SCL Biz: Everything Business in Sonoma County

Presented by the Mark West Area Chamber of Commerce, this free event showcases businesses while you enjoy complimentary food and Sonoma County wines and beverages.

October 3, 4:00pm – 8:00pm
Wells Fargo Center for the Arts
4795 Old Redwood Highway, Suite A

For booth information, call the Chamber at (707) 578-7975.
Showcase Flyer, including floor plan and application

This is a Redwood Empire Small Business Development Center workshop:

“This new class is a must for any small business owner interested in securing a bank loan, leasing equipment or refinancing existing debt. You will learn how a wide range of banks and other lending organizations evaluate your loan applications and the types of fundingthey can provide. You will have the opportunity to meet and discuss your own financingissues by a panel of representatives from banks and other lending organizations including- Citibank, Safe-Bidco, Working Solutions, SBA, large money center banks and community banks.”

October 3, 9:00am – 1:00pm
Redwood Empire SBDC Conference Room
421 10th Street; Santa Rosa, CA 95401
1-888-346-SBDC

More information and reservations or call 1-888-346-SBDC

“The Redwood Empire Small Business Development Center is hosted by the Santa Rosa Junior College and funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration, Humboldt State University, and the Chancellor’s Office of the California Community Colleges, to provide quality management and technical assistance for existing and potential small businesses. This includes one-on-one professional business counseling, workshops and seminars, and special programs designed for business owners in Marin, Sonoma, and Mendocino counties.”

Ongoing workshops:

Pre-Venture Training:

• Module 1 includes “Planning and What to Consider When Starting a Business” and “Marketing Your Business” [Next dates: 10/15, 10/29]
• Module 2 includes “Financing Your Business” and “Legal Aspects of Starting a Business” [Next dates: 10/1, 10/22]

Workshops are free, but you must reserve your space. Go to RESBDC Workshops for a schedule, more information, and online registration.

Peruse the The North Bay Business Journal’s Second Annual “Best Places to Work in the North Bay” and see if your company is among them. The September 17, 2007 print issue has an insert with more information, including an article on how the winners were chosen and facts and figures about the best places to work.

The Sonoma County Economic Development Board has created a great website to help businesses recruit employees to Sonoma County. The first website of its kind, Sonoma County Connections, brings together all of the information someone considering a move to Sonoma County would like to know [and a resource for those of us already fortunate enough to live here!] with sections on:

• Employment & Business: Career options, Jobs & Employment, Business Information, and Chambers of Commerce
• Housing: Communities & Neighborhoods, Housing options
• Education & Parenting: Schools, Resources for Parents, including Childcare
• Healthcare: Hospitals, Resources for Disabled Persons, Senior Citizen Resources, and general Healthcare Resources
• Culture: Local History, Culture & Diversity, Community Service
• Arts & Entertainment: Music & Venues, Restaurants & Breweries, Arts & Museums, Wine & Viticulture, Movies, Shopping & Events
• Recreation: Tourism, Sports, Outdoor Recreation
• Living Here: Utilities, Transportation, Government

The Napa & St. Helena Chambers of Commerce, the Napa Valley Vintners and the Napa Valley Economic Development Corporation present the 2008 Economic Conference: “What does the future hold in the next year? Should you expand or should you hold back and hunker down? What are the predictors that can help you plan for your businesses success?”

Guest Speakers include Dr. Rob Eyler, Chair of Economics Department at Sonoma State University, Dr. Kellie McElhaney, of the Haas Business School, and Vic Motto, of Global Wine Partners, with Agustin Huneeus, Sr., proprietor of Quintessa Winery.

Friday, October 12th, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Meritage Resort, 875 Bordeaux Way

Information and online reservations

More on online businesses

The U.S. Department of State, U.S. Commercial Service has a great resource for anyone interested in the business climate of another country or region. Use the Country Commercial Guides database to select a country or region (e.g., Central Asia, Latin America), select a specific industry (or see all of them) or search by keyword, and view Market Research Reports, Country Commercial Guides (CCG), and Best Market Reports.

SCL Biz is working on a series of news items about taking your business into the global marketplace that will include online and print resources with everything you want to know about importing and exporting. Stay tuned!

“Green Innovation: The New California Gold Rush,” presented by the San Francisco Business Times.

“California’s next wave of growth will be driven by innovation in clean tech, renewable energy solutions and sustainable business practices. Join leaders from the cutting edge of this powerful force of Bay Area innovation – who will discuss the rise of emerging clean technology companies best practices in green and sustainable business; and the Bay Area’s growing hub of R&D and public and private investment in the new green “Gold Rush”.”

Speakers:

• Joe Pettus, Sr. Vice President Fuel and Energy, Safeway Inc.
• Dan Kammen, Director of the Renewable and Apporiate Energy Lab., UC Berkeley
• Scott Shell, Principal and Director of Sustainable Design, EHDD Architecture

Friday, October 5 Registration at 7:30am, 8-9:45am Breakfast Forum
San Francisco Marriott Hotel, 55 Fourth Street

Information & registration

It is a very unusual, and lucky, business that has no competition. Entrepreneur Press has two informative articles on competition:

• “Get to Know Your Business Competition” by Kim T. Gordon [2007] – A simple, 4-step competitive analysis will help you rise above the pack.
• “Know Your Competition” by Tim Berry [2005] – Whether you’re creating a new business plan or revamping an old one, knowing what your competitors are up to can save your business.

After reading the articles check out Break from the Pack: How to Compete in a Copycat Economy by Oren Harari [Financial times Management 2007] to put your business on the front line.

The Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce is hosting the Women Entrepreneurs Conference. Keynote speakers: Angeles Arrien is a Cultural Anthropologist, award-winning author, educator, and business consultant, and Deborah Price is the author of Money Magic and founder of The Money Coaching Institute.

Thursday, October 4, 2007, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Santa Rosa Golf & Country Club
333 Country Club Drive, Santa Rosa CA 95401

More information & mail-in registration or register online at www.santarosachamber.com

From animation to green tech… the future is here and it is being brought to you by the North Bay Business Journal, with corporate support from the City of Santa Rosa, the North Bay Leadership Council, and The Press Democrat. Panel 1 is “Insight into the North Bay’s Most Promising New Technologies” and Panel 2 is “Attracting, Retaining and Developing a Work Force in the North Bay: It Can Be Done!”

Wednesday, October 3, 8 – 11:30am
Vintners Inn, Santa Rosa

Information and online reservations

With all of the sophisticated electronic marketing available to businesses these days, sometimes old-fashioned Word of Mouth Marketing (WOMM) can still be the most effective.

WOMMA, The Word of Mouth Marketing Association has a good website – start with WOM 101 – An Introduction to Word of Mouth Marketing, to understand the types of WOMM and learn the sophisticated techniques developed to give “people a reason to talk about your products and services, and make it easier for that conversation to take place.”

Lesley Spencer Pyle, founder of Home Based Working Moms™, has written an article that everyone (even if you’re not a Mom) looking for a home-based business should read: “Tips for Avoiding Scams.”

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Starting a Home-Based Business, by Barbara Weltman [Alpha 2007], will get your business up and running.

Check out Library materials on home-based businesses for more help.

If you need to find corporate or business filings in any of the 50 states, this is the place to start: Research RoundUp: Business Filings Databases. Choose a state and the site offers links to the online records databases available.

For instance, in California, “the Secretary of State’s Business Portal offers online searchable databases of corporate, limited partnership and LLC records. The office accepts electronic filing of Statement of Information forms, which requires payment by credit card. In Oregon, “the Secretary of State Corporation Division’s Business Registry database is searchable by business name or entity number. ”

More great websites in the SCL Biz Guide to Internet Resources