IN THIS ISSUE...

 

Small Business Owners Enjoy Big City Success With a Small Town Feel

From small mom-and-pop stores to those working out of bedroom home offices, small businesses that thrive in Elk Grove enjoy high quality professions in this large business-friendly city with a small-town sense of community.  

 

Elk Grove Colleges offer Educational Support for Entrepreneurs  In addition to keeping Elk Grove's workforce competitive, higher education facilities in the area also serve as training grounds for up-and-coming entrepreneurs and small business owners. 

 

Think, Shop, Live Elk Grove for the Holidays!

In anticipation of this season's anxious holiday shopping crowd, the consumer education program "Think, Shop, Live Elk Grove" kicks off the Holiday Shop Elk Grove program in an effort to drive traffic to local businesses. 

 

Property Spotlight: Cornish & Carey Commercial

Backed by eight decades of local business operations, Cornish & Carey Commercial's experience and growth as a company parallels the birth of Silicon Valley and its emergence as a global economic power center. 

 

News from the EGEDC 

• Business License Report Online--See Who Else Has "Opened Up to Elk Grove"
• Online Plan Reviews Streamlined
• Have Questions? Free Consulting From the Small Business Development Center Available!

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Small Business Owners Enjoy Big City Success With a Small Town Feel   

From small mom-and-pop stores to those working out of bedroom home offices, small businesses that thrive in Elk Grove enjoy high quality professions in this large business-friendly city with a small-town sense of community. Two small business owners discuss below the advantages of conducting business and life in Elk Grove.

"When you say "small business"--I'm really small! For the last two years I have been part of what you'd call an agency starter program with Nationwide Insurance. This means I started off with exactly zero policyholders. I've grown organically right straight up by knocking on one door at a time, one business owner at a time, and one Chamber member at a time. Nationwide is among the Fortune 500 companies and I have terrific brand identification and financial strength and service behind me as an independent agent of the company.

"I love Elk Grove. I have two offices--one here and one in Sacramento. I've lived in the Elk Grove area for 25 years and, let me tell you, my office being less than four miles from home here in Elk Grove, guess which commute I love? It's much better not having to fight the traffic, not having to spend a half-hour to 45 minutes on the road to Sacramento, but rather a pleasant five-to-10-minute drive to my office! This is where my friends are, this is where my fellow Chamber members are, this is where my clientele is primarily located, and Elk Grove is where I like to be.

"The lease rates are attractive in Elk Grove and there is more of a small town feel here and more of community friendliness. In one office I used to work out of in Sacramento, when I was in the office at night I would lock the door. Here, my door is wide open and I hope someone will walk in. It's a whole different feel. Just bumping into people and neighbors and friends--as far as I'm concerned, Elk Grove is the place to be for your residents, your kids, your family and your business.

"I'm a guy who's been in financial services for more than three decades. I'm competing with 29-year-olds in my agency starter program. It's a tough climb but I've done it. I've chosen different career paths and I've got quite an extensive public service background having been a former state legislator. I served in government for about 13 years, working in insurance policy making. I was a chief deputy insurance commissioner and a number of other positions similar to that. I still do business in the Sacramento regional area, and I'll be expanding my business in Elk Grove. It's where I've been for 25 years and it's where I plan to stay!"


Lisa Brown, Owner and Artistic Director"I've been in Elk Grove since 1985 and I feel that Elk Grove, although it is a large city in population, is still a small city in content. I can still go somewhere and see people that I know. Because we deal with performance art, we deal with people's children so through that network I now have children who have had children that are now bringing in THEIR children!

"We do musical theatre and big dance productions. A couple of my employees are actually girls who started here when they were five, and now they're 19 and 23. I have a lot of turnaround like that where kids will stay and become student teachers and then become teachers themselves. It's pretty amazing! I've also had one student become a Radio City Rockette and another just graduated from college and is taking a choreography position in the Los Angeles area.

"The thing I love most about Elk Grove is that it's a small community in a large populated city. I love the community involvement. The biggest thing I teach in training all my staff and students and my dance teams is community service. We support the American Cancer Society when they do their walk, the food bank, the Holiday Light Parade, the Western Festival, the Pumpkin Festival--just about anything we can become involved in. We're usually involved in 17 to 21 community service activities in the area even if it's just collecting cans at our site. And on any given day I can send out an email blast to my clients and let the community know what is happening.

"The biggest perk for me about being in Elk Grove is, because I'm a social person, I enjoy getting involved with the community and not just standing behind my window front. We have nine employees and always average between 500 to 700 students. The storefront is my mainstay where I have three studios, and we rent spaces through the Parks and Recreation district and teach classes there as well. I think one of the best things going for Elk Grove is our Chamber of Commerce, and I know all the city council people and have had their children in my program. These are great relationships--they've all been fabulous, fantastic, and wonderful!"


For more information on locating your own small business to Elk Grove, send an email to the EGEDC at info@elkgroveedc.org.

 

 

Elk Grove Colleges offer Educational Support for Entrepreneurs 

 In addition to keeping Elk Grove's workforce competitive, higher education facilities in the area also serve as training grounds for up-and-coming entrepreneurs and small business owners.

Cosumnes River College (CRC) maintains an important link between future small business owners and the community of Elk Grove by offering many courses in Small Business Management/Entrepreneurship. Courses cover areas as marketing, business plans, financing, customer service, management skills, business law and even offers a focus on elevating a small business to an international level. An associate's degree program and a certificate of achievement program are also available.

"Cosumnes River College offers educational support to small business owners and entrepreneurs who can take a wide variety of business classes with us," said CRC president, Deborah Travis. "They meet other students who are fledging and experienced business owners and learn from them, which is especially important for those wanting to start and expand their own businesses."

CRC also recently commenced a groundbreaking ceremony for the Winn Center for Architecture and Construction Technology that will house educational programs in construction and architecture. This building will also serve as a gathering place for members of the trade to interact with each other as well as with students aspiring to join the ranks of the industry.

The University of Phoenix School of Business leads by example by offering classes guided by business owners from the surrounding area who inspire those students with sites set on entrepreneurship. Programs are designed to ensure that students develop leadership skills that will help them as they make their way through a shifting market. University of Phoenix is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs to offer associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees in areas such as accounting, business, business administration and management. Doctor of Business Administration, and Doctor of Management programs are also available.

"Many of our practitioner faculty are successful independent business owners in the surrounding area and bring the insight and skills of a successful entrepreneur to the content of the courses they deliver," said Timothy A. Sheaffer, JD, Campus College Chair - School of Business. "They provide our students--many of whom want to start their own small businesses--valuable 'real world' experience and expertise.

DeVry University offers a career track in Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship Specialization. Courses range from budgeting and forecasting to e-commerce, human resource management and business plan writing. The university has more than 90 locations in metro areas across the United States and Canada with the majority of degree programs also offered online.

"DeVry University's career-oriented curricula provides our entrepreneurial-minded students with a valuable mix of theory and hands-on practical experience," said Marcela Iglesias, campus dean for DeVry University's Sacramento campus located in Elk Grove. "Our entrepreneurship specialization coursework is developed to give the small business owner the real-world knowledge and skill sets needed to operate a successful enterprise."

Have a restless entrepreneur spirit and want to learn more about starting your own business in Elk Grove? Call the EGEDC for more information at (916) 691-3895 or send an email to info@elkgroveedc.org.

 

Think, Shop, Live Elk Grove for the Holidays!

In anticipation of this season's anxious holiday shopping crowd, the consumer education program "Think, Shop, Live Elk Grove" kicks off the Holiday Shop Elk Grove program in an effort to drive traffic to local businesses.

Emphasizing the important message of shopping local, businesses that participate in this program offer sidewalk sales, demonstrations, free giveaways, activities for kids and families, and a free "shopper shuttle" service is provided to tour local retail sites.

For more information about the Holiday Shop Elk Grove program, click here or contact the EGEDC at info@elkgroveedc.org or (916) 691-3895.

 

Property Spotlight: Cornish & Carey Commercial

Backed by eight decades of local business operations, Cornish & Carey Commercial's experience and growth as a company parallels the birth of Silicon Valley and its emergence as a global economic power center. Prior to its partnership with Newmark Knight Frank, Cornish & Carey Commercial had grown to become the largest privately held commercial real estate brokerage in the region and ranked in the top five among commercial real estate services firms by combined leasing and investment sales volume. Cornish & Carey Commercial Newmark Knight Frank has more than 280 agents in strategically located and corporate-owned offices throughout Northern California. Based in New York City and London, England, Newmark Knight Frank serves more than 25 major U.S. and Canadian metropolitan markets outside of Northern California and more than 40 countries in Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. For more information on available properties, contact Tom Heacox at (916) 569-2315.
 
Office and tech space available at Laguna Business Park
9412 Big Horn Blvd., Elk Grove

• ±3,112sf available space
• Centrally located in Elk Grove
• Close to Sutter Medical Group, Kaiser Hospital and Methodist Hospital
• Improvements in place
• Tenant improvement allowance available
• Abundant glass line
• Approx 5:1,000sf parking
• Retail services and amenities within walking distance