If you’re a small business owner, September means it’s time to start planning for the holidays. Are you ready? We spoke with our network of entrepreneurs, and collected the following tips that will prepare you for your small business’ most productive holiday season yet. Start Planning Early We all know that holiday shoppers shift their shopping habits online, but if last year’s trends continue, 30 percent of consumers will actually begin their holiday shopping prior to Halloween. Which makes now the perfect time to get your holiday plan for your staff, inventory, and marketing in place. Let’s start with your staff. Depending on your business, the holiday season can be a particularly busy and stressful time for them as well as you. Consider their needs, and make sure that your holiday prep list includes ways to help them better serve your customers. For example, come up with lists of gift … Read More
3 Unexpected Benefits of Becoming a Business Advisor
Skills-based volunteering is gaining steam. Individuals and big corporations alike are getting involved and volunteering their skills to give back to the community. www.BusinessAdvising.org, offers seasoned business professionals the opportunity to work directly with small business owners who are looking to create jobs and opportunities in their communities by growing their businesses. And this high-impact volunteer program is working. Last year alone, advised businesses created almost 400 jobs paid over $68 million in wages to residents of low income communities as a result of over 4,500 hours volunteered by advisors. Most, if not all, of our volunteer business advisors report that they volunteer their time because of the impact they can have on vulnerable communities. In addition to the reward of making a difference, there are many other benefit that come from working with entrepreneurs. Reconnect with your inner entrepreneur Everyone knows that entrepreneurs are some of the most passionate … Read More
Welcome, Eli!
We are thrilled to welcome Eli Raber to the BusinessAdvising.org team as Program Manager! As Program Manager, Eli is responsible for connecting entrepreneurs with the valuable resources they need to run and grow their businesses successfully. Eli works hands-on with volunteer business advisors, entrepreneurs, and partner community and economic development organizations to provide game-changing support to our thriving and ever-growing network. Click here to learn more about Eli!
Strategy Spotlight: Macy’s Fashion Incubator of San Francisco
Last week, PCV’s Business Advising team held a Strategy Roundtable session at the Macy’s Fashion Incubator of San Francisco’s (FiSF) headquarters and design studio, whose home is the former Macy’s executive offices. The session brought together of a diverse group of PCV advisors, FiSF staff, and a member of the FiSF board. Following a presentation from FiSF’s Betsy Nelson and Jeanne Allen, a robust and productive discussion around fundraising and sustainability resulted in great insights and feedback from all of the participants. The team is looking forward to watch FiSF grow as an organization and for the benefits it will bring to the city. The Fashion Incubator San Francisco is one of San Francisco’s most unique new organizations – with a mission to bring the fashion industry, and jobs, back to our City. When we think about the fashion industry, we usually think of design – but we don’t always … Read More
Volunteering for Impact
As a senior lender for Citibank, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley, PCV Advisor David Taylor felt a sense of career satisfaction whenever he closed a transaction for a large corporation or a high-profile individual. Yet at the same time David often wondered whether his work as a banker had a broader impact on the world or made any real difference in the lives of others. So when PCV’s CFO Carolyn Clarke asked David if he would be interested in becoming a PCV Volunteer Business Advisor, David jumped at the opportunity. “I was really attracted to volunteer with PCV by the clear focus of PCV’s mission – to create quality jobs in underserved communities – and by the opportunity to share my time and expertise with local business owners whom I could get to know personally,” David says. “Our career lives have become increasingly impersonal now that so much business … Read More
Inspiring Entrepreneurs! Three Babes Bakeshop
In my job I get to speak with amazing people every day. From pioneers of impact investing to volunteer advisors who truly care about giving back to visionary entrepreneurs, I am always taken aback by just how incredible the PCV network is. This week I had the absolute pleasure of speaking with Lenore Estrada, who is the perfect example of an inspiring entrepreneur. Along with her business partner and best friend Anna Derivi-Castellanos, Lenore opened Three Babes Bakeshop, a bakery that makes pies from seasonal, organic ingredients, in 2011. Originally from Stockton, California, Lenore attended Yale and then worked for companies like Google, Blackstone, and even as a luxury wedding planner. Diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2007, she underwent chemotherapy and radiation in New York, where she continued to work full time so that she could support herself and help her parents make their mortgage payments back in California. When … Read More