A Start-Up Program for Under-Represented Women Exploring Entrepreneurship
As we adjust to the pandemic and the workplaces prepare to re-open, many women are taking a hard look at how they work. A long commute, worry over childcare and lack of flexibility are leading many to explore entrepreneurship. Owning your own business has many benefits, but building a business is also hard work. In fact, 50% of small businesses fail and many never really get off the ground.
Through the Wells Fargo Open for Business Grant, The NAWBO Institute is launching a start-up program for women who are exiting the workforce in rural regions and marginalized socioeconomic communities. We hope to reach and positively impact under-represented women who are exploring entrepreneurship to provide them with the tools they need for a good start.
Starting this summer, the program will be delivered through a dynamic workshop series – available virtually and on demand to reach all parts of the country – for two six-month cohorts. As the voice of America’s 11.6 million women business owners, NAWBO members will play a role in these workshops by sharing their stories and expertise.
The series’ combination of webinars and facilitated roundtables will:
- Guide particpants through self-discovery to discern whether they possess the temperment, knowledge and resources that leads to business success
- Lead them through the start-up phases of business, discussing business forms, trademarks and copyrights, financial record keeping, marketing and more
- Provide a membership in NAWBO and roundtable groups so they have ongoing support from NAWBO’s community of women business owners
Are you a woman in a rural region or marginalized socioeconomic community currently considering launching your own business and wanting to do it right?
NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS HERE!
Timeline:
- Application Period is March 1–June 30, 2022
- Applicants will be notified of next steps end of June 2022
- The first module runs from July 11–25, 2022
- Program is held over a 6-month period
- 1-year NAWBO memberships are awarded after participants complete the first two learning modules