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Think Big! Women Entrepreneurs!

In this week’s Must Know

  • Think Big! Recap
  • Next Week: Elections and Introductory Financial Workshop
  • The Goodies: This week’s highlight is: VEDC’s Where’s the Money Access to Capital Business Expo in San Francisco 2012, tomorrow Saturday, November 10, 2012 from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Learn more and register. CAMEO members receive a discount with the code: microbiz (i.e. it’s free!)

Think Big! Recap

Our second annual Women’s Symposium was held in Los Angeles on November 7, 2012, bringing together CAMEO members and local business owners to confront some critical issues. Lindsey Sin, Director of Women Veterans for the CA Office of Veteran Affairs, told us there are 167,000 women veterans in CA. Unemployment is especially high among returning women veterans. Self-employment is a good option for this population, yet few CAMEO members are reaching them. Anie Borja, Director of the National Women’s Business Council, provided the hard data on the difference in success outcomes for men and women owned businesses. Sukhi Singh, owner of Sukhi’s Gourmet Indian Foods, a $15 million family firm with 150 employees, told us how she grew to “Think Big.” Next was a lively presentation from Yelp and real time success stories from using this online social networking. Get the details on our Think Big! Women Entrepreneurs Symposium recap.

Next Week: Elections and Introductory Financial Workshop

1. While we were immersed in the CAMEO world this week, the rest of the country had an election. Madison Services Group will recap what the re-election of President Obama and the changes in Congress mean for our work in DC the call will be tailored to the California delegation. And some of you might know that in Sacramento, the legislature has a democratic super-majority. We’ll also have a recap of what that means. The call is on Thursday, November 15, 2012 at 11:00a.m. PT. Dial-in Number: 626-677-3000 and Access Code 4284853#. (AEO is hosting a call as well that will focus on the national perspective, see Goodies for details.)

2. Register now for the Introductory Financial Workshop for Business Counselors on November 14th at the Latino Business Chamber of Greater Los Angeles.

Susan Brown, our trainer extraordinaire, will lead a one day introductory workshop in Los Angeles that will cover the following topics:

  • referring clients,
  • eligibility,
  • underwriting criteria,
  • understanding financial statements,
  • creating cash flow projections, and
  • best practices for making microloan referrals.

Staff should attend this workshop to learn how to develop loan-ready microenterprise clients and help business clients successfully qualify for a microloan.

Learn more about the workshop or register.

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!

Take Action: Please 1) sign the Be Your Own Boss petition to help the unemployed start their own businesses, 2) recruit five colleagues/Facebook friends to sign and 3) if you can, really spread the word by downloading the toolkit.

AEO and FIELD Membership Discount: You save $100 on AEO membership and $100 on a one-year MicroTracker Premium Plan subscription – that’s a total value of $500 for only $300! Learn more about the AEO/FIELD Membership Bundle. This is a must-buy, if you are not already an AEO member!

Access to Capital Expo: VEDC will host Where’s the Money Access to Capital Business Expo in San Francisco 2012, tomorrow Saturday, November 10, 2012 from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Learn more and register. CAMEO members receive a discount with the code: microbiz (i.e. it’s free!)

Free Webinar: ASBC hosts How Would Developing a Climate Action Plan Benefit Small Business? on November 13, 2012 at 11:00 a.m. PT // 2:00 p.m. ET. Learn more and register.

Free Webinar: AEO hosts a 2012 Elections Wrap-Up, a timely discussion of the 2012 Election results and their impact on micro-businesses. You won’t want to miss an insider’s view on how the election results will affect you and the businesses you serve! Register now for the Wednesday, November 14th webinar; it’s from 12:00-1:00pm // 3:00-4:00pm EST.

For Your Clients: Fedex is the latest corporate sponsor to host a small business grant competition. The deadline is November 24.

Online Business Prep class: The Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center starts is next Online Business Prep class on November 28 at 6:30 p.m. for 12 weeks. This live, interactive class is designed to assess the viability of clients’ businesses and ideas for business. There is homework and a presentation at the end, which supports in participants being prepared to write a business plan by learning the fundamentals of marketing, operations, and finance in twelve 3 hour webinars. Download the brochure.

Conference: The Federal Reserve Hosts Paving the Way for Financial Success in California – A statewide symposium to support asset building programs and policies in California. December 4, 2012, Holiday Inn Fresno Downtown, Fresno. Access the agenda and register.

Conference: Beacon Economics host the 2012 Riverside/San Bernardino Economic Forecast Conference on December 6, 2012 in Ontario, California. Learn more and register today!

Resource for veterans: Joining Forces Mentoring Plus, that provides resources, including mentors, subject matter experts, and online connections to women veterans and military and veteran spouses to assist them in obtaining meaningful employment and a successful career of interest to them. CAMEO members can sign up online as mentors and subject matter experts on self employment and entrepreneurship. Please like Joining Forces on Facebook.

New Report: Public Policy Institute of California released a new report on unemployment in California. The findings are mixed: unemployment remains high but continues its downward trend; California’s unemployment rate has been falling faster than the national rate; the California labor market is adding jobs faster than the U.S. overall; unemployment rates differ widely and persistently across California counties; labor force participation continues to fall while the employment-to-population ratio is stagnant.

Take Action: Everybody eats. This means all of us have a stake in how our food is grown and produced. And if we want local, sustainable, healthy food everywhere – from our grocery stores to our schools, delivered from thriving family farms nationwide – we have to ask for it. A few CAMEO members are partners in a a national petition led by nearly 50 food and farm organizations from around the country that wants Congress to pass a better farm bill.

For Your Clients: CARAT offers free online trainings for small businesses through December. Check out their calendar.