West Virginia Women ’ s Business Center
By Nora Myers
The West Virginia Women ’ s Business Center ( WBC ) provides tools and assistance to West Virginians , especially women and people of color , to help achieve their entrepreneurial dreams . With offices in Charleston , Morgantown and Fairmont , the WBC serves all 55 of West Virginia ’ s counties . It has helped hundreds of clients start or expand their businesses .
“ Women and people of color often have less access to the resources and connections they need to launch a business or level up , along with fewer entrepreneurial role models to look to for inspiration and guidance — which only hurts our communities and holds them back ,” says Executive Director Nora Myers .
The WBC is focused on providing services to women , and other groups that traditionally face extra barriers , to help them start and grow businesses of their own . The staff believes improving opportunities for entrepreneurship benefits the whole economy in West Virginia .
The organization works together with entrepreneurs to discover their own definition of success and achieve it .
Braids + Twists hair salon in Charleston , WV . Photo by Burns Exposures , LLC .
The advisors provide individual counseling , training on business and leadership topics , mentoring and access to funding . Whether someone is starting a business , ready to scale up or looking for advice on maintaining success , the WBC can help .
In addition , the Start , Scale , Succeed Mentorship Program facilitates one-to-one mentoring relationships that connect mentees with mentors across West Virginia to learn how to become better business owners . Mentoring helps expand networks , gain new knowledge and insights and build new skills . Visit wvwomen . org to read more about these programs .
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