City of Austin — Helping out the little guy

Word came across my radar recently that the City of Austin offices what looks like a little coworking space for free, just south of the river in One Texas Center. I popped down to take a peek during office hours but they were closed — some something had pulled them away during regular hours. I did get in touch with Steven Gonzales, Coordinator for what is officially called the Business Solutions Center to find out just what they have going on down there. It’s not exactly coworking, but the space is a good resource that allows independent workers and small business entrepreneurs a chance to get input from others.

Here’s what Steven had to say:

Spike Gillespie: What is the Business Solutions Center?
Steven Gonzales: The Business Solutions Center (BSC) is a resource of the City of Austin’s Small Business Development Program. This free service was established for business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs. The BSC is committed to providing the most current information and innovative technology resources available to help Austin’s small businesses grow and prosper.

Spike: When and how did it get started?
Steven: The Business Solutions Center was revised and re-launched June 6, 2005. It is comprised of an On-Line Plan Room for construction and construction-related businesses, a Business Information Center for all small businesses seeking to conduct research to start a new business or expand their existing business and a PC Lab to conduct software or Internet training.

Established in 2001, the City of Austin On-Line Plan room helped women and minority small business owners locate City of Austin construction projects available for bid. In 2002, services became available to any small business owner. The plan room expanded to public/private projects in a 100 county area, later extended to the entire State of Texas, and in response to the 2005 Hurricanes, areas in Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi needing construction.

The Business Information Center was created in June, 2004 to meet the technology needs of entrepreneurs to conduct research, write business plans and use business equipment to help grow their small businesses. Multiple technology resources have been added. The PC Lab was originally used to teach software classes. It is now used to teach software and E-Bay business classes, is available for lease to small business owners and is used when the BSC main workstations are filled.

In June, 2005 the two centers and PC Lab were merged into the Business Solutions Center in downtown Austin, to give greater access to all small business owners. All resources available in the Center have been expanded to include Texas or nationwide coverage.

Spike: How does it work — can anyone have regular unlimited access during business hours?
Steven: Anyone looking to start or expand their small business is welcome to use the center for as long as they need.

Spike: What resources (human/computer/periodicals/wifi) can users take advantage of?
Steven: There are two on-site staff members for assistance or questions. The BSC also has a small library of many self-help books/periodicals and we included the following:

• 

  Workstations at Austin's Business Solutions Center

  Business Work Stations

• 6 PC workstations
• Access to nationwide government sales leads and bidding opportunities
• Database of commercial properties for sale or lease
• Business Plan software
• Desktop Publishing software
• Demographics information
• Sales and Marketing leads database
• Scanner and color printer (nominal fees for materials)
• Wall Street Journal and Austin Business Journal plus more
• Online Plan Room
• View plans and specs for commercial projects
• Scanner and plotter printer (nominal fees for materials)
• Construction-related reading materials

Spike: Is there a “typical” user?
Steven: Because of the cost of technology and office equipment, most new or existing small businesses are unable to access information easily available to larger businesses. The Austin/Round Rock MSA has 29,710 businesses, of which 24,392 employ fewer than 20 people. The United States Small Business Administration defines small business as employing fewer than 500 employees. The Austin MSA’s businesses are 99% small businesses under this definition. The City of Austin is proud that 94% of Austin businesses are employ fewer than 50 people, compared to 86% nationally. This economic engine is vital to the success of our city and our region. By supporting the small business owner, we strengthen our entire area economically and culturally.

The great majority of the Business Solutions Center customers are either starting or are in businesses employing fewer than 10 employees. They are seeking methods of selling their product/services to other businesses, to the general public or to the government. In some cases they are seeking information on commercial real estate that may help them in their goals for expansion. Many customers utilize the office software, the Internet access and the business plan software for day-to-day business needs.

Small business owners in the five-county area of Travis, Williamson, Hays, Caldwell and Bastrop are welcome to use the Business Solutions Center.

Spike: Does a user need to meet certain criteria to take advantage of the space or is it like the library, open to all?
Steven: You must be someone starting a small business or expanding your current small business.

Spike: What is your role in the space?
Steven: My primary role is to greet customers as they enter the center and provide an assessment of what they want to do. Based on this assessment, I’ll go over the resources we have available for their use and explain in detail how the resources can be used and how other components of the Small Business Development Program can help. I also troubleshoot any technical issues with our computers, printers and/or databases that may arise in the center. Secondary duties consist of teaching classes for our BizAid program, On-Line Plan room orientations, planning education classes, coordinating various luncheons for different audiences about our program and coordinating the BSC as an exhibitor at various functions/events throughout the year.