About The Women and Mom's Entrepreneurship Network

Advancing economic equity for black and brown women owned businesses benefits the greater society, everywhere. History has taught us that women are the matriarchs behind so many advances in our world, yet too often face insurmountable challenges as compared to their male counterparts. Women leaders shape the world and are not allotted the funding or praise they deserve all too often. Ultimately, Sherman Phoenix was established with a goal of serving as an entrepreneurial hub and market for the city of Milwaukee. This goal cannot be achieved without recognizing and highlighting the unique challenges that women face when seeking to advance as entrepreneurs or mom-preneurs and then empowering these women to offer a counter-narrative. We seek to serve as a facilitator of creating a community of women that uplift, inspire, and educate, mentor, and empower one another.

While creating a safe space for women entrepreneurs and mom-preneurs across the Greater Milwaukee area, this program and its facilitated events seek to empower women, ignite their entrepreneurial spirits, and lead to their self-sufficiency. This program will change attitudes of what is possible for women entrepreneurs/mom-preneurs and create community for those who have been navigating these spaces alone. A later goal would be to create a co-working space inside of The Sherman Phoenix Marketplace to offer a haven for the advancement of all those that patronize its services with regular events hosted by the program participants and local woman entrepreneurs.

There is an African proverb that reads, “If you educate a man, you educate an individual. But if you educate a woman, you educate a nation.”

As part of the Phoenix Rising Entrepreneurial Program, greater Milwaukee BIPOC women and mom entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners will receive wraparound support and engagement via face-to-face, hybrid, and online engagement. We propose to offer services to the busy woman or mom entrepreneur who may not believe they have time to receive support because of their schedule via our Entrepreneurial Help Desk. The online platform gives entrepreneurs access to Subject Matter Experts and small business consultants free of charge that can meet with them face to face or virtually. We will also host a traditional and hybrid Community Business Academy to start up entrepreneurs that will offer a 12-week course with hands-on training in business planning and management, business acceleration services, and credit to capital counseling. The final addition to this program would be to have a seed fund in which applicants can apply for funds to assist with the startup costs for their business.

Visit The Sherman Phoenix Foundation to learn more! >>