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Virtual Coffee w/Carolina, SBDC Day and Another Farewell

In this Must Know…

Virtual Coffee with CEO Carolina Martinez

We are holding our first annual virtual coffee on March 22, to give all our members a chance to meet CAMEO’s new CEO, Carolina Martinez, and discuss what the future holds for our organization and our sector. Register, grab your favorite mug and join us on March 22, 2018 at 2:00pm PT.

One of the agenda items is an update of Carolina’s visit to DC last week. Here’s a teaser of what she said to Comptroller Joseph Otting about the need for more capital in California:

The big cuts in the CDFI Fund together with our Governor’s ending of the tax credit COIN program have created a lack of capital for CDFIs to lend. I ask you on behalf of California’s small and microbusiness CDFIs to create incentives for banks to make more investments in our nonprofit community lenders.

This is also the official end of our member drive, so if you haven’t renewed your membership, please do so. If you don’t know ask your CEO or email Andrew.

#SBDCDay

On March 21, 2018 Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) across the country will celebrate SBDC Day, a collective proclamation of the success and impact America’s SBDCs have across the nation in economic development and the small businesses community.


SBDC Day will unite the nearly 1,000 SBDC centers across the country and the hundreds of thousands of clients they serve by sharing, the success stories and notable impacts SBDCs collectively have on the small business community at large. The celebration includes social media campaigns, public relations initiatives, online and in-person events and more. Learn more about what your local SBDC is doing to celebrate.

The California Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Program provides small business owners and entrepreneurs with the tools and guidance needed to become successful in today’s challenging economic climate through professional consulting, supplemented by low-cost or free seminars and conferences. These services are delivered throughout California via an extensive network of 45 SBDCs. Business issues include: access to capital, start-up basics, procurement, contracting, regulatory compliance, money management, international trade, manufacturing assistance, and more.

Their one-on-one advising is funded in part by the US SBA, California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) and local partners and is offered at no cost to the client.

Follow #SBDCDay to join the conversation. Learn more @ www.AmericasSBDC.org/SBDCDay

A Fond Farewell


It is with deep regret that we announce the departure of a beloved staff member. Shufina English, our Director of Programs and Membership, has decided to pursue other opportunities. Personally, I have learned a lot from her and am proud to call her friend. As an organization, CAMEO has been fortunate to have her financial knowledge that kept our wheels humming, her creativity that brought us new partnerships and programs such as the Specialty Foods Association, and her collegial spirit that made working with her fun. Here’s a few words from Shufina:

“I do appreciate the deep relationships and good talks I have had with many of you over the last nine years. Time has flown, and it’s hard to believe I’m in my 10th year at CAMEO. It has been a fantastic position. I’ve never had the privilege of having a job that is so easy to talk about because there is no negative undertone or backstory! It has also been a privilege to serve the entire CAMEO membership, and the micro-sector.

I do hope to continue to engage with CAMEO and the sector at large in a different capacity so I hope that you will all stay in touch! If you are not already LinkedIn with me, please do so!

Change is never easy, but CAMEO is set with a fantastic staff, leadership, consultants, and partners.”

Best to Shufina on her new chapter!

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!

New Report: NAWBO released a white paper – “Spotlight on H.R. 5050: The Bill that Changed Everything for Women Business Owners”. The paper reflects on the provisions that transformed the course for women business owners and highlights the current areas for improved policy and better women involvement.

New Report: The National Women’s Business Council has released a report – “Understanding the Landscape: Access to Capital for Women Entrepreneurs.” Join them for their second quarter public meeting in Fiscal Year 2018 on Wednesday, March 28, 2018, from 11:00am-12:30pm PT // 2:00pm-3:30pm ET.

New Report: Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship, released a report titled: “Tackling the Gender Gap: What Women Entrepreneurs Need to Thrive.” This timely study draws on interviews with 14 female entrepreneurs, who detail the obstacles they faced and how they overcame them, to highlight current initiatives and provide recommendations to eliminate the unique barriers confronting women-owned small businesses.

Professional Networking: Join the CDFI Women’s Network (CWN) on the CDFI Connect Community! Login and navigate to the all communities page, find the CDFI Women’s Network community and click the green join button in the upper right corner. For assistance, please email community@ofn.org. CWN is an independent, women-led, volunteer organization dedicated to promoting the advancement of women who work for CDFIs or for organizations that support the Community Development Finance industry.

Future of Work MeetUps: California Forward is hosting a series of Future of Work Meetups to talk about how artificial intelligence, the rise of gig economy platforms, and a new wave of automation will further change the future of work and the skill sets required to thrive in the workforce. Sign up for one of the regional events; next week there are events in Sonoma and Palo Alto with events all over the state during the months of March and April.

State Survey: The California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) in partnership with the California Community Colleges Centers of Excellence for Labor Market Research (COE) is leading an effort to help education and workforce training providers create or improve programs to respond to California’s needs for a skilled cybersecurity workforce. Please join us in our effort to conduct a substantive cybersecurity labor market analysis for California by filling out the survey and passing it on.

For Your Farming Clients: Join California Farmlink for Growing Opportunity: Farm Finance Expo on March 28, 2018, 11:00am-5:00pm, in Sacramento. It’s one stop shopping for ag loans and financing resources. Meet Local Ag Lenders and Explore Financing Options. Learn How to Pitch a Farm Business for Financing. Manage Your Farm’s Finances (Instead of Your Finances Managing You).

Professional Conference (for you and your clients): The 8th annual La Cocina Conference will expand and force some intentional, exciting and considerate conversations around food as engines for economic development in our communities. On April 16-18, La Cocina invites chefs, placemakers, policy activists, writers, academics and consumers who believe that social justice must be a part of our dining culture to gather at the Golden Gate Club in the Presidio, San Francisco. Early bird tickets are available but there is a limited amount.

Moving Main Street Forward: AEO’s microbusiness and microfinance conference is a must-attend event for professionals providing capital, technical assistance and other forms of trusted guidance to Main Street and microbusiness owners. The agenda will be packed with inspiring keynotes, thought-provoking plenaries and compelling breakout sessions designed to engage attendees in bold and provocative conversations on using inclusion, innovation and investment to move Main Streets across the country forward. See you in Detroit, Michigan, April 30 to May 2, 2018. Check out the newly released agenda! Thanks to the generous support of Moving Main Street Forward sponsors, AEO has released a limited number of registrations for just $399! These will run out quickly, so don’t delay — claim your spot today! Also, CAMEO has a limited amount of scholarship available, contact Heidi Pickman for more information.

For Your Clients: Join Small Business California for their 2018 Education Day on May 22, 2018 in Sacramento. Small business owners from around the state will hear from leading experts on relevant issues such as: Workers Compensation, Medical Marijuana in the Workplace, State Contracting Opportunities, CalSavers Retirement Savings Program, PAGA Lawsuits, Universal Healthcare or Single Payer Plans, Employment Development Department, and more.

For Your Clients: California State Treasurer John Chiang officially rolled out CBIG.ca.gov, the California Business Incentives Gateway. The online gateway connects business owners and entrepreneurs to incentives to help them grow and create jobs. The CBIG site makes it easy for businesses expanding or locating in California to find and apply for incentives as part of a strategic business plan.

For Your Clients: The U.S. SBA announced the launch of the 2018 Emerging Leaders initiative for executives of small businesses poised for growth in emerging markets. Local area recruitment for the 2018 training cycle is currently ongoing at designated SBA District Offices. Classes are scheduled to begin this spring with specific dates differing by location. Interested small business owners can learn more regarding eligibility, how to apply, and class schedules at the SBA’s Emerging Leaders website. In California, classes will be held in Fresno, Glendale, Los Angeles, and Sacramento.

New Report: The SBA issued “Financing Patterns and Credit Market Experiences: A Comparison by Race and Ethnicity for U.S. Employer Firms“. Hispanic and Black Americans are underrepresented in business ownership compared with their shares of the general population. Asians (73 percent) Hispanics (72 percent) and Blacks or African Americans (70 percent) rely on owner’s personal or family savings as a source of startup capital, while 65 percent of Whites relying on this source.