March is the month to celebrate Women’s History. In business, 40% of new companies are started by women, employing 10 million workers and generating $1.8 trillion in revenue. That’s a lot of economic impact to celebrate. I’m Susan Soroko, Director of Creative Economy at Arlington Economic Development in Arlington Virginia. The role of Economic Development is to retain and attract businesses where workers can live and thrive in a great community even when the work world is changing. We support (small) business through programs like BizLaunch and value the importance of placemaking and a sector devoted to creative economy and the arts. Today we’re going to talk about the value and impact of women owned businesses on our economy.
To help me discuss this I’d like to welcome Mary Wong, Founder and Principal Consultant of EvaluCcraft Global.
Ms. Wong is the Founder and Principal Consultant of EvaluCraft Global, LLC, a data-driven and evidence-informed consulting firm that provides public and foreign policy analysis and evaluation services. Established in Arlington in January 2020 to meet an emerging need, EvaluCraft Global, LLC helps public and private sector organizations at all levels around the world engaged in public and international affairs to analyze, assess and evaluate associated policies and programs for effectiveness, impact, output and outcomes. Our core values are competence, transparency and accountability. Prior to launching EvaluCraft Global, Ms. Wong served 11 ½ years with the U.S. Department of State, most recently as Deputy Director in the Office of Management Policy and Resources in the Bureau of International Organization Affairs and prior to that as Deputy Director in the Office of the Fulbright Scholarship Board in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Before joining U.S. federal public service, Ms. Wong worked 8 ½ years on design and administration of international exchanges and training for the Institute of International Education in Washington, DC and in Hanoi, Vietnam. Ms. Wong has a Master of Public Policy degree in Program Evaluation from the George Washington University’s Trachtenberg School of Public Policy & Administration, a Master of Arts degree in International Development with a focus on Social and Economic Development from the University of Kentucky’s Patterson School of Diplomacy & International Commerce and a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations with a concentration in Political Economy from Drake University in Iowa. Ms. Wong is passionate about foreign policy relevance to the publics. When not working, Ms. Wong enjoys traveling and learning about the world with her husband and two children; cheering on her daughters in all their curricular and extracurricular pursuits, and contributing to community-building through the Bahá’í Faith and service projects.
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Transcript
Susan Soroko: March is the month to celebrate women’s history. In business, 40% of new companies are started by women, employing 10 million workers and generating $1.8 trillion in revenue. That’s a lot of economic impact to celebrate. I’m Susan Soroko, Director of Creative Economy at Arlington Economic Development in Arlington, Virginia. The role of economic development is to retain and attract businesses where workers can live and thrive in a great community, even when the work world is changing. We support small businesses through programs like BizLaunch, and we value the importance of placemaking and a sector devoted to creative economy and the arts. Today, we’re going to talk about the value and impact of women-owned businesses in our economy this month and every month. To help me discuss this, I’d like to welcome Mary Wong, founder and principal consultant of ValueCraft Global. Mary, welcome to the show.
Mary Wong: Thank you, Susan. I’m just delighted to be joining you today.
Susan Soroko: Thank you. It’s great weather to be celebrating Women’s History Month. There’s a lot to unpack and celebrate when it comes to women-owned businesses. Let’s start with your background and what made you want to start ValueCraft Global?
Mary Wong: Well, I’ll just start by saying that I’ve been working in international affairs for about two decades now. And I realized throughout that so much of what I did and do is largely intangible and far removed for many people. So I really was very eager to create something more tangible, less removed, and that people can better understand in which they can more closely relate. I saw a need to bridge that gap. And I thought, I felt I had identified a problem and I believe that I had solutions to offer. based on my experience, both in the field abroad as a contractor, and then at headquarters in Washington, D.C. as a public servant. I had worked in the nonprofit sector and the public sector. So why not the private sector?
Susan Soroko: Wow. So starting a business isn’t for the faint of heart. Many people come to Biz Launch with ideas and aspirations, but zero notion of the elements necessary to start a business. no business plan, no funding, no company name, no marketing or research. So how did you come to taking the steps necessary to form a global company? I mean, isn’t that like jumping into the deep end of the pool?
Mary Wong: Yeah, it really was scary, I have to admit. But, you know, I was already in the mode of research and analysis, having recently completed a master’s degree in public policy and evaluation. So I naturally applied what I learned from having recently gone back to school. In addition to drawing from 20 years of work, navigating in and outside and around government, I was already well aware that there are great resources to help small businesses. I just hadn’t realized to what extent. I also knew to ask questions, a lot of questions. And a large part of my day-to-day work is to analyze and evaluate for effectiveness. I’m accustomed to asking questions. I wasn’t afraid to ask questions, but I also learned that I needed to be more direct in asking for help. So this required being a bit more brave and even allowing myself to be vulnerable by acknowledging that I need help.
Susan Soroko: doesn’t come naturally to most people. And we know, for example, that the failure rate for any small business is pretty high. I mean, 20% in the first year. So it makes sense that business owners would want to hold their cards pretty close to protect themselves from competition, among other things. Yet, you know, it’s interesting because you consider yourself a social entrepreneur with a commitment to building community. Why is that so important?
Mary Wong: Yeah, I think community is everything. I think the people around us, the people before us, the people after us, generations after us, the women that we have learned so much from and who we’ve really stood on their shoulders to get to where we are today. But international affairs at its core is about relationships and about community building. And we work on some of the most complex issues out there. I know that we cannot possibly address these issues without working together. So rather than seeing others as competitors, I see potential collaborators and partners. We need to work together to solve these wicked problems and working with just one group or one sector or one industry leaves out a whole demographic that could be that missing piece of the puzzle in terms of imagination, ideas and insights. Working with networks, in particular, building community, whether it’s your alumni or professional association, increases capacity and amplifies efforts and grows a pipeline for the next generation. I often think about my two daughters who will inherit this beautiful earth after, you know, we’re all gone. And I’ve been very fortunate to have a strong network in my business ecosystem, starting with BizLaunch. I remember so many years ago when all of this started and how they were such great resources and whose staff have been instrumental throughout my journey leading up to and during the launch of my business. And as I look to scale up, I also include other resources, for example, the Women’s Business Center, WBC, the Apex Accelerator, formerly PTAC, the Commonwealth of Virginia. It takes a small village. In establishing a business, we’re establishing community and bringing others along and lifting them up. But let’s not forget those personal networks too. Those that sustained us well before I started this little business of mine. Through family, faith, and friends, I simply wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for those early days of dreaming, planning, and then finally taking action. These personal networks grounded me, inspired, and encouraged me throughout. And my partner in life, my husband, deserves a ton of credit for that.
Susan Soroko: You have given a great amount of accolades to making sure that people really pay attention to such a holistic view of what your networks and what your ecosystem really involves. And don’t leave any of it out, because it’s all really important. It’s so great. So women-owned businesses grow at a rate that we understand is twice that of all firms. Yet women-owned startups receive only 2.3% of venture capital funding. With so much potential for economic impact, what’s being overlooked?
Mary Wong: Yeah, I agree. I think there is tremendous potential, however, for women-owned businesses to do more to explain the projected numbers, the results, outcomes, and impact of our businesses. And if women don’t have the expertise to explain economic impact, Consider possibly explaining other impacts like health, education, energy that can translate to economic impact. I often say that we all speak English and yet we don’t understand each other. At the core though, these are issues of translation and there are resources to help with this, with translation.
Susan Soroko: That is such a great perspective and trying to remind women that they have a lot more potential than they give themselves credit for. So what are some of the opportunities and the resources and the mindset that women should be paying closer attention to as they consider starting a business?
Mary Wong: I like how you emphasize mindset. I think that’s really, really important. And we tend to be hardest on ourselves. And this is the mindset where we know from research that tells us that women tend to apply to jobs if they meet most or all of a job qualification and that we self-select out. So likewise, I think this is the case with starting a business and operating a business. We deserve to give ourselves grace just as we generously grant it for others. And it’s okay to make mistakes or stumble along the way. And I think that’s a given for a lot of businesses, whether it’s male or female owned. So go for it and give it a try and you won’t regret trying. Start with your personal networks and resources and then bring in professional resources as you build your base. And I’ve already listed many of them earlier.
Susan Soroko: Well, your company, Value Craft Global, is now in its fifth year with a global presence. That’s impressive. And some of the projects that you work on are in parts of the world that are not proponents of women’s rights and independence. So what are some of the things that you do to elevate women’s confidence in themselves and their endeavors, both here and abroad?
Mary Wong: Well, you’re exactly right. And, um, in this very global world that we live in, um, there are many ways to elevate women’s confidence. Um, but something I want to focus on in this conversation is for women to seek out a mentor and have someone who inspires you in mind. It doesn’t have to be a woman either, but women need to be at the table, whether it’s the dinner table in the Midwest where I was raised, or the negotiations table at the UN where I represented the United States. We know that societies tend to be more stable if women are empowered. Just imagine more women represented contributing and even leading with their talents in finance, science, technology, government, and business. What our communities would look like, the potential there. It starts with opening up space for women to have voice and to be able to speak up and stand up for themselves. And quoting from the Baha’i Faith, as long as women are prevented from attaining their highest possibilities, so long will men be unable to achieve the greatness which might be theirs. And I quote from a woman many of us in foreign affairs deeply admire, Madeline Albright, and the first woman Secretary of State, who famously stated, There’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women. Well, I wouldn’t use the very same language. I do agree with the sentiment. She wasn’t my personal mentor, but she did inspire me. And I’m sure she inspired many other young women along the way.
Susan Soroko: I’m inspired and I don’t even work in foreign policy. You have just a magnificent approach and a view for what you’re doing. You know, we here in BizLaunch have tried to bring a lot of resources to the table for women and other kinds of small businesses, not just for women. BizLaunch, for example, has partnered with Arlington Public Library on a Women’s Maker Faire that’s happening on March 22nd, probably before this recording is published. And we’re going to be hosting an upcoming Minority Vendor Faire in Hyatt Crystal City in April. And you can find more details on this in the show notes after the show. But as we wrap up, I’m really struck by this year’s theme for Women’s History Month, which is moving forward together. It kind of touches on a number of the things that you’ve already brought up, which is not only together, meaning your business relationships, but your community relationships and even your personal relationships that are also so important in bringing people together and moving forward. What’s important about this moment and where might the next entrepreneur really begin their journey?
Mary Wong: That’s a great question and I love this theme for the month of March. These are unusual times that we live in with a great many challenges, but also a great many opportunities. Entrepreneurs can help connect the problems with the solutions. And we need entrepreneurs more than ever using ideation, innovation, and creation to co-create and co-design. I really believe that we have it in all of us to do so.
Susan Soroko: So Mary, you’ve had some amazing international experience that has really certainly appears to have informed where you are in terms of why it’s so important to keep cultural relationships really broad. Tell us a little bit about an example of that. I know that you had an opportunity to be in Vietnam. So tell us a little bit about that and how it’s really played out in your work today.
Mary Wong: Yeah, well, thank you, Susan, for that question. I reflect on my years and early on in my career, I’d always felt that I needed to be in the field and really understand what the needs are. And working, studying international affairs, I felt that I needed to go overseas and to be able to understand better the needs and also to bring cultural awareness to both sides, both countries and other countries as well. And so when I had the opportunity to work in Vietnam, I leapt at the opportunity to do so. It was something that I had felt very strongly about. And as part of international relations, I really felt it would have a big impact on my career trajectory. So when I worked in Vietnam, I was able to spend two and a half years there between the period of 2003 to 2005 when relations between the United States and Vietnam were starting to open up again and really normalize. So I was able to work on the Fulbright program. And this was where we oversaw the program for Vietnamese student program for Vietnamese students and scholars to come to the United States and not only get degrees, but also to learn more about American culture, society and life. and engage with Americans on a day-to-day basis. And it was a great opportunity to be a part of contributing to bettering relations between these two countries that had had, you know, quite the history and many of us, you know, the legacy of the Vietnam War. So I really learned so much from that experience and the opportunities to share my own experience as an American growing up in the Midwest and learning about the culture and explaining American culture to the Vietnamese people and then vice versa, learning more about the Vietnamese culture as well was just a fantastic opportunity. for better relations and understanding between the two countries. So I’ve always looked back on that experience as being very integral to how I shape my perspective in international affairs, my business model. as well in developing trust and relationship building and community building. So that was a really important time and a very important milestone in my career and has really shaped my way of thinking and my approach to doing the work that I do.
Susan Soroko: You’ve given such a great example of really supporting your view of what it takes to build an ecosystem and a community that is really phenomenal. You know, one of the communities that we stress here in BizLaunch is making sure that people have access to not only resources, but other small business owners to learn from. And I think that you’ve had a pretty good experience so far with BizLaunch. You can share a little bit about how important that was to you for starting your business.
Mary Wong: Yeah, as I said earlier, I’m pretty familiar with navigating in and around government, but I hadn’t realized the full extent of the resources. So as I was introduced to BizLaunch, it really opened up a lot of doors and provided me with a lot of the specifics and details and the step-by-step actions that I needed to take just to be able to launch a business. And there are a number of steps that I think people don’t realize, kind of the administrative steps that you need, the requirements just to make sure that you follow and are in compliance with everything. And BizLaunch really helped me lay that out very clearly and what I needed to do and really served as very much a helping hand in this process. And they also, more importantly, I think that they created a very welcoming and encouraging environment. So it gave me the confidence too, that they would be with me throughout all the steps and be able to assure me that, you know, that there are resources and that there are staff and people who can help me throughout this process. So I felt a lot of assurance in taking these steps. And for some it’s, huge risks and a lot of uncertainty. And so having this little measure of assurance really goes a long ways. And I still am very grateful for that.
Susan Soroko: Well, thank you for that. I think that that is one thing that we continually strive for is to help people mitigate risk, to build their confidence and to take the right steps to be successful. You’ve been a great guest. Thank you so much.
