Kern Economic Development Resources for Small Businesses

On this week’s free webinar, host and SBDC director, Kelly Bearden is joined by Kern County Assistant Administrative Officer Stacy Kuwahara, and Chief Workforce Development Officer Brandon Evans to discuss a variety of resources available to help small businesses.

Kuwahara gives an update on the Kern Biz Façade Improvement Grant, and an overview of the online Kern Economic Development Dashboard that includes a property search tool, various state, local and national incentives for businesses, and quarterly updates of local job-related information.

Evans provides details of the free on-the-job training program available to businesses in Inyo, Kern, and Mono counties through Employers’ Training Resource, and ETR’s ability to help pay for job candidates to go through the training.

This marks the 358th episode of the “Webinar Wednesday” business series that provides news and information helpful to employers and business owners.

The CSU Bakersfield SBDC provides free one-on-one help to small business owners. New and existing businesses can go to https://csubsbdc.com/ for more information or to sign up to meet with a business advisor at no cost.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Intro

00:24 What’s up today September 10, 2025

01:51 Capital Corridor – Strategic Partnering and Joint Ventures

05:36 NextTech Kern 2025 at CSU Bakersfield on Thursday, October 2

– AI in Business, AI in Academia, AI in Security

https://www.csub.edu/nexttechkern/

10:59 Subscribe to our CSUB YouTube Channel @csubsbdc

– How to use your retirement funds to start a small business https://youtu.be/2Yr0lAYuTp4

– Understanding SBA504 loans https://youtu.be/q126YflBtx8

13:04 Local Success Story featured at the National ASBDC conference in Florida

https://csubsbdc.com/client-story/ten-moore-books/