An overview of each participating organization
La Cocina—lacocinasf.org 415-824-2729
The mission of La Cocina is to cultivate low-income food entrepreneurs as they formalize and grow their businesses by providing affordable commercial kitchen space, industry specific technical assistance and access to market opportunities.
• Incubation for small food businesses.
• Technical assistance and training to low-income entrepreneurs with a focus on women and a priority to serve immigrants and women of color.
• Knowledgeable volunteer professionals provide assistance to the entrepreneurs in various aspects of business development, including pricing, packaging, target marketing, etc
Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Community Center (LGBT) sfcenter.org 415-865-5515
The San Francisco LGBT Community Center’s Business Development Program provides a range of services to help LGBT small businesses and entrepreneurs start, run, and grow their small businesses.
• Free expert one-on-one counseling is given to our clients to address a full spectrum of business planning and marketing needs.
• In depth financial assistance is offered by providing strategic support with loans, loan packaging, and post-loan technical assistance.
• The Center regularly offers group workshops on a variety of marketing, business financing, sales, legal, human resources, and small business-related topics.
• The Center also offers the “ Business Plan Loan Factory” for motivated entrepreneurs who need financing to start or grow their businesses. The Loan Factory helps entrepreneurs understand what is involved in the loan application process, and it features leading experts who will review all of the elements of the loan package.
Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA)
MEDA’s free services are available to low and moderate income entrepreneurs who own–or plan to own–a microenterprise (business with five employees or less) in San Francisco.
• We offer workshops and one-on-one consultations in both English and Spanish to help our clients start and expand their businesses.
• Our services include business planning, marketing, financial statements & budgets, permit & licensing guidance, commercial lease consultations, and microloans.
• MEDA also provides services tailored to family childcare providers in San Francisco.
• MEDA’s Microenterprise Development Program is a key component of the agency’s mission to achieve economic justice for San Francisco’s low and moderate income Latino families through asset development.
Pacific Community Ventures pacificcommuintyventures.org 415-442-4300
Pacific Community Ventures builds responsible small businesses to create jobs and opportunities in lower income communities. We achieve this mission with three core activities: equity investing, impact evaluation & policy research, and business advising. PCV’s Business Advising Program, member of the SFEDA, invests resources in entrepreneurs and the businesses they lead through its community of volunteer business executives, industry experts, and professional service providers.
PCV’s support helps participants grow and create lasting, quality jobs and economic opportunity where they are needed most. Since its founding in 1998, PCV Business Advising has directly helped more than 1,000 entrepreneurs to create or retain 15,000 jobs across California’s economically underserved communities.
• Strategy Roundtable – a moderated advising session with a panel of 5-7 business executives focused on their company.
• Access volunteer advisors for one-on-one consultations or mentorships.
• Access to a discounted professional service network, recommended by the Community.
• Invitations to entrepreneur-centered events put on by PCV and partner companies.
Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center
Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center provides comprehensive small business training for entrepreneurs at every stage of their business development—from idea feasibility to business launch, sustainability and growth. Our services include:
• Small business training classes: business planning, introduction to business, on-line marketing and advanced finance.
• Skill building and industry specific workshops.
• A Women’s Business Center in partnership with the US Small Business Administration, a small business incubator, individual technical assistance and access to finance, individual consulting, and lease strengthening.
We operate out of two sites in San Francisco:
Renaissance SOMA 275 Fifth Street, 94103 415-541-8580
Renaissance Bayview 3801 Third Street, 94124 415-647-3827
The San Francisco Small Business Development Center (SBDC) sfsbdc.org 415-841-4050
• Provides free, confidential one-on-one business counseling services and low-cost training workshops.
• Offers access to capital for existing small businesses and ready-to-launch start-ups.
• Offers a unique restaurant management and food specialty program. Professional, knowledgeable staff with skills including: business planning, financial management, bookkeeping, marketing, sales, technology, human resources, and more!
• Program of City College of San Francisco; funded by the US Small Business Administration; member of the Norcal SBDC Network led by Humboldt State University.
urbansolutionssf.org 415-553-4433
From our offices in the South of Market and the Western Addition, Urban Solutions offers a comprehensive range of economic development services to our clients.
• Free, one-on-one counseling on loan packaging, business plan development, financial projections, and a variety of other small business issues.
• On-site green consultations to identify money-saving opportunities that conserve environmental resources.
• Real estate financing to help small businesses purchase, renovate or construct commercial buildings.
• Workshops for entrepreneurs.
• Assistance securing façade and tenant improvement grants for property and business owners in the South of Market Project Area.
Women’s Initiative for Self Employment
womensinitiative.org 415-641-3460
Women’s Initiative provides low-income, high potential women with
the training, funding and ongoing support to start and grow their
own business.
• We offer low-cost classes and workshops in English and Spanish in San Francisco and throughout the Bay Area.
• Our programs are truly making an impact by helping women gain economic independence - one year after graduating from Women’s Initiative, our clients’ incomes increase 60%.
• For every $1 invested in Women’s Initiative, $30 is returned to the community through tax dollars, jobs created and women leaving welfare.
• Our clients are successfully running a wide range of businesses including: food services, clothing and accessories, personal services, cleaning services, childcare, health services, travel and tourism.
tmcworkingsolutions.org 415.477.8415
Working Solutions’ Mission is to provide under-served micro-entrepreneurs with the access to capital and resources they need to start or grow a business. We support micro-enterprise growth as a strategy to strengthen the local economy, create jobs, and build strong communities.
• Working Solutions Provides: Microloans/Small Business Loans $5,000 to $50,000 in Business in San Francisco
• Services in English, Spanish, and Cantonese.
• Technical Assistance, Business Coaching, Mentoring, and Education for Entrepreneurs.
Referrals for Free and Low-Cost Business Resources.
SFMade's mission is to build and support a vibrant manufacturing sector in San Francisco, that sustains companies producing locally-made products, encourages entrepreneurship and innovation, and creates employment opportunities for a diverse local workforce. It is the only organization of its kind focused on building San Francisco's economic base by developing the local manufacturing sector.
SFMade's services include:
• Locally-made Brand/Retail platform, including our Certified Local Manufacturer program,
• Industry-specific educational workshops and Manufacturing 411 advising consultations
• Intensive Manufacturers' Accelerator advisory program for established manufacturers
• Assistance finding capital for investment or expansion, including industrial real estate purchases
• Support with Hiring through our Hiring Made Better program, including assistance filing for Enterprise Zone Hiring credits
• Industrial space search service – Places to Make – and lease negotiation support for manufacturers
www.sfeda.org
