Austin is full of free and low-cost resources for small business owners. The Women's Business Council - Southwest encourages business owners to take advantage of the educational and financial opportunities offered by our community partners.
Education
Austin Community College's Skills for Small Business Program
Austin Community College offers a dynamic way for small businesses to train employees by funding $1,450 of tuition and fees per new hire. Courses are chosen by the employee and employer and include any active course catalog for a public community college, technical college, or TX Engineering Extension Service. There are many corporate training classes available in ACC's Continuing Education Dept. You must submit application for this program within three months of the employee's hiring to qualify.
Forté Foundation MBA Assistance
The Forté Foundation offers financial assistance to women pursuing full-time, part-time, or executive MBA education through the Forté Fellowship. This competitive fellowship is only open to those who have been offered admission to one of their many participating schools. The Foundation also offers help to pre-MBA's by offering assistance with the application process, financing, and GMAT prep.
Free Business Consulting
There are several organizations in Austin which offer free business consulting in multiple areas including: business growth, management, and operations, developing marketing plans, finance, and accounting.
- BiGAustin's Women's Biz Inc.
- Economic Growth Business Incubator
- SCORE
- TX State University Small Business Development Center
Access to Capital
Business Community Lender's Small and Diverse Growth Fund
A loan of up to $50,000 specifically for women and minority owned businesses which offers more flexible underwriting and collateral requirements than traditional lending options.
Peoplefund's Capital for Women
This on-going program in partnership with the Bank of America and the Tory Burch Foundation Capital Program, offers a 2% interest rate reduction for all loans to women-owned business of $100,000 or less.
