On Wednesday, March 10th, the Finance, Banking & Business subcommittee met and discussed more details about the survey they plan to send out to the public. This discussion included question structure, the number of questions, and key stakeholders/ organizations to send the survey to.
This survey is designed to help the subcommittee understand the challenges to owning/starting a business in West Palm Beach (past and present). Data collected from the survey will help the subcommittee determine how to better support past, current, and potential business owners in West Palm Beach – especially minority-owned businesses.
Subcommittee members also discussed the barriers to homeownership; how to obtain Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, and how to obtain proper licenses, aside from survey questions.
Subcommittee members discussed the possibility of holding a focus group to hear directly from business owners/the community about their personal experiences and challenges faced.
The subcommittee wants to invite guest speakers such as banking professionals and mortgage brokers to future subcommittee meetings.
The subcommittee’s next steps are to have the survey finalized based on feedback from the meeting and redistributed to subcommittee members for review and feedback. They are also contributing to a list of stakeholders who should receive the survey. They will continue to explore the creation of a focus group.
Upcoming Subcommittee Meeting Information
The next (virtual) Finance, Banking & Business subcommittee meeting is next week on Wednesday, April 14th, 2021 from 5:30 – 7 p.m.
Zoom link to join: https://zoom.us/j/91723805795
We’d love to see you there!