Womenâ€™s groups keep focus on education programs

The Women”™s Enterprise Development Center Inc. is looking on the bright side of things where business is concerned.

“We think there is more of a need right now for us, since small business is really the backbone of the economy,” said Persephone Zill, program specialist and business counselor at the White Plains-based WEDC. “We really haven”™t cut back at all in programs ”¦ we”™re actually finding we”™re having more meetings.”

The WEDC said it is dedicated to helping women achieve economic self-sufficiency through entrepreneurship and on Nov. 18 a Women and Money workshop is planned. “Education should become an even higher priority in times like these,” said Shalyn Courtenay, associate at The Cambium Group and program leader. “People are looking for someone to give them the answer, to assure them that everything is going to be okay ”¦it”™s a chance for experienced professionals to share their knowledge and insight at a time when it is needed the most.”

Zill said WEDC programs can assist businesspeople who may have been affected by the economic crisis. “If you”™ve been laid off, these workshops provide the opportunity to renew your skill sets through business training plans.” One such training session is eBay Basics, a crash course in becoming eBay savvy, scheduled for Nov. 20.

In addition to the WEDC, the National Women”™s IN Network (NWIN) is another area professional organization seeking to educate women in business through meetings and workshops. The 13-chapter network is designed to create balance in a woman”™s life, according to Laura Moritz, president of the network and senior loan officer at Classic Mortgage.

“To be successful in business, you have to have balance in your life,” Moritz said. “If you don”™t live a balanced life, a slight shift in the economic climate will wipe you out.”

Combining educational segments in each chapter meeting with hands-on activities such as identity theft sessions led by police officers, Moritz said the NWIN looks to its 20 district leaders to reach out to their particular demographic.

“When you run a chapter, you have to be flexible and always pay attention ”¦things can change very quickly depending on what”™s occurring in the news,” said Lisa Kaslyn, district leader at the Putnam and Northern Westchester NWIN. “Right now, the issue is the economy and so we really try to keep our ear to the ground in planning content and programming to help entrepreneurs.”

Kaslyn said she wanted her chapter”™s Nov. 18 meeting Don”™t Just Survive ”“ Learn How to Thrive in a Tight Economy, to address “rubber meets the road issues” to “find new ways of looking at the economic crisis in terms of kick-starting your business in a shaky time.” For information on upcoming meetings, visit www.wedc-westchester.org or www.nationalwomensinnetwork.com.