27. Laying tracks to success
In this episode, hosts Brittany and Juliana discuss a major milestone for the Small Business Financial Assistance Program. First, you’ll hear from Business Assistance Program Manager, Terry Gruver to learn more about how the program works. Then, you’ll hear from small business owners who have benefited from the program.
Transcript
Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of your daily commute?
Juliana:Or how transportation impacts the community you call home?
Brittany:Maybe you want to explore outside your community and don't know where to start.
Juliana:Well, you're in luck because this is where you hop on.
Brittany:I'm Brittany Hoffman.
Juliana:And I'm Juliana Vazquez-Keating,
Brittany:We work in Communications for Valley Metro. And together, we'll discover all the ways that public transit enhances lives across the cities we serve.
Juliana:And we might even make some new friends along the way.
Brittany:Welcome to Storylines. Julianna, this episode is going to be awesome because I'm going to be learning a lot about a project you get to work on. Valley Metro's Business Assistance Program.
Juliana:Yeah. As you know Brittany, we have two light rail construction projects underway, the Northwest Extension Phase II and the South-Central Extension Downtown Hub. And throughout construction, we try to ensure that we're supporting the surrounding community and surrounding businesses in any way we can. So in this episode, I'm excited to highlight one of the programs that truly helps local businesses along our construction corridors.
Brittany:Juliana, this program has to be having such an impact on small businesses, the surrounding residents. I mean, construction can be challenging, and Valley Metro and our city partners are doing so much to support those businesses. So I'm excited to learn about it and share a big milestone as well.
Juliana:And today we're going to speak to one of the coordinators of this program. She helped build this program from the ground up and she's here to tell us more.
Terry:I'm Terry Gruver and I'm Valley Metro's Business Assistance Program Manager.
Juliana:Terry, can you briefly tell us about Valley Metro's Business Assistance Program and how it came about?
Terry:Certainly. The Business Assistance Program, it has a long history with Valley Metro, and Valley Metro has implemented business assistance programs on all of its light rail construction projects. Over the years, as the projects have been implemented and the program has progressed, it has developed some new and different elements. There are certain elements that are tailored to the specific community through which the project is traveling and being built and the program has I believe we're up to about seven or eight different construction projects that we've implemented this program on.
Brittany:That's amazing, Terry. So we've definitely connected a lot of communities. We're serving those people and those businesses around the construction projects, but we just hit a big milestone. Can you tell us about it and what it means for the program?
Terry:I would love to tell you about this. This is a really exciting milestone. So as I mentioned the program has different elements And they're basically in three categories, construction, mitigation, and marketing. We also have a business consulting services element. And then the third element that relates to the milestone is our direct funding element. It's called the Small Business Financial Assistance Program. So, the Small Business Financial Assistance Program, this new element, is a really great partnership with our city partners at the City of Phoenix. Phoenix is funding the program. They're funding it through their Transportation 2050, as well as through the Phoenix Community Development and Investment Corporation. So we're really grateful for that partnership with the City of Phoenix and that they were able to be creative and find the funding for a program like this. We're really excited about it and we recently hit the one million dollar milestone mark, meaning that we have awarded direct financial assistance in terms of grant funding to businesses along the South Central Extension/Downtown Hub as well as the Northwest Extension Phase II. So over a million dollars in grant funding has been distributed. Really exciting.
Juliana:Yeah, Terry, I've been so happy to be able to be part of this and be able to work closely with the Business Assistance Team and I was fortunate enough to hear from some of the business owners and how grateful they are for your team. You have a great team alongside you and I know that your team is making such a huge impact on the surrounding communities. So how many businesses have participated in the business assistance programs to date?
Terry:We have baselines for both of the projects for South Central and for Northwest, and we do track this participation. It's really important to us to make sure that, number one, we're making the businesses aware of the programs, and then, of course, really important that they participate. So, on the South Central Extension/Downtown Hub, we just hit 80 percent participation. So, 80 percent of the businesses along the corridor are participating in one or more element of the program. That's really exciting to us in and of itself, but it also indicates that at least 80 percent are aware of the program, which is of course a big goal of ours. On the Northwest Extension, the numbers are similar. We're at about 82%.
Brittany:Terry, it's great that we know we're coming into communities and construction can be disruptive. We are aware of that, but Valley Metro is taking those other steps to help those businesses out. But it's not just direct money. There's also those two other buckets you discussed. Can you tell us more about those elements in the program?
Terry:Certainly. So, the overall goal of the program is to really support these businesses to help them through what we know is a really challenging time in construction and also to hopefully lay the groundwork for their continued success in future operations. So, some of the other elements that are included are signage programs. So we do business banners, directional signage. We do a lot of marketing. We pay for marketing and advertising for businesses through print ads, through boosted social media. We have a variety of different coupon and mailer campaigns. We also provide the business consulting services that I mentioned, and this is a really exciting element. It offers professional business services to the business owners and managers in a variety of different areas. Whether it's human resources or marketing, perhaps they want a new website or they want to increase their social media presence. We also offer accounting and financial consulting. We have done things like prepared employee handbooks. So just a wide variety of general kind of business support all at no charge to the business. So they're able to access these professional services to really help them fine tune and add additional capabilities, and management to their operations.
Juliana:That's so important. You said these are absolutely free to these businesses. They just have to contact us and sign up and you know from social media to marketing ,I think these services will be helpful to any business, especially small ones along our construction corridors. Is there anything else you'd like to add about the program?
Terry:The business consulting services program, I think the main thing is having our businesses be aware that it exists and that there is no charge. We work really closely with the business right up front to provide an assessment and help them work through what are their primary needs. And then to prioritize those and then find the resources, whether it's through our program, which meets probably 90 percent of their needs, or other programs that we're aware of the City of Phoenix has a program that also provides some management technical support. And so we look just not at our program, but beyond to see if there are other to provide.
Brittany:Terry, you said it. We're at 80%, which is amazing, but we really want to get all those businesses on board. How would they get in touch with you or get more information on the Small Business Assistance Program?
Terry:So it's really easy for the businesses to contact us. They can go to Valley Metro.org/business contacts and we have our business assistance consultants listed there with all of their contact information and we would love to hear from them.
Brittany:It was great to hear from Terry about how the program is expanding with every new construction project, finding out new ways to help and support those surrounding businesses.
Juliana:Absolutely. Helping them thrive through construction and beyond is definitely the goal of these programs and I'm happy to watch them come to fruition.
Brittany:After the break, we're excited to hear from local businesses about how the Small Business Assistance Program is helping them through construction and setting them up for success beyond.
Alex:Many adventures start at Sky Harbor International Airport, and getting there is easy with Valley Metro Rail. Exit at the 44th Street Station and ride the escalator to Phoenix SkyTrain. As a reminder, overnight parking is not permitted at Park-and-Rides.
Ricardo:Thousands of lives are improved by public transit, and every one of these lives is a story. Go to valleymetro.org/stories to learn how public transit enriches people's lives and invigorates communities across the Valley.
Alex:If you love a good deal and love your community, Valley Metro's deals and discounts program can help you unlock new savings from local businesses along light rail construction routes. No app download needed. You can also win fun prizes just by checking in at participating businesses. Head to valleymetro.org/deal to learn more and sign up.
Juliana:Welcome back. It was great to talk to Terry to learn more about our small business assistance programs. Now we get to hear from some business owners from our South Central Downtown Hub about their experience working with our business assistance programs and our team.
Albert:My name is Albert Bahram, I own Crazy Jim's Restaurant, here in downtown Phoenix. This location has been open for over 20 years now. Obviously when you have a construction, there's always challenges and affect the business. Valley Metro stepped up big time and support us when we needed the help the most. I just want to thank Valley Metro and the team, everybody from top to bottom for understanding the challenges we have here and going above and beyond to make sure we don't struggle with all the construction going on. If there was a grade for it, I will give them an A.
Peter:Peter Popat, Corral Cleaners 6245 South Central Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona 85042. Valley Metro, the first year, they helped us very much by getting me $12,000. Helped with apparel and all the expenses. they've done a website for me. They've done a lot of advertising for me. They've been very good. Overall, I'm happy with Valley Metal. They had fiesta over here sometime ago. They're going to have one, I think, in November too which we are going to participate too and advertising coupons, everything. It is a good program. You don't lose nothing. They're helping you up. So, I would recommend it to every business.
Brittany:It's great to hear how our Business Assistance Program is having a positive impact on these small businesses and setting them up and having a great experience during what could be a challenging time. But the South Central Extension/Downtown Hub isn't our only construction project happening right now. We're finishing up our Northwest Extension Phase II project as well. So now let's hear from the general manager of the Doubletree Hotel, Ron Lindblad, on his experience with our business assistance team.
Ron:With the new light rail coming to this area, it's a unique situation. First, it's coming to an area that's in the process of being redeveloped, that hasn't quite happened yet. It's gonna be over the next three years. But for impact, as far as like the hotel goes, like any major city that, you know, you fly into an airport and you have to take a train or a monorail or a subway to get to a major city. This is going to give us the opportunity to give our guest options. You can take a taxi or a lift or something like that for 60, 70 dollars, or you can take a light rail. It's a relaxing way to get here at a much, much more cost efficient way to get here. throughout the whole project I've worked with Valley Metro. They've been very receptive. as a hotel and as myself, we don't look at as it's Valley Metro doing this and this company doing this. It's a community effort. If I have concerns, I know who I can reach out to. They answer them right away. You know, with some of the construction, there's been road closures, things like that. They provide signs. Valley Metro's been very easy to work with, as well as the city to make sure this project was happening and happening smoothly and did not really affect the community as a whole at least in this area. So, it's been a real pleasure. It's been fun working with them I've learned more about Valley Metro than I ever knew. I've been here 23 years and it's nice to learn more about what supports our communities whether it's city whether it's transportation whether it's police department, so it's been a real learning and enjoyable experience.
Brittany:Juliana, I learned so much during this episode today. I learned about our Small Business Assistance Program, but I also got to hear from business owners. And that's the important thing is realizing how many lives we are boosting up for success through this program.
Juliana:We definitely learned a lot about our small business assistance programs, but if you're a small business along our construction corridors and want to learn more about our programs head to valleymetro.org/businesscontacts For more info.
Brittany:These construction projects are really important, Juliana, because expanding transit in the Valley is great for everyone. More public transit means a brighter and cleaner future. So, let's take a minute to hear from Alex Tsotsos about how public transit is improving your quality of life.
Alex:This is your Quality of Life Minute. Maricopa County is growing fast. The latest numbers from the Census Bureau show that more people are moving to Maricopa County than any other county in the nation. Valley Metro plays an important role in making sure all those people can get to their jobs, schools, doctor appointments and more in a way that cuts down on congestion on our highways. In 2022, there were nearly 32 million boardings on Valley Metro vehicles, which covered more than 35 million miles. That means fewer vehicles on our roads, less pollution in our air, and a smoother ride for everyone in Maricopa County. Learn more by going to our quality of life report at valleymetro.org/life
Brittany:Well Juliana, it's been a great time hanging out with you on another episode of Storylines, so I'm looking forward to what we have coming up in the future.
Juliana:Yeah, Brittney, we've got some exciting stuff coming up. In the future, we're going to be talking about our Fare Technology Modernization Project.
Brittany:And you don't want to miss that episode or any of our upcoming episodes. So make sure you subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.
Juliana:For Valley Metro, I'm Juliana.
Brittany:I'm Brittany.
Juliana:Thanks for riding with us.
Brittany:We'll meet you at the next stop.
Juliana:Storylines is produced by Alex Tsotsos and Dane Ryals. Peter Corkery is the executive producer. For Brittany Hoffman, I'm Juliana Vazquez Keating. Thanks for listening.
