Gabrielle's Story

Gabrielle was on maternity leave from an engineering firm where her job had been to  provide drafting services. Gabrielle discovered Momentum while researching business plans, as starting her own home based business (doing the same drafting work she did at the engineering firm) was something that Gabrielle had been thinking about very seriously.

After reading more about Momentum, Gabrielle decided to enroll in the Women's Venture Program. "I enjoyed this program," says Gabrielle. "I found the environment of only women to be both comfortable and comforting. I also enjoyed getting together with a group of people who are in a similar situation. In this case, we all had plans to start our own business, so we had lots of things in common to talk about. This was a classroom setting that was very pleasant and nice to be part of."

Gabrielle also enjoyed writing a business plan, which was an ongoing project that stretched across the entire six months of the Women's Venture Program. She also liked how she got to really use her business plan as the course progressed, as it became a kind of touchstone that other exercises in the class needed to be measured against. Even guest speakers were booked around the business plan, as their speaking engagement would coincide with whatever section of their business plan the class happened to be working on. "I also liked how helpful the instructors and facilitators were," says Gabrielle. "They always had time for you and they always seemed to point you in the right direction."

Gabrielle is now in the process of applying for one of Momentum’s Micro Business Loans, which will help her to purchase and upgrade the equipment and software she needs to operate her business from home. "While I enjoyed so many aspects of the Women's Venture Program, I think I was most proud of finally handing in that business plan. It was a huge amount of work, but when I had finally finished it, I realized that I knew every aspect of this business I wanted to start. From the smallest detail, I knew it all. Everything. And I had that business plan to thank. And Momentum, too, of course. But what can I say? Momentum helped my dream come true. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to adequately thank them."