City of Long Beach Business Brief
February 11, 2022
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Welcome to the Economic Development Department's Business Brief! We are continuing to ensure you are updated on the latest business resources and news. |
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Long Beach Sets Benchmarks for Removing Certain Masking Requirements, Updates Mega Event Thresholds |
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The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced that effective Feb. 16, it will roll back policies that had been put into place during the Omicron surge, which is now on the wane in the state. The City is aligning with Los Angeles County by keeping current masking policies in place, with a roadmap that allows for easing restrictions as soon as it is safer to do so.
In Long Beach, the daily case rate remains high at 105.5 per 100,000 and the positivity rate is 14.9%. The cumulative seven-day rate is 296 per 100,000. These indicators meet the CDC’s definition of “high transmission” - a cumulative seven-day rate of 100 or more cases per 100,000 residents or a positivity rate of 10% or higher. Currently,128 people are hospitalized with COVID-19 and the City continues to see deaths almost every day.
The Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services (Health Department) is looking at post-surge updates to its masking mandates and setting benchmarks for the relaxation of these mandates. It also is updating thresholds for mega events to align with State thresholds.
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BizCare Pop-ups continue to be available throughout the City! BizCare Pop-ups are available to all Long Beach small businesses. The pop-ups provide business owners or their representatives with free one-on-one, in-person support to complete local, non-profit, state, and federal grant applications free of charge. Businesses are also introduced to other resources, such as loans and free technical assistance. Services are delivered in English, Spanish, and Khmer. The BizCare pop-ups are located at various locations throughout the City and operate on the following schedule: |
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Economic Development Commission Meeting |
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Join the Economic Development Commission Meeting on Wednesday, February 16 at 4:00 p.m. Be a part of planning the City’s Blueprint for Economic Development! The Blueprint focuses on advancing a 10-year vision of making Long Beach a City of opportunity for workers, investors, and entrepreneurs.
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City of Long Beach
Long Beach Recovery Act (LBRA)
Digital Inclusion Resources & Services Request for Proposals
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As part of the City of Long Beach’s (City) effort to bridge the digital divide, the Economic Development (ED) and Technology & Innovation (TID) departments have announced two funding opportunities for Long Beach organizations to implement digital inclusion resources and services administered to residents and business owners most in need. Funded through the Recovery Act, organizations can submit proposals for opportunities including distributing hotspots and computing devices, offering computer literacy training and implementing community outreach.
Eligible organizations are encouraged to submit proposals through the City’s Vendor Portal, PlanetBids, by 11 a.m. (PST) on Mar. 1, 2022. Questions regarding the RFPs can be directed to the City’s Purchasing Team at [email protected]. An Info Session for interested organizations will be hosted via Zoom on Feb. 17, 2022, at 2 p.m. (PST). For information regarding the City’s Digital Inclusion Initiative, visit the website.
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City Launches Request for Qualifications for Grant Writing Services |
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The City of Long Beach is seeking grant writing consultants and firms to provide grant writing services for various City Departments that require assistance applying for county, state, federal and philanthropic grants. Now through Feb. 23 at 11 a.m., eligible organizations are encouraged to submit proposals through the City’s Request for Qualification (RFQ) Vendor Portal, PlanetBids, for consideration.
To be eligible, consultants and firms must meet the following criteria:
- Be a grant writing consultant or firm offering tailored grant writing services with at least five years’ experience providing grant writing services for a range of simple to complex federal, state, county, and philanthropic grants to government agencies.
- Have familiarity with current procedures for submission of applications under grants.gov, including the use of Workspace, preparation of SF-424s and other relevant federal forms; similar knowledge of FEMA and other portal requirements; requirements of SAM.gov, FFATA, etc.
- Have experience and capacity to produce grant deliverables under tight deadlines.
- Have strong project management and administration skills.
- Be able to apply an equity lens throughout the grant application process.
- Have a Long Beach business license (must be obtained prior to final contract award).
Details related to scope areas, eligibility requirements and submission instructions are available at PlanetBids. The City also has developed an instructional video on the registration process.
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The Ascent Digital Platform Expands: SBA Introduces Course in Government Contracting to Online Digital Learning Platform |
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The new digital tool now provides women-owned small businesses resources to compete and succeed in the federal marketplace!
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced the launch of Journey 6 of the Ascent e-learning platform focused on educating women business owners about venturing into government contracting to help expand their businesses.
The Government Contracting Journey 6 identifies opportunities and prepares businesses to pursue those prospects. The new journey has six components or excursions:
- Government As Your Customers – helps the user understand government as a customer.
- Government Contracting Opportunities – evaluates contracting opportunities with local, state, and federal governments.
- Government Subcontracting Opportunities – helps to identify subcontracting opportunities.
- Set-Aside Certifications - guides the business through what is needed to plan and pursue federal government contracting certifications.
- Federal Solicitations – analyzes the components of the federal solicitation process
- General Services Administration (GSA) Contracts – analyzes opportunities for GSA contracts.
Women entrepreneurs start and own nearly half of all businesses in the United States employ 9.4 million workers, generate $1.9 trillion in revenue, and represent all industries. Ascent offers several key journeys to assist women business owners with strategies toward growth and success, including Disaster & Economic Recovery, Strategic Marketing, Your People, Your Business Financial Strategy, and Access to Capital. Each journey contains content and tools needed to grow your business. Additional topics will be added over time.
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The City of Long Beach will launch a new procurement platform, Long Beach Buys, in mid-2022! We are excited about the new possibilities and hope you will join us on our new platform.
Starting on February 16, 2022, registration on Long Beach Buys will be open to all vendors. Once the new platform goes live, all vendors must have registered through Long Beach Buys to access and participate in opportunities, even if you already created a profile in the past. Registration and use of Long Beach Buys is free to all vendors.
Note that the City of Long Beach will continue to post opportunities and receive proposals in our current system until the new platform is fully live in mid-2022. For regular updates navigate to https://www.longbeach.gov/purchasing!
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Long Beach Accelerator Summer 2022 Cohort Now Accepting Applications |
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The Long Beach Accelerator has graduated 12 cohort companies, 25% of which have received acquisition offers, and collectively raised over $4.5M in capital and earned over $1M in revenue since February 2021.
Startups accepted to the program will receive the resources and runway needed to flourish, including:
- $75,000 to $100,000+ in capital funding in exchange for 7% equity.
- Access to prime working space in Downtown Long Beach.
- A specialized four month program where each month the startups will work on a specific component of the business with expert instructors, mentors and other resources.
- Digital resource package worth approximately $500,000 and include services such as Amazon Web Services, Airtable, Stripe, Zoom, and many more.
Application Deadline: February 18th, 2022
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Small Business Accelerator |
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NEXT Long Beach Small Business Accelerator powered by OmniWorks is helping women and BIPOC entrepreneurs grow their business.
The FREE program includes personalized mentorship, mastermind sessions for peer idea exchange and accountability, expert workshops, and online networking events with other entrepreneurs in our community.
Building your business is challenging – but you don’t have to do it alone.
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Contact the City of Long Beach BizCare Hotline for Immediate Assistance:
Phone number: 562-570-4BIZ (4249)
Days: Monday - Friday
Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 5 p.m.
City staff will respond to voicemails made after business hours within 24 hours.
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411 W. Ocean Blvd Long Beach, CA 90802 (562) 570-4249
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