Economic conditions have put strains on residents and business owners alike in Coral Springs, so City stakeholders are putting forth new initiatives to help business owners thrive in tough market conditions and beyond.

The Small Business Sustainability Initiative is multi-faceted and involves myriad City and community partners. Key drivers of this effort are findings in the Business Needs Assessment, which surveyed 200 local businesses in April 2008 to find out real needs and wants of local owners.

Paul Cawley, executive director of the Coral Springs Economic Development Foundation, said he and his staff called 60 business owners who had participated in the original survey to confirm the types of services they would want from the City. These services include: business planning, marketing, obtaining capital, creating networking opportunities and forming strategic alliances.

Enterprise Coral Springs, the City"s non-profit, private agency for economic development, commissioned the survey and found that more than half of the respondents would utilize these development assistance tools from the City.

Targeting business needs
Soon, business owners will be able to go online to the City and EDF web sites and select from a menu of services how they would like to receive this training via such methods as college classes, seminars and workshops.

Service providers include not only the EDF and City of Coral Springs but also the Florida Sterling Council, Work Force One, Coral Springs Chamber of Commerce, SCORE, all Coral Springs College and University Partnership institutions, and the Small Business Administration.

Jerry Schwartz, associate dean at Broward College, said his institution partnered with Coral Springs in 2005 to offer college and continuing education classes in the City as part of the Coral Springs College and University Partnership program. Enrollment last semester was 1,100 students taking courses either at their local business location or a City facility.

New courses, Schwartz said, will be shorter and better tailored to business needs based on the April survey. This way, businesses can save money and possibly generate revenue based on skills learned.

"We want to be able to assist businesses with short-term courses running the gamut from creating business plans to developing marketing campaigns," said Schwartz, himself a long-time Coral Springs resident.

Another initiative in the City's 2009 Business Plan is called Buy Coral Springs, an effort to keep local dollars in local business that will provide an additional support to the Small Business Sustainability initiative. The City, along with the Chamber of Commerce, will utilize various promotional tools to encourage residents to spend locally while strengthening the City's economic base.

For more information about the City's business outreach efforts, call Robyn O'Donnell at 954-796-9922.