NEW YORK—It has been a good year for women in the business world. The International Monetary Fund, IBM, Key Bank, and the New York Times, among others, placed women in top roles for the first time in history. Last Friday, the 8th Annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business honored women from all strata of the business world. The finalists and their guests convened at the Times Square Marriott Marquis Hotel for the awards ceremony.
A high percentage of the women attending were from the service industry, according to Michael Gallagher, president of the Stevie Awards. Women are more likely to start a company in the service industry since the upstart costs are lower and, on average, women have less access to capital than men do.
Ramona Singer is one such woman. She started her career 30 years ago as a buyer for Macy’s. She then started RMS Fashions, an apparel reselling business. Singer is now famous for starring in The Real Housewives of New York City. She owns her own line of skin care products and jewelry.
“I was actually sick all week and I asked my assistant today, how do I do it all?” said Singer. “My motto is—just do it. If I think about it, I can’t do it. I just do it.”
Singer was awarded the Mogul of the Year award. The newest addition to her product line, Ramona Pinot Grigio, a wine, was served during the awards dinner.
Woman entrepreneur gets it right
Rockin Green, a small manufacturer of ecologically friendly cleaning products won the award for the fastest growing company of the year. Kim Webb started out by making laundry detergent in her kitchen two years ago. She shared it with her friends and, as word spread, people wanted to buy it. Rockin Green now makes about 30,000 pounds of soap a week. The products are sold in about 600 stores in the United States.
“It'll definitely drive me to keep going,” said Webb.
Webb won a second Stevie for Best Entrepreneur of the Year.
This year’s Stevies were awarded in a total of 82 categories. The competition drew more than 1,300 nominations, a record for the Stevies. Finalists were selected during the preliminary judging conducted through September and October by more than 200 business professionals around the globe.
“Our goal was to be the Oscars for business and be recognized as the Oscars for business,” said Gallagher. He said that the Stevie Awards for Women is the best of the four business awards programs that the company conducts.
