REI Women’s Business Center (WBC) is celebrating a milestone of assisting more than 20,000 entrepreneurs with training, workshops, business counseling and networking opportunities in its 11-year history.
REI Oklahoma’s WBC is the only one in the state and is the result of a cooperative agreement with the SBA Office of Women’s Business Ownership. Its mission is to assist women entrepreneurs and small businesses wanting to explore the opportunities of starting or expanding a business. WBC services are available from three locations, Durant, Oklahoma City and Tulsa.
Some of the most popular workshops include QuickBooks, iPad and iPhone training, Pinterest, website development, business plan development, access to financing, social media bootcamp, marketing and personal development. Special networking events and expos allowing businesses to showcase their products and services and are value-added benefits to WBC services.
Clients of the WBC are very diversified and range from a business specializing in forensic accounting to retail shops, a fitness center, wedding chapel, a non-traditional tutoring and learning center to a business marketing pre-packaged rendered bacon grease.
When Jan Laub needed bacon grease for a recipe she was making, she didn’t want to buy a whole pound of bacon and fry it. That motivated her to begin research on how to produce a pre-packaged, quality rendered bacon product and one of the first connections she made was with REI Women’s Business Center. She received assistance with her business plan, attended workshops, networked and was put in touch with Oklahoma State University’s Food & Agricultural Products Center. You will now find Granny’s Good Ol’Fashion Bacon Drippings in several Oklahoma grocery stores.
WBC clients can usually find a workshop close to home because the WBC staff travels the state to assure that all small businesses have easy access to the training they need. “Entrepreneurs don’t have to spend a lot of time away from their businesses and our affordable fees make it possible for them to attend multiple workshops,” Dr. Barbara Rackley, Program Manager said. “We also welcome the opportunity to personally visit and counsel with clients to provide them with resources that will help them further develop their business.”