Miami-Dade County offers a business friendly environment that attracts and connects businesses for growth. Business Connectivity, the connection and engagement of businesses with each other and with resources that can help them grow; fuels new business that generates growth for your enterprise. Provided are programs and resources that assists businesses and help maximize potential. Miami-Dade County provides you with an ecosystem that will help you grow your business. Connect, Engage, and Generate new business!

Close working relationships with county, and sometimes state, government are required when starting or expanding your business. To obtain building permit, environmental regulations, fire inspections or occupational licenses, you will need to contact various departments of government.

Note: If your business is, or will be, located within a city you will also need a city license. Be sure to contact the appropriate City Hall. If you are state-regulated, you will also need a state license.

In addition, many businesses can benefit from a number of incentive programs available to businesses in designated geographic or industry sectors. Programs such the Empowerment Zone, WOTC, and Impact Fee considerations; are government programs that offer tax credits which can benefit Miami-Dade County businesses if they meet the criteria. The Miami-Dade Beacon Council is positioned to inform and facilitate the process of working with government and our private businesses in order to take full advantage of assistance for our businesses.

Working with government, particularly in Miami-Dade County, often includes extensive engagement with international consulates and trade offices.

The main goal of business expansion is to improve the economic well-being of our Miami-Dade County community through efforts that stimulate growth for our businesses, job creation and retention for our community, and overall quality of life. Emphasis is on the expansion of existing enterprises and the creation of new ones. Services such as site selection, linking new or expanding businesses with resources designed to stimulate growth for your business, assisting with tax and regulatory opportunities, and overall guidance as you expand; are examples of business expansion resources available from experts in these fields to all businesses in our community. Miami-Dade County provides you with a business friendly environment with expert resources to facilitate the growth of your business.

Entrepreneurship and innovation are fueling growth for start-ups and small businesses in Miami-Dade County. The combination of entrepreneurship and innovation creates an environment where as a small business you can scale at an accelerated pace, often with exceptional efficiencies and returns for your business and for our communities.

This growing ecosystem is increasingly attractive to entrepreneurs and innovators, both locally and from around the world. Much of the rapid growth in Miami-Dade County is a result of the convergence of Miami’s tech and creative communities; extended further to industry sectors such as life sciences, banking and finance, trade & logistics, aviation, hospitality and tourism. In recent years, many incubators, accelerators and co-working spaces have launched, offering access to resources such as mentors, office space, seed funding, networking opportunities and basic business services.

Miami-Dade County is a natural strategic location for international business. Because of its central position in the Western Hemisphere, Miami-Dade benefits from its unmatched access to key destinations throughout the world, and a diverse pool of multicultural, multilingual labor force. From Miami International Airport and PortMiami to municipal transit services, Miami-Dade County is continually investing in the infrastructure that supports international business success. Miami-Dade County is home to over 100 foreign consulates, trade offices and binational chambers of commerce, as well as 1,200 multinational companies.

Miami-Dade County offers a rich diverse portfolio of professional organizations. Each of these organizations seek to further a particular trade sector, profession, the interests of individuals engaged in that profession; and ultimate impact your business by providing access and engagement that can build your network and grow your business.

Miami-Dade County offers a wealth of resources that provide businesses like yours with technical assistance via workshops, mentorship, classes, training sessions, counsel, and other forms of preparing businesses to tackle and master the nuances and opportunities of being an entrepreneur in the vibrant market that is Miami-Dade County. Technical assistance covers areas such as business formation, legal structuring, government, accounting, accessing capital, e-commerce, marketing – internet and traditional, procurement, business plan development, innovation, real-estate, growing your business, and much more. Often if one source does not cover all of the topics you are looking for they know who does. Miami-Dade County offers you a community of technical assistance experts committed to helping you grow your business. Reach out and take full advantage of these expert resources.

Talented professionals play leading roles throughout Miami-Dade County’s dynamic and diverse workforce. In fields such as advertising, accounting, law, banking, IT. life sciences, and many more; Miami-Dade County has a deep pool of human capital whose creativity, knowledge and experience help businesses achieve success.

Recruiting, screening, training, and developing the wealth of talent in Miami-Dade is key to the success of any business thus we offer a number of resources available to you that specialize in assisting you with recruiting, screening, training, and developing your workforce. In most cases the services are available at no cost. In the case of CareerSource South Florida, they also offer training grants and incentive programs. In all cases the strength of your workforce can reduce business operating costs, increase new business acquisitions, and maximize year-end bottom-line benefits. Highlights include –

• CareerSource South Florida is responsible for initiating state and federally funded workforce development programs in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. We assist employers and job seekers with employment services, labor market information, and provide training for economically disadvantaged adults, youth, dislocated workers, individuals transitioning from welfare to work, and refugees. While promoting the advancement of underutilized workers, the CareerSource South Florida stimulates the labor market by implementing policies such as business incentives, and provides valuable resources to South Florida’s diverse community. All CareerSource South Florida services and resources are available to everyone at no cost through a network of centers located throughout the Region. There are thirteen service centers in Miami-Dade County.

• The One Community One Goal, Talent Development Network (TDN) matches employers offering paid internships with Miami’s local students in fast-growing career fields that include aviation, creative design, hospitality and tourism, banking and finance, information technology, life sciences and healthcare, trade and logistics.

• Colleges/Universities – The Career Offices offer access to top talent from upcoming graduating classes and from the extensive alumni pool. Presidents from these learning institutions come together quarterly to pro-actively discuss market changes and adjust the school curriculum offered in order to ensure that our current and future workforce meets the priority talent needs of your businesses.

• Opportunities Industrialization Centers of South Florida (OIC-SFL) is a community-based work­force development, education and training organization that prepares individuals for the world of work, providing vocational skills training.