By Amanda Purser
At 8 a.m. on Sept. 18 in the Worley Center at Great Plains Technology’s (GPT) Lawton campus, the 5th Annual Women’s Business Summit for Southwest Oklahoma (SWOK) kicked off.
This annual event brings together women entrepreneurs, top female leadership and executives from a variety of industries across SWOK for education, guidance and networking opportunities.
GPT Business Development Center, a local comprehensive business assistance program that helps start-up and early-stage businesses with growth and improvements, along with REI Oklahoma, an economic development non-profit helping small businesses start and grow since 1982, teamed up for the 5th time to host, plan and promote this event.
The summit had over 23 vendors showcasing their products and services, along with Banking, Accounting, Insurance and Legal (BAIL) team representatives and a small business panel to provide expert information, ideas and tips.
GPT Business Development Center Small Business Management Coordinator and one of the summit managers, Carey Monroe, is pleased with this year’s turnout and the improvements made to increase networking opportunities among vendors, panel guests, and attendees.
“I think it was really successful. You could really see lots of conversations happening, lots of new people meeting, lots of business cards being exchanged, so that was really exciting,” Monroe said.
Cynthia Pearson of KCCU FM public radio and Melissa Beck of Habitat for Humanity emceed the day’s event.
The BAIL team for this year’s summit consisted of: Bankers Shelly Fields from Arvest Bank and Amanda Bay from Liberty National Bank; Accountant Dani Blackburn, CPA, of Hatch, Croke and Associates, PC who is also with Lawton Business Women; Insurers Annelise Pool of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau and Patricia Williams from Vincent Saylor-State Farm; Legal was attorney Monica Ybarra Weddn of Rosell & Love Law Firm.
The expert members of these vital industries answered frequently asked questions and provided valuable tips and information.
The Summit’s Small Business Panel consisted of four women from various industries who shared experiences and advice from their prospective careers. Dr. Rose Lepien of Aaragon Chiropractic, with over 53 years of professional experience, discussed some of the challenges and successes she’s witnessed in her extensive career.
Lepien said that she is proud of women entrepreneurs and the energy they bring.
She urges them to do research, as it’s important to understand “what the cost would be in time, money and energy, to get into their business,” she said.
“You can only give 100 percent in so many directions,” Lepien said. “But if they have a calling and everything works out well, I always admire our young entrepreneurs…it just has to be the right time and season.”
Dr. Janette Powers of Empowered Healthcare spoke about the struggles of starting a business without a support system and the need for a strong mentor to help navigate that process.
Hailey Hoover, owner and operator of The Sparkling Hippie, is a spiritual healer and yoga instructor. She spoke about people-pleasing tendencies and the importance of setting personal boundaries.
Dr. Sara Linneen of Elanco Animal Health discussed network building and being open-minded about communication and technology based on your industry and clientele.
The event’s Keynote Speaker, Amy Downs, is an Oklahoma City bombing survivor and featured in both a Netflix and National Geographic documentary about the tragedy in 1995 that took 168 lives. Downs became a motivational speaker, telling her powerful and encouraging story of hope and perseverance for the last 25 years.
She gave an impactful speech at the summit about her recovery process and the incredible changes she underwent after surviving that tragedy. She described the tedious rebuilding process both personally and professionally, in the aftermath of the bombing.
Downs went back to work while still in a wheelchair, for the same credit union that she worked at in the Murrah Federal Building. The financial institution had since been operating out of another credit union’s building, with mostly new employees aside from Downs and a few other survivors who were determined to keep their company going.
“We got really good at goal setting, and every morning it was — what is the next step?” Downs said. “Strategic planning was not a once-a-year thing for us — it was a daily thing for us. We’ve got to figure out how to pivot — we’ve got to figure out how to make it.”
A new CEO came into their organization and brought in a framework asking Downs and her team, what they would do or fix if they, “had a magic wand.” Downs said this concept gave them an opportunity to think freely and created a “safe psychological space” that permitted discussing whatever came to mind.
After the input from Downs, the CEO instructed her to go make a list of the smallest things she could do, given her current situation and limitations, to make that new goal a reality. Downs admitted that this philosophy impacted her deeply as she realized that “small steps over time really lead to an amazing transformation.”
Downs decided to apply the magic wand concept to her personal life and began setting goals and writing each small step needed to achieve them. Downs went back to college at age 40, with what she described as a GPA of less than 1. She eventually graduated with her bachelor’s and even went on to get her master’s degree. She set out to replace the outgoing CEO of her credit union and found successful leaders in similar positions to mentor her in preparation.
She then decided weight loss was important to her and set out to conquer small exercise goals to keep the 75 pounds of weight off, following bariatric surgery. After helping with the OKC Memorial Marathon, Downs became determined to complete a race of her own for the first time ever. With no running experience she began in small increments, one mile at a time until she finally completed a full marathon, but she didn’t stop there. A friend told Downs that if she learned how to swim, she could do a triathlon — so she got a swim coach and did just that.
Just before Downs turned 50 and was about to step into the CEO role and conquer yet another goal she set, she decided to try something crazy and compete in an iron-man competition.
“Now, an iron-man is a 2.4-mile swim followed by a 112-mile bike ride, finished up with a 26.2 marathon,” Downs said. “And it has to be done in 17 hours, all with time cuts along the way. I went to Tempe, Arizona and I did it. I became an Iron-Man.”
She continues to apply the magic wand theory to her life and still uses it today as she accomplishes every goal — one small step at a time.
Downs concluded by reminding the crowd that they are full of life and can always “do something to push forward.”
“So don’t take this life for granted,” Downs said, “don’t float complacently, don’t let everyone else around you zap your energy, your time — carve some out for you — to make sure you’re living a life with purpose and intention.”
The annual Women’s Business Summit takes place on the third week in September, on a Thursday. Monroe said potential vendors can fill out forms on REIok.com around June for an opportunity to be a part of the next summit. Follow REI Oklahoma and GPT Business Development Center on Facebook for more information and updates.