Governor Gregoire addresses the Women Business Owners Conference

June 11, 2008

*As Written*

Good Morning, and thank you, Bob, for the introduction.

I�m pleased to be here this morning.

I�m especially pleased that -- in a state known the whole world over for its innovative, competitive business climate -- I�m in a roomful of innovative, competitive business women.

I can�t tell you how much that warms this woman�s heart!

On the way here, it occurred to me that among the hundreds of retailers, engineers, insurance brokers, information techs and other business owners here � there must be at least one wedding planner!

Are there any wedding planners out there?

Yes? Maybe I�ll engage you for some free advice.

(Or � No? Dang, I was hoping to snag some free last-minute advice)

It has to be free! Mike and I are tapped out!

Just for the record, my oldest daughter, Courtney, is getting married in August, and her upcoming wedding is my other job. It�s been fun, but some of you probably know it isn�t like planning a dinner party.

What an exciting crowd we have here! Hundreds of women who own businesses right here in Washington and elsewhere in the Northwest...

�.From accounting�to insurance and real estate�to construction and health care�to hospitality and retail�to information technology

All here in a state known and respected around the world for its culture of innovation.

A bunch of competitive, smart, businesswomen � the kind of women I envisioned when I raised my two daughters...

�The kind of women who strike out on their own and create good jobs that feed families and strengthen our economy.

�The kind of women who bought the Seattle Storm � Anne Levinson, Ginny Gilder, Lisa Brummel, and Dawn Trudeau�

I was in the front row cheering when the Storm shut down Detroit�s six-game winning streak Saturday night! What a game! Go Storm!

I must confess I was amazed when I took the time to do a little research in preparation for this speech.

I see there are 16 women-owned companies competing for about $80,000 worth of awards and prizes.

Eight winners will emerge later today. They will be the eight who are able to convince the judges and the audience that they have the best business plans...

�Finalists, who, by the way, exhibit the sheer economic diversity of our state.

Finalists like Ann-Marie Archer of Redmond, who connects talented people with talented high-tech companies�

�And Nadine Sullivan of Spokane, who runs a building supply store specializing in environmentally-friendly building supplies.

Can all 16 finalists please stand for a big round of applause?

Congratulations!

In the time I have today, I could talk about many things that are vitally important to the women in this room today.

I could talk about our substantial investments to create a world-class, seamless, learner-focused education system from pre-school through college to make sure our sons, daughters and our grandchildren have the knowledge and skills to thrive in our global economy.

Or, about our fiscal responsibility that has left us the envy of other states with a savings account of $850 million going into the next budget year, and a recent recognition from the Pew Research Center that finds us tied among three states as the best managed state in the country.

Or, about what we�re doing to make health care more affordable, especially for small business, and to make sure every low-income child in Washington has health insurance by 2010.

Or about what we�re doing to make our streets safer by cracking down on sex offenders.

Or about how we�re beginning to move our state into an economy where we create green-collar jobs and make transportation more affordable.

Or about how Washington is becoming a center for Global Health research and delivery � through the Gates Foundation and our own state Life Sciences Discovery Fund � to name just two � and through our research hospitals and universities in Seattle and Pullman.

But in the time I have today, what I�d really like to do is share with you some of what we are doing to diversify our economy in Washington, and also talk about the engine driving so much of Washington�s economy � International Trade.

Things are definitely challenging out there right now for Washingtonians � fuel at record prices and grocery budgets that don�t go as far as they should. Ohio and Michigan combined have lost more than 600,000 jobs, and California has a $20 billion budget deficit.

But the highly respected Economist Magazine, in a recent presentation in Tacoma, confirmed something we already know. And it�s that Washington is still faring better than most for two big reasons...

�As the Economist writer pointed out � one reason is our economic diversity�and the other is our powerful export engine that sends Washington products abroad.

By diversity, I don�t mean just the broad types of businesses, but where they are located too � from wineries in Walla Walla and aerospace manufacturers in Spokane�

�To solar-panel component makers in Moses Lake, start-up high-tech companies in Seattle; computer chip manufacturers in Vancouver, and wheat growers in the Palouse.

In fact, our economy has created more than 215,000 new jobs since 2005!

I have a business plan for Washington � we call it �Next Washington� � and it recognizes that diversity -- and by the way, it also recognizes that small business is the lifeblood of Washington�s economy.

To that end, we have strategies to lower the cost of doing business in Washington, and at the same time make targeted investments to promote small business and commerce. A good example would be our significant new investments in promoting tourism.

One way we have directly lowered costs for small business is through lower taxes.

We helped new businesses get off to a good start by reducing unemployment insurance taxes by 15 percent. We also have reduced L&I insurance costs for all businesses by a total of $465 million through a rate holiday last year.

We are embarking on an innovative experiment to help small businesses and their employees get affordable health insurance by combining public and private dollars in the new Washington Health Insurance Partnership.

We have made tremendous strides to cut red tape. One obvious example -- We are communicating with folks in simple English. We call it Plain Talk.

You know, sometimes that means something as simple as talking to people in Plain English.

Let me give you an example.

Imagine you�re sitting at your kitchen table reading the following letter from the Department of Labor and Industries.

"We have been notified that you did not receive the State of Washington warrant listed on the attached Affidavit of Lost or Destroyed Warrant Request for Replacement form F-242."

Does anyone know what that means?

Today that letter has been rewritten, and here�s what it says: "Have you cashed your L&I check yet?�

That�s an example of our Plain Talk program where we are making government communicate in a way you and I can understand. What a concept!

We have been recognized nationally for our on-line business portal, which provides on-line business registration, and now provides a one-stop location for businesses looking to hire new employees.

For the first time in 16 years, we have increased funding to our Economic Development Councils, which in turn look for opportunities to promote business growth in their regions from the ground up.

As the Economist magazine noted, Washington�s other big strength is International Trade.

We not only accept that we are in a global economy � we embrace it and make it work for us.

That�s a big reason Forbes Magazine ranked us among the top five states to do business.

The fact is, we are a huge export engine, and that�s a big reason that although times are getting tougher right now in our state � we�re still in better shape than much of the nation.

I see the power of our export engine every time I fly in a Boeing plane to far-off lands�Check e-mail via Microsoft Outlook�And stop for coffee at a Starbucks on the way to a Costco to put on an apron and hand out Washington cherries or apples in Mexico and Korea.

You in this room understand it too. You understand that whatever your business, the platform for our economy as a whole is international trade. One of three jobs in Washington depends on it.

That�s why I have led five trade missions to 10 different countries since I took office. And that�s not counting my annual trips to Canada.

That�s a lot in three years, and Don Brunell, head of the Association of Washington Business, says we can�t do enough trade missions. That�s because they pay off in big ways and small.

In a trade mission to Mexico last year, I and leaders of Pearson Packaging of Spokane met with Grupo Modelo, which makes great Mexican beer including Corona.

Pearson landed itself $2 million in equipment sales to Grupo, and told us later that what made the difference was having the Governor of Washington at the table.

Our exports rose to a record of nearly $67 billion last year. In fact, our exports have doubled since 2004. Believe me, that�s not just because of aerospace.

Across the board, exports are up. Our growers are reaping the benefits of a weak dollar, are also enjoying the benefit of worldwide demand for their products. This is why trade accounts for one in three jobs in Washington!

We have a strategy to keep international trade strong. Let me offer just one result of that strategy. If you�re going to do business abroad, you need to be able to get there easily.

That�s why we have worked to help establish new direct flights to five foreign capitals in the past few years � Beijing, Paris, Frankfort, Mexico City and London.

I want you to know how wonderful it is for me to speak today to a room filled with so many hardworking and successful women!

And I want all of you to know that I�ll keep working hard too. I�ll keep working to make sure our state stays at the top of our global economy � across the aisle, across the state, and across the oceans.