Making Dreams of Business Ownership a Reality

Making Dreams of Business Ownership a Reality

Gloria Martinez says Saint Mary’s College’s Women’s Entrepreneurship Initiative (WEI) was the answer to a dream—her dream—of selling religious books from a storefront. A member of St. Adalbert's Parish in South Bend, Ind., her parish priest referred her to Saint Mary’s WEI program after Martinez met with him as a member of a small group of aspiring women entrepreneurs.

Veronica Valdez ’10, WEI intern;
Gloria Martinez, entrepreneur; and
Martha Smith, WEI program director

Martha Smith, project director of WEI, says working with Martinez has been especially gratifiying. Even though Martinez was selling books from a room in her house, she didn’t have the knowledge or skills to grow her business and compete in today’s high tech environment. Smith, with the expertise of summer intern Veronica Valdez ’10, who graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor of business administration from Saint Mary’s, and local business owner Susan Chipman, helped Martinez create a sound business plan.

Valdez coached Martinez with one-on-one mini-courses in bookkeeping, inventory taking, setting up an email account, and researched how to obtain a state business license. WEI directed Martinez to several local banks to obtain a micro-loan. Chipman, who manages a church-owned bookstore and has several years’ experience as a retailer and merchandiser, acted as a mentor to Martinez and helped her scout out areas for a bookstore location and select inventory that would sell. Martinez now plans to open her store in a room located at St. Adalbert’s Church on July 18.

“I call Susan ‘our angel,’” says Smith, who contacted Chipman after Richard Measell, assistant professor of Business & Economics, suggested her as a good resource. As WEI program director, Smith says she often stops by the offices of business professors to ask advice and find contact who can act as mentors to women looking for solutions to help start a business. “The WEI program wants to ‘give legs’ to the vision of owning and running a business,” says Smith.

On Thursday, July 15, Smith will share similar stories on how WEI provides resources and guidance for women looking to be their own boss when she participates in the afternoon roundtable for the “Advancing Hoosier Women in Business” seminar. This year, Saint Mary’s College is venue to the seminar, which is one of four seminars to be held across the state. Lt. Governor Becky Skillman and the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs are hosting the event. The seminar includes a morning session with local women business owners as speakers on a variety of business topics. During the afternoon session, more business experts and owners will give talks on subjects that include “Do I Really Need a Strategic Plan?” and “How Can Social Media Improve my Customer Service?”