Worcester Entrepreneurship Support Programs

Some of you might be familiar with the WPI Venture Forum but unless you are a woman you may not have heard of CWE The Center for Women & Enterprise.  Both programs support starting up new businesses but CWE’s focus is on supporting and nurturing women entrepreneurs. Best of all they have an office in Worcester.

My husband and I attended the CWE Fundraiser this past spring.  It was an eyeopening and inspiring evening as stories were shared about building purpose and independence through entrepreneurship.  So what is their mission:

CWE’s mission is to empower women to become economically self-sufficient and prosperous through entrepreneurship.

In these challenging economic times many people are turning to entrepreneurship not just as a dream but as a necessity.  Traditional jobs are getting harder to get as more people join the ranks of the unemployed.  If you feel that you want to start your own business but are fuzzy about the idea or don’t think you have the business skills to make it a success CWE provides classes to get you through it.  The classes are economically priced and partial scholarships(some might even be free) are available to those who qualify.

The Worcester office is located at 50 Elm Street on the second floor.  Classes start in September so now is a great time to review the classes and sign up.  CWE has an online registration system but could not find a listing of courses by location like the one I received in their Fall 2009 Programs and Events Calendar.  You might want to call to get that sent to you if you want to see just the courses available in Worcester without having to know them in advance.  The first class is September 10th.  Keep in mind this is the Central Massachusetts Office so you just don’t have to be a Worcester resident to take part in these classes.