Item 24: Small Business Counseling Services

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COSM_Admin

Administrator
Staff member
Consider approval of Resolution 2022-127R, approving a contract to BCL of Texas for Small Business Counseling Services for an initial term of two years in the amount of $350,000.00 to be funded with American Rescue Funds and authorizing three additional one-year renewals; authorizing the City Manager or her designee to execute the contract on behalf of the City; and declaring an effective date.
 

JHughson

CoSM Members
Will ARP funds be used for all 5 years of the contract?
How much in ARP funding did we assign for this project?

How will they provide services in San Marcos? Like where?

Under Service Delivery there is "BCL will conduct a needs assessment to develop targeted strategies and resource for small businesses within the City of San Marcos."
and
Task 1 states "Provide a gap analysis of existing resources for small businesses or entrepreneurs in the City of San Marcos."
Will they look at ALL small businesses?
How will they find them?
How does a business obtain access to these services?
Must they apply?

Why was there no interview with one of those who provided a proposal?
And why no explanation in the packet?

Who at the City will oversee this project?
 

MBaker

Council Member
Are they able to conduct bilingual outreach?

Can small businesses expect physical help creating a website, and setting up their SEO - or are these classes telling people about it and why it's important? We can't expect all small business owners to "do it all" so we need to make sure someone is being paid to set up simple websites and SEO and then showing them basic updating skills. As someone who has had to do this for my own business I know how difficult the whole thing can be, and I'm a tech oriented person. We should consider the benefits of every business having a website with great SEO because to me that all has an impact on why people travel to San Marcos and gets them to spend money, yadda yadda yadda...We might even want to see if HOT money could be spent to create an ongoing fund to help people with their SEO?

What definition are they using for small business? Is there any need for prioritizing certain types of businesses over others?

How do they intend to incentivize participation? It will be difficult to get at the target audience because presumably they are busy working and can't sacrifice wages for something they might not understand. Is there a way to work with sponsors/The Chamber/GSMP/TXST/Workforce Solutions to get free stuff for people attending too?

What would they consider a meaningful number of small businesses serviced?
 

COSM_Admin

Administrator
Staff member
Responses to Mayor Hughson provided by Kelsee Jordan Lee, Economic & Business Development Manager:
Will ARP funds be used for all 5 years of the contract?
There are currently ARP funds to cover the cost of the initial two-year term plus one extension. An alternative funding source would need to be identified if the program is extended past this timeframe program.

How much in ARP funding did we assign for this project?
Staff initially requested $500,000, and Council assigned $400,000 for the Small Business Counseling program.

How will they provide services in San Marcos? Like where? BCL will offer digital and in person options for technical assistance. They have committed to leasing a space in San Marcos within 10 days of contract signing.

Under Service Delivery there is "BCL will conduct a needs assessment to develop targeted strategies and resource for small businesses within the City of San Marcos."
and Task 1 states "Provide a gap analysis of existing resources for small businesses or entrepreneurs in the City of San Marcos." Will they look at ALL small businesses?
Yes, BCL will evaluate what resources are currently available and where gaps are to service small businesses in San Marcos across different industries and business life cycles. The resulting Small Business Counseling Program will deliver services to all interested, eligible small businesses within the City of San Marcos.

How will they find them? BCL will develop a marketing plan to promote the program and will work with existing business support programs and organizations to promote the Small Business Counseling Program. City staff will amplify these marketing efforts using city avenues of outreach.

How does a business obtain access to these services? Interested businesses will submit an application to City staff providing basic business information and the subjects or assistance they would like to receive. City staff will work with BCL to schedule the one-to-one consultations with the businesses. Businesses will have the option for digital or in person delivery of services in English and Spanish. BCL has also developed a limited English proficiency plan that allows for service delivery in other languages.

Must they apply? Yes, there will be an intake process for businesses to submit their information and desired consultation subject matters. Eligibility requirements are that they be located within the City of San Marcos city limits, are for-profit, have fewer than 26 full time employees, and are an existing business (having filed with the County Clerk’s Office or the Secretary of State as appropriate).

Why was there no interview with one of those who provided a proposal? The selection committee interviewed the top two scoring vendor candidates prior to making a final selection. It was determined after scoring the written proposals that the added possible 25 points from an interview would not be sufficient for the lowest scoring vendor to score or rank higher than the top two vendors.

And why no explanation in the packet? The evaluation scores and ranking information is provided in the ARF including the maximum point allocation for each criteria.

Who at the City will oversee this project? Kelsee Jordan Lee, the City’s Economic and Business Development Manager, will oversee the program with the support of Main Street staff.
 

COSM_Admin

Administrator
Staff member
Responses to CM Baker provided by Kelsee Jordan Lee, Economic & Business Development Manager:
Are they able to conduct bilingual outreach?
Yes, more than 50% of BCL’s staff is fluent in Spanish and can conduct outreach in both languages, including printed collateral and verbal communication.

Can small businesses expect physical help creating a website, and setting up their SEO - or are these classes telling people about it and why it's important? We can't expect all small business owners to "do it all" so we need to make sure someone is being paid to set up simple websites and SEO and then showing them basic updating skills. As someone who has had to do this for my own business I know how difficult the whole thing can be, and I'm a tech oriented person. We should consider the benefits of every business having a website with great SEO because to me that all has an impact on why people travel to San Marcos and gets them to spend money, yadda yadda yadda...We might even want to see if HOT money could be spent to create an ongoing fund to help people with their SEO? The service delivery is to have hands-on technical assistance with the items during the one-to-one counseling sessions. In the example of creating a website, the business counselor will help with both education on what are best practices of setting up a website in addition to helping with the actual mechanics/steps of setting up the website. Staff can also explore if this program has any components that are considered allowable uses for Hotel Occupancy Taxes.

What definition are they using for small business? Is there any need for prioritizing certain types of businesses over others? The program uses the same definition of small business as the Economic Development Policy – fewer than 26 full-time employees. Priority admission will be given to participants in the Legacy Business Program and Small Business Retention Incentive.

How do they intend to incentivize participation? It will be difficult to get at the target audience because presumably they are busy working and can't sacrifice wages for something they might not understand. Is there a way to work with sponsors/The Chamber/GSMP/TXST/Workforce Solutions to get free stuff for people attending too? Staff has allocated a portion of the funding to offer as a stipend (up to $500) to businesses participating in the program. For example, if a business is in a marketing subject track, they could be reimbursed for setting up a digital ad campaign. They would have a business counselor walk them through setting up the campaign, helping implement it, and evaluating the result of the campaign. The program could then pay for the cost of that campaign to help the business owner while he or she is learning in the program. Staff will also connect with the aforementioned partners to see how they may support this program.

What would they consider a meaningful number of small businesses serviced? The vendor is committed to providing a minimum of 760 hours annually of one-on-one assistance, which can serve between 100 and 200 unduplicated businesses. The actual number of clients served will be determined on the amount of hours-per-client delivered.
 
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