A conversation with local business owners and grass-roots / digital marketing specialists in partnership with Voices of the Community.

The AMA SF and Voices of the Community radio show and podcast co-developed an interactive workshop to shine a light on local Bay Area small business owners, their stories, and the marketing tactics that every small business or micro-enterprise should be evaluating today!

Hear from small business owners, Michelle Pusateri (Nana Joes Granola) and Kristen Houk (All Good Pizza,TATO & Cafe Alma), and community and economic development lead, Pooja Rajani (En2Action), on what has worked, what hasn’t, and what marketing questions are still top-of-mind during this unprecedented time.

Digital Marketing Specialist, Rebecca Bertoldi, of Rebecca Bertoldi Marketing Company and Valerie Camarda, Marketing Consultant with the City of San Francisco’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC), were also on hand to answer these questions and share cost-effective, digital marketing best practices that any small business owner should consider and implement.

SPEAKERS

George Koster (Moderator), Voices of the Community, Radio Show and Podcast | LinkedIn | Voices of the Community

George Koster is the producer and host of the radio show and podcast series known as Voices of the Community. George has over 20 years of expertise in developing and implementing innovative and integrated public, private, philanthropic, and strategic partnerships. He has worked with companies from eBay, Paramount Pictures, and Lucasfilm, with Cities/Counties like San Francisco, Placer, and Stockton to nonprofits such as Hack the Hood, KIVA, and LISC.

In 2014, George created Voices of the Community (VOC) – a public affairs radio show and podcast born out of his longtime love of radio and audio storytelling. George worked with the San Francisco Public Press to secure the funding to launch the grassroots community-centric radio station KSFP 102.5FM where Voices of the Community is broadcast.

At the beginning of the Covid-19 Pandemic, George created a new radio and podcast series examining how nonprofit organizations in San Francisco are managing challenges brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. The Voices of the Community thought leaders and change-makers share their experiences and solutions to critical issues facing Northern California communities.

Additionally, over the past ten years, George has participated as a board member, committee member and consulted with nonprofits in the social enterprise, affordable housing, economic development, and cultural sectors.

Kristin Houk, Chef / Owner, All Good Pizza, Tato, and Cafe Alma | LinkedIn | All Good Pizza

Kristin Houk is the chef-owner of All Good Pizza, Tato, and Cafe Alma. With over 30 years of experience in the hospitality and food industry, she is focused on providing community-centric spaces that encourage collaboration and support of local resources.

All Good Pizza was founded in 2012 as a community-centric food hub that serves brick oven pizzas and another lunch fare that highlights and utilizes local Bayview resources such as the Molinari salami company, Evergood Sausage, and Veritable Vegetable. All Good regularly hosts community events, local non-profits, farmers’ markets, and local makers’ markets. Tato was established in 2017 in homage to Kristin’s family from Michoacan and Mexico City, Mexico. Named after her son, Tato is about family and community and the time-honored tradition of bringing people together by way of good food, good times, and good conversation. Cafe Alma was established in 2019 as India Basin’s only cafe serving fresh and vibrant breakfast and lunch. Also an incubator for aspiring young entrepreneurs, Cafe Alma regularly hosts pop-ups with local chefs and a marketplace for local products. To find out more about Kristin’s three restaurants as well as the community events and guest chef events please go to all good pizza .com, tatosf.com, and caféalmasf.com.

Michelle Pusateri, Founder, Nana Joes Granola | LinkedIn | Nana Joes Granola

Michelle Pusateri is the founder and owner of Nana Joes Granola. Michelle got the idea for Nana Joes Granola while learning to surf at Ocean Beach. She always craved a bowl of granola when she got out of the water, but was shocked and disappointed to find that many of the options in her local grocery store were full of sweeteners, preservatives and most importantly weren’t gluten free.

Being a Culinary Institute of America trained pastry chef she decided to make her own granola and developed recipes with enough fat, fiber, and protein to sustain her. What started as a way to sustain her surfing habit turned into feeding friends and family and eventually the whole neighborhood and now the entire Bay Area.

In 2010 Nana Joes Granola was born with the goal of bringing whole food ingredients back to the grocery store shelves while supporting the local community. She believes breakfast should be a meal that nourishes and sustains you which is why all Nana Joes Granola products are made with 100% natural ingredients, with no preservatives, and sweetened with just a touch of maple syrup. She thinks it is a necessity to put community before profits which is why at Nana Joes Granola they ensure each one of their employees is making above minimum wage and has lots of opportunities to grow so they never have to work an entry-level kitchen job again.

Rebecca Bertoldi, Digital Marketing Specialist / Owner, | LinkedIn | Rebecca Bertoldi Marketing Co.

Rebecca has spent most of her 20+ year marketing career catering to small businesses to give them the tools they need to stand out and reach new customers. She has helped small business owners get the biggest impact for any size budget. Her ideas and unique ways to connect with audiences keep her clients coming back year after year.

Prior to returning to the East Coast in 2020, Rebecca was a board member of AMASF, helping to build the social media content and programming. She has had a myriad of opportunities to expand her skills with projects in Europe, Canada and India along with some companies that had a wide global reach.

Her clients now span all over the world and she found a passion for educating business owners and creating courses.

Valerie Camarda, Marketing Consultant / Owner, | LinkedIn | Marketing Sense | SF Business Development Center (SFBDC)

Valerie is a third-generation entrepreneur who began her marketing career in corporate America working for Fortune 500 companies including Castle and Cooke Foods and Pepsico. For the last 25 years, as the owner of Marketing Sense, she helps small businesses and non-profits successfully market their organizations.

She has served on the Board of the SFAMA three times in a variety of roles including Membership Chair, VP of Marketing Communications and as Sponsorship liaison. While on the Board as VP of Marketing Communications she was instrumental in helping the chapter win “Turnaround Chapter of the Year”. In 2014 she won the Volunteer of the Year award.

Currently, Valerie holds a contract with the City of San Francisco’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) where she provides one-on-one consulting to small business owners, teaches marketing and does a series of Fireside Chats with some of the city’s most successful small business owners.

Pooja Rajani , Director of Programs , En2action |LinkedIn | En2action

Pooja Rajani is the director of programs at En2action. Pooja started her project management career in the healthcare industry and has expertise in digital marketing and content marketing as well.

En2action was established in 2019 as a community-based nonprofit organization with a mission to serve and collaborate with individuals, nonprofit and for-profit entities, delivering services through three program areas: community development, economic development, and education.

Pooja has worked on projects that involved planning, organizing, and executing outreach to community residents, merchants, and key stakeholders in the diverse neighborhoods in the City of San Francisco, with expertise in BIPOC neighborhoods. She has worked and provided support to several small businesses, entrepreneurs, and microenterprises through programs and events like, “Ujamaa Kitchen”, “Bayview Bistro”, “Bayview Uncorked”, “Bayview Summer Music Series”, and most recently, “Sell Black”.