General

Come celebrate the coming of fall with

KMB Management!

When: October 8^th, 2009 at 5:00pm

Where:  The Sand Creek Fountain/Plaza Area

Between 191 and 141 Sand Creek Road, Brentwood, CA 94513

Event Festivities include:

• Meeting the Mayor, Robert Taylor, and the Community Development Director, Casey McCann, of Brentwood
• Tasting delicious local wines and food
• Viewing some classic muscle cars
• Networking with local business owners and residents
• And picking up a pumpkin for Halloween

Please RSVP to Roxanne De La Cruz at

(925) 418-4512 ext. 21 or roxanne@claremonthomes.net

Even though the economy has been dismal and unemployment has been on the rise, a fascinating phenomenon suggests that small businesses and boutique firms stand to gain customers in these trying times.  Let’s face it, whether times are good or bad small businesses have never been able to afford the luxury of being wasteful, inefficient, or careless with money.  Large corporations, on the other hand, which are bureaucratic by their very nature, have a tendency to become highly inefficient and wasteful when times are good.  When faced with an economic downturn, the inevitable occurs in a large corporation—mass downsizing resulting in a loss of valuable talent and customer service.  Consequently, the large name brand company that customers were paying for tends to lose its luster in the face of lost relationships and customer support.

Peter Bregman, CEO of Bregman Partners, Inc., a global management consulting firm, also believes that small companies will win in this economy.  He states that “Small is the new big.  Sustainable is the new growth.  Trust is the new competitive advantage.”  He says that “small companies with low overhead, reliable owners, a small number of committed employees, personal client relationships, and sustainable business models that drive a reasonable profit are the great opportunity of our time.”  To read more about Bregman’s point of view on this topic visit his article Why Small Companies Will Win in This Economy.

The tenants of the Brentwood Business Center, the Sand Creek Business Center, and the Sand Creek Plaza are all too familiar with this mantra.  The majority of the tenants renting space in these Brentwood business centers are small local vendors with a particular focus on sustaining clients through relationships and keen customer service.  In fact, KMB Management, the managing firm over these properties, has developed a philosophy that embodies the spirit of Bregman’s slogan:  “Small is the new big. Sustainable is the new growth.  Trust is the new competitive advantage.”  Each new customer and/or potential customer at KMB Management is treated with respect, professionalism, kindness, and commitment. 

In closing, if you are a small business in this trying time don’t lose heart.  This is your golden opportunity to take advantage of the niche opportunities that are out there.  Just remember that small is the new big and the power of the personal relationship can never be underestimated.  Creativity may also be your number one asset in attracting new business and retaining loyal customers.  The business expert Peter Drucker once said that, “Business has only two basic functions—marketing and innovation.”  Therefore, turn your creativity into innovative marketing endeavors! 

This question has been at the forefront of our minds for a long time.  Analysts, speculators, and business people alike have been desperately trying to wrap their minds around the enormity of this problem for the past few years.  According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the United States has been in a recession since December of 2007.

Economic insight and analysts from the Wall Street Journal speculate that the American people will have to hold out until 2010 for the National Bureau of Economic Research to make an end-of-recession declaration.  In Washington last week, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, however; publicly declared that the recession was over.  He did qualify this statement by saying that there would not be a “splashy return to economic boomtime anytime soon.” 

Bernanke attributes the end of the recession to several factors as follows:  a rise in retail sales for the month of August, a rise in housing sales in key markets, and a rise in median home prices in Southern California markets, one of the hardest hit boom-to-bust areas in the country.  All of these factors combined serve as key economic indicators to market stabilization and recovery.  To read more about these factors visit Yahoo's Real Estate Outlook. 

Unfortunately, unemployment is the wild card in this recession equation.  Even with the end of the recession drawing near, unemployment will not have a speedy recovery.  According to Robert Gordon, a Northwestern University economist and member of the Business Cycle Dating Committee, unemployment will peak sometime between December of 2009 and March of 2010.  Nevertheless, Bernanke says that the vast majority of Americans who are employed saw wage increases this year up to 5% marking the largest gain in fifty years. 

The experts are declaring that the recession is either over or coming to a close which is very good news for everybody.  This is certainly optimistic news for businesses both small and large who are anxiously awaiting the return of the market.  For local businesses like those located in the Sand Creek Business Center and the Brentwood Business Center, this may stimulate expansion or growth plans for the coming years.  In which case, commercial building owners will eagerly be waiting to accomodate the needs of growing businesses with office and retail space.  

For all of you water sports enthusiasts, Brentwood is hosting the 2009 Diablo Shores Pro Am Tournament on September 11, 12, 13.  According to Simon King, a writer for the Brentwood Grove, "Past event highlights are said to be blown out of the water by the talent coming together for the 2009 event. With such big celeb names as Will Asher, Chris Parrish, and Jamie Beauchesne Brentwood is sure to see some spectacular action."  To read more about this exciting event, visit the Brentwood Grove's article entitled Brentwood's Diablo Shores Pro Am Tournament.

In addition to this article, The Brentwood Grove features great stories each week on Arts & Entertainment, Brentwood Tv, Business, Cartoons & Humor, Crime Beat, Education, Health, History, Opinion, Politics, Real Estate, Science, Sports, and Style. Upon visiting the Brentwood Grove site, one will discover that it is the premier online source for local news.  

Over the course of the summer, there has been positive news on the real estate front.  For starters, on August 20^th, Edmund Jin, the principal executive of Fremont-based JLA home Inc., a home furnishings manufacturer, paid $21 million for a 610,000 square foot distribution center in Livermore.  The sale of this building marked one of the largest commercial real estate transactions in the East Bay over the last few years.  Perhaps commercial real estate is still alive and kicking in the East Bay.  Michael Lloyd, a Colliers International broker, commented on the transaction by saying, “No question, there is money out there to make deals that are priced correctly.”  To read more about this real estate transaction, visit the Contra Costa Times.

In addition to this large real estate transaction in the East Bay, manufacturing grew in the month of August.  The Institute for Supply Management said that the manufacturing index rose to 52.9 in August from 48.9 in July.  This is the highest the index has been since June of 2007.  According to Investopedia, the manufacturing index gives investors a detailed look at how busy the manufacturing sector is, and can have a significant effect on the markets. Since manufacturing is a major sector of the U.S. economy, an increase in the index can indicate an uptrend in the economy.  Read more on this topic in the Los Angeles Times.

The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Home Price Index also reported that home values in the San Francisco metropolitan area gained 3.8 percent in June compared with the month before.  The San Francisco metro area includes San Francisco, San Mateo, Alameda, Contra Costa and Marin counties.  For a full detail of this article visit the Contra Costa Times.

With all of this positive news, it seems as though real estate may be on its way to a healthy recovery.

Currently, construction is underway on the expansion of Sand Creek Road which will run further east to Sellers Avenue.  The road expansion project is slated to be complete by the spring of 2010.  Once improved, Sand Creek Road will provide enhanced access to businesses, parks, and neighborhoods for the local community. 

Sand Creek Road will also become the gateway to Sciortino Ranch, one of Brentwood’s premier mixed-use community proposals in the eastern city limits.  With a 107,000 square foot big box store in the works along with high density housing, this mixed-use project will bring more activity to the new Brentwood Boulevard Corridor.  Surrounding local businesses like the Sand Creek Business Center and Sand Creek Plaza are sure to benefit from an increase in exposure to more people. 

To learn more about the Sand Creek Road expansion and the Sciortino Ranch project please visit http://sciortinoranch.com

 

If you are a local business owner, you need to learn about a great local resource called EASTBAY Works.  EASTBAY Works is a network of 13 One-Stop Business and Career Centers located throughout Alameda and Contra Costa Counties in Northern California.  EASTBAY Works makes the following business services available to business owners free of charge:

• Business Consultations
• Business-to-Business Referrals
• Labor Market Information
• Permit and Licensing Information
• Customized Training for New and Existing Employees
• Conference and Meeting Facilities
• Staffing Assistance

The business services listed above include assistance with filling job vacancies, economic development, HR Services, entrepreneurial and home based business resources, downsizing resources, and rapid response assistance for employers.

To learn more about the business services provided by EASTBAY Works visit http://www.eastbayworks.com/categories.php?id=1 or call Susi O’Bryant of Contra Costa County at (925) 671-4542.

You can also find the One-Stop Career Center near you at 281 Pine Street, Brentwood, CA 94513.  Office hours are Monday through Friday 8:30am to 5:00pm and the office line is (925) 634-2195.

It's time for Cornfest! So strap on your cowboy boots and join the fun. The Brentwood Chamber of Commerce will be hosting its annual festival on July 7th from 5:00pm to 10:00pm, July 8th from 10:30am to 9:00pm, and July 9th from 10:30am to 6:00pm. The event will be held at Brentwood City Park, surrounded by Second Street from Liberty High School to Oak Street. General Admission is ten dollars for adults and five dollars for students and seniors who are 65 or older. Children under the age of five will get in free!

Each year, Cornfest draws thousands of people from the local and surrounding communities. If you are new to Brentwood or the local community, this is a great opportunity to meet wonderful families, new friends, and business owners. The festival will also be packed with attractions and activities for the whole family. There will be live music, a carnival, a car show, pony rides, arts and crafts, great food, local wines and microbrews, a kid's zone, Friday night fireworks, info alley, and plenty of corn!

This event showcases the City of Brentwood as one of the fastest growing communities in Contra Costa County. In fact, Brentwood has experienced population growth of 104.05 percent since 2000. As of 2009, Brentwood boasts a population of 48,448 people making it an excellent location for new businesses and families. Without the help of new local businesses like Fremont Bank, Cornfest would not be the successful event that it is. The Brentwood branch of Fremont Bank which is located in the Sand Creek Plaza across from the Sand Creek Business Center, Brentwood's office and retail hub!

Other event sponsors include the City of Brentwood, Coca Cola, Bud Light, The Monthly Grapevine, Brentwood Press and Publishing, Mike's Auto Body, Black Bear Diner, Kohl's, and many more. If you are interested in sponsorship opportunities for your business contact the Brentwood Chamber of Commerce.

You will not want to miss out on this wonderful event, the opportunity to meet your neighbors, and learn more about your local community!

This week at the Sand Creek Business Center we would like to focus on another valued tenant, Sunny Dental. As you know the Sand Creek Business Center offers many services to our tenants, but the one service mostly taken advantage of is our free custom website for our new tenants. In 2007 Sunny Dental broke through to the World Wide Web by taking advantage of our offer. By doing so their website has expanded their business to the online community.

The Sunny Dental website was designed locally by JVF Consulting, LLC, the San Francisco Bay Area leader for custom built websites. With professional creativity coupled with clean designs, the foundation for Sunny Dental to be a successful website has been built, and will truly withstand the test of time. The Sunny Dental website can be found at www.sunnydentalca.com.

As seen in the screenshot below, the website is clean and user-friendly which allows for easy access to their contact information. It clearly displays that they are bilingual in Spanish. Browse the Sunny Dental website and tell us what you think of the design. We would love to hear your feedback.

Helping our tenants while providing quality service is what we're known for, and we will continue to offer the same great services to all new tenants at the Sand Creek Business Center. We are the leaders in giving you customized services at competitive rates. To see what spaces are currently available visit our available spaces page!

Be sure to mention our free website design offer to your business partners. To view the offer at anytime just visit the Sand Creek Business Center website and click on our tenant services page to see for yourself.

Our tenant Broder Jewelry has an amazing website that we would like to showcase this week. As advertised on the Sand Creek Business Center website, each of our tenants are eligible for a free custom three page site that will begin to promote their online presence. Broder Jewelry was quick to take advantage of this amazing offer and the end result has benefited them all around. To read more about the tenant services SCBC has to offer, including the free website offer Broder Jewelry took advantage of, visit the tenant services page.

The custom web site which was designed locally by JVF Consulting, LLC, the San Francisco Bay Area leader for custom designed websites can be found at the url www.broderjewelry.com.

Mark Broder has been making fine jewelry for over 24 years. Mark is a second generation jeweler who has became a master stone setter and hand engraver. He was educated in diamond grading by the Gemological Institute of America and works directly with customers designing custom pieces. His reputation for quality has retail stores, manufacturers and top designers from around the country consistently seeking his services. Located in the Sand Creek Business Center in Brentwood, CA, prospective customers can now find them on the World Wide Web thanks to JVF Consulting and the free website SCBC offers to their new tenants through their special offer.

Whether you're looking for diamonds, gemstones or a one-of-a-kind custom creation in gold or platinum, Mark will work one on one with you to design and create the perfect piece of fine jewelry. He can use stones from old jewelry you no longer wear or supply new stones, including GIA certified diamonds. Broder Jewelry recognizes that its success is contingent upon the health and vitality of the community it serves, and they would like to thank the SCBC for their continued efforts in the community.

At the Sand Creek Business Center our highly trained personnel are constantly being reminded that this is a service business. In this case, the service we provide is the maintenance and administration of usable space and while providing effective communications and response. With excellent communication between the management and tenants, establishing and maintaining a positive tenant relation results in an effective business model. At the SCBC we look forward to building more meaningful relations with our community partners, so if you're in the market for retail, general office, medical, or research & development spaces in the San Francisco East Bay, we're the place you have been looking for!