Women's Entrepreneurial Fellowship

Cohort Session: Lifeboat Method
2025-12-10 12:00 - 14:00 (America/Detroit) | MI
Location
Virtual Session, WEF Learning Hub
Instructor
David Rhoa
Principal, D2R Consulting
What to Expect
This event is exclusively for members of the 2025-2026 Cohort.
Navigate disruption without sacrificing everything you’ve built. You’ll learn to identify essential assets, pressure-test assumptions, and make choices that keep your business nimble when others freeze. We’ll equip you to recognize early warning signs and create actionable strategies that protect resources during uncertainty.

Cohort Session: Operations for Growth
2026-01-14 12:00 - 16:30 | SBAM Offices, 101 S. Washington Square Suite 900, Lansing, MI, 48933, United States
Location
SBAM Office
101 S Washington Square #900
Lansing, MI 48933
Instructor
Jennifer Jurgens
CEO/Founder, 1 Bold Step
What to Expect
This event is exclusively for members of the 2025-2026 Cohort.
As businesses grow, maintaining operational efficiency becomes increasingly complex, especially when you’re uncertain which activities will impact your bottom line the most. This course focuses on identifying the true constraints to growth, streamlining processes, and integrating technology to support your expanding operations.

Public Happy Hour and Networking
2026-01-14 16:30 - 18:00, 2026-05-20 16:30 - 18:00, 2026-06-16 16:30 - 18:00 | MI
Location
SBAM Office
101 S Washington Square #900
Lansing, MI 48933
What to Expect
Join the Fellowship from 4:30 – 6:00 p.m. for happy hour and networking. This part of the program is open to anyone who would like to attend.
RSVP
Email Maddie at maddie@sbamwef.org to RSVP.

Cohort Session: Strong Teams
2026-02-17 13:00 - 17:00 | MI
Location
Virtual, WEF Learning Hub
Instructor
Lisa Cooper
Founder & Chief People Officer at Cooper People Group
Speaker
Kim Bode
CEO/President, 8THIRTYFOUR Integrated Communications (Fellowship Director)
What to Expect
This event is exclusively for members of the 2025-2026 Cohort.
You don’t just need employees, you need the right people in the right roles—and the leadership to bring them together. Learn how to build systems that keep great people, while developing supportive leadership and open communication. Rethink soft skills as essential skills that shape your culture and drive results, turning individual talent into team success.

Cohort Session: Your Next Chapter
2026-04-29 12:00 - 16:30 | 8THIRTYFOUR Learning Hub, 1365 Plainfield Ave NE, Grand Rapids, 49505, United States
Location
8THIRTYFOUR Learning Hub
1365 Plainfield Ave NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49506
Instructor
Mindy Earley
What to Expect
This event is exclusively for members of the 2025-2026 Cohort.
As a successful female business owner, you constantly balance short-term needs with longer-term planning. This session will focus on key questions to discuss when considering transition and succession plans. Starting early and maintaining clear communication will make the process feel less overwhelming. We’ll discuss topics like: your long-term plans for the business, key members of the transition plan, the emotional element of a business transition and the business legacy.

Public Happy Hour and Networking
2026-04-29 16:30 - 18:00 | 8THIRTYFOUR Learning Hub, 1365 Plainfield Ave NE, Grand Rapids, 49505, United States
Location
8THIRTYFOUR Learning Hub
1365 Plainfield Ave NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49506
What to Expect
Join the Fellowship from 4:30 – 6:00 p.m. for happy hour and networking. This part of the program is open to anyone who would like to attend.
RSVP
Email Maddie at maddie@sbamwef.org to RSVP.

Cohort Session: Build with Purpose
2026-05-20 12:00 - 16:30 | SBAM Offices, 101 S. Washington Square Suite 900, Lansing, MI, 48933, United States
Location
SBAM Office
101 S Washington Square #900
Lansing, MI 48933
Instructor
Erick Stewart
CEO, LAGNIAPPE Strategic Consulting
What to Expect
This event is exclusively for members of the 2025-2026 Cohort.
Our time will explore the entrepreneurial journey beginning with the Catalytic moment that called you to be an entrepreneur, or your “why”. This sets up our immersion into our core values, where they come from, and how as a leader they roll up into building your business culture, personal boundaries, active decision making and strategic direction for your business and “you” the entrepreneur. We will also immerse participants into the connections between navigating core values with external forces – economic, policy, personal, and strategic. Resources prep will set the stage for our journey.

Cohort Session: Present Your Shift
2026-06-16 12:00 - 16:30 | SBAM Offices, 101 S. Washington Square Suite 900, Lansing, MI, 48933, United States
Location
SBAM Office
101 S Washington Square #900
Lansing, MI 48933
Instructor
Kim Bode
CEO/President, 8THIRTYFOUR Integrated Communications (Fellowship Director)
Speakers
2025-26 Cohort
What to Expect
This event is exclusively for members of the 2025-2026 Cohort.
Present your 10-Year to your peers, demonstrating how your perspective has shifted and what you’ll carry forward. This is the culmination of nine months of work focused on clarity, courage, and commitment to building the business you want.
Tell the story of how your thinking has shifted. Name the operational, leadership, or financial changes you’ve already made. List three commitments for the next ninety days to carry your plan forward.
