Arizona female business owners offered new resource for guidance

Female business owners in Arizona getting help they need during the pandemic

A new resource will soon be available to female business owners in Arizona through the Small Business Administration.

PHOENIX - As local small businesses have struggled this past year, female entrepreneurs have new lifelines in Arizona when it comes to thriving once again.

Across the nation, there are a few dozen Women's Business Centers. They’re designed to help and give guidance to female entrepreneurs to either start or grow a business.

On Jan. 4, the Small Business Administration (SBA) announced it's opening one with Chicanos Por La Causa in Phoenix. It will soon be helping businesses like the one Bridgette Baldwin owns.

She created The Hive Mobile and Event Bartending, and says starting a business can be challenging, so having someone help you get through the process is huge.

The center will offer one-on-one guidance via seminars. It’s all free for businesses, and bilingual services are offered.

"It’s going to be so helpful, even now even though. I guess I could say I’ve established this business. There’s still so many things I could use guidance and help with," Baldwin said.

Amber Cordoba with Chicanos Por La Causa, says of the collaboration, "We have a lot of women, especially that were disproportionately impacted, they had to leave their jobs to stay home and help their kids with schoolwork or be the primary caregiver. So this really opens the opportunity for those women to get the tools and resources they need to create a new career, a new business to support themselves and their family."

Amber Cordoba, who will head the Women’s Business Center inside Chicanos Por La Causa, says their goal this year is to help 1,000 clients.

"It’s that one-on-one coaching, online seminars, everything from how to start a business and different business tips to registering how to be a woman-owned business through the SBA," Cordoba explained.

The Arizona Chamber of Commerce said it's crucial they get this support.

"These small business development centers are so important to help entrepreneurs and upstarts navigate the sometimes thorny bureaucracy of small business," said Garrick Taylor with the Arizona Chamber of Commerce.