WBC's Monthly Reflection: |
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October is a month of changing seasons, which brings a sense of new energy for possibilities and learning. We channel this autumn energy at the WBC with our annual celebration of National Women’s Small Business Month each October.
This year, we will be celebrating the “Empowered Entrepreneur” by bringing over a dozen exciting and empowering free virtual workshops on a variety of topics. Sessions will include tried and true classics such as Business Planning 101 and Perfect Pitch, as well as exciting new sessions, including Being the Leader of Your Own Brand and Building a Stellar Start-Up Website.
We could not run this series without the support of amazing partners and industry-experts, including Operation Hope, CIBC, US Bank, Legal Service of Eastern Missouri, American Family Insurance, St. Louis County Library, and other amazing experts. Thank you for all that you do for all that you do for our STL entrepreneurship community!
We are also opening registration this month for our next round of Industry-Specific Initiatives: Early Childhood Development (Childcare) and Real Estate, both 4-week virtual programs with details below to register.
Get ready and join us for a season of Empowered Entrepreneurship!
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Interested in working with us? Contact us to be added to our waiting list for 1-1 counseling!
Keep reading below for more info on our New October Workshops, Industry-Specific Initiatives, and recurring events.
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Check out our October Workshop Series - Celebrating National Women's Small Business Month!
We're proud to bring you the Empowered Entrepreneur Series for National Women's Small Business Month. See below for registration details.
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Tue, Oct 5, 2021 12:00 PM CST
The Empowered Entrepreneur Series: Is Owning a Business Right for You?
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Wed, Oct 6, 2021 12:00 PM CST
The Empowered Entrepreneur Series: Personal Budgeting & Credit
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Thu, Oct 7, 2021 12:00 PM CST
The Empowered Entrepreneur Series: How To Read Your Credit Report
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Sat, Oct 9, 2021 9:00 AM CST
The Empowered Entrepreneur Series: Being the Leader of Your Own Brand
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Tue, Oct 12, 2021 12:00 PM CST
The Empowered Entrepreneur Series: Business Plan 101
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Wed, Oct 13, 2021 12:00 PM CST
The Empowered Entrepreneur Series: How To Register Your Business
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Thu, Oct 14, 2021 12:00 PM CST
The Empowered Entrepreneur Series: Financial Management for Your Business
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Tue, Oct 19, 2021 12:00 PM CST
The Empowered Entrepreneur Series: Building A Stellar Starter Website
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Sat, Oct 16, 2021 9:00 AM CST
The Empowered Entrepreneur Series: Perfect Pitch!
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Wed, Oct 20, 2021 12:00 PM CST
The Empowered Entrepreneur Series: Asset Protection & Business Insurance
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Thu, Oct 21, 2021 12:00 PM CST
St. Louis County Library Small Business Resources
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Tue, Oct 26, 2021 12:00 PM CST
The Empowered Entrepreneur Series: Social Media Marketing 101
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Wed, Oct 27, 2021 12:00 PM CST
The Empowered Entrepreneur Series: Driving Revenue- The Client Experience
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Thu, Oct 28, 2021 12:00 PM CST
The Empowered Entrepreneur Series: Emotional Wellbeing For the Entrepreneur
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We are re-introducing two popular industry-specific initiatives: Childcare & Real Estate
If you are interested in either of these workshops, see details & links below!
Is your answer as a rising Restaurants & Catering or Podcast Business Owner "YES" to any of the following questions:
- Did you begin your business before the pandemic but had to halt opening?
- Did you lose business during the pandemic and need to rebrand or rebuild your business?
- Did you lose employees during the pandemic?
- Was your business disrupted in any way due to the pandemic?
If you answered "YES" to any of the above, then our Industry-Specific Initiatives may be perfect for you!
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Deadline to register is Friday, November 5th
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To register for Real Estate, click here! Deadline to register is Friday, November 5th
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Legal Clinic, every month, on Zoom,
with Legal Services of Eastern Missouri.
An opportunity to ask questions 1-1 with a volunteer attorney about business formation, trademark, employees/contractors, and more.
Sign up for a 30 minute session, or sign up for the waiting list as new spots open, below.
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Tue, Oct 19, 2021 5:00 PM CST
Legal Clinic
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Join SBA and PPSI for bi-weekly webinars on Small Business Resources for Preparedness, Relief, Recovery, and Resiliency
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Message From the Small Business Administration: |
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Dear Entrepreneur:
At the SBA, we continue to work hard to deliver assistance to America’s entrepreneurs. We have been inspired by the grit and determination we have witnessed as our nation’s small businesses have pivoted and adapted over the past 18 months. The American entrepreneurial spirit is stronger than ever.
However, with the Delta variant, the struggle is far from over. Small businesses across the country continue to need financial relief to get to the other side of this crisis. And the SBA is still here to help.
The low-interest and long-term COVID EIDL program has helped millions of small business owners survive the impacts of the pandemic with its flexibility and affordability – allowing entrepreneurs to hire and retain employees, and purchase needed equipment and inventory.
Now, we’re making the program even more flexible to meet your needs.
- The SBA has increased the amount of funding that can be borrowed from $500,000 to $2 million for qualified applicants.
- We have authorized COVID EIDL funds to be used to pay and prepay commercial debt and make payments on federal business debt in recognition of the financial reality many small businesses are facing during this crisis.
- We have also made sure that small businesses have time to recover from COVID-19 impacts by further deferring payments – so you won’t need to start repaying these loans for two years after your loan origination date.
- In addition, to help ensure our smallest businesses can access this crucial capital, we created a one-month exclusive window for businesses requesting $500,000. During this time, approvals and disbursements will focus 100% on loans $500,000 or less until October 8th, upon which approvals and disbursements will be opened up to all loan sizes.
- Finally, to ease the COVID EIDL application process for small businesses, the SBA has established more simplified affiliation requirements to model those of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund.
Our commitment is to serve all our small businesses efficiently while also maintaining strong protections against fraud and abuse, and as such we have worked hard to improve operations. We are also dedicating ourselves to improving our customer service response and the application user experience. As of today, we have increased COVID EIDL application processing capacity from an average of 2,000 to more than 37,000 applications per day.
As your SBA Administrator and a former small business owner myself, my goal is to make you, America’s small businesses, feel like the giants you are in our economy with programs that meet you where you are.
As President Biden has said: “Small businesses are the engines of our economic progress; they’re the glue and the heart and soul of our communities.” Together with my mission-driven team, I will continue to work every day to make sure you have the tools, resources and support you need to recover, rebuild and thrive.
Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman.
P.S. Please note all business owners who have received previous loans through the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF), or Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) can still benefit from COVID EIDL. For no-cost assistance for the COVID EIDL program, and every other SBA program, go to www.sba.gov/local-assistance and connect with a local resource partner near you.
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