Main Street Launch Fall Newsletter

• Letter from Our CEO
• Credit Tip
• Advising Corner: Why Your Online Presence Matters
• Resource for your Business: Townsquared
• Meet Our Clients: Acumen Building Enterprise
• Get To Know Our Staff: Lee Lambert
• Opportunity for your Business: Forest Restaurant Supply
• Resource for your Business: SFEDA
• Upcoming Events for Your Small Business
• Get Connected to Resources
• Welcome Our Newest Clients
• Welcome Our Newest Team Members

Resource for your Business: Townsquared

Connect with Fellow Business Owners on Townsquared! Main Street Launch is partnering with Townsquared, the only online community where verified small business owners share advice and resources on topics ranging from accounting and insurance to city permits and technology. You can claim your free membership now by clicking here to create your profile, or visit townsquared.com and sign up using the invite code mainstreetlaunch.

Meet Our Clients: Acumen Building Enterprise

Walter E. Allen, a Navy veteran, started Acumen Building Enterprise in 1994 to help pay for graduate school. That small one-person consulting firm became a corporation in 2002. Acumen now has 40 employees and works with major transit agencies across the country to provide transit and transportation infrastructure development coupled with strategic technology solutions designed to expand urban mobility and accessibility. In 2016, Acumen received a loan from Main Street Launch to support its cash flow and business growth. “Our biggest expense is payroll, and the loan allowed us to manage our cash flow while we wait for invoices to process,” explains Walter. “The timing of the loan was critical, and the infusion of capital kept us going.” Main Street Launch referred Walter to the Alameda County SBDC for accounting support. “It was a great help. I would recommend the SBDC to other business owners. I plan to go back to them for help on future business challenges as they arise.” Click here to read Acumen Building Enterprise’s full post.

Get to Know Lee Lambert

Lee Lambert has over 30 years of experience in management consulting, financial services, corporate and business development, and startup companies. Click here to read more about Lee.

Click here to read Lee’s full interview.

Opportunity for your Business: Forest Restaurant Supply

Our partner Forest Restaurant Supply has several ways they can support your food business.

Forest Store: you can find a variety of restaurant equipment, furniture, and supplies to get your business to exactly where you want it. Their team is knowledgeable about their products and can help you make the best choice for your business based on budget and aesthetics. Click here for a coupon for 20% off your entire purchase.

Forest Design: you can get support with your restaurant’s branding, marketing, and printing needs. Their current coupon offers 1000 business cards at no cost so you can try their services.

Forest Delivery: you can get all your food service and jan-san supplies through Forest. Check out their coupon for more details.

Click here to download coupons for low-cost or free services from Forest.

Resource for your Business: SFEDA

Main Street Launch is proud to be a member of the San Francisco Economic Development Alliance (SFEDA). The SFEDA is a collaboration of nonprofit organizations that provide business training, funding, and ongoing support to Bay Area small and micro businesses serving San Francisco. The SFEDA member organizations come together to support SF small businesses, to find new ways to collaborate, and to work together to best support business owners. Click here to learn more about what the SFEDA can do to support your business.

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

Click here to view more upcoming events to support your business this spring.

We welcome our partners and community to share upcoming events.
We post them on social media and on our website.
Send any upcoming events to katie@mainstreetlaunch.org.

Get Connected to Resources for your Business

The Alameda County SBDC provides free, one-on-one consulting and trainings to more than 2,000 small businesses in the county each year. Areas covered include raising loan and investment capital, marketing, social media, technology, operations, accounting and industries such as food, restaurant and retail. Click here to sign up at no cost to you.

BusinessAdvising.org connects free expert advisors and mentors to entrepreneurs for tailored, hands-on assistance to grow businesses and create new quality jobs in their communities. Click here to sign up at no cost to you.

Townsqd is a social network that connects neighborhood small businesses to each other. This platform fosters collaboration among businesses and offers a place to share resources and information. Click here to join at no cost to you.

Localwise connects local people to jobs at local businesses. As small businesses are ready to make their first hire or grow their team, Localwise offers a local job community focused on building talent in small businesses. Click here to post a job.

Welcome to our Newest Clients

For more information about shopping with our clients, please check out our map.

Welcome Our Newest Team Members

We’re pleased to welcome Prabh Nijjar as our Data Analyst. She supports a variety of reporting and data projects for the organization. We were also pleased to have three summer interns with us this year: Andrea Ramirez, Fernando Ramos, and Brooke Solomon. Andrea and Fernando supported various mapping and data analysis projects, and Brooke supported our fundraising and development activities.