妇女在美国拥有36％的私有公司 - 近840万个企业。他们总体上产生了2.5万亿美元的年销售额，并创造了超过800万个就业机会。[1]Over the past 20 years, the number of women-owned businesses has grown at almost four times the rate of men-owned firms.[2]

为了支持这些公司的持续轨迹和拥有这些公司的妇女的财务状况，PNC财富管理是公司的赞助商女总统组织（WPO）, an international peer-to-peer mentoring model for women who own and run high revenue-generating businesses. Across its consumer footprint, PNC supports approximately 45 WPO chapters and has been instrumental in founding several chapters in communities where women presidents lacked a peer network.

“Accessing mentoring and networking opportunities is important for businesswomen, and therefore it’s important for PNC to support organizations like the WPO that provide these resources to help women take their companies to the next level,” said Beth Marcello, Director of Women’s Business Development at PNC.

作为WPO顾问委员会成员，Marcello与WPO执行董事会成员Phyllis Newhouse合作，他创立了位于亚特兰大的Xtreme Solutions，Inc。，目前是该公司的首席执行官兼总裁。Xtreme Solutions是一家信息技术服务和解决方案提供商，它与商业，政府和学术领域188bet上不了内各种行业的各种规模的企业合作。纽豪斯（Newhouse）是一名陆军老兵，他领导五角大楼的第一个网络联合工作队，这种经历激发了她离开军队后找到Xtreme Solutions的经历。

Marcello sat down for a discussion with Newhouse to learn how the WPO has impacted her personal and professional growth.

Marcello：是什么吸引了您进入WPO？

Newhouse: While I had already experienced relative success with my business, I started to feel isolated as a CEO. I had an advisory board and a background in the military that served me well, but something was missing. WPO filled the gap by introducing me to other female CEOs who have similar experiences. As a member of WPO, I’m constantly learning from other women in my chapter who are walking in my shoes.

Marcello: The WPO Roundtable experience is said to “bring the genius” out of the group. Have you had an “a-ha moment”?

Newhouse: My “a-ha moments” have had to do with life experiences.

I’ve watched other members of the WPO go through traumatic events while trying to simultaneously lead a company. I saw some go through the death of a business partner or a husband much earlier than they expected, and it made me understand the importance of business succession planning. As a result, I made business succession planning a priority so I’m prepared for the unexpected.

在观看其他女性妇女如何为财务计划策略挣扎之后，另一个“ A-HA时刻”发生了。因为他们无法或愿意筹集资金，所以他们无法扩大业务。我没有筹集外部资本，而是做出了战略决定，以相当快地使我的客户群多样化。

Marcello：当今商人面临的最大问题是什么？

Newhouse: As a contractor that works with the government, I would say that the procurement process for government contracts is one of the biggest issues. That means the way the government conducts transactions to acquire goods and services.

Despite that fact that there are more and more female-owned businesses, the benchmark for contracts for women-owned companies is still 5 percent,[3]and few government agencies meet that goal, even when there are hundreds of women-owned companies competing for a single contract.

Retooling the procurement process for government contracts would create tremendous growth opportunities for women entrepreneurs. When women are awarded contracts, it often triggers a protest process – a formal document filed to challenge the contract - and I’ve had that experience myself. Revamping the process and creating governance and accountability would help many women-owned companies and ultimately the economy.

Marcello: Your introduction to WPO was through the organization’s Women of Color Achievement Awards, which you received. Now you lead the WPO diversity committee. Why is increasing minority participation in the WPO a priority?

Newhouse: WPO is not an invitation-only group, but because it’s not a household name, it needs an introduction. WPO members have tended to introduce the organization to women who look like them.

我们是包容性的，但数字并不能反映出这一点。有色女性没有加入WPO，因为她们不知道我们如何提供帮助，而且我们没有广泛的外展计划。

We are now consciously reaching out to minority communities. We are linking with women around the world who are connected by their stories and journeys.

Marcello：WPO还如何对您公司的增长产生积极影响？

Newhouse: Associating with other female CEOs has exposed me to different ideas and new markets. I had the privilege of helping WPO expand into South Africa and then opened an office in South Africa as a result of the relationships I developed in that country.

Marcello：像PNC这样的大型公司可以采取什么措施来促进WPO原因？

Newhouse：PNC等公司可以通过与其他组织和客户建立联系来提供帮助，这使我们能够与更多的有色女性交谈。最终归结为曝光。

如果您不暴露某人，他们将不知道自己想成为其中的一部分。我感谢PNC支持亚特兰大的色彩成就奖；否则我将不了解WPO。

Marcello：您如何预见女性创业能力在未来十年中发展？

Newhouse: We’re already seeing more young women who realize early on in their careers that they have tremendous value and the skills and passion to build their own companies.

Women can use their voices and economic power to change the world.

张开嘴并谈论您的公司。女人一直担心，如果谈论自己的成功，她们会被视为自大。停止思考！我希望女性企业家公开谈论自己的品牌和成功，我很高兴看到它经常发生。

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