Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome and the City of Baton Rouge, East Baton Rouge Parish recognize the challenges that local businesses are facing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. To meet the short-term financial needs of microenterprises and small businesses, the Resilient Restart EBR: Small Business Micro-grants Program offers one-time, micro-grants of $2,500 to eligible entities that have been impacted by COVID-19. Recipients may use these funds for rent, utilities, inventory, accounts payable, fixed costs, employee wages and benefits. Monday, August 17, 12:00pm-1:00pm CT https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2404539979354681360

Please register for "LADOTD: Developing an Effective Capabilities Statement + DBE Certification" by visiting https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3502714600421273356. With an increase in the number of viable contractors available to support public and private projects, contracting across the region is now more competitive than ever. However, the critical factors are the same. Procurement leads need to understand your capabilities, your value proposition, cost competitiveness, and how well you have performed on previous projects. As a contractor, whether you are providing labor, materials, or professional services, your capability statement serves as your business card and should set your apart from your competitors. It is a tool that will show potential clients how your achievements, core competencies, certifications, financial health, and experience will create value for their projects. Join us to learn the key components of a capabilities statement and to get guidance on crafting these elements to fit your business model and offerings. This session will also include an overview of the LAUCP DBE Certification including eligibility requirements and the application process. There is no cost to attend this informational webinar, however, you must be registered for the webinar to participate. Please secure your spot today by visiting https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3502714600421273356.

The current health and social crises that are crippling the US have had a profound impact on small, minority-owned firms in our most vulnerable communities. While businesses seek to obtain critical resources such as emergency funding to survive during these crises, the need for minority-owned businesses to reconsider “what” business they should be doing and “how” they should be doing business is of the utmost importance. Now, more than ever, small businesses have an opportunity to re-imagine, re-position, and re-charge their business models and operations towards becoming more scalable, agile, and resilient. During this session, Klassi Duncan, Vice President, Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Urban League of Louisiana, will provide insights and considerations on how to develop a strategy and plan of action to build operational leverage, flexibility, and sustainability. Participants will learn: • What scalability means related to growth and operational capacity • Best practices for evaluating new business models and revenue streams that are responsive to changing market needs • Considerations for new and improved processes and technology • Insights on how to reorganize one’s business support model, including employees, suppliers, consultants, mentors, accountability partners, etc. • How to best integrate risk management and continuous improvement strategies to […]