Dallas Women Entrepreneurs Earn OPEN from American Express Make Mine a $Million Business Awards at Local Event
By Business Editors

(c) 2005 Business Wire
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 6, 2005--OPEN, Count-Me-In and Women's
Leadership Exchange also Enlist "Dream Team" of Mentors to Grow Winning
Businesses into Million-Dollar Enterprises
 
 
Just 3% of women-owned U.S. businesses generate more than a million dollars in
annual revenue, compared to 7% of men-owned businesses in the same category.
Three fast-track women entrepreneurs -- two from Dallas and one from Oklahoma
City -- are now poised to break through the million-dollar barrier after winning
the first-ever OPEN from American Express Make Mine a $Million Business(TM)
Awards at yesterday's Women's Leadership Exchange (WLE) conference in Dallas for
women business owners.
 
Mary Childers and Denise Houseberg of Dallas, and Dr. Kimberly Hefner Poe of
Oklahoma City, won the awards after delivering powerful pitches to a panel of
judges at yesterday's WLE event. The trio will work with a "dream team" of
business coaches from the WLE network of women in business from Texas to create
specific business plans designed to reach $1 million in annual revenue. Winners
were chosen from a pool of applicants throughout the South-Central states, and
will work with a team of coaches that includes women such as Gay Gaddis, who
runs the largest woman-owned advertising agency in the country. Coaches will
advise winners on issues ranging from business operations to marketing to
finance.

Each winner will also receive a loan up to $45,000 from Count-Me-In to finance
growth. Two runners-up will receive loans up to $20,000.

Make Mine a $Million Business is a collaboration among Count-Me-In for Women's
Economic Independence, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to increasing
women's access to credit and capital; the Women's Leadership Exchange (WLE), an
educational and networking company that conducts conferences for women business
owners across the United States; and OPEN from American Express.

Women-owned businesses total more than 790,000 in Texas alone, representing 47%
of all privately held firms in the state, according to the Center for Women's
Business Research. A recent OPEN Small Business Network Monitor survey of
women-owned businesses in the Dallas/Fort Worth area indicates women
entrepreneurs in Texas are optimistic about their business future - 79% have a
positive outlook on the economy and business growth. Despite this optimism,
women entrepreneurs face real barriers to growth, particularly when attempting
to finance their businesses.

"Four out of ten women entrepreneurs in Dallas/Fort Worth tell us they have
trouble accessing the financing needed to fund their business growth," said
Alexa Brownell, director, Advocacy Marketing, OPEN form American Express. "The
Make Mine a $Million Business program is designed to help women overcome these
and other growth barriers. By combining forces with Count-Me-In and WLE, both
long-time OPEN partners, we can provide women not just the money they need, but
also the coaching and contacts that will help them thrive."

"These driven and highly motivated entrepreneurs set an excellent example for
all women who have a dream and who won't take 'no' for an answer," said Nell
Merlino, co-founder, president and chief executive officer, Count-Me-In. "We are
proud to equip them with the mentoring, money and marketing to fuel their
businesses growth past a million dollars in revenue."

Leslie Grossman and Andrea March, co-founders of the Women's Leadership
Exchange, said, "By attending a WLE conference, applicants and nominees are
exposed to a wide range of successful women who can offer them the advice and
support they need to get past what are often self-imposed plateaus."
Winners Matched with Dallas/Fort Worth Dream Team

The three Make Mine a $Million winners represent a variety of industries - from
services to e-commerce to healthcare. Mary Childers owns ProServ Laundry
Maintenance, and services industrial laundry equipment for hotels, hospitals and
other facilities. Denise Houseberg runs MarketExpo.com, a fast-growing online
shopping destination for home and garden accessories. Dr. Kimberly Hefner Poe
owns Hefner Eye Care and Optical Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and delivers
optometry care for patients that include cataract-stricken seniors as well as
poor-seeing toddlers.

Three highly successful business women will constitute the dream team that will
contribute time and know-how to help Childers, Houseberg and Hefner Poe build
million-dollar enterprises. These women are also Women's Leadership Exchange
advisory board members, key holders and attendees of previous WLE conferences.
Cary Jehl Brousard is Corporate Vice President of Diversity and the leading
diversity officer for Wyndham Hotels, and manages the marketing, public
relations, human resources and sales campaigns targeted to diverse populations.
Gay Gaddis is president and chief executive officer of T3 (The Think Tank), the
largest privately held U.S. advertising agency wholly owned by a woman.

Catherine Simpson is the founding executive director of the Fort Worth Women's
Business Center, an organization that helps entrepreneurs develop their business
skills while promoting the growth of new business in the Dallas/Fort Worth
community.

The Make Mine a $Million Business program will continue to roll out across the
United States until 15 winners and 15 runners-up are chosen. The next slate of
winners will be chosen May 10 at a WLE conference in Chicago, followed by
Southern California on August 2, Atlanta on September 21 and New York on
November 3. Interested women business owners who would like to break the
million-dollar barrier can learn more about the award criteria and apply at
www.count-me-in.org.

About Count-Me-In
Count Me In, a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization, champions women's
entrepreneurship and economic independence. Dedicated to increasing women's
access to credit and capital, the organization provides online nationwide access
to micro business loans, business consultation and education to women who have
been turned down or discouraged by commercial financial institutions. We are
changing the way women do business! For more information, visit
www.count-me-in.org.