The SBA has teamed up with the Seattle, Tacoma, and Portland chapters of the Urban League to connect Black-Owned Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs with the various financing options available through the SBA.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the corresponding economic crisis are devastating to Black-Owned Small Businesses and the communities they operate in, and they have been hit disproportionately hard because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The SBA is committed to delivering equitable relief to hard-hit businesses so they can rehire and retain workers, safely reopen, and deliver essential goods and services our communities depend on.

Join us for a webinar that will cover the following:

• An overview of SBA financing programs, including Coronavirus Relief options – like the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), and Shuttered Venue Operators Grand – and traditional SBA lending programs – like the SBA Microloan, 7(a) and 504 loan programs.
• A facilitated panel of local lenders sharing tips and insight to help entrepreneurs gain access to capital.
• Messages from local Urban League leadership.

5 WEEKLY SESSIONS
NEXT SERIES BEGINS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2020 | 4-6PM (PST)

OPEN TO THE COMMUNITY
Whether you are developing a new business idea or looking to build your business skills to take your existing business to the next level, this workshop series will help you get there. Taught by professional business advisors, this series balances instruction with discussion, resource referrals, tools and templates that will help you develop, communicate, and execute your existing business or new business idea.

SESSIONS INCLUDE
Week/Session 1: Discussion on the many roles of an entrepreneur/small business owner

Week/Session 2: Understanding your target market, market research, and advertising

Week/Session 3: Building a new or revised business plan

Week/Session 4: Budgeting, record keeping, and financing your business

Week/Session 5: Legal issues, entity selection, employment overview, and local resource referrals

A commercial lease is an enforceable contract between tenant and landlord, but it takes a two-way discussion to get it right for both parties. That sounds intimidating, but both sides look for a long-term, stable agreement. Your circumstances and your leasing negotiations are unique to you. Assume nothing when it comes to leasing questions, if “it’s not in writing, it has not been said.”

In this webinar:

Learn how to be fully prepared before entering into lease negotiations.
Learn to ask for what you want and what you will settle for before you sign anything. If you don’t ask, you won’t get it.
Hear about the different stages of negotiations.
You will get the opportunity to ask questions, and you will also learn how to request a meeting with a SCORE certified mentor to help you navigate your specific case.

Runs 4 weeks. Take the first steps to turn your idea into a profitable business. If you have a business idea and need help getting started, the Business Design Series is for you!

In the Business Design Series participants are introduced to key aspects of designing and building a business so they can develop a workable action plan that will become the foundational piece for meeting with an SBDC Advisor. We begin with a self-assessment to help determine an entrepreneur’s level of comfort and competence in 20 critical business focus areas. Instructions, in class activities, articles and worksheets will provide students with tools to address the 4 basic challenge areas to every business: an attractive Business Concept, strong Organizational Structure, lasting Customer Relations and profitable Business Operations.

This class that meets once a week for 2 hours. In 4 weeks students will be able to:

• Use the GrowthWheel to assess their readiness to start a business

• Select a business entity and start a business

• Utilize the Customer Relationship Arc model to design a successful business

• Clarify an idea to determine the viability of the business

• Identify key customers and develop a Customer Persona

• Design a revenue model to meet the needs of key customers

• Create an effective Elevator Pitch

• Explore 21.5 questions every business owner must answer before starting a business

• Determine start up costs and create a basic budget

• Create an action plan with key milestones

• Answer the question “Do I need a traditional business plan?

At the end of this course entrepreneurs will have a workable Action Plan for taking the next steps in building a successful and profitable business.

Following the request of the Governor and the guidelines of Portland Community College, the PCC SBDC and Global Trade Center will now be offering our programs via Zoom technology.

Your program will be delivered via Zoom and you will not need to travel to a PCC campus.

Please reserve your seat in the program here. The Zoom login information will be sent to you in a reminder email prior to the start of the program.

We know that starting a business is daunting. You dive in head first with a thing you are good at and likely love doing and then are slammed in the face with reality: you don’t just do all the things you love. And one of those things that must be done is contend with words like, “revenue, gross receipts, deductions, write-offs, bookkeeping, and taxes.” *Shudder*

But none of these words have to instill fear or shame. Megan Justice, Owner of Crayon Advisory, is out to change those feelings in business owners. With 20 years of experience working with small businesses, she makes accounting and taxes approachable if not a little bit fun.

During her presentation, you can expect to gain a better understanding of what you and/or your tax preparer are/should be looking at while preparing your tax return. Besides your most burning questions about taxes and accounting, bring your most recently prepared return, your 2020 Balance Sheet and Income statement, and maybe even a few colored pencils.

Make Your Social Media Work Harder For You!

Overview:

Leverage FREE online marketing opportunities for your small business.
Establish a professional and engaging online presence for your brand.
Enhance SEO and improve online visibility with social media and local business listings.
We’ll review the unique strengths and weaknesses of each social media channel, compare and contrast audience size and demographics, and review when/why/how each channel is used.

We’ll examine the business value of social media and how it can benefit your bottom line. Further discussion points include: Growing your social media audience and creating greater reach & engagement with free online productivity tools (ie: graphic design, animation, scheduling, etc.).

With a little online marketing savvy, even small businesses can make a big impression!

Social Media is a huge topic and Stacey will pace this workshop to include the most essential elements within three hours.

Learn how to become a great manager by setting your team up for success. Optimize your team’s strengths while minimizing their weaknesses and foster the growth of their talent.

Your job as a manager is to optimize your team’s strengths and help each team member grow. You will learn the five key attributes of a great manager: hire fewer people and pay them more; be proactive with recognizing team members and showing appreciation; set clear expectation sand help them know how their efforts contribute to the organization as a whole; take away hassles, not motivation; and, discover and leverage strengths of each individual.

Maximize your business’ profit in 2021: Ensure you have the cash you need to fuel your growth! We show you how to optimize the cash conversion cycle and take advantage of the power of one (1%) to improve your cash position.

Running a business is just like playing Monopoly: When you run out of cash, it makes it nearly impossible to continue to operate your company. Game over!

Let’s talk about the importance of cash and ways to improve your cash position because cash is like oxygen is to your body, without it you cease to exist.

Learn how to optimize the cash conversion cycle. There are 4 elements to the cash conversion cycle: Sales, Make/Production & Inventory, Delivery, and Billing & Payment. What we want to do is start thinking about ways to accelerate cash in all of these areas. Everyone has ways to improve cash by working through a cash conversion cycle by eliminating mistakes, reducing cycle times and improving your business model.

Take advantage of the power of one (1%) is a principle that can have a significant impact on your cash flow. Learn how your cash flow could improve if price, volume, and/or accounts payable increased by 1%, and cost of goods sold, inventory, accounts receivable, and/or overhead decreased by 1%.

Join us for a virtual wine tasting on March 25th at 4:00 PM. James Falvey of Stoller Wine Group will guide us through a curated flight of fine wines from the Stoller Wine Group (Stoller Family Estate, Chehalem and History). Please register by March 11th to allow time for delivery of your at-home wine tasting kit. Bonus: Participants will receive a discount on bottles purchased after the event.

IMPORTANT: If you’d like your wine shipped to your home, please email us at acgportland@acg.org with your home address by March 11th at 5pm. Otherwise it will be shipped to the address listed in your online profile.

Cost to register is $25 per person (members and non-members).

Angel Investment Workshop
…for Fun, Profit, and (local) Economic Growth
March 25, 2021 @ 5:30

One essential component for economic development is entrepreneurship. With economic development in mind, we are generally looking for scalable traded-sector business ventures. These types of businesses can create wealth and jobs that would not otherwise be present in the community.

These types of business ventures also require an eco-system in order to thrive: investors, entrepreneurs, employees, coaches/advisors, service providers, affordable space… The cycle usually starts with investors and entrepreneurs who are willing to make the leap together.
However, this can also be a chicken and the egg type of scenario. It is difficult to create an investment community, unless there are entrepreneurial ventures to invest in. On the other hand, it is difficult to get entrepreneurs to raise their hand, unless the potential to finance the venture exists.

To kick-off this process in eastern Oregon, Eastern Oregon Ventures (EOV), in partnership with the Oregon Technology Business Center (OTBC), will host a virtual workshop on Angel investing. The program is informational in nature, but the ultimate goal is to help raise an Angel fund to invest in early stage eastern Oregon business ventures. The State of Oregon has also expressed an interest in chipping in.

Have you ever wondered about Angel investing? Do you have skills and experience that could be useful for a budding entrepreneur? Would you like to be involved in building early stage ventures? Would you like to help boost the local economy?

Well, this is your opportunity… There is no cost to attend and no obligation to invest.
Come join with your peers and learn how to support/inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Oh, and it can be a blast as well!

REGISTER NOW
(no charge to attend)

Questions?: Call Wilson @ 503.789.2676

One essential component for economic development is entrepreneurship. With economic development in mind, we are generally looking for scalable traded-sector business ventures. These types of businesses can create wealth and jobs that would not otherwise be present in the community.

These types of business ventures also require an eco-system in order to thrive: investors, entrepreneurs, employees, coaches/advisors, service providers, affordable space… The cycle usually starts with investors and entrepreneurs who are willing to make the leap together.

However, this can also be a chicken and the egg type of scenario. It is difficult to create an investment community unless there are entrepreneurial ventures to invest in. On the other hand, it is difficult to get entrepreneurs to raise their hand unless the potential to finance the venture exists.

To kick-off this process in eastern Oregon, Eastern Oregon Ventures (EOV), in partnership with the Oregon Technology Business Center (OTBC), will host a virtual workshop on Angel investing. The program is informational in nature, but the ultimate goal is to help raise an Angel fund to invest in early-stage eastern Oregon business ventures. The State of Oregon has also expressed an interest in chipping in.

Have you ever wondered about Angel investing? Do you have skills and experience that could be useful for a budding entrepreneur? Would you like to be involved in building early-stage ventures? Would you like to help boost the local economy?

Well, this is your opportunity… There is no cost to attend and no obligation to invest.

Come join with your peers and learn how to support/inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Oh, and it can be a blast as well!

Whether you are developing a new business idea or looking to build your business skills to take your existing business to the next level, this workshop series will help you get there. Taught by professional business advisors, this series balances instruction with discussion, resource referrals, tools and templates that will help you develop, communicate, and execute your existing business or new business idea.

Week/Session 1: Discussion on the many roles of an entrepreneur/small business owner

Week/Session 2: Understanding your target market, market research, and advertising

Week/Session 3: Building a new or revised business plan

Week/Session 4: Budgeting, record keeping, and financing your business

Week/Session 5: Legal issues, entity selection, employment overview, and local resource referrals