In this Must Know…
- Cooperatives: On the Ground and in the Cloud, A Webinar
- Alicia’s Tamales Los Mayas, Faces of Entrepreneurship Winner
- Take Action: Net Neutrality and State Update
- Join us on June 5-6, 2018 in Sacramento for our annual member meeting Thriving in Transition
- The Goodies – This week’s highlight is that May is California Small Business Month and next week is San Francisco Small Business Week.
Cooperatives: On the Ground and in the Cloud, A Webinar
Learn how two CAMEO members – Prospera and Loconomics – are using cooperatives to create business owners and helping entrepreneurs thrive. We continue the conversation around cooperatives that we started last year at our our annual meeting with Rani Croager, founder of Uptima Bootcamp, a cooperative, for-profit business training organization.
Register for Cooperatives: On the Ground and in the Cloud
Thursday, May 17, 2018 at 2:00pm
Prospera transforms the lives of Latina immigrant entrepreneurs by helping them form cooperatives in Oakland. Loconomics wants to put the power of ownership in the hand of gig economy entrepreneurs. And the Sustainable Economies Law Center provides education, advocacy, research, and advice for worker centered cooperatives.
- Maria Rogers Pascual, Executive Director of Propsera
- Charlotte Tsui, a senior fellow at the Sustainable Economy Law Center
- Joshua Danielson, founder of Loconomics
Alicia’s Tamales Los Mayas, Faces of Entrepreneurship Winner
Congratulations to Alicia Villanueva, owner of Alicia’s Tamales Los Mayas, nominated by MEDA – Mission Economic Development Agency. Alicia will receive a Faces of Entrepreneurship Award on June 5 at our annual meeting in Sacramento along with Andrew McDowell, founder of With Love Market & Cafe, nominated by Crowdfund Better. Register for our annual member meeting, Thriving in Transition, to celebrate with Alicia and Andrew.
For Alicia, tamales are a dish overflowing with tradition and history. At first, she was making about 50 to 100 tamales a night that she sold after work door-to-door. She woke up early to shop for her ingredients, went to her day job, cooked and sold tamales, and repeated it all over again. This is how Alicia’s Tamales Los Mayas was born. Early on she became discouraged because she was working 20 hours some days. Selling her delicious tamales was a huge time commitment, and her profits were very minimal. She often wanted to give up. Learn more about Alicia’s journey with her business “Alicia’s Tamales Los Mayas.”
Visit our webpage for Thriving in Transition to learn more about the sessions, an updated agenda and logistics.
Federal Policy Update
This week, the House of Representatives passed seven small business bills under suspension of the rules — a procedure used to quickly pass non-controversial bills.
- Small Business Cyber Training: H.R. 3170 – The SBA would offer cybersecurity and related planning assistance. The bill would require the SBA to train SBDC employees in counseling small businesses on cybersecurity questions.
- Federal Contract Change Orders: H.R. 4754 – Small business contractors and subcontractors seeking bids for federal construction projects would receive improved information from agencies including performance data and policies on change orders.
- Women’s Business Office: H.R. 1680 – The Office of Women’s Business Ownership’s responsibilities would be modified and it would be authorized to make larger grants to women’s business centers.
- Small Business Development Centers: H.R. 1702 – The SBA’s SBDC grant program would be modified and given new reporting requirements.
- Small Business Investment Companies: H.R. 4111 – The creation of new Small Business Investment Companies in underserved states would be promoted under this bill.
- Employee Ownership of Companies: H.R. 5236 – Employee cooperatives would become eligible for loans backed by the SBA. The bill would also allow loans to be made to a small business to facilitate employees’ purchase of the firm. The measure also would require additional agency outreach to promote employee purchase of companies.
- Small Business Lending Oversight: H.R. 4743 – The SBA’s Office of Credit Risk Management would be codified and given new oversight responsibilities for the 7(a) program.
These bills now go to the Senate.
The Goodies
New opportunities for training, conference information, funding, scholarships, and other information that have crossed our desks since the last Must Know. I have posted a running tab of current Industry Goodies on the CAMEO website that lists items that were in past emails. Check it out to make sure you’re not missing anything, like grants whose deadlines are still alive!
May is California Small Business Month! Celebrate the 3.8 million small businesses that call our state home and shop local! And it’s also San Francisco Small Business Week next week. Many of our Bay Area members are participating in a variety of activities including Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center, MEDA, Main Street Launch, and of course the SBA. Many are also participating in the 40+ free trainings being offered.
Member Kudos: The Working Solutions Board of Directors announced Sara Razavi as their new CEO. Congrats Sara!
Member Kudos: Congrats to Pacific Community Ventures who was awarded a $3.2 million impact investment from New World Foundation’s Quality Jobs Fund, and a $500,000 grant as part of the 2018 Citi Community Progress Makers Fund.
Member Kudos: Congrats to Main Street Launch who was awarded a $500,000 investment from Citi Foundation’s Community Progress Makers Fund to provide fair and affordable capital to small business owners who can’t access it from the traditional financial system.
New Report: PPIC published “Immigrants in California.” Our state is home to more than 10 million immigrants-about a quarter of the nation’s foreign-born population. The state economy increasingly depends on immigrants to meet demand for highly educated workers, but it also continues to rely on immigrants with little formal education.
New Report: Businesses for Responsible Tax Reform released “The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act; Implications for Small Businesses” that argues that the new tax laws put small businesses at a disadvantage to large businesses.
New Report: Amazon released its first-ever Small Business Impact Report which found more than 1 million U.S.-based small and medium-sized businesses are selling on Amazon. That report needs to be digested along with the loss of local tax revenue and what happens to Main Street that was reported in Amazon and Empty Storefronts: The Fiscal and Land Use Impacts of Online Retail.
Professional Development Opportunity: CalNonprofits board elections are fast approaching, and nominations are due Monday, May 14, 2018.
Professional Conference: Join the California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce (CHCC) for their Legislative Conference on May 16, 2018 in Sacramento. The conference provides a platform for Hispanic business leaders and Chamber members to engage in the legislative process. The Legislative Conference attendees participate in educational forums, networking opportunities, and gain insight on how to activate local members, and stakeholders on initiatives impacting their business community. A state procurement matchmaking session will be added to this year’s conference with California State Agencies.
For Your Clients: Join Small Business California for their 2018 Education Day on May 22, 2018 in Sacramento. Small business owners from around the state will hear from leading experts on relevant issues such as: Workers Compensation, Medical Marijuana in the Workplace, State Contracting Opportunities, CalSavers Retirement Savings Program, PAGA Lawsuits, Universal Healthcare or Single Payer Plans, Employment Development Department, and more.
Funding Opportunity: The application is now available for Community Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Matching Grant Program. The deadline is May 31, 2018.
Funding Opportunity: The US SBA has released the Request for Proposal for the PRIME Grant. The deadline is June 1, 2018.
Professional Development:The Federal Reserve Board is accepting applications from individuals who wish to serve on the Community Advisory Council (CAC). The CAC advises the Board on issues affecting consumers and communities and complements two of the Board’s other advisory councils—the Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council and the Federal Advisory Council—whose members represent depository institutions. Applications are due June 15, 2018.
Professional Conference: Join Opportunity Finance Network for the Small Business Finance Forum on June 26-27, 2018 at the JW Marriott in Chicago, IL.
New Report: Accion in the U.S. and Opportunity Fund recently released a groundbreaking report that examines the impact of mission-based small business lending services on borrowers’ businesses, their household financial security, and their overall quality of life.
New Report: The SBA released their state small business profiles, download California’s.
New Report: The Federal Reserve Banks of San Francisco, New York, Dallas, and Richmond issued the 2017 Small Business Credit Survey: Report on Disaster-Affected Firms. This is the first in a series of reports this year examining the results of an annual survey of small business owners. 61 percent of affected firms had revenue losses ranging from $1-$25,000, and 35 percent had revenue losses over $25,000.
Yelp for Funders: Foundations need feedback loops, and nonprofit need tips on grantseeking. In other words, we all need GrantAdvisor.org to succeed. And you can help with 7 minutes of your time.