Winter 2016 Newsletter

In this newsletter

• Letter from Our CEO
• Credit Tip
• Advising Corner: Fight Your Fears with a Resolution!
• Meet Our Clients: Fair Game
• Get To Know Our Staff: Karla De Leon
• Shopping with Impact This Holiday Season
• Share Your Experience
• Upcoming Events for Your Small Business
• Get Connected to Resources
• Small Business Resource: Gusto
• Welcome Our Newest Clients
• Welcome Our Newest Team Member

Advising Corner:
Fight Your Fears with a Resolution!

I recently chatted with an entrepreneur who felt she should be using QuickBooks instead of keeping her receipts in a shoe box. She explained, “I really have a better sense of control when I have the physical shoebox. But, if I am really honest, I’m afraid that I am not smart enough for QuickBooks.”

I said that if you feel your business could reach a whole new level if you converted to QuickBooks, why not make that your New Year’s Resolution?

Click here to read the full article.

Meet Our Clients: Fair Game

Fair Game in Sacramento, now owned by Marine Corps veteran Terry Watts, celebrates retro games with an enthusiasm that keeps their customers coming back. Fair Game offers retro video games, consoles, and accessories to casual gamers and collectors in the Sacramento Area since 2002. They offer game trade-ins, options to purchase online, and sell most of the systems any gamer needs to slip into a nostalgia-filled day of fun. In addition, Fair Game offers professional disc repair both in-store and online. Terry shares how happy he is to have come across Veteran Launch: “It was a pleasure to find Veteran Launch and receive the loan that helped me acquire Fair Game. You are doing an enormously valuable service for veterans.”

Click here to read Fair Game’s full profile.

Get to Know Karla De Leon

Karla De Leon joined Main Street Launch in 2015 as our Lead Business Advisor. She is now working directly with our East Oakland clients to help them complete their loan packages. Karla’s background is a mix of public policy and business, with a focus on small business financing. Click here to read more about Karla.

“Our borrowers represent families. I grew up with parents who still own a small business, and I know that many small business owners are working to provide for their families. Knowing that our work is ultimately supporting families in our community and helping them succeed is a big motivator for me.”

Click here to read Karla’s full interview.

Shop with Impact this Holiday Season

Shop Local

As you shop for holiday gifts, consider choosing to #shoplocal for some of your gifts. Buying local has a big impact on our neighborhoods and communities:

• More tax revenue, for community services like education, road repair, and more, stays in our communities when you shop local
• Local nonprofits receive 250% more support from local businesses than from large businesses
• More local purchases means less transportation/shipping transit, which is more environmentally friendly
• Shopping local supports local, quality jobs for our neighbors and friends

Deciding to buy local for one type of item (like books from your local bookstore) can have a tremendous impact on our communities with minimal impact on your budget. We’ve put together a guide of our clients to help you as you decide where to find your holiday gifts and who should cater your holiday parties. Click here for our guides.

Give Back on Amazon

When you shop on Amazon, visit smile.amazon.com and select “Main Street Launch” as the organization to benefit. Shop as you normally would, at no additional charge, and we get a portion of your total purchase amount, donated from Amazon.

Share Your Experience

Main Street Launch is partnering with the Federal Reserve to conduct a Small Business Credit Survey for both pre-startup and existing businesses, and we’d like to ask you to participate. This survey is a platform through which small businesses can be heard. It is designed to pick up on potential finance issues affecting small business and bring them to the attention of those who have the ability to make changes. We think it is an important survey because your answers will inform small business support organizations and policymakers about real-time business conditions.

This short survey will take approximately 9 minutes and will ask about business conditions, financing needs, and credit experiences. Summary results will be shared with you.

Responses are confidential and will help to improve programs and services for current and potential small business owners.

Please click the link below to complete the survey.

The survey closes December 15, 2016. Questions? Contact SmallBusinessResearch@atl.frb.org.

If you have problems with the link above, copy and paste the following URL into a new browser window:

http://frb.co1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_8iVpQVF8PPIqCPz&orgid=444545&parentid=OFN&reserve_bank=

Share this survey link with other business owners. If you post on social media, tag Main Street Launch and we’ll share your post, too!

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

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

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.

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 closed 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.

Small Business Resource: Gusto

For many small businesses, payroll, human resources, and benefits are murky waters. It’s tough to stay up-to-date on all the regulations and to make sure that you’re offering competitive salaries and more to the folks that make your business run successfully (your employees). There are a variety of different resources out there to help you, including Gusto. Here’s how they describe their company:

“Founded in 2011, Gusto provides payroll, benefits, and HR to modern companies. We have offices in San Francisco and Denver, but thanks to our 30,000 small business customers and their employees, there’s a little piece of us in all 50 states.

We believe that humans aren’t resources. When we come to work, we don’t leave our humanity at the door. We bring life with us: our feats and friendships, our adventures and aspirations.

Great businesses treat us like people, not ID numbers. When that happens, work becomes a source of energy rather than fatigue. It creates a virtuous cycle where life improves work, and work improves our lives. That’s why we started Gusto.

Our mission is to create a world where work empowers a better life.”

Gusto provides payroll, benefits, and human resources services for employers and employees in the United States. Their customizable platform lets companies mix and match the services that are right for their companies, budgets, and employees. They’re currently working with over 30,000 small businesses nationwide who are utilizing their services.

Click here to learn more about Gusto’s services. To take advantage of our partnership discount, email updates@mainstreetlaunch.org to get started.

Welcome to our Newest Clients

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

Welcome Our Newest Team Members

We’d like to welcome Debra Peace to our team as Main Street Launch’s new Office Manager. Debra has more than ten years of nonprofit experience, and we are excited to work with her! Click here to learn more about Debra’s background.

We are also thrilled to welcome Rachel Aoanan back to our team. Now serving our clients as Vice President – Loan Closing & Compliance, Rachel is bringing her skills in lending and client service back to Main Street Launch. Click here to learn more about Rachel’s background.