Oklahoma City has been leading the charge in the number of women owned businesses for more than 15 years, since three brave women entrepreneurs each opened their own PR Agencies. Kym Koch, founder of Koch Communications, Brenda Jones Barwick, founder of Jones PR, and Debbie Anglin, founder of Anglin PR, began their businesses at a time when there were very few women entrepreneurs. 

I was excited to interview each of these entrepreneurial icons and learn more about what has made them successful and what lessons they have learned along the way that have helped them build thriving, sustainable businesses. 

As you read their stories, consider these statistics, and you will be even more amazed by their journeys and what has made each of them successful: 

• In 2019, U.S. women owned businesses generated $1.8 trillion 

• 40% of all U.S. businesses are women owned 

• There are 114% more women entrepreneurs than there were 20 years ago. 

Kati Hanna: As a child, what did you always want to be when you grew up? 

Kym Koch: As a kid, I wanted to be a scientist. I wanted to work in a lab, growing things in a Petri dish and watching cells divide. I am less than 2 semesters away from finishing my biology degree – maybe someday. 

Brenda Jones Barwick: I knew since I was 9 years old that I would live and work in Washington, DC. This was an early indication of my passion for being involved in shaping the nation, which begins in neighborhoods and in communities where a person is planted. I still have my 1967 gallery visitor passes to the U.S. Senate and U.S. House chambers. The childhood vision was then revealed through studying Journalism, which led me to Washington, DC, and ultimately a 35-year career in public relations. When I had the choice in 1994 to return to Washington, DC, I made the decision to stay in Oklahoma City for two reasons: MAPS had just passed and I wanted to contribute however I could to Oklahoma City’s renaissance, and I wanted to live President Ronald Reagan’s dedication of planting young conservatives in cities all across the country to impact communities and not become Washington, DC, careerists. 

Debbie Anglin: In 2nd grade, I opened a counseling center on the playground because two of my friends were fighting and not talking after a sleepover that wasn’t inclusive enough and because John, a boy in my class, had a crippling crush on a girl who wouldn’t give him the time of day. I can’t remember the advice I gave them, but I hope I didn’t cause irreparable damage. There are seeds of that early desire to be a psychologist in my chosen profession today. I have always wanted to help people in a significant and impactful way. 

KH: What was the best piece of advice you were given when you were first starting out? 

KK: Never be afraid to hire people who are better than you. 

BJB: Fortunately, I was able to seek advice from the former U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland who was a very successful Denver businessman. His two bits of advice were there’s never a good time to start a business and you’ll never know if you’re an entrepreneur until you do it. On his first piece of advice, the point he was making is that there’s never a perfect time to start a business because one can always find a reason not to; basically, the world is not perfect so there’s never perfect timing. His second bit of advice was in response to articles and checklists frequently printed about what makes an entrepreneur: the only way to find out if you have self-determination, ambition, motivation and the will to take risks is to put yourself out there. 

DA: I was still early in my own business, and Jean Gumerson, the president of the Presbyterian Health Foundation, was chairing a project I was working on (Project KIDS, the predecessor to MAPS for Kids). We ran into a political/ideological impasse with some committee members that had started to get ugly. She hosted a small group in her home, served refreshments and in the kindest way, told everyone that she was confident that such a smart group could find a solution where others had failed. Discussion ensued and everyone came away feeling recommitted to working together. I commented later about her effectiveness and she said, “Oh, Debbie, I just put out the snacks.” 

KH: What is the biggest sacrifice you have made in starting or running your business? 

KK: In the years of crazy growth of Koch Communications, I gave up a lot of time with family and friends. Luckily, I have family who understood the demands on my time, and over the years, I have been fortunate to hire incredibly talented people to handle the workload, so I got back some of that time. But, it’s still a daily decision of managing priorities.