On Dec. 18, a graduation ceremony was held at the Montecito Country Club in honor of 69 new local entrepreneurs — 34 from Santa Barbara County — who graduated from the Self Employment Training Course offered by Women’s Economic Ventures’ Women’s Business Center.
After 14 weeks of training in finance, marketing, leadership skills and more, graduates are ready to launch or to grow their businesses and turn their entrepreneurial dreams into reality.
WEV’s latest Self-Employment Training graduate businesses and business concepts include a surf-inspired apparel line, a wellness program for schools, safari tours and the launch of a new iPhone application.
With a robust menu of training, technical assistance, networking services and access to capital through its Small Business Loan Fund, WEV has helped create or expand more than 2,000 businesses since inception, creating or retaining more than 3,000 local jobs and an average of 300 jobs in the community each year.
WEV’s Self-Employment Training course is part of WEV’s continuum of programs that help entrepreneurs start-up, grow, and sustain a business, including business consulting, entrepreneurial coaching, advanced business training, and small business start-up and expansion loans.
WEV’s comprehensive 14-week, 56-hour Self-Employment Training program is designed for women (all services are open to men) to provide guidance on how to start, operate and expand a business. The program is offered in both English and Spanish, and provides week-by-week training in the most important aspects of organizing, financing, marketing and managing a small business. Topics include personal leadership skills, personal finances, marketing and sales, public relations and advertising, legal and insurance issues, record keeping, cash flow projections, and writing a business plan.
Self-Employment Training courses are offered twice each year, with the next course starting in early February. The class runs for 14 consecutive weeks, one night a week for three hours, and includes two full Saturdays. Classes are taught in Santa Maria, Santa Barbara and Ventura. Interested participants can sign up to attend a free one-hour orientation workshop in January.
The next Santa Barbara orientations will take place from 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 3 and noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 9. Click here to register or for more information.
— Danielle Deltorchio is a publicist representing Women’s Economic Ventures.