Welcome to The Department of Small Business Development (SBD)

The Miami-Dade County Department of Small Business Development (SBD) works to increase the participation of small businesses on County contracts. The department coordinates and implements various small business programs to provide business opportunities and technical assistance to aid these firms in their growth and contribution to South Florida’s economy.

To enact the programs, SBD:

• certifies firms as small or disadvantaged-owned businesses
• reviews proposed County purchases and contracts to determine if small or minority participation measures are to be applied
• reviews affirmative action plans and monitors contracts which include small or minority business participation measures to help ensure compliance with program regulations and guidelines.
• reviews construction contracts to determine if workforce goals are to be applied.

Small Business Expos
Small businesses make up 80 percent of all Miami-Dade County businesses. They are an integral part of our economy providing jobs and sustaining neighborhoods. To support their efforts, there will be three Small Business Expos March 5, 26 and April 16.
Miami-Dade County works with outside vendors on everything from printing to construction. In the Small Business Expos, we are covering not only how to do business with the County but also other resources outside of the County that can help small businesses grow. We want to help small business owners not only to more effectively work with the County but to expand their businesses.
For more information, please call 305-375-3186..

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Calling All Small Business Owners
If you are a small business owner and would like information about contracting opportunities with Miami-Dade County call us at 305-375-3111 and someone from The Department of Small Business Development’s Business Assistance Division will contact you.

The Surety Bond and Financial Assistance Unit  reached a major milestone with the recent Board of County Commissioners (BCC) approval of the amendments to the Community Small business Enterprise (CSBE) Ordinance. The amendments now give SBD the authority to provide guarantees on working capital loans for CSBEs through partnering relationships with financial institutions.

Continental Bank has recently agreed to partner with SBD to create the Small Business Contract Lending Program.

The program will also be available to Small Business Enterprise (SBE) firms adding more than 700 firms to the program population.

CSBEs and SBEs with County contracts may be eligible to receive short term working capital loans against these contracts. The intent of this program is to bridge the gap between submissions of requisition to receipt of payment. The loans are structured as revolving lines of credit where firms can be paid up to 85% of approved invoices within 48 hours. Loan proceeds can only be used for contract related expenses. The contract serves as collateral for the loan and is assigned to the lending institution. Interest rates are competitive. Eligible firms must be CSBE or SBE certified and in good standing within County Ordinances.

On Tuesday, February 1, 2005, the Board of County Commissioners approved the Small Business Enterprise  program, Ordinance 05-29, applicable to the acquisition of goods and services.

On Tuesday and Thursday of each week, The Department of Small Business Development will open its Satellite Office from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Martin Luther King, Jr. Office Plaza located at 2525 N.W. 62nd Street, Miami, Florida, (305) 514-6223. For your convenience, staff will be able to assist you with program information and provide you with CBE/CSBE/DBE/SBE certification and CBE/CSBE/DBE/SBE re-certification  applications.

New Up-To-The-Minute (Real-Time) Access

SBD's Information Technology staff has been working on providing new reporting capabilities to the public.

In the near future, reports retrieved will provide up-to-the minute information (real-time). In addition, users will now be able to drill-down by clicking the plus signs on the report, click on the firm name links to access firm information, as well as export the information in a variety of formats including: excel, .pdf, .csv, etc.

Click here to view a sample of the NIGP Categories for Micros and SBE Certified Firms.

Changes to the CSBE Program

On February 10, 2007, the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) approved an amendment to the Community Small Business Enterprise (CSBE) program Ordinance 97-52.  As a result of the amendment, the following changes have taken affect:

• Increase in Size Standard Ceiling:    Average Gross Receipts (AGR) for the last three (3) years for construction categories:
  SIC 15 (Building Construction, General Contractors, and Operative Builders)  = $10,000,000
   
  SIC 16 (Heavy Construction other than Building Construction ) = $6,000,000|
   
  SIC 17 (Specialty Trades) = $5,000,000
• Increase in Contracting Participation Levels:
  • Level 1 = 0 to $2,000,000
• • Level 2 = Over $2,000,000 to $5,000,000
  • Level 3 = Over $5,00,000 up to $10,000,000
• Increase in Personal Net Worth Ceiling:    The personal net worth has increased to $1,500,000 per owner 

Certifying your construction firm as a CSBE allows your firm to participate on County contracts that have assigned opportunities for small business participation.  If you are a small business owner in the field of construction and would like to apply for certification as a CSBE, clickCertification Application to obtain an application or call us at 305-375-3111 for more information.