June 27, 2012

Karen Barbour Featured in Forbes: Building Reputation Builds Business for 2 Successful Women.

By: Geri Stengel, President, Ventureneer

How can people do business with you if they don’t know you are in business? Or don’t know how qualified you are? Or don’t know what you stand for?

Of course, the answer is they can’t do business with you. Building a reputation increases your credibility and visibility. While advertising and marketing generate awareness, they don’t build your street creds.

Be an outspoken, assertive advocate for small businesses; be a change-agent. That does build street cred.

For more about the importance of making yourself known, check out  3 Ways Women Can Brag About Their Companies.

Karen Barbour,  president of The Barbour Group co-chairs state committees, testifies in Congress, and serves on her local economic development committee. Her business is providing surety bonds to contractors and much of it involves government contracts.

 “My industry needs to change,” Barbour says. “Small businesses need to wake up. She has advocated for change in everything from the way small business credit scores are dinged when they seek bonding from multiple companies to making government agencies unbundle contracts so small bidders have a better chance...

Read the full article at forbes.com