Within it's mission, MCSC has organized Women’s Business Partners (WBP) to provide a nurturing fertile environment for aspiring women entrepreneurs. WBP is a collaborative organization ensuring that all community resources are available, leveraged and optimized to support entrepreneurial women throughout the northern Central Coast and Valley regions of California. For a brochure describing programs and services of the WBP, click here.
In September of 2006, the U.S. Small Business Administration awarded MCSC a five year, $750,000 grant to provide for a Central California Women's Business Center to serve Kern, San Luis Obispo and Monterey Counties. The WBP Center is funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. See SBA's Women's Business Center Programs.
MCSC & WBP was the first authorized SBA intermediary in San Luis Obispo County for programs such as the SBA’s Women's Pre-qualification Loan Program. WBP serves businesses, low and moderate-income individuals, and various non-profit and public support agencies.
Private, confidential no-cost individualized consulting services and training are available in a variety of topics including business planning, general and financial management, strategic planning, labor an human resource management, credit repair, sources of capital, loan proposal packaging, cash flow projections, understanding and using financial statements, accounting, internet and e-commerce, government procurement and contracting opportunities as well as information on valuable certification programs.
In December 2004, WBP received license from Women's Economic Ventures to deliver Self-Employment Training in San Luis Obispo County, the north Central Coast and the Central Valley regions of California.
The Self Employment Training class meets once per week for fourteen weeks to help you test the feasibility of your self-employment idea, create a business plan covering market research, fiscal projections, budgeting and other topics designed to educate you on what it takes to successfully start up and operate a profitable small business. Graduates obtain certificates of completion which demonstrate credibility to lenders as you apply for small business loans.
Classes will be forming in February 2005 and thereafter will be offered once each year in the Spring and Fall. To be notified of orientation dates and places, please fax your name, address, phone and other contact information to (805) 595-1358 today .
In addition, the WBP Roundtable Program, modeled after SBA Women's Network for Entrepreneurial Training Roundtable, is a unique mentor/protégé program that matches accomplished professional business women with a peer protégé group.
A WBP Protégé Group is a business network group consisting of 5 businesswomen who act as a peer accountability group. The purpose of each group is to network and brain-storm ideas concerning business situations that affect the member’s individual businesses. The groups meet once a week for an hour to encourage, set goals, measure progress and tackle business problems that are encountered by the business owner.
Each WBP PROTÉGÉS GROUP also has a local, successful and accomplished WBP business MENTOR who brings experience and resources to the group once a month or as agreed upon by each group. Entrepreneur Protégés and Mentors are matched according to the skills needed.
The WBP Mentor Circle is a prestigious group of successful accomplished professional business women organized to provide volunteer support to those start up or new businesswomen interested in improving their self-employment aspirations. Current mentors include the prestigious former congresswoman, the Honorable Andrea Seastrand (now Executive Director of the California Space Authority CSA), Ms. Victoria Conner, Chief Programs Officer of CSA , Ms. Robin Dudley of Dudley Business Development, Ms. Kathy Boyd of KN Boyd Enterprises, Ms. Sharon Ellis of Coast National Bank, Ms. Linda Minton of MidState Bank, Ms. Lori Rai, of Rai Productions, Ms. Alana Reynolds of Wings of Wellness, Ms. Anita Robinson of Mission Community Bank, Ms. Barbie Butz, Ms. Roxanne Carr of the Mortgage House, Ms. Michele Groff of Groff and Assoc., and Ms. Marlaine Sanders of San Luis Personnel Services.
WBP Roundtables are scheduled twice a year. To receive notification about future Roundtables, be sure to call (805) 595-1357 today.