Miami Gardens Businesses Given Grants For Growth
MIAMI GARDENS (CBS4) - Nearly a dozen small business owners in Miami Gardens are getting some extra help from Miami-Dade County. The Miami-Dade Economic Development Action Committee awarded 10 small businesses with a stimulus check for $5,000 each Monday.
"Every little bit helps right now," said Lourdes Wydra, owner of Lulu's Car Wash. "I mean again we're a new business so every extra funds that come in through our door; we want to put it back into the business to help us grow. We want to be here in the city of Miami Gardens for a very long time."
Wydra is one of the ten business owners to get the grant. She said it will help pay for new solar panels on the eco-friendly car wash. It's an addition that until now, was difficult to finance under the cloak of a challenging economy.
"The banks no longer have such an ease in lending money," explained Wydra.
She said she knew she was rolling the dice to a certain degree when she opened up Lulu's Car Wash a year and a half ago. But she believed that low cost car washes were something that would be successful in this economy.
Most small business owners start out with that type of confidence and quickly find they are overwhelmed. According to Miami-Dade County Leaders, 82 percent of small businesses fail within the first three years.
To prevent that from happening, the county is stepping in focusing on Miami Gardens businesses first and then branching out to other small business across Miami Dade.
"That means the city the will be having more business and there will be more and more growth and more people will be buying," said Maria Diaz de la Portilla, County Economic Development Administrator. "It helps the overall economy of Miami-Dade County."
The stimulus funds also come with extra help from the county for the 10 recipients. They will all get special help from the Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce with legal aid, marketing, accounting and technology.
