Join us on Friday, October 14 for a free small business webinar on the tips and tricks to finding and securing the right loan for your small business. BusinessAdvising.org will host Marshall Lebovits, experienced advisor with 30 years in the banking and finance industry. In this free webinar, we’ll cover: The pros and cons of using debt capital to grow your small business How to best tell your small business’ story to a lender 12 ways you can close the deal Friday, October 14, 2016 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM (PDT) The presentation will be followed by a Q&A, where you can ask your questions and get advice. With almost 30 years of experience in the secured financing industry, Marshall’s passion is helping growing companies with non-dilutive, asset-backed financing solutions. These companies typically lack access to capital for reasons including a short time in business, hyper-growth sales, customer concentrations, weak … Read More
Free Webinar On September 16 — “People Strategies” to Grow Your Small Business
Join us on Friday, September 16 for a free small business webinar on people and hiring strategies, as well as retention ideas, to grow your small business sustainably. BusinessAdvising.org will host Cindy Kaczmarek, experienced advisor on people issues to small business owners and corporate executives. In this free webinar, we’ll cover: Determining the talent necessary to reach and exceed your business goals Building rewards that enable you to attract and retain great people Why focusing on performance matters Friday, September 16, 2016 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM (PDT) The presentation will be followed by a Q&A, where you can ask your questions and get advice. Cindy Kaczmarek is a Certified Professional Coach specializing in helping companies tackle their biggest people issues. She is sought out by business owners and corporate executives to assist them in leveraging their people to build their businesses. Employing five pillars of structure, process, talent … Read More
Updated BusinessAdvising.org Partnership Toolkit
This just in: Eli and the team have updated our mentoring partnership toolkit with new information, resources, and suggestions to make each advising partnership a great one. The core of this program is you – the small business owner and advisor. Your commitment to be successful and to this community is what delivers real value for all. This toolkit is intended to support your hard work by providing some structure to set your advising match on the right path from Day One. In this toolkit you will find: Best Practices Partnership Meeting Guides Goal Setting FAQs Important Announcements Reading List Social Media Referral Toolkit And much more [gview file=”https://businessadvising.pcv.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/07/BusinessAdvising-Partnership-Toolkit-v1.3.pdf” save=”1″] BusinessAdvising.org is a nonprofit small business accelerator harnessing the model made famous by venture capital-backed tech startups (access to working capital, expert business advice, and extensive networks) to benefit businesses on “Main Street”. Since 1998, businesses working with us, on average, … Read More
Big Wins For Small Business Advising
Meet Deb Doyle, a marketing marvel making a massive impact in the small business world. Deb is one of our many talented business advisors here at Pacific Community Ventures. Not only does she mentor business owners and hold free webinars with our nonprofit, she’s on the board of directors with NAWBO (National Association for Women Business Owners). And, she runs her own marketing consulting business– Let’s just say she’s pretty awesome. Deb has been volunteering with us for four years now, and was recently matched up with Elsie of Monarch Fine Art, a small business owner working with our partner Accion’s small business accelerator program. Elsie had been working in healthcare management for over 15 years, but was also an avid art collector. In 2013, there was an art gallery that was being put up for sale and Elsie saw the opportunity to bring Monarch Fine Art Gallery to life. Monarch … Read More
Become A Skills-Based Volunteer And Create Jobs
There’s more entrepreneurship in what the government calls “lower-income communities” than anywhere else, but the social and monetary networks that these small business owners need to live the American Dream and sustain a business in their community are often beyond their reach. Small businesses are the engines of the economy — but in economically underserved areas they don’t have access to the support and expertise they need to thrive. Skills-based volunteers can change that. Skills-based volunteering is a form of pro bono giving back, where you’re using your unique experience of business skills for a few hours each month to help a small business in an underserved community. The Small Business Administration says only 30% of small businesses make it to 10 years. But for small business owners with a mentor, the difference is striking: 70% of small businesses that receive mentoring survive to that 10-year mark, double the rate … Read More
Free Webinar On January 22 — Creating Your 2016 Marketing Plan
Join us on Friday, January 22 for a free small business webinar on strategies to get your marketing plans off to a strong start, and how to make adjustments as the year goes on. BusinessAdvising.org will host brand storyteller Deb Doyle. In this free webinar, we’ll cover: How a marketing plan can save you time and money What strategic and reactional marketing is, and why it’s important How to measure and adjust your plan Friday, January 22, 2016 from 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM (PDT) The presentation will be followed by a Q&A, where you can ask your questions and get advice. Deb Doyle, Brand Storyteller/Founder, Stage2 Marketing, shows clients how to find their voices, clarify their messages and create marketing materials that inspire customers to act. Her work has benefited clients such as Varian Medical Systems, Tastes on the Fly Restaurant Group, University of San Francisco, Solar City and numerous start-ups. Deb … Read More
Small Business Update: CORE Foods
This week was the grand opening of CORE Kitchen in Oakland, CA, a project of Corey Rennell and CORE Foods — one of our longest-tenured clients. We took the opportunity to chat with Corey about how things are going, and how his business is growing. CORE Foods originally came to BusinssAdvising.org needing help increasing sales and expanding the team. After working with our volunteer advisors, saw substantial growth and were able to add five new jobs. After a couple of years of sustainable growth, Corey began the next phase of the the CORE Foods enterprise — CORE Kitchen. It’s the world’s first produce-only restaurant, and it’s the definition of bootstrapped. Corey and his team even laid the tile themselves. With the launch of CORE Kitchen, Corey added another 7 new jobs, and prioritized hiring from workforce training programs. “They’re an amazing team of people!” Corey told us. “And they all … Read More
Create A Job This Holiday Season
#GivingTuesday 2015 is happening on December 1st— and we want to get you involved! We have a day for giving thanks. We have Small Business Saturday for shopping local. Now, we have #GivingTuesday, a global day dedicated to giving back. On Tuesday, December 1, 2015, charities, individuals, families, businesses, community centers, and students around the world will come together for one common purpose: to celebrate generosity and to give. It’s a simple idea. Just find a way for your family, your community, your company or your organization to come together to give something more. Then tell everyone you can about how you are giving. Join us and be a part of a global celebration of a new tradition of generosity. The Great Recession destroyed almost 3 million jobs at small businesses, and devastated America’s working people and low-income communities. Our nonprofit parent organization — Pacific Community Ventures — has fueled the … Read More
Finding Balance As A Small Business Owner
You may be like the 80% of working Americans who say they feel overworked and stretched too thin. If so, you may also say that you could use a little less stress and a lot more balance in your life. Would you like to minimize your stress? How would it be to just slow down and spend more time on the things that you truly enjoy? John Keathley, MBA and certified personal coach, will walk you through reclaiming your time and living a more fulfilling life in the free webinar below. Here’s what you’ll discover in this information-packed program: What work/life balance means to you, and how to make changes What your current level of satisfaction is in your life, and how to increase it a few notches right away The consequences of living an imbalanced lifestyle, and how to make important change How the choices you make influence your level of balance, and … Read More
Free Webinar On October 23 — Finding Balance As A Small Business Owner
Join us on Friday, October 23 for a free small business webinar with John Keathley, MBA and certified personal coach, on reclaiming your time and living a more fulfilling life. You may be like the 80% of working Americans who say they feel overworked and stretched too thin. If so, you may also say that you could use a little less stress and a lot more balance in your life. Would you like to minimize your stress? How would it be to just slow down and spend more time on the things that you truly enjoy? Discover how to create more balance in your life will not only help you focus on the professional and personal issues that matter most, but also bring you a greater sense of joy and fulfillment. Click here to sign up. Friday, October 23, 2015 from 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM (PDT) Here’s what you’ll discover in this information-packed program: What work/life … Read More