North Bay Business Journal

Sonoma County BEST (Building Economic Success Together) kicked off the “100 in 100″ effort on March 18. …

Petaluma Educational Foundation has been seeing increased activity in its TEC initiative, short for “Transforming Education in the Classroom.” …

Riley Flanagan, an eighth-grade student at Sonoma Country Day School, hosted a wine dinner in Healdsburg to benefit the the Community Child Care Council of Sonoma County (4Cs). …

Santa Rosa-based Zap said it is adding compressed natural gas power to its line of alternative-energy vehicles. …

Viña Perez Cruz appointed Sebastopol-based Paul Hobbs Imports as its U.S. importer. …

DAOU Vineyards and Winery of Paso Robles has retained Napa-based Wine Spoken Here. …

Santa Rosa-based Food & Wine Trails announced six new “wine shore adventures” for 2013. …

Marin County’s largest city and civic hub, San Rafael, wants to boost its appeal as a commercial center, and a number of interrelated local government and business group efforts are in motion with the goal of making that happen.

(This is the first in a series of four articles on the Four Cornerstones for Business Success.) There are very few (if any) shortcuts, easy answers or simple solutions to the demanding complexities of starting, growing and leading a successful enterprise.

Media headlines, email promotions and book jacket covers might suggest that someone has discovered a breakthrough method for guaranteed success, but genuinely new concepts are few and far between.

To be sure, there’s new packaging, new perspectives, and new insights that are welcome and valuable, but the stuff of managing and leading is much more about doing the hard work, mastering the fundamentals on a consistent basis, than about the application of a new technique or program.

The Business Journal requests your help in researching a new list of North Bay companies that provide website development and social media consulting services.

Companies in Marin County are optimistic about the region’s current business climate, eying expansion both locally and outside of Marin, according to a first-ever survey of Marin County businesses by Bank of Marin and North Bay Business Journal.

ROHNERT PARK — In his annual economic forecast at the Sonoma State University Economic Outlook Conference, Dr. Robert Eyler, director of the university’s Center for Regional Economic Analysis, said that the six North Bay counties of Marin, Sonoma, Napa, Solano, Mendocino and Lake could expect “broad growth” across various sectors through 2014.

A new office for the federally administered Small Business Development Center program opened Friday in Santa Rosa, expected to be joined by a first-ever Marin County office later this year. The two locations boost the physical presence for the national program along the Highway 101 corridor in the North Bay.

Executives of Sonoma County businesses are more confident about the current and near-term future prospects for the local economy than 2006, when the local economy started slowing, and are even more positive about their own industries, according to report released today.

And the business outlook over the next six months for Sonoma County is positive in several industries, according to a periodic survey commissioned by the Sonoma County Economic Development Board.

It is becoming increasingly more difficult for small wineries to navigate the business terrain in light of the continued consolidation that is taking place among wholesalers, and the escalating operating-cost structures that have resulted from a supply shortage of grapes and bulk wine.

Before jumping ahead with the purchase of a large acre estate, it is essential to assess the marketplace and strategy for your potential brand.

The herd of beef cattle at Petaluma’s Spring Hill Ranch is now certified by the Alexandria, Va.-based Animal Welfare Approved program. …

Working Solutions, a nonprofit microlender that recently opened an office in San Rafael, recently funded Marin County businesses. …

Three wines produced by students at Santa Rosa Junior College won medals in the 2013 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. Shone Farm 2010 pinot noir won a gold medal, while its 2009 syrah and 2011 rosé won a silver and bronze, respectively, in the January competition. …

Keiretsu Forum, a large global private-equity angel investment network, and The Venture Greenhouse at Dominican University of California plan to hold the Green Technology Investment Showcase on April 3 from 1–4:30 p.m. at the early-stage green business accelerator in San Rafael. …

An abandoned elementary school on Main Street in the west Sonoma County’s Monte Rio community will be transformed into a destination where residents and visitors can enjoy a café, hiking trail, a skate park and a community farm. …

Patsy Van Ouwerkerk, president and CEO of Travis Credit Union in Vacaville, was named chairman of the Solano Economic Development Corp. board of directors. …

Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce announced its 2013 board of directors. …

Jonathan Eldridge was named vice president of student services for College of Marin. …

Jerry Dunn will become the new human services director for the county of Sonoma. …

James Keller has been hired by the Napa Sanitation District to fill the vacancy left by former plant manager Sharleen Maglione, who retired in December after 28 years with the district. …

Tom Kemper joined Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage as a sales associate and technology consultant in its Santa Rosa office. …

Following a year when Sonoma County businesses provided some of the fastest job growth in the nation, local economic-development groups are rolling out initiatives to continue the momentum in 2013.

HEALDSBURG — In an era of slow growth and continuing high unemployment, Healdsburg has become the latest city to begin exploring ways to increase jobs, stimulate commercial occupancy and grow its tax base by utilizing the strength of its existing technology hub to attract and retain firms and support a business incubator.

In October, the City of Benicia received the coveted and prestigious IEDC (International Economic Development Council) “Excellence in Economic Development” Award for their new Business Resource Incentive Program.

This new program, an implementation strategy identified in the city’s recently adopted Business Development Action Plan, was designed to marry the city’s two top priorities; economic development and sustainability.

The San Rafael Chamber of Commerce recently announced the appointment of several new officers and directors. …

Strong & Hayden Commercial Real Estate announced its agent Michael Holcomb earned the CCIM designation. …

Friends House, a not-for-profit continuing care retirement community in Santa Rosa, and Pacific Retirement Services, Inc., a not-for-profit senior housing and care provider that manages Friends House through its California affiliate, Retirement Services, LLC, announced that Travis Staples has been appointed to the position of executive director. …

The Pacific Coast Air Museum Board of Directors has selected Christina Olds as its new director of museum operations. …

Marin resident Shirin Vakharia joined the California Alliance for Arts Education board of directors. It’s a statewide arts education advocacy organization based in Pasadena and Sacramento. …

The Petaluma Community Foundation has appointed six new members to its board of trustees since its relocation downtown in August. …

Nick Frey, president of the Sonoma County Winegrape Commission, will lead the Sonoma County Harvest Fair as board president for 2013. …

Nine Solano County businesses were honored at the annual Spirit of Solano luncheon Dec. 6 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Fairfield. …

Basin Street Properties is offering a new Tenant Advantage Program (basin-street.com/tenant-advantage-program), which offers exclusive discounts and promotions for companies and their employees who work in Basin Street’s 44-building Northern California and Northern Nevada commercial and mixed-use property portfolio in Petaluma, Santa Rosa, Sacramento and Reno, Nev. …

On its 65th anniversary, The Ledcor Group of Companies, which has a construction office in Napa, announced a $150,000 donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation to be shared in Napa and 11 other cities across North America with Ledcor operations. …

Bank of Marin announced the nine local winners of their third annual high school photography contest. …

San Rafael-based SportsMark Management Group, the official corporate hospitality management partner and exclusive global sales agent of the America’s Cup Club hospitality program, launched the sales of 2013 America’s Cup Club packages. …

Florida-based Halifax Media Group has agreed to sell the Press Democrat, North Bay Business Journal and Petaluma Argus-Courier to a group of local investors lead by Sonoma Media Investments, LLC, which purchased the Sonoma Index-Tribune earlier this year.

NORTH BAY — While many North Bay small businesses continue to grapple with the lingering challenges that emerged during the worst part of the recession, regional experts agree that key strategies have helped some companies to position themselves more strongly in a changed business landscape.

The key to strategic planning in today’s business environment is to initially focus less on the environment and more on you and your business. Go back in time – not 5 years to the “good ol’ days”, but to those gloriously sleepless nights when you were so excited about that idea that you were formulating. Go back to the “you know, I think this could work” moment – to your peaks of professional passion. Force yourself to not ask the question “why am I doing this?” in the negative sense, but ask it in the reinvigorating, inspirational sense.

SAN RAFAEL — The Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center in San Rafael (www.rencenter.org, (415) 755-1115) has expanded its programs since officially opening its doors in late June, welcoming an in-house small business microlender to its facility and unveiling a commercial kitchen to support a swell of North Bay entrepreneurs in the food and beverage sector.