Miami-Dade unveils new program to support, empower small business owners

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Small businesses in Miami-Dade County received a show of support Wednesday as Mayor Daniella Levine Cava unveiled a brand new program designed to support and empower small business owners.

“We’re really about lifting up our small businesses. This is the backbone of our economy,” she said.

The new initiative called Strive 305 provides more resources for small business owners by creating an environment where they can collaborate and learn.

“We’ve got technical assistance. We’ve got a hub where they can learn new skills, it’s virtual. We’re also having an accelerator for the small businesses to work together,” Levine Cava said.

The mayor made the announcement while attending the grand opening of Perfect Salon Suites at the Mall of Americas.

“As you know, the beauty industry, it got hit really hard during the pandemic,” Perfect Salon Suites co-owner Kemyana Jones-Bey said.

Jones-Bey and fellow co-owner Anne Johnson-Bey say the new program will be very beneficial to businesses like theirs, especially after so many storefronts were forced to close due to the pandemic.

“It absolutely excited me because as small businesses, especially in the beauty industry, we did not necessarily get the same incentives that some others (did). Being salon suite owners, we don’t have a lot of employees,” Johnson-Bey said.

“We know that the covid pandemic has really put a lot of them back, but a lot of them have learned to adapt and part of what we do is help them to retool, re-gear and be ready for the new economy,” the mayor said.


About the Author:

Trent Kelly is an award-winning multimedia journalist who joined the Local 10 News team in June 2018. Trent is no stranger to Florida. Born in Tampa, he attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, where he graduated with honors from the UF College of Journalism and Communications.