Dare to Be Aware this April

Are you interested in tying your marketing efforts to a special day or event?  Here are a couple websites that list upcoming "Awareness Days":

http://www.newtonmfg.net/Ideas/CalendarofEvents.aspx and

http://www.epromos.com/education/calendars/

 April is:

• Alcohol Awareness Month
• Blood Donor Month
• Cancer Control Month
• Customer Loyalty Month
• Facial Protection Month
• Get Yourself Tested Month
• Injury Prevention Month
• Jazz Appreciation Month
• National Autism Awareness Month
• National Car Care Month
• National Child Abuse Prevention Month
• National Occupational Therapy Month
• National Oral Health Month
• National Stress Awareness Month
• Patient Safety Awareness Month
• Pharmacists War on Diabetes Month
• Prematurity Awareness Month
• Procrastination Awareness Month
• Sexual Assault Awareness Month
• Sports Eye Safety Month
• Stress Awareness Month
• Women's Eye Health and Safety Month
• Youth Sports Safety Month

Information, Please!

Are you looking for statistical information to help with your business decisions?  Here are a few websites to check out:

Bureau of Labor Statistics/Demographics:  Information about the U.S. labor force, including demographics, geographics, and consumer spending patterns.
http://www.bls.gov/bls/demographics.htm

FedStats:  Statistical data from more than 100 government agencies.
http://www.fedstats.gov/

U.S. Census Bureau - Quick Facts:  Easy-to-understand facts about people, businesses, and geographics.  There's also a link to a site for younger students to access.
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd

Employers & Veterans: A Perfect Match

There are a number of agencies and associations in the Sacramento area that provide information and programs to help connect employers and job-ready military veterans.  Some of them include:

• California Employment Development Department (www.edd.ca.gov)
• California Department of Veterans Affairs (www.cdva.ca.gov)
• Sacramento Area Human Resource Association (www.sahra.org)
• Sacramento Employment and Training Agency (www.seta.net)

• Sacramento Veterans Resource Center (www.vietvets.org/svrc.htm)

Sacramento By The Numbers

Here are some interesting stats about Sacramento region businesses (based on U.S. Census Bureau data from 2009, the latest year for which official figures are available):

·         The Sacramento region had just over 45,000 private-sector businesses in 2009.  This ranks Sacramento No. 28 in the country for the number of business establishments,

·         These businesses employed about 644,000 workers in 2009, putting us at No. 444 nationwide.

·         That’s an average of approximately 14 workers per business in our region.

·         97.85 percent of all the businesses in the Sacramento region are considered small businesses (1-99 employees).  Nationwide, 97.7 percent of businesses have fewer than 100 employees.

·         74.21 percent of Sacramento area businesses are considered microbusinesses (1-9 employees).

·         Sacramento private sector employees earn an average salary of $41,800, ranking No. 57 nationwide.

·         The region’s private sector employees earned a total of $26.93 billion in 2009. Private sector payrolls in America’s 938 metropolitan and micropolitan areas were valued at $4.6 trillion in 2009.

(data courtesy of On Numbers and the Sacramento Business Journal, October-November, 2011)

Get Legal – Get Licensed

Sacramento County issues business licenses to regulate businesses operating in the unincorporated area of the county to promote improved enforcement of ordinances.  The license is not a business tax and is not based on business revenue. 

There are several types of business license; some businesses may be exempt from the General Business License, others may require both a General Business License and a Special Business License.  Operating a business without the required Sacramento County Business License(s) is a misdemeanor, which is punishable by a fine of up to $500.00 and six (6) months in jail.

The county has a new, expanded online business license process.  This allows you to track your application’s progress and helps the county answer your questions.  You can also search whether a business name has been registered and who owns the business. 

Find out more at http://www.finance.saccounty.net/Tax/BusLicGeneral.asp

Get This Party Started!

Join the Greater Sacramento Vietnamese-American Chamber of Commerce at their Installation Banquet and Gala on Saturday, March 31, 2012 at the Hilton Arden West, 2200 Harvard St., Sacramento. 

The event runs from 5:00 pm to 11:00 pm, and includes a reception, dinner program, entertainment, and dancing.  Individual tickets range from $55 - $75 while tables of 10 are $500.

For more information, please call Phung Vo at 510-703-9795 or visit www.gsvacc.org.

Reminders and Resources from EDD

·         The California Employment Development Department reminds you NOT to send a cover letter with your Quarterly Contribution Return and Report of Wages or Continuation form (DE 9 and DE 9C).  Doing so may delay processing.

·         EDD has free email subscription services for:  Employment and Payroll Tax Information, Labor Market Information, Paid Family Leave Information, Workforce Investment Act and Wagner-Peyser Act.

To subscribe, go to http://www.edd.ca.gov, select “Get E-mail Services”, then select “I want to subscribe”.

·         E-Services for Business offers employers and their representatives a fast, easy, and secure way to manage their payroll tax accounts online.  After completing a simple, one-time enrollment, you can access your account 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  Built-in edits help you identify and correct errors online.  Visit https://eddservices.edd.ca.gov.

·         EDD offers no-fee State payroll tax seminars, either classroom-style or Web-based.  Visit www.edd.ca.gov/Payroll_Tax_Seminars/.  Additional information is also available from their Taxpayer Assistance Center at 888-745-3886.

Learn More, Earn More

Looking for FREE or low-cost business workshops?  Be sure to check out the "Events" page of our website for flyers of upcoming training events.

http://florinroad.com/events/events.html

California, Get Your Business Online!

Get Your Business Online is managed by Google and designed to make it fast, easy, and free for any business to get online. 

Here’s what you get:

• Free, easy-to-build Intuit website,
• Free customized domain name,
• Free web hosting for one year,
• Free online tools and training.

Find out more and signup at www.gybo.com/california/howitworks

Win a FREE TV commercial to promote your business!

Staples is giving away 15 seconds of one of their commercials to promote a real small business – maybe yours!  It’s valued at $50,000 and will air in your local market. 
Enter by Wednesday, March 14, 2012 on the Staples Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/#!/staples

Who Needs More Business?

If you do, then don’t miss the “How to Get More Customers Workshop” on Tuesday, March 13, 2012.  It’s from 8:30 am to 10:30 am at the Sacramento Black Chamber of Commerce office at 5770 Freeport Blvd., Suite 44, Sacramento. 

Learn how to get more clients without spending a lot of time and money on advertising that doesn’t work.  The workshop is FREE, but the information is priceless! 

RSVP by calling 916-231-0416 or by emailing lmilton@sacblackchamber.org.

Get Lucky on Florin Road!

Be sure to check out this month's Featured Businesses on our website at http://florinroad.com/directory/March%202012%20Featured%20Businesses.pdf
Great deals and special savings are waiting for you!