Survey/ Travelers Event

Our 11^th annual survey is closed.  We received 676 responses.  This year small businesses seem to be more optimistic than the last few years, and more are indicating their receipts have gone up over the last year.  The top six  issues were the same as last year. They were:

• The Economy
• Health Cost and access
• The quality of Public Education
• Regulations
• Infrastructure
• Reducing State Taxes

It was also interesting to see that for the first time there was more support for public financing of health insurance (46.53%) than opposition (37.16%).

See link below for full results:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-26LL7SR7/


For those of you in the Orange County area Travelers is doing an event March 20^th in Irvine which is cosponsored by Small Business California, NFIB, and the SBDC in Orange County.  Hector Barreto, SBA Administrator under George W Bush, will be the keynote speaker.
See details below


Irvine, CA | March 20, 2015

Seating is limited. Sign up today!

Register Now

Please join the Travelers Institute, Small Business California and the Orange County Small Business Development Center for a complimentary luncheon symposium exploring tools for small business success. This event, part of Travelers' national Small Business - Big Opportunity series, will feature an interactive discussion with small business advocates on solutions to today's most pressing challenges for small business.

When:	Friday, March 20, 2015 11:30 a.m. Networking & Registration 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. Luncheon & Program
Where:	Hotel Irvine Pavilion 17900 Jamboree Road Irvine, CA 92614 Complimentary Parking

Make your lunch hour count! Learn about:

•	The economic and regulatory outlook
•	Strategies for accessing capital in today's lending environment
•	Cybersecurity concerns for small businesses
•	Business continuity planning as a competitive advantage

Program Agenda

Map




Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA  94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188 

Survey/ Automobile Insurance/ AB 722

Tuesday will be the closing of our annual survey.  If you haven’t done so already please take a few moments to complete.  We have received 632 responses so far.  The survey can be found at http://www.smallbusinesscalifornia.org on the bottom left hand side.  If you click on the Annual Surveys tab, you can also see the results of past surveys.  We will be sending results of 2015 out next week.

Some insurance companies are beginning to charge on auto policies for citations for using cell phones and texting.  This could affect the cost of your individual auto policy and commercial autos.  One company considers texting, which includes even just looking at your phone while driving, as severely as they do drunk driving.  Be sure to let your employees who are driving your vehicles know this.

As I said in a previous email, Small Business California crowd funding legislation has been introduced by Assembly member Henry Parea [AB 722].  We are putting together a letter which will include the signatures of small business associations around the state.  So far we have about 20 that will sign.  If you are part of an association and would like your association to be added to the letter please let me know.  I can send a copy of the letter to you.

Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA  94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188 

Access to Capital Crowdfunding Legislation

We are going to try again.
Last year AB 2096 failed in Senate Appropriations in large part due to a financing issue.  We have addressed this issue in AB 722 and we now have labor support.  Last year they were not involved.  We are optimistic and excited about its prospects.  You can see the press release below.  Thank you Assemblyman Perea.  
 

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                       

Contact: Alicia Isaacs, (916) 224-8488
February 25, 2015

Perea Introduces Crowdfunding Bill to Assist Small Businesses

SACRAMENTO – Today, Assembly member Henry T. Perea (D-Fresno) introduced Assembly Bill (AB) 722 which would help start-up and emerging small businesses gain access to capital. Under this proposed legislation, small businesses would be able to find investors who can provide capital through a process known as crowdfunding to help them grow and create jobs. Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising monetary contributions from a large number of people, typically via the internet.

“Access to capital is an issue I hear about from small businesses and constituents consistently,” said Assembly member Perea. “This bill will enable businesses to get the investors they need to jumpstart their businesses and boost our local economies and provide good paying jobs while providing peace of mind for investors.”

“Lack of capital continues to be a major impediment to job creation for small businesses, including, California's small union and nonunion manufacturers and contractors,” said Scott Hauge, President of Small Business California. “As our economy improves, employers will require expansion capital to grow. Equity crowdfunding will enable these businesses to access sources of capital previously untapped by small business.”

Small Business California represents the interests of the more than 3.6 million small businesses in California. 

###
www.asmdc.org/perea
https://www.facebook.com/AssemblymemberPerea
Follow @AsmPerea on Twitter

Alicia Isaacs
Assembly member Henry T. Perea
State Capitol, Room 3120
Sacramento, CA  95814
(916) 319-2031 Phone
(916) 319-2131 Fax
Follow us on Facebook!


As I said we will be closing our survey March 3.  I have about 600 surveys in and I want to  encourage those of you that haven’t completed to do so.  You can access by going to www.smallbusinesscalifornia.org.
Thank you.



Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA  94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188