Are you super excited about this years CCE conference but are wondering about ways to stay involved year round with groups that support small business owners in the art, craft and design community.

First, Kristen Rask and Andrea Porter two of the organizers of this years CCE event are also the minds behind Seattle’s Grassroots Business Assocation. Every third Wednesday evening of the month small business classes are held covering topics such as branding your line/company, how to hire employees to fun stuff like bookkeeping! You can pay an annual membership to attend all the classes or pay on a class by class basis. This is a super supportive group and we are always looking for new folks to join us!

Second, if you are a crafter Etsy Rain has many meetups throughout the month so you can get together and craft and talk small buinsess with others in your community. Marlo Miyashiro, founding member and current organizer for EtsyRAIN will lead a panel discussion on Creating and Connecting: Creative Community Networks on day 2. This will be a great opportunity to meet others looking into joining or starting their own new community groups!