Marcy Shinder: What incredible energy there is in this room and look at the turn out? This is fabulous! Congratulations!

Ivy Hartman: Some other nations, leading women entrepreneurs representing a wide variety of industries are in the city known as The Gateway to the New South, Atlanta for the 2007 NAWBO, National Women’s Business Conference. The city known for Gone with the Wind as well as rapid business growth is hosting an organization has dedicated to innovative ways and helping entrepreneurial women.

Desma R-Coleman: As the Voice of America’s 10.4 million women that own businesses, the National Association of Women Business Owners has provided a single voice to shape economic and public policies since 1975. NAWBO is growing leaders and growing businesses.

Donna Orender: To all of us as women it’s just part of our DNA. We want to make a difference. It’s not a major confession. This is probably what brings you here today. You want to grow your business and through your business perhaps make your community better.

Yvonne Bourquin: Women business owners are becoming more and more critical to the US economy. Nearly half of all privately owned firm from the US are women, 50% are more women-owned.

Ivy Hartman: There are over 10 million women on businesses in the United States and NAWBO is the only duos-based national organization representing women enterprises in all industries. The organization’s mission is to help create and strengthen the well creating capacity of it’s members as well as build business and economic development and build strategic alliances and coalitions in order to transform public policy and influence opinion-makers. NAWBO is also an international force.

Erin Fuller: We’re very excited this year to welcome delegations from countries that include Canada, Mexico, China, Kenya, and Sierra Leone.

Karyn Pettigrew: I met a couple of people here from Africa and from China who I’ll be in touch with. NAWBO has been fabulous at building those connections.

Rima McDonald: They are so kind enough that they teach me all these stuff including forecasting, web conferencing, those kind of stuffs.

Marilyn Speert: It’s been very beneficial for me. I get to talk to the other women about the similar problems that we have and how to possibly solve them.

Suzanne Pease: we all need that community in order to do our best and certainly we need that community. No one does anything alone. Yes, people run their own businesses but no one does it all alone.

Ivy Hartman: One in every 11 adult American women owns their own business and over 19 million US workers are employed by a woman business owner. Hundreds of these enterprising women are here in Atlanta to learn new ways to take their business to new heights.

Gloria Steinem: NAWBO which is still the cross specialty, I mean it was all kinds of businesses is very, very crucial and I think it can also pay an additional role in helping consumers who want to support woman’s businesses find the business.

Deanna M-Pierce: Being a woman-owned business and this thing in association that helps propel woman on businesses about this way that’s why I’m here to see what information I could gain that would help our business grow.

Erin Fuller: We did a recent survey that shows that two-thirds of our members have done business within other NAWBO member and out of those that have done those deals they have done the average of 10 deals each. So that connection is incredibly important.

Dr. Patricia Adams: I just love the energy that I did at the conference.

Shawn McCormick: Sometimes lonely as a business owner woman. And I wanted to do other network and not network but develop relationships and friendships with other women who were experiencing some of the same you know day to day issues that I experienced.

Ivy Hartman: These women business owners are not only leaders of their individual firms but their leadership and inspiration extends far beyond the walls of their enterprises. This 2007 NAWBO women’s business conference recognizes the contributions of these women entrepreneurs with a variety of awards. The innovations and success that NAWBO members are achieving is truly changing the way the world does business.

I’m Ivy Hartman reporting for sbtv.com where small business is our only business.