Don't Miss Out: March Mixer & Workshops Await!

WEEKLY UPDATE- February 26, 2026

Hello All –

Over the next few weeks, the Desert Business Association is offering three practical workshops to help small and diverse businesses build their skills and prepare for new opportunities:

• Developing a Business Plan – Wednesday, March 11

• Creating a Capability Statement – Wednesday, March 25

• Understanding the Request for Proposal (RFP) Process – Wednesday, April 1

These are core tools many small businesses overlook, yet they are essential for growth and for competing for contracts.

The sessions are also designed to help you prepare for the 3rd Annual Coachella Valley Local Government Vendor Fair on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, at the Palm Springs Convention Center, sponsored by the City of Palm Springs. This free event brings local government procurement teams together with businesses interested in supplying goods and services—a valuable chance to meet decision-makers in person and learn about upcoming opportunities.

You can register for any or all sessions at www.DesertBusiness.org

You can sign-up to attend the Vendor Fair here.

Why attend?

A Business Plan turns your vision into a clear roadmap and helps you forecast and budget. If you don’t have one, we’ll help you build it.
A Capability Statement is your business résumé—a concise, one-page snapshot showing decision-makers who you are and what your business can deliver.
Understanding the RFP Process prepares you to respond confidently when opportunities arise. It’s a formal process with required steps, and knowing them improves your chances of success.

We hope you’ll join us at one or more of these sessions to help strengthen and make your business more responsive.

Thanks for being part of our business community, and please let us know if you have any questions.

Dave Powell

Executive Director, Desert Business Association

DBA Networking and

Learning Opportunities

DBA Networking Event

hosted by

Desert Hand Car Wash
Cathedral City

Event Details:

Date: Monday, March 9, 2026

Time: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Location: Desert Hand Car Wash

67790 E Palm Canyon Dr, Cathedral City

Cost: DBA Members Free

Future Members: $20

Our March Networking Mixer will be held at Desert Hand Car Wash, 67790 E Palm Canyon Dr, Cathedral City. This is a 100% Hand Wash. No brushes, no scratches. Just careful, brush-free work by long-time dedicated employees. They also offer numerous detailing options to keep your car shining!

Making Connections

If you see someone with a “First-Time” badge, please introduce yourself and help them feel at home. That is how the community grows, and you might even win a prize.

Need a Conversation Starter?

• How did you first get involved with DBA?

• What has been most helpful for your business?

• Any events or programs you recommend?

• Who should I make sure I meet tonight?

• What is your best tip for getting the most out of DBA?

Bring a Raffle Item, Get a Shoutout!

We’ll be holding our regular raffle to support LGBTQ+ Youth Education Scholarships through Safe Schools Desert Cities.

Business Card Scan Perk

As an added benefit for attending, we’ll collect and scan business cards from everyone at the mixer. After the event, all DBA member attendees will receive a digital contact sheet, making it easy to follow up and stay connected. Not yet a member? Join us prior and gain even more with membership.

Event Details:

Date: March 11, 2026 (Wednesday)

Time: 9:00 - 11:00 am

Location: DBA Office

3111 E Tahquitz Canyon Dr.

Palm Springs

Cost: $5

This workshop will help you better focus your business activities. This is for emerging businesses as well as those who wish to refine or reignite their business focus.

Do you need a Business Plan? Yes. It turns your business vision into a roadmap, clarifying your strategy. It helps you forecast and build your budget. It helps others take you seriously when you can clearly articulate where you are going and how you’ll get there.

Does it need to be a long document? No. We will work with you to get the most important items to provide clarity in direction and help you stay focused. We believe that one to two pages is sufficient to help you achieve that.

https://bit.ly/2026businessplan

Event Details:

Date: March 30, 2026 (Monday)

Time: 5:30- 7:00 pm

Location: DBA Office

3111 E Tahquitz Canyon Dr.

Palm Springs

Cost: DBA Members Free

The DBA is bringing back Speed Networking: Meet Everyone in the Room. This high-energy event is designed to connect you with everyone—not just the people you know.

This structured networking experience lets you practice your elevator speech, and ensures that you’ll meet one-on-one and share about your business with everyone in the room in two-minute segments, each getting one minute.

You pair, you share, you move on.

https://bit.ly/2026-3-30speednetworking

Look What Else is Happening

Event Details:

Date: February 26- March 8, 2026

Location: Dezart Performs

605 S. Riverside Drive, Palm Springs

Cost: $69

Dezart Performs presents the West Coast Premiere of DESTROYING DAVID a meditative, witty, and heartfelt journey through the history of one of the world’s greatest sculptures, and through the inner world of someone struggling with loss, love, and what it means to preserve what we hold dear. DESTROYING DAVID runs 75 minutes with no intermission.

For Tickets

Event Details:

Date: March 4, 2026 (Wednesday)

Time: 9:00 am

Location: Dezart Performs

605 S. Riverside Drive, Palm Springs

Cost: $69

Southern California Edison is pleased to invite you to join its upcoming virtual workshop titled "Pre-Requisites to Secure Business Funding." This session is part of the SCE EDGE S.T.A.R. training series in partnership with SCORE and is designed to help small business owners strengthen their funding readiness and long-term financial foundation.

To Register

Shoe Us the Love

Date: February & March

Various drop-off locations throughout the Coachella Valley

Friends of the Desert Mountains’ SHOE DRIVE! February-March, they will take your gently used shoes to get them into the reuse economy and out of the landfills! Drop boxes throughout the valley for more information and drop off locations https://www.desertmountains.org/friends-shoe-drive/

CAMP MORNING WOOD at PRISM THEATER

Date: Through March 22, 2026 (Thursday)

Location:

4707 EVENTS (Prism Theater Temporary Home)

Cost: Free

When a buttoned-up city boy stumbles into a free-spirited nudist retreat, his life — and his wardrobe — get hilariously transformed. Full of outrageous characters, feel-good spectacle, and a whole lot of liberation, this body-positive musical proves joy comes easiest when you let everything else go.

For Tickets

The Graduate

Date: February 19-March 9, 2026

Location: Desert TheaterWorks

45175 Fargo St., Indio

Cost: $46.50

Benjamin Braddock has just graduated from college with his whole life ahead of him. Enter the sophisticated and dangerously captivating Mrs. Robinson, who pulls him into an affair that changes everything.

For Tickets

Get Ready for

Cathedral City LGBT+ Days!

Event Details:

Date: March 3, 2026

(Tuesday) and

March 6 thru 8, 2026

(Friday-Sunday)

Time: 8:00 AM

Location: Various Locations in Cathedral City

Cost: Free

Join us at Cathedral City LGBT+ Days for a weekend-plus of entertainment, VIP experiences, food, drinks, artisan vendors, the world-famous Bed Race, and CommUNITY at California's First Pride Festival of the year.

For more information, head to cathedralcitylgbtdays.com

LEARN MORE ABOUT US

Desert Business Association | 760-904-4589 |

Info@DesertBusinessAssociation.org | DesertBusiness .org