A year and a half after the Sonoma County wildfires, three nonprofits are partnering together to help business owners while raising money for the Rebuild NorthBay Foundation.
Growth Tour: North Bay, an event that’s aimed at providing small business owners with information surrounding customer acquisition, money management, technology and marketing, will be held in Santa Rosa on Wednesday, March 27.
The event will feature speakers such as Apple Business Development Manager Javier Gomez-Espana; Henry Hansel of Hansel Auto Group; Pamela Chanter from the Sonoma County Economic Development Board; Ozzy Jimenez, CEO of Noble Folk and Moustache Baked Goods; Skip Brand, founder of Healdsburg Running Company; Jesse Katz, founder and winemaker; among other speakers.
Growth Tour: North Bay is being hosted by Alice, an artificial intelligence technology company that’s aimed at helping business owners develop their businesses; Salesforce Essentials; and Redwood Credit Union.
Behind this event is the realization that the two-year mark is looming for the Sonoma County wildfires.
“We got concerned that a lot of the insurance will stop at the two-year mark and our concern is that folks will limit their spending, which will impact business,” said Elizabeth Gore, founder and president of Alice, and board chair of the Rebuild NorthBay Foundation.
Growth Tour: North Bay is supposed to help provide local business leaders the tools needed to combat a possible revenue decline in October. By bringing in speakers and allowing a space for business owners to network with each other, Gore is hoping that the event will both allow business owners to learn helpful information, as well as give business service providers the opportunity to listen to where business owners need support.
The event isn’t solely targeted at businesses who are trying to get back on their feet after being directly impacted by the fires — it’s also aimed at helping those businesses who may have been impacted by some of the aftershocks of the fires, like losing clients who moved or were relocated to different neighborhoods.
“We’ve got folks moving around counties or neighborhoods,” Gore said, adding that the shift in clientele could mean a shake up in a business owner’s client base. “How is that going to impact businesses from Cloverdale down to Petaluma?”
The event will feature speakers, as well as have a space where attendees can network and a place where companies that have services that businesses may use, like banks, can set up shop and both offer help to business owners and listen to what they need.
Growth Tour: North Bay is open to the first 400 people who sign up. Tickets are available online at growthtour-northbay.events.helloalice.com with an optional donation at registration. The event is on March 27 from 1 to 6 p.m. at the Friedman Events Center, 3676 Mayette Ave., Santa Rosa.
