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Implementing business support and training for your legacy business program.
Incorporating or at least facilitating business support or training has become an increasingly relevant goal for legacy business programs, since many of the legacy businesses we support are not prepared or equipped for rapidly changing markets, consumer needs, or customer behaviors. However, most legacy business programs start as grassroots efforts, so providing this support and training can prove daunting. Luckily, you should not have to go it alone. Many municipalities already have programs in place to support businesses and provide training. If none are available locally, regional, state, and national programs can help fill in the gaps.
Where to Look and Who to Talk To
Expanding the scope of a legacy business program to include business support and training promotes cross-departmental and community collaboration while also extending the reach of local economic development programs. First, start locally. Determine if partners exist and collaborate. Remember that currently successful legacy business programs are often cross-functional, with many including community and municipal organizations working together.
For legacy business programs, previously divergent community organizations or municipal departments now share common goals. Community organizations that best understand the business needs of local legacy businesses must identify and connect with municipal departments that can provide business support and training. Historic preservation and planning departments that traditionally focus on the physical aspects of the community—such as buildings and infrastructure—need to broaden their focus to include cultural sustainability and economic development because the continuity of communities depends not only on preserving structures, but also on maintaining the businesses, cultural practices, community character, and sense of place that give those structures meaning. Economic development professionals, chambers of commerce, and EDOs, who focus on evolution and growth in the broader region should expand their support for existing culturally relevant commercial infrastructure and better understand the needs of legacy business owners because they serve as crucial economic anchors that stabilize neighborhoods, create hyper-local economies and circulate money locally, and uphold the cultural identity and community character that draw people in.
Most larger municipalities in the US already have local programs in place that may benefit legacy businesses through support or training. There are also regional, state, and national programs available to assist business owners should your local municipality not offer these services. Here are some local and external places where you can find business support and training resources to incorporate into your legacy business program.
Local Partners
Municipal Economic Development Departments (or Groups that Focus on Local Economies)
Municipal economic development departments are the main drivers for improving and strengthening the city’s overall economy. Most municipalities have some form of economic development department with which you can partner. It may be a dedicated department, an EDO, a local initiative (e.g., through a mayor’s office). While their scope is broad, it often includes supporting small businesses in the area. These departments frequently coordinate with local planning and development projects, making them essential partners in preserving and sustaining legacy businesses. Additionally, training and resources for small businesses often fall under the purview of these departments. Many legacy business programs in the US were started or are currently run by economic development departments, making them ideal partners for starting your program.
Pasadena Legacy Business Program | Pasadena, California
The Pasadena, California, legacy business program was started by the city’s economic development department to recognize the critical role that legacy businesses play in the local economy. The program supports and promotes businesses that have operated in the city for 50 years or more.
Case in point.
Municipal Small Business Departments
Many local governments understand the economic and social importance of small businesses in their communities and create small business departments, offices, or organizations to serve them. They can often be found within the economic development department. Small business departments help local business owners grow and sustain their businesses. This is usually done through business mentorship or counseling, support on local policy, licensing, zoning, or permits, and business training or workshops. Some of these programs help business owners with issues related to rental or ownership, as well as relocation. Many of these departments’ goals overlap with ours for legacy business programs, making them prime partners for providing business support and training.
Case in Point: The New York City Department of Small Business Services is a municipal department supporting small businesses in all the city’s boroughs. It supports business training programs and helps local businesses navigate local policy and licensing issues. In a recent CEOs You Should Know Podcast, the NYC Department of Small Business Services Commissioner, Dynishal Gross, discussed the department's direct support for legacy businesses through its Love Your Local program, which provides grants, consulting, and business services.
New York City Department of Small Business Services
The New York City Department of Small Business Services is a municipal department supporting small businesses in all the city’s boroughs. It supports business training programs and helps local businesses navigate local policy and licensing issues. In a recent CEOs You Should Know Podcast, the NYC Department of Small Business Services Commissioner, Dynishal Gross, discussed the department's direct support for legacy businesses through its Love Your Local program, which provides grants, consulting, and business services.
Case in point.
Municipal Office of Historic Preservation (OHP) or Historic Preservation Department
While local OHPs generally focus on preserving physical historic resources rather than supporting legacy business needs, they can still be powerful and enthusiastic partners, especially if they are interested in cultural heritage or continuity of place. Because preservation offices and departments have been involved in many of the current legacy business programs, your local office may already be aware of their value to the community. This may incentivize them to help legacy business owners in several ways, including:
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Aiding and supporting business owners as they work through the legacy business qualification process.
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Providing guidance and input on qualifying for and accessing existing historic preservation incentives and benefits.
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Providing valuable partner connections. OHPs may already be collaborating with Main Street programs, local small-business organizations, or other groups, thereby expanding the network of business support.
Municipal Planning and Development Departments, or Community Development/Planning Departments
Much like OHPs, municipal Planning Departments, or Community Development Departments can play a crucial role in connecting you with the right municipal partners and enlisting cross-functional support for your legacy business program. These departments are commonly involved in or running several of the current legacy business programs, like those in Portland and San Marcos, Texas. They are essential partners and contributors to your legacy business program for reasons including:
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Ensuring that legacy businesses and their owners are part of community development or planning processes. This is one of the best ways to safeguard the continuity of legacy businesses.
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Providing valuable partner connections and facilitate cross-functional municipal contributions to your program.
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Sharing their extensive expertise in community engagement to help involve and gather feedback from your community.
Community Development Corporations (CDCs)
CDCs are private, community-run nonprofit organizations that work to revitalize local communities through housing, commercial, and community-focused programs. These programs often work with local governments and private funding to accomplish tangible improvements in their communities. The benefit of CDCs is that community needs drive their focus and goals. These goals can often include preserving commercial districts and the legacy businesses that help define their communities. This makes them ideal partners for establishing business support or training programs that are hyper-focused on real community needs.
The Allapattah Collaborative | Miami, Florida
The Allapattah Collaborative, CDC in Miami, Florida, offers one of the most advanced local business support and training programs in the country, called Small Business Growth. They provide business training, a mentorship cohort, workshops, succession planning, resiliency assistance, and digital marketing assistance and training. They also provide a unique path-to-ownership program and a first-time buyer program that allows legacy businesses to pass on ownership within the community.
Case in point.
Other Local Nonprofit Organizations or Alliances
Even when a local municipality lacks the bandwidth or resources to support legacy business programs, local nonprofits can often step in. As an example, my current work identifying and promoting legacy businesses in Arlington, Virginia, is conducted through a nonprofit community planning organization called the Langston Boulevard Alliance. Local nonprofits are generally well-connected to local resources. They may also offer business support or training, or know where to find it, making them an ideal place to incubate or enhance your local program.
Evanston Legacy Business Alliance | Evanston, Ill
The Evanston Legacy Business Alliance in Evanston, Illinois, is a nonprofit organization that supports longstanding legacy businesses. Their program works to identify and promote local legacy businesses. Additionally, they work closely with the city's economic development department to provide support for everything from local policy and license assistance to storefront improvements. This provides a good example of the types of partnerships needed to make your program successful.
Case in point.
Regional Resources
Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs)
SBDCs are regional support organizations funded through a partnership with the US Small Business Administration that help business owners grow, manage, and sustain their businesses. They offer free or low-cost services that you can recommend or incorporate into your legacy business program, including business planning, marketing, financial management training, and one-on-one advisement. You can work with your regional SBDC to coordinate or customize business support and training for the legacy businesses in your program.
Western Maryland Region SBDC
The Western Region of Maryland SBDC launched the Legacy Business Transition Program in 2020 to assist legacy businesses with succession. The goal of the program is to help keep the businesses in place and operating despite the change in ownership. Many other regional SBDCs offer similar programs.
Case in point.
National Resources
US Small Business Administration (SBA)
The SBA is a federal agency dedicated to supporting small businesses nationwide. It was created to provide small businesses access to the resources they need to succeed, including business guidance and training. The SBA provides direct resources through its website, and funds business training and counseling through regional SDDCs, SCORE, and Women’s Business Centers. While there are no resources specific to legacy businesses, the SBA’s resources for business planning, financial management, and growth could be valuable to the legacy businesses in your program.
Resource.
SBA Learning Platform
The SBA Learning Platform provides SBA-sponsored coaching and training to businesses on topics like digital marketing, personnel management, business growth, and financial strategy.
SCORE
SCORE is a nonprofit partner of the SBA that provides free mentoring, guidance, and educational services to small business owners in the US. It connects small business owners seeking guidance in managing or growing their business with a network of seasoned professionals, including 200 local chapters with thousands of volunteer mentors. SCORE offers a wide variety of support and training programs, available in person or online. Small business owners can attend workshops, access online resources, or receive mentoring on business planning, financial planning, and marketing. SCORE provides valuable connections to the legacy business owners in your program with people who know how to help them remain competitive.
Resource.
SCORE Small Business Education
SCORE’s Small Business Education tools provide legacy business owners with workshops, webinars, and courses to help their business compete and succeed.
Project Equity
Project Equity is a national nonprofit organization that focuses on keeping businesses in their communities through succession planning and paths to ownership, especially employee ownership opportunities. They provide support, training, and hands-on guidance to business owners who want their business to continue but are interested in retiring or creating a succession plan.
Project Equity San Diego Project
Project Equity has worked on multiple projects in my hometown of San Diego, California. According to Project Equity, San Diego is facing a “closure crisis.” Half of the privately owned businesses in San Diego, including legacy businesses, are owned by baby boomers, and 6 in 10 owners plan to sell or close in the next 10 years. Project Equity recently worked with Western Lighting, a 35-year-old lighting and fixture company, to ensure the continuation of this legacy business through an employee ownership program.
Case in point.
Operation Hope
Operation Hope is a national nonprofit organization that addresses economic inequality and financial literacy issues hindering underserved small businesses in the US. Their Small Business Development program (one of many) offers group mentoring and coaching services to small businesses in need. The program requires registration through their website and may require you to assist legacy businesses in your program with site registration and the development of a mentorship plan.