CEO Barbara L. Allan attends Annual
Office Depot conference for entrepreneurial women.

Lauren E. Garvey
PALM BEACH BUSINESS NEWS

According to the Center for Women's Business Research, women entrepreneurs generate nearly 2.3 trillion in revenue to the U.S. economy. To be successful in today's marketplace, networking in business is as important as having a solid business plan and free-flowing capital. For women business owners, knowing how, when and where to network is not only necessary, but can yield results when you least expect it, which many Palm Beach women business owners learned at a recent conference.

Recognizing that women-owned businesses are a powerful contributing force in today's economy, Office Depot recently hosted its fourth annual world-class conference-Success Strategies for Businesswomen, which provides women business owners with the advice, knowledge and support they need to succeed in business.

The conference was a sold-out event that attracted more than 1,000 women from across the country. Attendees included women business owners, entrepreneurs, corporate executives and journalists, both local and national.

Barbara Allan, Chief Executive Officer for SRA Research Group, (www.sra-researchgroup.com) a national market research firm specializing in customer satisfaction and retention research based in Jupiter, Florida attended the conference for the first time and believes it is a "must-attend" for women business owners.

"A major take away for me from Office Depot's Success Strategies conference was the power and opportunities we as women have to succeed and make a difference in our communities and in this country. A consistent message from both speakers and other attendees alike is the fact that professional and personal challenges are really blessings in disguise that help us grow, adapt and become stronger," noted Allan.

At the conference, women heard from an "A-list" of visionary leaders in business today, constituting the most prominent line-up assembled for a Success Strategies Conference to date, which included:

• The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton, United States Senator and former First Lady;
• Katie Couric, co-anchor of NBC's Today and Contributing Anchor, Dateline NBC
• Mary Matalin, former assistant to President George W. Bush and counselor to Vice President Dick Cheney -- the first White House official to hold that double title; and
• Dawn Hudson, president of Pepsi-Cola North America;

According to Lynn Connelly, Director of Strategic Alliances for Office Depot, the company's goal in hosting the annual conference is to provide women business owners with an environment where entrepreneurial women can truly learn by sharing and develop long-lasting relationships.

Another first time attendee was Diane Buzzeo, CEO of Marketing Concepts, (www.marketingconcepts.com) a Delray Beach based software solutions and services provider. "I was originally attracted to the conference based on the line-up of keynote speakers," noted Buzzeo.

But Buzzeo was pleased to discover the opportunities to network at the conference. With revenues now exceeding $5M annually, Buzzeo was delighted to have the opportunity to interact with women who could relate to the needs her company has, as well as having a keen understanding for the personal growth needs and challenges upper managers face today.

Clearly, women small business owners and entrepreneurs represent a significant force in America's marketplace and Office Depot is helping to pave the way for women to achieve success and growth.

"The conference offers a forum that encourages women to network and connect with others who can help them not only grow their business, but achieve greater success, noted Maria Bailey, CEO and President for BSM Media, a full-service marketing and multimedia firm nationally recognized for providing knowledge and valuable insight into the "Mom market" headquartered in Pompano Beach, Florida.

"There is much to learn about being an entrepreneur. Developing valuable contacts at annual conferences composed of other businesswomen who can teach and share valuable lessons learned can be well worth the time and investment," noted Bailey.

Attendees also had the opportunity to bid on more than 200 items during the conference's silent auction. Popular items include bidding to have lunch with Office Depot executives, including Bruce Nelson, Office Depot's Chairman and CEO and many Palm Beach County city officials including West Palm Beach Mayor Lois Frankel.

Proceeds from the silent auction benefited Count Me In, a non-profit organization that assists women in obtaining loans to help get their businesses off the ground. This year, $75,000 was raised.

"Office Depot appreciates what women need to be successful in business - access to credit and capital, networks and markets - their support of Count Me In for Women's Economic Independence tells us that Office Depot gets it!" said Nell Merlino, President of Count-Me-In, who accepted the donation. Since 2002, Office Depot has donated more than $125,000 to the organization.

The conference also included an Expo featuring more than 50 different exhibitor booths, which provided the opportunity for attendees to speak one-on-one with vendors. Local South Florida companies featured at the EXPO included: Acco Brands, The JKG Group, The National Ovarian Cancer Coalition, 3M, South Florida Water Management, UBS and Xerox.

The Office Depot Success Strategies for Businesswomen conference was created in 2001. The conference also spotlights national professional women's organizations and honors top women in business with Office Depot Visionary Awards and Businesswoman of the Year Awards.

This year, tennis phenomenon, Serena Williams was honored at the conference and received the Office Depot Visionary "Sports" award.

"I was so honored to receive the award, and extremely touched to be recognized as a visionary in sports by Office Depot. They are truly a company that believes in promoting and encouraging women in all that they do," said Williams.

"I have already put next year's conference on my 2005 calendar and have been recruiting colleagues and friends to join me," said Penny Adams Field, President for Admin Group, a Boca-Raton based technology driven firm that provides fund administration services for private equity and collateralized funds under $100M.

Upon leaving the conference, Field asked herself a question many of the women did-"How can we make a bigger difference in our world, our community and our family?"

Office Depot's conference reminds us of how many women have achieved great things in our lifetime and that we all have the power to lead and make a difference in the world, concluded Field.

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