Leading Question

Can women rise to the top in business in Florida?

Although men still greatly outnumber women in the corner suites of Fortune 500 firms and many public companies, recent statistics point to an encouraging business climate for women who want to be high-level executives in Florida-if those women want to own their own businesses.

Sharon Hadary, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Women's Business Research, who spoke at a recent women-in-business luncheon sponsored by Wachovia and Sarasota/Manatee BUSINESS, says Florida is ranked No. 3 in the nation for number of women-owned businesses. "That's amazing to me," she says. "Ten years ago, Florida wasn't even one of the top 10."

Why is Florida ranked so high? The usual reasons: demographics and climate. "You have an influx of people coming to Florida," says Hadary, "and many of these people are retiring earlier and they're healthier." They're not ready to stop being productive. And Florida is a nice, sunny place to set up shop. "I know of three women from New Jersey who've moved their businesses to Florida," she says.

Another recent study by The Center for Leadership at Florida International University, in partnership with The Commonwealth Institute South Florida, surveyed Florida women in prominent executive positions. The report, Florida's Women-Led Businesses, 2006, showed that the majority of women who made it to the top-70 percent-started the business themselves rather than rising through the ranks of other companies.

"Entrepreneurship is the ultimate meritocracy," says Hadary. "You can generate your own wealth." The key ingredient for success, she says, is setting goals: "It's more important than the size of the business, location or experience." Access to capital, markets, technical expertise and networks are also vital. "It's through networks that you find money and opportunities," says Hadary.

Sarasota's Eileen Rosenzweig was one of the women FIU surveyed. She's the owner of Sir Speedy on South Tamiami Trail, and her business, the seventh largest Sir Speedy out of approximately 500 franchises in the country, made $3 million last year. At 47, she started out as an accountant in the corporate world before deciding that if she really wanted to get ahead, she'd have to open her own business.

"I worked for G.E. and it was more difficult there," Rosenzweig says. "I was a professional but was treated more as a glorified secretary. There was definitely a good old boy network in the corporate world. There were more meetings in the men's room than you'd ever want to know."

Rosenzweig opened Sir Speedy 25 years ago and says the times-and her management style-have changed. She learned to speak to men with authority and clarity to win their respect, and she changed the pay structure of her company to reward employees in all departments equally. "Women's roles, like customer service, used to be the lowest paid," she says. "But customer service is our backbone so we decided to pay just as much there as we did in the press department." Interestingly, her customer service department today is mostly men, she says.

Rosenzweig says her seven-year-old twin daughters will not face the limitations she did. "I went to Bentley College in Boston, which was 80 percent men," she says. "It was an accounting school, and they were very resentful of a woman. Now Bentley is 60 percent women, and most people sitting for a CPA exam are women. My daughters can choose to do whatever they want, including being a stay-at-home mommy."-Susan Burns

LATEST FINDINGS ON FLORIDA'S BUSINESSWOMEN

Of the women interviewed for Florida's Women-Led Businesses, 2006, 70 percent started a business themselves; 88 percent were the first women to ever hold their position in the company; 43 percent have corporate boards; of those boards, more than 60 percent of board members were female; 60 percent of these women aspired to be CEOs, presidents or to own their own companies; 47 percent had fathers who were business executives; 10 percent had mothers who were business executives; 88 percent attended college or completed a B.A.; 40 percent said mentors were important; 90 percent participated in business organizations; average age was 51; 85 percent were Caucasian; 61 percent were married; 74 percent worked more than 40 hours a week and 10 percent worked more than 60; 40 percent stayed home past maternity leave; 61 percent had outside help with child rearing; 50 percent were satisfied with the amount of time they spend on personal affairs and at work.

MIND YOUR MANNERS
Business etiquette from national restaurant consultant Judi Gallagher.

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