A SECOND major conference for businesswomen throughout York and North Yorkshire is to be held in Harrogate this spring.

The one-day conference - also aimed at would-be women entrepreneurs and those seeking to grow their business - will be bigger than last year's and is being held at The Holiday Inn, on March 8.

Make It Your Business 2007 follows last year's highly-successful conference on the same theme which exceeded its own expectations by attracting 118 attendees, even though numbers were originally capped at 100.

The organisers hope that 200 businesswomen and aspiring entrepreneurs from throughout the county, including Whitby, Skipton and Selby, will attend this year's event.

The conference is being organised jointly by Yorkshire Forward-funded Women in Enterprise (WiE) and York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, and will celebrate the achievements of successful businesswomen during the last year and encourage others to enter the commercial world. Some sponsorship opportunities are still available.

Since last year's conference in March, WiE has had contact with more than of 400 women within York and North Yorkshire interested in launching their own businesses and several ventures have been helped to get off the ground including 13 by women who made the decision as a result of attending last year's event.

According to Government figures, women are only half as likely to start their own business as men and, if women started businesses at the same rate, a further £130 billion would be generated by the national economy.

Laura Morrison, the York-based WiE project manager, said: "Last year's conference in Harrogate was a landmark in the development of Women in Enterprise and demonstrated just how great a need there is for our services among women wanting to start their own business.

"This year's conference will celebrate the success of business women within York and North Yorkshire during the last year in a way which is inspiring to those considering getting their own venture off the ground.

"We are now working to finalise details of local, high-profile speakers and aim to announce these shortly."

For further details on WiE or the Make It Your Business 2007 conference, or to become a sponsor, phone 01904 629513 to speak to a member of the Women in Enterprise team.