Orientation sessions set for self-employment classes

Orientation sessions will start Jan. 12 and continue through Feb. 3 for the Women’s Economic Ventures intensive Self-Employment Training Program classes, which will start in February.

The program and the orientation sessions are offered in both English and Spanish, and orientations are planned in Solvang, Guadalupe and Santa Maria.

The orientation sessions are required to enroll in WEV’s comprehensive 14-week, 56-hour program that provides guidance on how to start, operate or expand a business.

Although the course targets women, it also serves men. Participants leave the course with a complete business plan, including a marketing plan, a cash flow projection, an operations plan and a core network to help sustain the business.

Topics include finances, marketing and sales, public relations and advertising, legal and insurance issues, record keeping and how to write a business plan.

More than 1,000 businesses throughout Santa Barbara and Ventura counties are owned and operated by graduates of WEV’s training program or by recipients of small business loans obtained through WEV.

The Self-Employment Training course runs for 14 consecutive weeks, with three-hour classes held one night a week along with two full-day Saturday classes.

Orientation locations, languages, times and dates are:
—  Solvang — English: noon to 1 p.m. Jan. 13 and 19
—  Guadalupe — English: 6 to 7 p.m. Jan. 12 and 20; Spanish: 7 to 7:30 p.m., Jan. 12 and 20
—  Santa Maria — English: 6 to 7 p.m. Jan. 13 and Feb. 3, noon to 1 p.m. Jan. 20 and 27; Spanish: 7 to 8 p.m. Jan. 13 and Feb. 3

For more information or to sign up for an orientation session, call 965-6073 or visit www.wevonline.org.