ECONOMY
Port St. Lucie Mayor Greg Oravec recognizes
that small businesses form the bedrock of the
city’s economy. As such, he is an enthusiastic
supporter of the partnership between the city
and the Small Business Development Center
at Indian River State College which helps such
businesses thrive.
Port St. Lucie Magazine 27
and developing business plans; advice
on innovative and established marketing
techniques; financing and other
aspects of the nuts and bolts of running
a successful small business.
At the same time, Kindred noted,
Port St. Lucie has been growing at an
unprecedented rate. The city population
has soared to more than 200,000; it is
the seventh-largest city in Florida, and
the third-largest in South Florida.
Yet, SBDC was serving Port St. Lucie
with only a part-time consultant, Michael
Bernard, who headed up a range
of classes and workshops intended to
help small businesses do better.
It was the COVID-19 crisis that
prompted the Port St. Lucie City Council
to up its game with small businesses,
City Manager Russ Blackburn said.
In May, the council and the FSBDC at
IRSC entered into an interlocal agreement
to offer small business consulting
services in response to the disastrous
effect of the COVID-19 virus.
The city council, business navigator
Elijah Wooten noted, approved funding
Bernard as a full-time consultant to
expand work that had been going on
since 2019.
Prior to the agreement, the center
conducted the Port St. Lucie Business
Accelerator program, a 10-week course
offered at IRSC’s Pruitt campus in St.
Lucie West. The initial course had been
offered in spring 2019.
PROGRAM FUNDED BY GRANTS
To date, Wooten reported, there have
been three Business Accelerator Program
courses completed, encompassing
79 companies. Of these, 45 completed
all the courses. The city offers a $5,000
reimbursement grant to eligible companies
that complete the program. This is
funded through the city’s Community
Block Grant program and with a matching
grant from CenterState Bank. The
grant is designed to reimburse business
owners for costs of marketing/advertising,
employee training, professional
services and the purchase of supplies
and inventory.
Port St. Lucie Mayor Greg Oravec
believes this assistance is vital to the
survival of the city’s small businesses
and to Port St. Lucie’s future growth
and vitality.
“Supporting our business community
through this and other programs is a
foundational element of our strategic
goal to foster a diverse economy and
employment opportunities; and this
strategic goal is, in turn, one of the
foundational seven goals of our strategic
plan,” the mayor said.
“Simply stated, we want to help our
citizens bring their dreams of starting
their own businesses to life, and we
want to help their businesses grow to >>
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