out completely on your own. 

Ms. KOLDITZ. Absolutely. 

Chair LANDRIEU. Ms. Parker, what would you suggest? Your testimony was so riveting. 
73 

Ms. PARKER. Thank you. 

Chair LANDRIEU. What would you suggest in terms of how a person really starting from scratch, particularly in the minority community, which traditionally does not have the same social networks 

and leveraging and friendships and other things that enable people 

to access opportunity for capital, what would you suggest that we 

focus on to—is it the micro loan programs? Is it maybe getting community banks to understand a little bit better about the needs of 

start-up companies? Are these incubators? There is one particularly 

in Boston that I visited in the Cambridge Innovation Center that 

is extraordinary that I am seeing some really tremendous opportunities, not as many women as I would like to see, but small businesses coming up. What would your suggestions be to our committee? 

Ms. PARKER. You were very right about—because of our background of the networking opportunities we had. But I would say, 

go to SBA. The small business loan is wonderful. And when I only 

had $600 in my pocket, I did not have anything, it was because 

SBA helped me to get a small loan. That was $25,000. I was able 

to pay it back in three years. And also, the SCORE is wonderful 

and micro loan is wonderful. But the first stop is always SBA, and 

the 7(j) program is wonderful, and I said the government’s investment in SBA is very small and the return is huge, because through 

SBA and through the Mentor-Protege, through the graduate 8(a) 

companies were able to help the newcomers. 

So I would say the first stop would be SBA, and there are more 

and more banks that are willing to work with SBA and work with 

small businesses that give a small amount of loans. I was not able 

to get any loan from the bank for many years and it was through 

networks, friends, people who loaned me money. But I would say 

the $25,000 from SBA’s help was critical. I was about to close the 

door. 

Chair LANDRIEU. Well, I would say that was a very smart invest- ment that the government made, $25,000 in your business, and 

now you employ 65 people and doing extraordinary work businesswise and charity-wise and we thank you very much. 

Ms. PARKER. Thank you. 

Chair LANDRIEU. Mr. Morial, what would you say, working with 

the Urban League and all of your partners, what would you encourage us to look at to get that first level of financing, and then what 

are you finding is effective in taking that small business to the 

next level of expansion? 

Mr. MORIAL. Thank you for your question. Let me—I think the 

committee should consider a laser-like focus on the small business 

financing area writ large. So we have heard testimony this morning about the success of the SBA and the SBA’s loan products and 

the return that the nation has gotten, businesses have gotten, and 

the taxpayers have gotten on modestly small investments. 

We have heard from Ms. Longoria, an initiative that is private 

sector financed, an initiative to provide micro loans to start-up 

small businesses, another example of an initiative to increase capital. 

Thirdly, I think that there are initiatives that exist, like the New 

Markets Tax Credits Program, which is highly successful but is 
74 

really, really focused on what I call the larger, mature, existing 

small businesses, not the start-up firms or the firms that need 

maybe anywhere from $25,000 to a half-a-million dollars to either 

be able to start or to indeed grow. And the New Markets Tax Credits Program incentivizes private investments in these kinds of loan 

products and financing products that—for small businesses that 

are mature in distressed areas. It is another program that exists 

that needs to be looked at because it is successful, to be perhaps 

tailored or a component could be developed in order to be able to 

do that. 

I think that longstanding recommendations are unbundling of 

contracts, closer monitoring about Federal procurement goals, and 

also the Federal Government’s goals for minority and business hiring for its own contractors in the defense and in the domestic industries. There needs to be stronger oversight, stronger accountability, more transparency about what all of these businesses are 

doing. 

And then I also think elevating. There are many Fortune 500 

companies that have had great success in the supplier diversity 

space. They have made a commitment to it. They have had success 

with it. And they are in abundance. They need to be lifted up to 

demonstrate to those who may not have had the same type of commitment what simply thinking more about where you spend dollars 

that you are going to spend already can, indeed, go. 

So there are a wide variety of recommendations, and ensuring 

that State and local governments, who have been on the front lines 

in many respects with commitments to women-owned businesses, 

small businesses, and minority businesses, continue those types of 

commitments. 

Here is a figure. I believe that there are—if one out of every three businesses who have less than $5 million a year in gross revenues hired one additional person, we would be at full employment 

in this nation. And I think that the employment component, the 

ability to take people and make them taxpayers, is so significant, 

and the rate of return—small investments in the SBA have yielded 

a lot. 

So I would recommend that the committee think about taking 

the testimony that we have heard today and doing a focus on innovation and creativity in the small business financing area, and 

some of the ideas that we have heard today, the testimony today, 

I think, sheds light on the types of things that, indeed, work. 

The final thing I would say is that the CDFI, Community Development Financial Institutions base, the National Urban League 

just started its own CDFI called the Urban Empowerment Fund. 

We are going to lend to small businesses who are looking for loan 

products in the $50,000 to $250,000 range, thinking about ways to 

pump more capital into CDFIs so that they can lend, because here 

is what you heard from Boston, and—— 

Chair LANDRIEU. Mr. Morial, the Senator has to—if you could 

wrap up and—— 

Mr. MORIAL. Yes. I will say this, because this is important. A lot 

of the mega-banks in the United States may not have the kind 

of—— 

Chair LANDRIEU. I am sorry. Can Senator Heitkamp—— 
75 

Mr. MORIAL. Yes—— 

Chair LANDRIEU [continuing]. Just say a word before she has to 

leave. 

Mr. MORIAL. Yes. I will yield. 

Senator HEITKAMP. I have to go preside—— 

Mr. MORIAL. I am sorry. 

Senator HEITKAMP. If I do not get there in time, Harry Reid is 

very tough. 

Mr. MORIAL. We will not let him do that to you. 

Senator HEITKAMP. I will tell him you said that. 

Mr. MORIAL. Yes, please do. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator HEITKAMP. I want to congratulate all of you, everyone on 

the panel, for your tremendous testimony and for your efforts on 

behalf of the American people and on behalf of small business. It 

is absolutely essential that we get this right, because you are the 

future. You are the future. You are the future Fortune 500 companies sitting at this table, and we are very excited. 

I just want to make one comment. We look at this very closely 

in my State because we need to build entrepreneurship. We need 

to build opportunities in Indian Country, which has staggering 

amounts of poverty, staggering amounts of lack of capacity in both 

education and business capacity. 

And so we are with you. I know that the Chairwoman is absolutely committed on this. I think sometimes when people come and 

testify, they think this is falling on deaf ears, but not on this committee. This truly is a panel who believes in what you are doing, 

believes that you are our future. 

And so thanks so much and thanks to the Chairwoman for 

empaneling this group and for your excellent testimony. 

Chair LANDRIEU. Thank you, Senator, and thank you for your advocacy for Native American women and for women generally and 

we are thrilled to have you as a member of the committee. 

We have also been joined by Senator Cowan, but let me recognize 

Congressman Cardenas from the 29th District in California. Thank 

you, Congressman, for joining us this morning, and any testimony 

that you want to submit for the record. You have been a great 

champion of women and minority-owned business and business 

growth in your district and this country, so thank you. 

And, Senator, let me turn it over to you for just a few questions, 

and then I have a second round, and I think then we will close up. 

Senator COWAN. Thank you, Madam Chairman, and thanks to all 

the panelists. My apologies for arriving late, but I have had the 

pleasure of reading your testimony and I thank you for the time 

you have already put into this effort and your willingness to come 

and share your perspectives with this committee and, frankly, Congress today. It is deeply, deeply appreciated. 

And I am incredibly pleased to see Ms. Lancaster here from the 

great town of Hudson, Massachusetts, home of former Governor 

Paul Cellucci, former Ambassador Cellucci, and a great small business doing incredibly well in the Commonwealth. 

Ms. Lancaster, if I could, I would like to address a question to 

you, coming from my home State, just about the challenges and opportunities that you see for small minority-owned women busi-
76 

nesses. And, frankly, I would ask if you might be willing to share 

with us your perspective retrospectively on your business interest, 

but prospectively, what advice might you offer for others like you 

who are just getting started in this industry or in small businesses 

and how to take advantage of the resources available to them. 

Ms. LANCASTER. Sure. As the previous panel has said, I do think 

the first stop is the MBDA and the SBA. I think in the last six 

years, initiatives have been absolutely amazing on that front. 

I would say that, in starting out, many banks, although, yes, 

there are 2,000 that work with the SBA, I think that there is still 

a great struggle even with the SBA guarantee to get the banks to 

want to invest. It is very difficult. Also, when they do, they are also 

at a rate of double-digit interest rate because of the value of their 

business or what forth. 

I have seen quite a bit of women-owned businesses in the past 

six years—let me backtrack for a minute. Most minority-owned 

women businesses are getting the money from their homes. They 

are leveraging the value of their homes, and many women in the 

last five years are struggling, particularly with the housing crisis. 

As the values of their homes have gone down, their lines of credit 

go down or get cut off. And I think that that is something that is 

a big topic to try to address. But it is hurting the businesses that 

are already established that, really, that is the only place that they 

are getting their money from, tied to their homes. 

I think that, starting out, when we started, I was by myself in 

a loan, and it is a different environment. There are so many organizations, several nonprofit organizations. I am on the board of the 

Center for Women in Business Enterprise in Boston and that was 

just starting out after I was well established. You have got to reach 

out and find the homes, like the Cambridge Innovation Center. 

There are so many places, and you cannot just go to one. You may 

not find what you are looking for at one. You may piece it together. 

But that is the only way to survive, is to really create your own 

ecosystem and reach out. 

Senator COWAN. Thank you. 

A question to Ms. Longoria, if I may. I know that your foundation is focused particularly on helping Latino businesses and business women start and grow their businesses. Picking up from 

where Ms. Lancaster left off, what more can we do to educate those 

who are in business or wish to get started in business about the 

kind of resources they need? What can we particularly here in the 

Congress do to make those resources known and accessible? 

Ms. LONGORIA. Right. I just want to make a correction. My foundation focuses on Latinas, which are women only. I mean, the men 

are welcome, but—— 

[Laughter.] 

Senator COWAN. Thank you for that. 

Ms. LONGORIA. Well, you know, the nonprofit and private sectors, 

things that my foundation does, does play a pivotal role in filling 

the gaps. But there is a solid pipeline of women who are still waiting to access resources, and we have seen that a lot with my foundation. There is a capacity issue that goes unmet, and that is 

where a foundation like mine or a partnership like mine and Howard Buffett’s can step in. And I am not saying government is the 
77 

sole answer, but it definitely should be the leader, as it has been 

thus far. I think government provides a leadership that we emulate. The private sector emulates what government is doing. 

So some of the great things that we have even heard today, two 

of our companies here utilize the 8(a) program, which is very essential and instrumental in helping minority entrepreneurs gain access to the economic mainstream and to gain a foothold in government contracting. I think that is a great program. 

I think Marianne talked about corporate champions, so the SBA’s 

Mentor-Protege Program, pairing up a large company with a smaller company, doing a transfer of knowledge, where smaller companies do not have to reinvent the wheel. I think that is another 

great program. 

I also think what the SBA’s Women’s Business Centers are doing 

is very, very impressive. And again, we just emulate it. I am just 

taking the template that you guys have provided and giving it to 

more people. Providing informational, technical assistance, this has 

been tremendously helpful and an effective tool. And I think, as 

Alejandra said earlier in the first panel, if we look at business as 

a continuum, you have the start-up, you have the maintenance, 

and you have the growth. There are many interventions that the 

private sector can come into. But, again, we are only emulating the 

successful programs that the government has shown thus far and 

I think a foundation like mine, which provides career training and 

mentorship and capital and opportunity is necessary. 

But, again, to answer your specific question, awareness is a big 

part of it. So sometimes that is the barrier in itself. 

Senator COWAN. Yes. Thank you for that, and thank you for helping make the case that smart government investment of public dollars can leverage private opportunity and create even more economic growth and prosperity. Thank you. 

Madam Chairman, I yield. 

Chair LANDRIEU. Thank you. 

I am continuing to be more frustrated as I have these extraordinary panels and continue to hear year after year, time after time, 

the reluctance of some of our community banks to lend to businesses that are viable, that have proven track records, that have 

actual government contracts in hand. And I am going to direct the 

staff to focus on getting some proper reporting from our community 

banks. This committee does not have jurisdiction over the community banks, but we have some influence in the way the community 

banks operate. 

It is just a constant refrain that I hear from people that testify 

in front of this committee. I travel all over the country and hear 

a constant refrain that businesses that are viable, that have generated profits, that are longstanding, cannot get the kind of loan 

that they need from a community bank. Yet the community banks 

and the large banks get a lot of help from Washington, DC, a tremendous amount of help, when they get into difficult situations. 

And so we are going to stay focused on this until this problem is 

corrected and get the measurements so that we can tell if we are 

making any progress or not. 

Ms. Longoria, let me ask you, though, to be a little bit more specific with this micro loan program, because we have all read about 
78 

tremendous success stories internationally, where international 

partners have come together in places like India or Korea or Vietnam, Cambodia, South Africa, to lend money to groups of women, 

primarily, individual women but in groups, to give them just a few 

hundred dollars. Now, in some other countries, it literally is a few 

hundred dollars, or in some cases, literally, a goat or a pig or a cow 

that is given to a woman, and because of her good industry and 

stewardship is able to get that gift, whether it is monetary or otherwise, and turn it into a business for the village. 

Now, we have heard about this internationally. Can you be a little bit more specific about the characteristics of your micro lending 

program, and what communities do you envision this being the 

most successful? And, again, describe your loan amounts. You are 

looking at lending somewhere between what and what? 

Ms. LONGORIA. As small as $5,000 to $25,000, micro loans. Our 

foundation—well, the Buffett-Longoria Micro Loan Initiative is a 

comprehensive solution to loan origination, and so we are hoping 

that this particular initiative increases lending efficiency and allows women to be—enables program scalability. 

So in order for this program to work, the micro loan initiatives 

have requirements of counseling, mentoring, training, and technical assistance. So every woman who receives a micro loan from 

this particular initiative must complete a series of one-on-one counseling by our counselors to help her develop a strong business plan, 

understand financial literacy, day-to-day operations, tax compliance, financial records, payroll, human resources. So our Latina entrepreneurs also participate in workshops that will address financial literacy, accounting, building credit. 

So we pair the micro loan process with the training components 

and it is one—this is the best practice, because my foundation 

leverages that in order to put entrepreneurs on the path to success. 

The whole idea is to set them up for success. 

Chair LANDRIEU. And how many loans do you think in a year 

that you all will be able to make through just your initiative? 

Ms. LONGORIA. We are hoping $500,000. Five hundred thousand within the program of $2 million. 

Chair LANDRIEU. And then as you think about, hopefully, you 

will have a 99 percent success rate or a 90 percent success rate. 

How are you going to encourage your businesses to go to that next 

level, when they need the $50,000 or $100,000? Are you thinking 

about pairing with a community bank in your area that might 

agree in advance to basically have your success stories advance 

through their potential loan programs, or what are you thinking 

about the next step for your successful borrowers? 

Ms. LONGORIA. Yes. Well, we just launched, maybe two weeks 

ago, so it is very early on in the stages, and we are starting with— 

we are pairing with a company called Accion Texas. So we are actually starting very specific in Texas for Latinas in Texas. We will 

expand to California, California and Texas being the largest Latina 

populations in the country. 

That would be a great growing pain for us to have, is, oh my 

gosh, we have all these women now at a level where they have to 

continue. I think a great handoff would be the MBDA and the SBA. 

I think there are some infrastructure there that is extremely effec-
79 

tive, that is working. Again, because we look at business as a continuum, it is not just the start-up, it is how do I grow it. There is 

a glass ceiling that women hit, their own glass ceiling. If you get 

to a million dollars, usually, we do not know where to go, as 

Marianne said, although she is a much larger company. 

So I cannot wait to get to that problem and pass them on to— 

not pass them off, assist them and guide them in the right direction. 

Chair LANDRIEU. Thank you. I really appreciate that. And look 

at that as a bridge—— 

Ms. LONGORIA. Absolutely. 

Chair LANDRIEU [continuing]. Because that is what it is, at different stages and kind of passing or handing off or partnering with 

this ecosystem that can help businesses emerge, get started, and 

then grow. 

Ms. LONGORIA. Yes. 

Chair LANDRIEU. And I think any country that has a good strategy in this will have a very bright economic future, and any country that does not will simply fall behind. I think, Mr. Mayor, you 

said it perfectly. These are untapped assets, and a smart country, 

a smart government, a pro-people government will invest in their 

people and provide opportunities for people to succeed. 

And that is, I think, what our committee wants to focus on, closing this wealth gap and recognizing women entrepreneurs as really 

an extraordinary untapped resource for this nation. Women, Asian 

American women, Hispanic women, African American women, and 

I am glad that Heidi brought up in our Native American community some women are particularly distressed and disadvantaged 

and we could unlock that potential. 

We are going to have to close, but I am going to give everybody 

one minute to make closing remarks, starting with you, Ms. 

Parker, anything that you want to underscore or stress, because 

our committee is really excited about this 25-year anniversary. 

I am going to submit for the record the history going back to 

1988 and how we got to the point where we are with the 25-year 

anniversary, and we are going to be looking for a piece of legislation that can enhance and build on the successes of the last 25 

years and lay a strong foundation for the next 25 years for women 

entrepreneurship in America. So your testimony is going to be a 

part of that and I thank all of you. 

[The information of Chair Landrieu follows:] 
80 
81 
82 
83 
84 
85 
86 
87 
88 
89 
90 

Chair LANDRIEU. So with a closing remark for maybe a minute, 

Ms. Parker, anything you want to underscore. 

Ms. PARKER. Thank you, Chairwoman. I would like to dedicate 

60 seconds to advocating for SBA. Again, our SBA is underfunded. 

Every BOS has more than 100 cases. Each case represents many 

joint ventures, business opportunities, you know, mentor-protege 

agreements. There is just not enough hours in a day for them to 

adequately do their job. So I advocate that you help them to increase their funding. Like I say, it is a great return of investment. 

And I ask that you help look into the Mentor-Protege Program. 

I think this program really needs a lot of review. I think the mentors should be limited to companies who have graduated from the 

8(a) company. They have walked a mile. They wore the shoes. And 

they know what faces the small businesses, versus the very large 

companies who, at the end of the day, are not helping the proteges. 

And I think SBA has a lot of networking capabilities and we are 

always ready to help our SBA and our local SCORE chapters. 

Thank you very much. 

Chair LANDRIEU. Thank you. 

Mr. Morial. 

Mr. MORIAL. Thank you. Thank you, Senator Landrieu. Three 

quick things. 

I join in saying protect and defend the SBA and the MBDA. And 

in this difficult time, do not allow those agencies, which are already 

small, to come under more stress when the return on investing in 

them is quite high. Protect and defend the SBA and the MBDA and 

the government’s infrastructure that supports small businesses. 

Second, focus on small business financing and what more can be 

done by looking at what the government does, what the private sector does, and the nonprofit sector does. 

And, thirdly, recognize that the players in this space, the active 

players in this space include government, Federal, State, and local, 

the private sector, and all of the tools and mechanisms and programs that they utilize, as well as the nonprofit sector and the 

NGO sector, what Ms. Longoria is doing, what the National Urban 

League is doing, the mention of Accion Texas, all of us, and unleash their power and the return for the nation will be great. 

Chair LANDRIEU. Thank you. 

Ms. Longoria. 

Ms. LONGORIA. Thank you. I wanted to remind the committee 

that diversity breeds innovation, and that is what our country 

needs right now. And I also want to advocate for the MBDA. Currently, they have 40 Business Centers in 25 States, and that is a 

capacity issue. We have way more women that need access to these 

small business centers. And so I would say—I would mimic what 

you just said and say, let us fight for them and their funding. 

The bottom line is the incentive. The incentive to the private sector is the market, and as the market continues to diversify, specially with Latinos, we have to have accountability to the changing 

demographic of the market. So I think however we can, the public 

sector can help change the conditions to make building a business 

a more transparent process. Thank you. 

Chair LANDRIEU. Thank you very much. 

Ms. Kolditz. 
91 

Ms. KOLDITZ. Thank you. I want to say, I hope you do not dismiss my statement because we started our business with support 

from our family, because you missed out on the fact that I started 

another business using savings that me and my family started. 

And because of that, we started our business because we were 

afraid of debt. And you think of how many people out there are 

afraid of acquiring more debt, and that is why we work hard at 

starting businesses small and growing them at smaller paces that 

we can afford. 

And also to think of the fact that there are more women out 

there who started their businesses that way and they are now trying to grow and they need more training, but they need training 

that can be custom fit for their businesses. 

So do not dismiss us because we are not taking loans. Think of 

programs that you can make to help us so that we can have more 

resources to grow. It might not be financial, but we also need some 

of the help. So there are women out there who are starting out 

businesses that way. Thank you. 

Chair LANDRIEU. Yes. I am a very strong supporter of the 

Mentorship Program. Unfortunately, we have not been able to get 

too much support from some members that are going to help make 

that bill possible, but I am a very strong supporter of mentorship 

and counseling. 

Ms. Lancaster. 

Ms. LANCASTER. Thank you. I have to say ditto to everything 

about supporting the MBDA and the SBA. And also, I have to reiterate on the Mentor-Protege Program, as well, I think that it is 

true that the SBA does not have funding to tackle everything, but 

with more teeth in the Mentor-Protege Program and put the onus 

on the government prime contractors to really meet their requirements regarding—or make it a requirement to have mentor-protege 

agreements. 

I just have to say thank you, and I truly appreciate your comments on really looking at the banking industry and saying that 

you need to take a look at the measurements and get the data and 

then tackle dealing with the banking industry’s overall attitude 

and environment towards minority-owned women businesses. 

Thank you. 

Chair LANDRIEU. Thank you all very much. 

The meeting is adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 11:46 a.m., the committee was adjourned.] 

(93) 

APPENDIX MATERIAL SUBMITTED 
94 
95 
96 
97 
98 
99 
100 
101 
102 
103 
104 
105 
106 
107 
108 
109 
110 
111 
112 
113 
114 
115 
116 
117 
118 
119 
120 
121 
122 
123 
124 
125 
126 
127 
128 
129 
130 
131 
132 
133 
134 
135 
136 
137 
138 
139 
140 
141 
142 
143 
144 
145 
146 
147 
148 
149 
150 
151 
152 
153 
154 
155 
156 
157 
158 
159 
160 
161 
162 
163 
164 
165 
166 
167 
168 
169 
170 
171 
172 
173 
174 
175 
176 
177 
178 
179 
180 
181 
182 
183 
184 
185 

Æ