SCL Biz: Everything Business in Sonoma County

Are you entering the workforce or supervising employees who are? The Library has a series of DVDs from JIST Works (2006) to help you succeed. These short (18 minute) DVDs are perfect as part of new employee orientation, especially for young or inexperienced workers, anyone starting a new job, and everyone who wants to thrive at work.

• Get Ready in Your Job
• Get Going in Your Job
• Get Ahead in Your Job

For more help in hiring (and legally firing) employees, including interviewing techniques to choose the best, see the SCL Biz Guide to Growing a Business.

The HR Matrix Announces 2007 Leadership Series™ For Business Owners, Supervisors & Managers

Registration/Continental Breakfast 8:00-8:30 a.m. (Online Registration Open for Individual Workshops)
Session 8:30-10:00 a.m.

Participants will learn to apply useful skills and principles that tie directly to financial and operational performance. These 90 minute sessions, held at the private Fountaingrove Golf and Athletic Club, will provide valuable information and tools to successfully develop and manage a high performing workforce.

April 12, 2007 – SELECTING THE BEST FOR YOUR COMPANY
Past performance is the best predictor of future performance. Learn how to use competency-based interviewing skills to conduct effective interviews and select the best for your organization. Presented by Brenda Gilchrist, SPHR – Principal of The HR Matrix

May 10, 2007 – ENGAGING YOUR WORKFORCE
It’s not happy or satisfied employees, but “engaged” employees that are the best predictors of retention, productivity, safety, and profitability. Come learn the secrets of employee engagement and how you can create a highly engaging place to work. Presented by Gary Hochman – Principal of The HR Matrix

June 21, 2007 – BUILDING POWERFUL TEAMWORK
Successful teams can move mountains but dysfunctional teams tear organizations apart. Unfortunately, most teambuilding efforts fail to revive underperforming teams. Learn how to create strong teamwork in your enterprise and get the results you need. Presented by Gary Hochman – Principal of The HR MatrixVisit: www.TheHRMatrix.com

If you have a product or service you would like to sell to any Sonoma County department or agency, the Sonoma County General Services Purchasing Division has a website for you. They “purchase and lease goods, contract for professional services, engage independent contractors and contract for construction services on behalf of the County and its Departments. The Purchasing Division also manages personal property declared surplus to County needs.” You can view a Vendor’s Guide and register online as a Vendor at Sonoma County Purchasing.

For more local resources see the SCL Biz Guide to Internet Resources.

The Second Annual Sustainable Enterprise Conference: at Work. for Life is presented by The Sustainable Enterprise Coalition, the Green MBA, and Sonoma State University. The Conference is May 4-5, 2007, at Sonoma Mountain Village in Rohnert Park.

A conference for business, government, and non-profit organizations, students, consultants, and everyone interested in “a unique opportunity for leaders to learn about managing an organization to be environmentally friendly, socially just, and economically viable.”

For more information on attending, exhibiting or sponsoring, Sustainable Enterprise Conference.

Contrary to the series name, the ‘For Dummies’ books are not really for dummies. They are filled with expert tips & tricks, presented in easy-to-understand (and usually entertaining) ways and Project Management for Dummies is no exception. Published in 2006 and authored by Stanley E. Portny, it covers everything from “What Exactly is a Project” to “Ten Tips for Being a Better Project Manager.”

Check our catalog for more books on Project Management and the SCL Biz Guide to Managing a Business for library and Internet resources.

The Library has the newest edition of Best Customers: Demographics of Consumer Demand on order (we also keep the older editions, for comparison purposes). From the publisher:

“The fourth edition of Best Customers: Demographics of Consumer Demand is a unique look at who the best and biggest customers are for hundreds of individual products and services, alerting marketers to potential booms and busts in the years ahead.

Based on data from the Labor Statistics 2004, Consumer Bureau of Expenditure Survey, Best Customers analyzes household spending on more than 300 products and services by age of householder, household income, household type, race and Hispanic origin of householder, region of residence, and educational attainment of householder. It identifies which households spend the most on a product or service (the best customers) and which control the largest share of spending (the biggest customers).”

See a sample of the many Business References the Library has to help you with your business and marketing plans.

The Society of American Business Editors and Writers, a not-for-profit organization made up of business journalists in North America, named The PD Business section one of the nation’s best among newspapers with comparable circulation. This is the latest of six consecutive annual awards. Sonoma County is very fortunate to have such award-winning coverage of our business community.

Read the The Press Democrat online and, with your Sonoma County Library card, search Proquest, our online newspaper database for articles in the PD and hundreds of other newspapers from across the United States and abroad. We also have The Press Democrat, starting with 1901, on microfilm.

Check out the SCL Biz Guide to Newspapers & Periodicals for a complete list of available business journals in the Library and our Guide to Online Databases for information about Proquest.

The Sonoma County Economic Development Board has been very active in the last few years in providing local economic reports: business confidence, annual snapshots of the county business climate, and excellent local industry reports (e.g., tourism, technology, wine, construction, etc.). The latest is the 2007 Wine Industry Forecast.

These excellent publications are available online at the EDB website. The Library has print copies of all of these online reports, as well as EDB reports from as early as the 1960s.

Visit the SCL Biz Guide to Internet Resources for more local business resources.

SCORE offers a series of great workshops throughout the year and this one is coming up on May 12, 2007, 8:30am-12:30pm. For more information and registration information, please call (707) 571-8342 or go to www.ncscore.org.

Visit the SCL Biz Guides for Starting, Growing, or Managing A Business for more resources.

We have a great new book in the library: How to get the financing for your new small business : innovative solutions from the experts who do it every day, by Sharon L. Fullen. Atlantic Pub, 2006.

Please visit Starting a Business for more resources.

Crimecrushers is a “new program of education and training in crime prevention techniques for Sonoma County businesses. Established by the Business Crime Prevention Task Force in conjunction with public safety departments throughout the county, the business community, and the Sonoma County Economic Development Board” and has the following goals:

• To prevent crime from increasing in the commercial sector, this program will promote training employees and managers in all aspects of business crime prevention.
• To educate business owners and employees so repeat victimization does not occur, this program helps educate staff and aids in site assessment to increase awareness and prevent potential trouble.
• To counteract the public impression of an unsafe business community, this program actively promotes business crime prevention to enhance public confidence.

Check our Internet Resources guide for more authoritative websites from reputable sources.

SCORE is a national organization that calls itself “Counselors to America’s Small Business.” We are very fortunate to have an active chapter in the North Bay. In addition to free counseling on every aspect of staring and managing your small business, they also have workshops throughout the year ( for a modest fee). Check out their website for information on making an appointment or for the workshop/seminar schedule.

SCORE NorthCoast

From the review of a new book, How She Does It: How Women Entrepreneurs are Changing the Rules of Business Success, by Margaret Heffernan. Viking, 2007:

“Women-run companies are more likely to stay in business than the average U.S. firm, to grow at three times the average rate, create jobs at twice the average rate and produce profits faster, according to former CEO and BBC producer Heffernan. To find out how and why, she interviewed hundreds of women business owners.” Publishers Weekly, November 2006.

For more on Women in Business.

Presented by the Sonoma County Economic Development Board:

“Sonoma County’s Advantage in a Slowing Economy”
Spring Economic Outlook featuring Dr. Steve Cochrane, Managing Director, Moody’s Economy.com
7-9 a.m., Hyatt Vineyard Creek Hotel.

For more information and to register.