Sandy Clitter, a media entrepreneur, serves on the Advocacy Committee of the National Association of Women Business Owners. (COURTESY OF SANDY CLITTER)
A media entrepreneur who founded her own company 25 years ago has made it to the national level.
Sandy Clitter, founder, owner and operator of Your Tech Tamer, has accepted a seat on the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) Advocacy Committee after a thorough vetting process as she plans to advocate for Main Street businesses while encouraging women to join them.
Clitter, a longtime member of the Philadelphia-area NAWBO chapter, said, “This year I accepted the invitation to serve on the national board.”
NAWBO was founded in Washington in 1975 when a group of businesswomen came together to share information about federal contracts, access to capital and more.
They pushed for passage of HR 5050 in 1987, which created the Women in Business Act, allowing women to apply for a business loan without a male cosigner. They continue to advocate for the interests of 13 million women entrepreneurs today.
Clitter’s role on NAWBO’s Advocacy Committee is limited to two years, ending in June 2026.
To gain a foothold there, she first had to start her own company, and she did that 25 years ago when she founded Your Tech Tamer.
“Your Tech Tamer serves small and medium-sized businesses and helps them access their data more efficiently,” she said, explaining that Tech Tamer manages and develops websites as well as computer and database systems.
“Small businesses collect a lot of information but don’t know how to access it or use it,” Clitter said, adding that her company helps them better manage that information and grow. “The need hasn’t gone away. The need has gotten bigger.”
This is partly due to big data.
“What’s a small business supposed to do with big data?” asked Clitter. “It’s overwhelming. They need the information they need to better serve their communities and support their families.”
She gave the example of a landscape gardener who has an excellent understanding of what can be grown in shade and what can be grown in sunny spots, what looks good in a garden and other aspects of landscaping.
“They don’t know how to run their business,” Clitter said. “Most small business owners are in an area they are passionate about.”
Your company helps other companies sort their data to work more efficiently.
Let’s take the example of the landscaper. If he has a lawn mower and a vision to serve a five-county area with his trucks, not just a neighborhood, he needs to understand his data, his market and his customers.
She talked about how NAWBO became part of her success.
“At NAWBO, I found this nationwide community that wanted to help me build my business,” she said. “It’s hard for entrepreneurs to talk to their friends about it. When you’re the CEO of your own company, you have all kinds of problems. NAWBO provides this community of women who are there for you.”
Next year, NAWBO will celebrate its 50th anniversary, and Clitter doesn’t forget that the organization was founded by 12 women at a time when none of them could walk into a bank and get a business loan without a male co-signer.
“NAWBO was founded to represent interests,” Clitter noted, adding that what benefits women-owned businesses typically affects all disadvantaged groups, from veterans to race. “Small women-owned businesses are small businesses.”
Today, NAWBO continues to support and encourage women entrepreneurs, especially small and micro businesses. Micro businesses are companies with fewer than 50 employees and annual revenues of less than $5 million.
According to the definition of the U.S. Small Business Administration, a small business is a company with fewer than 500 employees.
There are over 12,000 small businesses in Delaware County, and 74% of them have fewer than 10 employees.
Currently, Clitter said, NAWBO is focused on gaining the support of Republicans and Democrats to enshrine the definition of microenterprise in law. NAWBO is a bipartisan organization and will not make progress on legislation without the support of both parties.
“Look at the mom-and-pop stores along State Street,” Clitter said. “How many of them can understand 500 employees? We really want people to understand that a microbusiness and a small business are two different things.”
For this reason, they advocate a definition of micro-enterprises with a maximum of 50 employees and an annual turnover of no more than $5 million.
With this definition, Congress could create exceptions for these types of businesses in various policies and laws. Additionally, she said, they are calling for a pilot loan program from the Small Business Administration.
“We need to help, support and protect Main Street businesses across the board,” she said. “Small businesses are absolutely critical… I think they’re really critical to the economic health of the area, the part of Pennsylvania that we live in.”
Regarding the process for a seat on the national board, Clitter said it began in October and was completed in late spring.
“This is not for the faint of heart,” she said, adding, “I’m blessed in my career to have the freedom to give my all to be able to do that.”
She shared some of her NAWBO goals.
“First of all, I hope I can spread the word that NAWBO exists for every female entrepreneur everywhere,” she said. “I understand that you have your hands full. You don’t have a second to breathe.”
She said NAWBO is your eyes, ears and voice and has your back.
“If you need help somewhere, don’t you want a safe place to go?” she asked.
She also said NAWBO wants to help these business owners grow.
“I want more women to understand the support, the love and the joy that all of this brings,” she said. “I hope to use this more prominent position to help more women know about the resources and that NAWBO is there.”
NAWBO is a dues-based, nonpartisan advocacy organization with membership dues starting at $359 per year. For more information, visit nawbo.org.
