Davis and Sacramento are close neighbors, and some business owners have restaurants in both cities. The differences between opening a business in Sacramento versus Davis comes down to the way city staff work with applicants more than the cost of permits. A significant difference in opening a business in Davis compared to Sacramento is in the assistance new business owners have available at each city. Shawn Eldredge, owner of Capitol Painting and Construction, said Friday that starting a business in Davis is “a breeze” compared to working with city of Sacramento. Some of the local business projects Eldredge has worked on include the Firestone Public House in Sacramento and the new de Ver

In what Mayor Kevin Johnson called an unprecedented event, 14 chambers of commerce from the Sacramento region announced Thursday that they support an entertainment and sports complex in downtown Sacramento. Johnson said the backing of the regional business community, which came after a four-county bus trip for Think Big Sacramento, is a commitment to the promise he made to the National Basketball Association earlier this year in New York City that Sacramento is an NBA city and can build a new arena. “I did not sell Sacramento, I sold our region,” he said, adding that a common commitment to a downtown sports and entertainment complex will provide a more vibrant community. The major obsta

PHOTO: West Sacramento’s Rising Tide Foundation donated $7,500 to the Sacramento Delta Youth Maritime Association during a work party last week on the association’s 78-foot boat docked along the West Sacramento waterfront. Holding the ceremonial check are (left to right) Chelsea Snedden, Julian Wright, Brannen Wright and Dana Eckler. Row Two: David Stroud, West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon, Samuel McDowell, Ian O’Bryan, Sean Aiken, West Sacramento Chamber of Commerce CEO Denice Seals, and Skipper Nate Eckler. Row Three: Bryan Turner, Yolo County Supervisor Mike McGowan, Boatswain Jakub Davis, Operations Officer Chris Pease and Heather Wright. Row Four: Executive Offer Jeremy Pease

There is no doubt that businesses in general have suffered through our ever-changing economy. Businesses on multiple levels have had to make sacrifices; downsizing, cutting salaries, furloughing, laying off, and certainly cutting expenses.Small business, especially in Sacramento, is no exception. One expense that seems to be a commonality, is the Company Holiday Party. Historically, no matter how large or small an office or business is, company's have celebrated the holidays and their accomplishments with their partners, employees, and sometimes, vendors and customers. It is a time when people put work aside, and come together over food, drinks, entertainment and memories that often survi

On Tuesday evening at the Le Rivage Hotel, the Sacramento Rainbow Chamber of Commerce held an election of officers and members of the Board of Directors. Founded in 2002, the Rainbow Chamber, with its 264 members, is one of Northern California's fastest growing Chambers. The Rainbow Chamber serves to promote the Sacramento LGBT business community and its supporters. In addition, the Chamber is also committed to enhancing the awareness of political and social issues that face the LGBT community each day. The Rainbow Chamber also encourages involvement in charitable causes such as WEAVE, CARES, and Breaking Barriers, to name a few. The newly elected officers are: Fred Palmer, President; S

I went speed dating last night. I’m actually very happily married, and yet my wife sent me off with her blessings. So what’s up with that? If you’ll recall in the previous two articles (The Keystone Experiment, and The Keystone Experiment - An Open Invitation), I joined the Sacramento Metro Chamber as part of my “Keystone Experiment” to see if I could leverage all that’s available to me as a new member to promote my business, the Bay Area Search Engine Academy. These articles chronicle the steps I took to market in this economy. Hopefully they will demonstrate some things you can do for yourself whether you join a Chamber or use them elsewhere. Speed Dating for Businesses The Metro Cha

The time and date is set, the place is picked, food and beverages have been ordered. Now we just need people at the party. (See “An Open Invitation” below.) Late last month, I wrote about how as a new business in Sacramento, my first priority was to join the Sacramento Metro Chamber and use their tools to the fullest to build my business. The Metro Chamber has a long list of tools in their arsenal to get publicity for their members. However, simply joining is not enough. Business owners must actively use these tools and work them into their marketing plans. My goal is to utilize as much of it as I can, document it here for Internet posterity, and hope that others can learn from it too. Th

I’m a new business owner. Actually, I’m not all that new. I have had a Web consulting business for nearly four years, after having “retired” from corporate life. Last year, I decided to start a second adjunct business, and one key target market area that I wanted to grow into was Sacramento. So I decided to hatch an experiment, and this article will be the first of a series of articles about my experiences. It may document a success or two, or maybe it won’t, depending upon the outcome. Time will tell. Background To give you, the reader a bit of background, I’m a computer technologist coming from a twenty-one year history of working in a corporate environment with data centers, programm