The draft Inclusive Economic Development Plan found rental costs, resource information gaps, missing relationships with business support systems and finding locations as barriers for business owners. (Communiqué)
V Fixmer-Oraiz, founder and CEO of Astig Planning, presented the plan’s findings to the Iowa City Council this week. (submit photo)
Megan Alter of the Iowa City Council
IOWA CITY — Affordable spaces, mentoring programs and community areas are among the recommendations that will help further support minority business owners in Johnson County.
The Inclusive Economic Development initiative, led by Iowa City-based community and environmental planning firm Astig Planning, has been in the works for about a year, conducting research, surveys, focus groups and interviews. The plan identifies barriers and potential solutions for Johnson County’s historically underrepresented business owners.
V Fixmer-Oraiz, founder and CEO of Astig Planning, presented the plan’s findings to the Iowa City Council this week.
“What’s really great is that there’s a lot of momentum and interest, especially in terms of (US Rescue Plan Act) funding,” Fixmer-Oraiz said at Tuesday’s meeting. “We hope this plan will show that there is internal work to be done and a lot of hurdles to be removed.”
In allocating its pandemic relief funds, the Iowa City Council intends to use this research to help guide funding decisions to support BIPOC business owners. The city has initially allocated between $4 million and $6 million for possible initiatives.
City staff will work to develop targeted recommendations, according to a city memo.
“It’s been an extraordinary, very thorough in-depth study, just peeling back layer after layer,” Mayor Pro Tem Megan Alter said at a council meeting on Tuesday.
“I think we’ll be in a better position going forward because of this work.
Barriers in Johnson County
The draft plan found rental costs, resource information gaps, missing relationships with business support systems and finding locations as barriers for business owners.
Another barrier is whether the individual is intimidated by entering the bank, or whether documents or information are inaccessible.
“We’re also talking about financial literacy,” Fixmer-Oraiz said. “We’re talking about all these things that really buy actual financial resources.”
The study found that few programs in Johnson County are specifically focused on serving undervalued business owners. Programs that do exist are still emerging.
Another hurdle is that most materials about loans or support programs are only available in English. The study found that only 17% of institutions provided information in a different language, usually Spanish.
“It’s not that you just want to translate documents into another language,” Fixmer-Oraiz said. “You need to have a follow-up who can help that person. We don’t just talk about one and it’s done. We’re really talking about dynamic interactions.”
potential solutions
The plan has five suggested action items, each with its own set of suggested changes or improvements.
Three action items are used for internal changes:
- Changes to Multilevel Policies and Procedures
- The inner workings of local government and business support agencies
- Support entities that currently support small businesses.
There are two action items related to “public facing support”:
- A resource for undervalued entrepreneurs and the business community
- Build infrastructure to create space for undervalued businesses to thrive.
The opportunity for one-on-one mentoring will be a “game changer,” Fixmer-Oraiz said. For budding business owners, this will be an opportunity to hear from those who are familiar with the financial environment, legal terms and have experienced the same obstacles.
Other potential solutions identified include affordable space, grant opportunities, translated documents, community networks and accelerator programs.
Fixmer-Oraiz said the next steps include submitting the findings to other local governments in the county and going back to see where the recommendations meet funding priorities.
“No one wants a plan to be sidelined, and it’s too important,” Fixmer-Oraiz said.
Gazetteonline’s draft plan for inclusive economic development on Scribd
About research
Astig Planning wanted to gain a clearer picture of the barriers and resources for “undervalued community members” who own or are interested in doing business in the county.
Underrepresented community members include Blacks, Latinos, Asian Americans, immigrants and formerly incarcerated individuals, as well as others who have been historically underrepresented.
“This program is largely a study,” the program wrote. “As our business community tries to understand the needs of our undervalued businesses, there is a lack of data collection and findings to quantify and help guide courses of action.”
The effort was led by Astig Planning with help from groups including the GreenState Credit Union, the Iowa Downtown Development Group, the Iowa Downtown Business Partnership, and the Iowa Center for Multicultural Development.
A total of 105 people responded to the survey, Fixmer-Oraiz said. Among them, there are 63 existing business owners, 17 emerging business owners, and 24 business support institutions.
Fixmer-Oraiz said 25 different races and 29 ethnicities were identified among the respondents.
“You just don’t see that kind of strong identification. If we knew, that would be important,” Fixmer-Oraiz said. “It was very important to us that people felt seen throughout the process.”
Comments: (319) 339-3155; izabela.zaluska@thegazette.com