Salesforce.org and Centro Strategize New Go-to Market Initiatives

David Karrasch, Mark Sichel, Mark McKinney, Derek Whipple, Michelle Peterson and Margo Mayes from Salesforce.org brainstorming with Arturo Noriega, Founder and Executive Director of Centro Community Partners. 

An entrepreneurship education program that can help just about anyone create a business plan by using a mobile app is a breakthrough solution for an enormous segment of the U.S. population and the developing world who seek to start small businesses to lift themselves out of poverty, and create jobs for others. 

For years, our friends at Salesforce.org have understood and supported our standing for economic development through entrepreneurship by providing us great council on how to best use their flagship product. But this time, they have opened up their doors, time and expertise on sales execution to strategize with us new go-to market initiatives for Centro's entrepreneurship training product - ultimately, allowing us to rely less on fundraising efforts and be more self sufficient.

We thank Mark Sichel, Vice-president of Enterprise Sales at Salesforce.org, for enabling two pro-bono work sessions with his entire team. Together, we looked at how, where, to whom and for how much to sell our curriculum materials. We went over several new go-to market strategies and further explored the viability of our trainer model. 

To support entrepreneurs in more communities throughout the country, we will:

• Revise our infrastructure/processes to handle new partnerships and provide them with continued support.
• Use Salesforce to make data-driven decisions, run reports easier, and create a smooth/streamlined systems for marketing, communications, follow-up, impact evaluation, referrals.
• Consider partnerships with larger organizations.
• Possibly create an account manager position.

We do this with the hope that more people will be able to benefit from our services, and more small businesses emerge for the benefit of families, entire communities and economies. 

Thank you Salesforce for sharing your expertise and great-product with us! 

Behind the Business Conference in San Francisco, September 16-17

Cuisine Noir Magazine Presents the Behind The Business Conference 2016 for Small Food Entrepreneurs September 16 – 17 in San Francisco

Starting and running a business takes passion, hard work, patience and a great network. Join us in San Francisco for Cuisine Noir’s first Behind the Business Conference on Friday, September 16 and Saturday, September 17 -  a new space for current and aspiring small business owners.

This conference is especially designed for anyone who is in the culinary, wine/beer/spirits, restaurant/food truck and specialty gourmet foods industries. Whether you are starting or have been running your business for a while, there is always something to learn.

Schedule Overview

The conference kicks-off on Friday, September 16th at 6:30 pm with our Welcome and Networking Reception at The Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco where guests will mingle attendees, panelists and speakers and media.  The evening will also host a meet and greet with this year’s keynote speaker Andre Mack, founder of Mouton Noir Wines, the largest producing black-owned wine label in the country.

Andre Mack, founder of Mouton Noir Wines and keynote speaker at Behind the Business Conference. 

On Saturday, September 17th we’ll come together at the South San Francisco Conference Center from 8 am – 5 pm for a full day of workshops, and a luncheon that will include a highly anticipated discussion around the opportunities and obstacles securing funding to start, grow and expand one’s small business.

Discounted Registration Available

We have been offered a discounted rate of $70 for the two-day conference for anyone who is part of Centro Community Partners. So, Centro entrepreneurs, current and past MBA advisors, donors, supporters and friends, please contact us at info@centrocommunity.org to receive the special registration code. The code will be valid until Sunday, September 11th. 

Questions About the Conference

Please contact Sheree Williams at events@vshereepublishing.com.

We hope to see you there!

Young and Starting a Business: Digital Nest and Centro Work Together

Arturo Noriega, Centro's Founder and Executive Director (far right) with Digital Nest's first group of Centro's Basic Entrepreneurship Program graduates.

This summer, we worked with the inspiring team at Digital Nest to deliver the first Centro Basic Entrepreneurship & Financial Literacy Program to youth in Watsonville, CA! We spent eight intense sessions working on new businesses, surely reminding us of the thrust in young people when they are motivated and have the right tools and skills.

We thank Jacob Martínez, Digital Nest's Executive Director, for immediately coming on board and allowing us to reach together to their promising youth leaders through Centro's Business Planning App.

“We are passionate about the intersection of small business entrepreneurship, youth leadership and technology, particularly when it connects people with high potential with the resources and support they need to succeed.”

— Arturo Noriega, Centro Community Partners

The summer workshop yielded three business plans for:

• Tech Mobile: An itinerant free wifi provider that offers free computer classes in rural communities.
• Scholarly: a crowd sourcing scholarship portal for minority college-bound students. This idea was short-listed as a potential project for Paypal's annual hackathon.
• And last but not least, an Entrepreneurship Institute for Digital Nest, so they can continue training more young entrepreneurs year-round!

We are extremely excited to have worked with such sharp, enthusiastic, creative, young socially-minded problem solvers who are focusing their energy on businesses that directly benefit their communities.  Everyone learned a great deal about business planning, budgeting and prototyping, which was our main goal, but we were far more pleased to see how their families too rejoiced on these accomplishments at graduation.

We also want to thank Winnie Nguyen, Steve Bean and Yethzell Diaz from Digital Nest who helped us make this happen. This workshop couldn't have been possible without you. We look forward to doing more together!  

Get Your Small Business Idea on Paper and Running: Fall Workshop Series

The Mandela Marketplace is presenting a fall workshop series in Castlemont, Oakland specifically designed for new and local small business entrepreneurs. So if you, or someone you know, is ready to turn an idea into a smart business but doesn't have any business knowledge or experience, this might be the right pathway.

The Sustainable Economies Law Center and Centro Community Partners will collaborate with Mandela Marketplace to lead the legal and business coursework, making it a well-rounded offering at a very low-cost.

Basic Details

• What: 9 workshop sessions covering business entrepreneurship, marketing, finance; food development, safety and handling, and a legal cafe for individual counseling. 
• Who: For all local aspiring small business entrepreneurs (general and food entrepreneurs.
• When: From September 7th to November 2nd. One session per week. If you are a food entrepreneur, you are required to attend all 9 sessions, otherwise, you can skip weeks 5-7.
• How much: Sliding scale and 1:1 match. What does that mean? Contribute anything from $25-$100, and if you have minimum attendance, at the end of the workshop series, you will be given back $50-$200 you can use on your business.
• Where: 8711 McArthur Boulevard, Oakland CA.

More Information and How to Sign Up

Please contact Mariela Uribe at (510) 208-1223.

We look forward to seeing you there! 

Centro Completes Mentorship Program by Global Social Benefit Institute

Naldo Peliks, Centro Community Partners Chief Operations Officer and Michael Wray, Mentor at Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship, Santa Clara University.

Last winter, we were extremely humbled to have been the only US-based organization selected by the Global Social Benefit Institute (GSBI) to take part in their 2016 online incubator program for social enterprises. Today, we are proud and energized by the outcomes of this truly one-of-a-kind mentorship program.

As an organization dedicated to entrepreneurship development in underserved communities, we spend a lot of time working on other people's business plans. The GSBI program has allowed us to reverse the roles and be mentees at a new phase of our organizational growth. 

We spent the last six months revisiting our own business model and our plans to escalate the reach of our work with small business entrepreneurs. We are so grateful for our mentors Michael Wray and Doug Wheeler who always asked us the right questions at the right time. Thank you for your expertise, consistent presence and guidance.

“I have worked very closely with Arturo Noriega and his executive team at Centro Community Partners during the past six months as part of the Santa Clara University GSBI Online Incubator Program. During this time, Arturo worked closely with another mentor and me to continue to develop a business strategy and plan to expand his social entrepreneurship model and to work towards more private financing.

At all times, I was extremely impressed by his business model, their mission statement and the willingness of Arturo and his team to continue to explore new business opportunities, streamlined processes and financing ventures. Centro Community Partners has already displayed great success, and I am confident that they will continue on a path of continued success.”

— Doug Wheeler

The completion of this program is a milestone in itself for Centro Community Partners as we develop and move forward with new go-to-market strategies for our entrepreneurship programming. We now also have under our belts a powerful pitch deck with which we can share our story, and our theory of change for economic development with potential funders.

“Congratulations, Arturo, on graduating from the the Santa Clara University Miller Center Social Entrepreneur On-Line Program. During the three month intensive program Arturo and his team refined Centro’s strategy, business plan and financial forecast, and positioned the Company for investment and expansion.

The concept is solid and the team is awesome!”

— Michael Wray

Thanks again to the Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship for this incredible opportunity to feel challenged and inspired once more by our mission. We are thrilled to join the family of GSBI alumni!

New Partnership with Urban Solutions Supporting SF Small Business Owners

Irina Kurtsevaya, Centro Community Partners Entrepreneurship Trainer at Urban Solutions.

Writing a business plan should be high up on the to-do list of any entrepreneur interested in getting a loan, signing a new lease or hiring an employee, but in many cases, the task can still seem an unconquerable challenge for too many small business owners. At Centro Community Partners (Centro) we know this too well, and so do our new partners at Urban Solutions. That's why we have combined our strengths to provide more current and aspiring small business owners with the best tools and guidance to launch and grow their ventures putting the right foot forward.

Urban Solutions focus is to strengthen underserved San Francisco neighborhoods by supporting small businesses, job creation, diversity and sustainability. They are a recognized provider of small business support and training, and an advocate for balanced and thoughtful neighborhood economic development.

Susie McKinnon, Director of Neighborhood Services at Urban Solutions tells us how Centro's Business Planning App and Basic Entrepreneurship Program further enhances the outcomes of the ample support system they already offer to SF small business owners:

"Our core services include real estate, leasing assistance, loan packaging and individualized small business consulting. In most instances during the process of any of Urban Solutions consultations and services, a consistent necessity for clients turns towards the need for the development of a basic business plan.  Urban Solutions supports specific clients to a certain extent to help them develop their plans – especially during the timeliness of executing a lease or a loan. However, our staff does not usually have the time to offer comprehensive training on all the components involved with the development of a well vetted business plan from client to client.

We are happy to say that this particular predicament changed in the spring time of 2016 for Urban Solutions and our clients moving forward. Learning of the Centro Business Planning app and partnering up with the amicable staff at Centro Community Partners will allow us to offer a tremendous and free resource to budding and established entrepreneurs in San Francisco for the years to come."

In April of 2016, Centro Community Partners conducted a 9-week Basic Entrepreneur Course which Urban Solutions coordinated and helped to facilitate at a local co-working space. Approximately 25 individuals signed up and there were a core 15-18 that participated in a majority of the classes. Each class built off the next and guided the student entrepreneurs through the steps and content needed to build an individualized business plan. Most of the content and information is derived through an easy-to-use app developed by Centro that walks individuals through activities that help them plug in information that will be added to their business plans.

At the final session, each student was given a printout draft of their business plan and was offered a few minutes to present their business concepts, next steps to moving toward their goals and how the class and program helped them progress forward.

Susie adds:

"This was a great learning experience for not only the students but also for the Urban Solutions staff. We’re now better equipped to offer easy-to-use resources to entrepreneurs and help them develop their business plans. The students of this initial cohort now have a foundational understanding of how to build their businesses and work through the details to best establish what is needed to accomplish their goals.

Progressively through the classes and particularly at the final session, most students displayed greater confidence than when they first started. Most expressed new found energy and excitement towards understanding what tools and steps are needed to advance their businesses. Thank you, Centro Community Partners!"

Urban Solutions will continue to offer Centro's Basic Entrepreneurship Program and plans to hold another session next year!

We’re excited to offer this service to San Francisco and grateful for the dedication and expert knowledge of the community offered by Urban Solutions.

Please check Urban Solutions' website for all their upcoming trainings.

A New Authentic Arab Bakery in Oakland: Kickstarter Campaign

Reem Assil is a recent alumn of our Entrepreneur Readiness Program and she is the real deal when it comes to Arab street food. She hella loves her homeland and we love her back for sharing it with us in the Bay Area.

Up until now, Reem's has been catering and serving at farmer's markets, but she is now ready to open up her dream brick-and-mortar Arab bakery, right here, in Oakland!

“We are creating a restaurant and home to connect people across cultures & generations through the warmth of Arab bread and hospitality”

— Reem Assil

Please Support Reem's Kickstarter Campaign

Reem's combines the distinctive flavors, aromas, and techniques of the modern Arab street corner bakery with the freshness of California cuisine, made with love!

Reem is also a finalist at the Open for Business contest by OpenTable, so she must out-fund her fellow finalists and secure a minimum of $35,000 in order to receive an additional $15,000 from OpenTable. 

With as little as $10, $25 or $50, we can help her get there and bring a space of connection and Arab food to town!

Vodafone Americas Foundation Supports Technology for Small Businesses Entrepreneurs

Vodafone, one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies is advancing social change at a global scale by supporting partners using technology to resolve shared problems, improve lives and transform entire communities.

We are thrilled to announce that the Vodafone Americas Foundation has endorsed our approach to socioeconomic change through entrepreneurship for all with our first multi-year grant.

Centro originally applied for the Vodafone Wireless Innovation Project competition in February 2016, and while our application was not selected, they felt we might be more suitable for their partnership programs so we were invited to meet and discuss possible grant opportunities. We want to give special thanks to June Sugiyama, Director of Vodafone Americas Foundation for inviting us to introduce our organization firsthand and providing the grant to help us  continue our mobile development work supporting small business entrepreneurs. 

Centro will use the $100,000 grant for programming focused on supporting the growth of low-to-moderate income youth, women and minority owned micro enterprises, and the development and engineering of our Business Planning App, which is the foundation of our Basic Entrepreneurship Education Suite. More specifically, we will use the funds to:

• Facilitate access to capital: We will design functionality that will help entrepreneurs understand their capital needs, improve their credit, create robust business plans and increase savings to successfully access micro-loans.

• Improve data collection: We will develop features within the app to capture valuable data points such as age, gender, location, income level and education that will help us learn more about our app users. In order to further improve the effectiveness of the app and provide impact details to partners and funders, we also plan to start measuring data in the following areas: demographics, economics, social, psychological, general e-learning.

• Develop new mobile app activities: We are engineering new app activities that will be added to our Business Planning Tool including financial projections and marketing.

We’re excited to count Vodafone Americas Foundation among our list of stewards. We are deeply grateful for their support of our vision, and the next steps they will enable us to take in the years to come.

We're Giving Away Squares to Process Credit Cards On-the-Go

Square has generously donated 50 credit card readers for Centro's small business entrepreneurs, and we are giving them away starting now!

Ask for your reader as soon as possible by emailing us at info@cenetrocommunity.org with the subject line: "My Square Credit Card Reader."

Run your business with ease and grow faster by processing credit cards anywhere with Square. Visit their website to learn about their fee per transaction, and other Square products that can help your business succeed faster.

*We are giving away up to two credit card readers per business. And if you are no longer in the Bay Area, let us know and we'll put it in the mail for you. 

Supporting a 50-year Family Tradition: Food with Integrity and Love

Nellie and her father, Chris Stokeld.

We're extremely excited to rally support for Nellie Stokeld from The Pie Shop. Her family has produced handcrafted, savory British pub fare and tea-themed treats in Oakland, Ca for decades. A couple of years ago, Nellie completed Centro's advanced entrepreneurship training program and she is now carrying the tradition of the Stokeld family business with great craft and pride. 

Please help us support Nellie by lending her $25 or more through Kiva.org.

The Stokeld's at a 2013 pop-up in Oakland, CA.

The Pie Shop | Authentic British Pies, Pasties, Teas & Treats

The Pie Shop is a second generation offering from the Stokeld family beginning with Chris Stokeld, an immigrant hailing from North Yorkshire in England. Fifty years later, the emphasis of our shop is still on whole food, made with integrity and served with love.

Purpose of the loan: To hire a new employee, purchase new equipment, and improve online retail services.

***Current status: loan fully funded.

---

WANT A LOAN TO LAUNCH OR GROW YOUR SMALL BUSINESS?

If you’d like to start or grow a small business with a free loan, download Centro's Business Planning App on your phone. Once all the activities in the app are completed, request Centro's endorsement for a Kiva loan right there on the app.

We are Kiva's top 10 Trustee for 2015 and we'd love to help you!

Put Your MBA Knowledge to Work, Gain Experience & Make a Difference

Are you an MBA student wanting to accumulate real-world business experience?

Centro is accepting applications for the Fall 2016 intake of its MBA Advisor Program - an accelerated program designed to train MBA students to become small business consultants.

We will match you with a rising small business owner enrolled in Centro's Entrepreneur Readiness Program and in working together to build his business, over a 14-week period you will gain practical experience in:

• Management consulting
• Small business finance
• Credit analysis
• Critical thinking
• Communication skills
• Professional coaching

The MBA Advisor Program provides participants with an invaluable opportunity to directly apply what they learn in school towards helping local, talented, small business entrepreneurs to develop their business plan while accumulating hands-on experience.

Interested? Apply online today.

Criteria for MBA Student Advisors

• 1-3 years professional work experience
• Proven team player with strong communication and collaboration skills
• Committed to learning and self-improvement
• Ability to commit between 5-10 hours per week during the program

Program Duration
From September 16 through December 16, 2016.

Interview Period & Deadline

• Interviews start in August
• Final selection: Friday, Sept 5th, 2016

Interview Format
One-hour behavior interview, including a business case study interview.

Inquiry Contact
Please email Irina Kurtsevaya at irina@centrocommunity.org.

More Information

Learn more about the structure, methodology, benefits and requirements to participate in the MBA Advisor Program. And view the roadmap MBA Student Advisors use to guide their small business entrepreneurs. 

What You Need to Know to Grow Your Small Business

Christine Doerr, Owner of NeoCocoa and Centro's Entrepreneur Readiness Program Alumn. Photo credit: Susie Wyshak.

Are you an entrepreneur looking to grow your small business? 

Centro is recruiting for the Fall 2016 intake of its Entrepreneur Readiness Program, our advanced training program for small business entrepreneurs who have already developed a product or service, and are looking for help to take their business to the next level.

This program is intentionally designed for entrepreneurs without access to traditional business training and who can attend weekly workshops to improve their business competency, credit health, and professional development. 

Throughout the program, participants also receive support from Centro’s trainers, outside experts, peer entrepreneurs and an MBA advisor, exclusively dedicate to consult and build up with you a complete business plan.

Interested? Apply online today.

Interview Period
August -  September 5 (Some exceptions allowed).

Program Duration
Friday afternoons from September 16 through December 16, 2016.

Cost
$500 per participant.

Inquiry Contact
Please email Irina Kurtsevaya at irina@centrocommunity.org.

More Information

Learn more about the Entrepreneur Readiness Program, meet alumni and read what they have to say about their experience with Centro.

7 New Small Business Owners Trained in Spanish at The Latina Center

It is graduation season for our entrepreneurs as well! 

A group of emerging small business entrepreneurs just graduated from Centro's Basic Entrepreneurship Program at The Latina Center in Richmond, CA. They completed the program in Spanish and are now finally ready to go forth with their businesses with the confidence and preparation they needed.

• Carmen Alejo will launch a mobile library
• Elizabeth Fernandez will launch an event design consulting firm for weddings
• Bernardo Gonzalez will launch a firm to assist others in the purchase of cars and homes
• Maria Limón improved the business model of her replacement auto-parts shop
• Josue Vargas and Juan Guzmán will grow their landscaping business
• Fernando Pérez will grow his butcher shop

We congratulate these 7 new business owners, and look forward to their continued success!

The next Basic Entrepreneurship Program in Spanish at The Latina Center starts on July 13, 2016. Take a look at the details, join or share the opportunity with others.  

Read what former participants say

“Yo tomé el curso para ayudarle a mi jefe con el negocio, despues de tomar el curso, quiero emprender yo mismo uno y estoy motivando a mi mama para que también lo haga!”

— JOSUE VARGAS - G.O. Blessing Construction Inc.

“Siempre había pensado que tener mi propio negocio era muy difícil por las finanzas, ahora sé que tengo las herramientas para hacerlo y me quiero seguir capacitando”

— ELIZABETH HERNANDEZ - Liangel - Asesoria para bodas

“Mi esposo siempre se encargaba de todo por que yo no entendía nada, ahora soy yo la que le explico lo que aprendi en las clases y trabajamos juntos para mejorar nuestro negocio”

— MARIA LIMÓN - Uniken Customs

Join the Centro Lending Team on Kiva.org

We now have a Centro Lending Team on Kiva.org!

Since April 2012 as a Kiva trustee, Centro Community Partners has endorsed 16 loans to Bay Area small business entrepreneurs for a value of $135,800. We are very proud of that because we know that every dollar of that total sum has gone towards empowering a talented, new business owner who most likely wouldn't have gotten funding otherwise.

As an individual lender on Kiva, you have helped make that a reality. That's why we now want to unite officially as a team of microlenders and measure the impact of our support to local small businesses.

Join the team today, and let's capture our team lending activity, track who needs help when and support more small business entrepreneurs together! 

Tea Time with Our Funders

Arturo Noriega, Founder and Executive Director of Centro Community Partners.

Last month, we had the pleasure to host a special Tea Luncheon for our community of funders and board members, and feature some very talented alumni entrepreneurs from our Entrepreneur Readiness Program. It was a fun time, and the opportunity to share recent impact stories of our work with some of the individuals who have helped us make them a reality. 

We want to give special thanks to Bob Friedman from the Friedman Family Foundation and the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED), and Justin Steele, Principal at Google.org for joining us to share their journey into our space, and their genuine excitement about what we are accomplishing together.  

We also want to express our gratitude to June Sugiyama and Haley Kirk from Vodafone Americas Foundation - who are new to Centro and came to get to know more about us, the entrepreneurs we serve and the communities where they come from.

Finally, a huge acknowledgment to our star entrepreneurs who made our first Tea Luncheon simply perfect:

• My English Tea Party
• Tart!
• El Mesón de Violeta
• Pietisserie
• NeoCocoa
• Reem's

Cheers!

Learn Entrepreneurship in Spanish at The Latina Center

Join us and let us help you launch your small business or plan for the business growth you have been wishing for. Never received any formal training? Not entirely comfortable speaking English? No problem! The sessions will be conducted in Spanish and are purposefully tailored to meet the needs of entrepreneurs who are self-taught or haven't attended a formal business school before. 

The workshop will be led using Centro's Business Planning App - a one-of-a-kind tool that guides you through the process of creating a business plan step by step, and right on your mobile phone. We'll combine simple and fun activities on the app with some interactive group sessions to help you analyze the strengths, the challenges and the opportunities ahead for your business.

The program covers: Basic strategy, personal finance, market analysis, value proposition, operations, marketing strategy and business finance.

• Dates: 8 consecutive Wednesdays, from July 13 to August 31. 
• Time: 6 - 9 pm.
• Place: The Latina Center (3701 Barrett Ave., Richmond, CA 94805)
• Cost: $25 per person
• Language of instruction: Spanish

To register or ask any questions:

• Maria Gamboa, mgamboa@thelatinacenter.org, (510) 233-8595
• Elena Restrepo, elena@centrocommunity.org, (650) 416-4578

Español

Taller Básico para Emprendedores en Español en The Latina Center

Ven y planifica con nosotros el lanzamiento de tu pequeña empresa y el crecimiento que tanto deseas para tu negocio. ¿Nunca has recibido ningún tipo de capacitación formal? ¿No te sientes completamente cómodo hablando inglés? ¡No hay problema! Las sesiones de este taller serán impartidas en español y están adaptadas a las necesidades de emprendedores autodidactas o que nunca han asistido a una escuela de negocios.

El taller será impartido usando la aplicación móvil "Centro Business Planning App" que te guiará paso a paso en el proceso de crear un plan de crecimiento para tu negocio. A través de actividades simples y divertidas, combinadas con dinámicas grupales, te ayudaremos a analizar las fortalezas, los retos y las opciones para crecer tu negocio.

El programa cubre: Estrategia básica, finanzas personales, análisis de mercado, propuesta de valor, operaciones, estrategia de marketing y finanzas del negocio.

• Fechas: 8 miércoles consecutivos, del 13 de julio hasta el 31 de agosto.
• Hora: 6 - 9 pm
• Lugar: The Latina Center (3701 Barrett Ave., Richmond, CA 94805).
• Costo: $25 por persona
• Idioma de instrucción: Español

Escríbenos para inscribirte o hacer preguntas:

• Maria Gamboa, mgamboa@thelatinacenter.org, (510) 233-8595
• Elena Restrepo, elena@centrocommunity.org, (650) 416-4578

Making Small Business Entrepreneurship Accessible to All in Brazil

Fernando Gameleira, Centro's Representative in Brazil and some of the small business entrepreneurs he has trained in Rio de Janeiro.

Author: Fernando Gameleira

Last summer, I met Naldo Peliks in my home city, Rio de Janeiro. He introduced himself as Centro Community Partners (Centro), Chief of Operations and spoke with great candor and genuine enthusiasm about the mobile app they had developed to help aspiring and current small business owners write business plans. As someone who has worked almost exclusively in the field of entrepreneurship development for decades, he definitely had my ears.

Brazil is the largest country in South America and some say we are entrepreneurial by nature. A significant number of the country's 200 million habitants are constantly developing entrepreneurial activities, both formally and informally. We also speak Portuguese, which makes the country particularly unique in the region.

Centro wanted help testing their Basic Entrepreneurship Program in Brazil, and taking the first steps to officially partner with organizations working with small business entrepreneurs. I of course said yes, and in a matter of a week of meetings with other local consultants and small business specialists, Centro began working with:

• Sebrae – the largest Brazilian non-profit organization that supports entrepreneurs through more than 700 branches across the country, and

• CDL Niterói – the chamber that represents retail entrepreneurs in Niterói, the city across the Guanabara Bay of the state of Rio de Janeiro.

The pilot group started with 12 people, most of whom were local women working with handcrafted goods and services. As an entrepreneur myself and behavioral trainer – I was in charge of this first pilot workshop, and was left in awe with the immediate impact the entrepreneurs conveyed:

“This workshop was a true turning point in my life. I had just been let go of my engineering job and I was so grateful for the supportive and stimulating environment I found in class. All the participants had different backgrounds and life stories, however, we shared a common objective: to learn how to create and build something from scratch. A short two months after finishing my business plan, I created my company “Sommos Consulting” and now feel closer to making my dream and objectives come true. ”

— Maria Jose Feres

Another woman in the pilot program who had lived in New York for more than two decades before returning to Brazil and opening her own vegan food business, said:

“It is very difficult for a creative person to engage with the financial part of a business. But, someone has to do, and as a business owner, I understood no one is better suited than me. Now, I’m finding out how to finally monetize my vegan food business, and save more animals. It is a long and laborious process, but when you aim to save lives, everything becomes just a few steps away.”

— Rosana Ferraz

Some entrepreneurs shared how attending the workshop helped them change their minds or course-correct the direction of their business. This happened to Lucia, a journalist who decided to become a creative chocolatier: 

“When I started the workshop all I had in mind was to write my business plan to launch “Chocolate de Reis.” But after a few classes and going through the Business Planning App’s intuitive method, I was able to reflect on my previous experience as a scientific journalist. Writing my Mission, Vision and Values helped me understand why “Chocolate de Reis” exists and helped me view my business as a creative business, no matter what I develop. The app also helped me realize the complexities of finance, production and marketing analysis. Without the app and the workshop, I’m sure I would have never understood such concepts.”

— Lucia Torres

Leila, an English Teacher and a Tour Guide decided to focus her new tourism business, “Conhecendo Mais,” on the cultural traits of low income communities in Rio de Janeiro. Here is a little bit of her business outlook after the workshop: 

“I decided to attend the workshop and write my business plan mostly because I wanted to make more money. After the eighth meeting, I understood how everything in business is connected. I changed so many aspects of my company - from the way I get in touch with my costumers, to the way I price my services, to adding more products and services to my portfolio.”

— Leila Gravano

Lastly, one of the most enthusiastic participants was Sandra, the owner of Amazonia Rio Consulting. She said that sharing experiences with the other participants and the instructor made a real difference for her - the ability to help others was an inspiration to consolidate the support network that resulted from the workshop.

“I’m very grateful to Sebrae and Centro Community Partners for investing in us. I’m sure we will all give back to our community by being better and more successful entrepreneurs and by not losing focus on the sustainability of our businesses.”

— Sandra Barbosa

I am personally thrilled to have found Centro as well, and can't wait to consolidate our nationwide partnership to use the Basic Entrepreneurship Education Suite across Brazil.

EconoCon25: National Summit of Thinkers Working for Small Businesses

Left to right: Julio Ortiz from Opening Doors, Jessica Chittaphong from AnewAmerica, Arturo A. Noriega from Centro Community Partners (Centro) and Claudia Viek of CAMEO.

The Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO) is one of the leading organizations in the United States focused on creating opportunity for underserved entrepreneurs. Their work leads micro-business initiatives that assist entrepreneurs at every stage of their journey - from idea to execution to growth.

Last week, Centro was in attendance at AEO's annual conference, EconoCon25 in Washington, DC. Arturo A. Noriega, our Founder and Executive Director, joined more than 500 other industry leaders working for non-profit organizations, community development, financial institutions and government organizations that advocate for small businesses in the country.

“The conference was a summit of leading practitioners and the sharing of ideas. Leading minds in the micro-business space came to engage, collaborate, and innovate on some of the most pressing topics impacting our shared work.”

— Arturo A. Noriega, Centro's Founder and Executive Director

Arturo served as a panelist in the town hall format panel "Trusted Guidance: Shifting the Support Landscape for Main Street.” In it, business service providers, funders and lenders discussed how to transform technical assistance into a scalable, sustainable, and high-impact guidance for micro/small business enterprises. A great opportunity for Arturo to share Centro's newly launched Basic Entrepreneurship Education Suite.  

Moreover, our goal at EconoCon25 was to show industry stakeholders Centro’s unique Business Planning App - a mobile technology that has been proven to succeed at providing technical assistance, entrepreneurship education and financial literacy across cultures and levels of education. We can't wait to see others joining in creating more technology in this field in the U.S. and the world!

At the conference, Centro earned the Award of Excellence from Kiva Zip for our outstanding work in achieving a perfect 100% rate of repayment on Kiva Zip microloans accessed through Centro’s programs. We are proud of this recognition, especially coming from Jonny Price, Senior Director at Kiva Zip. 

Arturo also returned home with insight we want to share. He said, "I learned that the enterprise development industry was actually born out of the women’s moment in the late 1960s. It really only took a small group of people with conviction which saw that women needed access to sustainable jobs." Some of these leaders included Bob Friedman, Lynne Cutler, and Claudia Viek, who are remarkable visionarys who continue working for more social justice and women today. 

194 New Entrepreneurs Using Centro's Business Planning App this Year

In 2015, Centro finished the year with 785 completed business plans by aspiring and current small business entrepreneurs from around the world who have used our Business Planning App. By the end of the first 2016 quarter, we have helped bring forth another 194 business plans - over half of them created by women entrepreneurs in between 21 and 40 years of age, living in the United States. 

We're excited to see that our app is being a real motivator and tool for young women who want to become small business owners! Scroll down to view who else is using the Business Planning App.

Basic Entrepreneurship Training in Spanish at The Latina Center

Join us and let us help you plan for the growth you have been wishing for your business. Never received any formal training? Not entirely comfortable speaking English? No problem! The sessions will be conducted in Spanish and are purposefully tailored to meet the needs of entrepreneurs who are self-taught or haven't attended a formal business school before. 

The workshop will be led using Centro's Business Planning App - a one-of-a-kind tool that guides you through the process of creating a business plan step by step, and right on your mobile phone. We'll combine simple and fun activities on the app with some interactive group sessions to help you analyze the strengths, the challenges and the opportunities ahead for your business.

The program covers: Basic strategy, personal finance, market analysis, value proposition, operations, marketing strategy and business finance.

• Dates: 9 consecutive Thursdays, beginning May 3rd (May 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31; June 7, 14, 21 and 28).
• Time: 6 - 9 pm
• Place: The Latina Center (3701 Barrett Ave., Richmond, CA 94805)
• Cost: $25 per person

To register or ask any questions:

• Maria Gamboa, mgamboa@thelatinacenter.org, (510) 685-1664
• Elena Restrepo, elena@centrocommunity.org, (650) 416-4578

July 2016 intake available

This training program will be repeated in July - August 2016. Please view the details here.

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Español

Taller Básico para Emprendedores en Español en The Latina Center

Ven y planifica con nosotros el crecimiento que tanto deseas para tu negocio. ¿Nunca has recibido ningún tipo de capacitación formal? ¿No te sientes completamente cómodo hablando inglés? ¡No hay problema! Las sesiones de este taller serán impartidas en español y están adaptadas a las necesidades de emprendedores autodidactas o que nunca han asistido a una escuela de negocios.

El taller será impartido usando la aplicación móvil "Centro Business Planning App" que te guiará paso a paso en el proceso de crear un plan de crecimiento para tu negocio. A través de actividades simples y divertidas, combinadas con dinámicas grupales, te ayudaremos a analizar las fortalezas, los retos y las opciones para crecer tu negocio.

El programa cubre: Estrategia básica, finanzas personales, análisis de mercado, propuesta de valor, operaciones, estrategia de marketing y finanzas del negocio.

• Fechas: 9 jueves consecutivos, empezando el 3 de mayo (mayo 3, 10, 17, 24 y 31; junio 7, 14, 21 y 28).
• Hora: 6 - 9 pm
• Lugar: The Latina Center (3701 Barrett Ave., Richmond, CA 94805)
• Costo: $25 por persona

Escríbenos para inscribirte o hacer preguntas:

• Maria Gamboa, mgamboa@thelatinacenter.org, (510) 685-1664
• Elena Restrepo, elena@centrocommunity.org, (650) 416-4578

Disponible también en julio 2016

Este programa será repetido en julio - agosto 2016. Por favor, consulte los detalles aquí.