FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 19, 2008

Columbus, OH -- Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher today announced that the Ohio Department of Development's Entrepreneurship and Small Business Division has launched the Ohio Directory of Women Business Owners, an online tool for locating women-owned firms across the State. The Directory features links to women business Web sites and programs of the Ohio Department of Development designed to help women reach their entrepreneurial goals.

"Women are a fast-growing group of entrepreneurs vital to Ohio's economy, and the Directory highlights that fact by showcasing the depth and breadth of women owned businesses in Ohio," said Lt. Governor Fisher, who also serves as Director of the Ohio Department of Development. "The Directory will serve as an excellent resource for women entrepreneurs as they build their businesses, and for anyone interested in conducting business with Ohio’s women entrepreneurs."

The directory will be a valuable resource tool giving women the opportunity to market their business, locate vendors for their goods and services and to learn about the services available from the Entrepreneurship and Small Business Division, which manages a variety of programs and initiatives that assist small businesses in growing and finding success in Ohio. The Division also sponsors the Governor's Keys to Success Awards each year honoring the accomplishments and economic contributions of successful Ohio women business owners, and teamed last year with the YWCA of Columbus to host "The Best Way to Start a Home-Based Business," a workshop targeting women interested in launching home-based businesses.

The Entrepreneurship and Small Business Division also hosts the Small Business Development Centers of Ohio program, which provides consulting and training assistance to small businesses and emerging entrepreneurs to promote growth, expansion, innovation, increased productivity, and improved management. The Centers are supported through a partnership among the Ohio Department of Development, the U.S. Small Business Administration, and several of Ohio’s chambers of commerce, colleges and universities, and economic development agencies.

Click here to view or list a business in the directory.

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Media contacts: Melissa Ament at (614) 466-6619 or Kelly Schlissberg at (614) 466-4133