With a grant from the San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development, Urban Solutions is supporting the marketing and promotions of the Fillmore Entertainment District. Visit The Fillmore District website for one of San Francisco's best places to go for events and places to dine and shop.

San Francisco's Fillmore district has been underserved by business support organizations despite its reservoir of untapped entrepreneurial talent and historic status as one of San Francisco's vibrant and distinctive communities.
      Urban Solutions opened a satellite office in the Fillmore in April 2004 in recognition of the need for a community-based service for local entrepreneurs and business owners. Since then more than 200 entrepreneurs have been served through a combination of technical assistance and loan packaging services.

Services, provided at no charge to entrepreneurs, small businesses and local residents, include:

• Loan packaging
• Business plan and financial statement development
• Help with identifying potential lenders
• Workshops and seminars
• Business advice and referrals

Urban Solutions has offered workshops on a variety of topics including marketing, small business insurance, repairing your credit, commercial leasing and buying a business.

Urban Solutions offers business plan assistance designed to meet the needs of small business owners and individuals interested in starting or expanding a business.

To make an appointment at the Fillmore office call (415) 567-4137.

 

Urban Solutions is the leading small business services provider in the Fillmore / Western Addition, continuously designing programs and services that meet the needs of the community.

Current Programs

Small Business Technical Assistance

From our offices in the West Bay Conference Center, Urban Solutions provides low- and moderate-income small businesses with financial education, financing, marketing, human resources, and other business support services through one-on-one consulting and business development workshops.

Legal Office Hours

Small businesses make appointments with Urban Solutions for meeting with a pro bono lawyer in our Western Addition offices for their business legal issues including leasing, entity formation, intellectual property, contracts, and employment issues.

Enterprising Women!

This business leadership training and mentorship program is aimed at African American women entrepreneurs from underserved neighborhoods, working to overcome particular challenges that have been obstacles to their business growth.

CyberMarketing

Small businesses are encouraged to use technology to enhance their marketing efforts. Our program includes one-on-one training with social media specialists.

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Past Programs

Fillmore Mobile Food and Artisan Marketplace Program: In 2011, Urban Solutions provided training to guide neighborhood entrepreneurs through developing food and artisan businesses that they can take on the road. In 2012, we managed the related Forgivable Loan Program for the San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development, designed to stimulate neighborhood activity and create jobs. Fillmore Mobile Food and Artisan Marketplace Program graduates were eligible to apply for funds to support the purchase of business machinery/equipment, capital expenditures, supplies, materials/inventory, permitting and licensing costs, marketing activities and other approved expenses related to business startup. A total of $25,000 in loan funds was distributed to four Western Addition residents.

During 2008-09, Urban Solutions was contracted by the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency to develop and manage the Community Benefits Fund (CBF) Business Development Program, which employed an innovative approach to community economic development by deploying “micro-grants” to small businesses and non-profit organizations in the district. Urban Solutions distributed a total of $360,000 in seed and expansion capital in 2009-10 in grants of up to $25,000 to support new services and products that would benefit the community. Grantees participated in mandatory workshops on topics such as planning, financial recordkeeping/management, and marketing to ensure that their services and products would be sustainable. The program as recognized by the National Development Council (NDC), the oldest national community development non-profit organization in the country, as a semifinalist for an award recognizing projects for their innovative design and community impact.

Urban Solutions designed the Buzz on Biz after-school youth entrepreneurship program, which ran from 2006 through 2009, to give Western Addition youth opportunities to experience business development, planning, finances, and presentation. Urban Solutions provided 103 teenagers from low-income and primarily African American families throughout the City with business education information to show them how their creative ideas can become ways to generate income.