- Building Etsy Businesses
- Microloan Readiness Webinar Series
- The Goodies – This week’s highlights includes an appearance by Claudia Viek as one of the judges for CFED’s Small Business “Shark Tank” Challenge on Wednesday September 17, 10:15-11:30am at the Asset Learning Conference.
- Save the date for WOVEN – Women Veterans Networking Event, a day-long training for women veterans co-hosted by the LA District Office of the U.S. SBA on November 6 at Patriotic Hall in Los Angeles. Download a WOVEN Save The Date flyer and help spread the word.
Building Etsy Businesses
The Santa Cruz Sentinel ran a front-page article – “Santa Cruz Etsy entrepreneur classes: Turning a hobby into income and a business” – that featured several CAMEO members and the CAMEO network participating in the Etsy Craftperson Training Project. The project trains handmade goods artisans on how to sell on the Etsy online platform and thus increase their sales and profitability.
The push for entrepreneurship classes was led by CAMEO colleague and local economic development guru, Barbara Mason; Central Coast Small Business Development Center provided resources to make it happen; El Pajaro Community Development Corporation and Opportunity Fund serve as resource partners.
So far about 30 business owners have gone through the classes and 800 are on the waiting list! Santa Cruz is one of four cities in the country to try out this program. Etsy currently has one million sellers enrolled. The Etsy platform is one more tool to build a DIY Economy.
Microloan Readiness Webinar Series
As part of the MicroLending Academy, we are bringing you a three-part training series in which you will:
- Learn elements that are a part of any loan underwriting process.
- Improve your skills to prepare clients for loans.
- Gain ability to conduct basic loan readiness screening.
- Improve your organization’s success in getting clients access to capital.
Registration will open next week. We recommend attending all three and encourage all staff members to attend. The cost is $25 per class for each individual, or $60 if you register for all three. The cost is $50 per class for each organization, or $125 if you register for all three.
- October 2, 1:30-2:30pm – Profit and Loss: The P&L statement is a fundamental business management tool for your clients. What does a lender look for? We’ll view the P&L through a lender’s eyes to help you work more effectively to prepare clients for a loan application.
- October 16, 1:30-2:30pm – Global Cash Analysis: While some microlenders are willing to lend based on projections, many look at current cash availability to determine debt service capacity. We’ll review how microlenders look at cash flow when assessing a borrower’s loan request.
- October 30, 1:30-2:30pm – Credit Report: Always review a client’s credit report before sending her off to a lender. Learn how to assess the strength of your client’s past use of credit and help them address problems before applying for a loan.
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!
Member Kudos: Congrats to seven CAMEO members who were awarded CDFI funds totaling $6.5 million or 12.5% of the money for small/microbusiness lending – Accion San Diego, California FarmLink, Fresno CDFI, Opportunity Fund, PACE, Valley Economic Development Center, and Working Solutions.
Take Action: The U.S. Senate is voting September 8, 2014 on a resolution calling for a Constitutional Amendment that would help us control the runaway spending in our elections. Our friends at ASBC are asking people/organizations to sign the business letter endorsing Senate Joint Resolution 19 to fix our campaign spending problem and pass this letter on to your members.
Take Action: Net neutrality protects your clients’ businesses by ensuring that the companies that operate the internet can’t play favorites, and must treat all content equally. It prevents the internet from being divided into fast lanes and slow lanes. It lets the market work as is intended. The FCC is accepting comments on the proposed rules, but time is running out – the comment period closes September 15th. Now is the time to speak out and tell the FCC what businesses really want.
Healthcare Webinars: The Small Business Administration and Small Business Majority are helping businesses navigate health care through the webinar series What the Healthcare Law Means For Your California Small Business . It’s every two weeks in English and monthly in Spanish. The next ones are on September 10, 2014 at 10:00am and September 17, 2014 at 1:00pm respectively. Note the Small Business Health Option Program’s online enrollment function is on hold and will be back online in the fall. Businesses can still purchase insurance through the traditional paper process, working with your Certified agent or the SHOP Service Center. Also Small Business California helped create a new Spanish-language website to help Latino business owners and employees learn how to comply with the health care law.
Webinar: CalNonprofits hosts Causes Count: The Economic Power of California’s Nonprofit Sector. Learn about data never before aggregated and discover exciting new findings on September 10 at 11:00am. The cost is $5-10. Teaser: 72,000+ nonprofits make up 1/6th of California’s economy!
CAMEO Participates: Claudia Viek will be one of the judges for CFED’s Small Business “Shark Tank” Challenge on Wednesday September 17, 10:15-11:30am at the Asset Learning Conference. Innovative organizations and companies will compete by presenting solutions for improving the financial capability of low-to-moderate income microbusiness owners.
For Your Clients: Booming interest in entrepreneurship has led many people to think that entrepreneurship is synonymous with Silicon Valley. The Rural Entrepreneurship Challenge instead highlights entrepreneurship and innovation from the heartland of Rural America. The Challenge is an opportunity to highlight and reward rural entrepreneurs and a chance to WIN $15,000. The deadline is Monday, September 15, 2014.
Free Webinar: AEO and the Assets for Independence Resource Center host Matched Savings for Entrepreneurs, Tuesday, September 23 at 11:00 am PT. Learn about matched savings programs and how they benefit low-income entrepreneurs and microbusiness development organizations.
California Nonprofit Technology Festival: This two-day gathering of over 100 folks from California and abroad who are passionate about leveraging technology and creative media for social justice will take place in Richmond, California on September 25 and 26. The CA Tech Fest will include topics ranging from social media strategy, constituent engagement, privacy and security, media advocacy, and self-care for organizers. The conference is $50 for organizations with budgets under $5 million.
Economic Forecast Conference: Beacon Economics hosts the 2014 Riverside/San Bernardino Economic Forecast Conference on October 23, 2014 from 7:00-11:00am at The Riverside Convention Center, 3637 Fifth Street, Riverside, CA 92501. CAMEO members receive a discount price of $100 by entering “cameo14” when registering.
CAMEO White Paper: Read the CAMEO White Paper: Do-It-Yourself Economic Growth: How Communities Can Cultivate Their Talent and Thrive.