Author: Alison de Grassi
Blog

The Three M’s – A Secret Sauce for Restaurant Success

https://www.westcenter.org/2019-4-9-the-three-ms-secret-sauce-for-restaurant-success/

“From an early age I understood that cooking was never going to be a job, it’s a passion.”

–Gordon Ramsay 

Passion is the secret sauce in every successful culinary business. Whether you are starting a restaurant or a food truck, or you have been in the culinary game for years, West BDC’s Concept to Launch: Creating a Successful Culinary Business workshop will channel your passion into concrete, tangible action steps you can use right now.

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Independent Contractor vs Employee Free Webinar

https://www.westcenter.org/2019-4-8-independent-contractor-vs-employee-free-webinar/

West Business Development Center is co-sponsoring with Jefferson Economic Development Institute (JEDI) a free webinar focusing on the new California ABC test for independent contractor vs employee classification.

There are many types of workers in small businesses and the legal obligations can be confusing. This webinar will provide key insights into the differences between employees, interns, volunteers, and independent contractors. We will specifically discuss the new California state law and ABC independent contractor test and how to comply.
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Join the Food Truck Revolution: Get Started in Your Catering and Mobile Food Business

https://www.westcenter.org/2019-3-28-join-the-food-truck-revolution-get-started-in-your-catering-and-mobile-food-business/

Ever since Mark Manguera and Caroline Shin partnered with chef Roy Choi in Los Angeles and started a Kogi Korean BBQ truck in 2008, food trucks have sparked a dining out revolution. Far from just “street food”, food trucks offer top-notch cuisine and drive their success with mouth-watering Instagram posts and well-timed Tweets. The industry is now at $2 billion and growing every day, empowering minority and women-owned businesses, revitalizing communities and even driving economic growth.
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How to Use Instagram For Your Business

https://www.westcenter.org/2019-3-27-how-to-use-instagram-for-your-business/

Instagram is a simple-to-use platform with more than 1 billion users – and 72% of those users buy products they see on Instagram*. That means if you have a small business, you need to be there.

With more than 25 million other businesses on Instagram, you will join a platform that has the ability to broadcast your brand, your products, and special features to millions of potential customers.
Blog

Your Website IS Your Brand

https://www.westcenter.org/2019-3-20-your-website-is-your-brand/

Long before anyone sets foot in your business they’ll visit your website – your website actually IS your brand to your customers and potential customers. According to Google’s 2016 data, 68% of consumers who conduct local searches on their smartphone go to a store within 24 hours, and nearly 50% make a purchase within a day. 91% of customers have visited a store because of an online experience and 37% use the Internet to find a store at least once per month. So, what does your website look like?

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Take Your Specialty Food Business from Passion to Profit in Lakeport

https://www.westcenter.org/2019-3-18-take-your-specialty-food-business-from-passion-to-profit-in-lakeport/

Cookies, cakes, fruits, nuts, jams, jellies, crackers, chips, pancakes, sauces, meats, seafood, mushrooms, organic, local, homemade – is your mouth watering yet? These are just a few of what we know as specialty food items – those delectable tidbits we fill up our grocery cart with or send to friends and family on special occasions.
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Fierce Women Make a Difference

https://www.westcenter.org/2019-3-12-women-helping-women-in-mendocino-county/

Over the years my work has taken me to many conferences and gatherings around the world that celebrate the achievements of women and their organizations. Woman are often in the forefront of social innovation tackling societal problems in creative ways using science, technology and the arts. Think of organizations like Woman to Women International, Girls Who Code or The Malala Fund; all global organizations conceived by women who saw a corner of the world that was in dire need of help.

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Sheilah Rogers and West Company: Women Empowering Women (and Men too!)

https://www.westcenter.org/2019-3-8-sheilah-rogers-and-west-company-women-empowering-women-and-men-too/

When Mendocino County native Sheilah Rogers went off to graduate school at the prestigious School for International Development in Vermont she had no idea pursuing her love for international initiatives would bring her right back home.

In 1987 the James Irvine Foundation, a California-based grant making organization partnered with the Coalition for Women’s Economic Development. This was an organization dedicated to lifting women and people with low incomes out of poverty through what was then called, self-employment.  
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Profit Mastery in Point Arena

https://www.westcenter.org/2019-2-25-profit-mastery-in-point-arena/

Most entrepreneurs start their business fueled by a passion, after they identify a need in the market, or simply go out on their own after working for a company for many years. Entrepreneurs are a special breed, combining creativity, drive and a lot of hard work in order to see their dreams come true. Often, even with the best business idea, solid financials and a thriving customer base, true profit year over year can be elusive.
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Starting a Culinary Business: Turning Your Personal Food Passion into Profit

https://www.westcenter.org/2019-2-20-starting-a-culinary-business-turning-your-personal-food-passion-into-profit/

Mendocino County is home to some of the best food in the country – local fish, farms and delicacies abound. With a growing demand for restaurants and fresh foods sourced locally, West Business Development Center has launched a full food business curriculum called Food For Thought, to serve entrepreneurs looking to get in the food game.

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Going Digital in 2019

https://www.westcenter.org/2019-2-14-going-digital-in-2019/

One of the top things I hear from the hundreds of businesses we work with every year in Mendocino County, is about “going digital”. Clients ask us everyday, “How do I even start?” or “I want to learn digital but I don’t have time”. As a person who had her own small graphic design business back when I used a ruler, drafting table and a telephone, I know how daunting dipping a toe in the digital world can be.

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The Government Has Returned – But is it Fast Enough to Help Rural Non-profits?

https://www.westcenter.org/2019-2-6-the-government-has-returned-but-is-it-fast-enough-to-help-rural-non-profits/

Running a non-profit has never been an easy job, driven by a mission, dictated by a Board, and more often than not scrambling to pay the bills each month. In a rural economy, non-profits often fill the necessary gaps in social services when local governments and private enterprise cannot. In Mendocino County there are more than 600 non-profits serving a county of 89,000 people.