Women’s business group to start mentor program with $5,000 grant
Published 9:00 pm Monday, March 30, 2026
HERMISTON — A new local group focusing on women business owners has a new name and a new $5,000 grant to help it start a mentoring program.
The former Women Business Owners of Umatilla County is now the Eastern Oregon Women’s Business Lab.
“I want to create something bigger than a women’s business group,” Krista Van Veen said. “I want to create a business incubator.”
Van Veen’s group received a $5,000 grant from Amazon Web Services and ChangeX for the next phase of the group.
Mentorship program coming soon
“The funding will allow us to begin piloting small mentorship circles, giving women business owners a more structured way to talk through challenges and support one another in real time,” Van Veen said.
She envisions recruiting women with business ownership experience who have a specific area of expertise to share with a group of four to six women who may be just starting out or who have business challenges they are trying to overcome.
“Each cohort will be led by a different business owner,” Van Veen said.
The mentor will focus the particular needs of the cohort. It may be marketing, staffing and other issues that can be barriers to success.
Van Veen hopes to launch monthly mentor circles by April or May.
“It will depend on how many mentors I can get,” Van Veen said.
‘Making a real impact’
Van Veen’s group meets monthly at the Next Chapter Bookstore in Hermiston. The first meeting was in February with nine people attending. The March meeting had 15 people show up.
“The response was strong enough that the group will continue to meet monthly,” Van Veen said. “Connections are being made that are making a real impact.”
The group’s next meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. on April 21.
“We encourage people to come at 6 and mingle and order something from the cafe,” she said.
Van Veen is developing what she is calling “Lab Tracks” to provide business support in the early stages.
“When women start a business, the vocabulary is very overwhelming,” she said. “They get imposter syndrome. If you tell them something, their eyes get really huge like a deer in the headlights because they think they can’t do it.”
To get over that feeling, Van Veen wants to provide start-up labs for new businesses or prospective business owners.
“We’ll walk you through the process of getting registered with the state and you’ll walk out with your own (employer identification number),” Van Veen said.
“What’s being built here is relationship-based and consistency,” she said. “You’ve got people invested in your success.”
For more information, email Van Veen at hello.womenbusinessowners@gmail.com.