Washington women in business
Local entrepreneurs part of growing national trend

by Dana E. Blozis



According to a January 2006 report from the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of American firms owned by women grew by 20 percent between 1997 and 2002. The report also stated that women own more than 6.5 million non-farm businesses, generating $940.8 billion in annual revenue. In Washington state, women owned 29 percent of all the private firms in the state, representing a 12 percent increase over 1997.
Why the big increase in women-owned businesses?
“Attitudes about women in the workplace, period, have changed let alone women running their own businesses,” Erin Fuller, executive director of the National Association of Women Business Owners, said in a January article in The Seattle Times.
At the local level, women are starting their own businesses at rates consistent with the state average. The women we spoke with cite greater resources and support as reasons for starting their own businesses in the area.

Gone Diving
Charlynn Sutton of Gone Diving is one such business owner. After working in the print and graphics industry for years, Sutton most recently worked at Aqua Sport & Bike before the owner closed the shop last year for personal reasons. The owner suggested Sutton start her own dive shop. After months of consideration, Sutton decided to forge ahead, opening Gone Diving in Bellingham this spring, a full service dive shop offering diving equipment and service, apparel and accessories, classes and charters.
“I was never one to quickly make decisions,” Sutton said. “I finally decided this town could use another scuba diving center that was a little different.”
She opened her shop in the Iowa Business Center in Bellingham in April. With easy access to the freeway, ample parking and front and back entrances, the location has proven to be successful. The Iowa Street location serves as a retail store and classroom with additional diving instruction taking place at the YMCA pool. Sutton is pleased with the location and traffic received to date.
“People thought the location might be strange but, actually, it’s very ideal.” Sutton said. “We’re very, very busy.”
Besides choosing the location, learning to lay out a retail store and purchasing inventory, Sutton sought out a number of local women business owners to get advice. Starting with seasoned veterans like Pat George of Towner Press and Anne-Marie of Bramble Berry, Sutton also consulted with SCORE, the Small Business Administration (SBA) and owners of dive shops outside the area.
“I think the area we live in is supportive of women in business,” Sutton said. In particular, her husband, family and friends were supportive and helpful in encouraging her to keep plugging away.
“It’s a lot of work,” Sutton said.
Because it is primarily a male-dominated industry, Sutton received feedback that she might not be successful and sometimes had difficulty getting people to take her seriously as the female owner of a dive shop. Not one to shy away from a challenge, however, Sutton was prepared for whatever came her way.“It was definitely challenging,” Sutton said. “So I had a plan already set to answer those questions whenever anybody tried to sway me off my path.”
In fact, while Sutton is sometimes viewed by customers as “the shop girl,” she enjoys that role, playing the “quiet owner.” She sits back, takes it all in, and when a customer is ready for assistance, Sutton is there to provide expertise and a sympathetic ear. She finds this approach has worked well for her, particularly when a customer isn’t comfortable discussing their concerns with her husband Scott who acts as the part-time service technician or the two male dive instructors.
Her demeanor is especially useful when women come in to shop or sign up for classes. As a female business owner, Sutton said that women are more likely to see that she has their wants and needs in mind.
“A lot of women come in because their boyfriends or husbands want them to dive and not because they want to dive,” Sutton explained. “That is my challenge – to get them excited about diving as their own choice.”
To promote that philosophy, Sutton’s primary audience is the recreational diver from ages 22 to 52. While she serves 60 percent men and 40 percent women, she is especially interested in sharing her passion for diving with women. In addition to the classes ranging from beginner to professional, Sutton offers monthly outings for men (Guys Gone Diving), women (Girls Gone Diving) and couples (Groups Gone Diving).
In the future, Sutton hopes to reach out to a larger audience by offering a bigger boat for charters, more classes and more instructors, and at least one more divemaster. Sutton is currently the only divemaster at Gone Diving.
Despite the desire for growth, Sutton is quite content with the scuba diving center’s success thus far.
“I’m excited about our progress,” she said. “We’ve met and exceeded all of our goals so far.”
Her advice to other prospective female business owners: 1) Have a plan of action and communicate it clearly to your staff both verbally and in writing; and 2) Seek out peer counselors with different levels of experience – learn from their successes.
To Your Table
Darcie Romero, sole proprietor of To Your Table, began her Bellingham-based personal chef business four years ago. After her youngest child finished kindergarten, Romero wanted to return to work. Following several years of research and note taking, she decided to become a personal chef, taking advice from family and friends to share her passion for cooking with others.
As a busy mom and wife, Romero chose the personal chef business out of a natural love for cooking and caring for others.
“I do this for myself all the time,” she said. “Why can’t I do it for other people? I knew when I was ready to go back to work this is what I was going to do.”
Initially cooking for family and friends, Romero cooked entrées and side dishes for professional couples, busy families and older adults in their homes. As her business grew, however, Romero found herself providing more meals for clients with special needs. In addition to providing shopping services and snack and light meal preparation, Romero also prepares meals following nutrition and weight loss plans. This helps not only the clients who are on special diets or cannot cook for themselves, but also cancer patients between chemotherapy treatments.
Like Sutton, Romero found family and friends to be very supportive of her decision to go into business. While there are personal chefs who are men, including one in Bellingham, the industry is primarily viewed as a female-dominated industry. Romero believes this gives her a slight advantage.
“As a mother and a nurturer, I am sensitive to what it takes to balance a family’s needs,” she explained. “I might have more of an understanding when I serve my clients about what they might want or what they’re really looking for, since I do it for my family every day.”
Having served more than 75 individuals and families in her four years in business, To Your Table’s Romero enjoys being a personal chef and expects her business to continue to adapt and adjust to the community’s changing needs. While she has no plans to add staff or open a commercial location, Romero will remain flexible, adjusting to the needs of her clients.
“It is a different clientele than I expected,” she said. However, she has found that, because she is so flexible, she is able to cater to a variety of different needs.
To date, Romero has promoted herself through local networking organizations like the Chamber of Commerce and the Women’s Professional Network (WPN). A lot of her business is also generated by word of mouth and her Web site serves as Romero’s primary marketing tool.
Based on her own career path and success, Romero recommends that entrepreneurs focus on the following as they get started:
1) Take classes and seminars to learn more about small business ownership and management and to stay motivated throughout the life of your business.
2) Join relevant organizations and trade associations.
3) Learn what your strengths are and what tasks you need to hire others to do.
“Today there are so many resources available to help. Taking advantage of anything like that is useful,” Romero advised.
Romero also cautions prospective business owners to plan wisely.
“When I first started out, I was very cautious. I didn’t want to start until I was perfectly ready,” she said. “But you can only be so prepared. I wish I dove in faster.”

Gudi Bags
After years of working for others, local entrepreneur Tana Gudbranson started Gudi Bags last August. Specializing in the design and sale of high end, fashion savvy laptop bags, Gudbranson is the sole owner and CEO of Gudi Bags. Sold both online and in exclusive boutiques, including Gary’s in Bellingham, Gudbranson caters to female professionals who want an exceptional looking case for their laptops.
Prior to starting her own company, Gudbranson pitched the idea to her previous company. Unfortunately, the company did not have the needed expertise to design and market such a product and would not support Gudbranson with the idea. Gudbranson resigned and created the prototypes for her product last fall under her own label – Gudi Bags. Bringing them to market in May 2006, Gudbranson has sold her trademark bags in her Bellingham and Scottsdale, Ariz., locations, as well as online to Canada and Europe.
“I knew in my heart it was going to do well,” Gudbranson said of her idea. “I knew I could do it, and there was a need out there.”
Gudbranson said that working for herself is a lot different than working for someone else. While she has worked at a number of Fortune 500 companies during her career and has been passionate about each role, she said that working for herself is more satisfying.
“You can be passionate working for someone else, but you don’t quite get the same high or satisfaction when it is your own business,” she said. “It’s all you. It lives and dies based on what you do. This is my baby!”
Gudbranson relied on her own education and experience to provide the background needed to start her business and to make it successful. Working for her father selling parts and doing customer service at the age of 10, Gudbranson has earned her stripes in a variety of business roles. In particular, she said she learned budgeting and planning from her professional positions.
To create a product that would sell, the entrepreneur consulted with moms, busy people and professionals – all who are balancing business with their daily lives. This research, a flair for design, and a little help from her friends combined to make Gudi Bags what Gudbranson hopes will be the next Coach.
“I’m setting my sights higher,” Gudbranson said. “I have this vision of where I want Gudi Bags to go.”
She credits her success to her business background, her passion for design and her belief in her product and herself.
“You know it. You live it. You breathe it,” she said.

How to get started
For those who hope to follow in the footsteps of entrepreneurs like Sutton, Romero and Gudbranson, scores of resources are available at both the local and national level. Among those are Skagit Valley College and Community Capital Development.
According to Laura Cailloux, director of the SVC Business Resource Center, the college offers 40 classes per quarter on different business-related topics. For those who are just starting out, SVC features a core series of workshops that explain how to start your own business. In addition to serving Skagit, San Juan and Island Counties, the SVC also offers programs to help with business certification for minorities and women and it offers a Latino/Latino business development program.
Seattle-based Community Capital Development, a nonprofit organization, is another excellent resource available to prospective business owners. Serving as the parent organization for other agencies, Community Capital Development supports education, training and counseling for small business owners. This includes the Northwest Women’s Business Center, which offers a Women’s Network and Entrepreneurial Training (WNET) program, featuring a local networking breakfast and training opportunities.
The Washington Business Center’s Director Cindy Butler said these programs, while available to men, primarily target women.
Butler believes in the power of women supporting each other, whether it is networking, working together or co-marketing their businesses.
“A lot of women really want to do business with other women,” she said.