Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said in his inauguration speech that he wanted to be known as the "mayor of the small businessperson."
At a luncheon this week, he announced a plan to help some of the smallest: startup women entrepreneurs.
Reed said he wants to provide office and conference room space to 20 women business owners at no charge. The facilities would be located in the former Atlanta Journal-Constitution headquarters in downtown Atlanta. Cox Enterprises, which owns the AJC, last year donated the building to the city of Atlanta.
The idea is to provide women business owners, who otherwise would have to operate from their homes, a comfortable and secure public place to conduct client meetings and other professional matters. The business owners could use the space for up to 20 months, after which they would have to vacate to make way for others.
Reed mentioned his idea at a luncheon hosted by the Atlanta Business League. The minority business development and advocacy organization honored Reed as its CEO of the year.
Reed spokesperson Sonji Jacobs Dade said the details of the plan, which Reed has previously hinted at, are not yet in place. Key among them is the process that will determine which women entrepreneurs will be selected for the program.
"This has been in [Reed's] head for a couple of months," Jacobs Dade said. "It will happen."
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