By Rachel Peterson
Livelihood NW, a business support organization focused on fostering new businesses, recently opened the Oregon Women’s Business Center (OWBC) to provide additional services to women business owners in the Oregon and SW Washington area. The US Small Business Administration (SBA) announced the center’s formation in March of 2024, and the OWBC officially opened last October.
The OWBC is part of a larger national network of entrepreneurship centers designed to assist women in starting and growing new businesses. Out of the 17 centers announced in 2024 by the SBA, the OWBC is the only WBC in Oregon. When the previous contract was dropped and a new request for proposal was issued, Livelihood NW saw a strong connection.
“At the time that we applied, of our long term support clients, 78 percent of those businesses were women owned,” said Emily Galash, Director of Marketing at Livelihood NW. “To us, we felt like there was some strong alignment.”
When it comes to entrepreneurship, women and marginalized communities disproportionately do not succeed in comparison to other groups. The goal of OWBC is to extend the resources that its sister company Livelihood NW provides to more specific groups of business owners.
This emphasis on supporting women entrepreneurs aligns with Livelihood NW’s broader mission to serve marginalized business owners in the Northwest. Since its founding in 2019, its impact has steadily expanded, serving over 600 entrepreneurs in 2023 and increasing to 725 in 2024. The launch of OWBC has grown Livelihood NW’s capacity to serve an additional 200 businesses.
“Beyond specific business tactics, their reliable business and emotional support stands out,” says Jolma, founder of Azma Superfoods. “Their guidance has been invaluable, from developing our initial social media plan and launching our first Google Ads campaign to refining our sales strategy.” With the help of Livelihood NW, Jolma was able to start her Tibetan food business in 2023.
OWBC’s baseline services include courses, workshops, consultations and additional opportunities for business owners to develop their skills. Along with the technical support, business owners can also receive connections to other new business owners.
“Some people are looking for a connection,” says Galash. “They want to meet up and connect and talk to other business owners about their experience and problems that they’ve had.” With the addition of the OWBC, women business owners can find connections with other women business owners in the same situations as them.
Alexa Coburn, founder and CEO of Stemly Tutoring, commented, “Having a supportive network of fellow women business owners is a game changer. You don’t have to do this alone, and being part of a group like OWBC can make all the difference.” In 2021, Coburn founded her tutoring company Stemly with the help of Livelihood NW, and joined OWBC when it was established.
The expectations and deadlines that new business support centers have to meet will take time to adjust to. However, with their capacity to assist businesses newly increased, OWBC has set several goals and aims to become a go-to resource for anyone looking to start a business in Oregon. In their first year, they hope to assist 200 businesses, scaling to 275 in year two, and continuing this growth into the following years.