Janet W. Christy, Author of "Capitalizaing on Being Women Owned"

Listen to a “Steel Magnolia” talk about
“Capitalizing on Being Women Owned”
Entrepreneur, Author and Crusader for MWBE’s and WBE’s

Janet W Christy Bio


Janet W. Christy is the founder and President of Leverage & Development, LLC, a consulting firm that helps Women and Minority owned businesses use their status to their advantage. The firm’s services include marketing research and planning, certification assistance, sales guidance, and assistance in government bidding.

Janet also works with government entities and non-profits in the development of programs for entrepreneurs and W/MBEs (Woman/Minority Business Enterprises). The firm’s services include feasibility studies, marketing research, grant writing, and operational plan development.

Janet is the author of Capitalizing On Being Woman Owned, a marketing guide for Woman Owned Businesses. This book was released in September 2006. She also offers workshops for W/MBEs to help them leverage their ownership status for marketing advantage.

Janet W. Christy
Leverage & Development, LLC
507 Bluebird Lane
Greer, SC 29650
864-244-4117
janet@leverageanddevelopment.com
http://www.leverageanddevelopment.com/

The Interview and Topics Covered


This is a great time to be a Woman Owned Business
Generally, why is this such a good time to be a Woman Owned Business
What is the Federal Government doing to promote the use of Woman Owned Businesses?
How do State Governments encourage the use of Woman Owned Businesses?
Why is the success of Woman Owned Businesses important to cities and counties?
How do commercial enterprises address the use of Woman Owned Businesses?
Should Woman Owned Businesses market themselves directly to prospects or is it better for them to be subcontractors?
Why should a Woman Owned Business consider partnering with other businesses?
Is there grant money for women to start or run businesses? (Also makes a good opening question)

Second Topic
Certification
What is certification?
What are the general requirements to be certified?
How does certification benefit Woman Owned Businesses?
Which certification is best for a Woman Owned Business?
Once a business is certified as Woman Owned, do they just wait for the phone to ring?



Janet Christy Bio

Janet Christy has spent the majority of her professional career in marketing, sales and public relations positions. She has also worked on several economic development and technology initiatives in the Southeast.

In 2003 Janet formed Leverage & Development, LLC, a consulting firm focused on helping Small and Woman/Minority Owned businesses and government/education entities. The firm has several service offerings that assist businesses and governments in evaluating their assets and then developing plans to improve them and/or use them to accomplish specific goals.


In 2006 Career Press (Franklin NJ) published Janet’s book Capitalizing On Being Woman Owned. Janet has also written articles for several magazines and blogs including “Home Business Magazine.” She has made more than 30 radio appearance to discuss the advantages and opportunities for woman owned businesses. Janet has been named as part of the “Brain Trust” for the Small Business Advocate (http://www.smallbusinessadvocate.com/) and has been appointed to the Board of Business Credit Success (http://www.businesscreditsuccess/). She continues to speak and conduct workshops related to Women and Minority Owned Businesses.

“One of my main goals in life is to help women understand that they have choices in life. Helping them be successful in their business choices is one of the ways I can do this,” says Janet. That is why she often speaks to women’s groups and mentors other women.
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Janet has worked on both sides of the procurement process. Her experience includes both preparing RFPs (Request for Proposal) and RFIs (Request for Information) and responding to them. She currently works as a consultant for Small and Woman/Minority Owned Businesses to aid them in responding to RFPs. She also assists government and education entities in the development of RFPs and the evaluation of responses. Janet’s firm, Leverage & Development, LLC offers a workshop to help businesses understand the culture behind government purchasing, the workshop is titled “I Want A Government Contract – I Think.”

Before becoming a Consultant and Author, Janet spent more than 25 years in the telecommunications industry. In late 1999, Janet, along with several partners, formulated, raised angel and bank financing, and implemented the business plan for a telecommunications company specializing in back-office and consulting services for Internet Service Providers (ISPs), Virtual ISPs and Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLECs). The group launched the telecommunications company and within less than a year sold the ISP portion to a publicly traded company. Janet served as Executive Vice President for Sales, Marketing and Customer Service.