Low-income women in the San Francisco Bay Area who want to start their own businesses can take advantage of the Women's Initiative for Self Employment's entrepreneurial workshop series.

The 14-week-long workshop, "Managing Your Small Business," is conducted in English and Spanish. Participants learn to clarify their business vision, identify their potential customers, analyze competition, manage budgets and money, keep expense records, find money to start or expand, and more.

Courses are available to low-income women only. The workshop fee ranges from $65-200 dollars depending on the amount of money each client can contribute toward the fee. Stipends are available to supplement workshop fees for those who qualify.

Women's Initiative for Self Employment was founded in 1988 to assist low-income women of diverse ethnic and social backgrounds in becoming economically self-sufficient through entrepreneurial activities. Scholarships, stipends for childcare, transportation and revolving loans ensure that no qualifying participant is turned away for lack of financial resources.

The Spanish language component is conducted through a program called Alternativas Para Latinas en Autosuficiencia (ALAS) that was developed in response to a lack of services available to mono-lingual entrepreneurial Latinas. ALAS has a special curriculum for low-income women who recently settled in the United States.

Frances M. Palacios, president of Palacios Production company in Walnut Creek, volunteers as a community relations liaison to help increase use of the workshop among Spanish-speaking entrepreneurs in the Bay Area. "As a Latina business owner, I imagine many aspiring entrepreneurs don't know what steps to take to become business owners," said Palacios. She added, "Instruction in Spanish is extremely helpful to people who are still building their English skills."

Go to www.womensinitiative.org or call (415) 247-9473 to register for upcoming workshops. Women in other regions should visit the Small Business Administration's Women's Business Center at www.onlinewbc.gov for resources and programs in their areas.

printer friendly format