TEXAS, USA — The Texas Governor's Commission for Women partnered with the Beacon State Fund to offer a two-fold opportunity to women-owned businesses.
"I have been here eight years," said Sandra Clark, the owner of Sandi's Diner in Corpus Christi. "It started out '50s, '60s diner, but I'm a '70s girl so it got carried into the '70s."
Clark is a 40-year waitress who has been weathering the storms, including the coronavirus pandemic.
"Since COVID, I've been broken into four times," she said. "I lost TV's, computers, money, everything."
Like many business owners during the pandemic, Clark said new challenges seem to arise everyday. That is why when she found out about the commission for women's project, she knew she had to get involved.
"There's two things, there's a webinar and there's a pitch competition," said Laura Young, a commissioner for the organization. "The pitch competition is really an exciting bonus opportunity for some worthy women's business to earn $7,500."
Young said the organization has been around since 1967. It provides resources, services and economic opportunities for women.
"To expose them to more access to marketing, to funding, to e-commerce, to all sorts of business resources that they might not otherwise know are available," said Young.
The webinar series is available to all women entrepreneurs for free. However, only one woman business leader from each region of the state can win the award from the pitch competition.
"To win $7,500 just for being a female entrepreneur and doing what I do every day would be amazing and it would go back into the diner and help in any little way," said Clark.
Local business women like Clark said the award and webinar could be just what she needed after a difficult time.
"The only reason I'm still here is by the grace of God and God takes good care of me," said Clark.
You can sign up for the pitch competition here.
You can sign up for the webinar series here.
For the latest updates on coronavirus in the Coastal Bend, click here.
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