Washington Business Center

The Washington Business Center offers training on a wide variety of topics, as individual workshops or multi-session classes. We present classes for other organizations, and may be contacted to prepare and present classes addressing your group's particular training needs.

Launch and Grow Your Business - The business world moves so fast, we can never afford to stop learning. This course will teach you how to start and grow your business. During seven three-hour sessions, participants will learn how to manage, market and finance their businesses, with a focus on writing a business plan. Participants will also enjoy networking with other people who are starting or running businesses. This class qualifies for the Washington State Department of Employment Security's Self Employment Assistance Program (SEAP), and for the Individual Development Account (IDA) program. Thursdays, 3 to 6 pm. For more information on what is offered in each session, click here...MORE

QuickBooks Training - Just starting to use QuickBooks, or thinking about it? Need to brush up on some of your skills? Need to use financial data to better manage your business? You'll receive hands-on, interactive instruction in our new computer lab. This course consists of five sessions that take you from learning how to get around in QuickBooks to customizing forms and writing QuickBooks letters. Sessions are conducted in the afternoons, in three-hour sessions. For more information on what is offered in each session, click here...MORE

Other Computer Classes - Creating a brochure using MS Publisher, creating a presentation using MS PowerPoint, learning and using MS Excel in your business...and coming soon - classes in other MS Office applications, MS ExpressionWeb, and Adobe applications such as Photoshop, Dreamweaver, etc.

Brown Bag (Lunch and Learn) Workshops - Check in frequently for these information, FREE workshops. Bring your lunch and learn timely information from industry experts. Network with other entrepreneurs.

I Want To Work For Myself - This class is a free class held at the Redmond Worksource for people who would like to learn more about starting their own business. Come early, because this class fills up! Call the Redmond Worksource for dates and times.

For other classes and events, check out our calendar Register for Classes

To be added to our e-mail list for class and event notification, send a request to Information

"It is what you learn after you know it all that counts." ~ John Wooden

Featured Client

The Future of Fast Food

Seattle Salads is flush with greens Desirae Rabe, a Seattle native, was visiting New York City several years ago when she happened upon a salad shop. “I walked in the first day I was there and went back every single day,” she admits with a laugh. She says her first thought – while crunching on greens – was that she wanted to open a salad shop of her own some day.

 “I couldn’t believe that there wasn’t one where I was,” she says of both Washington DC, where she was living at the time, and Seattle.

When Rabe moved back to Seattle, she called upon her years of experience in customer service – which she has always loved – and her instinct as an online poker player – which she played for more than five years – to jumpstart what is now Seattle Salads. “I never could have ever imagined that I could play poker for a living – I think I’ll open a salad shop,” she jokes. Four employees later, Rabe has worked with the Washington Women’s Business Center from the very beginning of her venture. “I took their ‘Launch & Grow Your Business’ course and met with Nita [Conlan] often, every couple of weeks to go over my [business] plan and to figure out what comes next. It was so helpful and I ended up getting a loan through [WWBC],” she says.

Rabe has now been in business for a year-and-a-half, six months of which have been in her new Madison Valley space. She started out at the Queen Anne Farmers’ Market, where she experim

ented with dressings on a weekly basis. Seattle Salads’ dressings range from a classic bleu cheese to her bestselling lime peanut. “I want to make healthy, quick food available all over and to make people eat healthy if they want to,” says Rabe.

Presently, Rabe is focusing on her one shop but looks forward to having Seattle Salads all over Seattle and its surrounding areas. She views her shop as a prototype and will use it to “make mistakes if I have to, figure [things] out and have everything in order.” “My goal is to, within the year, be ready to go and open another a store. I feel like there can be a salad shop anywhere there’s a Starbucks,” Rabe says. With grab n’ go salad shakers, make-your-own salads, catering, and delivery, Seattle Salads’ local and organically oriented services offer a bit of green for everyone.

Check it Out!

Seattle Salads 2711 E Madison St.

(206) 324-6445

M-F 11am-6:30pm; Sat. 11:30am-6pm; Sun. 12pm-5pm