In this week’s Must Know
- Happy Labor Day – Help Unemployed BYOB – Be Your Own Boss
- The Goodies: information on important opportunities like trainings, funding, scholarship programs.
Join the ‘Help Unemployed BYOB – Be Your Own Boss’ Campaign
Sign the Be Your Own Boss petition.
This Labor Day CAMEO wants to celebrate by recognizing those people who are employed by their own sweat and hard work, the self-employed who create their own small businesses.
As we’ve mentioned before, the federal government passed a $35 million Self-Employment Assistance (SEA) Program that was tucked into the payroll tax-unemployment extension bill passed in March of this year. If California implements a program it will receive at least $5.3 million in federal money to implement a SEA program and help unemployed become their own boss and start their own small business.
Under the SEA program, unemployed workers will be able to receive or maintain their unemployment insurance benefits while they start their own small businesses – a full-time job in its own right – without having to look for other full-time work. Currently, in California this is not the case.
CAMEO is launching the Help Unemployed BYOB – Be Your Own Boss campaign to raise awareness about the importance of helping the unemployed create their own job and to show support for a SEA Program in California. A SEA program would drive more clients to your programs and open up additional funding opportunities through the workforce system.
This week, CAMEO wants you to join in support this program by signing the Be Your Own Boss petition.
The Goodies
New opportunities for trainings, 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 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!
Make A Note: We moved upstairs. Our new suite is 715. Please change your address books.
Watch and listen to the webinar.
Download the Powerpoint for the KIMCO Business Incubation and Free Rent Webinar.
Take Action: Two important programs expire on September 27, 2012. The refinance provision of the U.S. Small Business Administration 504 loan program allows small business owners to refinance performing commercial mortgages with longer-term, below-market, fixed interest rates afforded by the SBA 504 program. The First Mortgage Lien Pooling (FMLP) program creates a secondary market where lenders can re-sell a portion of SBA 504 first mortgage loans, allowing them to increase their liquidity and capacity to make more small business loans. Sign the petition to save them.
AEO Webinar: AEO On the Hill- Policy and Advocacy Update. Join AEO’s Policy Team for an update from Washington, DC. Congress returns soon from August Recess. On their agenda before the end of the year: expiration of Bush tax cuts and many other small business tax policy updates; looming ‘fiscal cliff,’ and annual appropriations. Register for the webinar on August 30, 2012 at 10:00 – 11:00 am PT // 1:00 – 2:00 pm.
Free Webinar: Green Business Development for Native American and Latino Entrepreneurs. How are small business CDFIs helping Native Americans and Latinos capture opportunities in the Green Economy? Join two organizations that have developed innovative approaches for “green” entrepreneurial training, technical assistance and access to capital. Thursday August 30th at 2:00 pm EDT // 1:00 pm CDT // 11:00 am PDT. Register now.
Conference: Meeting of the Minds 2012 – Collective Impact (Timely Training – Regional Economies – Sector Strategies). This dynamic conference offers a framework for the workforce, economic development, education, business, and industry sectors to meet. The goal is collective support of regional economies and identify workforce development initiatives and strategies that address critical issues facing California’s major regional industry sectors. September 4-6, 2012 at the Monterey Marriott. Claudia Viek and Judy Hawkins, CAMEO boardmember, are presenting on how to integrate business training into the workforce system.
Win $10,000+: SAP and Ashoka Changemakers are hosting a competition – The Power of Small: Entrepreneurs Strengthening Local Economies. The competition is for organizations and partnerships with innovative strategies designed to help emerging entrepreneurs and small businesses grow and thrive in underserved communities. Learn more about the competition and how to apply. The deadline for submissions is September 5, 2012.
Renaissance Online Business Prep Class: Attention service-starved areas, the webinar-based classes are scheduled from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. PST one evening a week for 12 consecutive weeks, with two optional 30-minute individual telephone consultations. Clients are expected to participate in every webinar and complete about 3 hours of homework weekly. The next one starts on September 29, 2012. Learn more and register.
Bay Area Office space: Renaissance Marin has two nice offices that they want to fill with compatible CAMEO members and/or lawyers, accountants, etc. that provide services to entrepreneurs. There is a corner office for $850 per month and an office right next to it for $650 per month that includes receptionist service, wifi and an opportunity to hold forums and seminars to provide information and promote services. Contact Boku Kodama by email or phone at 415.755.1115.
For Your Clients: CARAT offers free online trainings for small businesses through December. Check out their calendar.
Job Opportunities: Accion San Diego, California Farmlink, Valley Economic Development Center, Inner City Advisors, Fresno EOC and Fresno CDFI, are hiring. Please check CAMEO’s job page for more information and other listings.