There are so many talented, creative and innovative Latinas working an 8 to 5 job with dreams of being her own boss, paralyzed by fear of taking a risk to venture off into a new entrepreneurial direction. The fear can seem very legitimate. Starting a business is a risk. Nearly half of all new start-ups fail after only five years. What makes business ventures even more challenging is that people of color most often have less access to financing, whether through banks or private investors, less access to critical business consulting services, and less access to technology.
ELLA provides several workshops to help Latinas mitigate some of the unknowns and risks when planning a new start-up. There are many must-do’s when initiating a business idea. We outline each of those in our workshop.
If you’ve been in business for some time and you need refreshers and an understanding of the changing and evolving business, social and political climates. and how these affect your business, our workshops and consulting can help.
Whether it’s dealing with the basic bureaucracy of business/organizational start-up or learning how to use technology and social media platforms, our workshops can help private for-profit businesses and nonprofit organizations alike. In addition to group workshops. ELLA also provides one-on-one business counseling and coaching, for which individual appointments are set by calling our office. Our workshops include:
Business/Organization Feasibility
- Determining whether there is a market for your product or service
- Setting realistic expectations
- Evaluating what your resources are and what is still needed
- Determining which business and financial structure is best for your business or organization
- Making financial projections
Business Start-Up 101
- Office of the Secretary of State and incorporation
- Boards of directors
- Business licenses and permits
- The IRS, the Dept. of Revenue, DOL, and L & I
- Accounting for small business
- SCORE, SBA, OMWBE and Small Business Development Centers
- Understanding your customers
- Business plans
- Financial statements
Introduction to e-Business/Commerce
- Determining your market reach and how to expand it
- Suppliers and distribution complexities
- Software applications
- Communications mediums
- Technological requirements
Managing Your Resources
- Capital investments
- Managing your workforce
- Depreciation
- Managing expenses
- Developing systems of operation
Look at our events calendar to check for our scheduled business development workshops. If you have any additional questions, please call or email us at info@weareella.org.