Welcome to the Economic Development Department's Business Brief! We are continuing to ensure you are updated on the latest business resources and news. | | |
The Queen Mary’s return continues! This month the Queen Mary welcomed hotel visitors back to its historic staterooms. Additionally, the Observation Bar, Chelsea Chowder House and Promenade Café have reopened to the public. Come enjoy the ambiance, spectacular views, and amazing food and drinks. Improvements continue to be made, and the City and Queen Mary are working towards ensuring stewardship of this Long Beach treasure are always top priority. Reactivation of the Queen Mary is an important part of elevating our visitor serving amenities and culture offerings to the local, regional and broader communities. As an economic engine, the Queen Mary supports over 1,300 jobs and has an economic output of over $92M. | |
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The City of Long Beach is conducting a vendor engagement survey and needs your input!
The City of Long Beach spends hundreds of millions of dollars each year on goods and services, and your feedback on our procurement process can help us make these opportunities more accessible to vendors. Your perspectives and experiences as a current, prior, or prospective vendor or as a business or nonprofit interested in working with the City in the future will help the City of Long Beach create additional opportunities for organizations like yours.
The survey is open to businesses and organizations of any sector or size, whether or not you have been a vendor with the City.
All responses are anonymous and will not impact existing or prospective business with the City. The survey closes on Friday, June 2, 2023. The survey is available in English, Spanish, Khmer, and Tagalog. Please direct any questions to lbpurchasing@longbeach.gov.
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The City of Long Beach has begun issuing the first payments to participants of the Long Beach Pledge, the City’s guaranteed income pilot program. The program is providing $500 a month for 12 months to 250 families with children who live in the 90813 zip code, are below 100% of the federal poverty line and have one income earner for their household.
The City previously announced the Long Beach Pledge Guaranteed Income Pilot application period in November 2022. There were 2,800 applications received with 250 single headed families with children in the 90813 selected. There are 937 total beneficiaries for the 250 participating households, 583 of whom are children. Above is demographic data of the selected participants.
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LA County’s Department of Economic Opportunity offers more than $54 million in grants to the business and nonprofit community. Potential grantees may be awarded between $2,500 and $25,000.
Phase 2 will be closing on May 31, 2023. Grant applications are now open for microbusinesses, small businesses and nonprofits. Apply for Phase 1 by May 31, 2023.
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Take your business to the next level with free online courses, entrepreneurship training, and marketing tools from the Digital Library. Offering notable and distinguished resources such as Coursera, Udemy, and LinkedIn Learning, the Digital Library contains an invaluable wealth of knowledge to help business owners (and their employees) upskill and lead a successful business. The Digital Library is free for all LBPL cardholders. Sign up for a library card to access these Digital Library Resource. | |
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The Commercial Corridor Façade Improvement Program (CCFIP) will provide financial assistance in the form of a grant to commercial property owners to significantly improve the appearance of the entire façade of their property that is visible from the street.
Visit the program webpage for more information and eligibility requirements.
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Upcoming Events and Workshops | |
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Visit the BizCare Pop-Ups for in-person business assistance on Thursdays at different locations throughout the city. Find the PopUps latest schedule at longbeach.gov/bizcare. Pop-Up services are delivered in English, Spanish, and Khmer.
Need help, but can't make it to a pop-up? BizCare is available by phone, email, or in-person appointment. Call the BizCare Hotline at 562-570-4249, email 4Biz@longbeach.gov, or request assistance.
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The City of Long Beach launched the Inclusive Business Navigators Program to provide outreach, workshops, education and direct technical assistance for local small businesses and nonprofits to support their economic recovery from financial hardships and disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The City previously sought partners to administer the Inclusive Business Navigators Program to support equitable economic recovery for Long Beach small business and nonprofits. The City selected vendors including CentroCHA, UCC, April Parker, and RightSource Services to provide outreach and assistance to local businesses. More information on these vendors and assistance available can be found at longbeach.gov/biznavigators. Businesses can also access assistance through this program through the BizCare Hotline: 562.570.4249 or 4Biz@longbeach.gov.
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This City of Long Beach Visual Improvement Program (VIP) Grant will provide direct financial relief to local small businesses and nonprofits impacted by crime and vandalism on or after 10/1/2022. Eligible businesses can receive $1,500 to cover repairs to their storefront caused by vandalism. Grant applications opened February 22, 2023, and will remain open until funding is exhausted. To find more information and access the online application visit longbeach.gov/smallbizgrants. | |
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The Long Beach Water Department is offering a Free Spray Valves Program for Long Beach Restaurants. To register for your free replacement and installation of high efficiency pre-rinse spray valves and faucet aerators, please visit the registration site and complete the form in its entirety.
Following your registration, the LBWD program representative will contact you to schedule your installation. If you require assistance, email waterconservation@lbwater.org
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The Certified Blue Restaurant (CBR) program supports and recognizes the outstanding Long Beach restaurants that achieve exceptional water efficiency in our community. Interested restaurants can enroll below to receive a no-cost, on-site efficiency survey, free water-efficient devices (if eligible), and an assessment for other possible rebates. Enroll your restaurant for the Certified Blue Restaurant Program. | |
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Every year, the Port of Long Beach needs small businesses to partner with, to build, maintain and service the 2nd largest Port in the United States. Small businesses earn millions of dollars as primes and/or sub-contractors on Port contracts.
Small business opportunities are available for a variety of contract types, such as construction, supplies, landscaping, recycling services, technology hardware, software and even food services. Visit the Port’s Business Opportunities Overview webpage to download a sampling of products/services procured by each Port division.
Port of Long Beach Small Business Enterprise / Very Small Business Enterprise (VSBE) Program
The main goal of the SBE/VSBE Program is to promote participation of SBEs and VSBEs on Port contracts and procurements, via prime and subcontracting opportunities. The Port has a 27% annual department-wide goal which is achieved by setting minimum SBE and VSBE participation goals for applicable construction and professional services contracts, and bureau-wide and/or division-wide SBE/VSBE goals on applicable purchases. Learn more about the Port’s SBE/VSBE Program at polb.com/sbe.
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Long Beach Procurement Platform "Long Beach Buys" | |
The City of Long Beach has launched Long Beach Buys, a new purchasing platform and marketplace that is free for all businesses and organizations seeking to do business with the City. Long Beach Buys is part of the City’s Extreme Procurement Makeover initiative, which aims to enhance the City’s procurement process to be more efficient, results-driven, equitable and sustainable. | |
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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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