{"id":200825,"date":"2026-03-21T23:07:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T23:07:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/200825\/"},"modified":"2026-03-21T23:07:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T23:07:07","slug":"women-business-owners-in-orlando-find-support","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/200825\/","title":{"rendered":"Women business owners in Orlando find support"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>ORLANDO, Fla. \u2014\u00a0Starting a business can be challenging, but for many women in Central Florida, support from other entrepreneurs is helping them succeed.<\/p>\n<p>What You Need To Know<\/p>\n<p>A local bakery owner shares her journey from food truck to storefront<br \/>\n<br \/>NAWBO Orlando supports women at every stage of business<br \/>\n<br \/>Networking events help women connect and share resources<br \/>\n<br \/>Leaders say women still face challenges like funding and pay disparity<\/p>\n<p>At <a href=\"https:\/\/thenakedcupcakeorlando.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The Naked Cupcake<\/a> in Orlando, owner Sandra Shorter has turned her passion for baking into a thriving business. But her journey didn\u2019t start in a storefront.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI started as a food truck. I was a teacher for 13 years, and decided that it was time for a new chapter,\u201d Shorter said.<\/p>\n<p>After traveling across Central Florida with her cupcake truck for several years, she eventually opened her brick-and-mortar shop, where she now creates custom desserts and connects with customers daily.<\/p>\n<p>Shorter says running a business comes with a learning curve, especially in the beginning.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had to go find and seek coaches and mentors,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>That kind of support is something organizations like the National Association of Women Business Owners, or NAWBO, aim to provide.<\/p>\n<p>At the National Entrepreneur Center, dozens of women gathered for <a href=\"https:\/\/nawboorlando.org\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NAWBO Orlando\u2019s<\/a> \u201cWine, Women and Chocolate\u201d event \u2014 a networking opportunity for business owners to connect and grow.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are here to support women business owners at every stage of business, from beginning all the way to multi-million dollar businesses,\u201d said Karen Kurta, president of NAWBO Orlando.<\/p>\n<p>Kurta says the organization offers mentorship, education and advocacy, helping women navigate challenges they may still face in the business world.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s still challenges getting approved for money, for capital, for starting businesses. There\u2019s still boys clubs and there\u2019s still a pay disparity,\u201d Kurta said.<\/p>\n<p>For Shorter, building connections with other women has made a difference in her journey.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s so important to support each other because the world is not necessarily geared towards us,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>During Women\u2019s History Month, both women say it\u2019s important to recognize how far women entrepreneurs have come and to continue creating opportunities for future business owners.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORLANDO, Fla. \u2014\u00a0Starting a business can be challenging, but for many women in Central Florida, support from other&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":200826,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[6506,2031,3949,558,575,14608,115,1335,139,141,140,17141,14104,835,53989],"class_list":["post-200825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-app-food","tag-app-local-business","tag-bryanna-howard","tag-business","tag-food","tag-food-and-dining","tag-news","tag-orange-county","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-topic-food","tag-topic-latest-local-business-stories","tag-vod","tag-womens-history"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=200825"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200825\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/200826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=200825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=200825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=200825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}