January 2008 1201 Placer Street - Redding, CA - (530) 246-7911

Happy New Year! It's a brand new year and the Smart Business Resource Center has a brand new website. www.thesmartcenter.biz Seminars & Events | Hiring | Training Human Resources | Business Services Now you can access our business pages directly from our site's homepage. The menu at the left of each page has links to all the primary pages on the site. Everything is upfront and, we hope, easy to use. News The business newsletter has moved to this page, which includes website updates - and more. Check the link to News on the homepage. Contact Us On this page we've added maps to the Smart Business Resource Center in Redding and our new centers in Trinity County. And, we've included a Business Request for Information form for your convenience. View thesmartcenter.biz. Call or come in for services.

~ A Smart Choice ~ Smart has both free and fee-based services. Want to know which is which? Check out the Q's on News & Q's (that's Q for Question). There's a link to the News on the homepage. ~ Events ~ A list of Upcoming Events is at the upper right of the new Smart homepage. Check it often! California Construction Contracting Program begins January 9 The Small Business Development Center at Shasta College (SBDC), in partnership with Caltrans, will help you bid and win contracts with the California Construction Contracting Program. Courses begin January 9 with Module 1 Construction Contracts. Click here to view the flyer. This is not just for those in construction! It is for selling goods or services to Cal Trans for everything from Janitorial Services, Painting Services, Tree Trimming, Surveying, Trash Pickup, Graphic Design Services, Automotive parts, and much more. Call 225-2770 to learn more or to register for these courses. Are you in compliance? California’s minimum wage increased to $8 an hour on January 1, 2008. Be sure your postings are up-to-date!

Reduce Your California State Taxes for 2007 with Enterprise Zone Tax Credits If your business is in the Shasta Metro Enterprise Zone, this is for you! Attend a free seminar on Enterprise Zone tax credits - and more - including free EZ tax advice from a tax credit expert. Click here to view the flyer or call (530) 224-4920 to reserve your seat What is an Enterprise Zone? It is a State Tax Credit Program with a number of ways to save. To learn more see Hiring Incentives on the Smart website. Website Design Workshop January 24 & 30, 9-11am Create a website for your business in this workshop. There is no coding to learn and no software to purchase. Fee: $50 You'll get 4 hours of instruction, 3 months of website hosting, and a domain name for a year. With the website you create you can market your business 24 hours a day on the Internet. Click here to learn more or call 245-1561.

Entrepreneur Workshop January 23, 5-7pm - Workshop January 30, 5-7pm - Coaching In this free training successful local business people will address the challenges of starting and growing a business in our area. You'll want to attend both sessions. The first 25 attendees will receive The E Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber. To reserve your seat call (530) 245-1509 or email abengtsson@thesmartcenter.biz There's even more in store in the coming months... In February: Smart Centers are scheduled to open in Weaverville and Hayfork in Trinity County. In March: Our annual Spring Hiring Fair will be held in our Redding Smart Center. In April: The second annual "Best Companies to Work for in Shasta County" will take place. Stay tuned to www.thesmartcenter.biz