2014 WOVEN Event Info

November 6, 2014 · 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Bob Hope Patriotic Hall
1816 Figueroa Street
Los Angeles

The U.S. Small Business Administration, Los Angeles District Office, and our Host Committee*, and CAMEO presented a special intensive business training for women veterans and military spouses, as part of Veterans Small Business Week.

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WOVEN AGENDA

8:00a Networking Continental Breakfast

9:00a Welcome

Representative Judy Chu (invited)
Lindsey Sin, Deputy Secretary, Women Veterans Affairs, California Department of Veterans Affairs

10:15a Morning Breakout Workshops

A) Demystifying Entrepreneurship/Business Ownership (Start Up)

What it is and isn’t
What makes a good business owner
Self-employment/business readiness assessment
Resources

Presenter: Betsy Densmore, Director and Archie Holton, Program Leader at Academies for Social Entrepreneurship

This session brought to you courtesy of Pacific Western Bank

B) Intro Microlending (Start Up, Stable, Stretch)

Do you really need a loan? What does it take to get your first loan? What do lenders look for in a loan applicant?

Presenters: Valery Belloso (Accion San Diego), Brandon Napoli (Valley Economic Development Center), Daniel Fernandez (Opportunity Fund)

C) Government Contracting (Stretch)

If you’ve ever tried to get your SDVOB certification so that you can do business with the federal government, you know it’s tedious and confusing. Many veterans give up, but shouldn’t. Even thought it could take more than two years to obtain, a SDVOB certification opens a lot doors. This workshop will walk you through the process, clear up any confusion and point you in the right direction for your certification.

Presenters: Garnett Newcombe, CEO of Human Potential Consultants LLC and Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) National Partner member; Sandy Schneeberger, Founder of Sanberg Group, Inc. and President of L.A. Chapter Elite SDVOB Network; Veronica Soto Moderator: Mike Sabellico, Executive Director, Disabled Veterans Business Alliance

11:45a Networking Lunch

Grab your lunch and meet other veterans who have same interests. Sit with like-minded participants at a table with a designated topic or create your own. Suggestions: regional (e.g. city), industry-specific (e.g. energy, specialty food), business issue specific (e.g. marketing, accounting).

Karen Bates photo Special Guest Keynote
Marsha Bailey, CEO, Women’s Economic Ventures
CEO/Founder, Women’s Economic Ventures
Chair, Association of Women’s Business Centers

introduces

Karen Bates (photo left)
Founder of Military Loans
President, The VApro Network
Juggling With Fire

As a woman in business, you hold amazing super powers when juggling all aspects of your busy life…at times, it may even feel as though you are juggling with fire. And that fire can fan the flames to new levels of success OR leave you feeling burned. Instead let your fire take you to a new level! Three take-aways from Karen’s talk:

The 3 most common fires that leave women business owners burned
How your feminine super powers are the true key to your success
The one business booster (vs. an entirely new business plan) you need to catapult your business in 2015

Karen combined her military background with her financial expertise and founded Military Home Loans. Her passion is to ensure Veterans never miss the opportunity to experience their American dream. In 2014, loaded with 10 years of knowledge and experience from closing over 600 VA transactions, Karen and her husband Ken created The VApro Network. Karen is California’s 2013 Mortgage Professional of the Year and was featured on Yahoo Finance for earning and retaining $1 million as a female entrepreneur.

Networking Cookie Bar

1:45p Afternoon Breakout Workshops I

A) Business Planning Step 1: Clarifying Your Vision, Mission and Values (Start Up)

This session will help you to develop your vision and mission statements, and identify your business’s shared values. The workshop will be facilitated using Centro’s Business Planning Tool, a mobile app that takes entrepreneurs through a guided, step-by-step process to create a basic business plan.

It is recommended that you download the app and complete the following activities: Personal Values, Vision, Mission and Shared Values. If you are unable to do so, you will still be able to participate in the activities.

Presenter: Daniel J. Healy, Entrepreneurship Trainer and Program Manager, Centro Community Partners

B) Developing a Brand (Stable, Stretch)

All brands have personalities, and these define everything from how you tell your brand’s story to how you design your packaging. This interactive session hosted by IDEO will introduce you to the design thinking process, help you create or refine your brand, and provide feedback on how this may impact the design of your product packaging, retail space, or service.

Presenters: Lisa Baird, business designer, IDEO and Misa Misono, business design lead, IDEO

C) Financing for Growth (Stable, Stretch)

Are you ready to grow, but need cash to make it happen? in this session, you will learn about

the important role that capital plays in the growth process and why you need to get it right;
the difference between credit planning and planning for growth;
what is necessary to be a successful loan applicant and overcome some of the barriers; and
Direct Public Offerings and crowdfunding.

Presenters: Kim Arnone (Director of Crowdfunding, Cutting Edge Capital), Sharon Evans (Business Resource Group), Jesse Torres (CA SBDC Lead).

3:15 Afternoon Breakout Workshops II

A) Business Planning Step 2: Walk a Mile in Your Customers’ Shoes (Start Up, Stable)

Put yourself in your customers shoes. Who are they? What do they want? Understand your customer and how to provide them value. Learn how to do a customer analysis, figure out what their priorities are, and brainstorm ways to reach them. The workshop will be facilitated using Centro’s Business Planning Tool, a mobile app that takes entrepreneurs through a guided, step-by-step process to create a basic business plan.

It is recommended that you download the app and complete the following activity: Customer Analysis. If you are unable to do so, you will still be able to participate in the activities.

Presenter: Daniel J. Healy, Entrepreneurship Trainer and Program Manager, Centro Community Partners

B) Developing a Brand (Start Up, Stable)

Psst, if you already have packaging for your product, bring it with you and you’ll be able to get feedback!

Presenters: Lisa Baird, business designer, IDEO and Misa Misono, business design lead, IDEO

C) Think Like a Negotiator (Start Up, Stable, Stretch)

Negotiation is simply discussions to agree on a deal. Whether you are negotiating a multi-million dollar deal or simply where to meet for dinner, improving your negotiation skills will give you more confidence and better results. Learn how to find more power, negotiate better deals and create win-win results. You will be energized, empowered and educated to be a better negotiator and understand the art and language of negotiation.

Presenter: Eldonna Lewis Fernandez, MSgt USAF Retired, www.ThinkLikeANegotiator.com

4:40 Wrap Up and Drawing

*Host Committee
Academies for Social Entrepreneurship • Accion San Diego •
Asian Pacific Islander Small Business Program • Business Resource Group •
California Department of Veteran Affairs • CDC Small Business Finance •
Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise • Elite SDVOB Network • Inland Empire
Women Veterans Collaborative • The Jonas Project • Long Beach Small Business
Development Center • Pacific Asian Consortium in Employment • Pacific Coast Regional
Small Business Development Center • RISE Financial Pathways • VEDC •
Women Veterans Connect • Women Veterans Unity Group

California has 1.8 million veterans, the highest number of any state, a large majority of them located in Los Angeles County: 18% are women; 16% of women veterans reported being unemployed and 28% reported they were unemployed and not looking for work.

Micro-business and self-employment offers veterans, and especially women veterans and veterans with disabilities, increased opportunities to maximize their strengths and skills, to achieve their financial and career goals, and to customize their employment to accommodate their challenges.