Nellie Cashman (ca. 1850 – 1925) was one of the Wild West’s most successful women entrepreneurs, parlaying her business savvy into a string of business enterprises from British Columbia to Arizona that made her financially independent and universally admired. Thirty-five years ago, the Nellie Cashman Award for Woman Business Owner of the Year (‘The Nellie’) was established, to honor the legacy of this Seattle pioneer and recognize the continuing achievement and leadership of female entrepreneurs in our region.
The Nellie Cashman Award celebrates the strength of women as leaders and the progress we’ve made, even in the face of many obstacles that still exist. Women Business Owners (WBO), one of the Puget Sound's leading organizations for women entrepreneurs, will be awarding this honor to one of five finalists on Thursday, October 5 at a gala awards banquet held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seattle. (Note that October is also Women’s Small Business Month.)
This year’s finalists are five top female entrepreneurs, each of whom shares Nellie’s spirit, drive, and individuality. Each a leader in her field, they all have a remarkable track record of business success and community contribution. They are:
Margo Engberg, Pinkabella Cupcakes
Jody Hall, Cupcake Royale
Diana Naramore, Sip and Ship
Vanessa Smith, Blue Ribbon Cooking
Lori Stutsman, Extra Mile Marketing
Candidates for the Nellie Cashman Business Owner of the Year award are judged based on their entrepreneurial spirit, ethics and community spirit, financial management skill, and the difficulty and risk they have endured to achieve their success.
Spotlighting Women’s Leadership Strength
There are now 9.9 million woman-owned businesses nationwide, which generate $1.6 trillion in annual revenues. However, these entrepreneurial gains are set against the backdrop of a time where many industries and government entities still have few women in leadership roles: women comprise only 6.4% of Fortune 500 CEOs, and make up just 24.8% of state legislatures across the country.
Yet these five Nellie candidates all powerfully demonstrate the unique characteristics that make women executives highly effective. Research shows that:
Women Entrepreneurs
Forging Their Own Paths to Success—since the 1800s
by Anne Corning
WBO’s 36th Annual Nellie Cashman Award spotlights the strengths of female leadership and recognizes Woman Business Owner of the Year
The five 2017 Nellie finalists (L – R): Margo Engberg, Jody Hall, Diana Naramore, Vanessa Smith, Lori Stutsman