SACRAMENTO, CA | Yesterday, the California Capital Women’s Business Center (WBC) had the honor of hosting California First Partner, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, for a luncheon honoring California’s women entrepreneurs.
Presented in partnership with the California Office of the Small Business Advocate (also known as CalOSBA, part of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development) with sponsorship from U.S. Bank, the event sought to highlight the unique contributions of women business owners to the economy and their communities.
“Women-owned businesses are vital to our communities, as women tend to lead with our values, considering not only our own bottom lines, but the success of our communities,” said the First Partner in a statement on her Instagram page following the event.
Following remarks from WBC Director Sophia Kanaan, California State Senator Nancy Skinner, who also chairs the Legislative Women’s Caucus, and Director Tara Lynn Gray of CalOSBA, the business owners and state representatives from a variety of agencies participated in a roundtable discussion where they shared their perspectives, challenges, and hopes for the future of their business.
The entrepreneurs in attendance have worked with the California Capital WBC to launch, sustain, and/or grow their businesses. The industries they represented showcased the diversity of California’s small business ecosystem: businesses owners joined from spaces including childcare and early childhood education, cosmetology, artisan goods, hospitality, consumer packaged goods, and more.
“Hearing [the First Partner] speak today, validating all of our speed bumps and achievements as an entrepreneur herself, gave myself if not all of us, the little extra push we needed to keep going,” said Charone DeShazier, owner of Enorah Jewelry and one of the entrepreneurs in attendance.
As the California Capital Women’s Business Center continues to grow their innovative training and networking programs, their clientele will continue to thrive and access new opportunities.
