Mission Statement
Our mission: With individual entrepreneurs, overcome the unique challenges of East Oakland as they find employment and self-sufficiency through a micro-business startup.
We offer three areas of service:
1. eBay training and assistance. This is provided because most of our clients are not familiar with online commerce, and eBay provides a convenient introduction to this sector. This is provided at no charge.
2. Graphic arts and photography. This allows us to assist those who have a small start-up businesses already underway, and want to take it to a higher level. They need affordable marketing materials, such as four-color flyers, business cards, brochures, postcards, and the like. We offer these at very low cost.
3. Our core offering is business planning guidance and assistance. This is taylored to the needs of each entrepreneur, and we strive to offer each participant a level of assistance that maximizes their success.
Description
Incubating Community Jobs
Eastmont Auctions (eBay services)
Show Your Stuff (aka Eastmont Photography and Design)
I.C.Jobs is an independent public charity (501(c)(3)), located in Oakland, Ca. It serves low-income, unemployed or under-employed young adults (19 and up) in the Oakland vicinity or anywhere in the Bay Area. Our mission is to assist this segment of the population to find employment and become economically self-sufficient through the mechanism of microenterprise. Microenterprise is a proven anti-poverty strategy that builds business skills and new ways of thinking, establishing a culture of business success for a disadvantaged population that may not have experienced this from our economy.
I.C. Jobs uses a new core curriculum to educate entrepreneurs in all of the areas of business. The modules for our micro-business launch program include: business planning, market research, sales and marketing; operations; budgeting, bookkeeping, tax, and regulations; start-up financing; and ecommerce.
Under the wing of I.C. Jobs we have started 2 for-profit businesses of our own in order to make money for the overall non-profit business as well as to give an example and model to some of out future entrepreneurs.
Eastmont Auctions was the first business we started. It is our eBay consignment store. Eastmont Auctions offers training and services in Internet sales. Entrepreneurs have the opportunity to learn eBay skills from eBay University, for free, then create their own ID and PayPal account right in our office. If the business men and women are ready, they can become sales affiliates, and offer selling services to the community. We can also teach the entrepreneurs to do-it-themselves. We provide the skills and infrastructure for quick start-up and ongoing success.
Show Your Stuff Photo Studio is our second business and our photo studio, by and for entrepreneurs. The photo studio is outfitted for product or people photography. You can see us on MySpace at www.myspace.com/ShowYourStuff510. For sellers on eBay, who have graduated from our eBay class, it's product photos for posting. For clothing designers, hair designers, and nail designers, a top-notch portfolio can open doors. For artisans, a place to showcase your talents. We also create video slide shows, set to music, that convey the best wishes of a loving family to anyone celebrating a special occasion - from wedding to big birthday to family reunion. If people bring us their pictures and supplement them with a few in our studio, we can create something they will treasure. Satisfaction is guaranteed.
