Women in Austin

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.

Many organizations in Austin are hosting a variety of free events for National Small Business Week, which is May 5 - May 11, 2019. Here are our top events to attend for women entrepreneurs.

The Women's Business Council - Southwest hosted its first event of the year, Woman Entrepreneur's Exchange, in Austin, TX. The new format featured the opportunity for attendees to sit down with knowledgable WBEs for 15-minute speed networking sessions to learn more about WBE certification and each of the mentors' areas of expertise.

Global Entrepreneurship Week will be held November 13-17, 2018. The City of Austin's Global Business Expansion Department is teaming up with several organizations around the city to bring entrepreneurs panels, workshops, networking, and sessions all focused on expanding your business internationally.

The Woman's Business Council- Southwest is excited to announce the 2018 Austin Insights keynote speaker, Stephanie Breedlove. Breedlove is the co-founder of Care.com HomePay, formerly known as Breedlove & Associates.

The Women's Business Council- Southwest recently hosted Woman Entrepreneur's Exchange at Dell Technologies' campus in Austin. The event featured a panel of certified Women Business Enterprises (WBE) and a Sustaining (Corporate) Member, all with different perspectives on utilizing WBE certification.

Capital Metro invites you to an excellent networking opportunity to meet with prime contractors, sub-contractors, project managers, and procurement staff for their upcoming upcoming Fixed Route Service and DT Station Construction projects.

The Women's Business Counci l- Southwest kicked off our 2018 Austin programming with Women Entrepreneur's Exchange. Local business owners gathered at the offices of VMware to hear a panel of Sustaining (Corporate) Members answer questions about their supplier diversity programs and procurement processes. Photo courtesy of Demand Lighting The panel featured supplier diversity professionals from Capital Metro , Dell Technologies , Pearson , and VMware . Some tips from the panel included: Register as a vendor with Capital Metro and become familiar with their DBE program. Learn more here . Stay

Congratulations to René Banglesdorf, CEO of Charlie Bravo Aviation and Valerie Salinas-Davis, CEO of EnviroMedia ! Both WBCS members were nominated for Austin Business Journal's 23rd annual Profiles in Power & Women of Influence in Central Texas. 85 professional women were nominated for the award, many of which are entrepreneurs. René Banglesdorf was recognized as one of the top 26 finalists for the Profiles in Power distinction. See the full list of finalists and winners here .

“The opportunities that WBENC presents are many – opportunity for personal growth, mentorship, comradery, inspiration, to practice persistence and patience and lastly, the opportunity to get a corporate contract.” Marie McGrath is the CEO of Demand Lighting. Since she joined the Women's Business Council- Southwest in 2014, Marie hit the ground running by developing relationships with fellow WBEs and Sustaining members alike. Demand Lighting has benefited from the network Marie has grown through the Council. Marie sits on the Austin Committee and won Regional Volunteer of the Year at the 2017