Businesswomen Dispute Survey, Say They are Serious about Growth

WASHINGTON (March 10, 2010) -- The American public's attitude toward women business owners hasn't changed much in recent decades, according to a new national survey, with 94 percent saying women only want to contribute to the family income and not grow a business.

But Maryland women entrepreneurs argue the perception doesn't match reality. They say women want to develop their businesses just as much as men do, but are often the primary caregiver in the family and must make time for other priorities.

Janine DiPaula Stevens, founder of Vircity, a Baltimore-based small business takes issue with that stereotype: "I wouldn't be in that category...You always want to contribute to your family, but no, I'm going to grow the business." . . . Read More

Janine DiPaula Stevens Named as One of Maryland's Top 100 Women by The Daily Record

Since 1996, The Daily Record has recognized more than 800 high-achieving Maryland women who are making an impact through their leadership, community service and mentoring. “Recognizing outstanding achievement by women as demonstrated through professional accomplishment, community leadership and mentoring.” http://mddailyrecord.com/marylands-top-100-women/2010-winners/

“The Daily Record's Top 100 Women recognizes women who not only have achieved success professionally, but also have made significant contributions to their communities through their volunteer and mentoring activities,” says Christopher Eddings, publisher of The Daily Record. “We applaud the successes of Janine and acknowledge her as one of only a handful of women to make such a significant mark on her community and her profession.”

"A Nasty Piece of Network - Exposing the Biggest Networking Faux-Pas" by Jeanine Clingenpeel

The business-card-collector. The time-waster. The hard-seller. The trash-talker. The self-promoter. Every CEO has encountered these networking know-nothings and lived to tell the tale. CEOs shared their stories of shady characters who sully an otherwise productive networking experience.

"One of the most counterproductive networking practices I have encountered is someone who walks up to me with their card in hand, while introducing themselves, and before I can respond, they're asking me for my card. I call them 'card collectors.' They're not interested in me, but rather my card. I wish these people understood that networking is about building a relationship and what we can do for each other - not the number of cards they collect. Besides my name and title, what do you learn about me as a businessperson from my card?" Janine M. DiPaula Stevens, CEO, Vircity

Top 100 Minority Business Enterprise Award

Janine DiPaula Stevens has been selected to receive the prestigious Top 100 Minority Business® Enterprise Award. In its fourth year, this program is designed to acknowledge and pay tribute to outstanding women and minority business owners in Maryland, Virginia, Delaware and the District of Columbia. A panel of distinguished judges chose Vircity from fourteen hundred nominations. Selection was based on entrepreneurs who demonstrated outstanding achievement in four key areas: entrepreneurship, client satisfaction, professional and community contributions. www.top100mbe.com

Women in Business - Thursday, November 12, 2009

The College of Notre Dame of Maryland will host a lecture, Entrepreneurship: Discover the Possibilities, Thursday, Nov. 12, 7 p.m., in the LeClerc Auditorium. The discussion will be moderated by Deborah Stallings, president and CEO of HR Anew, and will include several guest speakers including Lynne Brick, founder and CEO of Brick Bodies and Janine DiPaula Stevens co-founder and CEO of Vircity. Admission is free. Call 410-532-5556. CLICK HERE

SBTV.COM - Business Outsourcing is Big Business
March 31, 2009 Daily News

"Business process outsourcing can help small businesses focus on their core goals and initiatives without having to worry about payroll, HR, or IT." Click here to hear more about this $50.5 billion dollar industry from SBTV and Vircity's CEO, Janine DiPaula Stevens.

Baltimore Business Journal
October 26, 2007

With First Birthday Comes Valuable Lessons . . .
by Scott Dance contributing writer

It has been a year of many changes for Bill Stevens and his business, Vircity , an office-for-rent company in the Canton neighborhood of Baltimore.

From adjustments in pricing, product offerings and office layout to redesigning the company Web site and business cards two or three times, Stevens said he has learned many valuable lessons as president of his own business -- and that's just in the first 12 months.

Vircity hit the one-year-in-business mark Sept. 19, an important milestone for a startup company in any industry. Small-business owners hope it means they are established in their market and have worked out the kinks that can arise in the first go-around.

And the kinks can be many, local shopkeepers said, teaching lessons of flexibility, business planning and healthy finances.

One of the first lessons business owners get if they consult one of several small-business support centers in the area is the importance of creating a business plan. It forces owners to start to think about the potential hurdles and sets the tone for what their business will become, said Cynetta Cardwell, manager of the Howard County Business Resource Center

"We explain to them that it's their road map and encourage them to write it themselves," Cardwell said. "It lets them know if they should proceed at all."

When bumps in the road do come along, the business plan gives "a more systematic way of making adjustments," said Paul Taylor, director of the Baltimore Development Corp's Small Business Resource Center.

Despite having years of experience in their field already, business partners Alex Fisher and Glenn Ross said they did extensive preparation for the opening of their own investment consulting firm, Archstone Portfolio Solutions LLC, because their industry is so heavily regulated by the SEC.

"In our industry, it's even more important to do your homework and make sure every 'i' is dotted before you open your doors," Ross said.

Both small-business centers offer counselors and seminars for local companies to help them plan out and strategize their businesses ahead of time and navigate the way once the doors are open. Common concerns the centers talk with first-time entrepreneurs about include taxes, insurance and financing.

Startups often need help to find their way through the world of small-business loans and other financing resources, Taylor said.

"Starting the business undercapitalized is a very common thing," he said, because many companies don't realize how large their expenses will be for things like inventory, taxes and insurance.

Business owners said they learned quickly some of those demands are often too much for first-time entrepreneurs.

Carmen Brock and Kacey Buchanan Stafford, owners of the Red Tree in Baltimore, said it was difficult to determine what to hire people to do for them. The store, which sells furniture, home decorations and jewelry, hits its one-year anniversary Oct. 25.

"At first you try to do everything yourself so you know what you can pay other people to do," Brock said. But even if business owners realize what they can delegate, shaky finances early on can prevent them from acting on it.

It only took the pair a few weeks to realize they were better off delegating their bookkeeping and accounting so they could focus more directly on their customers.

Scott Dance is a staff reporter for the Baltimore business journal

Photograph by: Nicholas Griner

Caption- Another year: Bill Stevens, president of Vircity in Baltimore,
says he tweaked his pricing during his first year in business.

Urbanite December 2006 - Have You Heard . . .

Virtual Office. . .

Freelancers and small-business owners just starting out often lack the kind of support provided by an office environment. Vircity, a "virtual office in the city," has opened in the Can Company in Canton to provide all kinds of services to people who can't afford to lease their own workspace. It offers meeting space, administrative assistance, individual workstations, copiers, marketing consultation, and Web and e-mail hosting.

As an added bonus, Vircity can receive packages from all carriers on behalf of registered clients and hold them in a secured area. Fees vary, depending on the frequency and number of services needed; see the website for more details. 2400 Boston Street #102;
410-522-5888; www.vircity.us

- Marianne Amoss