DENTON March 2017
Business
CHRONICLE
www.dentonbusinesschronicle.com
From skeptical to booming By Matt Payne and Jenna Duncan efore the birth of Cindy Tysinger’s woman-owned, multimillion-dollar IT firm GSATi, she remembers being the chief information officer and senior vice president of information technology at marketing firm Mannatech. She was skeptical of being the only female executive in the company, and once it sold to a larger company, her skepticism grew. So she decided to do things her own way: She went to start her own business. The staff of GSATi — which started at Tysinger’s home in Denton, with her two sons and a collection of employees who worked with her at Mannatech — pride themselves on the IT firm’s familial mindset. GSATi employs staff from five states and four countries, with multilingual team members to negotiate with clients worldwide. “Diversity is very important to us. It’s one of our highest values our culture is based upon,” Tysinger said. “The proudest thing I’ve seen in this culture is this family. We call everybody family.” Since 2009, there’s been a 192 percent increase in loan dollars for woman-owned businesses across the county, said Darla Booker, regional communications director for the Small Business Association. The boom is statewide, with Texas ranked No. 2 for woman-owned businesses in the country. With the numbers increasing, support is too. In 2010, the Denton Chamber of Commerce started the Women in Commerce group, looking to support its female members. “The chamber felt, given that we have so many women contributing great things to our community, that we needed a place to develop more women leaders,” said Angelica Del Rosal, director of membership and programs for the chamber. “Even though we don’t necessarily zero in on other particular segments, we did feel that it was justified given the potential.” As the group, known as WINC, has established itself, Del Rosal says there are plans to grow its influence. Over the past seven years, the group has focused on providing training, networking and professional development resources. Soon, it hopes to add another component: mentorship.
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With resources expanding, female business owners better able to follow example of Denton’s GSATi ABOVE — GSATi CEO and founder Cindy Tysinger poses Thursday with her company’s core values at her office on the second floor of the Texas Building on the Denton Square. Photo by Jeff Woo
LEFT — The Denton Chamber of Commerce holds regular mixers through its Women in Commerce group. Courtesy photo
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Bills where you can cut a better deal By Liz Weston | NerdWallet
By Jenna Duncan | Staff Writer Noles General Store is moving to a booth space at Antique Gallery in Lewisville after operating at 315 W. Hickory St. for almost six years. Christye Price, the store’s buyer, said the business wanted to downsize and take away the daily commitment of
running the shop. Move-out is set for the end of March. Speaking of moves, Old West Cafe is moving by the end of the month. The new location (formerly the Black-eyed Pea) will double the restaurant’s seating area.
The word “bills” used to be synonymous with “fixed expenses.” But there’s nothing fixed about many of the bills a typical household pays today. Some bills have introductory rates that expire, shooting monthly costs skyward. Others offer secret discounts or upgrades to those in the know. Providers constantly tweak their plans and pricing, which means long-term customers can overpay by hundreds of dollars a year. “It’s like airline seating pricing,” says Steven McKean, founder and CEO of BillShark, a bill negotiating service based in Boston. “I wouldn’t say [people] are overcharged, but I would just say that the pricing is very opaque.” BillShark calculates that Americans
DUNCAN | CONTINUED ON PAGE 10
BILLS | CONTINUED ON PAGE 10
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Some bills have introductory rates that expire, shooting monthly costs skyward. Providers constantly tweak their plans and pricing, which means long-term customers can overpay by hundreds of dollars a year.
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