SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
CASA’s small business development program promotes long-term financial stability and integration among low-income Latino, immigrant, and working class families through facilitating small business development and growth. We accomplish this through:
Outreach
One-on-one outreach and follow-up to established business owners, informal/start-up business owners and entrepreneurs to discuss concerns and to invite them to participate in workshops and meetings.
Training and Technical Assistance
Leadership development and capacity-building workshops for established business owners, informal/start-up business owners and entrepreneurs and assistance with tasks such as incorporation and obtaining insurance.
Peer Mentoring
Pairing informal/start-up business owners and entrepreneurs with established business owners as mentors.
Community Building
Biannual meetings to bring together the business community, residents, organizational partners, and County leaders.
CASA provides community members and start-up entrepreneurs with one-on-one assistance and coaching to incorporate their enterprises, obtain the required permits and licenses, and access banking and financial services. Once their businesses are established, many of these new entrepreneurs return to our centers – this time as employers – to hire workers from the community. The immigrant entrepreneurs and small business owners that we serve are eager to strengthen and expand their enterprises, and to recover from the disproportionate impact that the pandemic and recession has had on their employees, families and communities.
CASA dedicates much-needed resources to assess the immediate and long-term needs of small businesses and provide one-on-one coaching, while also formalizing partnerships to bring culturally and linguistically-relevant small business trainings to our community. We also provide a range of remote and in-person IT-related services to business owners.
