The National Association of Women Business Owners-Orange County, an Anaheim-based organization that offers business development programs and information to members, is set to begin its 2013 mentoring program this week.
The program, created 10 years ago, recruits female executives to mentor business owners as part of a nine-month program. It includes meetings of individual mentors and business owners, media workshops, sales training, and guest speakers who talk about different aspects of business.
“The unique thing about this program is the way we match,” said Dee Elliott, vice president and creator of the mentoring program. “I’ve realized that people just throw people together. Our matching program is so structured and so formal.”
Rachel Owens, founder of NAWBO’s Orange County chapter, has been a mentor for the past eight years.
“I have established clients, friends, and have learned about running a better business in the 20 years that we’ve been around,” she said.
More than 300 women in Orange County have gone through the program.
“The program helped me double my business from the previous year with the many workshops we attended, such as focusing on networking, marketing and social media marketing,” said Diana Perna, owner of PK Real Estate in Huntington Beach, who went through the program last year. “NAWBO has given me the tools and resources to grow myself as an individual personally and professionally. It has brought my business to a new level, and has given me new insights on how to be a successful business owner.”
The program also helps some women realize that their current business is not right for them.
The mentoring program is one of the main reasons that female business owners join NAWBO-OC, said Loreen Gilbert, current president of local chapter.
Visit nawbo-oc.org for more information on the mentoring program.
