ibj.com Indianapolis Business Journal SMALL BIZ: Entrepreneur takes reins of NFIB


SMALL BIZ: Entrepreneur takes reins of NFIB
Tenacious businesswoman wants owners’ voices heard Sat. January 26 - 2008

Jennifer Whitson - jwhitson@ibj.com

IBJ staff

When Barbara Quandt was launching her career in the mid-1970s, she purposely avoided learning how to type. “Everywhere you went, all people would ask is: ‘Can you type? How fast can you type?’” recalled Quandt, 57.

But Quandt wanted a sales job—a rarity then for women—so she begged off typing classes and got a shot in sales.

Later in her career, she started her own travel agency because she didn’t think she could find work when she was eight months pregnant. She went into labor on the business’ official launch date, but soon was back on the job.

That tenacity, coupled with an outgoing personality, are likely to serve Quandt well in her new job as the state director for the National Federation of Independent Business.

“This is my dream job,” Quandt said.

The Nashville, Tenn.-based NFIB is the leading voice for small-business owners nationally, lobbying local, state and federal lawmakers to make sure they take busy entrepreneurs’ opinions into account. While big-budget organizations such as the Indiana Chamber of Commerce and the Indiana Manufacturers Association also hold great sway, NFIB has credibility thanks to its membership—normal folks who’ve risked their life savings to start a small business, most employing five or fewer people.

NFIB often invites business owners who can spare the time to come to the Statehouse and testify or talk to lawmakers about bills. In fact, Quandt will host Small-Business Day at the General Assembly on Feb. 19, walking members through pending legislation and then meeting with representatives.

The national organization and state chapter also regularly poll their members and do extensive field work before taking a stance on issues.

‘Desperation breeds inspiration’

Quandt got her start in sales at WFMSFM 95.5, now a country-music powerhouse that is among the city’s top radio stations. When she started, though, it had just made the switch to country.

She stayed there for three years, then split her time between raising her children and helping her now-former husband run a business selling wood-burning stoves. When that business closed in 1985, an eight-month pregnant Quandt looked for ways to help boost the family’s bottom line.

“Sometimes desperation breeds inspiration,” Quandt said. “We needed income, and I didn’t feel I was really employable with a belly out to here.”

So with just a desk and a phone, Quandt started a travel agency in Danville. Her business grew along with her family, and she opened a second travel agency in Brownsburg in 1987.

It wasn’t easy. She often worked through the day, went home to be with her children in the evening, and then returned to the agency at night.

Despite the time crunch, Quandt also became active in the business community, serving as president of the Danville Chamber of Commerce. When a court ruling ordered the Rotary Club to admit women, Quandt was her local club’s first female invitee and later its first president.

“It was a wonderful time for growth for me,” Quandt said. “It was a very special time in my life.”

But the organization responsible for tuning Quandt into politics was the National Federation of Independent Business. A field representative came to her travel agency shortly after it opened, talking to her about pending legislation and how it would affect her bottom line. NFIB recruiters still make house calls today.

“NFIB is responsible for my interest in public policy,” she said.

A lobbyist ‘for fun’

Through her involvement with NFIB, Quandt became an “activist,” lobbying on bills both locally and in Washington, D.C., “for fun.” She has testified at the state level against a push to extend the sales tax to services and talked to federal lawmakers about her opposition to a health care plan proposed by then-First Lady Hillary Clinton.

In 1996, she sold her two travel agencies and focused full time on The Quandt Group, a public relations firm she opened with partners in 1994. She later bought out her partners and became full owner, running that firm until 2004.

She left PR in 2004 when friend Deb Peters asked Quandt to come work for her at Quality Environmental Professionals Inc.

“She was phenomenal,” Peters said of the nearly four years Quandt spent at the firm.

Hired to handle marketing, Quandt branched out, tracking environmental legislation for the firm and becoming Peters’ go-to person for internal problem-solving.

“I saw her leadership skills and put her in the role of office manager,” Peters said. “People would always come to her if they had problems.”

When Kevin Hughes stepped down as NFIB state director in late 2007 after holding the post less than a year, federation leaders immediately thought of Quandt.

She was NFIB’s small-business champion of the year for the Midwest Region in 2006 and chairwoman of its leadership council on and off for years.

“For me, it’s like everything I’ve ever done in my life has led me to this point and to this position,” she said.

Quandt also could bring some stability to the position. Hughes took over for Jason Shelley, who was the director for nearly four years. Before that, Ed Bowman led the state chapter for 18 years.

“They’ll probably have to carry me out feet first,” she said. “I can’t think of a higher calling for me other than being a missionary.”

Shelley said Quandt was a natural pick.

“She’s an entrepreneur’s entrepreneur and fits NFIB to a T,” he said. “She has lots of energy and you need that kind of personality to do the NFIB job. It’s a big responsibility because you don’t want to let [the members] down.”

Learning curve

After nearly a month on the job, Quandt has been making the rounds, getting to know lawmakers even better. And she’s already tracking a stack of bills, with printouts of different versions neatly arranged on her desk.

NFIB members are understandably concerned about the property tax debate, particularly the possibility of extending the sales tax to services such as attorney fees or accountant fees. Many small businesses are in the service sector and most also are heavy consumers of services because they outsource everything from human resources to printing.

Quandt said she’s also getting a lot of concerned calls about Senate Bill 335, which authorizes the attorney general to investigate complaints about employers hiring illegal immigrants. Under the bill, employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers could have their business licenses permanently revoked.

Many small businesses are concerned that the federal database used to track documentation contains errors and that they may be held accountable if they fall for fraudulent documentation.

“They’re concerned the bill would make business owners the police force when it comes to illegal immigrants,” she said.

Once the legislative session is over, Quandt wants to help her field representatives beef up participation throughout the state.

“We do a great job here in central Indiana [of getting members involved],” she said, but she wants to see the outer regions just as active.

In her down time, the grandmother of three hopes to take evening college courses to finish her undergraduate degree. She’s studied off and on—taking theater classes at Marian College and marketing courses at the University of Indianapolis. Though she thinks she’ll be one of the older students in the class, she said it’s important to her to get a degree.

“It’s unfinished business,” she said. •