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Our country is in an economic crisis, Cathy Daniels Lee said.
“I believe women can play a major role in turning the economy around through entrepreneurship.”

Lee leads Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership and Learning and is program coordinator for Greensboro’s Nussbaum Center.

Most of the women attending WELL workshops want to establish their own businesses. The usual age range is 35 to 55.
Some women enrolled are in college; others are retired but interested in new business ventures. WELL workshops are free and open to women and men.

“WELL tries to meet women where they are,” Lee said.
Some women have established businesses and need help expanding their market. Others are thinking about starting a business and need help with research.

Still other women have lost their jobs and want side businesses until they can secure full-time employment.

“Last year, there were so many women who shared stories about losing jobs,” she said. “We had toys and children’s books donated to help the ladies with young children during the Christmas holidays.”

Answering the question, “Who is your customer?” is perhaps the greatest obstacle a woman faces in trying to establish her own business, she said.

“It helps tremendously if she can really zero in on her niche, thus spend her marketing dollars wisely.”

Women face challenges with obtaining financing and finding enough hours in the day to do it all, especially with family responsibilities.

WELL was established in 2008 when the Nussbaum Center hosted a conference for female entrepreneurs.

More than 150 women attended the conference and expressed an interest in attending ongoing activities.

Free monthly workshops proved successful, and the women named their group meeting Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership and Learning.

WELL’s purpose is to provide entrepreneurial education on the five business foundations: human resources, information technology, accounting, legal and marketing.

During WELL’s first year, Lee realized the women needed to be exposed to more technology.

Free webinars — seminars on the Internet — were launched.
“Webinars provide an excellent opportunity for the ladies to experience more information through technology,” Lee said.
She encourages interested women to call her for a demonstration of how webinars work.

Interested women may register for the webinar on the Nussbaum Center’s Web site.

In April, WELL will start experimenting with creating and posting two- to three-minute informational videos online to expose more people to technology and promote their businesses.

Lee has been with the Nussbaum Center for two years and coordinates and hosts workshops in Greensboro and surrounding counties to educate entrepreneurs.

She also is a community liaison to high schools, colleges, and youth groups interested in entrepreneurship.

In that role, she works with the Guilford Education Alliance’s Engineering Connections program to help recruit engineers to visit local high schools and share knowledge about their fields.

She serves on an advisory board with Bennett College’s Students in Free Enterprise organization.

She is excited about a virtual internship program she launched with Professor Tammy McNeil Rankin’s public relations class at Bennett College, which enables college students to write articles for the WELL newsletter.

She said one of the first questions students asked was whether they would be paid for the articles. She is looking for a grant to fund a stipend for these students.

Lee also coordinates and hosts WELL workshops, creates and distributes fliers, seeks sponsors for the workshops and conducts one-on-one sessions with women to connect them to resources needed to grow their businesses.

“Through Cathy and WELL Women, I have grown in confidence and have a business plan in place with a marketing strategy of how to achieve my goals and dreams,” wrote Simply Sue Falcone, a local author and inspirational/motivational speaker.

Linda Hargrove, owner of 1721 Media, called WELL “an excellent place to interact with like-minded business women in the Triad. The seminars and webinars offered through the Nussbaum Center have helped me make business more efficient and effective in today’s marketplace.”

To suggest a person or organization who is “Making a Difference” in Guilford County, contact Peggy Longmire at rlongmire@triad.rr.com or 288-9040.