Another CAMEO Member, California Farmlink, was also recently featured on KQED on 12/3/2009. Click the link below to listen to the program
http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R912030850/b
A CAMEO Member, Valley Economic Development Center, was featured on KQED on 11/24/2009. Click the link below to listen to the Program.
http://www.kqed.org/.stream/anon/radio/tcr/2009/11/2009-11-24b-tcr.mp3
THIS OPINION PIECE WAS THE LEAD ARTICLE IN SUNDAY’S SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE. SHUFINA PERFECTLY CAPTURED THE RATIONALE FOR WHY WE NEED TO INVEST IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP DURING THIS GREAT RECESSION. READ AND ENJOY!
Sunday, November 22, 2009
California's unemployment rate is now officially 12.5 percent, but the real unemployment rate, including discouraged and part-time workers who want full-time jobs, is more than 20 percent. Members of the California Association for Micro Enterprise Opportunity report that in African American and Latino populations, the rate is closer to 30 percent. Where are the jobs, and how do we train and educate for them?
We believe that self-employment and micro-business is the labor trend of the future.
Data from the Small Business Administration show that rates of self-employment increased by 8 percent over each of the past two years - up from 4 percent per year during the previous five years. As in any downturn, many people turn to self-employment to supplement family income; they sharpen their skills, they network, they take risks and they pursue a dream of self-sufficiency.
For those with financial and emotional support networks, as well as the drive to succeed, the entrepreneurial path is a viable option and a positive alternative to job training. We believe that 5 percent of our state's unemployed are entrepreneurial in nature and could be successfully self-employed if supported with the tools, training and education.
California has an important infrastructure of nonprofit organizations that focus on micro-business development. These organizations provide services ranging from technical assistance to financing for California's micro-businesses (businesses that have five or fewer employees and are capitalized with $35,000 or less). Micro-businesses start small but can grow to be large enterprises.
The Department of Labor does not recognize self-employment as a labor market trend and does not fund these vital organizations. Millions of dollars from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act have come to California for job training; a portion of these funds should be redirected to micro-enterprise development, today's labor trend. These additional funds will allow micro-development organizations to significantly scale up and offer their services to thousands of individuals across the state who, in turn, will develop sustainable businesses and hire more people. In fact, a self-employed business owner adds an average of two jobs within three to five years.
We can solve today's problem, but how should we think about the future? Recent articles in The Chronicle stress that this is the worst job market for college graduates in memory. How can we train our children for future jobs when we don't know what those jobs will be?
I believe it is time for a sea change in thinking about education. Young children often are naturally entrepreneurial in their play and actions. Somewhere along the way, as they proceed through their education, they stop thinking "I can create something" and become focused solely on satisfying the eligibility requirements for graduation and entrance to higher-level institutions.
We should challenge our educational institutions to develop an educated and entrepreneurial workforce. Public education should develop a statewide entrepreneurship initiative for our students that incorporates entrepreneurship training into our academic fabric. This would be based on creative, immersive entrepreneurial experience and would be appropriate for all students, from K-12 through the University of California system.
Professors could link their classes with innovative businesses so that students understand the exigencies of a successful business and can see themselves as contributing participants. Entrepreneurship or business-plan competitions at all education levels, mentor and alumni networks and improved facilities for prototyping, testing and other business start-up requirements will develop the skills required for successful self-employment and business ownership.
We should take to heart the words of William Butler Yeats, "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." Entrepreneurship is the heart of our economy. Let us celebrate and nurture this spirit.
Shufina English is director of member programs and operations for the California Association for Micro Enterprise Opportunity. Send your feedback to us through our online form at SFGate.com/chronicle/submissions/#1.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/11/22/IN2H1ALDO1.DTL
This article appeared on page E - 2 of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Blog by Claudia Viek, CAMEO'S CEO
After 3 days of intensive advocacy on Capitol Hill as well as DOL, SBA and CDFI Fund, it is fair to say that our government leaders are waking up to the reality that micro businesses are the real job creators in our economy.
Senator Feinstein serves on a Working Committee for job creation and she is open to new ideas, e.g. by fostering self employment through DOL-WIA training funds.
My meeting with Donna Gambrell, Director of CDFI Fund continued the efforts of our members and CRC to promote the needs of small businesses in CA for a fair share of CDFI funding. We discussed how CAMEO was leveraging CDFI dollars by working with banks like Wells Fargo and Rabobank to make more investments in nonprofit lenders, and why we need more loan loss reserves for this purpose. She also agreed to co-host a webinar to help our members improve the quality of our CDFI grant applications. And she agreed to take a look at creating a separate track for grants for small and micro business lending, so we are not competing against the large housing and real estate focused CDFIs. Click here to read the full Blog post.
Friday, October 23, 2009
By Jorge Corralejo and Claudia Viek
Credit to small businesses has been substantially curtailed since 2008, yet these businesses are far more responsible for domestic job creation than the banking industry or corporate America as a whole.
The national unemployment rate is officially 9.8%. But the real unemployment rate, including discouraged and part-time workers who want full-time jobs, is moving closer to 20%, according to The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. And for our nation's 91 million Latinos and African-Americans, the real unemployment rate in some states exceeds 30%. Click here to read the rest of the article.
Buzz up!By Claudia Viek.
Published: Sunday, Aug. 9, 2009 - 12:00 am | Page 2E The Sacramento Bee.
Last Modified: Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009 - 8:26 am
Californians are hurting. Lost jobs, lost hours, lost wages and lost investments are stealing away dreams.
But what they are finding out about themselves can change California's economy. Read more
By Sam Womack/Staff Writer -Santa Maria Times.
Unemployment just hit 11.5 percent in California, jobs are scarce and the majority of those who do have jobs have seen their hours cuts and wages frozen.
But there is a bright side, according to small business advocates: More people are turning toward self-employment. Read more
Dear Members,
AT&T, in partnership with Greenlining Institute, is seeking proposals to expand the capacity of Microenterprise Development Organizations (MDOs) that provide business assistance and capital to Women of Color entrepreneurs in low and moderate communities in California.
To obtain the rest of the RFP click here
SF Gate story on‘How microlending helps communities’
Providing small loans to help the poor start or expand businesses is an effective strategy for helping communities ravaged by the recession as well as expanding the overall economy, according to speakers at a conference Thursday. Click here to read more.
Bay Area 'Microbusinesses' Helped By Financing
Click here to see a short video highlighting Micro Enterprise practitioners and clients in the Bay Area including CAMEO!
An urgent call to 'buy local'
CAMEO Conference speaker Michael Shuman was recently Featured in The Christian Science Monitor. Click here to read the full article.
CAMEO Former Board Member (Marsha Bailet) in the news!>>
Merrill Lynch Investment to Stimulate LA Economy through CAMEO Member>>
Bailouts for the Big Three and a small business near you- Article Featuring Claudia Viek>>
Sacramento Bee 2008: Tiny businesses becoming engine for new economy>>
SFGate 2008: Female entrepreneurs needed the Initiative>>
SFGate 2007: Loans For Success>>
Dear CAMEO Members,
While the news headlines have been largely focusing on the difficulties that Fortune 500 companies are up against in today’s economic climate, we are all acutely aware of the challenges facing small businesses as well.
The biggest priority at this point is to take action. At CAMEO, we attempted to highlight some of the challenges and possible solutions in our recent report, “Microlending Action Plan for California.” In the report, we outlined the vital steps needed to move the microenterprise industry in California forward, including the importance of low-cost financing; capacity-building grants; and collaborations with other microenterprise development organizations, foundations, and corporations.
I am delighted to announce to you that Merrill Lynch is stepping up to help put our action plan in place. Through a partnership with CAMEO, Merrill Lynch will be playing a leading role to help provide some innovative solutions for our State’s micro enterprises.
Attached below is an announcement about Merrill Lynch’s commitment to provide resources for low-cost financing and technical assistance grants. The first step is a RFP for Five capacity-building grants which will be made in amounts not to exceed $50,000 to support microenterprise organizations and the businesses that we serve. These funds will provide entrepreneurs with access to much-needed counseling and technical assistance. Groups interested in this initiative should review the attached Request for Proposals for more details. The deadline for application to Merrill Lynch is November 21, 2008, with a goal of decisions made by the end of the year.
I commend Merrill Lynch’s leadership in this initiative. We have been discussing these issues with them for some time – and I appreciate their proactive response to our report. While the needs are indeed great, we should be proud to know that our corporate partners are committed to working with us to find innovative ways to serve our communities.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions at cviek@microbiz.org. I would be glad to direct your questions to our partners at Merrill Lynch.
Regards,
Claudia Viek
Chief Executive Officer, CAMEO
Below is an article by Sfgate on an entrepreneur who benefited from training resources and a microloan from one of CAMEO’s member organizations, TMC Working Solutions. Enjoy this inspiring article that shows the power of Micro-Enterprise in California!
By Rob Baedeker, Special to SF Gate
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
A little more than two years ago, Vivienne Fleischer's Oakland-based business was at a critical juncture: full of prospects but short on cash. At the time, she never would have guessed that a "microloan" could provide the capital needed to propel her business forward because, like most people, she didn't know much about them.
Read the rest at http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2008/09/02/moneytales.DTL
For more information about microenterprise programs throughout California, visit www.microbiz.org; Information about local workshops and other microenterprise resources is also available at www.tmcworkingsolutions.org/.
Do you have a person or topic you'd like to see covered in Money Tales? Let us know. E-mail Rob at rbaedeker@sfgate.com
Rob Baedeker is a writer living in Berkeley. He is the co-author, with the Kasper Hauser comedy group, of "SkyMaul," the catalog parody.
Claudi Viek was invited to give a presentation at the July Asset Policy Forum Held in sacramento through the Asset Policy Initiative in California.Below you will find an article by The Sacramento Bee on the event. Enjoy!
This story is taken from Sacbee.
Claudia Viek thinks Servio Gomez is at the heart of the new economy.
A native of El Salvador who once sold oranges at the end of a Los Angeles freeway offramp, Gomez worked in a San Francisco frame shop and then, with dreams of being his own boss, opened a store of his own. It flopped, but that was just the start of his story.
Gomez didn't quit. He enrolled in a business-planning course given by a local nonprofit, pulled together a few bucks and started over on Valencia Street in San Francisco's Mission District. This time his store survived and grew. Gomez has opened a second frame shop that his brother runs and two coffeehouses, one in the Mission and another in Bayview.
The story is important for at least two reasons. First, it illustrates the value that a little professional help can bring to a struggling entrepreneur. Many times it can mean the difference between making it and going under.
But the story's timeline also tracks the amazing explosion in small business and self-employment that is transforming the economy and the labor market, almost without being noticed by the governing class and the political world.
Viek has been there from the beginning, first running her own center in San Francisco to advise hopeful entrepreneurs like Gomez, now as chief executive of a network of these centers across the state. They focus on immigrants, minorities, women and the disabled, and low-income communities, places where opportunity has not always been obvious but is still there to those who are willing to work hard and can catch a break.
Rather than job training or employment development, Viek sees self-employment and ownership as the best way out of poverty for a lot of people.
"Micro-enterprise is where it all begins," Viek says. "It should be the centerpiece of our state's economic development."
She has a point. Hardly a week goes by when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger does not announce a new grant to a company or employment agency to retrain laid off workers or give new skills to employees in danger of losing their jobs. Last month, the governor claimed credit for keeping electric car manufacturer Tesla Motors in California by granting the firm a major tax break.
But those high-profile examples of new jobs created or old jobs eliminated are really not what make the economy go or slow these days. You find the true energy in the millions of small businesses, and much of the action is in the smallest of the smalls, the Sergio Gomezes of the world.
Firms of five employees or fewer now represent nearly 90 percent of all businesses in California, and from 2000 to 2005 the number of such enterprises grew by nearly 25 percent, according to the state Senate Office of Research. At the same time, the number of jobs provided by these firms increased by 23 percent, to 3.7 million. The number of sole proprietorships – companies owned and operated by a single person – increased by 24 percent to 2.6 million.
What is happening? According to Viek, a lot of the growth is coming from the state's growing immigrant community, where entrepreneurship has always found a home. Women juggling work and family, or frustrated by the glass ceiling, are also increasingly forming their own businesses. Early retirees who want to leave the business world but still make some money on the side are doing the same. And in a striking development, Viek says a recent survey found that 75 percent of college students say they want to own their own business.
"This is totally new," she says of the shift in attitudes among the young. "This was not the case 15 years ago."
One big factor in all of this is technology, which allows more people to work at home or in rural areas without the infrastructure of the large company around them. But it is also a mindset in favor of decentralization and independence.
"People are seeing that corporations are not going to take care of you," Viek says. "You have to find a way to take care of yourselves and your family."
In fact, some social critics suggest that the trend toward self-employment and small business is simply another way that the little guy is being squeezed by the economy. Without an employer, these people are forced to fend for themselves, find their own health insurance and retirement plan. But people such as Viek and Assemblyman Jose Solorio, a Democrat from Santa Ana, say they see the trend as a way to open the door of economic opportunity and mobility to everyone.
"It's all about having hope," Solorio told me.
Viek and Solorio both say they would like to see government doing more for entrepreneurs, especially from disadvantaged communities. Certainly the scrappy, hardworking dreamers that Viek's network tries to help deserve a level playing field with big business.
But based on the numbers, the new entrepreneurial economy seems to be doing pretty well on its own. Maybe the best they can hope for from government is to continue to be left alone.
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