Satisfied small business customers are loyal small business customers. Whether your company is providing financial services, benefits packages, or office supplies to small businesses, you have a vested interest in the long-term health and growth of those clients. You’re probably also well aware that small businesses don’t survive as long as big businesses – but you might not know there’s something you can do about it while also bolstering your bottom line. Think of the employees in your company, and all the collective business skill and knowhow they possess. You could bring that collective skill to bear to help your customers by creating a formal program where staff can provide your customers with pro bono advice. Having a formal pro bono program at your company can bring your people together around a purpose in their work, instill pride in your company, and increase their conviction that your company is doing something … Read More
We Need Your Small Business’ Voice
Here at Pacific Community Ventures, we’ve seen firsthand though our work with small businesses that job creation alone is insufficient to create lasting economic change in underserved communities and for working people. We view the advancement of quality jobs as an important avenue to better support underserved communities and address rising income and wealth inequality across the U.S. As part of our vision to make quality job creation the norm, we must equip small businesses with the practical tools and resources they need to offer higher quality jobs in a way that balances their business’ financial and operational needs with their employees’ interests. We’re committed to empowering small business owners to succeed – and believe a simple, practical quality jobs toolkit will help them to improve job quality for their workers, thereby reducing turnover, improving productivity and revenue, and boosting brand reputation. In order to create a resource that meets … Read More
Notice Anything Different?
If you’ve logged in to your profile recently you probably noticed some new changes afoot. Some things have been moved around or renamed, like the new “Browse” tab. Formerly known as the “library,” it still contains an extensive library of resources. A few notable additions to the platform are: My Spaces: focused hubs you can use to connect with resources and people like your mentoring partner My Saved Resources: quickly revisit your saved resources and collections Featured Resources: suggested and recommended resources Things to Read, Watch and Do: top resources tailored to you New in the Community: the most recent posts in the Community tab If you have any questions or encounter any issues, please let us know.
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
New Features On BusinessAdvising.org
We’d like to walk you through a couple of new features you may have noticed in your BusinessAdvising.org profile. You can now posit questions to the entire BusinessAdvising.org network with this handy feature. It’s really simple to use – just select the ‘Community’ tab in your profile, type your question in the ‘Ask the PCV Community’ box, and the network of advisors and entrepreneurs will answer your query. This is where you can read and view curated small business resources like articles, books, and videos, and work on missions to increase your acumen as a business owner. You can save them for later, assign them to your partners, and track your progress as you work through them. You can also add your own resources or create your own missions to work on with your active partners. Don’t hesitate to let us know if there are specific topics you want us to start adding!
This Just In: Our New BusinessAdvising.org Welcome Kit
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, have seen their revenues increase by 25% on average, and added jobs at 10 times the national level. We’ve empowered hundreds of small businesses to create tens of thousands of jobs. The core of this program is you – the small business owner and volunteer 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, templates, tips, best practices, resources, and lessons learned to set your advising match on the right path from Day One. [gview file=”http://businessadvising.pcv.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/08/BusinessAdvising-Partnership-Toolkit-v1.1.pdf” save=”1″]
OFN Recap: The Heart And Soul Of CDFIs
At the 2014 OFN conference, there was robust discussion about an ideological struggle: are CDFIs a movement or an industry? The CDFI business model as a whole is flawed, and there’s enormous work to do when it comes to inclusion, sustainability, and economic justice. And what does this mean for BusinessAdvising.org, and our parent nonprofit PCV? Read our Managing Director’s take.