Riverside area small business fair on Tuesday

Last week, the Riverside Press Enterprise ran a story that looked at a small business fair that will be hosted on Tuesday. Excerpt:

"The key is weathering the times right now," said Cindy Roth, president of the Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce.

Her group has partnered with the city of Riverside and The Press-Enterprise to host a small business fair Tuesday. Of the chamber's members, 75 percent are businesses with 20 or fewer employees.

From 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Riverside Convention Center, experts will be teaching free courses on marketing, financing strategies, business plans, getting contracts with government agencies and colleges, the do's and don'ts of layoffs and how to manage costs.

Read the rest here, including the story of Lake Elsinore's The Graphics Company, forced to downsize to a home-based business.

After working out of a rented 5,000 square-foot space since 2004, Kim Staudenmayer -- owner of The Graphics Co. in Lake Elsinore -- downsized and moved the business into her home....Staudenmayer said her large format printing business started to sour in November 2007 as she lost customers.

Ironically, or perhaps intentionally, the Press Enterprise article appears to be more up-to-date than the Graphics Company's own website.

Our new 5000 sq. ft. facility has proven to be a great move for The Graphics Company. "Maybe 10,000 would have been better" says Kim Staudenmayer ceo and owner. "Filling the bays on a daily basis hasn't been a problem." Our new location by Lake E, the test lake for some of the fastest powerboats on the water, has definately contributed to this fast growing companies success.

What a difference a few years makes. A business that was growing in 2004 is now shrinking in 2009, and the Graphics Company probably isn't the only small business that is becoming smaller.

The fair, by the way, is at 3443 Orange Street in Riverside.


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