Center for Women Entrepreneurs E-News || October 2019

CWE Announces Grant Funds Available to Women Business Owners

Texas Woman’s University’s Center for Women Entrepreneurs announces the call for submissions for its Women’s Enterprise Training and Microgrant Program. The grants are intended to encourage women-owned businesses in Texas to undertake new and innovative projects.

The grants are $5,000 each. Ten grants will be awarded in total.

Grant funding may be used for the purchase of machinery, equipment, or technology, acquisition of new inventory or raw materials, purchase and installation of fixtures or display units, property improvements, marketing, or other business-related activity that is aligned with the purpose of the program. Wages and salaries are ineligible for funding.

Awardees must complete a small business training course hosted by the CWE in order to receive funding. The course will cover topics such as business plan development, marketing, legal and accounting and financing.

Businesses wishing to apply for funding must submit a complete application before 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 25 .

For more information, FAQ, and an application, visit https://twu.edu/center-women-entrepreneurs/for-the-community/microgrants/ .

CWE Hires New Program Director

The CWE is proud to announce that Donalisa Stinyard, PhD has joined our team!

Donalisa is a veteran-turned-entrepreneur. With three decades of leadership experience and an aspiration to empower women that might be struggling to find value in their voice, she started her own coaching business to help them reach their full potential.

She has a doctoral degree in business management with an emphasis in organizational leadership.

In her new position, Donalisa will head up our social media communication efforts and develop and coordinate innovative programing for students interested in entrepreneurship.

How Certification as a Woman Business Enterprise Can Enhance Your Business

Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2019

7:30 - 9:00 AM

Spring Hill Suites | 1434 Centre Place Drive, Denton, TX 76208

Debbie Hurst, President, and CEO of Women's Business Council - Southwest will share the following key information:

The value of being Women Business Enterprise (WBE) certified
Why supplier diversity is a priority for many Fortune 500 companies, as well as local, state and national governments
Discuss how WBE certifications will help you market and grow your business, provide access to a network of women business owners and supplier diversity professionals with a strong commitment to doing with women-owned businesses.

RSVP today! Seating is limited.

October is National Women’s Small Business Month!

National Women’s Small Business Month is when we recognize the significant accomplishments and contributions that women entrepreneurs have made to our economy.

In the United States, women now own 12.3 million companies—an increase of almost 60% compared to 10 years ago. These women-owned firms employ more than eight million people and provide $264 billion in wages to employees.

In addition:

1,821 new women-owned business opened each day between 2017 and 2018;
5.8 million companies are minority-owned, an increase of 163% since 2007; and
In 2018, 208,000 women-owned businesses generated revenues of more than $1 million, an increase of 46% over the past 11 years.

From restaurants and retail operations to manufacturing, medical, law and real estate offices, businesses owned and operated by women in Texas continue to grow and thrive. In Texas alone, there are an estimated 11 million privately-held businesses owned by women.

Now that's something to celebrate!

Where will we be next?

The CWE participates in and sponsors many events for women business owners so we can get the word out about our services and highlight the impact that our women-owned businesses have on the economy of Texas!

Here are a few that we'll be at soon:

10/16: Veteran Women's Enterprise Center's "Driving DFW Business Performance: Navigating a Path to Success for Women Veteran Owned Businesses" conference