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Hello,
We finally got the news -- the two major grants that we utilize for a significant portion of our services were awarded!
I
am also happy to announce that it is the North Coast Small Business
Resource Center's 25th year! We will be celebrating throughout the
year so stay tuned for more information.
In response to the
earthquake on Saturday, everyone at the SBDC hopes that everyone's
nerves are settled a bit and that damages are at a minimum. Our
building was not damaged. We, like most, had only some cleaning up to
do.
We do know
that some have been affected more than others. If there are any
businesses that need assistance with disaster loan applications or
other related assistance, please don't hesitate to contact us.
We can provide assistance to businesses facing closures, temporary layoffs, and other financial losses. Please share this information with people, as some may not have access to computers, internet, etc. For more information or to request assistance contact Sandy Neal at 707-445-9035.
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Grants & Programs
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Two Major Grants Awarded
The California Community Development Block Grant Micro Enterprise Assistance Program staff recently awarded the County of Humboldt and the City of Crescent City with the grants for which each independently applied.
The County of Humboldt grant was submitted by the Economic and Community Development Department.
Written into the grant were programs for small business ("micro enterprise") owners to obtain counseling. The flight model that the North Coast SBDC developed was also written into the grant.
We now have the opportunity in Humboldt County to continue providing one-on-one counseling services and also to start four new flight programs in 2010.
In Crescent City, the City staff prepared the grant application to include counseling for business owners as well as to develop and implement a modified flight model for residents of Del Norte County.
For more information about our flight programs please visit our webpage at www.northcoastsbdc.org/flights
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| Events |
Art as Business
2010 Business Assistance Program
Information Meeting
Tazsa is at it again!
Tazsa Hartwell is currently organizing the next Art as Business flight program for small business owners engaged in artistic endeavors.
This program is for artists, craft people, arts manufacturers, and design/decorative professionals who want to increase their level of business success!
When: Friday, January 15, 2009 from 5:30 to 6:00pm
Where: Prosperity Center, 520 E Street, Eureka
The deadline to apply is January 22, and the program is scheduled to start February 9.
Also, listen to KHSU Art Waves for future programing about the Art Flight with special guests.
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Workshops
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Spotlight on Del Norte Small Business Workshops and Services
As you may recall, last October the North Coast SBDC hosted the E-Marketing Boot Camp, which was a great success. I am happy to report that Rural Human Services, a co-sponsor of the workshop, has offered up $6,500 of funds from a WIRED grant in order to provide clients in Del Norte County with follow-up training on e-marketing and e-commerce. With this valuable contribution, the North Coast SBDC has purchased an account with Vertical Response. With this the North Coast SBDC will provide our Del Norte clients with free access to the e-marketing tools for one year, and continued access thereafter at a bulk rate. |
| News |
Opportunities for employers and businesses offered by Humboldt State University
School of Business seeking businesses with market research needs
The HSU School of
Business will be offering a marketing research class again during this spring
semester. In this class, students conduct marketing research for businesses
and organizations in our community. Student teams design and implement the
research projects and at the end of the semester, they write comprehensive
research reports, and present their findings to their clients, just as a
marketing research firm would do.
HSU needs clients -
this could be you.
As a client, the program
requires very little of your time (responding to a few emails/phone calls and two
to three 1 hour long meetings, including attending the final research
presentation at HSU).
HSU asks that you
cover the costs associated with the project which will in the very least include
copying and binding of the final research report (around $200). This is often
the only cost to you unless you would like to make a donation to the School of Business. However, if your project
requires a mailed survey, they would ask that you cover the costs associated with
the mailing. They are unable to do phone surveys due to lack of facilities but we
are able to provide intercept, mail, and email surveys.
If you are
interested, they would like to hear from you by Friday January 15. Please send an email with a short summary
(1 to 2 paragraphs) of your marketing research problem or question you would
like our students to answer. Students review these paragraphs to choose
their projects. Therefore, you should include some key information such as why you
need the research done and who you would like surveyed. Please also include the
name of your organization, your name, your phone number, and your email address.
It is important to
note that they expect to have 4 teams and will not be able to accommodate
everyone's research needs. The students choose their projects and HSU will
notify you by February 8th if your project is chosen.
This marketing
research class is a win-win situation - you get quality marketing research
possibly conducted nearly for free (depending on your research design) and students are able to apply their knowledge of marketing research.
If you are
interested, please email the summary of your research needs to ncv2@humboldt.edu. If you have any
questions or would like more information, please contact Nancy Vizenor at 707.826.6021 and she would be happy to talk with you. Career
Center seeking employers for spring 2010 internships
In an effort to create new experience opportunities for Humboldt
State University
students, the HSU
Career Center
will offer four, matching fund mini-grants to local employers.
The Career Center
is currently seeking applications for the $500 grants that would be used to pay
intern stipends for their time working in a career-related field during Spring
semester 2010. These Employer Internship Incentive Funds are made possible by a
Headwaters Fund grant awarded to the Career
Center earlier this year.
The deadline to apply for the mini-grants is Jan. 29, 2010.
In order
to qualify, applicants must submit a complete job description for the potential
internship, agree to match the grant for a total of a $1,000 student stipend, and
complete an online application.
Applications will be weighed based on the quality of the career-related
work experience opportunity; and whether or not they fit into one or more of
the need categories outlined in the Headwaters grant.
The Career
Center will give award
preference to local employers that:
· Have
Native American ties;
· Are
first-time employers developing internships with the
HSU Career Center;
· Employers
who have used the Career
Center in the past
but
cite the current economic recession as a reason
they have avoided offering paid
internships during the
2009/2010 school year.
The goal
is to serve four local employers who would not have otherwise had an
opportunity to hire an HSU intern.
To apply,
go online to www.humboldt.edu/~career.
For more information call Ann Johnson-Stromberg at 826-5453.Go to top |
| People |
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The Nor Cal SBDC Lead Center
and the North Cost SBDC
A few months ago the Lead Center sent out a community survey, and the respondents from our area said that more information was needed on region-wide ideals and goals.
The Nor Cal Lead Center has five strategic planning initiatives, which the North Coast SBDC fully supports.
They are:
1. Develop & position the SBDC brand. The new
Northern CA SBDC Network will increase awareness of the
SBDC program by the business, legislative, and lender/capital communities
through consistent & strategic marketing/branding efforts that highlight the
quality of our program and the positive economic impact we have on the economy.
The NorCal SBDC brand will communicate that the SBDC Program is a leader in
business solutions for small, growing companies throughout Northern CA.
2. Increase and diversify funding. Develop and
implement a fundraising plan to include current funding and region-wide
coordination.
3. Embrace technology. Develop and
implement a technology plan to better our network infrastructure, assist our
general clients in finding technology solutions to their business needs, and
provide relevant services to small and growing technology firms. Enrich the use
and understanding of technology applications by existing SBDC personnel and
contractors and bring new technology expertise into the fold.
4. Fully Integrated
Quality Service Delivery Network. The consistency
of "who we are," "what we do," and "how we do it" is tangible for Network
personnel, contractors, partners and funders.
5. Programmatic excellence. Achieve and
sustain excellence in business assistance programs at both the regional and
center level throughout the network. (Things like the Business
Advisor certification, WebCATS training, and current work on specialty tracks
within finance and access to capital represent work being done to further this
initiative.)
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| Stat for this month. |
Humboldt and Del Norte County
residents take advantage of SBDC business counseling services at thirteen times
the rate of citizens of the State of California as a whole.
Based on the total SBDC Program
budget and the number of business counseling hours provided, the North Coast
SBDC is the most efficient center in the state. The eight most efficient
centers were all members of the NorCal SBDC network, run out of Humboldt State University. |
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You may have noticed the 'Find Us on Facebook' logo up above. Yep, we have a fan page on Facebook! We hope to reach people that might not have known about us otherwise, share information, and be part of the community. You can find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/NorthCoastSBDC
 Sincerely,
Kathrine Bridgwater
Small Business Development Analyst
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