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Independence Part II – Buy Local!

Independence, Part II – Indie Businesses

To continue with the theme of independence this week, I wanted to highlight a San Francisco buy local campaign. Merchants are putting these posters* (pictured right) in their stores. They say things like:

  • You kept dollars in our economy.
  • You invested in entrepreneurship.

For more reasons to shop local check out this really good top 10 list. It’s tailored for San Francisco, but the reasons are the same no matter where you live. For example, reason number four is “Local business owners invest in community.” Indie businesses have lots of competition – maybe their biggest is online vendors. While the Internet isn’t going anywhere soon, it’s imperative that we know about the effects that companies like Amazon have on our local economies. The Institute for Local Self-Reliance published 5 Things Local Officials Need to Know About Amazon. The highlights: tax-dodging, burden on services, job destroyer or low wage jobs. Yikes! Great case for Local!

Don’t forget to check out Emergent Research’s 2016 State of Independence Report. You can use the data in this report to make your case for serving the self-employed!

*Email Rick at Cole Hardware or Pete at Green Apple Books to order a poster.

Advocacy Efforts Work!

Thanks to all of you who called your representatives this week. At around 10:30 pm last night in a bipartisan effort, the House defeated the amendment sponsored by Representatives Duffy (R-WI) and Marino (R-PA) to cut CDFI appropriations by $20.7 million. The vote was 166 to 254. A total of 73 Republicans joined 181 Democrats to easily defeat the amendment. The vote preserves the $250 million appropriation for the CDFI Fund, the highest in the history of the Fund and the first time in recent memory that the House recommendation has exceeded the budget request.

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!

Dan Beam’s Report: The 2016 CAMEO Member Meeting Report by Dan Beam is a Must Read. CAMEO is ready for a whole new stage of evolution. Ushering in a new economic era carries both challenges and opportunity for CAMEO and its member organizations. Find out what’s shifting in the world today, and how CAMEO – and you!- can engage with the changes. We’d love your feedback from the Annual Meeting, the roles for CAMEO, and this report.

New DIY Guide: BALLE has a new field guide, The Future of Health is Local that gives health care providers actionable tools and examples on how to align the non-clinical assets of their organizations – such as procurement, employment, and investment – with local economic development strategies to improve human health and revitalize local communities.

New Report: “The State of Small Business in America” was issued by Babson College this month.

Free Webinar: Join small business experts from across the Federal Reserve System as they discuss the results of the 2015 Small Business Credit Survey (SBCS) on July 7, 2016 at 12noon PT. Responses to the SBCS provide insight into the dynamics behind aggregate lending trends and shed light on noteworthy segments of the small business credit market (as reported by firms). The SBCS captures the perspectives of businesses with fewer than 500 employees.

CDFI and the ’16 Election: On July 11, 2016 at 11am PT the CDFI Coalition will hold a call concerning a paper on CDFIs that will be presented to the 2016 Presidential Nominees. Conference Call Number: 1-866-730-7512; Participant Number: 807216#.

For Your Clients: Small Business Majority is hosting Access to Capital 101: Funding Options to Start and Grow Your Business every Wednesday, the next ones are July 13, 20 and 27. They present an overview of alternative lending options including community development financial institutions, SBA’s loan guarantee program and reputable online options, key questions to consider when seeking funding, the Small Business Borrowers’ Bill of Rights and helpful tools and resources.

Free Webinar: Our colleagues at ASBC host The On-Demand Economy: Insights on an Independent Workforce with our own Claudia Viek and friend Steve King from Emergent Research. The webinar will be on July 12, 2016 at 10:00am PT / 1:00pm ET By 2020 it is estimated that 40% of our workforce will be “free agents” aka self-employed, independent contractors or gig workers. Two thirds of currently self-employed identify as entrepreneurs and three quarters report being satisfied or happy with their status. This session will provide data on this emerging sector and discuss policy implications for supporting sustainability and increased income.

Professional Development Opportunity: You’re invited to join the CFED Assets & Opportunity Network and Center for Financial Security for a new four-part virtual Listening & Learning Series on Financial Coaching & Counseling. They are on the following Wednesdays from 12:-1:30pm PDT: July 13, August 10, and September 14. The A&O Network has also released Financial Coaching Census.

Funding Opportunity: Similar to the CDFI Fund’s Innovation Challenge last year, the Fund is holding a competition for CDFIs to encourage new ideas on how to increase CDFI investment and access to capital in underserved rural communities. The Fund will award up to $1 million for FY16 through the competition. FY 2016 Prize Competition submissions are due by July 29, 2016.

Nonprofit Taxes Webinar: The California Board of Equalization is offering free nonprofit seminars and workshops discuss tax laws, exemptions, and reporting requirements as they apply to non-profit and exempt organizations during the month of August in Perris, Oakland, Apple Valley, Fullerton, and Chula Vista.

For Your Clients: Fund and Fuel Your Dreams is a 2-day event on September 8-9 where you will get hands-on, expert training on how to raise money for your business. You will leave with a step-by-step plan and resources to take the plan forward. It is also a place to connect with like-minded mission-driven, heart centered women entrepreneurs in a supportive fun environment!

PayDay Lending Rules: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has proposed a rule aimed at reshaping the market for payday loans and other short-term credit. The proposal would require lenders to ensure that the consumer has the ability to repay the loan, provide notice that the lender is withdrawing funds from the consumer’s account and cease automatic withdraws if the consumer’s account is overdrawn. Comments on this proposal are due September 14, 2016.

New Report: Opportunity Fund released a very important research report, “Unaffordable and Unsustainable: The New Business Lending on Main Street.” Until now, we have been relying on stories to explain what’s happening with online lending. Now we’ve got some data on the loans and cash advances being offered to small businesses by short-term, high-cost alternative lenders. Cliff notes on findings: 94% interest rates; average payment is 1.78x income -YIKES.

For Your Client: OFN has a new small business borrower education platform – Venturize.

FIELD’s EntrepreneurTracker: FIELD worked with 19 microenterprise organizations in 2015 to collect data on the outcomes of 1,086 clients they had served in 2014. Each dollar spent on program costs generated between $8.96 and $9.45 in benefits. Learn more about EntrepreneurTracker.

Take Action: If there’s ever a time in politics that really needs a woman’s voice, that time is now. CAMEO has joined Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) for their campaign – WE Decide 2016 – to engage women in business in the 2016 election. This week’s poll is on capital access. Women receive only 4% of loans, yet represent 30% of all small businesses! Check out the video.