- Ms. CAMEO Testifies in DC
- Webinar: How to Get Products on Retail Shelves
- Webinar: Building Etsy Businesses
- The Goodies – This week’s highlight is to support Women’s Small Business Ownership Act of 2014. Visit WIPP’s Action Center to write a quick letter.
- Register for WOVEN – Women Veteran Entrepreneurs Network Event, a day-long training for women veterans on November 6 at Patriotic Hall in Los Angeles. Download a WOVEN flyer and help spread the word.
Ms. CAMEO Testifies in DC
Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, subcommittee on Economic Policy, invited our esteemed CEO to testify at his hearing this week. Claudia spoke truth to power on Wednesday’s hearing entitled “Who is the Economy Working For? The Impact of Rising Inequality on the American Economy.” (Click on ‘view archived webcast’; the video will open in another window, scroll to 38:20 for her testimony; she also answers several questions.)
Claudia’s main message was:
If we are serious about addressing income inequality, then we need to support entrepreneurship and starting a business as a real pathway to closing the wealth gap and generating new jobs.
You can read her written testimony about how small business income will help close the economic inequality gap.
Claudia was busy yesterday. In the morning she was a judge for CFED’s Small Business “Shark Tank” Challenge at the Asset Learning Conference. It was a very competitive field and the winner was CAMBA (New York), a group that curates mobile apps that are productive and free to low-cost that help microbusiness owners manage their business and provides training on how to use the apps.
Webinar: How to Get Products on Retail Shelves
You and your clients are invited to a free webinar on Wednesday, September 24, 2014 at 2:00pm PT! Karen Waksman, Founder and CEO of Retail MBA, will reveal how to get products on the shelves of major chain store retailers. No sales experience or existing buyer relationships is required. Karen will reveal:
- How the buying process works at major retailers
- What chain stores buyers expect
- How to find a buyer’s contact information
- What makes a buyer more inclined to buy
- Tips and strategies on how to place your products on retail shelves today
Who should attend?
- Business trainers who have clients selling a product; and
- Anyone who is hoping to turn their products into profits through retail outlets.
To access the webinar and the slides, register for How to Get Products on Retail Shelves. For audio, dial (626) 677-3000 with access code 4284853.
Building Etsy Businesses
CAMEO hosts Rachel Meira Greenwald and Lauren Weisenthal of Etsy on Wednesday, October 8, 2014 at 11:00am PT for a free webinar – Building Etsy Businesses.
In our increasingly big box world, entrepreneurial artisans, craftspeople, and creative manufacturers struggle to connect with customers who value their one-of-a-kind craftsmanship. During this 45 minute presentation, we’ll illustrate how niche entrepreneurs use Etsy to gain exposure to their target market, share tips for identifying clients who could benefit from having an Etsy shop, give a walk-through of the platform, and review our top tips for advising clients who use the Etsy platform.
To access the webinar and the slides, register for How to Get Products on Retail Shelves. For audio, dial (626) 677-3000 with access code 4284853.
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: CAMEO wants to congratulate Opportunity Fund and PACE who were awarded a PRIME grant. CAMEO also was awarded a capacity building grant from which our members will benefit in terms of professional development opportunities and pass through opportunities for adoption of technology.
Take Action: Late July, Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee Chair, introduced the Women’s Small Business Ownership Act of 2014, S. 2693. Please urge Senators Boxer and Feinstein to support S.2693 by signing on as a cosponsor of the bill. Please visit WIPP’s Action Center to write a quick letter. (For those of you not in California, you can write your Senators from the Action Center, too.) And of course, we’d be grateful if you emailed me to let me know you contacted the Senators.
Take Action: Our friends as ASBC are asking us to spread the word about The Democracy for All Amendment, introduced by Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM). It would overturn Citizens United and establish that Congress and the states have the power to regulate election spending. ASBC asks that you add your support as we continue to work against the Citizens United decision and fight to keep dark money out of our elections.
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.
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 24, 2014 at 10:00am and October 22 , 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.
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.
For Your Clients: Chase is giving away $3 million to help 20 small businesses make it big. The application deadline is October 4, 2014.
Member 30th Anniversary: Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center celebrates 30 years of growing Bay Area small businesses on October 8. Renaissance is also proud to honor their Emerging and Established Entrepreneurs of the Year including:
- Abraham Lopez, Owner of YucaTech Technology Solutions
- Veronica Granillo, Owner of The Law Office of Veronica B. Granillo
- Marcel Banks, Owner of Frisco Fried
- Elizabeth Leu, Owner of Fiddlesticks
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.
Policy Briefing: Mission Asset Fund will hold a policy briefing on Monday September 29, 2014 10:00-11:00 am PST on SB 896to answer questions and discuss implications of the new law to the asset building field. on Monday September 29, 2014 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM PST. Sign up here. The passage of SB 896 makes California the first state to regulate and recognize credit-building as a vehicle for good.
New Report: FIELD, in partnership with the Citi Foundation, is pleased to announce the release of the newest findings from the Asset Building through Credit Pilot. The demonstration project worked with five microenterprise programs to test the delivery of secured card, combined with credit coaching, as a tool to help aspiring entrepreneurs to build their credit and move toward their business goals.
CAMEO White Paper: Read the CAMEO White Paper: Do-It-Yourself Economic Growth: How Communities Can Cultivate Their Talent and Thrive.