Workshop highlights opportunities for women business owners
Sept. 3, 2002
KALAMAZOO -- Women entrepreneurs are invited to learn about promoting their businesses statewide at a Western Michigan University workshop Thursday, Sept. 19.
Elissa Rossetti and Amanda Sharrai of the Center for Empowerment and Economic Development in Ann Arbor, Mich., will present "Tools for Building Your Competitive Edge: Woman-owned Certification and a Women-only Web Marketplace." Their talk will take place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Federal Room of the Kalamazoo County Chamber of Commerce building, 346 W. Michigan Ave. Part of a monthly series of workshops offered by WMU's Women's Business Development Center, the program is free and open to the public. The date of the workshop deviates from the normal first-Thursday cycle of WBDC programs.
Reservations are required for the program, which is cosponsored by the WBDC and the Small Business Development Center at Kalamazoo College. To reserve a seat, contact Patricia Guenther at (269) 387-2714 or <patricia.guenther@wmich.edu>.
Rossetti is coordinator of the Michigan Women's Marketplace, an online service that helps women break into e-commerce. At the presentation, she will detail how women business owners can use that service to build a Web site or enhance their existing Internet presence. She will discuss how to secure a user-friendly site, linking with other Web sites, and the use of credit cards or merchant accounts on the Net.
Sharrai manages the Michigan Women's Business Council program. She will teach attendees how to obtain contracts by getting their businesses certified as woman-owned. Sharrai will explain how to access a database of more than 750 corporate buyers, get listed in a supplier database used by Fortune 500 companies, and receive discounts on fees for trade shows, expos and conferences.
The Michigan Women's Marketplace and the Michigan Women's Business Council program are projects of the Center for Empowerment and Economic Development, a Small Business Administration Women's Business Center. Additional information can be obtained on the Web at <www.miceed.org> or by calling (734) 677-1400.
WMU's Haworth College of Business established the Women's Business Development Center in 1999 to offer support to female professionals and entrepreneurs by providing training, problem-solving consultation, current business information and networking opportunities.
Media contact: Jessica English, 269 387-8400, jessica.english@wmich.edu