Happy New Year and New Decade!  In this new decade we are faced with many challenges and as many, if not more, opportunities.  At least that is how an entrepreneur sees it.

Growth and changes will come from small business, entrepreneurial businesses, and the change is underway. Startup rates remain steady through recessions. "Ten, 15 years from now, there will be a slew of companies that we'll point to and say they started in the recession," Kauffman Foundation senior analyst Dane Stangler says. "You don't see them yet, but you can be sure they're out there."

Results from a recent Challenger, Gray & Christmas' job market index revealed that 8.7 percent of job seekers gained employment by starting their own businesses in the second quarter of 2009.  That is a significant increase over the record low of 2.7 percent during the last quarter of 2008.

Now, more than ever, support is needed and AWE’s mission to Connect, Educate and Inspire Women Entrepreneurs provides women in the Greater Philadelphia area with a network and programs unlike any other for supporting and furthering their entrepreneurial endeavors.

Our programmatic focus for 2010 is entitled “Educating Today’s Entrepreneurs for Tomorrow.”  With three educational sessions focused on Capital: Human, Intellectual and Financial Resources, and a half day Entrepreneurial Exchange with multiple tracks, this year’s programming will appeal to many entrepreneurs and their senior leadership.  

Building on our successful Fellows Program and our new academic affiliation with Penn State Great Valley, we will continue to integrate emerging and aspiring entrepreneurs into our programming and outreach.  The way to keep entrepreneurs in the greater Philadelphia area is to cultivate their efforts early on, and AWE will be the organization to help connect, educate and inspire them.

AWE will also focus on extending our reach to entrepreneurs in varied disciplines.  While we have historic concentrations in technology and life sciences, we welcome all disciplines and currently have members in manufacturing, consumer products, and media/entertainment, as well as a growing group of social entrepreneurs.

I am honored to be working with such terrific women and look forward to meeting all of our membership and hearing your stories over the coming year.

Jane Hoffer