After more than 25 years of experience in the steel industry, Yolanda Drenner finally works for herself.
Drenner broke into a predominantly male-dominated industry in late 1970s, looking to mold herself into a respected and successful steel salesperson.
“Men who had been in the industry for years would say, ?How is this woman going to know what I need,? ” said the 47-year-old Drenner. “As a woman, you had to prove you know what you?re talking about.”
Now, Drenner runs her own business, Essex-based Access Metals, a specialty metals company. Access Metals has been operating for only a year, but in that time it has reached $1 million in sales.
“Yolanda has a lot of industry expertise, and she brought a long list of suppliers and customers,” said Kimberly Taylor, a business counselor with the Baltimore County Small Business Resource Center.
Working 12-hour days has affected Drenner?s home life. She?s lucky, she said, to have a husband who?s willing to cook and clean so she can spend time with her 13-year-old daughter.
An increasing number of women are going into business for themselves in the Baltimore region. An estimated 73,087 private, majority women-owned companies in the Baltimore-Towson metropolitan area contributed $9.8 billion to the local economy in 2006 and employed 66,154 people, according to data from the Center for Women?s Business Research.
“It?s an unrecognized economic force,” said Joanne Saltzberg, CEO of Women Entrepreneurs of Baltimore.
Brenda Desjardins has faced similar challenges. Desjardins, 50, who has run her own real-estate market research firm ? Annapolis-based New Home Marketing Services ? for 25 years, regularly finds herself in development meetings dominated by men.
“It is, though, very different than it was 30 years ago,” Desjardins said. “Even 15 years ago, I might have been the only woman at a meeting.”
Desjardins revealed that because of work, she “hasn?t cooked a meal during the week in more than 25 years.” She?s also learned to play golf, as a lot of deals are sealed on the fairway.
“Business is based on building relationships and trust, and women have that ability,” Desjardins said. “But you have to be willing to take the hit and negotiate the deal.”
