The WEDA / Metropolitan Atlanta Women's Business Center (MAWBC)
provides business development, management and technical assistance to
emerging, intermediate- and advanced-stage women entrepreneurs
throughout the twenty-eight county metropolitan Atlanta area and is
one of 105 SBA Women's Business Centers across the country.
Major programs and services include:
Programs, Workshops and Seminars
The Atlanta Microenterprise Initiative (AMI) - is a
comprehensive, 9 week workshop that helps emerging and new
entrepreneurs learn how to start and manage a successful business, as
well as how to determine funding needs and write a detailed business
plan. Topics covered throughout the workshop series include business
licensing and regulation; marketing, including primary and secondary
research and analyses; business taxes, tax credits and other
incentives; bookkeeping; sales/business development; operations;
contract and equal employment opportunity laws; presentation skills;
and business technology and e-commerce. AMI is an income-based program
and new classes form three times per year.
The Franchise Development Program - seeks to increase
franchise ownership among women by providing education and technical
assistance to better ensure long-term business success. The program
aids entrepreneurs identify potentially suitable franchise
opportunities and also helps franchisors identify potential
franchisees from a pool of qualified candidates
The Non-Profit Workshop - is designed for social
entrepreneurs that want to establish non-profit businesses and is
delivered in three sessions. Session I discusses the legal and related
aspects of forming and maintaining a non-profit organization. Session
II is delivered as a hands-on computer lab that interactively
discusses the grants research and writing process. Session III is a
non-profit roundtable where emerging social entrepreneurs can ask
questions to leading figures in the non-profit sector. Sessions I and
II are presented three times per year; Session III is presented once
per year.
The Patents and Trademarks Workshop - is targeted to
inventors, writers and those who wish to learn how to protect their
company's brand and discusses the fundamentals of trademark, copyright
and patent issues, as well as the handling of related disputes.
Workshops are presented three times per year.
Lecture Series - provides topical discussions on a
wide variety of business-related subjects, ranging from
"Logistical Considerations for Day Care Centers" and
"Employment Law", to "How to Start a Wedding Planning
Business", "Effective Business e-Mail" and
"Business Financial Management". Workshops are presented
periodically.
Demystifying the Business Financing Process - seeks
to help entrepreneurs understand the fundamentals of business
financing, as well as the pros and cons of debt versus equity funding.
Workshops are presented three times per year.
Other Services and Technical Assistance
Loan origination and packaging - WEDA / MAWBC
is an SBA Technical Assistance Provider and, in partnership with
Innovative Bank of Oakland, California, originates and packages
SBA-guaranteed Community Express microloans of up to $50,000.
Informational seminars are held monthly.
Registering For A WEDA / MAWBC Workshop or Seminar
Registering for our workshops is easy. Just click on Registration. If
there is a cost associated with the workshop, you can make a secure
online payment using a credit or debit card or one-time bank account
debit via PayPal and sending your payment to "payments@weda-atlanta.org."
(New users will first have to sign up for the Pay Pal service.) If you
prefer, you can also register and pay in person by visiting our office
prior to the scheduled workshop date. Please note that many of WEDA's
workshops fill up quickly; once we reach capacity, we can accept no
new registrations. For this reason, you are encouraged to register and
pay as soon as possible. Please note also that the only way to
guarantee your reservation is to pay in advance.
Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be
made if requested at least two weeks in advance. Please contact WEDA
at (678) 904-2201 to inquire about arrangements.
This U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Cooperative
Agreement is partially funded by SBA. SBA's funding is not an
endorsement of any products, opinions, or services. All SBA funded
programs are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis.
For inquiries or comments, please e-mail inquiries@WEDA-atlanta.org
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