Women’s History Month: Free Resources for Women Entrepreneurs

March is Women’s History Month, and what better way to celebrate than to recognize and empower local woman-owned businesses by shining light on the many resources that are available to help woman entrepreneurs navigate the business labyrinth.

There are some 13 million woman-owned businesses nationwide, which represents a critical and expanding sector of the economy. In San Leandro, at least 29% of licensed businesses report that they are woman-owned. Below are a few resources that offer assistance and services specifically for woman entrepreneurs.

SCORE for Women Entrepreneurs supports women entrepreneurs via a multitude of resources – including recordings of webinars that have already taken place. Along with resources and tools created especially for women entrepreneurs, SCORE offers free and confidential business advice. SCORE mentors, many of them successful women small business owners, are ready to help entrepreneurs achieve their business goals.

The Women’s Business Center (WBC) at JEDI provides in-depth, substantive, outcome-oriented business services to women (and men) entrepreneurs, both new and established business owners, many of whom are socially and economically disadvantaged. The WBC is offering two upcoming webinars:

• Monthly Financial Management Learning Lab is a JEDI workshop that meets every Tuesday from 5:30PM until 6:30PM via Zoom. Get support and training on your business and personal finance questions. Sign up once and attend every month or just pop in on the months you have a pressing question or need.

ANewAmerica Women’s Business Center provides training, counseling and other support services to help women entrepreneurs start and successfully grow their businesses. In addition, the center supports women business owners. The office is currently located in the Fruitvale District of Oakland. 

The California Capital Women’s Business Center (CCWBC) is located in Sacramento, CA providing FREE business start-up and development assistance for small business owners, with a commitment to meet the unique needs of women entrepreneurs and women in business. Here is an upcoming webinar series:

• Entrepreneurship Empowered 4-Part Series Intensive Workshop is a virtual 4-part series course broken down into 4 two-hour workshops, for a total of 8 hours. The course is a basic fundamentals of entrepreneurship course facilitated by Natasha Palumbo aka Professor P. It comes with Entrepreneurship Empowered book and workbook ($25 fee for printed materials) written by Ms.Palumbo herself.

Renaissance’s Women’s Business Center, a partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), provides business training, counseling, access to capital and markets and support strategies that are essential to the successful growth of emerging and established women entrepreneurs in San Francisco.

Mission Community Services Corporation and its Women’s Business Centers are dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs and small business owners to become self-sustaining, successful contributors to their communities. They have a focus on serving women as well as low-income individuals, minority-owned businesses and rural, underserved communities.

The NEW Women’s Business Center is powered by New Economics for Women, a non-profit organization in Los Angeles dedicated to providing economic mobility for everyone, especially women and their families. The NEW-WBC offers a plethora of workshops, including:

• Business Loans – What Is Available. Learn what loans are available and what the banks and other financial institutions are looking for to approve a loan.

These are but a few resources available to woman entrepreneurs in California. To explore what else is available, visit the California Women’s Business Centers website for more opportunities and resources.