As the year draws to a close, take this opportunity to reflect, heal, and set the foundation for a healthier relationship with money in the new year. Join Change Labs for our final 90-minute workshop of the year, led by Apryl Joe, Diné, as we explore the connection between trauma and financial behaviors. This interactive session is designed to support the release of financial shame, foster a connection with Indigenous wealth-building traditions, and lay the foundation for a more empowered financial journey in the coming year.

Key Topics:

• Understanding how trauma impacts financial behaviors

• Exploring Indigenous wealth-building traditions and their relevance today

• Practical strategies for building a healthier relationship with money

• Opportunities for personal reflection and sharing money beliefs

This workshop provides a safe and supportive space to address financial challenges while considering the cultural and emotional factors that shape our relationship with money.

About the Facilitator:
Apryl Joe brings over 20 years of experience serving Diné and Indigenous communities. As a wife, eldest sister, daughter, niece, and granddaughter, she understands the deep connections between family, culture, and financial wellness. With a BA in Sociology and a MSW, Apryl is committed to advancing social justice, rebuilding Native nations, and healing historical and intergenerational trauma. She is also a contract worker and business coach with Change Labs.

Why Attend?
The holiday season and New Year are times of reflection and renewal. This workshop offers the perfect opportunity to release old financial burdens, embrace cultural resilience, and enter 2025 with clarity and strength.

Make this workshop part of your end-of-year self-care and set the stage for a financially empowered New Year!

For any questions or support with registering for this workshop, please contact us at hello@nativestartup.org.

You can also watch our past workshops on the Change Labs YouTube Channel.

Are you ready to secure funding for your business? This 90-minute interactive workshop will guide you through the essential steps to prepare your business for financing. Learn how to assess your current position, identify funding opportunities, and access the resources you need to succeed. This session includes expert insights, practical tools, and a chance to discuss your unique needs in an open, supportive environment.

For any questions, please contact us at hello@nativestartup.org. You can also watch our past workshops on the Change Labs YouTube Channel.

Join the Tuba City community for a magical evening of holiday cheer at the Tuba City Christmas Festival & Light Parade! This family-friendly celebration promises festive fun for all ages, with a theme that blends the enchantment of Disney with the warmth of Christmas on the Navajo Nation.

Event Details:

• Date: Friday, December 13, 2024

• Time: 5:00 PM

• Location: Western Navajo Fairgrounds

Event Highlights:

• A dazzling Christmas Light Parade to kick off the festivities

• An Ice Rink for winter fun

• Toys for Tots Donations, helping bring smiles to children in need

• Pictures with Santa for a cherished holiday memory

• A lively Country Dance

• Indoor Games to keep everyone entertained

• A variety of Delicious Food Vendors to enjoy

• And much more!

This free event is open to everyone. Guests are encouraged to come dressed as their favorite Disney characters to add to the festive spirit!

Sponsors:
This event is made possible by the support of the Tuba City Chapter, Office of Diné Youth, Findlay Toyota Flagstaff, and Toys for Tots.

Don’t miss this one-of-a-kind holiday celebration — bring your friends and family to share in the joy and magic!

Get into the holiday spirit with Change Labs at our Holiday Party & Market! This festive evening offers the perfect opportunity to complete your holiday shopping while enjoying a fun and vibrant atmosphere. Browse a variety of unique vendors to find one-of-a-kind gifts and enjoy live screen printing with Jared Yazzie by OXDX. DJ Jermatik will keep the energy high with a mix of tunes to set the mood, and we’ll have delicious holiday treats to share, provided by Change Labs. Join us for a night of shopping, creativity, and community connection as we celebrate the season together!

At 5:30pm we'll be raffling off holiday gifts.  The RSVP link provides an opportunity to enter your name into the free raffle. You must be present at 5:30pm to win one of the following prizes: 

1) Upgrade your business tech with a Lenovo IdeaPad Duet, Microsoft Office, and a mouse!
2) Start 2025 off right with a 3-hour session with WaterEdge Business Solutions to strengthen your finances or kickstart your tax preparation!
3) Give your business marketing a boost with a 1-year subscription to Canva Pro!
4) Snuggle with your loved ones under a Denim Dazzle blanket designed by Naiomi Glasses in collaboration with Ralph Lauren

Arizona Department of Revenue (ADOR) will present common errors found with Transaction Privilege Tax (TPT) returns and payments and how to avoid them.

Register now for access to this webinar using the following link: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_k-pPkuCKQaChJ99kxCRAuw

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email from Zoom containing information about joining the webinar.

Coach: Duane Humeyestewa
Specialty: designing your business model, identifying and differentiating your competition, developing your brand identity, improving customer service

Coach Duane will be available to assist you with developing a comprehensive business model, conducting a market research to understand your competition, developing a strong brand identity and building your relationships with customers through exceptional customer service.. To see a full list of funding opportunities, see our list of resources.

Join @nativewomenlead and @Jordanna Saunders, Founder & CEO of @Trauma
Recovery Services of Arizona for an empowering and supportive space where
Indigenous women entrepreneurs can come together to share and learn self-care
practices that honor our cultural values. As the holiday season approaches, we’ll
explore ways to navigate holiday stress while staying grounded in our traditions and
well-being.

As a mental health counselor, mother, and business owner, Jordanna knows firsthand
the challenges of balancing multiple roles. Drawing from her experience as a therapist
and her personal wellness journey, Jordanna will share tried-and-true strategies to
enhance your well-being and make the holiday season more manageable.

Let’s create a community of strength, resilience, and wellness as we support each other
through the holidays and beyond.
This is a time to connect, rejuvenate, and thrive together.

The Governor’s Office of Youth, Faith and Family (GOYFF) is hosting a FREE, one-day, in-person Grant Writing Workshop in Tucson, Arizona, for individuals interested in learning more about the fundamentals of grant writing.

The workshop will include:

• Skill building for writing successful grant applications

• Grant writing language and techniques

• Knowledge of reputable grant funding sources

Due to limited space, registration will automatically close once it reaches full capacity.

Many famous food brands started out in the home kitchen – such as Mrs. Fields’ cookies and Marie Callender’s pies. This course provides an overview about the cottage food laws that regulate home-based food businesses. A particular emphasis will be placed on which foods can and cannot be made under this regulatory regime.

In today’s fast-paced environment, customer support teams need more than just tools—they need insights that empower them to deliver seamless, efficient, and highly personalized experiences. Join us as we explore how AI in the contact center can elevate your agents by providing actionable insights across voice, video, and chat interactions.

Discover how AI tools like Zoom AI Companion, AI Expert Assist, and integrated Workforce Management (WFM) and Quality Management (QM) solutions enable you to:

• Boost agent performance: Discover how AI-powered tools can assist agents in real-time, leading to faster, more accurate issue resolution.

• Optimize self-service channels: Learn how to analyze and improve self-service effectiveness by identifying what works and what doesn’t.

• Unified customer insights: See how AI integrates data across voice, video, and chat for a 360° view of customer interactions.

• Leverage AI across your tech stack: Understand how to apply AI-driven insights across multiple tools to streamline workflows and enhance customer experience.

Learn how AI can transform your customer support experience, streamline agent workflows, and ultimately improve customer satisfaction. Don’t miss this opportunity to see how AI insights can take your customer experience to the next level!

Register now to secure your spot

Coach: Kristine Laughter
Specialty: business model design, loan applications, business financing & budgeting, opening a bank account, and starting a business in Kayenta

Coach Kristine will be on-hand to help you apply for small business loans and grants available to Native entrepreneurs and artists as well as help you think about building or pivoting your business. To see a full list of funding opportunities, see our list of resources.

In this engaging session, participants will explore essential strategies for setting and achieving their goals. Key topics include:  How to set SMART goals to ensure clear, actionable objectives  Best practices for effective goal-setting to drive success  How to identify and avoid common goal-setting pitfalls  Time management techniques to maximize productivity  Introduction to productivity tools that help you stay organized and on track 

Join the Navajo Nation Museum for their 26th Annual Keshmish Arts Market!

Join us (New Mexico Community Capital and Native Women Lead) for the last First Friday of the year. We will be gathering for a Resilience Hub Holiday Marketplace during the Abq. Art Walk and highlighting our incredible Indigenous vendors. Stop by and shop for native made Christmas gifts and mingle with our staff before we kick off the holiday season!

As a token of our appreciation we will also be doing a giveaway for passes to MEOW WOLF.

Join the Navajo Nation Museum for their 26th Annual Keshmish Arts Market!

Entrepreneurs need to wear all the hats when building out their business. Learn how to decide what services to offer, how to source your first clients, how to market your services, how to work with freelancers, and more in this customer-led session. Kenniqua Lewter left her call center job seven years ago and launched a successful web design business from the comfort of her home.

Hear how she did it — and what she would do differently today.

Are you ready to elevate your digital marketing game? Join us for an engaging workshop as we dive into the top 10 digital marketing trends for 2025! This interactive session will cover everything from social search SEO to SMS marketing, AI-driven personalization, and influencer marketing platforms. Together, we'll explore how to capture your audience’s attention in just a few seconds, leverage user-generated content, and integrate AI tools to provide stellar customer support. Get the latest tools and strategies to boost your brand's visibility, engagement, and growth in the coming year!

This workshop is available in-person and virtually. Details will be shared upon registration.

Presented by Vanessa Castillo Bell, Senior Manager of Business Development at Local First Arizona, this workshop is in collaboration with the Arizona Western College, Small Business Development Center.

About Vanessa Castillo Bell

Vanessa Castillo Bell isn’t new to the digital marketing space, in fact, she’s been nerding out over the web for years! From generational marketing tips to viral social media hacks, Vanessa loves sharing the digital trends that help businesses scale and thrive.

Hailing from Yuma, Vanessa Castillo Bell has spent the past 16 years supporting businesses, from startups to growing enterprises. Now, as the Senior Manager of Business Development at Local First Arizona, she’s continuing her mission statewide, helping Arizona businesses thrive through every stage of development. Known for her deep knowledge and engaging style, Vanessa brings a fresh perspective to digital marketing, blending the latest trends with practical strategies. Get ready to learn, laugh, and leave with actionable tools to level up your digital strategy and fuel your business growth!

Interested in starting a business of making, distributing or importing foods? This course provides an overview about the relevant FDA and state requirements, including cottage food laws, labeling, and what-to-do once you’re in business.

Coach: Swarvoski Little
Specialty: fundraising, growing your business, business compliance, loan applications, building your business model

Coach Swarvoski will be on-hand to help you apply for small business loans and grants available to Native entrepreneurs and artists as well as help you think about building or pivoting your business. To see a full list of funding opportunities, see our list of resources.

Coach: Holly Patterson
Specialty: brand development, market analysis, social media development, marketing tools, registering a business in New Mexico

Coach Holly will be on-hand to help you apply for small business loans and grants available to Native entrepreneurs and artists as well as help you think about building or pivoting your business. To see a full list of funding opportunities, see our list of resources.

Join us for a hands-on workshop designed to reconnect the people of the Northern Arizona area with propagation skills and the art of growing fruit-producing trees from seed. This free event is open to anyone interested in learning how to cultivate and preserve heirloom fruit tree varieties that have thrived in our region for generations.

Date & Time:
Saturday, November 23, 2024
10:00 AM – Into the afternoon

Location:
Change Labs - Tuba City E*ship Hub (In-person participation only. No registration required.)

What You Will Learn:

• Seed Selection & Preparation: Discover the basics of selecting the right seeds and preparing them for planting.

• Cold Stratification Techniques: Learn how to mimic natural winter conditions to improve germination.

• Germination & Seedling Care: Get hands-on experience with nurturing young seedlings.

Participants will receive their choice of locally collected seeds, including Peach, Apricot, Plum, Arizona Walnut, or other native varieties. All materials needed for early seedling growth will be provided.

Why Attend?
This workshop is a unique opportunity to help reclaim propagation skills, preserve biodiversity, and ensure the continuation of fruit tree varieties that have deep roots in our local history. Come share knowledge, get your hands dirty, and grow a piece of Northern Arizona's heritage.

For more information, contact flagstafflily@gmail.com

Welcome to the Local First Arizona Business Coalition!

Questions about your benefits and how to best leverage them?

Want to meet other local business owners and learn about the resources available to you and your business?

You can have the best salespeople in the world, but they need to have leads to call. Learn how to uplevel your lead-generation game and position your organization as a thought leader with easy-to-use tools to create best-in-class virtual events.

Get more from your virtual events by using AI to create blogs and posts based on your AI-generated summaries.

Hear from a customer that has become an expert at sourcing new leads online using a virtual strategy.

Launched this fall, the Dean's Distinguished Lecture Series is a new platform to explore innovation, entrepreneurship, and groundbreaking ideas shaping our future. Specially curated to foster the exchange of ideas, promote collaboration across disciplines, and to inspire meaningful connections, the series welcomes everyone, including students, faculty, alumni and the greater community.

This fall, two additional lectures are scheduled, each taking place from 5:30 to 6:30 PM, followed by a reception. Both events will be held at the Centennial Engineering Center at UNM.

"Indigenous-Based Circular Economic Ecosystems Through Art, Emerging Technology, Language & Culture Revitalization and Success Consciousness"  

Akilah Martinez (Glittering World Girl) is an award-winning Diné artist, creative technologist, and cultural bearer from the Navajo Nation. She is dedicated to developing an Indigenous-based circular economic ecosystem that revolves around language and culture revitalization through video art, XR technology, and success consciousness.

A perspective shift that explores the close relationship between self-determination, technology, new economic structures, and abundance consciousness that centers kinship, resource autonomy, and community empowerment.

When: Wednesday, November 20, at 5:30pm

Where: Lecture: Civil Media Lab, 3rd Floor, Centennial Engineering Center, UNM

 Dinner Reception to follow: Stamm Commons, 1st floor, Hearty Plant-Based Cuisine

Imagine a workday where AI shrinks your to do list, allowing you to quickly digest meeting recordings, spend less time taking notes, and get instant email drafts to help tame your inbox. Embrace a new, more efficient way to work that empowers you to grow your business and work on what matters most.

Join us for an insightful webinar where we will explore how growing businesses can maximize their day using AI to enhance communication and productivity. Discover practical ways to streamline your workflow, see demos, ask Zoom experts questions, and learn how an AI-first collaboration platform can help you business save time and work smarter. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to explore how you can start using Zoom’s AI Companion today

Hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Office of Comptroller of the Currency.

The Arizona Small Business Forum will highlight Arizona’s State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) lending program available to increase access to capital for small businesses and the small business resources available through the City of Phoenix. 

Presenters, including the SBA and Change Labs, will highlight their current and new product offerings and Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) selected by the State, will share how CDFIs are deploying the Arizona Loan Guarantee Program to assist small businesses.

The event includes continental breakfast and lunch.  No cost to attend.

The event will end with a tour of the Burton Barr Central Library featuring community development resources, including StartUp PHX, PHX Works, and the College Depot and highlighting future community development lending, investment, and service opportunities. 

Attendees for this event are representatives from regulated financial institutions, Community Developed Financial Institutions, community-based nonprofits, and government agencies. Click here to register

Contracts are a vital part of running a successful business. Join Start Small Think Big and Bloomberg for an informative workshop on business contract basics. This session will guide you through essential contract concepts, helping you navigate negotiations and protect your business interests.

In this workshop, you’ll learn:

- Contract Negotiation & Entry: How to effectively negotiate and enter into contracts.

- Key Legal Provisions: A review of common contract clauses, such as non-compete and non-disclosure agreements.

- Roles & Responsibilities: Understanding the obligations of each party in a contract.

- Contract Management Tips: Strategies for successfully managing your business contracts.

- Contract Breach & Enforcement: What happens when a contract is breached and how to enforce your rights.

Don’t miss this opportunity to gain practical insights into managing contracts effectively and safeguarding your business.

➜ Explore More Free Events for small businesses: https://www.startsmallthinkbig.org/events-for-small-businesses

➜ Sign Up for Free Legal and/or Finance Services: https://www.startsmallthinkbig.org/get-free-small-business-services

Thank you to LIIF for their sponsorship of this event!

This in-person workshop, led by the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) staff, is designed to help you establish a strong business presence and dive into effective marketing and sales strategies. Whether you're just starting out or looking to grow, this session will equip you with tools and insights to reach and engage your target audience.

Join in learning the Love Languages of Business, presented for the first time ever by Sean Banks of Cache Consulting. 

A business strategist, Sean collaborates with solopreneurs to build strategies that help drive their business in the direction of their five to ten year vision.

|n this 30-minute webinar (followed by a 15-minute Q&A) Sean will discuss the 3 languages necessary to create, build, and manage our business relationships from a place of authenticity.