REGULAR AGENDA: OLD BUSINESS  9.

COMMITTEE MEMORANDUM

HISTORY:

This item was referred to the Finance and Citywide Projects Committee at the April 11, 2018 City Commission Meeting and further discussed at the Finance and Citywide Projects Committee on April 20, 2018.

Recently, the City of Miami partnered with WeWork, a coworking company, to market and promote membership opportunities at WeWork as a way to help better support local business entities and entrepreneurs based in or relocating to Miami. This partnership allows businesses to take part in a reduced monthly fee which encourages them to continue their business in Miami. 

Miami Beach currently has two WeWork coworking spaces which are both located in South Beach:

 WeWork South of Fifth 

Opened July 2016, occupies the entire building

Three floors, 193 offices, 836 desks

232 active memberships

WeWork Lincoln Road 

First Miami location, opened July 2015

Four floors, 196 offices, 776 desks

165 active memberships 

The Finance and Citywide Projects Committee requested that City Staff reach out to WeWork to determine their interest in partnering with Miami Beach to develop a similar incentive program as a way to further support and develop our small business community. 

ANALYSIS:

City Staff has been working with the Department of Public Affairs at WeWork to better understand their government partnership model and how the City can partner with WeWork services to support our local small business community. The City is working with WeWork to develop a similar discount program that was launched in the City of Miami at the two South Beach coworking locations. The idea is to create a unique message and program to help diversify the Miami Beach partnership from other municipalities. 

Staff is working to launch this partnership in Fall 2018 (September or October). The focus would be to help better support and expand our small business community and promote a culture of entrepreneurship. In addition to the discounted membership fees, the City is currently developing a capacity building program with WeWork that would be offered at no charge to Miami Beach small businesses.  These Capacity Building Workshops will mirror the similar series that is currently run out of the TCED Cultural Affairs division, offering capacity building workshops to cultural and non-profit organizations. Additionally, staff feels there is synergy between the two Capacity Building Workshop series, and may invite cultural organizations to attend the business workshops, and vice versa; hopefully, an added value would be a synergistic collaboration between the arts and business communities. 

These two opportunities -- discounted space and the capacity building series -- would be bundled together for a public announcement and launch in the Fall. Below is a list of potential course topics that staff has created: 

Capacity Building Series: Small Business Focus

• Financial Literacy 

• Storytelling and Branding: How to build a brand that matters? What is your competitive advantage?
• Technology and Innovation: How to use emerging technologies to your benefit)
• Social Media: How to use social media to reach new audiences and customers
• Understanding the Process: How to navigate your local government

In addition to the partnership with WeWork, Staff is working to find new ways to better support our small businesses and energize local economic activity. We have been working with Localintel to develop and launch an interactive data tool that will allow for residents, business owners, and real estate professionals to access information and data online in order to better support their economic initiatives. Localintel seeks to harness the potential of big data to help communities to promote their strengths, share market intelligence and support local business growth. They have successfully partnered with a number of municipal economic development agencies such as: Calgary, Edmonton County, and Seattle. 

Staff has just finalized the contract with Localintel and is currently building out the platform which should launch in September 2018. We are piloting eight of the data indicators (listed below) and will measure the usage to determine their success. 

• Discover Industry Trends
• Research Customers
• Analyze Competition
• Business Climate
• Local Opportunity 
• Evaluate the Workforce
• Search Available Properties 
• Find Additional Resources

These data sets are updated on a monthly basis and are free to access and download to the public. 

Subsequently, the Small Business Taskforce officially launched on June 19, 2018. The Taskforce is seeking to find creative ways to help support small businesses and increase entrepreneurship in the community. We are currently working on producing an industry survey that would allow us to receive feedback from businesses regarding their greatest needs and where they see opportunities. This information will allow both Staff and the Taskforce to create programs and initiatives that meet such needs. Additionally, the Taskforce will be partnering with the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce to launch the first regional meeting of the National Small Business Association. This convening will bring thought leaders, policy experts, and local businesses together to address and discuss emerging trends and topics that focus on small business. The conference planning is currently in development and will occur in September 2018. 

CONCLUSION:
Staff seeks further recommendations and ideas from the Finance and Citywide Projects Committee regarding the partnership with WeWork, and further efforts to support small businesses and entrepreneurship in Miami Beach.