before i recognize the small business for district 5, i would like to say thank you to the small business commission. i think this process has grown tremendously over the past few years. last week, i was actually at an event sponsored by "the bay guardian," that does a great job of recognizing the small businesses. i think that san francisco is growing to a point of finally recognizing what an economic engine is part about -- is all about. in every neighborhood, there is a great cafe with a purpose. this really deaadds to san francisco. i get to recognize the -- cafe of japan town. [applause] this is an institution in japan town. but this is a tight community. we have the oldest japan town in the united states. there are only three that remain in the u.s.. that puts a lot pressure on a community that is struggling to preserve their economic vitality and their cultural identity. i am honored to be the representative of this area. -- comes from a community of small business owners. shebaa look in the footsteps of her mother by opening up a floral shop and then her cafe. this has been there

the present small business commission, 90% of all the businesses in our city are small businesses. it was not until 2007 that the city and county of san francisco created the office of small business to serve all of you. there are only four staffers working for the office. and i hope that we can continue to think about increasing this office with a budget compensation. we have an incredibly -- an incredible executive director, please give them a round of applause. they're not the people i am about to recognize. the individuals i will recognize are responsible for assisting 2600 existing small businesses per year, and this is an incredible number. thousands of businesses come to city hall with their questions. they worked tirelessly every day to provide tremendous customer service to the businesses that are creating jobs and building the economy today. these individuals are fluent in chinese and spanish and have provided a tremendous outreach to the latino and the chinese and asian communities. everyone of us have probably referred dozens of cases to these individuals. can you join m

every group of belong to is for this legislation -- the small business advocates, the small business network. we are all for it. a couple of arguments i have seen on this. one about how hard it is to have all the different tax breaks. i have a small business. i sell two different entities in different counties in california. -- to different entities in different counties in california. it is in my off the shelf software to tommy when to charge -- to tell me how much to charge sales tax in which county. it is very easy. it is not a burden on any business that has a basic computer for retail. this helps level the field. the argument about how many affiliates might be lost -- nobody was there when all the brick and mortar stores went. how many bookstores have gone down the toilet because of this? tried by an wallpaper now in a store or looking for wallpaper. you cannot find it anywhere. the biggest supplier of barbecues, a basic thing for a lot of hardware stores or home centers -- it is amazon. it is a big deal. a lot of business has been lost on this. thank you. president o'brien: than

the u.s. small business administration. the small business administration covers not only san francisco proper but the bay area. the severed his third district is responsible for a business loan portfolio of 12,000 loans worth $4.2 billion. in 2009, the sba approved $500 million in lending. next, we have the executive director of the san francisco small business office. she was in san francisco in 1986 to open the buffalo exchange limited store, and in the 13 years she worked for buffalo exchange, tennis district manager, she held her open the company from four to 11 stores. in 2009, the mayor appointed her as executive director to the office of small businesses. next, we have the ceo of opportunity funds. he has combined his background as a community organizer with an education from stanford to develop an innovative, not-for- profit financial incision that uses market principles to affect systemic change. it operates one of the nation's largest individual development, programs, a leading provider of micro loans in californi

the small business community in the city to see how we can work together to move the small business forward. thank you very much for this opportunity. i am open to any questions that you may have. >> thank you very much. that's very informtive. >> thank you yvonne. diunderstand was there somebody in the appointed position prior to you or was this position vacant for a while? >> because the chief counsel has to be appointed first before we are appointed. after that, then all 10 of us were appointed this january. so, there was a two-year gap. and prior to that my predecessor was working out of arizona for eight years. so that might be the reason why that -- >> congratulations. we work closely with the district director. just one note to advocate on behalf of our small businesses. i am sure that you may have heard about the small businesses and the a.d.a. lawsuits and the department of justice has just recently come out with new guidelines in their booklet. we have seen many small businesses where english is not their first language. and they are not going to be translating the new book

in the small business just started that has been the recipient along with some 27 other small businesses that have worked really hard to get to a place where they can be and allow the city to contribute and help. we did not hear a lot of times -- we hear a lot of complaints about how the city has not been doing things, but thanks to our small business commission, which is here today, and they're wonderful work and their director who has been advising me on a number of fronts -- their wonderful work and their director who has been advising me on a number of fronts, and supervisor wiener, who had a chance to open up a farmer's market in glen park with me yesterday. we never do it alone. whenever our city is working together, we have to find people who know how to communicate with small businesses, drill down to what they need, and then work with our policy makers like the small business commission and their staff, but really help in figuring out what it is that a limited amount of money -- and it is really limited when you are only talking about $680,000 in very tight economic times -- to

the small business commission recognizes that the disaccomplicement of many of these businesses may be a necessary consequence in order to hold this international event. when relocating businesses will face significant up front permit, entitlement and impact fee costs, including fees charged by the planning department, department of building inspection, department of public works, sfmta, public utilities commission and other city departments. the office of economic and workforce develop andment the port of san francisco have dedicated staff including a dedicated point person to work with the americas cup race event authority in producing this event. therefore be it resolved that the small business commission requests that the office of economic and workforce development, the port of san francisco and the americas cup event authority take efforts to minimize the number of small businesses affected by the america's cup event, be it further resolved that the small business commission request that the office of workforce development and the port of san francisco provide dedicated resources

the business is down. what pet food express is doing -- what they used to do was say, "here is a receipt from the animal connection. we will match that." that are not doing that anymore. they are so desperate to put us out they are saying, "what do you pay at animal connection?" our customers will save $28. we just can't compete with any new change coming in. this one that was let in is tough enough for us. the other thing i want to bring to your attention -- i never used one of these, but if you bear with the. -- with me. this is a report on u.s. pet food sales. i am going to try this. can you read that? i have seven copies for you. thank you. basically, what it says it is that supermarkets have 41% of the market share. pet smart has 29%. discount stores have 29%. petco has 20%. they do not need any more. thank you. president o'brien: thank you. next speaker. >> good evening, commissioners. i have been a small business person since '83. i have had three stores in the city. i guess my question to the commis

i also provided with you the list of small business week items. so on that list, it includes the ribbon cutting for mission cheese. -- on monday morning, may 16. then we have flavors from 5:00 to 6:00 with our commissioner adams emceing as the co-host for small business week. and then on tuesday, we have the mayor and board of supervisor's recognition ceremony. 2:30 to 3:30 is the reception. 3:30 to 5:00 is the time during the board of supervisor's meeting that the awards or the honorees are recognized by the mayor and the board of supervisors. we are be doing -- so for supervisors -- i mean commissioners, it would be great to have as many of you attend at least the reception. -- at the 3:30 or right before 3:30 because we will be doing a shot with the honorees. we have the mega contact that evening on tuesday. wednesday is the all-day conference. and the 21st is shop your neighborhood. and i want to say, hopefully you've been seeing the bus adds on the buses. -- ads on the buses. wells fargo is promoting it. we have advertisement on "san francisco

90% of the businesses across the city. although there are only 13 businesses being recognized, there are tens of thousands of businesses, and they are all equally worthy of recognition. under the direction of the small business commission, this is the central point of information, providing services in english and spanish and chinese. the assistance center opened in 2008. in the last year the served over 2600 small-business owners and entrepreneurs. the small business assistance center provided direct services to the clients, navigation to the city, the state in the federal licensing and requirements. the small business resources including small business loans and workshops, training, technical assistance, and a variety of other services. many of these offices refer to the small business constituents and their office and we're here to help small business and the entrepreneur is in your district succeed. on the policy side, the small business commission had over 35 pieces of legislation in the past year, and of these, over 9

, and the majority of the businesses on the 1400 block wellcome our presence. numerous personal letters and support letters from businesses. we held an open house at our new location at 1423, and invited our new neighborhoods on the 1400 block to discuss our project and hear their concerns. we have sent all of our mailings and posting requirements required by the planning department and that abc, and i have documentation of such. we have tried to be open and honest with our project and open to suggestions from neighbors and made concessions. we would like to relocate to 1423 polk. we're not adding a liquor license to the neighborhood, but rather moving a few blocks from our current location. we have listened to concerns about a business in the area not (the day, so we intend to offer take-out coffee service daily. by adding additional service, we will be present engaged with the community through the day and evening. we will not sell alcohol during the day. we have also listed the concerns and we will not renew our entertainment license. we looked at a variety o

escaping and other things around the business. mike currently runs the bakery and -- as well since their parents retired. about a year ago, they thought that the business needed new energy and a renovated it. this is a tremendous relegation that helps our whole neighborhood with benches that curves around the trunks of trees and this is a place where kids and families become too because this is a beautiful place to be. they have added a great outdoor seating areas and expanded the seating areas. my understanding is that you are serving a much larger area now than just our neighborhood. they're baked goods are incredible. this support other small businesses. you might want to try other things on their menu. the cookies are what my office loves as well. i wanted to say that they're baked goods are incredible and their menu is a traditional eastern european recipes like wheat and rye bread, pastries, croissant's. they partner with other local businesses. cinderella is a prime example of the richmond district businesses and it enriches

to support the business. also, they relied on home equity lines of credit, which in many cases do not exist anymore, also as a source for financing their business. as far as doing public contracting, one thing about public contract in that you can count on is the city of san francisco will stay in business and pay its debt, just later than you would like it to be. when you're doing public contract thing, if you will, cash cycle -- when you do the work and when you get paid is something you have to factor into your understanding of capital needs. so you have to figure that into the process. usually, that is figured into the pricing. but it is also the case that would you also probably need is a line of credit. depending on whether you feel your credit situation is where you want to go to a bank like wells fargo or another regulated bank, and line of credit, or work for a working- capital type of loan, which is something you look to do, the opportunity fund. you probably want to try both avenues. as far as your

the small business lending fund and the state small siness credit initiative to help small businesses access affordable credit in order to expand and create jobs. the jobs act contained eight small business tax cuts, part of 17 small business tax cuts the president signed into law that provide additional tax relief to help small businesses invest and create jobs. at treasury, i oversee the state small business credit initiative and lending fund. the credit initiative is a $1.5 billion credit program to support lending for small businesses by strengthening capital access programs, loan guaranty and loan participation programs. and other innovative small business initiatives. as a result of the financial crisis and state budget shortfalls, many of these programs have been cut back at the moment they're needed the most. the state small business credit initiative was intended to help reverse that trend. as a result of the good work of my treasury colleagues, 48 states, the district of columbia d all five territories have notified treasury they intend to participate in this program. we've

before i recognize the small business for district 5, i would like to say thank you to the small business commission. i think this process has grown tremendously over the past few years. last week, i was actually at an event sponsored by "the bay guardian," that does a great job of recognizing the small businesses. i think that san francisco

react to the idea of social and social business. it's crazy and something i guess is yes many people will say your reason for living in a round hole global stock but the german leaders like the b.s.f. company all of them are leaders company of the young company that understand it as it was something that logic and i'm sure if we have the opportunity to talk to the business leader in russia a business person understand very simplistic view of society. what kind of industry specifically do you think best fits the idea of social business best i can't i can't tell because in every business opportunity is an enormous knowledge and we can use any knowledge to transform it but motivational to have the creativity of the young people from russia the top talent and they are helping the financial become this member to get some shape social business where it's sort of business and share it not only in russia i think russia have. the old saw the goods all over europe thank you thank you very much for being with us it was a real pleasure to talk t

." >>> small businesses are revitalizing the economy and american express open is here to help. that's why we are proud to present "your business" on msnbc. >>> hi there, everyone, i'm j.j. ramberg and welcome to "your business" where we give you tips and advice to help your business grow. gas prices continue to rise and that's hurting both consumers and the nation's small businesses. the price of a gallon of gas is now more than $4 in many american cities, which has a lot of consumers cutting back on spending. as a result, some small businesses are reeling. many entrepreneurs say they're also losing customers because they have to raise their prices to make up for rising energy costs and many small business owners are becoming increasingly pessimistic about the economy. mike miter runs factory services agency, a family owned commercial eating, air conditioning and ventilation company near new orleans. he is also a member of the board of trustees of the national small business association. great to see both of you guys. >> good morning. >> so, i'd li

if i have a choice of going to a small business or a large business, i will go to the small business, even if it costs me a little bit more. the richmond district is a very special place, and i really do not think it is a place for chain stores, and i am very much in support of the local, independent that food supplies stores and am very much in favor of this legislation. thank you. president o'brien: thank you. next speaker. >> good evening, commissioners. i am speaking in favor of this legislation. we all know that anytime a big bucks for comes in, small businesses close. it is pretty straightforward. as for pet stores, they serve a function very much what the coffeehouses we have. we try to keep starbucks in line, and we should do so with the pet stores. i can tell you a personal anecdote. when my car was run over by the car, they donated food for a year. they took me to the vets, because i do not have a car, and what this lady says is true. we need these small businesses. many of us do not have cars. we do not want cars. we want small shops, and we will pay a little bit more for t

i didn't hear that there was any problems or danger with the existing similar like businesses in the area to warrant not adding another one. as far as street traffic and pedestrian flow, this type of business along with the nail is a loan is not an impulse, -- is not a salon is not an impulse, it's really a destination you have in mind that today i'm going to do this or whatever. so i think that the pedestrian traffic has no relevance to the type of business. other businesses, yes, it requires a pedestrian traffic. so again, i'm not in favor -- i would have been supportive of approving the project as is. president olague: commissioner miguel. vice president miguel: i'm not in favor of a continuance, either. when in business myself prior to my retirement, there were throughout california at least a dozen businesses in the same field with the same name. some of which had excellent reputations. some of which had lousy reputations. and so i'm very familiar with that type of situation. and i have heard nothing that would connect the project sponsor with this or any other particular busines

again, the primary business is delicatessen. the sale of beer and malt beverages in quantities of 60 knots, 20 jobs, 30 tons, or 40 pounds or similar sized containers is prohibited except for microbreweries, crap breweries, organic and specialty mall products sold under the designation of stout porter ipa -- kraft breweries -- craft breweries, organic and specialty malt products. no noise shall be allowed on the area under the control of the controlled licensee. no person under the age of 21 shall sell, furnish, or deliver alcoholic beverages. condition is our loitering condition, which is defined as standing idly about, lingering aimlessly without lawful business, is prohibited on a sidewalk or property adjacent to the premises under the control licensee. our next condition -- there shall be no cuts, glasses, or similar receptacles commonly used for drinking beverages sold, furnish, or given away at the premises in quantities of less than 24 in their original package -- there shall be no cops -- there shall be no cops -- there s

under the urging of our small business leaders. the mayor heard there was a need for the community to have a small office to help the needs of our small businesses in san francisco, help them understand and navigate the complex structure in getting a business opened within the city and county of san francisco. initially, primarily, we were going to be about helping you understand licensing and permitting requirements, but, really, shortly after we open our doors, we understood that we were also, as a government entity, a place for people to come when they want to know about loans, about writing a business plan. where to go to do that, where to go to get assistance. we are also a resourced. when we do see people in our office, many of them are a year or two out from even opening their business, so we will ask them what their credits for is, have they done their business plans, do they know what they're capital needs are going to be, how much money they have, how much money they are going to need to open their business. based upon tho