South Florida’s top women business leaders optimistic

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Women business leaders in Florida are more optimistic about the economy as they see sales grow and losses on the decline, according to a new survey of the top 50 women-led businesses in Florida, ranked by revenue.

More than 80 percent of the companies forecast sales increases this year and only 14 percent are expecting a sales decline. That compares with 43 percent that reported revenue declines in the past two years, during more troubled economic times.

The top 50 list reveals the strength of South Florida’s entrepreneurial community. More than two-thirds of the top women are in South Florida and many are business owners.

With faster-growing revenue, these business owners, CEOs and presidents say they plan to hire more permanent and temporary employees this year good news for South Florida’s job seekers.

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Sandra Finn, president of Cross Country Home Services in Sunrise, who ranks No. 2 on the list, said her company has added more than 100 positions in the past year. In South Florida, those jobs have been primarily in technology and marketing.

Finn said Cross Country, which sells home warranties and emergency assistance plans, has been growing at double-digit percentages so far in 2011.

The company broadened its outlook during the recession to look three years ahead, not just one. “We do a fresh scan of our environment in economy, real estate industry and technology. Where do we want to be in three years? What do we have to do to get there?” she said.

That gives the company time to accommodate changing needs.

The survey showed women-led businesses continued to invest in buildings, research, equipment and employee training, even during the downturn. “Women in this group we surveyed tended to nurture their businesses much more than the general population,” said Arun Sharma, executive director of University of Miami’s Leadership Institute.

Image Skin Care, founded by Janna Ronert seven years ago, recently purchased a 35,000-square-foot building in Lantana and will move its headquarters later this year from West Palm Beach. The new building also will serve as an education center for its licensed estheticians who sell the company’s products to dermatologists, plastic surgeons and medical spas in 28 countries.

Ronert projects $40 million in revenue this year, a 70 percent revenue increase from 2010.

Image Skin Care is competing in a difficult economy by pricing its products at $55 or below. Consumers “are no longer looking for the fancy package for $200,” Ronert said.

None of the company’s products is sold on the Internet. Instead, sales reps focus on product education and relationships with customers, she said.

Relationships are a key for women leaders, Sharma said. “Women leaders are much more people-oriented,” he said, adding that they motivate employees by making sure they understand organizational goals.

The annual survey by The Commonwealth Institute South Florida, this year produced by the University of Miami, reflects the responses of 150 women who hold the positions of president, chief executive officer, chairwoman or owner.

Florida’s top ranking went to Mindy Grossman, CEO of HSN Inc., a $3 billion retailer of products on TV and online based in St. Petersburg.

The businesses led by women also are finding growing revenue online and through international trade, with 13 percent of revenue from online businesses and 14.5 percent from foreign countries.

The challenges for women leaders are not significantly different from those for men, Sharma said.

Fort Lauderdale landscape company owner Sandy Benton has been working to turn around her company, whose revenue was cut in half when Florida’s new construction industry dried up. Now, Landscape Service Professionals is focused on lawn maintenance for commercial, municipal and homeowner association customers.

After two years of losses, the company expects to post a slim profit this year. Benton told workers, who saw their health insurance and other benefits cut, “we’re in a survival mode and we’re working our way back.” She urged workers to “hang in we take care of our people.”

But women leaders surveyed report less concerns than in past surveys about the economy and available credit, Sharma said. Their priorities are now to acquire more customers, and hire more permanent employees as well as additional temporary and contract workers.

Their biggest risks, women leaders said in the survey, are the cost of health care, political uncertainty and inflation.

Copyright © 2011, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

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