Handful Joins Roundtable Discussion with Senator Wyden to Discuss Women’s Small Businesses
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(Portland, OR—October 25, 2016)- Handful™, an active lifestyle company that creates sports bras and apparel designed to “flatter, not flatten®,” was invited to Senator Wyden’s roundtable discussion which focused on women entrepreneurs and female-owned businesses.
The roundtable was held on October 24 at the Brazi Bites offices Northeast Portland, with many small businesses in attendance including: SBA Portland, Minnie & George, Yellow Scope, Soulmate Socks, Scratch & Grain, Client Joy, Ruby Jewel, Columbia Green Technologies, President’s Export Council, MIru Vodka, Mercy Corps, Blue Star Donuts, Brazi Bites, HeidiHo Vegan Cheese, OEN, WildFriends, and Handful.
During the roundtable discussion, business barriers for growth were presented and evaluated where the female leaders collaboratively shared insight. The topics included ideas around how institutions could offer better access to working capital, the need to incentivize creative financing, and how to remove barriers routinely encountered by female-led businesses specifically in the pursuit of obtaining financing. The Handful leadership team of Jennifer Ferguson and Jody Filkins spoke about their experiences and challenges growing Handful noting the critical importance of community support and partners to access capital for entrepreneurs nationally.
With October being ‘Women’s Small Business Month,’ the roundtable discussion served as a platform to learn more about the business climate for female-led businesses and further understand the challenges faced with funding, training, and support, together with potential ways to address these issues on both community and federal levels.
About Handful™
Handful is a thriving business run by women who share a passion for encouraging active women of all ages to live life to the fullest. We are active, we are versatile, and we are one of a kind. We believe the world needs more dreamers and can-do spirits and a lot less negative, “no you can’t” messages. We’ve made it our mission to support women, no matter what life throws their way. www.handful.com
