Five tips on how city government in Philadelphia can help small businesses

Are you taking advantage of the many ways the city of Philadelphia can help your small business? If you’re like many of my clients, probably not. Let me help with these five suggestions.

The city’s Office of Business Services, run by the Department of Commerce, is designed to be a destination for business owners of all sizes to get answers to their problems — from zoning to permits to selling products and services to city departments. There are also training and one-on-one consultation sessions offered to help decide on your best business structure as well as providing advice on financing, legal, employment and other workplace matters. In addition, the department makes available specialized business coaches to help businesses in low- to moderate-income areas address the needs that are particular to them.

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NazAarah Sabree, a senior director for the Department of Commerce’s Office of Business Services, says that her department serves as the liaison between the business community and the city, and helps with everything from identifying the licenses and permits a business needs to troubleshooting any issues with city services.

“I like to call us the one-stop shop for businesses,” she said. “We can essentially act as a concierge service for your company, regardless of size.”

Consultants from Sabree’s department help small-business owners obtain loans through the Philadelphia Business Lending Network, a consortium of banks and other financial services organizations that lend money to small businesses in the city. They use a standardized loan application that needs to be completed only once and submitted to the network. There is also a partnership with Kiva, a crowdfunding site that provides interest-free loans for buying inventory, investing in equipment, expanding product lines, and hiring staff as well as marketing and advertising.

In addition to these resources, the city provides an InStore Forgivable Loan Program, which offers $15,000 to $50,000 no-payment, no-interest loans that are potentially forgivable for retail, food, and some arts businesses that are located on “eligible corridors” and that are used for expansion. If the business remains open and operating at the location for five years, the loan is forgiven.

The city’s Fair Chance Hiring Initiative helps local businesses that generate less than $5 million in annual revenue to hire an employee who has returned from incarceration within the last seven years. In return, eligible employers can get up to $6 an hour wage reimbursement for up to 960 hours, a onetime $500 employment retention grant per employee, and other resources to help support these qualifying employees during the new-hire period.

The city also has a myriad of tax credits available for employers who increase jobs, open up in a Keystone Opportunity Zone, or provide health benefits to life partner and transgender workers. Tax credits are also available to businesses that hire a returning veteran or continues to compensate active-duty soldiers.

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New businesses in the city can get specialized information and personalized help for obtaining a business income and receipts tax identification and for completing forms to pay business-income and receipts, net profits, and wage taxes. If you’re an eligible new business (you must have at least three full-time employees who are not family members and who work in Philadelphia at least 60% of the time, among other requirements), the city also offers exemptions from many of its license fees and business taxes during the first two years of operations through its Jumpstart Philly program.

The city’s Business Security Camera Program will reimburse up to 50%(up to $3,000) of the cost of installing external cameras on commercial properties as long as the business registers with the police and allows for viewing of footage. According to Sabree, this is one of her department’s most popular programs.

“Safety is one of the top concerns in the city and especially for business owners, right?” she said. “But, unfortunately, many small-business owners don’t have the money to pay for security systems. This program helps them and their neighborhoods.”

Making neighborhoods attractive is also a priority, which is why, in addition to the Business Security Camera Program, the city also offers grants of up to $10,000 toward a single commercial property through its Storefront Improvement Program. This money can be used by business to make improvements to their storefront, including masonry and brick pointing as well as painting, lighting and signage.

According to Sabree, her department is helping a lot of businesses, but there’s a lot more work to be done to get the word out. “They just need to know about us,” she said.

Gene Marks is a certified public accountant and the owner of the Marks Group, a technology and financial management consulting firm in Bala Cynwyd.