“It’s free and the first class of 200 students will work directly with Cornell professors where there will be a variety of course work, including how to better negotiate, how to better position a brand and how to develop skills to access capital,” said Jill Calabrese Bain, managing director and head of small business for Bank of America.
In addition to securing capital, another challenge that women entrepreneurs face is balancing personal investing with business goals.
“Start with a life plan not just for your business but for your life,” Miller said.
For example, Centeno’s life plan includes two children and a team of eight people who work on her e-commerce business providing holistic wellness solutions for professional men and women.
“My goals are about preserving the connection to my mission so that I serve the community, my family and the business,” said Centeno.
Life plans help financial services professionals to have deeper, more robust conversations with clients in order to meet their needs more effectively, according to Don Vecchiarello, a Bank of America spokesperson who attended the event.
“A financial plan is part of that process but a life plan tries to go beyond to ensure that we are looking at all of someone’s needs, which can change depending on the different stages of their lives,” Vecchiarello told Financial Advisor.
Gentry, for example, launched her first business called Glow Global Events twenty years ago because she wanted to bring her baby to work in a playpen.
“My employer at the time did not have a family leave program,” Gentry said. “Now, my business has an office in Washington D.C. so that I can care for my aging parents.”