With the official opening of a new Entrepreneur Resource and Navigation Center near Coddingtown Mall in Santa Rosa, small business owners will have a new resource to turn to for help.
The Entrepreneur Center is a resource for small business owners looking for basic services such as marketing advice and obtaining basic city licenses.
The center is a pilot program of the Sonoma County Opportunity Foundation, formerly known as the Sonoma County Hardship Fund, which was created to help small businesses that don’t qualify for government funding during the pandemic.
Executive Director Sally Lopez said the center is not meant to replace resources provided by other small business organizations such as the Economic Development Board and the Sonoma Small Business Development Center, but rather to serve as a starting point to help small business owners access those other resources.
“We find out what their (small business owners) needs are and make recommendations and referrals so they don’t fall through the cracks,” Lopez said. “Our goal is to make a warm handover contact.”
Located at 1400 Guerneville Road near Whole Foods in Coddingtown Mall, walk-in appointments are available Wednesdays from 3pm to 7pm and open by appointment on Thursdays and Saturdays.
Lopez and one paid part-time staff member will be in charge of programming, working two days a week alongside two paid junior interns, who Lopez hopes to target when the center opens.
“The goal is to provide time and work experience to mentor young people and then in turn provide our services to entrepreneurs free of charge,” Lopez said.
Lopez said Spanish and bilingual staff will also be on-site at all times, and Vietnamese and Chinese-speaking interpreters can be arranged if needed.
Lopez hopes to extend the center’s hours of operation once more funding is available.
The Opportunity Foundation held a ribbon-cutting Wednesday to celebrate the opening of the resource center, with local residents, county and city officials and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in attendance.
“I’ve been so fortunate to be a part of this organization that started with a desire to give back to our community at a time when our businesses are needed,” Hispanic Chamber of Commerce President Alma Magallon said at the dedication ceremony. “I’m just amazed at how far this organization has grown.”
The entrepreneurial center isn’t the only thing Lopez is working on: She said she’s also in talks with Coddingtown Mall in the near future to open a co-op to provide space for creators and artisans to sell their wares, especially during the winter after market season ends.
“This will help create jobs and additional paid internships for young people and help them develop entrepreneurial skills,” Lopez said.
Contact staff writer Sara Edwards at 707-521-5487 or sara.edwards@pressdemocrat. com and on Twitter at @sedwards380.
