Female entrepreneurs celebrated for starting successful businesses

Women entrepreneurs from around the country were honored for their dedication and success in the field Friday at the Symposium for Women Entrepreneurs Achievement and Tenacity conference.\nSWEAT -- held at the Indiana Memorial Union -- was hosted by the Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.\nDirector of the JCEI Donald F. Kuratko welcomed guests to the conference and joked about the conference's title.\n"I've been chastised by my wife and two daughters," he said. "Women do not sweat: they perspire."\nSWEAT was created by Kelli Conder, JCEI entrepreneurial corporate relations manager, and Samantha Uslan, JCEI administrative coordinator.\n"All too often a lot of these conferences focus on the problems that women face," Uslan said. "We really wanted to focus on successes that women have had."\nFeatured in SWEAT were women, many of whom are IU graduates who have successfully established businesses from the ground up. \n"There really is a great deal of women entrepreneurs in the state of Indiana and across the nation -- the number of women entrepreneurs is growing," Conder said.\nPatricia Miller, Vera Bradley Designs co-founder and co-president, was a keynote speaker at the conference.\nMiller, who started Vera Bradley with her partner Barbara Baekgaard in 1982, began her entrepreneurial career alongside Baekgaard hanging wallpaper, she said. The idea for Vera Bradley, named after Baekgaard's mother, came from seeing men and women carrying similar luggage.\nMiller said they wanted to make luggage more feminine for women. Shortly after, with $500 for supplies and a work area comprised of a pool table in the basement, Vera Bradley began. The business is now internationally known for its handbags and luggage.\nFour Vera Bradley handbags were raffled off during the conference, and each guest received a Vera Bradley key chain.\nFrom the Wisconsin School of Business' director of special industry programs Joan Gillman spoke about the importance of networking. Conference attendees participated in a networking exercise, led by Gillman, where they exchanged business cards and tried to establish connections among one another.\nTo network effectively, "act like a host, not a guest," Gillman said.\nPanels were held during the conference highlighting women like Kerry Feigenbaum, co-founder of Scholars Inn, and Jane Ford, co-founder and co-creator of Benefit Cosmetics.\nChoosing between opening either a cosmetics or a casserole store, Ford said she flipped a coin to help her decide. Now 30 years later, Benefit is partially owned by Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton and ranks higher in their portfolio than Dior, Ford said.\nAnother panel focused on the balancing act entrepreneurs perform everyday among work, family, friends and personal time. Panelists like Crystal Black-Davis, founder and president of Savvy Events and Marketing and partner in Ice Ultra Lounge, spoke on the significance of "me time" including getting exercise and having fun.\nThroughout SWEAT each speaker suggested ways to succeed in the entrepreneurial world -- ranging from how to build relationships to knowing when to let go of bad employees. \nMiller had this advice to give to women starting careers in entrepreneurship:\n"Don't be afraid to go out on a limb," she said. "That's where the fruit is"