Starting your business:
Warm Springs tribal and community members interested in starting or running a small business can learn business concepts through our Indianpreneurship: A Native American Journey into Business course. This training course, comprised of ten 2-hour sessions, is a creation of ONABEN, a national 501(c)3 organization created in 1991 by four Oregon tribes to encourage the development of a private sector on their reservations. The course provides comprehensive information on business planning, access to capital, basic bookkeeping, human resources, problem solving, and marketing a small business. WSCAT provides this course in partnership with Warm Springs Tribal Credit Enterprise and SCORE Central Oregon.
During the course, you’ll have the opportunity to develop a complete business plan and conceptualize and put into practice your business ideas. Since we began delivering this rigorous course in late 2013, 176 community members have attended the course, with 125 graduating.
The Indianpreneurship: A Native American Journey into Business course book, a $60 value, is provided for free to each course participant. Free meals are provided at each session, and all instruction is also provided at no cost to participants. To enroll in the next Indianpreneurship course, or to learn more, please contact the WSCAT office at 541-553-3148.
Growing your business:
WSCAT also intends to begin providing an advanced Indianpreneurship course, called Indianpreneurship: Growing a Business In Indian Country, in partnership with ONABEN. This is an intensive 2 year business development training course for established Native American business owners and tribal enterprise managers. It focuses on building advanced business skills and uses a peer-mentoring model of learning. Graduates of this class will be equipped to grow their enterprise by improving their knowledge and skills in strategic business planning, financial analysis and marketing. Please contact our office at 541-553-3148 for more information on this course.
Hiring Employees:
In 2018, WSCAT began offering a new take-home course for business owners interested in learning more about hiring employees. The course covers information from Indianpreneurship: Growing a Business In Indian Country and allows clients to research business practices in Oregon. Clients not only learn legal requirements of hiring employees, but are able to determine what strategies work best for them and their business culture.