In honor of Black Business Month, HerSuiteSpot, the private network for women of color advancing as entrepreneurs, in partnership with National Grid, one of the largest investor-owned energy companies in the US, today opened applications for New York based small businesses for the HerSuiteSpot ElevateHer Program. Ten regional entrepreneurs will be selected for this first cohort.
HerSuiteSpot’s ElevateHer Program creates opportunities for women of color small business owners to gain a clearer understanding of their ideal customer, grow their business in the digital marketplace, develop a successful marketing strategy and receive funding. Each company accepted into the program will receive a $1,500 grant!
To qualify for the program, business owners must:
- Identify as a woman
- Identify as a woman of color
- Be 18 years of age or older
- Have a business registered for at least two year in New York State
- Business is 51% owned by women of color
- Already have a technology component incorporated in their business (i.e. website)
- Generate a maximum of $100,000 annual business revenue
Business owners will have the opportunity to focus on business fundamentals, marketing strategies and business financial literacy. Workshops will be facilitated by HerSuiteSpot founder Marsha Guerrier along with mentors, guest speakers and advisors that support HerSuiteSpot’s ElevateHer Program. The program will provide technical guidance for small businesses to prepare them to scale their business in their local communities.
“For women of color small businesses focused on solving problems that impact their communities, there is limited access to funding and support, especially for early-stage businesses. This program fills that gap,” says Marsha Guerrier, Founder & CEO of HerSuiteSpot. “The programming for the ElevateHer Program will be delivered virtually with live workshops along with coaching sessions and online classes adopted from the HerSuiteSpot digital platform with experts in areas of Mindset, Money, Marketing and Media, the HerSuiteSpot 4 Pillars of Business Success.”
Applications open today for the first ElevateHer Program, with the program kicking off in September for six-weeks for New York based startups. After successfully completing the ElevateHer Program, the participants will receive an equity free grant of $1,500, guidance and resources through the HerSuiteSpot community with a one-year membership to the HerSuiteSpot platform. All eligible businesses should submit applications until Friday September 2, 2022 11:59PM EST at www.hersuitespot.com/elevateher/
“We are proud to continue our support of HerSuiteSpot by sponsoring the new ElevateHer program, which will give women of color who are small business owners the edge they need in today’s competitive marketplace,” said Melanie Littlejohn, Vice President of Customer and Community Management for National Grid. “Through our Project C initiative, this is one example of how we are supporting communities by empowering women of color to thrive by giving them the tools they need to be successful.”
ABOUT HERSUITESPOT
HerSuiteSpot is a digital platform and private network for women of color advancing as leaders and entrepreneurs. created for women of color by women of color we provide women and girls with the resources they need to advance their economic success. HerSuiteSpot empowers these entrepreneurs to achieve business success through connection, community, coaching and capital with their 4 pillars of success, mindset, money, marketing and media.
ABOUT NATIONAL GRID
National Grid is an electricity, natural gas, and clean energy delivery company serving more than 20 million people through our networks in New York and Massachusetts. National Grid is focused on building a path to a more affordable, reliable clean energy future through our fossil-free vision. National Grid is transforming our electricity and natural gas networks with smarter, cleaner, and more resilient energy solutions to meet the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
For more information, please visit our website, follow us on Twitter, watch us on YouTube, like us on Facebook and find our photos on Instagram.
SOURCE/CREDITS: HerSuiteSpot
