Basic Business
The HELP International Basic Business classes are designed to help micro entrepreneurs learn the very basics of how to run and improve their businesses. Through microcredit programs, many of HELP International's partners, give women (mainly) very small loans - anywhere from $100 to $500. These women may sell tortillas from their home, sell fruit or vegetables in the local market, or weave traditional textiles with her daughters and sell them in another village.
HELP volunteers work with these women to teach them simple principles like how to save money, how to budget, how to negotiate for better prices, simple marketing strategies like creating a name and sign for your business, offering your best customers a deal for your goods. Through a simulated business game developed by Making Cents, a for-profit organization out of Washington, D.C., volunteers learn to facilitate and teach groups using participatory methods. The women learn principles in the game and are allowed to make risks and decisions without jeopardizing their financial situation or their families.