Chamber News
 The San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the City of San Luis Obispo, is proud to announce the launch of www.openforbusinessinslo.com, a website that is intended to assist business people who are interested in starting, expanding or relocating their business to San Luis Obispo. Rich with content, data and local resource information, the site significantly enhances the user experience for business people that are evaluating whether San Luis Obispo is well-suited for their business and for those who are seeking the resources to be successful.
“The new www.openforbusinessinslo.com website is an important new tool to project why our community is a great place to build a business, “explained Ermina Karim, President/CEO of the SLO Chamber of Commerce. “We want to encourage a healthy and growing local business community and show other businesses how they can thrive here.”
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A local jury has found Yamaha Corporation U.S.A. liable for fraudulent and malicious treatment of Powerhouse Motorsports, a former Paso Robles business. The trial in the California Superior Court for the County of San Luis Obispo resulted in an August 9 judgment against Yamaha. The jury found that Yamaha acted in violation of state law by interfering with Powerhouse's attempt to sell its dealership, and that it did so maliciously, fraudulently and oppressively, entitling Powerhouse to an award of punitive damages. The judgment orders Yamaha to pay a total of over $2,100,000 for compensatory and punitive damages, interest, and attorney fees and costs. The claim against Yamaha began in the summer of 2008. Powerhouse Motorsports was then the California Central Coast’s largest motorcycle and ATV dealership, carrying product lines including Yamaha, Polaris, Suzuki and KTM. Powerhouse, a franchisee of Yamaha, struggled financially in 2008 and in June of that year made the decision to close the dealership’s doors. While the business had ceased operations, the company retained value in inventory, lease
and goodwill, and was able to immediately strike a deal with MDK Motorsports to take over the dealership. |
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Mindbody, a cloud-based, business management software for health and wellness organizations worldwide, recently received $9 million more in investments from two leading venture capital firms, Bessemer Venture Partners and Catalyst Investors. The two firms injected $14 million last August in the San Luis Obispo-based company; the most recent investment was double last year’s valuation. The company has seen 60 percent revenue growth year-over-year and continues to expand its employee base. The company expects to grow to 320 local employees from 280 and expects to have 350 employees companywide by the end of 2011. |
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Insiders report that significant progress is being made to replace some key positions at City Hall after recent retirements. The Finance and IT department head position -- long held by Bill Statler -- is in the final stages of recruitment and is expected to have a director announced later this month. This is the second attempt at filling the role that Mary Bradley has been fulfilling on an interim basis since Statler’s retirement. Meanwhile, more than 100 applications came in for the Community Development director position previously held by John Mandeville. The city has narrowed down the search to eight candidates. And the recently announced retirement of Police Chief Deborah Linden is set to begin recruitment next week. Candidates for all three positions are being informed of the city’s current financial state and are aware of the 6.8 percent across-the-board concessions that staff were asked to make in this year’s financial plan. |
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Congratulations and a huge thank you to all of those who worked so hard to see the successful passage of Measures A and B, which repeal binding arbitration and set the stage for pension reform. Yesterday’s 70 percent-plus wins were important statements by the residents of their desire for long-term fiscal sustainability. The issues engaged the energy and resources of a diverse and broad-based coalition of community members and local businesses, many of whom had never previously been involved in political action. The work now must be focused on how to move forward as a community committed to continuously improving the quality of life in San Luis Obispo through civic engagement and respectful discourse. |
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Does your business make efforts to reduce pollution, improve resource conservation and sustainability, or improve air and water quality? Then it may have what it takes to win a Green Award.
Up to six “green” businesses, organizations or individuals throughout San Luis Obispo County will once again be recognized by the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce at the Fourth Annual 2011 Green Award luncheon.
Apply now for Green Awards, click here for application. Nomination period ends October 1st, 2011. |
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iCracked, Inc., a company that started in San Luis Obispo and replaces broken iPhone screens, is in the spotlight again. Forbes recently named nine young men and women as "All-Star Student Entrepreneurs" and one of them is iCracked founder AJ Forsythe. The magazine features student entrepreneurs from across the country who started businesses while attending school full-time. Forsythe started iCracked as a Cal Poly student after he broke the screen on his iPhone twice in two days. The article on Forsythe chronicles the young entrepreneur’s journey and his early success as a business owner. |
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Written by Whitney Diaz, director of new media and communications for the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce
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California State Senator Sam Blakeslee, San Luis Obispo Police Chief Deborah Linden and San Luis Obispo Community Foundation Executive Director Barry VanderKelen all have something in common. They are three of more than 700 Leadership San Luis Obispo (LSLO) alumni.
 Thirty six community leaders have the opportunity to join this inspirational group next year and stretch themselves by exploring San Luis Obispo County in a way that only participation in LSLO allows.
This unique program is now accepting applications for its 21st class. Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the 10-month program brings participants out of their comfort zones and encourages productive dialogue on important and sometimes difficult issues affecting the community.
“Successful Leadership applicants are curious by nature and motivated to get involved in their community,” said Sandi Sigurdson, executive director of Leadership SLO. “We’re looking for folks who have a commitment to personal and professional growth, who are willing to view community issues from a broad perspective.” |
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Insiders report that former San Luis Obispo City Manager Ken Hampian has been named the short-term interim city manager of Bell, Calif. Last Friday, the long-suffering city parted ways with its interim city manager, leaving the city’s new mayor to run the day-to-day tasks. Bell also has no department heads, no acting department heads, no budget and no advisory bodies, among other challenges. The city has been in financial ruin since 2010 when it was revealed that several key city officials were earning excessive salaries, perhaps the highest in the nation, resulting in a lawsuit filed by the California Attorney General’s office as well as several state and federal investigations into the city’s finances.
Hampian agreed to serve the city of Bell temporarily on a pro-bono basis. He retired from his 10-year post as the San Luis Obispo city manager in 2009. His post in Bell is expected to last through most of August.
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Mindbody, a cloud-based, business management software for health and wellness organizations worldwide, recently received $9 million more in investments from two leading venture capital firms, Bessemer Venture Partners and Catalyst Investors. The two firms injected $14 million last August in the San Luis Obispo-based company; the most recent investment was double last year’s valuation. The company has seen 60 percent revenue growth year-over-year and continues to expand its employee base. The company expects to grow to 320 local employees from 280 and expects to have 350 employees companywide by the end of 2011. |
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