Category: Renaissance

Nonprofit organizations that help small businesses, like Renaissance, are speaking out alongside small business owners as they make a plea to state lawmakers to preserve vital services. 

As California’s Small Business Assistance Services faces a potential 50% budget cut, these programs, which provide essential support, mentorship, and resources to entrepreneurs, are more critical than ever. Without these services, thousands of underserved entrepreneurs may lose access to the tools they need to start, sustain, and grow their businesses. Renaissance remains committed to advocating for the preservation of these crucial programs.

Wooden Table Baking Co. is an Oakland-based, certified LGBT Business Enterprise (LTGBTBE) bakery, dedicated to crafting the finest Argentinian treats. They make alfajores, conitosand bonbons from scratch with high quality, all-natural ingredients.

Wooden Table Baking sought counseling from two of the Bay Area’s Women’s Business Centers along the way. Andreas [Ozzuna, Owner and Head Baker] took classes at Women’s Initiative, and her wife Citabria Ozzuna, Director of Marketing, later took classes at Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center.

At Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center, Citabria took the Business Planning class where she wrote a comprehensive business plan. Paul Terry, a counselor and teacher at Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center, was a particularly supportive mentor.

Given the number of scooters Scoot is allowed to deploy, the company chose a relatively concentrated area in which to deploy them, Keating told me. Another consideration for location deployment came down to the number of hills in the area since “it’s not really a San Francisco hill-climbing machine,” as well as ensuring it’s serving an area that’s traditionally under served. And that’s how it landed on the Bayview, where Scoot hosted a media event on Friday.

“Part of the reason we’re here is that we teamed up with this group called the Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center,” Keating said. Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center, which has been around for 33 years, helps entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses.

“The thought is we want to hire from the communities that we operate in,” Keating said. “And so we wanted to basically make some connections down here and let folks here know that if they want to work on electric vehicles and be part of that kind of green economy that we’re hiring.”

Skip And Scoot Are Ready For Primetime

[Rebecca & Noel Shabazian] had been comfortable working together at a hair salon in Berkeley and weren’t looking to become owners themselves. That is, until an industry conference in Long Beach changed their minds. It was the first time they saw their own potential, she said.

[T]hey turned to the Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center in Richmond, a nonprofit organization with offices around the Bay Area that helps women, people of color, low-income and formerly incarcerated residents own and operate their own businesses. The center doesn’t turn anyone away, but offers low-cost classes and scholarships, said Bret Sweet, the director of the organization’s center in Richmond.

Rebecca Shabazian took the first leap: an introductory course at the Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center. It was a four-week class, once a week covering business basics, she said. But, it was enough to get the ball rolling.

She and her husband [then] enrolled in the next course, this one a bit longer and more focused on retail businesses, she said. The teacher helped them write a business plan, assess the competition, figure out finances and quantify costs.

Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center helps people launch their own business

“Starting a small business can be extremely daunting. Navigating the moving parts of marketing, manufacturing and accounting, just to name a few, can feel overwhelming. Fortunately, there are numerous organizations with myriad resources that provide expert advice and support to entrepreneurs of all levels.”

“Coming in at #1 is Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center, which helps thousands of individuals in the Bay Area achieve personal, financial, and social transformation through the power of small business.”

“If your dream is to start a small business or you already own a small business, this is an important episode for you. Kellee discusses with Sharon Miller, CEO of Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center on what it takes to succeed, including in today’s economic climate. Ms Miller shares the available support whether it is capital raising, networking, online training, etc. that you can access now.”