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The Latest News |
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From the Office of Economic and Small Business
Development |
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vol. 1/No. 1 |
October
1, 2009 |
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Welcome
to our first eNewsletter edition. Thank you for your continued interest in
the growth of our local economy. Now with a new improved format, you can
enjoy the latest news and information from around the County in an electronic
delivery mode. We
are excited about the opportunity to join together with the County’s Small
Business Development Division under County Administrator Bertha Henry’s
reorganization plan for Broward County Government. Our primary objective is
to fully integrate our small business development efforts into the County’s
broader strategy for economic development. This should be wonderful news for
our small business community! Our goal is to help all businesses grow and
watch our economy grow with them. The
new consolidated organization is now called the Office of Economic and Small
Business Development (OESBD). I appreciate the strong leadership that Small
Business Development has had over the past six years. As the OESBD
Director, I inherit a highly motivated and dedicated staff. By working more
closely together with our crack team of solid economic developers, the
prospects for achieving greater goals are very good. You will get to witness
the story as it unfolds in these pages. But even better, you can join us in
helping to make Broward County one of the most livable places in the world
and a great place to do business. Best
Regards, Norman E. Taylor |
Contents
Recruitment,
Attraction, Retention & Expansion Special
Awards/Recognitions Small
Business Stats and Initiatives |
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Targeted
IndustrIES Study
The New Broward County Targeted Industries Study
– The 2009 Targeted Industries Study was delivered on September 15, 2009 by
County consultant DCG Consulting, Inc. (New Jersey) as a near final draft
document. The Study will be put through a series of reviews for comments by
business, government and civic leaders in Broward County before it is
finalized and presented to the Board of County Commissioners for acceptance. Two of those forums have
taken place with the Governor’s Council of the Broward Alliance and the
economic development practitioners in Broward’s municipalities and other
organizations. The purpose of this study is to identify Broward
County’s top targeted industries for business attraction and recruitment
efforts, and to help focus growth strategies for key emerging industries. Global
business development
Office of Economic and
Small Business Development, Port Everglades, Aviation and the Convention
& Visitors Bureau directors and key staff meet monthly to discuss global
marketing strategies involving growth for the economic development engines of
Broward County. Such issues of importance will be updating the County’s
Cuba strategy and receiving reports on the Airport/Seaport application for
approval to fly and call on Cuban ports; updating the Memorandum of
Understanding with the Brazilian State of Amazonas and Broward County;
updating the targeted countries for inbound and outbound business missions to
avoid duplication; and other key strategies for the growth of
small-to-medium-sized businesses of Broward County. workforce
training grant
Marine Industry Global Trade Training Pilot Program Grant
– The OESBD applied for a $48,000 two-year grant, funded by Workforce
Florida, Inc. and implemented by Broward County in conjunction with
Enterprise Florida, Inc. and the University of North Florida. The Marine
Industry Association of South Florida is a local partner working with OESBD.
The purpose of the grant is to support the growth of the Marine Industry in
Broward County and South Florida. The grant specifically targets small
and medium sized marine businesses to assist them in mastering the exporting
process to increase and enhance sales potential and create jobs within
Broward County and the South Florida Region. The OESBD assists the
participating companies by advising and preparing them to grow their
operations in foreign markets while helping to improve global business
success rates. A consultant, hired through the partnership of EFI and UNF,
provides training in export, marketing, finance, compliance and logistics
tailored to the County’s marine sector. During the first six months of services under
the Marine Industry Pilot Grant, 53 marine company participants have
benefited from the training. Of that number, 40 are Broward County companies.
This grant serves companies from Broward and Miami-Dade counties. Recruitment,
attraction, retention & expansion
S
& B Industries, (City of Sunrise) created 150 executive, finance & accounting,
human resources, marketing, and sales management positions with an average
wage of $82,144. S&B Industry, Inc. (S&B) engages in
development of mobile communications devices. Their activities include
product spec development, engineering, safety and FCC regulation and
compliance. Kaplan
University (City
of Plantation) leased an additional 120,000 square foot building,
making a capital investment of $4,740,000 in improvements and creating
300 new jobs. special awards/RECOGNITIONS
Fort
Lauderdale-based Home Diagnostics, Inc., a leading developer,
manufacturer and marketer of blood glucose monitoring systems, has received a
2009 Governor's Export Excellence Award. The award, part of the 2009
Governor's Business Diversification Awards program, recognizes Home
Diagnostics for its international growth and increase in export sales,
expansion of the company's TRUEtest platform for diabetes monitoring, and
overall contributions to Florida's economic diversification and job creation.
HDI and Broward County Office of Economic & Small Business
Development participated in the Governor’s Brazil Mission in 2008. (135
new jobs and a capital investment of $30 million.) Deborah
Wilkinson, Global
Business Development Manager, was elected Vice-Chair and Chair-Elect of the
Florida Economic Development Council, the State’s professional association
for economic developers in May 2009. Ms. Wilkinson has been active as a
Legislative Committee Chair, Membership Chair, and Chair of the South Florida
District which includes Broward, Palm Beach, and Miami-Dade counties. An
accomplished economic developer, Deborah will take the reins of leadership of
FEDC in May 2010. Film
commission
The
Broward County Film Commission
(Broward Alliance) reported that film and television projects brought $23,000,000
in revenue to the County through the ’08-’09 FY. Major projects
included USA Network’s Burn Notice, independent feature Crisscross,
36 reality television programs such as Kitchen Nightmares for Fox
Network and Police Women of Broward County for TLC
Network, and 23 national commercials including Honda Insight, Avis, Arm &
Hammer, Coca Cola. small
business stats and initiatives
Ø The Board of County Commissioners
passed the new County Business Enterprise (CBE) Ordinance on June 23,
2009. Ø The new CBE program establishes a
cumulative goal of 25% participation by CBE firms in all county contracts. Ø The Disparity Study is well under
way and is expected to be completed in the spring of 2010. Ø The Small Business Development
Division reviewed 300 requests from Broward County agencies last
fiscal year for goal requirements. Ø The number of small business firms
certified with the County continued to grow. At the close of the third
quarter of FY 2009, there were approximately 4040 certifications in
the County’s directory. Ø The Small Business Development
Division received approximately 1,134 certifications for CDBE, CBE,
SBE and DBE last fiscal year. This includes 175 SBEs for the
Super Bowl XVII and Pro Bowl event of which Broward County is a Host County. Ø IMPORTANT: With the passing of the new CBE
Ordinance, firms currently certified as CDBEs shall be deemed certified CBEs
until the date their certification as a CDBE would have expired. Ø The Small Business Development
Division evaluated over 500 contracts with CDBE, CBE, DBE or SBE
requirements for responsiveness. Ø Continuing the popular “How to do
Business with Broward County” seminar series in conjunction with the
Purchasing Division. These seminars are held on the third Thursday of every
month at the African-American Research Library & Cultural Center. Ø Hosted a series of “Meet the
Agencies” workshops in coordination with other Broward County Agencies. The
series was hosted monthly during FY 2009. Attending agencies have
included Public Works, Port Everglades, and others. Additional Information
The Office
of Economic Development, in its twelve (12) year existence, has
provided business relocation, expansion, and retention services to over 180
companies. As of August 2009, Broward County benefited from $842,544,184
in accumulated new capital investments. These companies have created a
total of 11,133 jobs. OED efforts resulted in job growth, job
retention, and new capital investment with a $1.8 billion economic
impact. For more information, please contact Norman Taylor, Director of
the Office of Economic & Small Business Development at 954-357-6155.
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