MCbiz Wins Excellence in Business Award/Service Provider of the Year
The United Latino Business Coalition (ULBC) recognized Andres Chagolla and MCbiz as the winner of this year’s Service Provider of the Year at the Downtown Phoenix Wyndham Hotel on October 2, 2008. The ULBC presented six awards: Small Business of the Year, Corporation of the Year, Individual Advocate of the Year, Government Advocate of the Year, and Service Provider of the Year.
MCbiz - Maricopa County’s Small Business Enterprise Program is one year old, and through the support of the County’s Board of Supervisors, it is charged with promoting the growth of the small business community and facilitating procurement activity with Small Business Enterprises (SBEs) – those with fewer than 100 employees or less than $4 million in annual gross revenues. In addition, MCbiz partners with other procurement entities (City of Phoenix, SBA, Small Business Development Centers, SCORE and other municipalities), certification granting agencies, and other private entities and community agencies such as the United Latino Business Coalition to promote growth of the small business community.
GOALS:
- Increase the use of Small Business Enterprises in Maricopa County’s procurement activities.
- Promote the growth of the small business community via our workshops on various educational topics and eventually provide consulting services, which will promote the economic vitality of Maricopa County.
-Support public and community outreach events pertinent to the growth of the small business community.
Maricopa County has awarded $9.5 million to Small Business Enterprises in the first half of last fiscal year through the MCbiz program. It has also procured four contracts (two electrical and two general contractors), which are either woman-owned businesses or small business enterprises with approximately $60 million to be earned within a five-year period. It is a great start, and the County continues to move forward with MCbiz initiatives.
MCbiz champions partnerships, and it was selected by the National Football League (NFL) as a Business Development Partner to create workshops for the NFL Super Bowl XLII Playbook for Small Business Workshop Series. As one of the lead business development agencies on this initiative, MCbiz brought together several alliance partners: Arizona Department of Commerce, BidSource-Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, Elite Service Disabled Veteran Owned Business Network – Arizona Chapter, Grand Canyon Minority Supplier Development Council, Greater Phoenix Black Chamber of Commerce, Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Women Business Owners –Metro Phoenix Chapter, National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development, Philippine American Chamber of Commerce of Arizona, Southwest Valley Chamber of Commerce, and the United Latino Business Coalition. MCbiz is very much into collaboration and inclusion, and it was honored to be one of the lead agencies in its endeavor to do its utmost in promoting the growth of the business community.
The small business community is one of the forces positively impacting the economic vitality in Maricopa County, mirroring the key role that small businesses manifest throughout the nation. MCbiz’s “Won by One” & “Ganas con Ganas” (bilingual in Spanish) Workshop Series (covering varied topics – Financial Literacy, Workforce Development, Business and Market Planning, Communications, Doing Business with Governmental Agencies, plus others) and its new website at www.maricopa.gov/mcbiz are intended to help the community by providing information about how to do business with Maricopa County and other resources, information, and opportunities for the small business community.
MCbiz’s future consulting initiative is dubbed – HELPbiz – Harvesting Entrepreneurial Leadership & Profitability. It is regenerative in nature because the cycle of help begins with bigger businesses providing funding and continues with smaller businesses receiving no-cost consulting services by designated Small Business Enterprises, allowing small businesses to reach their respective next levels.
Sustainable Development: The ultimate objective is promoting the growth of the small business community and positively affecting the core of the local economy. The initiative can be a catalyst for change and economic growth, providing a boost in the economic vitality of the region, rippling out to the larger economy. In turn, HELPbiz can harvest sustainable businesses, such as subcontractors for design and construction primes and additional businesses providing general goods and services to the County and the larger community.
For more information, visit the MCbiz website at www.maricopa.gov/mcbiz or email Andres Chagolla at achagolla@mail.maricopa.gov.