- Annual Meeting Recap
- Tech Tools, A Webinar
- Take Action: State and Federal Budget
- The Goodies – This week’s highlight is a series of webinars to understand the new tax code: Wednesday, June 20 at 6:00-6:30 pm PT; Monday, June 25 at 6:00-6:30pm PT; or Monday, July 2 at 6:00-6:30pm PT. Feel free to pass onto your clients!
Annual Meeting Recap
From what we’ve heard from the over 70 participants, the 2018 Annual Member Meeting was a huge success. The theme was “Thriving in Transition.” With transition comes uncertainty, but also potential and opportunities. This year’s meeting focused on the changes and challenges our members and the wider microbusiness world have been facing for the past few years. From natural disasters to the impact of technology on the labor force, it is important to know how to adapt and remain resilient in order to function and thrive.
We welcomed new people into the fold, had a great time networking and seeing old friends, celebrated entrepreneurship, and learned a lot. You can read a recap of the annual meeting on our website, written by our newest staff member Daniela. The available presentations are also listed there.
Also a big thanks to Constance Anderson, the Vice President of CAMEO’s board and the director of the Pacific Coast Regional Corp’s SBDC, for her service on the board. She terms off in January. Constance is pictured above with Carolina.
We already are thinking about next year and as we are preparing to grow our annual meeting into a Microbusiness Conference, we want to know what you want to see. Please fill out the applicable questions on this survey.
Tech Tools: Bringing Business Assistance into the Future, A Webinar
At last week’s annual meeting, several organizations presented on technology tools that they have developed and they were very well received. As many of you could not make it to Sacramento, we decided to bring them to you virtually.
Register for Tech Tools: Bringing Business Assistance into the Future
Thursday, June 21, 2018 at 2:00pm
Debi Roder from Small Business Majority to learn about Venturize.org, their free online resource hub for small businesses that need help accessing responsible capital and becoming loan ready.
Estefania Cardona from Centro Community Partners will talk about their latest app that connects business owners with CDFIs and does oh, so much more.
Paola Castellanos from Pacific Community Ventures will explain how BusinessAdvising.org, a Match.com-plus for business owners and pro-bono business advisors, uses technology to facilitate mentoring and business success.
State Policy Update
A message from our colleague, Toni Symonds, Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy:
We are nearing the potentially successful end of our journey to fund small business technical assistance centers. Today, both the Assembly and Senate are scheduled to take up the 2017-18 Budget and all or part of the budget trailer bills. Assembly Members Quirk-Silva and Cervantes want to thank everyone for their efforts to date and encourage you to send thank yous to your respective Assembly Members and Senators after the vote.
If all goes well, tomorrow the state will be one governor’s signature away from a $23 million investment in small business technical assistance. (Yes this means ONE more letter!)
A big thank you to Assembly Members Quick-Silva and Cervantes who championed this historic investment and to Toni and her staff for their herculean efforts. And to all of you who wrote letters!
In federal news …: “Net Neutrality Has Officially Been Repealed. Here’s How That Could Affect You.” (New York Times) Register your support for net neutrality as the fight isn’t over.
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!
Free Webinar: Businesses for Responsible Tax Reform invites you and your clients to a slate of webinars in the coming month to help small business owners understand what the tax law means to them. It’s been nearly six months since the tax law was passed, but many small business owners still have little idea how the law will actually impact their business because the IRS has yet to issue rules about how key components will be implemented. Join one of the following webinars: Wednesday, June 20 at 6:00-6:30 pm PT; Monday, June 25 at 6:00-6:30pm PT; or Monday, July 2 at 6:00-6:30pm PT.
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: W.K. Kellogg Foundation issued the “Michigan Business Case For Racial Equity“.
New Report: The United Ways of California released “Struggling to Stay Afloat: The Real Cost Measure in California 2018,” a new statewide report on financial challenges for working families.
New Report: The Federal Reserve released “2017 Small Business Credit Survey: Report on Employer Firms.” Learn more about how small business owners nationwide are faring, including their credit needs and challenges. The report examines the results of an annual survey of small business owners nationwide and focuses on small employer firms, businesses with 1-499 full- or part-time employees.
For Your Young Clients: Youth Venture Project is a 5-day Start-Up Bootcamp 14-18-year-old students who have a business idea they wish to develop and pursue. The Bootcamp will help them build and strengthen their business ideas and plans. Following the Start-Up Bootcamp, 5 students will be selected to participate in the Start-Up Success Competition on July 17th to compete for a $2,500 grand prize. Deadline to apply is June 25, 2018.
Professional Conference: Save the date for OFN’s 2018 Western Regional Meeting July 18 in Denver at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City – Denver Branch.