In the wake of George Floyd’s death in May 2020, Crystaline Combs stepped into an unexpected role outside of her regular “day job” as vice president and consumer and business banking administrative manager at the U.S. Bank Sacramento Main Branch.

Capital Region restaurant owners weigh the future of curbside pickup, which kept many businesses afloat during the pandemic.

The Capital Region is home to about 60 coworking spaces, which have all been tasked with figuring out how to navigate a pandemic.

During the school year, 13 students from Washington Elementary School in Stockton, meet once a week at the 5.7-acre Boggs Tract Community Farm, where the children grow seedlings into vegetables in one small patch of land.

As we near the end of the year, you may find yourself checking in with your freelance business to take a look at what you’ve been up to and where you want to go in the coming New Year. (hashtag New Year Things.) Honestly, I find this time of year both inspiring and empowering when it comes to navigating the freelance life.  

Pivot. By definition, this means to “turn on or as if on a pivot,” when used as a verb. Synonyms include “rotate” and “turn.” I’ve been experiencing my own pivot recently as I’ve switched gears in my freelance life.

Let’s celebrate all of our Capital Region-based freelance colleagues who are doing this day in and day out. Freelancing is all about freedom and flexibility, but it’s also challenging — with dry spells and the typical ups and downs of being a small business owner.

Ask any freelancer what their rates look like and you’ll most likely get hit with one of three options: hourly rates, per project rates or a mix of the two. But how do freelancers decide on these rates?

Stanford Youth Solutions, a Sacramento-based nonprofit organization, helps to support foster parents, foster youth and the families behind them through their foster care program.

Marketing and branding is an inevitable part of your freelance business. For a marketing person, this is the fun part. For everyone else, this is the part that’s most likely delayed (or never done at all), and thus is a missed opportunity to promote yourself and your business.

For local families — like Michelle and her children — in crisis situations, the safe home and services provided by Yolo Crisis Nursery are nothing short of life-changing, and lifesaving.

Freelance burnout hits the best of us; I don’t think I know one freelancer who at some point thought to him or herself, “Well shoot, this just isn’t working anymore,” when they hit those crossroads. Trust your instinct and, at the end of the day, do what’s best for you and your business by adding more flow to the freelance hustle.

ESM Prep is a gangbuster business. The local company has gone from a small one-man show to an international enterprise, with expanding service offerings and a strong support team in the span of only the past five years.

The California Capital Women’s Business Center is a nonprofit organization that provides programs and services to small businesses throughout the state. In collaboration with the Women Veterans Alliance, the Women Veterans One-Stop Resource Center was created to specifically address the needs of women veterans, their spouses and families.

Here are 10 qualified tax deductions to consider as you power through tax season … and to ensure you get ultimate tax ROI as the hard-working, self-employed freelancer that you are.

According to the study “Freelancing in America: 2016,” 53 percent of freelancers have participated in skill-related education or training within the previous six months, which is more than non-freelancers at 39 percent. The study shows that freelancers opt-in to training opportunities to strengthen skills, while non-freelancers are more likely to do it as a job requirement.

Jason Poole accidentally came across what would become his next career by way of a national contest. Poole submitted a Bloody Mary recipe, and before he knew it he was making his way to New York City as a finalist for the 2012 Absolut Best Bloody Mary in America contest.  

Freedom and flexibility is what this career path is all about. While we’re blazing our own trail as freelancers and solo entrepreneurs (I like to call us “solopreneurs”), we’re still running a business. And like any business owner will tell you, you need a plan of attack.

As a freelancer, you’re flying solo. Which means you are the only one wearing all the hats for your business; you do it all. The bottom line is that we all could use a little support to help simplify things in life and business,

Feeling all alone in your freelance world? We get it. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

With California’s public school finance system undergoing dramatic changes in recent years, some public school districts now rely more on education foundations to supplement the districts’ budgets for traditionally school-funded resources and enrichment programs.

Taking parental leave whether you’re the mom- or dad-to-be is no easy undertaking, and it’s not always guaranteed. If you’re traditionally employed, paid maternity leave is at the discretion of private companies.

As Californians continue to opt for drought-tolerant landscaping, thus requiring less lawn and more plants outside a home, major home improvement chains are committing to selling bee-friendly plants that do not contain neonicotinoids, a widely-used insecticide.

It’s not yet tax season, I know, I know. But as a self-employed freelancer, solopreneur or consultant, and doer of all things for your business, it’s quite imperative that you prioritize estimated quarterly taxes — the next deadline is just around the corner. And actually, there are penalties if you ignore these taxes. So listen up, freelance friends!

At the young age of 11, Fred Uhl Ball had his artwork exhibited as a one-person show at the Sacramento Central Library in downtown, and by 13 years old he offered demonstrations as part of the Art in Action exhibit at the California State Fair where his artistic talents flourished for all to see. 

We all deserve time off from the daily grind, even if we don’t get a traditional paid vacation. I’m looking at you, fellow freelancers.

The perception of life as a freelancer is changing. The U.S. is moving into a new economy where freelancing is a viable option for workers in many industries and occupations. And the numbers don’t lie: A 2015 study commissioned by Freelancers Union and Upwork found that nearly 54 million American workers — or one-third — freelance, with 60 percent of freelancers having started doing so by choice.

Local small business SearchPros Solutions is already having quite the year — they are one of seven regional finalists for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce DREAM BIG Small Business of the Year Award, a finalist for the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Northern California Award and a recipient of the Sacramento Business Journal Small Business of the Year Award, among other notable achievements.

Placer County and its individual cities and towns portray themselves as one community that welcomes business. “That’s always been the case,” says Dave Snyder, director of economic development for Placer County. “We don’t look to wrap a new prospective business in a lot of red tape; we go out of the way to roll out the red carpet.”