Businesses and Nonprofits
Business Technical Assistance Programs
THIS PROGRAM IS CLOSED.
Small businesses in Sacramento now have access to free technical assistance programs designed to mitigate impacts the pandemic brought to their operations. Through the following nine partners, small businesses can receive assistance building their resiliency and developing new business plans to aid in their recovery efforts.
Restaurants
STREETSENSE
Streetsense is a Retail & Hospitality Consulting firm providing one-on-one consulting sessions to restaurants, bars and independent retail operators to validate and augment their Covid-19 Response strategy. Streetsense team offers a Pandemic Response Guide for Restaurants and Bars and a Pandemic Guide for Small Retail Operators best practices for a wide variety of pandemic related business challenges through interactive webinars conducted prior to individual consulting sessions.
Jay Coldren
Managing Director, Hospitality / Eat+Drink
571-225-7955
ALCHEMIST CDC
Alchemist CDC provides technical assistance to food business entrepreneurs to develop a business plan and gain knowledge and skills to help grow a resilient food business. Their online program consists of twice weekly classes covering fundamental food business topics such as finance, marketing, HR, legal considerations, and more.
Small Fitness Facilities
ERICA CASTILLO CONSULTING
Erica Castillo Consulting provides small fitness facilities with technical assistance to help small fitness facility owners receive industry specific support, services, and advocacy during the Covid-19 pandemic. Virtual seminars features industry experts will cover topics such as:
- Legal
- Accounting Assistance
- Assistance in Virtual Content Creation
- Digital Marketing & Public Relations
- Real Estate & Lease Negotiations
- COVID-19 Workplace Best Practices
916-502-7182
General Business Help
Sacramento Asian CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Sacramento Asian Chamber of Commerce (SACC) is a Federal, State, and local leader when it comes to small business technical assistance. In partnership with The Sacramento Inclusive Economic Development Collaborative (Sac IEDC), SACC has experienced staff who work with a cadre of subject matter experts to provide the most up-to-date help to our small business owners. SACC is overseeing the COVID-19 workplace safety webinars as well as the business recovery webinar series. SACC 1:1 consulting expertise offered includes:
- Access to Capital
- Finance Assistance
- Business Planning / Operations
- COVID and Workplace Safety
- How to Perform a Proper Risk Assessment
- How to Train Employees to Limit the Spread
- Digital / Online Marketing
- Human Resources
- Confidentiality/Privacy and HR Laws
- Employee Development & Guidance
- Health & Wellness
- Language Translation (Vietnamese, Spanish)
Program info at www.sac-iedc.org
DOWNTOWN SACRAMENTO PARTNERSHIP AND MIDTOWN ASSOCIATION
The Downtown Sacramento Partnership and Midtown Association are providing technical and marketing assistance to small business operators located in their districts to retool, reopen and revive operations.
916-442-8575
CALIFORNIA CAPITAL FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
The California Capital Financial Development Corporation is providing ongoing online training classes to provide skills development opportunities covering business planning and adapting business practices in response to the COVID-19 pandemic along with follow-up direct technical support.
916-442-1729
womensbusinesscenter@cacapital.org
BERKELEY STRATEGY ADVISORS
Berkeley Strategy Advisors provides business fundamentals training and technical assistance through online business training workshops and one-on-one consulting on the following business topics:
- COVID-19 Best Business & Safety Practices
- Marketing & Social Media
- Access to Capital, Govt Procurement
- Business Plans & Strategic Advising
- Needs Assessments
- Business Location & Permits Assistance
Kenny Sadler
916-832-2676
BLACK SMALL BUSINESS ASSOCIATION OF CALIFORNIA
The Black Small Business Association of California Technical Assistance Program (TAP) will help Black-owned small businesses successfully navigate the economic challenges of COVID-19. Services include business education programs, targeted communication and digital advocacy, legal compliance, and social media training.
916-573-0677
California Black Chamber of Commerce
The CA Black Chamber of Commerce (CBCC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to economic empowerment. CBCC represents hundreds of small and emerging businesses, affiliates and chambers of commerce throughout the state. The CBCC will provide “Technical Assistance for Small Business” and targeted training to build the capacity of micro-businesses in the City of Sacramento, especially businesses operated by African Americans. Classes will be held via Zoom three days a week, a total of 7-8 class sessions weekly.
Hacker Lab
In partnership with The Sacramento Inclusive Economic Development Collaborative (Sac IEDC), Hacker Lab has a team of experienced advisers that have worked with dozens of small businesses and we’re here to help you, free of charge! Sign up for your initial consultation and get up to 10 hours of one-on-one business advising! Topics we can help you with:
• Creating your digital marketing plan
• Landing Page Conversion Optimization
• Driving traffic to your website
• Content Marketing, webinars, video, blogs
• Social Media Marketing
• Holiday Sales Campaigns
• E-Commerce
• Capital Sourcing
• Financial Planning, Product Pricing
• Time Management and Productivity
Program info at www.sac-iedc.org
The Capital Region Small Business Development Center
The Capital Region Small Business Development Center (SBDC), in partnership with The Sacramento Inclusive Economic Development Collaborative (Sac IEDC), provides no-cost technical assistance to small business owners in the form of no-cost consulting and workshop-style training. The main goals of the SBDC are to assist start-up and established businesses in the following areas, including but not limited to:
• Gaining access to new funding opportunities
• Improving overall sales
• Creating jobs and retaining talent
• Business Plan Development
• Marketing strategies
• Managing a business
• StartUp Assistance
• Government Contracting
• Business Accounting
• Human Resources
• Cash Flow Management
• Buy/Sell Businesses
• E-Commerce
Program info at www.sac-iedc.org
Sacramento Black Chamber of Commerce
The Sacramento Black Chamber of Commerce (SBCC) mission is to promote and develop business growth for members and to provide access to the Black market. In partnership with The Sacramento Inclusive Economic Development Collaborative (Sac IEDC), SBCC’s CARES programs are geared specifically for our African American small businesses to help improve the economic, cultural, and civic well-being of the African American community. Business owners will have access to 1:1 assistance to help them with almost any issue facing them today. Areas of expertise include:
- Webinars with 1:1 experts to answer your questions and discuss areas of concern.
- Online services to help point you in the right direction for assistance
- Expert assistance on organization and expertise to strengthen financial and operational recordkeeping.
- Assistance to discuss any challenges or hurdles connect you with right person to solve the problem your facing
Program info at www.sac-iedc.org
Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
SHCC – The Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (SHCC) mission is to promote and develop business growth for members and to provide access to the Hispanic market. In partnership with The Sacramento Inclusive Economic Development Collaborative (Sac IEDC), SHCC’s CARES programs are geared specifically for our Latinx small businesses. Business owner will have access to 1:1 assistance in language to help them with almost any issue facing them today. Areas of expertise include:
• Webinars with 1:1 experts on site to answer your questions and discuss areas of concern.
• Courses offered in Spanish specifically designed to help the Latinx entrepreneur or small business owner jump start their current business or start a new business from ground up.
• Online services to help point you in the right direction for assistance
• Expert assistance on organization and expertise to strengthen financial and operational recordkeeping.
• Assistance to discuss any challenges or hurdles in language
Program info at www.sac-iedc.org
North Sacramento Chamber of Commerce
Need help with how to approach your landlord on renegotiating your current lease? In partnership with The Sacramento Inclusive Economic Development Collaborative (Sac IEDC), the North Sacramento Chamber will connect you 1:1 with a commercial realtor who can provide guidance and expertise on the following topics:
- Rent Reduction – the most straightforward way to adjust your monthly expenses
- Rent Deferral – request to defer or waive a portion of rent
- Rent Abatement – How to ask landlord if they have the ability, could agree to forgive a certain amount of rent, or past due rent for a short period of time.
- Application of Deposit – Approaching your landlord to apply a portion of that against any current rent or operating cost obligations.
- Subletting – How to discuss subletting, bringing in a new tenant into a portion of your space that would help you pay your rent.
- Loan Conversion – How to best approach your landlord on the possibility of a “loan” to offset costs, by letting you skip them and creating a promissory note that allows you to pay that over time, perhaps a year or two on top of your future rent obligations
Program info at www.sac-iedc.org
Forgivable Loan Recipients
SACRAMENTO METROPOLITAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
The Capital Region Small Business Development Center (SBDC) provides wrap around services to the 1,400 recipients receiving funding from the COVID-19 forgivable loan program.
Contact:
Maria Baptista
Director, Small Business Development Center
One Capitol Mall, Suite 700, Sacramento, CA 95814
916-321-9153
Small business supportive services offered in this effort include:
- One on one consulting for small business owners.
- Webinars focused on essential business recovery needs.
- Retail and Hospitality consulting services to evaluate and augment COVID-19 response strategies for restaurants, bars and independent retail operators.
- Small fitness facility industry specific supportive services, including assistance in virtual content creation, fitness facility COVID-19 operating standards, employee training and retention, and advocacy.
- Spanish language specific services tailored to meet the needs of the City’s Latinx small business owners.
We invite you to help spread the word about this program by using outreach materials available in the Business Technical Assistance outreach toolkit.