With the frightening statistic that 50% of all youth coming out of the foster care system wind up homeless, combined with record labor shortages across most employment sectors, it’s time for businesses and communities to think of alternative answers, and perhaps more job training and internships are a solution. Cody Clark from The Coffee Oasis will share the different programs they administer with youth in Kitsap County, with an emphasis on The Coffee Oasis’ job training and internship programs. Presenter: Cody Clark Cody Clark was born and raised in Kitsap County, graduating from South Kitsap High in 2009 and from Covenant Bible Seminary with a BA in Theology in 2019. Cody has been serving as the Community Development Lead for The Coffee Oasis since April of 2019. He strives to build and maintain relationships with businesses and the Chambers of Commerce throughout Kitsap County to support the work The Coffee Oasis is doing to help homeless and at-risk youth in the community.

Jennifer Filzen discusses how you can use social media to your advantage. owner of Rock Star Marketing in Monterey, California. Jennifer’s marketing agency is the category king of storytelling for the auto repair industry, and she will be sharing her marketing wisdom with our group. Some of the topics include: What is new for social media in 2022? What do the changes in Facebook mean for the average business owner? Why are video marketing and podcasting so important? How can you use social media to attract workers and clients to your business?

Too many business leaders fail to set effective goals because they don’t start with the aspirational identity they seek and then set effective goals to achieve what they want. Success is so much more than metrics and KPIs. It’s about how you plan to achieve those goals. You need to ask yourself the big question – who, and what, do I want to be? Are You Ready to Commit to Making It Happen This Year? Learn the keys to making reasonable and measurable progress in 2022. Attend our Business Planning Workshop and work alongside other professionals as you create a vision and map out the actionable steps needed to reach your goals. PRESENTERS As the founder of the Cadre Concept and a learner in all things business, Shane McGraw‘s mission is to encourage others to show up as the best version of themselves. For over a decade, Shane has been a lead producer in some of the largest mortgage companies and owns several strategic businesses. He is always chasing audacious goals, which now include professional coaching. Shane is a veteran, husband, father, and leader in his community. Over the last five years, Acaia Mayfield, co-founder of the Cadre Concept, has devoted her energy to personal development and business coaching. She’s spent years learning systems, studying the art of working with people, attending conferences, and leading multiple companies all with the goal of becoming a better woman, wife, and leader.

Regulations change on a regular basis. Frank Warner, CPA, will share the changes coming in 2022 and how we can be prepared. Topics will include: What financial regulations will be changing in 2022 and 2023 What we can do to best financially prepare ourselves and our businesses for these changes PRESENTER Frank Warner has over 40 years of experience in the financial services industry. In addition to being an expert in college and retirement financial planning, he is the owner of his own CPA firm located in Silverdale, WA where he has been since 1981. Frank graduated from Lehigh University in 1970 with a BS in Business Administration. Although he has no idea where his diploma is, he can still readily locate his lime green pure polyester slacks and plaid sports jacket, the true uniform of the 1970s. In 1975 he received his MBA from Pace University in New York City where he worked at Price Waterhouse and Co. on Wall Street. Following his stint on Wall Street, Frank relocated to the Pacific Northwest where he has been ever since.

Are you looking for an innovative technology to bring to market that will launch a new company, improve a product line, or diversify your product offerings? In this Kitsap Business Forum, you’ll learn how to discover and access a pool of untapped government-funded intellectual property (IP)—readily available to move to Washington state-based industries as well as those across the U.S. You’ll realize how easy it is to work with a government organization as Sara demystifies the technology transfer and licensing process. To inspire your thinking, Sara also will describe just a sampling of clean energy technologies that could be deployed in the Pacific Northwest. PRESENTER Sara Hunt, Commercialization Manager, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Sara Hunt is a commercialization manager for Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) located in the Seattle office. She is responsible for identifying promising PNNL-developed technologies, overseeing technology development and demonstration, securing intellectual property assets, marketing novel technologies, and negotiating business terms to transfer technologies to private industry where they can be matured into commercial products and services. The technology portfolio Sara manages includes advanced manufacturing, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and environmental monitoring.

Homelessness is a complex problem. What role does business play in the homelessness crisis? Hear from our panel about homelessness issues in Kitsap County. Explore ways local businesses can help alleviate the homeless crisis in our community. PANELISTS Stacy B. Doré, Director of Development, Kitsap Community Resources Josh Hinman, Executive Paster, Newlife Church-Silverdale

With so many social media “tools” out there your work toolbox may be closer to a tool shed by now. So why care about Google My Business (GMB)? GMB is a solution to many problems that today’s small business experience including being seen digitally. In this Kitsap Business Forum, you’ll learn how GMB is the gateway to two of the most powerful apps in the world: GoogleSearch and Maps. Find out why you should claim your business today and if you already have, how you can maximize the efficiency of what GMB does for you and your brand. Join us for this Google Master workshop. TAKEAWAYS How GMB controls what people see on Google Search and Google Maps Why using different types of posts on GMB is necessary Why GMB isn’t just a social media platform PRESENTER Drake Austin Drake Austin is a Google specialist. He is the owner of Drake Austin Consulting where he helps Kitsap businesses and local startups maximize the value of their Google Workspace subscriptions. With over 10 years of professional Google experience and Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) certified, Drake calls himself “Google Master.” Drake is also the digital production manager at NeoLuxe Marketing where he oversees web development and automation production. Drake transplanted from Florida to Kitsap in 2017.

In this Uplift Kitsap, we’ll look at limiting beliefs and how they affect your success. Transformational mindset coach Bonnie McVee walks us through one of the biggest mindset issues among entrepreneurs and business owners, something she calls “the tired old path.” McVee connects the hamster wheel of life we often get caught up in to the science behind why we get stuck. Takeaways The difference between Default and Essence energies and how to shift The science behind how doing “the work” impacts your overall success How to identify yourself on the tired old path and action steps for how to get onto a new path Presenter: Bonnie McVee Bonnie McVee is a transformational mindset coach. Hairdresser turned life coach by way of recovery and cancer survival. An expert on life’s transitions, she now guides her clients facing a life transition to free them from their unseen default energies into their essence energy becoming aware of the patterns that no longer work for them so that they can get unstuck and not repeat the past. Bonnie uses her unique gifts of intuition and pattern recognition for faster results.

When was the last time your team experienced healthy conflict, fought over ideas, and left feeling more unified than divided? These moments are the makers of great teams. Being able to debate ideas instead of attacking others is key. Instead of tiptoeing around what needs to be said or bulldozing through, we can leverage differences to bring positive outcomes and competitive advantage. Jonathan Stone Jonathan Stone has served as a leader and teacher at Newlife for the past 15 years. He also has led international teams for 10 years through Youth with a Mission.

Over 78 percent of business owners are expecting the sale of their business to be a major part of their retirement plan, but most have no idea how to go about selling (or buying) a business. As more small business owners are on the home stretch to retirement, many people want to be certain that they can transition the business to new leadership that will respect the integrity of their business. How can you both make sure your clients are taken care of and you still get top dollar for all of your years of sweat equity and hard work? What happens if some of your children want to run the business, and some don’t? AND as a buyer of a business, how do you make yourself attractive to the seller? Program Highlights Real life stories of successful (and some not so successful) business transition plans Ways to plan, in advance, for a smooth transition as you sell your business Ways to make sure you have security from the new buyer after you sell your business Cost effective solutions you can use to prepare for giving your business to family members (while treating the non-interested family members fairly) What makes a buyer attractive to a seller Presenter: Matt Augspurger is a wealth advisor and speaker. As a fiduciary, he focuses on holistic wealth management and retirement planning. He has been seen in various local publications and events, such as Seattle Magazine, Forbes, and The Wall Street Journal, Uplift Kitsap, and Compass & Clock Magazine. Matthew comes from a family of educators and his passion for teaching shines through. He is a dynamic speaker focusing on memorable ideas, understandable explanations, and the message of clarity that provides clients with sound, unbiased, and independent financial solutions.