Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Donna Miller, Co-Founder and CEO of Purse Power, Inc., located in Edmond, OK, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Purse Power is working to help women use their massive purchasing power to drive positive change. We believe that if women, who make 80% of all purchasing decisions, would choose to buy from the companies that support women, and if we could create a funding stream for battered women's shelters in the process, we could shatter glass ceilings and change lives.

Tell us about yourself

I'm the CEO and Co-founder of Purse Power and President of the Executive Resource Center, and I have had more than 30 years of hands-on experience as an entrepreneur and executive in Fortune 500 companies. I'm an award-winning talent management consultant and a formally trained executive coach. The theme of my career has been around initiating, driving, and managing organizational transformations. I have done significant change management work throughout my career.

A few years ago, the three Babcock sisters (me, Dr. Karen Nern, and Dr. Phyllis (Freddi) Pennington) were on vacation in Miami. We discussed our frustration with the lack of women in senior leadership positions and the fact that one out of four women is impacted by domestic violence and/or sexual assault. Our mother was a brilliant, beautiful nursing professor, author, and activist who was also a survivor.

Even though women make between 73 and 85% of all purchasing decisions, have trillions of dollars in spending power, control 51% of the private wealth and make or influence 67% of investment decisions, we hold 6% of the CEO jobs and around 23% of the board seats. The gap between women’s spending power and representation in senior leadership is indefensible, particularly since research has proven that companies perform better when there are more women in leadership roles.

When we began discussing what we could do to drive positive change, we realized that the power was already in women’s hands. If we could get women to use their enormous economic power to buy from companies that actively create opportunities for women, we could help shatter glass ceilings in a matter of years rather than decades. We dream of a day when our daughters, granddaughters, sons, and grandsons can achieve their dreams irrespective of gender.

I have an MBA in Organizational Development from the University of Colorado at Denver and a BA in Business Administration and Psychology from Baylor University. I've acted as the Women President's Organization Chapter Chair for the state of Oklahoma, served on the Board of the YWCA, co-founded the Women in Leadership Conference at OCU, acted as the Oklahoma Event Co-Chair for the 2020 Women on Boards National Conversation on Board Diversity, co-founded the Senior Organizational Development Association of Oklahoma (SODA), acted as the moderator of the Senior Executive Human Resources Forum (senior HR executive group) and served on the Board of Advocates for the Women and Gender Studies program at OU. I'm also a 3-time Journal Record Woman of the Year - 50 Making a Difference honoree (and Circle of Excellence Inductee in 2020) and am grateful to have been selected as one of the Oklahoma Hospitality Club’s Ladies in the News and one of Journal Record’s Oklahoma’s Most Admired CEOs in 2020.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Getting investors with a passion for the cause to support the company. Stepping out of the corporate world to take on the HUGE challenge of being an entrepreneur.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

It is all on you, and you must be willing to do whatever is required. It is a winding road with lots of highs and lows. Persistence and tenacity are everything.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Make sure you understand the customer's pain and design your business accordingly. Just because it is a good idea doesn't mean customers will pay for it.
  2. Be flexible and move quickly.
  3. There are lots of resources available (SBA, SCORE, incubators, etc.) - partner and learn from people who have been there.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

It takes a village. Partner, collaborate and share. We are now working with Fortune 500 companies to help underrepresented populations (especially women) to get into high-paying technology careers. We would love to talk with companies who may have an interest!

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.pursepower.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PursePowerInc
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pursepowerinc/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PursePowerinc
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donnamillersphr/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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