sonoma state economic outlook conference insert

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Warren CapitalCorp.

MAJOR SPONSOR: PRESENTING SPONSORS:

Innovationsand LeadersTransforming theNorth Bay Economy

2013 EconomicOutlook

Conference

game changer [geym cheyn-jer] noun.

a newly introduced

element or factor that

changes an existing

situation or activity

in a signifi cant way

Game-Changers:

PRESENTED BY

UNDERWRITER:

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2 | 2013 SSU ECONOMIC OUTLOOK NORTH BAY BUSINESS JOURNAL | FEBRUARY 25, 2013

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From forward thinking through forward progress, helping North Bay businesses

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FEBRUARY 25, 2013 | NORTH BAY BUSINESS JOURNAL 2013 SSU ECONOMIC OUTLOOK | 3

For nearly two decades SSU’s Economic Outlook Conference has provided North Bay leaders with the economic news and information needed to make informed business decisions. This year’s conference looks to the future of the North Bay and explores economic “game changers” – those people, companies, and ideas that may change the course of the economic development and prosperity of our region.

Although the term game changer has been in our cultural lexicon for some time, it was added officially to the English language as recently as 2012 (along with aha moment, bucket list, cloud computing, energy drink, f-bomb, man cave and sexting). Just as every language grows and changes as people create new words, so do economies grow and change as people add new ideas, new products, and new ways of doing business.

Apple computer has become one of the world’s most successful companies due to its game changing products. The iPod changed the way we listened to music. The iTunes Store changed the economics of the entire music industry. And the iPhone and iPad have changed how we work, play, and communicate. Up here, just a little north of Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, we have our own innovative game changers about whom we can be proud.

■ Napa Valley’s Chateau Montelena and Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars changed the perception of Californian wines in the famous 1976 Judgment of Paris Wine Competition.

■ Research being carried out at the Buck Institute in Novato is changing our knowledge of the aging process, extending lifespans, and improving quality of life.

■ And we have our own examples of innovative products – Petaluma’s CamelBak is changing the way athletes hydrate and perform; Sebastopol’s O’Reilly Media has started a Do It Yourself revolution with Make Magazine and the Maker Faire; Santa Rosa’s Amy’s Kitchen has raised the bar and changed expectations for healthy frozen meals.

We also have an institution of higher education that is a game changer – Sonoma State University.

SSU’s newly opened Green Music Center, site of this year’s Economic Outlook Conference, is a game changing performance hall. It is a magnet to attract world class musical artists such as Yo-Yo Ma and Lang Lang, and expand the North Bay’s brand reputation to encompass not only food and wine, but also music and the arts. Our partnership with MasterCard has helped shine a spotlight on the North Bay’s hospitality and tourism sector. And most important of all, the GMC serves as an education center – changing the way our students learn and grow.

But for SSU to hold the title of game changer, we must do more than build world class facilities. We must deliver programs that prepare our students to make a difference for the organizations in which they work, and for the communities in which they live. Programs that graduate game-changers:

■ Our Wine Business Institute is the global leader for wine business education, housing undergraduate and MBA degree programs focused on the business of wine, an online wine business management certificate that reaches students around the world, and professional development seminars and research programs which advance best wine business practices.

■ The School of Science and Technology hosts the NASA Education and Public Outreach group, which has received more than $10M in funding, engaging more than 40,000 teachers, students and members of the public in cutting-edge science.

■ The Center for the Study of the Holocaust and Genocide challenges students to face the difficult subject of human destructiveness and to seek answers for the prevention of genocide around the world.

■ The Teacher Technology Showcase in the School of Education helps educators create a classroom where middle school students learn geospatial awareness by taking a virtual tour of the moon, or a lesson where special education kids improve their vocabulary with Garage Band.

These are just a few examples of the new and exciting activities happening right now at SSU. The ultimate test of whether they are game changers will be the results achieved by our graduates. Supporting and encouraging students drives us to make an environment of better learning – to turn excellence in our programs into success for our students, and results for you, our stakeholders.

Dr. William S. SilverDean, SSU’s School of Business and Economics

Welcome

“The ultimate test of whether

Sonoma State can hold the title of game changer will

be the results achieved by

our graduates.”

Dr. William Silver, Dean, Professor of Business Administration,

Sonoma State University, School of Business and Economics

1801 East Cotati, Rohnert Park, CA 94928707-664-2377 ■ www.sonoma.edu/sbe

427 Mendocino Avenue, Santa Rosa, CA 95401707-521-570

www.NorthBayBusinessJournal.com

A PART OF

This supplement to the February 25, 2013 issue of the North Bay Business Journal was produced through a collaboration of the North Bay Business Journal and Sonoma State University.

game changer [geym cheyn-jer] noun.

A newly introduced element or factor that changes an existing situation or activity in a significant way


After a year of rising equity prices,

a president re-elected and thirteen

quarters of consecutive economic

growth, the economy is back in

business, right? The American economy,

while recovering, still suffers from the

hangover of a long housing recession,

relatively slow job growth, few to no

generalized technology gains since

2007, and a global economy that has

both geopolitical and economic issues

from all points. Is this the beginning of

a new growth phase or is the economy

slowly slipping toward recession? The

fourth quarter of 2012 showed the

American economy contracted in real

terms; this year, 2013, seems to be

a year where the economic fate of the

2010’s will be forged.

The North Bay economy has been

recovering from a major recession since

late 2009. Our local economies continue

to broad expansion, but not historically

robust expansion. Many industries have

increased employment: some are hiring

due to filling back in jobs cut due to

the recession, others due to expanding

markets for North Bay businesses. Most

of the technology growth since 2009

has happened in Silicon Valley, with the

inevitable spillover across the bridges in

its infancy.

Across the

counties, Marin

County has shown

the most robust

growth, followed

closely by Napa

County. Sonoma

County is showing

signs of 2013

as a strong year;

and, Solano

County is also

poised to see its

recent economic

momentum

continue.

Both Lake and

Mendocino

counties remain

waiting for

Sonoma County to grow and spillover

growth onto them. This recovery has that

historic trait: the Bay Area’s growth is

preceding the North Bay’s growth and

acts as a harbinger of our local growth

pattern.

We must remind ourselves that the

economic recovery is young, and that

it is on the heels of a major recession.

I made a mistake in 2008-09 and

assumed that we would see more

consumer and business spending due

to lower interest rates, and growth

would bounce back more quickly. This

was true in equity markets and specific

technologies, but not in consumer

goods, housing and labor markets.

Those took longer and have not grown

with speed.

Some are worried about slow growth not

providing enough distance between the

2008 recession and a coming downturn.

We just ended a year that saw the

American economy continue to recover,

where labor and financial markets

continue to show strength. The United

States is becoming more European in

terms of our federal government budgets

and our economic growth pattern.

Neither of those traits is easily digestible

to the American economy, which hurts

confidence in the short term. In the long

term, we need to recognize we spent our

way into the federal debt debate (which

is a macrocosm of state and local debt

issues), and we may

have a generation of

slower than normal

growth simply to right

the ship.

For the North Bay,

the slow recovery

period means that

firms are not moving

as quickly into

commercial spaces

as they have in the

past. Renters are not

becoming homebuyers

as quickly as before.

Technology firms are

not investing as quickly

which means they are

not providing growth

incentives to smaller companies that

may come from Sonoma and Marin

counties.

Given all the slowness, Sonoma County

has shown diverse signs of recovery

in tourism, wine, and manufacturing in

food, beverages, and high technology.

Marin County has small technology

companies popping up, and health care

continues its movement forward in all

counties. Napa has become America’s

adult playground for food, wine and

hospitality; Solano is becoming more

focused in energy, logistics, and life

sciences. Our counties are recognizing

niche opportunities and becoming

focused for the remainder of this decade

and beyond. This is a good sign. 2013

should be a year of continued growth,

and 2014 will be an intriguing year with

the Affordable Care Act and our fifth year

of economic recovery.

Much depends on the global

environment, where Europe is now in

technical recession, but poised for

medium-term economic recovery also

and China will continue its growth

pattern on average as it focuses on

becoming the world’s largest economy.

The world continues its flattening. We

need to make sure we keep the air in our

tires regionally by recognizing changes

to come and focusing on our economic

strengths. Best of luck in 2013 and

beyond.

The North Bay Economy

2013

Diversification and Recognition

Dr. Robert Eyler, Frank Howard Allen Research

Fellow in Economics; Director, Center for Regional

Economic Analysis and Executive MBA Program; Professor, Sonoma State

University, School of Business and Economics

The North Bay economy in 2013 needs to recognize some simple ideas:■ We are going to grow slowly as

all levels of government reckon

with budget tightening and ask

both households and businesses

for more taxes;

■ We are still feeling the effects

of recession in our labor and

housing markets, and consumers

are following suit by cautiously

increasing their purchases; and

■ We need to go through all of

this to fully appreciate how we

got here.

Sonoma

Marin

Napa

Solano

RECOVERING INDUSTRIES BY COUNTY

health care continues its movement forward

All four counties

energy, logistics, life sciences

food, wine, hospitality

small tech companies

tourism, wine, manufacturing (food, beverages, hi-tech)


exclusive partnerships make the Green Music Center a new and dominant force in bringing major corporate brands to the North Bay region.

EDUCATIONAs a program of Sonoma State University, higher education is deeply intertwined into the fabric of the Green Music Center. In 2013, we expand our

educational infrastructure in ways that innovate and engage our community – bringing students, parents, and educators to Weill Hall to discover musical excellence and get a glimpse at the world of higher education. From classes on “The Physics of Sound” to 200-student choral competitions, the Green Music Center is a hub for both listening and learning in the North Bay.

Fireworks in the night sky marked the grand opening of Weill Hall at Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center on September 29, 2012. With a robust performance season now underway, visitors from across the Bay Area and around the state are traveling to Sonoma County to experience music like never before. Here, we take a look at what the economic impact of the Green Music Center means to the North Bay and beyond.

EMPLOYMENTOngoing construction ensures future employment

Construction of the Green Music Center complex began in the spring of 2006. In the ensuing nearly seven years, hundreds of Bay Area residents have provided their services in the making of the complex. More than two dozen Bay Area companies were enlisted in the construction, and there appears to be no shortage of ongoing construction.

With Schroeder Hall awaiting completion and plans now underway for a permanent outdoor amphitheater - the MasterCard Performing Arts Pavilion - the construction industry is sure to stay busy at the Green Music Center.

According to data from the Sonoma County Tourism Bureau, the North Bay region is ranked number one in California for job recovery and growth. The Green Music Center is proud to employ residents of the North Bay community for all aspects of its operations.

From technical support, lighting services, and bar-tending agencies, to wedding planners, food vendors, and cinematography teams, this new regional hub for cultural arts runs on the support of Bay Area businesses.

TOURISMCollaborations with lodging, restaurants keep tourism a top priority

“The most extraordinary new offering from California wine country appeals not to the palate but instead to the eyes

and ear,” reads a recent article in Architectural Digest, a magazine with nearly one million monthly subscribers.

Similar examples of high-profile praise are putting the Green Music Center on the map, and in doing so, shining a spotlight on the once-sleepy suburban town of Rohnert Park.

Tourism in Sonoma County employs 17,000 individuals and amounts to more than $3.1 billion in spending. Data from the Sonoma County Tourism Bureau indicates that lodging occupancy in 2012 was up 6% county-wide, and the influx of arts aficionados to the Green Music Center is sure to keep that number rising.

Speaking to that point, board chairman Sandy Weill says, “The Green Music Center will further enhance the reputation of San Francisco and the entire North Bay as one of the world's premier

cultural destinations.”

CORPORATEOPPORTUNITYMajor corporate sponsorships a reality for the SSU campus

In July of 2012, the Green Music Center announced a $15 million sponsorship from MasterCard Worldwide, in support of programming and construction expansion at the complex. The partnership marked the largest corporate sponsorship in Sonoma State University history.

With thousands of patrons coming through the doors of Weill Hall each month, corporations are keen to become involved in this project. The opportunity to engage consumers of the arts with high-profile corporate brands is an established practice in the music and arts industry, and is an evolving aspect of the Green Music Center’s new presence.

Corporate opportunities exist at all levels, not precluding businesses of local and regional scales. Underwriting potential, marketing collaboration, and

The Green Music Center & the Economy

EMPLOYMENT

TOURISM

SPONSORSHIP

Learn more online atgmc.sonoma.edu


Wineries in the Experience Economy:Breaking

boundaries with “something

for all” at Francis Ford

Coppola Winery

PH

OTO

: C

HAD

KEIG

parents and the grandparents, and the family unit each gave one another something very valuable. So when we began to develop the idea for this winery, we thought it should be like a resort, basically a wine wonderland, a park of pleasure where people of all ages can enjoy the best things in life – food, wine, music, dancing, games, swimming and performances of all types. A place to celebrate the love of life."

The experienceToday, Francis Ford Coppola Winery delivers much more than wines poured in a tasting room. “It puts the emphasis on the whole family,” Coppola has said, “and it breaks the boundaries that had previously limited what a winery could offer to its guests.”

It’s a destination that, in addition to the swimming pool, houses a pavilion with a bandstand based on the one in Godfather Part II, bright cabines around the pool that evoke the beaches of Europe and yesteryear, bocce courts and game tables for family enjoyment, restaurants featuring local and estate grown produce in some of Francis’s favorite recipes, and a museum with memorabilia from his many successful films.

Even the ubiquitous winery retail shelves are transformed into a tempting international marketplace that is curated to reflect Coppola’s own search for “something ‘unusual and desirable’ when traveling.”

Whether or not he’s read the book, Francis Ford Coppola has created a definitive example of the experience economy and, with it, a game changing model for the wine industry. He sums up the script for the world’s first family-friendly winery best himself. “A pleasure to anticipate, a pleasure to visit, and a pleasure to remember.”

When Joseph Pine and James Gilmore first published their seminal book “The Experience Economy: Work is Theater & Every Business Is a Stage” in 1999, they might have been titling it with Francis Ford Coppola in mind.

FFC PresentsThrough his company, Francis Ford Coppola Presents – a name that in itself leverages the movie experience, Coppola markets goods from movies to literary magazines, from resorts to wineries. And it’s with the latter two where the experience element makes its grand entrance.

When he acquired the Chateau Souverain property seven years ago, some were appreciative that the lines of the beloved chateau weren’t disrupted. More may have scratched their head, however, when they heard that the new Francis Ford Coppola Winery would feature an outdoor swimming pool in the middle of visitor operations. A pool in a winery? Yes; two, actually, and more.

What is the experience economy?Coppola himself provides a clue for understanding the experience economy in practice. “I make movies. I always have to have a theme, and Sonoma’s will

be ‘life.’ Life with a happy, Italian, family feeling.”

“The Experience Economy” authors Pine and Gilmore explain that our economy has evolved from agrarian to industrial to service, and now to “experience.” In an experience economy, the memory (that is, the experience itself) becomes the “product”, which has additional value that can be capitalized.

Published in 1999, the book was not the first to suggest or research this concept. With an update published in 2011, however, we don’t have to look far to see how the experience economy has taken hold. Starbuck’s is on every corner, selling much more than coffee. REI re-made the purchase of camping gear into a community lifestyle experience. Closer to home, Farmhouse Inn took one experience-based offering – the winemaker’s dinner – a step further. The “2013 Clash of the Sommeliers” pits one against the other in a food-wine pairing spiral in which judges and guests alike vote live in the dining room on the evening’s winner who then proceeds to the next round.

So at Francis Ford Coppola Winery, rather than merely harvesting grapes, selling juice, or serving wine, Coppola

is creating memories with value, built on his own memories and experiences, tapping yet another element explored by Pine and Gilmore – “authenticity.” In this context, the verbs Pine and Gilmore use to define the progression of economic value are telling: extract commodities, make goods, deliver services, stage experiences.

And staging is something that Mr. Coppola can do very, very well.

A winning vision"I’ve always been influenced by the idea of Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, which was the inspiration for ultimately all modern amusements parks. (There) were rides, but more important were the cafes and the refreshments, and just the sense of being in a children’s garden, a ‘pleasure garden’ for all people to enjoy – which perhaps is the best phrase to describe what we’re creating here. I thought Francis Ford Coppola Winery could become such a park for the family to go and enjoy, where there are things for kids to do, so they can be close to their parents who are sampling wines and foods.

I’ve often felt that modern life tends to separate all the ages too much. In the old days, the children lived with the


Visit California Global Stage

Tourism is essential to California’s state and regional economies. In 2011, 220 million visitors from around the world spent $102.3 billion in California and the state’s tourism industry supported jobs for 893,000 residents. To put that economic impact in perspective, the

$19 billion spent by international travelers alone was more than the combined value of the state’s top four product exports. Since its inception 15 years ago, Visit California has become one of the nation’s top state tourism marketing agencies – promoting California as a premier travel destination and helping to increase tourism and travel-related spending. Visit California paved the way for the successful public-private partnership funding model that has been replicated countless times on the national, state and regional levels, by Brand USA, competing states and local Tourism Business Improvement Districts (TBIDs), respectively.

While California is still outspent by our major global competitors, we’ve been fortunate to have the strong support of our statewide industry which enabled us to secure more robust and stable funding. This March, the California travel industry will have the opportunity to renew their commitment to the state’s tourism marketing program by voting “yes” on the Visit California Marketing Renewal, securing $300 million to be spent over the next six years and ensuring California remains competitive.

Instead of cutting back in recent years,

Visit California has actually been able to strengthen and expand our international marketing efforts. We see great potential and opportunity in the international market and that’s why we’re investing about half of our total annual budget –$20 million – in marketing to our largest international feeder markets.

International marketing is one key area

where Visit California can make an impact to benefi t destinations throughout the state – such as Sonoma County – on a local level. Whether it’s working with travel trade to develop California product, bringing media to California to generate editorial coverage or going direct-to-consumer with brand advertising campaigns, our international activities create opportunities for our industry

partners. The Sonoma County CVB and their regional partners regularly participate in Visit California’s cooperative marketing programs, from sales missions and tradeshows to hosting familiarization tours and press trips.

Visit California’s award-winning integrated global marketing campaigns

See page 11: Visit CaliforniaCaroline Beteta,

President and CEO,Visit California

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The Sonoma and Marin counties agricultural industry (dairy, grass-fed beef ranching, and grain farming combined) generated a total of $47.4 million in business revenue and $1.6 million in state and local tax receipts. For every 100 agricultural workers, there are numerous additional jobs supported throughout the counties: 31 by dairies, 63 by grass-fed beef ranching, and 21 by grain farming.

As for the effects a booming agriculture industry has on the local economy, there are both direct and indirect. The direct effects are those specific to the event. For example, for a dairy rancher and their operations, hiring new employees and selling products provides wages and payments to support local employment, and generate new tax and business revenues. This includes the farmer buying services from allied industries (including trucking, storage, distribution, and processing of all types.) These industries provide value-added services that farmers cannot provide themselves.

Ripple EffectsIndirect effects come from these workers and support businesses taking new income and spending a portion on other businesses’ goods and services. This revenue flow to other businesses leads to more employment, wages, revenue and taxes. For example, when a newly hired dairy worker goes out to eat at a restaurant, there are indirect effects from the original dairy expansion; the affected restaurant uses a larger amount of a local linen cleaner’s services than before, which creates indirect effects from new linen service demand.

Value Chains in North Bay AgricultureSimple Ideas

and Takeaways from Dairy, Beef

Ranching and Grain Farming

Dr. Robert Eyler, Frank Howard Allen Research

Fellow in Economics; Director, Center for Regional

Economic Analysis and SSU’s Executive MBA Program; Professor, SSU School of Business and Economics

The Value ChainThe way to use value chains is as a comparison tool. While some farmers may face lower costs than others, profits may be similar. Value chains consider profit made as an “activity”. For each farm or ranch, tasks are done “better” than a competitor when more value is added in comparison. That is, for the same task, the farmer receives more profit than the industry on average. Figure EX-1 shows a typical value chain.

Farm value chains identify all activities on the farm for a specific product, not those of other value-add products like cheese made from fluid milk. Cheese making operations would have their own value chain beyond the dairy operation owned by the same family or group. Cheese as a final product uses fluid milk as a raw material, which makes milk part of the cheese-maker’s supply chain. Analyzing value chains can also identify regional needs when goods and services to support farming and ranching do not exist, and thus come at a higher price (i.e. earning less profit from trying to add more value).

Regional ImpactThe economic impact analyses provide estimates of how each agricultural business in this report affects both job creation, and generates business and tax revenues in the North Bay. The analyses are based on 100 workers in each county for each industry. Table EX-1 summarizes the multiplicative effects for operations in the dairy, grass-fed beef and grain farming on industries across the North Bay economy, not just those allied or associated with these ag industries.

What impact do dairy, grains, and grass-fed beef have on with the economy? For our region, not surprisingly, it’s a significant one. Whether a business is directly related to the agriculture industry or not, people and local counties are feeling the positive effects of a thriving agriculture industry.

A report completed by the Center for Regional Economic Analysis (CREA) at Sonoma State University and commissioned by UC Cooperative Extension in Sonoma County, in partnership with various agencies around the North Bay, defines the impact by examining value chains in these industries. Value chains in agriculture describe each industry and show how these businesses build value from raw materials, such as seed, land and cows.

See page 10: Value Chains

Table EX-1: Economic Impacts Summary, North Bay 2011 North Bay Overall Overall Overall Local/State Ag Industry Employment Employment Business Revenues Tax Revenues

Dairy (Fluid Milk) 100 131 $19,144,000 $768,000 Grass-Fed Beef 100 163 $20,995,000 $582,000 Grain Farming 100 121 $7,529,000 $212,000

For every 100 agricultural workers, there are, on average, 38 additional jobs supported, producing $15.8 million in business revenue, and $521,000 in state and local tax receipts.

Farmers build value in their products for dairy, grass-fed beef and grain operations in the North Bay every day. Following how much value farmers add, and in what ways they add value, is what value chains are all about. Agricultural industries also build value in the community through their operations, suppliers, and businesses touched by farm workers and spending. This value building begins building when farmers do their daily work, from fixing a fence to bottle feeding an orphan calf. A milking operation produces fluid milk from a cow but has many steps leading up to milking, after milking and supporting all the steps.

Figure EX-1: Typical Value Chain Components

Pre-Operations

Operations

Post- Operations

Marketing & Sales

Service

How raw materials are stored, maintained and used

Daily tasks & activities, including harvest & processing

Storage and transport

Business development, pricing and contracts

Customer relationships

Machines and Equipment

People Management

Internet and Technology Procurement


SonomaCounty ReportA FREE MONTHLY E-NEWSLETTER

This ripple effect supports varying industries throughout the North Bay area, in industries as diverse as food manufacturing to medical practices, from investment banking and accounting, to bars and restaurants. North Bay agriculture, through its economic impacts, has a broad reach through the regional economy. The value chains for farmers show that they must purchase both labor and supplies, which direct regional economic development efforts, to provide local sources of each to support these important industries.

Putting the Numbers to WorkPolicy makers can use this data to understand the broad economic impact that these agricultural industries have on the North Bay region, the other industries involved in both supplying and supporting agriculture, and how each industry’s expansion can affect the expansion of other businesses.

Differences in local fi ndings compared to

Value Chains: Continued from page 9

©PN

TS

industry benchmarks, especially regional comparisons to state and national models of fi rms in the same industry, provide policy makers with insight to what regional challenges farmers, ranchers, and support industries face. A value chain can also show policy makers where farmers and ranchers need help in either providing direct fi nancial assistance, regional cooperation, or provide incentives to attract a regional supplier or service provider to lower costs and boost profi ts.

Access the full study and PowerPoint presentation under “SBE Centers and Institutes” at sonoma.edu/sbe. Formed in 1992, Sonoma State’s Center for Regional Economic Analysis (CREA) provides economic impact, community impact, regional data and other analyses for North Bay businesses, governments, and organizations. Contact [email protected] for more information.

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Visit California: Continued from page 7

are designed to elevate the California brand to a position in the minds of consumers that transcends travel and becomes relevant to their daily lives. Our 2011 brand advertising in US, Canada, UK and Australia yielded 3.8 million incremental trips and $5.5 billion in incremental spending, for a return on investment of 231:1.

As destination marketers, we are all operating in a new landscape and it’s not just driven by sustained economic challenges. We have to address evolving demographics, emerging technology and shifts in consumer travel patterns. We see this as an opportunity to strategically market California in a way that is responsive, creative and forward-thinking.

Our statewide industry has also

been buoyed by a fresh wave of national momentum generated by the entry of Brand USA, whose marketing activities are creating new demand for travel to the United States, and giving us all opportunities to partner on the national level. Brand USA’s work combined with the Obama administration’s dedication to improving tourism visa processing will help us capitalize on the rapid growth in markets like China and Brazil.

The future is very bright for California’s tourism industry, and we look forward to continuing to collaborate with our partners in Sonoma County to cultivate and inspire the California dreamer in everyone and invite visitors to fi nd themselves here.

direct travel-related consumer spending

tourism-related jobs

travel-related earnings$102.3B

893,000$30.4B

14.5M

international visitors spent $19.1 billion

California Tourism By the 2011 Numbers

travel related spending in 2010

$1.4Bpeople employed by tourism - 6.3% of total employment (indexes higher than state as a whole, 4.4%)

16,540 local tax receipts from travel related spending, $59 million in state tax receipts$28.3M

Sonoma County TourismBy the Numbers

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The CROWDFUND Act (Capital Raising Online While Deterring Fraud and Unethical Non-Disclosure), passed last April and signed into law, creates two new classes of investors, a new class of businesses, and an SEC regulated system of online fundraising portals and brokers. As a result, investing will become more democratized, more transparent, and more local and global at the same time.

This law, passed as part of the larger JOBS Act (Jumpstart Our Business Startups,) will turn local consumers into local investors; create better run and more transparent local businesses; and rebuild our middle class by creating the resources needed to make family businesses more successful and competitive. This will be true for established local businesses and the next waves of startup businesses.

Under The CROWDFUND Act, small businesses, defined as those with less than $5,000,000 in annual sales, will be able to raise up to $1,000,000 per year in CROWDFUND Act issues, greatly improving small business access to capital in main street communities all across the country. Banks have been historically reluctant to lend to small business, especially since the banking crises of 2008-2009. A successful Crowdfunding issue will at once make it possible to create a larger business and a stronger balance sheet. The smartest bankers will take a fresh look at a recently crowdfunded business.

Local businesses and brands will be able to expand regionally and compete with national brands in their markets. Startups, especially consumer product businesses, will have access to capital previously available only to the most

visible technology startups.

Under the new law, investors will be classified by family income. Individuals making less than $100,000 per year will be limited to $2,000 per year invested in any single crowdfund offering. Families with income over $100,000 per year will be limited to 10% of their income invested in any crowdfund issue, with a maximum invested of $100,000.

In years past, investing in non-public, private placement investments has been restricted to mostly accredited investors; those making more than $200,000 per year ($300,000 jointly) or possessing assets over $1,000,000 excluding their primary residence. This dramatic increase in the pool of potential investors, many of them enthusiastic supporters of local business, will revitalize Main Street, and interesting startups will gain a national, and even international, audience.

Finally, SEC approved, online investing portals create a regulated online platform for raising small business capital. Transparency is improved for the investor community and an expedited

path to much needed expansion and startup capital is available to local entrepreneurs. Each offering will include important financial and ownership information for all to see, and an online community more than willing to point out short comings and pitfalls, as well as the attributes and uniqueness of each deal.

The SEC and FINRA are currently working on final rules for crowdfunding as crowdfunding sites and brokers are proliferating. Very soon after Crowdfunding under The CROWDFUND Act goes live we should see some amazing fund raising numbers published, leading to a scramble by small businesses in nearly every community to figure out how to improve their products, how to improve their visibility, and how to improve their management skills in order to run a more successful and transparent business.

Fund Raising Game Changer AheadHow the

CROWDFUND Act Will Create

Profound Changes in the U.S. Economy

Robert Hunter, Registered Investment Advisor,

roberthunterinvest.com

Bob is a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) serving clients in the Bay Area and around the country from his office in San Anselmo since 1995. Prior he

was 12 years at Wall Street firms’ San Francisco Financial District

offices. He believes in leveling the playing field for individual

investors with institutional quality investment advice.

REWARD-BASEDPlatforms like Kickstarter, IndieGoGo, and RocketHub raise funds for projects from the artistic to the charitable to small business. Your return may simply be satisfaction or a cool new “something” before anyone else has it.

LOAN-BASEDThose like Kiva, Prosper, and Funding Circle are micro-finance and lending sites that re-pay your loan, typically with interest. Credibles allows you to “invest” in your favorite food business by pre-paying for goods and services, while receiving a bonus in return.

EQUITY-BASEDIndieGoGo and Kickstarter aim to add this venture-capital form of funding to their existing platform. That’s once all the SEC rules are settled, of course. Companies like CircleUp have found a temporary solution by partnering with registered broker-dealers, to enable entrepreneurs to access funding from accredited individuals.

Crowdfunding operates in

different forms

What’s the latest?

With the arrival of January 1, the SEC has officially missed two deadlines to define the rules that will open up equity-based funding for US crowd-investors and firms. Most experts don’t anticipate the guidelines being settled until early 2014.

Where to go

for crowdfunding dataCrowdsourcing.org is the place to go for articles, news, and research on the growing field of crowdfunding and crowdsourcing. While much of the news is crowd-sourced (no surprise), massolution™ - “a unique research and advisory firm specializing in the crowdsourcing and crowdfunding industries” – provides comprehensive research and industry analysis.


Top 3 Reasonsstudents choose

Empire College School of Law#1 Outstanding

Bar Pass Rate

#2 High Ranking

in Statewide

Competitions

#3 Law ClinicsElder Law

Disability Law

Immigration Law

Self-Help Access Center

Small Claims Advisory Clinic

School of Law3035 Cleveland Avenue

Santa Rosa, CA 95403707-546-4000

www.empcol.edu

Theoretical and practical legal education.

Meaningful, measurable community outcomes.

For the past 40 years, Empire College School of Law has provided a rigorous and quality Juris Doctor

education for students wishing to pursue legal studies at night. Graduates now comprise

approximately 25 percent of the Sonoma County Bar and include 9 members of the judiciary in

Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino, Lassen, and Merced Counties.

At Empire, we are committed to providing students with an education that will allow them to

successfully confront the ethical and intellectual challenges the field of law presents. Our faculty

have distinguished themselves with a high level of competence in their legal specialties, possess

scholarly attitudes and abilities, are effective communicators in the classroom, and further the Law

School’s community outreach by supervising students in several Law Clinics which provide free and

low-cost services to elderly, disabled, and indigent clients.

In March 2012,, Empire College was recognized

nationally on President Obama’s Higher

Education Community Service Honor Roll,

earning “with Distinction” honors for inspiring

lifelong civic engagement among our students

and achieving meaningful, measurable

outcomes in the communities we serve.

During the past year, 2,500 people have been served by

Empire law students through pro bono staffing and

management of the Sonoma County Small Claims Advisory. During the same period, Empire’s third-

and fourth-year Juris Doctor law student and paralegal student interns donated pro bono staffing

hours to the legal research and writing divisions of both the Sonoma County District Attorney and

Public Defender’s offices. This service frees over-scheduled deputies for court duty in lieu of research

and motion writing and has an equivalent value (i.e. savings to the community) of $191,250.

Likewise, Empire volunteers have donated staff attorney services to Sonoma County Legal Aid, along

with assisting at their annual fundraisers.


My SSU: The North Bay’s Talent PipelineWhat is my SSU? It’s more than students and faculty, more than caps and gowns. It’s the best fi t for getting talent for my company.

Take Mike Kellems (’11). I hired him as a summer intern in 2010. Upon graduation he moved into a full-time Management Trainee position and in one year was promoted to branch manager of our Ukiah and Fort Bragg locations. Mike is an employee who is not afraid to roll up his sleeves; he goes the extra mile for customers – earning his stripes as he climbs our corporate ladder quickly. As a Talent Acquisition Specialist for Enterprise in the San Francisco and the North Bay, my job is to make sure we are hiring the most talented and competent college graduates. Mike exemplifi es the strong work ethic, results-orientation, and drive that we have found is the Sonoma State brand.

How do we fi nd and hire talented people like Mike? By maintaining a steady presence on campus, we fi nd them in spades. I work with both SSU Career Services and the School of Business and Economics Career Center. Sarah

Dove, its Director, and Tracy Navas, the Career Services Coordinator, are a tremendous resource and very supportive of their students. The School of Business and Economics (SBE) is lucky to have their support and involvement!

They help connect me with students early on through the Mentor Program, following up through summer internships, which more often than not convert to part-time positions while

students fi nish their senior year.

We also engage on campus by attending career fairs, hosting speed

networking events, and sending management team members to mixers, as well as reaching out to the students personally by speaking to clubs and presenting in classes. In addition, I serve on the SBE Career Center Executive Council, which is a group of North Bay professionals from multiple industries, all committed to developing the North Bay talent pool.

In addition to time, Enterprise supports Career Center programs through an annual fi nancial donation. We approach our 15-year-plus partnership as a two-way commitment. It’s an investment with measurable returns for our large company.

We fi nd value reaching out to potential employees in these ways because we have the chance to meet and network with students, staff, and faculty. By increasing our relationship with the university we bring awareness to our Management Trainee Program and by graduation, we’ve developed a pool of full-time management trainees who are well-equipped to launch their careers in a successful and fast-paced business environment.

In the past year we have taken on fi fteen full-time management trainees, as well as fi ve summer interns. Four of these interns went on to become full-time management trainees after graduating.

Enterprise Holdings is the number one rental car company in the world. Founded in 1957, we are the sixteenth largest privately owned company in the US with over seven thousand offi ces worldwide, employing seventy thousand people.

We are also proud to be the number one college grad employer in the nation and promote 100% from within based on performance.

Sonoma State graduates are eager, driven, passionate, hardworking, fun, and ambitious graduates, just what we are looking for. They are prepared and professional, but also adaptable, a key quality in any job setting. That’s why SSU really is our North Bay talent pipeline.

SSU grad Mike Kellems recruits for Enterprise at the School of Business and Economics Career & Internship EXPO.

− Accounting − Finance − Financial Management − Management − Marketing − Wine Business Strategies

− Managerial Economics − Labor and Public Economics − International Economics

Contact [email protected] or visit sonoma.edu/sbe/careercenter

to learn more.

through our Mentor Program

and Internship EXPO

Mixer

experienced alumni

Meet Our1600 Students:

We approach our 15-year-

plus partnership as a two-way

commitment.It’s an investment

with measurable returns for our

large company.

How To Get Your Hands On Them:

Ready to build your

talent pipeline?

Stephanie Wittler,Talent Acquisition Specialist,

Enterprise Holdings,San Francisco Group~ North Bay Region

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