Jane Skeeter, founder of Ultraglas, has taken home one of the NAWBO/Wells Fargo Trailblazer awards, which honor three women entrepreneurs for their talent, drive, and entrepreneurial spirit and provide them with a $5,000 grant for their businesses. Skeeter plans to use the grant money for her company’s new environment UltraGlas-e, which is 100 percent recycled architectural glass that can be used for gates, fences, doors, balustrades, railing, ceilings, flooring, staircases, walls, screens, security barriers, signage, and lighting.
Skeeter has overcome many obstacles in her career to become a trailblazer, including being the only woman on a job site; recovering from a fire that burned down her factory during the middle of her largest project; and the tragedy of the Northridge earthquake, which destroyed nearly all the company’s inventory, work in progress, and artwork. “I’ve always viewed obstacles as opportunities to leverage challenge into advantages,” she says. “Of course we have our challenges in today’s economy, but I know that we will survive and thrive. Thankfully, it has become much easier for women business owners, but we continue to have challenges and I continue to be vigilant to level the playing field.”
