Business & Economy

WISE Women’s Business Center relocates to Syracuse’s Tech Garden

Monday, November 5, 2012, By Lindsay Wickham

Ribbon-cutting to be held Nov. 8

The WISE Women’s Business Center has announced the relocation of its main office to the Tech Garden in downtown Syracuse. A ribbon-cutting, to celebrate a heightened awareness for women’s entrepreneurship in Central New York, will be held at the Tech Garden on Thursday, Nov. 8, at 3:30 p.m. Dean Melvin Stith of the Whitman School, Robert Simpson of CenterState CEO and BJ Paprocki of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) are slated to attend and give remarks.

The WISE Women’s Business Center, an outreach program of the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University, features year-round training programs targeting women entrepreneurs at various stages of entrepreneurial development. The center’s relocation to downtown Syracuse will enable it to expand and better serve aspiring women entrepreneurs from across the Central New York region. The center’s former home, the South Side Innovation Center, will continue to serve WISE clients as well.

“We invite all women entrepreneurs and any community members interested in business to stop by and see what the WISE Women’s Business Center is all about,” says Joanne Lenweaver, director of the WISE Women’s Business Center. “WISE offers its own special mix of SBA resources and Whitman’s academic knowledge here for any woman interested in exploring self-employment or striving to build a growing enterprise.”

All of the center’s staff phone numbers and e-mail addresses will remain unchanged. To make an appointment or reach the main office, call 315-443-8634 or e-mail wisewbc@syr.edu.

Since its inception in 2006, the WISE Women’s Business Center, one of more than 100 U.S. SBA-sponsored women’s business centers nationwide, has counseled more than 270 aspiring and growth entrepreneurs each year. In addition to business roundtable discussions and year-round programming for entrepreneurs, the center also provides periodic workshops and special entrepreneurial events that offer important opportunities for learning, networking and mentoring. The center provides information, resources and support for women entrepreneurs, enabling each to successfully advance their businesses to the next stage of profitability and success. The WISE Women’s Business Center strives to create a thriving community of women entrepreneurs in Syracuse and Onondaga County one venture at a time. For more information, visit wisecenter.org.