KINGSTON – In an effort to provide female entrepreneurs with the information they need regarding federal, state, and county business services as well as funding options and incentives available for woman-owned small businesses and female veterans the Mid-Hudson Region Small Business Development Center and Ulster Development Corporation hosted a workshop to detail those opportunities Friday morning at the SUNY Ulster Business Resource Center in Kingston.

Myriam Bouchard is a business advisor with Mid-Hudson Region Small Business Development Center.

“The main purpose of the conference is for them to see the breadth and wealth of information there is out there that is accessible and is free that allows them to go beyond their one or two or three person shop,” she said.

As of 2006, approximately 40 percent of all businesses in the country were woman-owned and these businesses employed 12.8 million people nationwide, according to New York Business Development Corporation Chief Administrative Officer Nancy Reinhart.

The road to success starts with a plan and a visit to the Small Business Development Center, Ulster County Development Corporation Director of Retention and Project Management Melinda Beuf said.

She said one of the most important things needed for growth is financing and that women need to not shy away from going into debt.

Beuf said that in addition the Small Business Development Center, her organization is available to help with site selection, advocacy, financing, and general business solutions.

President and owner of Perfezione Painting, Patti Heins, the New York State Small Business Development Center’s “Female Entrepreneur of the Year,” was a special guest at the workshop where shared her inspirational story of success.

“It’s great,” she said about the information being offered. “I’ve already experienced it and all of the information they were handing out to everybody is exactly what I did and is what made me successful and where I am today.”

Perfezione Painting began as a small operation consisting of two employees and in the time span of two years is now a million dollar contractor with a crew of 11 employees, she said.