Start-Grow-IE
Speakers
Speakers
Funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Funded in part through a grant with the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development.
Areas of Expertise
Experience
Craig has been self-employed for more than 27 years. He started in specialty sporting goods and later ventured into the world of finance in 2004. Craig has been a licensed California broker since 2006 and a business financial, cash flow, and access to debt capital specialist.
Hilda Kennedy is Founder and President of AmPac Business Capital. AmPac has been established for 16 years and is a partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration as a 504 Lender and a Micro Lender, and a partner with the Department of Treasury as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). AmPac has funded more than half a billion dollars in loans for small businesses. As the only faith based SBA 504 Lender in the country, AmPac is committed to Connecting Faith & Business and works with local churches and houses of worship to bring information to business owners involved in local churches.
Areas of Expertise
Languages
Experience
Karla specializes in assisting clients to start their business by helping them through financing, licensing, the permitting process, business planning, and projections. She specializes in contracting and certifications where she assists clients in applying for the correct diverse designations and provides them with a good understanding of the contracting/procurement process.
Areas of Expertise
Experience
Nathaniel applies expert knowledge, real-life small business industry experience, and relentless focus to problem-solving integrating technology in today’s business market. He’s a California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB) graduate with a master’s degree in Business Administration and a concentration in Entrepreneurship. Nathaniel began his career as a small business entrepreneur and now has over 15 years of small business experience. Through a focused enthusiasm for entrepreneurship, he became an award recipient in CSUSB’s Innovation Challenge Pitch competitions. Today, Nathaniel specializes in working with small business owners to achieve success and overcome challenges head-on. He works with strengths through problem-solving while integrating full electronic commerce and pronounced expertise in digital marketing.
Areas of Expertise
Experience
Robert has been exposed to small businesses from an early age due to his parents owning one. He managed a small business in college and then started consulting with convenience store franchisees (7-Eleven) shortly after graduating. He has worked with thousands of small business owners on everything from startup licensing to business plans to financing in his 21 years at the Inland Empire SBDC.
Areas of Expertise
Experience
Wendy specializes in small businesses ranging from start-up to approximately $15,000,000 in gross revenues. She has worked in the medical practice, home health care agency, printing, construction, and legal and consulting firm industries. Wendy is currently certified as a QuickBooks Online Proadvisor and enjoys teaching her clients how to use the software efficiently to obtain useful information to manage their business better. She also consults on accounting, tax education, business entity selection, and overall business management and process creation.
The best advice I have ever been given is:
“Give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach him to fish and he eats for a lifetime”
Areas of Expertise
Experience
Leonard has extensive experience working with small businesses and assisting them with digital marketing and branding. Additionally, he assists in identifying target markets and driving digital presence for businesses. He has worked in various industries including technology, medical devices, and education. One of his most notable accomplishments is growing brands internationally. He is also a professor at the University of Redlands.
The best advice I have ever been given is:
Focus on the small wins and have those small wins drive you to accomplish milestones and end goals.
Mike Daniel is the network director of the Orange County Inland Empire SBDC Network, which assists aspiring entrepreneurs and current business owners throughout Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties. Mike was formerly the director of the SBDC office at Long Beach City College. As business owner and entrepreneur himself, he started his career as the owner of a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory location in Manhattan Beach and went on to open a second location in Long Beach in 2001. In 2007, Mike sold the Manhattan Beach store for an above-market offer then invested in several additional locations as a minority shareholder. Mike further expanded his candy empire with venture located in Shoreline Village in Long Beach called Sugar Daddies Sweet Shoppe, based on fill-it yourself candy options.
Mike has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from California State University, Fullerton.
