KMVT, a local public access cable channel, will begin broadcasting the show on Friday, December 9th at 8:30 PM on Comcast channel 15. Scroll down for more ways to see the show.
The host and producer David Kocharhook of Reference Point wrote the following about the show in his latest newsletter.
We’ve been told by government officials, the press, and other sources that “small business” is the fundamental engine of the economy. If this is true (which I firmly believe it is), then supporting small business in the local community is the surest way that every American can contribute to the rapid turnaround of the economy….
AEO has an initiative called “One in Three.” The idea is that if one third of the 25.5 million micro businesses in America hired one employee, we would put 8.5 million people back to work. The November 4, 2011 report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics states there are 13.9 million unemployed in the United States. Can you see the impact the One in Three initiative can have?
These micro businesses are in all industries: from farming to manufacturing; from IT services to restaurants; medical services to construction; hair styling to specialty retailers; travel agents to printers.
The three CEOs on my show (Claudia Viek of CAMEO ; Sharon Miller of Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center; and Emily Gasner of Working Solutions – and organizations like theirs throughout the country – are having incredible success with the businesses they serve. The numbers are staggering: While many studies report that somewhere between 50% and 70% of start up businesses fail within the first five years, clients of organizations like these have an 80% success rate over the same period.
Why am writing about this? What’s my point? Simply this:
If you own a micro-business, or are considering starting one, hook up with an organization like the ones mentioned here. It could make a huge difference in your success rate. (If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area, check the links above for details. If you live elsewhere in California, the CAMEO site will identify providers near you. If you are outside California, the AEO site will provide a list of organizations in your state.)
Whether you own a business or work for someone else, SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESSES. Make a conscious and deliberate effort to buy products and services from businesses in your community. Online shopping may be easy and Big Box stores may be slightly less expensive, but the benefits to you, your community and the economy as a whole are much higher if you support small business. It impacts employment, tax revenues, blight, crime and other intangibles in a much more highly leveraged manner.
Tell your State Representatives and your Governor you would like to see more programs that support local business. While many states are offering huge tax incentives to large companies to establish a presence in their state, the impact takes time and can be limited. It can take years to build a facility and transfer operations. Programs to support small business will have an immediate impact on employment as well as local, county and state tax revenues. (Remember the One in Three initiative.)
Please think about these things as you plan for 2012. Realize that, collectively, we have the power to make an enormous positive impact on the economy.
SHOW TIMES for Micro on Reference Point
KMVT will begin broadcasting the show on Friday, December 9th at 8:30 PM on Comcast channel 15. The second episode will air the following Friday at the same time. The two shows will alternate for a period of six weeks. KMVT’s broadcast area includes Mountain View, Los Altos and Cupertino.
At that same time, the show will air through ATT Uverse throughout the Greater San Francisco Bay Area. 1. Go to Uverse channel 99. 2. Choose KMVT from the directory of broadcasting signals that originate from non-ATT stations. Reference Point will air Friday at 8:30 PM concurrent with the transmission on Comcast.
Other stations that will air the show are listed below. The times when these station will air the episodes is unknown, but the time Reference Point is broadcast is noted when known. These stations will not be able to begin airing the show until after Friday, December 9th – somewhere between the 14th and 21st depending on the station.
The shows will also be posted on KMVT’s You Tube site. When they are, I will post the urls.
The other stations that currently air Reference Point include:
KSAR – Comcast Channel 15 – Saratoga – Mondays 9:30 PM. KSAR notes the specific segment on their web site.
KCAT – Comcast Channel 15 – Los Gatos, Monte Serene – 2nd & 4th Monday of each month at 8:00 PM.
MCTV – Comcast Channel 26 – Milpitas – Mondays at 11:00 AM.
CreaTV – Comcast Channel 15 – San Jose – Sundays at 2:30 PM
Media Center – Comcast Channel 28 – Palo Alto, East Palo Alto, Atherton, Menlo Park, Stanford – Sundays 5:00 PM; Mondays 9:00 AM; Thursdays 7:00 PM; Fridays 11:00 AM. The Media Center publishes the data about the specific segment being aired on their web site.
Millbrae Community Television – Comcast Channel 27 – serving Millbrae, Brisbane, San Carlos and San Mateo.