Dear Friends,
For 36 years, OBDC Small Business Finance has created opportunity by empowering entrepreneurs. This year is positioned to be as busy and impactful as ever.
· We have moved offices to accommodate our organizational growth. You can now find us at 2101 Webster Street, Suite 1200 in downtown Oakland.
· We just celebrated the one-year anniversary of our veterans program. We achieved $1 million in lending in the inaugural year of this program, and are expanding our business advising and training services with FastTrac, a program of the Kauffman Foundation.
· The CDFI industry is focusing on themes of diversity, inclusion, and equity this year. We believe strongly in these values and are proud to have highly diverse borrowers, staff, and board of directors. Click here to read more about this on our blog.
· We are here to support our clients as they adjust to meet the new minimum wage ordinance. We have a legal workshop on March 19 on complying with the ordinance, and we are available to help clients work through cash flow management and capital needs given the increased wage expenses. Click here to register.
We look forward to continuing to share our work with you this year. Thank you for all your continued support.
Jacob Singer, CEO 
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Minimum Wage Laws are Changing in 2015
A big theme of this newsletter is the new increased minimum wage. To support our OBDC community through the transition we are offering a workshop titled “Mastering the New Minimum Wage”. This workshop will discuss:
- Details of the new minimum wage law and how it works
- Calculating the financial impact of the new law on restaurants
- Mitigation strategies for restaurants to offset the financial impact
Experts will be there to answer questions and brainstorm ways to effectively implement the law. Join us on Thursday March 19 from 10am to 12pm in OBDC’s new offices at 2101 Webster Street, Suite 1200 in Oakland. This workshop is being offered in partnership with the Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights of the SF Bay Area and OBDC. Click here to register.
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Borrower Resources: Business Consultant Tips by Paula
The New Minimum Wage Mathematically Speaking
By now most small businesses are aware of the new minimum wage laws that are being implemented in Oakland and San Francisco. Now many restaurants are trying to determine how best to implement the new wage structure while still growing a profitable business. An initial first reaction is to raise prices, but as noted in the East Bay Express feature story “The Tipping Point” by Luke Tsai, it is not that simple. A price increase needs to take into account several factors such as:
- How expensive is your food now?
- Can your customers pay for higher prices?
- Are your competitors raising their prices?
Paula walks through some critical questions for restaurants to consider when determining how to best implement the new wage structure while growing a profitable restaurant. To see Paula’s entire column, click here.
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Get to Know Noah Harris, Vice President – Veterans Program
 Prior to joining OBDC, Noah was the Director of the Veterans Business Outreach Center serving the Western U.S. and providing comprehensive small business development support to veterans. Noah is a multi-lingual (Spanish, Portuguese, Italian) professional and U.S. Army Veteran with a career reflecting over 20 years of training, management, leadership, operations, and consulting experience in a range of industries.
“Veterans have committed to protecting the cherished, traditional values of our country and way of life. Their business ownership continues these traditions through contributions to their communities, in terms of jobs, quality of life, financial viability, and asset/wealth building. Veterans continue to create businesses at a highly significant rate compared to non-veterans, and I believe we will continue to see very strong business leadership demonstrated by veteran businesses.”
– Noah Harris, Vice President – Veterans Program
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OBDC Vice President Selected for Citi Leadership Program
We’re thrilled that Jen Leybovich, OBDC’s Vice President – Strategy & Development, was one of 48 community development financial institution (CDFI) professionals selected to participate in the second annual Citi Leadership Program For Opportunity Finance. Click here to read the entire press release.
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Work Opportunity Tax Credit
You may qualify for a work opportunity tax credit (WOTC) if you hired any employees in 2014 from a qualified group, such as certain veterans, TANF, and SNAP recipients. Click here for more information about what qualifies and how to file.
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OBDC is Hiring!
Click here for our careers page for more information about our two paid intern positions supporting our veterans program and our marketing and impact evaluation work.
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Upcoming Events
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Mastering the New Minimum Wage
Date: Thursday, March 19, 2015
Location: 2101 Webster Street,
Suite 1200, Oakland, CA 94612
Date: Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Location: 2101 Webster Street, Suite 1200, Oakland, CA 94612
Intellectual Property Workshop
Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Location: 999 Brannan Street, Penthouse Room, San Francisco, CA 94103
More info: Intellectual Property Basics for Small Businesses at no cost: meet one-on-one for a 30-minute consultation about your specific questions regarding your brand, business name, and more. Click here to register.
Date: Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Location: Unity Council, 1900 Fruitvale Avenue, 3rd Floor, Oakland
More info: This workshop discusses what lenders are looking for, the documents you need and the importance of financials and cash flow. Click here to register.
The Basics of Social Media
Date: Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Location: Unity Council, 1900 Fruitvale Avenue, 3rd Floor, Oakland
More info: This workshop shows you how social media can lead to new customers and drive repeat business from current customers. This workshop discusses Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and Pinterest and helps you decide which is right for you. Click here to register.
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Community Corner
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Click here to join Townsquared to connect with other businesses in your neighborhood
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At OBDC we are proud to continue our partnership with Pacific Community Ventures (PCV). PCV’s online advising program has a great new website and offers…
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We’re excited to announce that OBDC has recently funded these incredible businesses!
Visit the websites of many OBDC funded businesses by clicking here forour new, interactive map.
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@HauteButch “We LOVE @obdc_finance – always doing something positive & ethical to help entrepreneurs & community in the Bay! #Salute”
Our borrower Laurel Book Store recently moved to downtown Oakland. Click here to read this great article about the business!
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We’re excited to welcome new Human Resources staff member Bruce Jobson to OBDC.
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