Fortunately, there is a wealth of resources available to help Canadian women entrepreneurs deal with these challenges, and many of these resources are now available online. The Internet is an astonishing business tool, and more women than ever are taking advantage of its possibilities to find information, business tools, and reach out to other business women.
The government of Canada has long been a stellar supporter of women in business. My article, Small Business Loans in Canada: For Women Only presents some of the small business loans and support programs that are designed to help women meet the challenge of financing their businesses. You'll find more financial information in the Small Business Financing section of this site, including information on small business grants that eligible women may apply for.
Women who are considering expanding their markets will be impressed with DFAIT's Businesswomen in Trade web site for women exporters. It's not only easy to use, but provides a wealth of practical information on doing business at home and abroad.
As for networking, business women are reaching out to one another over the net as never before, at national, provincial and local levels.
Women entrepreneurs running knowledge-based businesses will find these sites particularly interesting:
WiredWoman.com is a Canadian site devoted to encouraging the growth and development of women in IT (Information Technology). Wired Woman provides networking opportunities, career resources, role-modeling and mentoring for its members, among other services, and has chapters in Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Ottawa, and Toronto. All women are welcome to join.
Canadian Women in Communications is a national, bilingual, not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting the advancement of women in the communications field. It offers support services such as mentoring, a job bank, networking, education, and information.
HighTech Women is a British site dedicated to facilitating the advancement of women in technology and technology related fields. It offers mentoring, networking, encouragement and information.
Continue on to the next page to read about more resources for business women.
