Business Retention and Development Committee Agenda and Packet 2020 02 03

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BUSINESS RETENTION AND DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE SUBJECT: BUSINESS RETENTION REPORT AND RETENTION VISIT STRUCTURE DATE: FEBRUARY 3, 2020 PRESENTED BY: MEGAN E. PIERCE, ECONOMIC VITALITY DIRECTOR SUMMARY: The BRaD Committee has conducted two retention visits since the December 2, 2019 meeting, including Solid Power and Crystal Springs Brewing Company. Staff has established a survey tool in order to enter and track the information gathered at retention visits. Survey summaries for both businesses are attached to this report for the Committee’s review. BRaD should also discuss what additional visits the Committee may wish to pursue for the remainder of Q1 2020. Going forward, we will seek to plan and schedule visits on a quarterly basis, so please also plan to bring ideas and feedback for Q2 2020 visits to the March meeting. It would also be helpful if we can review the best days and times on which staff should seek to schedule retention visits. In addition to planning further ahead for visits, it is important we discuss and concur on the structure of visits. We want our visits to be professional and consistent, so that businesses are prepared for the discussion and so that they share a positive message with others about our purpose. Based on feedback about how visits were structured in the past, the Committee should consider the following to formalize its retention visit structure: • Agree to in advance who specifically will attend the visit. For small businesses, the number of BRaD members should be limited to two participants. We want to be able to clearly communicate the number of people participating and have enough representation, but not too much as it could overwhelm the owner or space. • Keep visits to a one-hour commitment. To help with business expectations, we should plan to spend no more than one-hour at a location, unless the business owner specifically asks for more time. This will also assist BRaD members in participating and fitting it into their schedules. • Incorporate both an interview (Q&A) and a tour into the one-hour visit. The Economic Vitality Director will schedule and communicate expectations to the business ahead of time and request a specific Q&A period as well as more general tour of space and description of business. • Someone from the Committee should lead the Q&A with an introduction that includes the BRaD Committee’s purpose and the City’s relevant business programs. This should be something like a 5-minute “elevator speech.” Packet P. 16