Plan for Business Success
Avista featured an article about SNAP’s Women’s Business Center on their website. This article explores how the local bridal boutique Honest in Ivory got its start through SNAP’s Women’s Business Center. Read the contents of the article below, or read this HERE on Avista’s website.
If you’re a fan of shows like Shark Tank and The Profit, you probably have a headful of the-next-big-thing ideas. You might even have a notebook crammed with imaginings, sketches, contacts and to-do lists. Your friends have likely listened to you muse about how incredible it would be to have your own storefront, how much better your product could be than those currently available, or what a difference this dreamed-of business could make in your life.
There’s also a really good chance you’ve had someone ask you, “So … What are you waiting for?”
The Get Started workshop, offered by SNAP’s Women’s Business Center (WBC), might be the answer you’ve been looking for. This workshop teaches attendees about business support services available through the center, and touches on significant aspects of building a business plan, where to find market research, the importance of cash-flow projections, and tips to help you submit a business proposal that lenders will look at.
“The programs offered through the Women’s Business Center are meant to get people ready to start their business and apply for a start-up or business-expansion loan,” explains WBC’s Manager, Nicolle Hansen. “Our classes are results-oriented and people leave with tangible take-aways.”
Once the initial two-hour workshop is complete, aspiring entrepreneurs are eligible to participate in additional WBC courses where they’ll gain in-depth access to individual business development consulting, computers, scanners and printers, training with electronic accounting systems, brand development knowledge and technology training for social media and websites.
“And anyone – not just women – can benefit from these programs,” Nicolle adds. But the center does spend some time educating attendees about specific issues women, veterans and minorities face in small business.
Get Started workshops are offered at least three times each month, at SNAP’s Financial Access office, inside the East Central Community Center at S. 500 Stone.