Birmingham’s thirst and energy to develop and support small businesses is what drew Tené Dolphin to the city after 30 years in Washington, D.C.
But there is still work to be done, she said.
Dolphin, the deputy director for business diversity and opportunity at the City of Birmingham, will speak to the Birmingham Regional Enterprise Council (BREC), comprised of mostly small business owners, at 11:30 a.m. on May 30 at the Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA) about the ongoing work her office is doing to back small businesses.
“It’s important for small businesses to know they have a partner in City Hall,” she said. “It’s evolving. We can’t say overnight that we’re everything to all people, but small businesses need to know we are incrementally making changes that will have a positive impact on how they do business and their bottom line.”
Dolphin will discuss changes that are being made to further foster small businesses, which has become a priority for the City, she said. She will discuss what currently exists to help these companies, upcoming initiatives that will be launching soon to aid in small business development and an overview of hot topics like Opportunity Zones and Building Opportunities for Lasting Development (B.O.L.D.) funding.
“When we say ‘Birmingham is open for business,’ we want to be a hub for small businesses,” Dolphin said. “We want small businesses to come into City Hall and get things done.”