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Micro Really Is THE Job Creator

Vote for Claudia for the Small Business Influencer Award – and vote everyday! She’s number 10. Let’s keep her in the top ten!

  • Micro Really Is THE Job Creator
  • Understanding Healthcare Webinar
  • The Goodies – This week’s highlight includes free tuition for Economic Development 201-Business Credit Analysis for staff from non-profit 501c(3) organizations, courtesy of Citi. The training is September 9-13, 2013 in Orange County. Learn more and register.

Micro Really Is THE Job Creator

I crunched some SBA data the other day and found something startling. From 2003 to 2010, micro-businesses (1 to 4 employees),

  • created jobs every year;
  • created a net of 5.5 million jobs;
  • they mostly created more jobs than any other firm size;
  • during 2009 and 2010, they were the only firm size that created jobs.

This while large businesses (those >500 employees) lost 1.8 million jobs. I was flabbergasted at how many jobs were created by micro-businesses over other sized businesses. So we issued a press release “CAMEO Reports Very Small Businesses Created 5.5 Million Jobs From 2004 to 2010.” The press release includes links to more analysis from the SBA data on net job creation by firm size and the data broken out by firm size by state by year. Bloomberg/BusinessWeek wrote a piece on the US numbers. In California, micro created 720,000 jobs over the time period and big businesses lost about 300,000 jobs – showing just how important the micro sector is to our state. Download the California Net Jobs by Firm Size spreadsheet by Small Business California’s Terry Bibbens (THANKS!) who was the inspiration for looking at the national data.

This data is strong support for our Do-It-Yourself Economy message. Please use this information when making your case for investments in the micro sector. It’s important because our state continually believes that the tech sector and larger businesses are the job creators.

Understanding Healthcare Webinar

Yesterday, Rhea Aguinaldo from Small Business Majority presented on California’s health insurance exchange (SHOP), one-stop shop where our entrepreneurs can find the right health insurance policy for their needs and budget. The webinar was chock-o-block with information on the new system. The important things to take away are:

  • Small businesses may qualify for a tax credit if they meet certain conditions and provide healthcare.
  • Businesses with fewer than 50 full-time workers – 96% of all businesses – are exempt from any requirement to offer insurance (but they can).
  • Whether or not employers decide to offer insurance, employers are required by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to notify employees of coverage options available through the Insurance Marketplace by October 1, 2013.
  • Beginning in 2014, most individuals required to have insurance or pay a penalty. There are exemptions for certain religions and very low-income individuals (less than $9,500 per year). Acceptable coverage includes: Employer, Individual, Medicare, Medi-Cal, Covered CA, TRICARE, etc.
  • California has a two new exchanges (individuals and small businesses of 2-50 employees) where you can buy healthcare. Plans begin January 1, 2014 with open enrollment starting on October 1, 2013.
  • The last slide has lots of good resources to help answer questions and walk you through the healthcare insurance process.

Download The Affordable Care Act and California Small Businesses webinar. See Goodies below for more opportunities to learn.

The Goodies

New opportunities for trainings, conference information, funding, scholarships, and other information that have crossed our desks since the last Must Know: I have posted a running tab of current Goodies on the CAMEO website that lists items that were in past emails. Check it out to make sure you’re not missing anything, like grants whose deadlines are still alive!

For Your Clients: Our friends at CFED are studying the needs of small businesses in order to recommend policies that will reduce vulnerability and position them for growth. Please send the following message to your clients:

Please take this 5-minute survey to learn more about your business’s financial strengths and vulnerabilities. When you complete the survey by August 25, you’ll be entered in a drawing to win a prize in the form of a reward card, issued by MasterCard, with a value of $100. The reward card can be used for any purchase and transactions wherever MasterCard is accepted. If you have any questions about this survey or the study, you can contact: Kasey Wiedrich or
Lauren Williams.

Free Webinar: The Social Security Administration’s Ticket to Work program will be hosting a free webinar centering on self-employment through the Ticket program on August 28, 12:30-1:30pm PDT // 3:00-4:30 pm EDT. SSA’s team of disability benefits experts will present a Work Incentive Seminar Event (WISE) webinar titled “Working for Yourself with Ticket to Work: Achieving Financial Independence.” This informative session is ideal for people age 18 through 64 who receive disability benefits and are interested in employment. Learn more and register for this webinar.

Healthcare Info: The Small Business Administration and Small Business Majority are launching the Affordable Care Act 101 weekly webinar series. Small business owners can learn the basics of the Affordable Care Act and what it means for their company and employees, including insurance reforms, the small business health care tax credit, the new health insurance marketplaces, and employer shared responsibility provisions. Each week, SBA representatives will walk through the key pieces of the law so that small business owners can understand the facts and make the best, informed decisions they can about providing health insurance for their employees. The Affordable Care Act 101 will take place every Thursday from now (next ones are September 5, 12) through the opening of the marketplaces in October. Go to their website to register for The Affordable Care Act 101.

Free Training: As part of Citi’s commitment to building the capacity of partner organizations serving our local communities, it’s supporting a series of community economic development trainings focused on economic and community development finance conducted by the National Development Council (NDC). Through a contribution from the Citi Foundation, the cost of the tuition for Economic Development 201 – Business Credit Analysis will be provided at no cost to staff from non-profit 501c(3) organizations, including CDCs and CDFIs. The training is September 9 – 13, 2013 in Orange County. Learn more and register.

USDA RMAP Grant: USDA’s Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program (RMAP) will provide about $12.2 million to eligible applicants this year. Under the program, USDA may provide loans of up to $500,000 to Microenterprise Development Organizations (MDOs). They, in turn, make microloans for business start-up or development to eligible microentrepreneurs who are unable to obtain conventional credit elsewhere. Grants of up to $30,000 are available for MDOs to provide technical assistance and training, particularly in rural areas that have experienced significant outmigration. RMAP applications are due by September 13, 2013. Learn more or contact any USDA Rural Development state office.

Conference: Beacon Economics and UC Riverside’s School of Business Administration present the seventh annual Riverside/San Bernardino Economic Forecast Conference. Join some of the state’s leading economic forecasters and hear what’s next for the U.S., California, and inland Southern California economies. The conference takes place on October 29, 2013 from 8-11:00am at the Riverside Auditorium and Events Center (Municipal Auditorium). CAMEO members receive the ‘Affiliate Discounted Admission’ of $90. Learn more and register.