Pamela Smith and Chef Walker C. Smith, owners of Sadies Kitchen and Catering had the opportunity to give a brief pitch to some of the industry leaders from Zappos, El Cortez Hotel, Cox Communications and many other local companies during the Business Opportunity Fair at the International Innovation Center in Las Vegas. August 21 2023. Brian Ramos
Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023 | 2 a.m.
Sadie’s Kitchen and Catering in downtown Las Vegas prides itself on being a family business.
Pamela Smith, who runs Sadie’s with her husband and chef Walker Smith, said the catering company was all about making sure that when people leave an event they’ve catered, they’re still thinking about the food.
“And the food is not just any food,” said Smith, noting that she and her husband relocated themselves and their business to Las Vegas about five years ago. “It’s good food.”
The Smiths are just one of dozens of small-business owners who graduated this week from the Downtown Vegas Alliance’s business incubation program — a free, six-month session supported by the city of Las Vegas and aimed at helping minority-owned and micro businesses.
Participants in the program’s first cohort — all licensed businesses with an annual revenue of under $500,000 — have met once monthly since March to engage in training on financial and legal planning, business planning, social media and more, said Shahn Douglas, executive director of the Downtown Vegas Alliance.
“These people have been committed,” she said. “And they have been really receptive to the speakers that we’ve had and the programs that we’ve offered them, so I think overall they loved the networking with other businesses as well. And today’s their opportunity to meet some of the business leaders in the community.”
Following a brief ceremony, during which they received certificates for their participation in the program, more than 20 Las Vegas business owners manned booths displaying their products, assets and more in a “Business Opportunity Fair.”
Local business leaders and executives were then able to meander around and mingle with the individual business owners, who had the chance to market their products, which included gourmet popcorn, elementary tutoring, marketing, grant writing and more.
“They’re the heart of our city, the small businesses,” Douglas said. “I mean, we wouldn’t be Las Vegas without our small-business community. So, we’re so thrilled to be here and support and help cultivate a community of small businesses.”
The program was fostered in collaboration between Downtown Vegas Alliance, Urban Chamber of Commerce, Latin Chamber of Commerce, and Prestamos CDFI, a division of Chicanos Por La Causa.
“It is very important for the community to support our small businesses because they are the backbone of our community,” said Dalisa Steward, operations and program manager at the Urban Chamber of Commerce.
“ Making sure that we’re creating opportunities for them to not only educate themselves, build their business, credit and build capacity for their company is really important,” she said
Whether companies are startups or have been in business for more than a decade, they must continue to not only work “in” their business, but “on” it, Steward said.
“Sometimes you have to be able to step back and do programs like this, to start to plan and be strategic about how you’re going to grow your business,” she said, emphasizing the importance of hearing different speakers on business ownership, building credit and more through the program. “So I hope that they use this as a springboard to make connections.”
Carlos Gomez, vice president of business development at the Latin Chamber of Commerce, said many mom-and-pop shops are so focused on their business, they don’t know the system or what resources are available to them when it comes to licensing, resources, education and more.
“It’s mainly about resources,” said Frank Ruvalcaba, business development officer at Prestamos CDFI. “Because they don’t know where to start or where to go and seek help. And there’s a lot of funding out there. There’s a lot of opportunity for them, but they just don’t know what to tap into. So, we’re like the stepping stone for them to be successful.”
The program was ultimately a “wealth of information,” Smith said, and a wonderful experience.
“You can’t be an expert (at) everything,” she said. “But when you have a small business, there are a lot of things you need to be an expert at, whether it be training resources, finance — you name it. So, what happens is, when you get with these programs, they help you. Especially with your weaknesses. Where you don’t shine, they can put you with who you need.”
Applications for the second cohort of the program will open within the next couple of months, and Smith said she would recommend it to other small-business owners for the opportunities.
At the Business Opportunity Fair specifically, Smith said she had the chance to speak with an executive from El Cortez — an opportunity she wouldn’t have had without taking advantage of support for local small business.
“There’s always something to gain from learning,” she said. “And then, at the end, you get introduced to all these downtown businesses. You can’t beat that.”
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