The Family Fund
Immigrant entrepreneurs are twice as likely to launch new businesses, and their startup success often hinges on family
There are good reasons to focus on the special challenges posed by family businesses, like how to keep family resentments from turning to business rivalries and avoid nepotism that results in the wrong people working in key positions. But for some Sacramento immigrant family businesses, blood ties have been the key to survival.
Something Between
Nonprofits excel in non-traditional roles
Girls on the Run of Greater Sacramento is an afterschool positive youth development program that inspires girls to be joyful, healthy and confident, using a fun, experience-based curriculum that creatively integrates running
Landmark Environmental Legislation Marks 10th Anniversary
While proponents point to success, the future of AB 32’s cap-and-trade program remains uncertain
California’s landmark greenhouse-gas reduction law, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, turned 10 last month. Like most precocious 10-year-olds, AB 32 (as it’s better known) is very much a work in progress.
Follow the Leader
Nonprofits achieve success when they reflect what their community looks like
When Latino kids grow up not seeing doctors, cops or college professors that look like them, they begin to think that those are not viable career choices: Those are jobs for other people. It is hard to encourage anyone to go into those professions when they don’t know people already in them.
Buzzwords: Funnel
Are you a customer that has fallen out of the funnel?
“If I have to use the word ‘funnel’ one more time today, I might die. #buzzwords” — @abhinemani
Posted on Twitter by Sacramento’s Chief Innovation Officer, Abhi Nemani, on Aug. 22, this was the tweet heard ‘round the Comstock’s office. It kicked off a lengthy debate among our staff about what “funnel” actually meant.
Make Philanthropy an All-Employee Event
Business philanthropy offers an excellent marketing and employee engagement tool
It’s important for business owners to work with their financial planners to develop plans that align with their passions, and how they can achieve their company’s philanthropic goals. Some strategies include:
The Value of Customer-Centered Strategies
Putting clients first can ensure the longevity of your business
In those early days of Disneyland, Walt hired Van France to establish Disney University and hire and train the “cast” (employees) that would bring the theme park to life. France reinvented the training and development of employees with his carefully crafted Four Keys (now more commonly known as Crystal Clear Priorities, aka CCPs).
Close to Home
Capital Region Family Business Center’s executive director on how family businesses can learn from one another
Since 2007, the nonprofit Capital Region Family Business Center has worked to help family-run businesses solve some of the unique challenges facing their companies. The organization recently took another step toward that goal by hiring Stella Premo as its first full-time, paid executive director. We talked to her about the ups and downs of running a family business.
Startup of the Month: ViVita Technologies
Medical device startup pumps innovation into replacement heart valves
A healthy human body is a fortress with guards at the ready to seize intruders. When under attack, these guards (antibodies) secrete chemicals that recruit and grow immune cells. The cells then seek and destroy the intruders (antigens) to protect the fortress.
Take It Easy
U.S. workers are taking less and less vacation — here’s what their employers are losing to the vacation gap
You probably need a vacation. Most of America does. Between 1976 and 2000, the average worker took roughly 20 vacation days annually, according to data from Project: Time Off. But as the economy buckled in 2008, so did our desire to flock to the beach, and in 2015, the number plunged nearly a full week lower, translating to 658 million unused vacation days.