Auburn based Sierra Economic Development Corporation (SEDCorp), a leading supporter of small businesses and provider for small business loans, is offering a Summer Special to the public by providing a class on  Identity Theft Protection free of charge.  Normally $45.00, the August class is free to the public at-large to prepare for the Red Flags Rule.  (You do not need to be an employer to attend this class free of charge.)  You probably haven’t thought about identity theft with your small business unless your information has already been stolen and used by an identity thief.  Your thinking will soon change.  Effective December 31, 2010 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Red Flags Rule will be enforced.  The Red Flags Rule will require businesses to develop, implement, and administer an Identity Theft Prevention Program that is designed to detect the warning signs (or "red flags") of identity theft, as well as prevent and mitigate them.  If you do not have a program in place and your accounts are jeopardized, you, the business owner can be fined hundreds of dollars per account.

View all of August classes, and call us to RSVP.

The Small Business of the Year Award for 2010 has gone to Eden Vale Inn of Placerville.  Each year, in honor of Small Business Week, the Sierra Economic Development Corporation  (SEDCorp) selects a small business for the award.  Placerville resident and business owner, Mark Hamlin was presented with the award on May 5, 2010 at the SEDCorp Board of Directors monthly meeting in Auburn.  Mark and Gayle, the owners of the Eden Vale Inn, were one of several nominees considered for the award.  Businesses were evaluated on such criteria as economic impact, increase in sales, product line expansion, penetration into new markets,  job growth, upgrading management capabilities,  participation in trainings and workshops, community involvement and dedication to the community that the business serves.

The Sierra Economic Development Corporation (SEDCorp) is beginning to harness the potential of having a wide network of training classes for entrepreneurs and small businesses. That is most evident in the extensive training program that SEDCorp is rolling out this February.  SEDCorp is a private, non-profit regional economic development organization formed in 1969.  It has become the premier business training source for northeastern California.

Since February 2009, SEDCorp has conducted six Business Boot Camps in six different counties.  The Boot Camps are designed to help create a strategic business plan that can provide a roadmap in making business dreams come true.     Entrepreneurs, start-ups and small business owners benefit from the intensive three-day course that covers market analysis, marketing strategies, finances, business law, pitfalls of small business and much more.  The Boot Camps’ “enlistees”, explore new opportunities, gain new resources, mingle with peers and maximize their opportunities for success.  With such a high demand and long waiting lists, SEDCorp is seeking additional funding for more Boot Camps.

The Sierra Economic Development Corporation (SEDCorp) celebrated its 40th anniversary last week as a non-profit organization devoted to supporting the economic development of the rural communities north and east of Sacramento.    Celebrated at The Ridge in Auburn, SEDCorp hosted a two-hour celebration featuring Dianne Church, Economic Development Representative, U.S. Department of Commerce E.D.A., Chuck Clendenin, Business & Cooperative Program Director, U.S.D.A. Rural Development and Jim O’Neal, District Director, U.S.

Gold Country Broadband Project - Based on its demonstrated success in promoting the expansion of broadband (high speed) Internet service to its rural service areas, SEDCorp has been contracted by the California Emerging Technology Fund, www.cetfund.org, to lead one of seven regional projects designed to (more)