Russ: This is the BusinessMakers Show heard here and online at thebusinessmakers.com. And its guest time on the show. And I'm on site at the Houston Business Journal's top 50 Fastest Growing Women Businesses celebration for 2009. And I am very pleased to have with me Julie Cripe, President and CEO of Omnibank. Julie, welcome to the BusinessMakers Show.

Julie: Thank you, glad to be here.

Russ: Well I think you're here and we're visiting today because of this initiative of women owned business. In fact, you're a big sponsor of a women-owned business contest here today. Tell us a little bit about that.

Julie: I think it's very exciting, the Houston Business Journal along with sponsors have been doing this for several years and honoring women who grow their businesses. Many entrepreneurs or even women who've taken a business that's existed for a long time and taking it in new directions.

Russ: Now you've been in the business world for quite some time, correct?

Julie: Correct, 30 years.

Russ: And all of that with Omnibank?

Julie: Thirty years at Omnibank, yes.

Russ: What was your first job at Omnibank?

Julie: My first job was in human resources.

Russ: Did you ever envision that at some point in the future you'd be president of the bank?

Julie: Not at that time, no.

Russ: Okay. What's your perspective of women in business in 2009?

Julie: I think women have great opportunities right now. I am seeing women starting businesses, continuing to do so in 2009. I think they have what it takes to make businesses successful and I'm excited to be here and watch them do it.

Russ: Okay. Well tell us a little bit about this contest today. I think it's based upon revenue growth of women-owned or run businesses, is that accurate?

Julie: That's correct.

Russ: Okay. What do you think of the field of contestants?

Julie: It's really a great group. It's very diverse. There are a lot of different kind of businesses from manufacturing to service, anything you can name, we've got I think one of them.

Russ: Do you track at the bank women-owned businesses?

Julie: We know who our women-owned customers are. We're very fortunate to be the size we are. We can be more intimately involved with all our customers and know who's what and where basically.

Russ: Okay. Describe for us what sorta challenge might a young woman in business have these days in 2009?

Julie: Probably not just young women but women-owned businesses still have trouble sometimes finding the resources they need to grow the business whether it's a bank or a family friend or someone who can sponsor them with the initial startup capital. What I'd love to say to people is there are a great many resources and banks that will help direct them with the small business development centers, the WBE groups, NABO, many alternatives out there to help you find what you need and a good partner to help you grow your business.

Russ: Well, before I let you go, imagine that we have a young woman in the audience, maybe just now graduating from college that's sort of undecided in what she wants to be and what her course should be. What kind of advice would you give her?

Julie: I would ask her to look at what really interests her, what really interest her in college. Was it math? Was it strategy? Was it sales or talking to people and being interactive? And then to find a business that fits that and to find a mentor. And maybe your first job won't be your last job, but you will discover strengths and you will be able to find things that you can emulate.

Russ: Great. Well Julie I really appreciate you sharing your time with us here in the Businessmakers Show.

Julie: Thank you.

Russ: Okay and that wraps up our discussion with Julie Cripe, President and CEO of Omnibank. And moving on now to the women owned businesses winners. First up I have Carol Stevens, Founder and President of Your Training Solutions. Carol, welcome to the BusinessMakers Show.

Carol: Thank you.

Russ: Well let's start by you telling us about Your Training Solutions.

Carol: Your Training Solutions is a full service training and development firm. And by full service I mean that we try to provide solutions to whatever training challenges a company is having. Some of them are in-house and some of them are where we bring in the experts. We have come to specialize over the years in leadership development. We feel like that's a real area of opportunity to really help people with the people side of the business, not the work being done, but how people are working together to get the work done.

Russ: Okay. Approximately how many companies will you work with in a regular year?

Carol: Oh gosh, probably 30 or so.

Russ: Wow.

Carol: And it ranges from just helping them with internal trainers. We're more of a product deliverer to help them deliver and then I have some full service engagements as well.

Russ: Okay, and how old is the company?

Carol: Eleven years old.

Russ: So have you always been an entrepreneur?

Carol: Actually no. And I went to work for a very large oil company out of college and figured I would always work in corporate America. And I'm the first one in my family, I have many siblings and parents who were all corporate and I'm the first one to branch out and start my own business.

Russ: Okay. Do you think you're always gonna be running your own business?

Carol: I think so. In fact I enjoy it so much that I started a second company.

Russ: Oh my goodness.

Carol: Within the last year.

Russ: Along with Your Training Solutions?

Carol: Yes.

Russ: And what does that company do?

Carol: Well it's called Stratachief and it provides diagnostic and measurement tools to help leaders see at a glance where their strategies are falling down. So whether they wanna do training or cut costs or whatever strategic move they wanna make, they'll make it for the right reasons and be able to target where they focus their efforts.

Russ: Okay, and so it probably goes real well, hand in hand with Your Training Solutions right?

Carol: It does because a lot of times people will say they want training and I'm just a very analytical person so I will start asking why and really try to get to the root cause because training is a means to an end of trying to produce some better result. And so I like to really focus on that end result. And a lot of times in the training development and the people side of business, it can be hard to measure. So we bring that measurement to them.

Russ: Okay. Well Carol, I really appreciate you sharing your story with us.

Carol: Thank you.

Russ: That's Carols Stevens, Founder and President of Your Training Solutions. And we will be back with more of the top fastest growing women run businesses after this. You're listening to the Businessmakers Show heard here and online at thebusinessmakers.com.

[Aflac Commercial]

Russ: This is the BusinessMakers Show heard here and online at thebusinessmakers.com. And continuing on with the Houston Business Journal's women owned business winners for 2009, I'm please to have with me right Lianne Lami, Founder, CEO and President of Bocci Engineering. Lianne, welcome to the BusinessMakers Show.

Lianne: Russ, thank you for having us.

Russ: You bet. So tell us about Bocci Engineering.

Lianne: Bocci Engineering is an energy and environmental engineering firm. We do projects that pay for themselves.

Russ: Okay, like what?

Lianne: The types of projects that we do I consider it in three different areas. We work in the green building industry in regards to environmental optimization and improvements. We work in sustainable energy development, renewables and alternative energy. We do a lot of power generation type projects. And a third area of our business is in pure energy efficiency and water conservation. Sort of a brass tacks optimization improvements in your existing facilities.

Russ: Okay, all those seem to be happening areas right now.

Lianne: It's a very exciting time. There's a tremendous amount of economic development happening in sustainable markets and it's an area where every company doesn't have a mission or a vision unless sustainable opportunities are in their corporate statements.

Russ: Has Bocci Engineering always been focused on that?

Lianne: From day one, we've never faltered.

Russ: How old is the company?

Lianne: The company's been in business since 2002.

Russ: Now tell us about being a woman-owned business, particularly an engineering firm. That's kind of unique.

Lianne: Well I don't know if it's necessarily unique that women are in engineering.

Russ: Right.

Lianne: I think that it is still unique that there are women in leadership roles of engineering and even more unique that there are women owners of engineering firms. I would tell you that it hasn't been an easy road but it's been a road I've never looked backwards on and I've known that I wanted to be an engineer and really have my own company since I was in high school.

Russ: That's real cool. Now how many employees do you have at Bocci Engineering?

Lianne: We are now, as of today, nine employees.

Russ: Okay, you just gonna keep growing and seizing these opportunities out there?

Lianne: Actually we are. We're in the market right now. We're hiring. We've been doing some formal advertising. We've got enough of a business backlog through a new entrée into the federal business arena. You know there's a lot of stimulus funds happening for energy efficiency and renewable projects and I would expect that we are probably going to be double in size by next year.

Russ: That's real cool. Before I let you go Lianne, say that we have a listener out there, a young woman just now graduating from college and might even have a technical degree and is listening to this interview and aspires herself to be an entrepreneur. What kind of advice would you give her?

Lianne: Well I would say that the number one trait that any woman owner or woman student or woman engineer coming through college was tenacity. That you may hear that you can't do it or it may be unaware that people act like you can't do it but the reality is you can and you just have to have that tenacity to push for it.

Russ: Just hang in there and be determined.

Lianne: That's correct.

Russ: Okay. Lianne I really thank you for sharing your story with us and telling us about Bocci Engineering.

Lianne: Russ, thank you again. I appreciate the opportunity.

Russ: You bet. That's Lianne Lami, the President, Founder and CEO of Bocci Engineering. And this is the BusinessMakers Show heard here and online at thebusinessmakers.com. And continuing on with the winners of the Houston Business Journal, women owned business 2009, I'm very pleased to have with me Margot Dimond, the Co-founder and Principal of Double Dimond Public Relations. Margot, welcome to the BusinessMakers Show.

Margot: Thank you so much for having me here.

Russ: You bet. Well tell us about Double Dimond Public Relations.

Margot: Double Dimond Public Relations is a full service public relations and marketing firm providing a wide range of services. We can do from strategic planning and branding and message development to local, regional, national, international, business to business, social media publicity. That's print, broadcast, online, and we also can help a client create high-quality marketing materials such as web sites, brochures, videos, e-newsletters.

Russ: That's real cool. Now I know your co-founder, who is the – is there just one more co-founder?

Margot: I have as my great partner, my daughter, Lisa Dimond Valesquez.

Russ: My goodness.

Margot: Together we have 50 years of experience.

Russ: Okay.

Margot: We're a relatively new firm but I have 35 years of public relations experience and she has about 18 years of combined news media and public relations experience.

Russ: Well that's incredible. How long have the two of you been working together?

Margot: Since January of 2007.

Russ: Okay, and that works out well?

Margot: It works out great. A lot of people will ask us what is it like to work with your mother or what is it like to work with your daughter. We think a mother-daughter partnership is probably very much like a father-son partnership. It's just kind of different today but I think you're going to see more of that in the future as women who have had careers have daughters who have careers, often in a very similar field. So I think that's not gonna be that unusual in the future.

Russ: Well in fact tell us about that a little bit more. You're a women-owned business and you and your daughter, I mean it's like double victory there. So –

Margot: Yes, that's why we're Double Dimond.

Russ: How many employees are there now at Double Dimond?

Margot: We are it.

Russ: You're it, okay.

Margot: When you come to Double Dimond, you're gonna get one of the Double Dimonds.

Russ: Okay, well that's good to know. Do you see a day though that you're gonna have so much work that you have to add?

Margot: We do have some times when we have a lot of work and we have to bring in people so we pretty much subcontract out. We have some great designers, web site and graphic designers, plus we have a number of other public relations professionals that we know for years and know that they're independent and they are happy to work with us. So we like to bring in experienced people if we can to help us.

Russ: Before I let you go Margot, let's say that there's a young woman listening right now and she's sort of interested in marketing and PR and that your whole world. And she's thinking, "Wow, maybe I should start my own firm too." What kind of advice would you give her?

Margot: Go for it. I think the most important ingredient for success in business is confidence. You have to have confidence in yourself and there are people who will try to discourage you along the road. Oh it's so hard, oh you won't have the support system and such that you do in a big company. But the rewards are so great that you should yes, do all your homework, be prepared, but then just go for it.

Russ: All right, Margot, thank you a lot for sharing your story with us.

Margot: Okay, thank you.

Russ: We've been talking with Margot Dimond, Co-founder and Principle at Double Dimond Public Relations. Stay tuned in for the number one company of the Houston Business Journal's top 50 Fastest Growing Women Businesses. You're listening to the BusinessMakers Show heard here and online at thebusinessmakers.com. [Aflac Commercial]

Russ: This is the BusinessMakers Show heard here and online at thebusinessmakers.com. And continuing on with the Houston Business Journal's winners of the 2009 women-owned business contest. I'm very pleased to have with me number one, the winner, Lynn Ellis, Cofounder and COO of E-Events group. Lynn, welcome to the BusinessMakers Show.

Lynn: Thank you very much for having me.

Russ: You bet and congratulations.

Lynn: Well thank you.

Russ: Was it a surprise that you won?

Lynn: It was a huge surprise. Actually I found out when I arrived today at the luncheon.

Russ: Cool. So congratulations but you must tell us about the E-Events Group.

Lynn: Absolutely. E-Events Group is event planning and production, meeting management, association management and fundraising event company.

Russ: Okay.

Lynn: It's a full service company. We specialize in corporate and nonprofit events and one of our areas of expertise is working with clients over a long period of time as opposed to an event planner who comes in just for one event. We tend to have clients who we work with over a strategic plan over a 3 to 5 year period.

Russ: Okay, how old is the company?

Lynn: We're going into our third year.

Russ: Okay.

Lynn: So we're a relatively new company although both myself and my business partner Julie Dukell have worked in the industry for several years.

Russ: Okay. Well tell us a little bit about being a women-owned business.

Lynn: We have found that as a woman-owned business we get a lot of support from other women-owned business, all of whom were here today and I think part of our success is too, all those great women that are out there. I think also in Houston, Houston is very supportive of women-owned businesses and we've been delighted to be part of that.

Russ: Okay. All right well tell us about the future. What do you have planned for E-Events in the future?

Lynn: Well, lots of exciting things. Of course our particular industry has been rather hard hit during this year with a lot of corporate cutbacks. However looking forward to moving into the New Year and to building our company.

Russ: Okay. Before this, did you ever run your own company before as well?

Lynn: I did not. I have always worked for a company. My background is actually in the fashion industry. I'm actually a textile designer by origin.

Russ: Well that qualifies you for E-Events probably.

Lynn: Correct, well it did, it did. And I moved to the U.S. about 13 years ago.

Russ: From where?

Lynn: From, actually from Mexico.

Russ: Okay.

Lynn: To the U.S. but before then obviously from Scotland.

Russ: Okay.

Lynn: And it was actually thanks to my wonderful business partner, we actually – on E-Events. She was the one that encouraged me to form our own company because we saw a niche in the event planning world that we felt was not being covered.

Russ: Right. And apparently your performance has substantiated that feeling.

Lynn: Yes, we've been very fortunate.

Russ: So starting and operating your business, is it just been a breeze, a piece of cake the whole way?

Lynn: It's been very pleasurable but I would not say it has been a breeze. It's been a lot of hard work but we've been supported greatly by the Houston community and all of the businesses that we work with have come back each year. Almost all of our clients we have retained.

Russ: Congratulations. You know here on the BusinessMakers Show, we really focus on those like yourself that take the risk and step out there and put their idea in the business. And I asked you the question if it's a breeze, we rarely find anybody to say that it's a breeze. In fact sometimes it's just downright hard.

Lynn: It is, it is. It's hard work, especially being a business owner. You don't finish at 5:00 and you don't start at 8 AM. I'm available to my clients 24 hours a day almost.

Russ: Okay.

Lynn: And I think it's appreciated. They don't abuse the fact but I think, especially in my particular industry it's necessary and of course it's not a 5-day week, it's a 7-day week.

Russ: Right. Well then before I let you go, let's say that we have a young woman listening to your interview right now and is kind of inspired by it and thinks. "Maybe that's what I should do, start my own company." What kind of advice would you give her?

Lynn: I was very fortunate to be mentored by several women throughout my life and I would encourage any young woman that has the opportunity to be mentored, be it from a woman or a man, maybe better from a woman but –

Russ: Okay.

Lynn: No, I'm kidding. And to take that opportunity to listen, to embrace everything that she is told, to always believe in herself, to have the confidence to step out there and do what she wants to do.

Russ: Lynn, I really appreciate you sharing your story with us.

Lynn: Thank you very much. I appreciate.

Russ: You bet. That's Lynn Ellis, Co-founder and COO of the E-Events Group. And you're listening to the BusinessMakers Show heard here and online at thebusinessmakers.com.