Self-employment training is a 14-week “very intensive” program. “About 75 percent of participants are interested in starting their own business, with the balance wanting to improve their business…about 80 percent of those who have a business” see their enterprise grow within six months of completing the program, said Schnopp. There are several program graduates in Santa Paula, a community “WEV is happy to help.”Santa Barbara Bank & Trust Vice President Don Tello, a member of the WEV Advisory Board, thanked the city “for the commitment it has made to WEV” through CDBG grants. “WEV has received funds from Santa Paula for the last two years,” that have helped get businesses started or grow and stimulated the economy, Tello noted. “Roughly three out of four businesses in the United States are started by women,” and Ventura County has a high rate of such entrepreneurs who are WEV graduates, he added.WEV will have a Spanish-language orientation on the Self-Employment Training program on January 13 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Santa Paula Community Center. A presentation on the same program in English will be held on January 20, from 6 to 7 p.m., also at the Santa Paula Community Center. WEV can be reached at 987-2296.
WEV: Council learns of Self-Employment Training program
January 12, 2005
Santa Paula City Council
WEV (Women’s Economic Ventures) wants more Santa Paulans to build or start their own business, the City Council learned at the January 3 meeting.
By Peggy KellySanta Paula TimesWEV (Women’s Economic Ventures) wants more Santa Paulans to build or start their own business, the City Council learned at the January 3 meeting. WEV Regional Manager Sylvia Munoz Schnopp told the council that WEV is “dedicated to helping women to become economically self-sufficient,” with programs that have been supported by the city through Community Development Block Grant funding.WEV offers self-employment and career development programs and funding opportunities for graduates who meet goals such as creating a business plan. A series of orientations are being presented in Santa Paula to explain WEV programs, which also offer scholarships to lower-income participants. Program classes are offered in English and Spanish and are open to all interested in starting or building a business, male and female, noted Schnopp.
