This is the second half of a two-part story on the Southwest Detroit Business Association. Read part one here.
“We are truly a small business resource hub,” says Laura Chavez-Wazeerud-Din, president and CEO of the
Southwest Detroit Business Association. “We are here to dismantle barriers, allocate and bring resources to the community and also really focus on their business needs.”
One resource the SDBA offers is the
Small Business Advocacy Center (SBAC), which was launched in 2016 to increase economic opportunities and racial equity for local minority contractors and residents in the area.
Making sense of contract bids
The center advocates for Detroit-based residents and
Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs) to participate in local construction jobs. With new development projects happening within Detroit such as the
Gordie Howe Bridge and the
Michigan Central Train Station, SBAC is working to dismantle barriers that may cause small local minority contractors to be overlooked.
As SBAC assists local contractors in filling out the
DBE application from the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), it helps firms run by minorities, women, and other economically disadvantaged persons have opportunities to bid on federally funded MDOT contracts.
“If you have somebody that lives in Detroit, they’re going to care more about the work because they live in the city, and they want to see it thrive,” says Marco Andrade Jr., SDBA’s business development manager. “The DBE application shines a light on those local contractors, and it makes sure that we keep Detroit money in Detroit. This is a way we can fight gentrification and give equal opportunity to the contractors that live here.”
“There is a lot of new development going on right now in the Detroit area,” he says. “We want to make sure that the work is going to local minority contractors. Southwest Detroit has a heavy immigrant and Spanish-speaking community. We try to remove the language barriers and financial literacy barriers.”
Neighborhood beautification
The SBAC also collaborates with other programs that improve and enhance the shopping district in order to promote businesses and make communities more attractive. For example, the
W. Vernor & Springwells Business Improvement District (BID) is currently working on creating banners to welcome visitors and residents to explore the neighborhood. The SBAC is helping with outreach to residents to gather consensus and support for the project – and approaching businesses for banner sponsorships.
“There are going to be some beautiful ‘Welcome to Southwest Detroit banners,’” says Andrade Jr. “The goal is to essentially invite people to come into Southwest Detroit, check out the art and shop within the area.”
Providing technical assistance to entrepreneurs in areas like business planning and understanding the license and compliance rules of Detroit is another way that SBAC supports small businesses.
“A lot of the time entrepreneurs have a great idea, but don’t realize how much money needs to go into that,” Andrade Jr. says. “Or there are some businesses that were successful without a business plan, but we can help them draw one up quickly so they can get into financial opportunities either from a microlender, a grant or an actual bank.”
Addressing business crises
There have also been scenarios where SDBA had to help businesses quickly address City of Detroit license and compliance issues. Last summer, for example, 16 food vendors/businesses were on the brink of shutdown due to paperwork issues.
“We quickly scrambled and got resources from the website and help from
Detroit Means Business and the
Detroit Economic Growth Corporation on how to handle the situation. We were able to get those 16 businesses in compliance or at least in the direction towards compliance,” says Andrade Jr.
Walk-in financial advice
One popular event SBAC holds is the
Walk-in Wednesdays series to provide support for businesses. Entrepreneurs and SDBA members have access to 1:1 assistance, financial literacy lessons, training and other financial resources. They can also access financial advice from philanthropic organizations like Techtown Detroit, Motor City Match, and the
Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation.
The program assisted 45 businesses in 2023.
In a few years, Andrade Jr. hopes to host bilingual cohorts to educate the community and to engage youth in financial literacy and business.
SDBA is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is located at 7752 W. Vernor Hwy, Detroit. To learn more about SDBA, visit
southwestdetroit.com.
Resilient Neighborhoods is a reporting and engagement series examining how Detroit residents and community development organizations work together to strengthen local neighborhoods. It's made possible with funding from The Kresge Foundation.
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