Normally held in December, Women Entrepreneurs of Baltimore’s annual graduate business exposition will open this week as a unilateral, local stimulus against a faltering economy.
“We’re very sensitive to the economy,” said WEB Chief Executive Officer Joanne Saltzberg, who cited possible worsening weather as another reason for the early opening. “We really want local people to have low-cost but really lovely options for their holiday gift-giving. And we want to get the message out that, although times are hard economically, entrepreneurship is needed more than ever.”
More ominous still, Saltzberg said that the training and mentoring organization, which has graduated more than 2,000 low-income, mostly female entrepreneurs in its 19-year history, has had to retool plans to expand to Anne Arundel County because of the economic downturn.
Originally scheduled to launch in October, WEB’s six-week entrepreneurship class — its first away from its Baltimore City headquarters — was postponed to January because of what Saltzberg called the recession’s signal, “canary in the coal mine” effect on small business.
“These are low-income people and they’re feeling this downturn, with its skyrocketing prices, more than the rest of the population. So we’ve had to do more groundwork with them,” Saltzberg said.
Saltzberg added that, because of the economy, WEB, which screens applicants for its six- and 12-week, sliding-scale programs, had to help clients more with basic survival needs before funneling them into the work-intense program.
“We work with the whole person,” she said, adding that WEB addresses such needs through partnering service providers.
The annual exposition, which will feature goods and services from 20 graduate entrepreneurs, will run from 3 to 7 p.m. Thursday and is expected bring about 150 people.
“I hope it gets my name out there,” said Kathleen Fritz, graduate-owner of Bead Soup, a Laurel bead store, “because, with everything being so expensive, it’s difficult to advertise.”
“It’s always good to come back to [the] expo,” said Patricia Waiters, owner of A Gift 4 You, a jewelry and handbag business. “The crowd is always good and the atmosphere warm. It’s different than shopping in a mall.”
Shop Spot:
Women Entrepreneurs of Baltimore
1118 Light St # 101
Baltimore, MD 21230
410-727-4921; webinc.org
