Erik Paulsen: “Last week I spent a day traveling my district and meeting with half a dozen women entrepreneurs. I started the morning…”

“Last week I spent a day traveling my district and meeting with half a dozen women entrepreneurs. I started the morning spending time with children in Maple Grove, Minnesota, at the LilyPad Daycare that is owned by a dynamic mom and daughter team. Next I went to Plymouth, and I visited and toured the medical manufacturer ATEK Medical, which is owned by Christy Bieber Orris and Kay Phillips. Now, they've got challenges on the horizon with the FDA and a new medical device tax, but they are determined to move forward. I also visited a public relations firm that was started from scratch by Cindy Leines in her basement 23 years ago. Then I connected with Makya, who is living the dream of owning and operating her own educational toy store. And finally I sat down with Peg at Peg's Countryside Cafe. Mr. Speaker, Minnesota is a great State teeming with endless possibilities because of women like these who are entrepreneurs taking risks, and we need to do more to encourage women to take the leap into entrepreneurship. My hope is that last week's tour will help inspire more women to realize their dream of running their own business. After all, it's small businesses that will lead our way out of this tough economic situation we're in and drive ourselves to more economic growth. ____________________”