Women's Economic Ventures Spanish Self-Employment Training Fall graduates include back row (from left to right): Rene Marin, Agustin Lopez, Armando Sahagun (instructor), Ruth Rodriguez, Maribel Servin, Leticia Sandoval (WEV Spanish Program Coordinator), Julia Larios and front row (from left to right): Claudia Saenz, Diana Rodriguez, Mila Bedoya-Pineda, Iris Magan and Maria Zacarias Gomez, (not pictured: Lynnette de Jesus, Adriana Marquez). Courtesy photo.
Next orientation begins Jan. 6
SANTA BARBARA — A ceremony was recently held in honor of 12 new local entrepreneurs who graduated from the Spanish Self-Employment Training Course offered by Women’s Economic Ventures’ (WEV) Women’s Business Center, the organization reported in a media release.
After 10 weeks of training in finance, marketing and leadership skills, graduates say they are confident and ready to use the knowledge they have gained to turn their entrepreneurial dreams into reality, organizers reported.
WEV’s latest Spanish Self-Employment Training (SSET) graduate businesses and business concepts include a wellness center, party planning agency, an income tax preparer and an immigration support service.
With a robust menu of training, technical assistance, networking services, and access to capital through its Small Business Loan Fund, WEV has provided entrepreneurial training to nearly 4,000 women, loaned more than $2 million to local businesses, and has created an average of 300 jobs in the community each year, the organization reported.
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 10 week Spanish Self-Employment Training (SSET) 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 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.
The next Spanish orientations take place:
- Tuesday, January 6th from 6-7:30 p.m. in Oxnard
- Thursday, January 8th, 6-7:30 pm in Ventura
- Tuesday, January 13th, 2015 from 6-7:30 p.m. in Oxnard
- Wednesday, January 14th from 7-8 p.m. in Fillmore
- Thursday, January 15th from 6-7:30 p.m. in Ventura.
Visit wevonline.org to register or for more information.
About Women’s Economic Ventures (WEV):
WEV is dedicated to creating an equitable and just society through the economic empowerment of women. Since 1991, WEV has been providing training, technical assistance and microloans to primarily low-income women. WEV offers a continuum of programs to help both women and men start, stabilize and grow small businesses, including the Self-Employment Training (SET) program offered through WEV’s Women’s Business Center. WEV’s service area includes Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties, with offices in Santa Barbara and Ventura. WEV’s Small Business Loan Fund provides start-up and expansion loans of up to $50,000 to pre-bankable microenterprises. For more information, visit WEV’s Web site at http://www.wevonline.org.