Business By The Bay

Andrea believes that storytelling enables businesses to forge deeper connections with their markets. Rather than just explaining what products or services do, she emphasizes the need to elevate the brand’s message. She advises engaging with communication professionals who have industry experience, understand market sentiment, and maintain relationships with media contacts—key to getting the right...

Many business leaders, particularly millennials, feel they aren’t receiving the development they need in today’s organizations. A significant leadership gap exists because many companies rely on generic online training or allocate a budget for personal development without proper guidance. Additionally, these organizations often lack a feedback loop and fail to establish a clear vision or foster a...

AI can significantly enhance employee productivity by enabling them to work faster and more efficiently. Despite some concerns about AI replacing human jobs, many employees have reported positive experiences with AI in the workplace. For instance, Steve notes that when his company conducts surveys, the overwhelming majority of employees, even those initially skeptical, express that AI has made the...

Arnav and Vallabh, two high school students, have been dedicated to community service from a young age. Through their experiences, they discovered that helping others brings out the best in you. Motivated by this realization, they founded the non-profit organization "Open Arms Refugee" to address the harsh realities refugees face daily. The journey was challenging, as reaching out to refugees prov...

Organizations strive to position themselves as trusted partners, aiming to attract and engage their ideal clients. Leveraging the power of storytelling through captivating videos is an effective way to stand out from the competition and showcase core values. Creating high-quality videos is very beneficial; however a well-planned marketing strategy is also crucial to maximize their impact and achie...

Caleb has worked with many businesses and he says that time is a challenge for business owners as they have too many things to look at. Having the right team to support the management makes it easier. In the initial phase, founders cannot afford an in-house HR person because there is not enough work. At the same time, when you are hiring your first employee or converting contractors to employees o...

Vladmir built a 'get the job done and client first' culture from the time he started his outsourced IT company. He mentioned that many small business owners think that 'we are not at risk and one of us can handle our IT environment because we are good enough in using the technology or even have a friend who can help us'. Vladmir says that the important question a business should as...

Aman believes that there is a CRM available for every business owner. A professional integration consultant can help pick the right one because he or she will have experience of working with multiple CRM solutions. He thinks two common reasons CRM implementations fail are lack of standard operating process and top management not using the system themselves. He also sees that many struggling busine...

Maile Collmer, president of northern California chapter of the National Speakers Association (NSA) was an introvert growing up and today she is an in-demand speaker and helping people become master networkers and generate a lot of referrals. She encourages people to hang around those who can inspire us to become better. NSA provides great environment for people to become better speakers. NSA hosts...

Business owners don't know what they don't know. Small business owners try to wear too many hats and there are areas where they are not good at. For example, financial literacy or tax laws are typically not the focus areas of business owners as most of the energy goes into the products or services they are offering. A conversation with an accounting professional is a must at the start beca...

When businesses grow fast, many times they don't have a good HR infrastructure in place. People start a business because they love their products or services they are offering, not because they love HR. So things like a good job description, employee handbook, onboarding, performance management, etc. may get neglected. Companies should look into if they are ignoring key HR tasks and even the o...

Jeff Katz explained various senior living options for the elderly population. Multiple challenges like physical or mental health issues, loneliness or financial costs may make it difficult for seniors to stay in their homes. Independent senior living, assisted living or memory care communities can be good options and it is not easy for seniors or their families to find the right community. A good...

Rene discussed various aspects of HR. Small and mid-size companies struggle to attract the best talent because they don't have deep pockets to compete with the big companies. Then keeping the employees engaged and retaining them can also be very challenging. Rene suggests that looking for soft skills can widen the candidates pool and then specialized skills can be  taught. She suggests that fo...

Neil explained that the majority of the seniors fall in bedrooms and bathrooms. Some of the available solutions provide wearable devices that the seniors don't wear in the bedroom and bathroom. Camera based solutions are also not practical because of the privacy issues. Neil's connected home solution offers the following: Radar based sensors that are installed on the walls or  the ceilings...

Bryan was a product manager in the tech industry and while recovering from a serious injury, he realized that eating healthy is not easy if you are eating out. Bryan started a restaurant business because he believes that you can be your best self if you are healthy and you can give all the gifts that you have to others if you are healthy physically, mentally and emotionally. Food is the foundation...

CPA Chetan Shah says that most of the businesses come to him because they struggle because of not maintaining clean records. They are good at what they do in terms of products or services, but not necessarily in accounting.  Not having the right advisory team, especially in the beginning when they are very cost conscious creates a challenging situation. He suggests that it is important to hire an...

Debbie Harris mentioned that convenience  and marketing of unhealthy food are two big reasons people gain weight. As we are over scheduled, it is natural for us to pick the food that is easily available and unfortunately junk food is marketed well and is very easy to buy. Debbie explained that she got wonderful results for herself and her clients by balancing the hormones. It helps not only gettin...

Most business owners don't know the health of the business because they are not maintaining and monitoring the financial statements in a timely manner. It is hard to 'do it yourself'' because most of the time is spent on running the business. So it is better to have a good accounting professional helping the business. It is also important to find an accounting professional you can...

Joanthan Pop spoke about how from having a Music and Education major in college, he became a wealth management advisor. He sees that many of the successful business owners  need help when it comes to retention of key employees and tax optimization strategies. He mentioned that if a business owner is looking for a good financial advisor, it is important to make sure the advisor acts as a fiduciary,...

Deborah Finestone spoke about her journey from being a journalist to starting her social media marketing company. She talked about her group training program, which is to help small business owners and non-profits who are not in a position to hire an expensive marketing agency. She says that quite often such organizations assign the social media marketing role to a young employee thinking that he...

Creating compelling visual narratives can feel like a difficult skill to master. Mark Bullock shared his experiences and how he being an introvert with no desire to be in front of a camera has created thousands of videos. Following are some of the valuable suggestions he made: Willingness to learn and coming out of the comfort zone can produce incredible results. We don't need to become a TV n...

JJ spoke about retirement solutions available to small business owners. He said that the California state mandate requires businesses with five or more employees to offer a retirement plan, else they will be fined. However, in spite of being a cost in terms of time and/or money, it also allows businesses to attract talent because offering good benefits to employees shows that they care about the e...

Al Arias outlined various strategies for saving on taxes, emphasizing an integrated approach to tax planning. This involves creating multiple business entities to enable business owners to minimize their effective federal income tax, typically falling within the 12 to 20 percent range. Through the strategic use of trusts and the structuring of business entities, business owners can achieve federal...

COBRA compliance: Yvonne described the COBRA compliance requirements and also the best practices for the employers. Do you have 20+ employees with group health plans? If yes, then Yvonne mentioned that there are federal and state penalties for non-compliance. Beyond the fines, non-compliance can lead to civil penalties that may make your company liable for medical payments, legal fees, and more. S...

Are you struggling to keep up with the growth that is taking place in your company? Are you closing your books within 7 days or are you really behind with your accounting? Brit Summerill made some very good suggestions regarding best accounting practices and he recommends small businesses to operate with an exit in mind.