Is local business the key to a strong local economy or an income stream for credit card companies?

by Heather Gurewitz
Mendocino WBC Director

Let's look at two scenarios...


1. Pamela opens a retail store. She does not write a business plan, she has no strategy, and she finances most of her expenses with credit cards. Several years later she owes tens of thousands on her credit cards and is still purchasing inventory on credit. Every penny of profit she makes goes directly to paying the interest on her credit card debt. She never has profit to take home because the interest on her credit cards has become so enormous that she can't possibly make enough profit to pay down the debts. She can no longer afford to support any of the other stores in town (unless she uses her personal credit cards) so every dollar spent in her store goes to the suppliers and high interest predatory lenders. Most of her days are devoted to dodging calls from collection agents. She eventually files bankruptcy, closes the store, and gets a job at the burger joint down the street.

2. Pamela opens a retail store. Before doing so, she takes the Building a Better Business Series with West Company and learns how to start and manage a small business. Then, with the assistance of a West Company consultant she writes a business plan that she uses to help her stay on track. Because she has such a great plan she is able to get a micro-loan from an alternative financing organization and she is soon in her own shop. Pamela continues to monitor her financial situation and adjusts her business to the existing conditions. She uses conservative numbers and keeps track of her inventory so that she knows what and how much to buy. She also budgeted a monthly savings amount in case of the tough times. Pamela's prices aren't the lowest, but they are set based on her profit goals and realistic expenses, so that she has a profit that she can take home and use to pay for her personal living expenses, and to support other locally owned stores in the community. She even has enough extra to support community organizations through donations and event contributions. If she continues on this path she expects to hire an employee and create a new job in the community by the end of the next year.

Building our local economy relies on healthy financial practices

Having a healthy business isn't just good for the owner, it's good for the whole community. Many people have a strong desire to "work for themselves." This means building a financial model for your business that works for you. West Company consultants are here to assist entrepreneurs and business owners come up with a strong financial model to strengthen local businesses creating self sufficiency and wealth in our community.

Are you combatting your business image?

by Heather Gurewitz
Mendocino Women's Business Center Director


Most businesses spend years developing their image, and just when their business is ready to grow, they find themselves struggling with their original brand. West Company is a good example, initially the Women's Economic Self Sufficiency Training Center, we are constantly having to use our marketing materials to let potential clients know that we not only serve men as well as women, but that we also offer our consulting services to higher level businesses. While we continue to provide services as host to the Mendocino Women's Business Center (WBC), West Company is also host to the Mendocino Small Business Development Center (SBDC), a nationwide program sponsored by the Small Business Administration (SBA) that provides technical assistance to start-up and existing businesses. One of the main goals of the SBDC program is to create jobs and economic impacts in our local economy. There are no income requirements to participate in this program, and while there are fee for trainings, one-on-one consulting is covered by our funders.

Since West Company has expanded services we have been actively marketing our new image as a full-service business assistance organization through a re-vamped website, a Facebook presence, and of course the new and improved West Company blogspot. We also do a lot of on-the-ground marketing by developing relationships and connections with potential clients through chamber mixers, community events, and partnerships with other organizations. Marketing and media technology is changing fast. Does anyone know what will be the next Facebook? West Company stays on top of marketing changes and trends, not only for our own purposes of reaching our clients, but so that we can assist our clients to stay ahead of the curve.

The easy way up?

By Heather Gurewitz
Mendocino Women's Business Center Director

Once upon a time I was a trail guide in Juneau, Alaska, surrounded by mountains that started at sea level and rose to as low as 3,000 feet in a matter of 1- 2 miles. I remember my first summer there was more than one instance of someone needing to be rescued by helicopters or rescue teams due to unsuspecting tourists climbing up the "hills" with no maps, instructions, or guides. There were a few who made it up, but usually with lots of cuts and bruises from the climb. Most would get stuck on the cliffs and ledges. On the other hand, tourists that had guides or maps and appropriate supplies would safely make it up and down these same mountains. The routes may have been longer, seemingly more difficult, and not as immediately apparent, but people who planned a safe route made it up without broken limbs or hypothermia.

I see people making similar choices in business. There are some that look for the easiest way, but without calculating risk and examining the venture, and there are those that find a path and work hard at building something secure and long lasting. Today's economy is about as treacherous as the mountains in Juneau, but that doesn't mean that there aren't possible ways of creating successful businesses. It does mean, that it requires a more efficient model with a well thought out plan.

Much like scaling a mountain, starting a business is a trek and everyone has their own challenges. Depending on their personal and financial goals, and the type of business, the level of difficulty varies. What West Company does (metaphorically speaking) is help people develop a map of their mountain. We help identify the hazards, the safe routes, and the resources needed for a successful and safe journey. Now, of course, no one knows the future, so we can't predict the unpredictable, but we do help people develop their plans to minimize potential risk.

If you are starting or buying a business in Mendocino or Glenn Counties, you should contact us today to find out about classes and trainings starting this fall. You can also apply online by clicking here!

West Company Fall Offerings on the Coast

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The Toughest Thing....

by Heather Gurewitz
Mendocino Women's Business Center Director for West Company

The other day my boss Pamela asked me, “What the toughest thing about your job?” I had to think about it, but after some thought I realized that the toughest part for me, is the “dream crusher” part. Starting a business or becoming self-employed can be a great thing, but it is not an easy thing. When people come to see me it is my job to help them look at the real issues they will have to face. I have to ask them the tough questions. That means that not everyone likes to hear what I have to say. True, I have many clients that are eternally grateful and appreciative for the knowledge I have shared, which in turn saves them from interminable debt and financial distress, but others, well, they don’t always come back.


Don’t get me wrong, I am a very strong advocate for self-employment and micro-enterprise. Why else would I do what I do? But, there are well thought out ventures, and there are not so well thought out ventures. Choosing self-employment or owning your own business can be extremely rewarding, but it is definitely NOT the easy route.

I grew up in an entrepreneurial household; my father started his own business in 1965 and still runs it today, having grown it from his bedroom to a 5,000 sq. ft. factory in Los Angeles. This means that in addition to my education and professional training, I have a firsthand understanding of what being in business means for your personal and family life. As an employed person I make it a point to try not to take my work home with me, but if you are the business owner, it goes where you go. It will have a huge effect on your personal life.

That’s why West Company always starts with a personal readiness in the first session of our series, “Building a Better Business” series, “Got What it Takes?” In this workshop we cover time management, personal finance, and what it really means to be a business owner, myths debunked. The first time I taught this class I had a student that had previously owned her own business for many years, and honestly, I was terrified; what if she stood up and said, “She’s full of it!” That did not happen. As a matter of fact, the woman came up to me after the workshop and said, “I wish I had taken this class 20 years ago!”

“Got What It Takes” is a three hour intensive look at how owning a business will change your personal life, and whether or not you are ready for that change. This class will be held in Fort Bragg on August 24th from 5:30-8:30pm, in Ukiah on August 31st from 1-4pm, and in Willits from 5-8pm. Click here for more information on West Company workshops.

Out of the West - Entrepreneurship and Innovation

The struggle to create economically sustainable communities in Mendocino County, as in rural communities throughout the United States, goes on. Increasingly, rural places that are being successful are turning to traditional American entrepreneurship.

That is, they are focusing on locally owned and operated companies that include small manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, and service companies. These companies operate in diverse sectors from the arts - that includes fine arts and crafts and the entertainment arts - to renewable energy production and so many in between, such as food production, value added food processing, alternative health care services, eco-tourism....oh my, this list is so Mendocino County....and yet just a start.

This entrepreneurship strategy requires that a community look within to its assets - natural and human; that it imagines the mix of products and services that it wants; that it supports local businesses that provide those products and services - and that those companies innovate as demanded by the times.

Marquette, Michigan on Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (pop.20,000) has such a company. It is a department store that was founded in the late 1800's, survived more than a century that saw both upturns and downturns, including several recessions and the Great Depression, and then went online in 1997. In an interview with NPR, the VP of Marketing for Getz's Department Store responded to the question, "How do you account for Getz's survival?" with, "A lot of loyalty from our local customers. You know, our community is not large and we're prould of this. We have a lot of community members that shop here and shop locally. We really treat people like they're family when they come in."

And then, the discussion turned to reveal that 20% of the company's business is walk-in traffic and 80% is online. This is a company that innovated, kept its storefront for the local folks and created new jobs to cash in on the 'new economy'.

Some rural folks actually like simple living and declare that they prefer a small community that may not have a 'copy' of every possible chain store or restaurant that so many U.S. towns and cities have. Their retort is they prefer to be unique, to have their own 'flavor' as it were. Sounds like Marquette, Michigan - sounds like Mendocino County.

From the Rural Entrepreneurship Newsletter: The Flipside of Brain Drain

Rural Matters ©

News and Economic Developments from the Ground Up

Vol. 9 by Sheilah Rogers September, 2009

From the Rural Entrepreneurship Newsletter: The Flipside of Brain Drain

In community conversations held by the US Department of Agriculture four years ago, the top-ranked issue across the nation was the exodus of youth, and thus the erosion of people and talent, from rural communities. Often referred to as "brain drain" in the major media, young people in McCook, Nebraska have given this expression a new, healthier twist. "When we talk about brain drain, we are referring to young people in focus groups downloading as many ideas as possible about how to improve the community, especially in relationship to youth interests," explains Dan McCarville, one of the progenitors of the McCook Youth League. Brain drain, McCook-style, may be the next best tool for reversing outmigration. In our new story, The Flipside of Brain Drain, written by Karen Dabson, you can learn more about how youth in McCook, through their own efforts, are generating activities for young people, gaining the interest and support of the town establishment, and making plans to stay or return as adults. Go to http://www.energizingentrepreneurs.org/content/cr.php?id=2&sel=1.



Baby Boom Migration and Rural America

The Economic Research Service (ERS) of USDA recently released a very important new study on migration and its potential impacts on rural America. Our team at the RUPRI Center for Rural Entrepreneurship has spent quite a bit of time digesting this research and its implications for other related migration research. If you are interested in this topic, we strongly recommend that you take a look at this work by John Cromartie (ERS) and Peter Nelson (Middlebury College), www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/ERR79/ERR79.pdf. The focus of this research is on America's Baby Boom Generation (typically Americans born between 1946 and 1964) and where they are going as they move from "work" to "retirement." Bottom line, this research is suggesting that the numbers of Boomers moving to non-adjacent rural counties will rise from 277,000 in the 90s to 362,000 in this decade and to 383,000 in the 2010-2020 decade. The implications of this trend are huge for rural America. Those likely to be moving to rural communities will tend to be healthier, better educated, better networked to the new economy and wealthier. They will likely bring many assets. While the research observes that most will be moving to "high amenity" communities where public lands, mountains, water and other assets abound, many will also be moving to former home regions and hometowns. Other research by the University of Nebraska and Iowa State University shows a strong preference for moving to places where there are "familiar" relationships. Our theory is that communities that recognize and work this opportunity can benefit from this migration trend. If you'd like to know more about how the Center views this migration trend as an opportunity for rural communities, contact Don Macke (don@e2mail.org).