Entrepreneurial Journey

Creating Things for Everyday Use: Geana Sieburger, GDS Cloth Goods

This week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Geana Sieburger, founder of GDS Cloth Goods. GDS Cloth Goods is an...

Entrepreneurial Journey

Showing Off Oakland by Bike: Rehema Allen, This Is Oakland Bike Tours

This week, I had the honor of interviewing Rehema Allen, founder of This Is Oakland Bike Tours. This Is Oakland...

Entrepreneurial Journey

Why We Are a Cooperative

Last week, I was invited to speak on a panel about ownership at the wonderful and inspiring CoCap conference in...

Getting Started

Is Starting a Business Right for Me?

If you’ve ever considered starting your own business, you may have wondered if that’s the right thing for you to...

Getting Started

Is Your Business Idea the Right One?

As an entrepreneurial person, you probably have no shortage of business ideas.  It’s not difficult to come up with potentially...

Business Planning

Is a Business Plan Necessary?

It seems that every businessperson has an opinion on whether a small business or startup founder should write a business...

Thinking Holistically

Fighting Hate Through Business

In the wake of Charlottesville, many top business executives have begun to stand up and publicly condemn hate by resigning...

Entrepreneurial Journey

Supporting Black-Owned Businesses: YaVette Holts of BAOBOB

August is Black Business Month. And, this week we had the honor of interviewing YaVette Holts, founder of BAOBOB –...

Funding a Business

How Much Money Do I Need to Raise?

A couple weeks ago, we looked at how to assess whether you are ready to raise money for your business....

Funding a Business

Are You Ready to Raise Money for Your Business?

When we interview entrepreneurs for our accelerators, we ask them about their biggest challenge in starting their business.  The answer...

Building Capacity

Reduce Your Stress with These Tips for Managing Your Business’ Cash Flow

Last week, we shared how to analyze your business’ cash flow.  Since this is such an important topic for business...

Business Planning

Guide to Analyzing Your Business’ Cash Flow

When I was an investment banker, I went through extensive training on how to analyze the health of a business’...

Entrepreneurial Journey

Healing Her Community: Daisy Ozim, Resilient Wellness

This week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Daisy Ozim, founder of Resilient Wellness, an innovative, cooperatively-owned healthcare system designed...

Entrepreneurial Journey

Delivering to Her Community, April Fenall of Piikup

This week, I had the pleasure of interviewing April Fenall, founder and CEO of Piikup, delivery services for businesses and...

Entrepreneurial Journey

Supporting Local Bookstores: Hannah Onstad, H2O Content Strategy & LOAKL

This week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Hannah Onstad, freelance content strategist at H2O Content Strategy and founder of...

Entrepreneurial Journey

Creating a Business on Holistic Principles: Nubian Flunder, The Healing Place Apothecary

This week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Nubian Flunder, founder & CEO of The Healing Place Apothecary, an Oakland-based...

Business Planning

Guide to Getting Started on Your Business’ Financial Forecast

Many entrepreneurs struggle to put together the numbers, or financial forecast, for their business. However, understanding your business’ financial outlook...

Entrepreneurial Journey

Creating a Business Out of Telling Stories: Jared Karol, Storytelling for Good

This week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jared Karol to learn more about his story of becoming a freelancer...

Freelancing

How to Respond to “Can I Pick Your Brain?”

As a freelancer or business owner, you may have been asked on more than one occasion, “Can I pick your...

Entrepreneurial Journey

Following Her Passion: Ariana Marbley, Esscents of Flowers

This week, I’m excited to roll out a new feature on our blog. Every other week we will tell the...

Thinking Holistically

The Hidden Benefits of Asking for Support

Later this month, we will graduate another cohort of our funding a business class. Soon, they will go out and...

Thinking Holistically

Embrace Your Vulnerability as an Entrepreneur

Some years ago, I told a business partner that I didn’t want to be a CEO. I was terrified of...

Thinking Holistically

Create Relationships, Not Just Transactions

Since Valentine’s Day is this week, I’ve been thinking about love, relationships and business. You may ask “What do love...

Getting Started

The Power of Entrepreneurs Right Now

Anyone who has been keeping up with the news knows that we are living in a new era, where a...

Business Planning

Can’t I Just Hire Someone to Write My Business Plan?

This past weekend, we started another cohort of our business planning class, Module 2: Creating a Business Roadmap. Every time...