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Route 66 Small Business Resource Fair Series

Background:

 

Participants: 

  • Micro-businesses (5 employees or less) and small businesses (50 employees or less)

  • Prospective business owners and existing business owners

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Objective:

The City of Albuquerque’s Economic Development Department Small Business Office is partnering with local community economic development organizations located along Route 66 to provide a series of free small business resource fairs. Each fair is intended to accomplish the following:

 

  • Engaging small business community partners and coalitions to conduct outreach leading up to each event

  • Utilizing in-person canvassing and surveying to acquire a better understanding of the business needs of each particular neighborhood/district and to tailor the focus of each event to fit that neighborhood’s specific needs  

  • Bringing/consolidating all business resources out into neighborhoods and business districts rather than requiring existing/prospective business owners to visit different City department locations in the Downtown area 

  • Using each event to provide more than just small business “resources” in the form of informational materials, but providing very “high touch” technical assistance and administrative navigational services – ex. Actually going through the whole process of registering a business at the event 

  • Establishing an online portal for existing/prospective business owners to schedule sessions with one of the City’s contracted Business Navigators 

  • Utilizing the event to provide immediate, on-site technical assistance while also collecting community input that could be used to inform changes in public policy related to small business development (ex. Re-initiating the Temporary Business License)

  • Providing City Departments with a space to engage in inter-departmental collaboration to improve administrative coordination related to business registration and development, explore opportunities for legislative change related to business development, etc.    

  • Establishing long-term relationships and contracts with local business leaders and anchor small business owners

 

Locations (Rotating Every Month)

  • West Central Community Development Group Office 

  • Q Station 

  • International District Economic Development Center 

 

Event Times

  • The first event is TBA in Fall 2021

  • Second Friday/Saturday of every month. 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

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Agenda (3 hour event for the public / 4 hour event for city employees)

10:00 AM – 10:30 AM      Meet and Greet

10:30 AM – 11:00 PM       Welcome statements

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM       Panel/Q&A

12:00 PM – 1:00 PM         Tabling/Navigators

1:00 PM – 2:00 PM           City Department Breakout Sessions (Working Lunch)

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Panelists/Key Stakeholders:

Each event will have different panelists who represent different neighborhoods of the city as well as different fields of expertise.  The content of the discussion and the composition of the panel will be guided by the results of the survey that will go out to existing/prospective business owners in each neighborhood where events are taking place.

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Potential Panel/Breakout Session Topics

  • Content for both the panel and the breakout sessions will be based upon the results of the survey that is conducted among each area.  For the first fair at the WCCDG Office, the focus of the panel and breakout session will be 1) business growth strategy and 2) social media strategy. Other potential topics could include but are not limited to the following:

    • Pop Up/Temporary Business License

    • Directories for Food Trucks, Pop Up Vendors, Event Organizers, Brick and Mortar Business Owners, etc. 

    • New State Regulations and Local Land Use Regulations that are related to food production and consumption  

    • Step by Step on How to Setup a Business

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Online/Virtual (To accommodate people who can’t attend or feel uncomfortable in person)

  • Zoom 

  • FB/IG Live

 

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