SAN DIEGO — The San Diego & Imperial Women’s Business Center, an organization that provides training, mentoring, and financing opportunities to area small businesses and entrepreneurs, has been a vital force in combating an issue that affects all San Diego families: the shortage of quality and affordable childcare.
San Diego is an officially designated “childcare desert,” with 3,000 children currently on waitlists, but The San Diego & Imperial WBC, led by Regional Director Katty Ibarra, aims to address this problem by supporting and educating new childcare providers. Says Ibarra, “We are dedicated to equipping women with the skills and resources to establish home-based childcare businesses to better support their families and assist their community.”
The WBC, hosted by Southwestern Community College, serves many Hispanic and low-income members of the San Diego community, empowering all in their journey to creating successful small businesses. To that end, it has partnered with the Chicano Federation to offer the Family Childcare In-Home Business Program to Spanish speakers interested in starting a childcare business. Ibarra explains, “This eight-week program guides participants through technology literacy, state licensing requirements, including business structures, contracts, insurance, marketing, finance, and certification acquisition. We plan to offer this program in four cohorts annually, while the intensive financial class will serve existing childcare providers.”
Little Hands Bilingual Education, a thriving San Diego preschool, is a testament to what the WBC’s programs can achieve. The preschool’s founder, Laura Leree, completed a course at the Center on how to start a family child care business, and the finance-intensive class helped her secure funding. She credits the WBC with helping to launch her business, saying, “My fourteen [student] families – moms, dads, and little ones ranging from seventeen months to five years old – will be very happy, and that’s all thanks to Women’s Business Center of San Diego, and Katty Ibarra for being a person with a big humanistic heart.”
Since its founding in 2018, the San Diego & Imperial Women’s Business Center has served over 3,200 clients, hosted over 650 training sessions, and created/retained over 6000 jobs in the San Diego community.
The 2024 total impact of the 10 Network WBCs that provide assistance to childcare business entrepreneurs includes 5,106 total childcare slots created, up 50% from 2023; 1,176 Childcare Entrepreneurs Received Assistance to Start Childcare Businesses; and 550 New or Expanding Childcare Businesses Assisted, up 25% from previous year. View the entire 2024 WBC Childcare Impact Report.
In their latest total Impact Report, the Women’s Business Center Network tallied 14,000 California businesses that they have served, with a remarkable return on their investment: a 21% increase in jobs created and retained (26,761 total), a 36% rise in gross sales revenue ($525 million), and $785.5 million reinvested into local economies. For every $1 of funding received, the WBC Network generated an impressive $79 in local economic benefits.
The California WBC Network continues to be at the forefront of fostering an inclusive business environment where women entrepreneurs thrive. In their mission to create opportunities for growth and success for the talented and innovative entrepreneurs of California, the Network works closely with both legislative leaders and the communities they serve. Visit californiawbc.org.
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