A bank that's listening

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Sat next to an extraordinary woman today. Linda Stevenson almost single-handedly got National City Bank to believe that supporting women as business owners was not only a socially valuable idea (we are so excited about that!) but also a financially sound idea in terms of building business for the bank. Impressive accomplishment—and kudos to the guiding lights at Nat City for opening their minds. Will be inviting her to appear on www.swwan.org/swwan_dive/ soon.

We happened to be sitting next to each other at the Chicago WeDo event—a seminar on Intellectual Property co-sponsored by National City and a number of other companies that strongly support women in business. Met a number of dynamic women business owners, learned about things you should know when your business gets beyond the kitchen table (and maybe before!) including how to think about expanding revenue streams by licensing.

It’s enlightening to hear legal and accounting people talk about business planning—perspectives many of us don’t think about when we first get rolling. But a recent seminar at another bank-sponsored event was titled, “Begin with the end in mind.” So if you want to have a business that can get bigger than just paying the bills, you’ll want to think about these things. Check out the National City WeDo tour.

And, oh, yeah, if you’re a woman in the Chicago area interested in starting or growing your business and want to talk to a banker, call Meghan Kearns at National City, 773.252.7140.