Tuesday, July 25

Women Working Win Leads Group

Women’s Council Luncheon CPR Series

Wednesday, July 26

Joint DTC & GLBX Breakfast-Legislation Discussion

Biz West After Hours

Thursday, July 27

Greater West Broward Business Leads Group

Friday, July 28

Small Business Council Board Meeting

Saturday, July 29

Chamber Family Day at LoanDepot Field

Biz Perks Held at Valley Bank

Valley Bank in Fort Lauderdale hosted 40 people for the monthly Biz Perks networking event on Friday, July 21. This event allowed local business community members to connect and build meaningful relationships. This event is open to chamber members and members of the public, who were all treated to a complimentary breakfast. Thank you to all who came to the event!

Housing Battle in Broward County

Housing our workforce remains a constant battle in Broward County and the rest of the nation.

"There is a heavy affordability catastrophe in Broward County," said Kathleen Cannon, President, and CEO of United Way of Broward County, at last week’s Racial Equity Task Force meeting.

Only 8% of households in Broward County can afford a single-family home, as reported by the Sun Sentinel. Workers across the board are struggling to find housing to buy or rent. "How does the rest of Broward keep up if everyone is leaving?" said Patrice Walker, Realtor at Florida Capital Realty.

The Racial Equity Task Force gathered on July 21st to review the housing issue and other wage-related topics before they submit their reports to the advisory board. The stress of the housing situation is felt on all ends. "Some lawyers can't afford housing," said Melida Akiti, Chief Community Officer for Memorial Healthcare System.

Cycle Bar Fort Lauderdale Grand Re-Opening

The Chamber wishes to congratulate CycleBar Fort Lauderdale for their grand re-opening and ribbon cutting on Saturday, July 15. For more information, visit their website at www.cyclebar.com/location/fort-lauderdale and sign-up to receive your first ride free! CycleBar Fort Lauderdale is located at 525 N. Federal Highway, Suite 100, in Fort Lauderdale.

Eastern Acupuncture and Wellness

Opening and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

Congratulations Eastern Acupuncture and Wellness for your opening and ribbon cutting yesterday! The event received much support from the Wilton Manors community and a showing by our chamber president, Dan Lindblade. For more info, visit their website at www.eacuwell.com. Eastern Acupuncture and Wellness is located at 1201 NE 26th Street in Wilton Manors.

One Digital Presents All-In-One HR Solution

Human resource management is one of many problems that trouble businesses today, ranging from controlling costs to reducing risks, employee engagement, and retention. This morning at the Downtown Networking Partners Group Meeting, Tammy Kennedy from One Digital presented the all-in-one solution-based service that One Digital provides.

As a business owner, you must be a jack of all trades, but mastering them all could be challenging. She discussed their business model and how One Digital can help business owners with payroll administration, employee benefits, tax administrative services, and more! "If you have a lawsuit, God-Forbid, the first thing the judge will ask you is, what have you done? And we can help take care of that," Kennedy said.

Downtown Networking Partners is for small business owners generally located in the downtown Fort Lauderdale area. Meetings are held on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month at 8 am. Contact Chair, Serge Mallat, or Vice Chair, Kathy Schklair, before visiting to ensure your business category is available and because the meeting location is subject to change.

We are excited to announce that, earlier this year, the State of Florida secured nearly half a billion dollars in loan funding specifically targeted for Florida small businesses and entrepreneurs. $142 million dollars of the total $488 million is available right now to fuel small business growth, and we need your help in getting the word out. 

The Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) is administered by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity with the goal of promoting small business lending, supporting small business growth within Florida, and creating jobs that support families and build strong economies. SSBCI can help businesses in any industry access credit for any business purpose even if they don’t have much collateral, are in a rural area, are very small, or new. 

There are several loan options available to meet the needs of the individual businesses, including: 

Collateral Support Program: Enables financing that otherwise might be unavailable due to collateral shortfall. 

Loan Participation Program: Supports a private loan by either acting as a companion loan or purchasing a portion of a loan already made by the private lender. 

Loan Guarantee Program: Guarantees a loan or line-of-credit for eligible small businesses

For further questions please contact Danay Espinosa at Danay.espinosa@deo.myflorida.com or 786-626-9260.

Click Here to read the PDF

Ballyhoo Media, is partnering with the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce and the Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce to offer $100,000 in billboard advertising to support local companies. Small businesses in Aventura, Bal Harbor, Dania Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Golden Beach, Hallandale Beach, Haulover Beach, Hollywood Beach, Miami Beach, Sunny Isles, and Surfside areas, are encouraged to apply. Applications have been extended to August 7, 2023, so visit btallyhooboats.com/grants/ and apply today!

Career Source Broward has initiated an employment survey. With the primary goal being growth, your participation, will not only contribute to their knowledge base, but also enable them to better serve the community and provide improved career solutions.

Through our partnership, we have had the pleasure of working with Paiton Ferguson, an intern from the Summer Youth Employment Program, who has been instrumental in our collaboration.

Career Source Broward is dedicated to helping businesses find the right talent within the community. They have a host of features, such as no-cost job postings, recruitment events, and even HR resources.

We encourage all members to take part in the survey and share your valuable insights. Together, we can create a thriving business environment and ensure success for both employers and job seekers. Thank you for your ongoing support.

To take the quick 9-question survey, click the image above, or CLICK HERE.

Click here to Register

Click here to Register

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