SCL Biz: Everything Business in Sonoma County

“Have you fantasized about your own retail store-selling your own specialty items, showcasing unique products or better promoting existing products? Or have you dreamed of working from home, setting your own hours and still making great money? Today’s technology makes it easier than ever to take your retail dreams to the world’s largest marketplace-the Internet. In just days, you can build your own eCommerce website, reach potential customers by the millions, process orders 24/7 and accept payments from all over the world-with no technical background or graphic design skills!

• Design a professional eCommerce site using inexpensive, turnkey solutions from established companies like Google, Yahoo! and Go Daddy that require no programming or graphic design knowledge
• Create content and online deals that capture shoppers and keep them coming back
• Use surefire online tools that work 24/7 to handle payments and accept orders
• Drive traffic using Search Engine Optimization and other marketing and advertising techniques
• Skillfully handle inventory, order fulfillment, customer service and all other operations”

Design and Launch an Online E-Commerce Business in a Week, by Jason Rich [Entrepreneur Press, 2008]

Thank you to Steve Alcorta for alerting SCL Biz to the new Social Security Administration online retirement calculator that is much easier to use - you no longer have to type in your earnings. After you put in your name, SSN, mother’s maiden name, and date and place of birth, you will see your earnings history and be able to juggle various numbers to get an idea of what your benefit will be at retirement age.

SS Retirement Calculator

“Learn how you can become an importer in this one-day seminar highly rated for the instructor’s experience, pace, candor and humor. You will be guided through licensing; selecting products; finding suppliers; working with governments, bankers, brokers, carriers; financing, costing and pricing; and gaining orders for your products. This knowledge becomes the basis for an export business as well. After the seminar help via email with instructor and past students is available (and included in the course fee).” Co-sponsored by the Redwood Empire Small Business Development Center.

July 26, 2008 • 9am-5pm
1275 Barnett Hall, Santa Rosa Campus

Information & Reservations

“What are they saying? How do you find out? How do you respond? And how can you use the conversation to your benefit? The explosion of social media—blogs, social networking sites, video sharing sites—has ushered in a new era of digital transparency that puts the power to enhance or destroy a reputation in the hands of the consumer. This timely and practical book shows you how to harness the power of social media with crucial, proven tactics and strategies for every phase of online reputation management.

Using step-by-step instruction and tested techniques, the expert authors unveil a detailed blueprint for building, managing, monitoring, and repairing your reputation. They detail important public relations, search engine optimization, research, and online content creation strategies and provide a seven-step action plan so that you can develop the skills necessary to monitor and manage your reputation. You’ll learn how to:

• Navigate the new rules of engagement in a transparent world
• Define who you are and develop your personal or corporate brand
• Create positive PR buzz with your online content
• Gain visibility in web search results and harness SEO tools
• Understand the pros and cons of e-mail before you hit “Send”
• Use the latest Internet tracking methods and understand how information spreads online
• Apply solid strategies for reputation repair when things go wrong”

Radically Transparent: Monitoring and Managing Reputations Online, by Andy Beal and Judy Strauss

Forbes Magazine has published their new ‘Best Countries For Business’ list. Start with a chart of 121 countries (top 5: Denmark, Ireland, Finland, US, UK) with GDP Growth, GDP Capital, Trade Balance, Population, and Unemployment. Click on any country for a brief description of their business climate and rankings in various areas from corruption to the corporate tax rate.

Best Countries for Business

Especially helpful for business start-ups this online tutorial will help you determine the variable, fixed, and mixed costs of your product which will help you determine the sales price. The tutorial uses examples to make it easier to apply the formulas to your own business.

Cost Behavior Tutorial

The City of Santa Rosa’s Downtown Program and the Santa Rosa Chamber of
Commerce invite you to a business development workshop for Downtown restaurants. This intensive workshop will cover topics from menu creation, press relations, and upcoming trends, to online advertising and increasing your “yelpability.” Materials will address devising a successful menu format, web and graphic pointers, and getting diners in the door without breaking the bank.

Presenter Joan Simon, of Full Plate Restaurant Consulting, is a concept development
and restaurant marketing specialist with 20 years of experience in northern
California. Often quoted by the press and recently featured on CBS 5 and in Japan’s
Cuisine magazine, Simon’s well regarded client list spans the spectrum from San
Francisco hot spots to local country clubs and even Snoopy’s Warm Puppy Café.
Recent startups such as Sol y Largo at Lake Tahoe, Graffiti in Petaluma, The Wild
Fox in Novato, and Cucina in San Anselmo are part of Full Plate’s collective list.

If you are outside of the Downtown District and interested in the workshop, please email Autumn Buss or call her at 543-4338.

July 21, 2008 • 1:30 - 4:30pm
City Hall Annex, 90 Santa Rosa Avenue, Santa Rosa

Information & Registration

	Finding Keepers: The Monster Guide to Hiring and Holding the World’s Best Employees, by Steve Pogorzelski [McGraw-Hill 2007].
	How to Hire a Champion: Insider Secrets to Find, Select, and Keep Great Employees, by David Snyder [Career Press 2007].

For more on recruiting and hiring the best employees, and legally firing when your business depends on it.

SCL Biz is always happy to see local businesses honored in the national press: congratulations to Clois du Bois & Robert Mondavi for recognition of their pinot grigio wines in the Consumer Reports Smart Shopper July 2008 article on “Crisp Summer Whites.” The article tested twenty-one wines from Australia, Italy, and California and Clois du Bois’ 2007 Pinot Grigio was the winner. Robert Mondavi Private Selection 2006 was included in the top eight wines.

Clois du Bois Winery, Geyserville
Robert Mondavi Winery, Oakville

As part of their ongoing series of economic, demographic, and industry sector reports produced to help businesses plan for growth and economic success, the Sonoma County Economic Development Board has released the newest economic barometer report.

“The purpose of the Business Barometer Report is to provide a sense of how the North Bay economy is performing, as many businesses operate across the region. The indicators selected for this report cover a broad swath of economic topics, including employment, housing and construction, and prices and inflation. This report provides a North Bay composite of Marin, Mendocino, Napa and Sonoma counties, as well as individual information
for those counties in alphabetical order.”

Spring 2008 North Bay Economic Barometer

“Biotech innovation continues to fuel the economy and job growth in the Bay Area. What trends will drive the future of this industry in the Bay Area and which sectors will emerge strongest? What research is driving the next wave of companies, products and jobs? What are our competitive challenges, nationally and globally? We’ll look at the progress and impact of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine and the investments it is making in research, facilities, training and top scientists. What will be the ripple effects for the Bay Area, leading the way in stem cell research? We’ll also discuss how biotech firms and research institutions are funding their futures in challenging economic times.

Join us for a conversation with the leaders of some of the most promising growth sectors in the Bay Area life science industry. We’ll hear about the paths they are taking to bring life changing technologies from the research bench to patients’ bedsides, and the impact this will have on the quality of life for all in the Bay Area.”

July 15, 2008 • 7:30 -10am
Hilton Hotel, 333 O’Farrell Street, San Francisco

Information & Reservations

You have probably received your personal stimulus check from the IRS and SCL Biz hopes your business is being stimulated by everyone spending their checks locally. You may not know that that there are also tax benefits for your business in the 2008 Economic Stimulus Package.

The Small Business Administration has an informative website with:

• A fact sheet with highlights of the tax benefits
• A depreciation calculator that provides an estimate of the first year depreciation available under the provisions of the Stimulus Package
• An online seminar that summarizes the tax benefits

Small Business Administration Economic Stimulus Package

Relieving anxiety is the subject of countless articles and books, but psychologist and leadership expert Robert H. Rosen, in his book, Just Enough Anxiety: The Hidden Driver of Business Success [Portfolio, 2008], “presents his recommendations for leaders in our rapidly changing environment to create just the right level of anxiety to manage themselves, mobilize people, maximize performance, and accelerate sustainable growth. Rosen promotes healthy anxiety, which he defines as the extra effort to accomplish an individual’s personal best, the exact amount you need to respond to danger, tackle a tough problem, or take a leap of faith. We learn that in striving to know themselves, be themselves, and challenge themselves while loving themselves, leaders and individuals can use anxiety as a catalyst for successfully functioning and reaching their potential in our complex and uncertain world. An excellent book.” Booklist Reviews, 2008.

“In this workshop, you will get a start on writing your business plan, and how it can be fun and exciting rather than tedious. A straightforward process of “telling your business story” will serve as your writing guide. You will learn about the main components of a good business plan: Position your product or service within your industry; reaching your target customers through methods of guerilla marketing; and how operations, marketing, and sales work together. Then, you’ll hear about the choices you have to legally “form” your business: sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC, S or C corporation. Considerable time will be spent on another crucial topic: how to convince an underwriter at a bank to fund your business. We will talk about the entire process from application to managing the loans prudently.”

July 12, 2008 • 8:30am - 12:30pm
SRJC, Emeritus Hall on Elliott Avenue, Room 1597

Information and registration

The San Francisco Peninsula Press Club recently announced its Greater Bay Area Journalism Awards and SCL Biz is pleased to share The Press Democrat award winners with you, especially Michael Coit and Mary Fricker for their business story, “Risky Loans, Broken Dreams”:

• Editorial
  FIRST PLACE: “Karr Case: Taxpayers deserve to see results,” Press Democrat News Staff
• Columns-News/Political
  FIRST PLACE: “Columns by Paul Gullixson,” Paul Gullixson
  THIRD PLACE: “Columns by Ann DuBay,” Ann DuBay
• Columns-Sports
  FIRST PLACE: “Columns by Lowell Cohn,” Lowell Cohn
• Business Story
  FIRST PLACE: “Risky Loans, Broken Dreams,” Mary Fricker, Michael Coit
• Sports Story
  FIRST PLACE: “”Coach, I don’t know where I am:” High School Concussions,” Eric Branch
  THIRD PLACE: “A one-team town,” Bob Padecky
• Spot News Photography
  SECOND PLACE: “Firestorms,” Kent Porter
• Feature Photography
  THIRD PLACE: The Press Democrat, “A one-team town,” Kent Porter

Complete list of award winners