WYCO debuts DotteBiz tool to help launch, grow small businesses on KS side of KC

Editor’s note: KC BizCare is a partner of Startland News.

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A newly-launched government online resource aims to eliminate barriers for local business owners and entrepreneurs in Wyandotte County, project leaders said.

“Really, DotteBiz is about wanting to ease friction for entrepreneurs and small business owners to help them not only launch their businesses here in Wyandotte County, but also grow their businesses here,” said Ashley Hand, director of strategic communications for the Unified Government.

DotteBiz, a one-stop shop for entrepreneurs and business owners, was officially launched on May 12 by the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas (UG).

Similar to KC BizCare on the Missouri side of the state line, DotteBiz will serve as a connector between local government and the business community, said Sharon Reed, procurement manager for the Unified Government.

“As we continue to build resources, we’re going to make sure that we’re listening to our small businesses and what they need,” Reed said. “That’s where the collaboration comes in. … From the small business perspective, just being able to listen to, ‘What are your struggles?’ and how can we ensure they’re taking the steps to grow their business.”

DotteBiz will provide entrepreneurs and business owners with customized checklists and a comprehensive directory of local resources, in addition to individualized guidance when they get stuck.

The checklists in particular can be beneficial to new entrepreneurs, said Hand.

“You don’t know what you don’t know as a small business owner — or as a potential small business owner — and having these checklists can help you simplify the steps,” she said.

Watch a video about DotteBiz below, then keep reading.

The slew of administrative tasks, such as MBE or WBE certification, can be overwhelming to new business owners, Hand added.

“Those are a lot of things for a new business owner to undertake, so having a checklist makes it a lot easier to make sure that you’re hitting everything, and also taking advantage of some of these incredible programs that are out there,” Hand said.

Checklists also benefit the Unified Government, Reed said, as that improved communication allows city officials to be more “hands-on” with small business owners.

“This way, we have some accountability through the system,” Reed said. “If they reach out to someone, we will know within our database and can see how the process is going. It makes us more hands on, to make sure that they’re getting the information that they need to be successful.”

The missing piece

Reed described DotteBiz as a collaborative effort between the UG procurement department and the Wyandotte Economic Development Council (WYEDC), while also noting the key impact of Qwally, a SaaS provider focused on accelerating small business growth.

“Qwally was the missing piece,” Reed said. “We have been talking about what we should do for the small businesses here, and Qwally just brought everything together in one centralized location.”

Nia Webster-Richardson, managing director of KC BizCare, introduced UG officials to Qwally, Reed said, and Hand highlighted the spirit of collaboration between BizCare and DotteBiz.

“We’ve coordinated this effort with KC BizCare as part of a broader effort to understand that people don’t care about boundaries and jurisdictions; they just want their businesses to be successful,” Hand said. “If we can help eliminate some confusion about how to work in all the different jurisdictions across the metro, that will be helpful to our local businesses as well.”

DotteBiz roundtable conversation; image courtesy of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas (UG)

DotteBiz is just one, albeit very important, component of wide-ranging efforts by the UG to make the government as connected and integrated as possible, Hand added.

“As the tools of the trade are changing, so too are the expectations of our community members when they do engage with us,” Hand said. “I think we’re seeing that as part of a wholesale rethinking internally at the Unified Government. How do we transform ourselves into a true 21st-century organization to support our community and meet them where they need us?”

That 21st-century approach includes the need for mobile-friendly platforms, Hand acknowledged, as well as data-driven decision making. She also said the UG plans to routinely revisit and refresh the DotteBiz site.

Building and launching DotteBiz marks only the beginning of the Unified Government’s commitment to local businesses, Reed said.

“I want to do more,” she said. “There are a lot of unknowns as we’ve launched this, so we’re going to start from the beginning. Maybe it could morph into incubators, or highlighting businesses and documenting their success stories, and feeding into the next generation as we move forward.”

“Who knows where this can go?” Reed continued. “But I know that starting small and growing this nucleus here can only expand the possibilities for small local businesses here within Wyandotte County. We have a lot to learn as we move forward, but we’re small but mighty.”