The Oakland Small Business Taskforce document provides recommendations to improve support for small businesses in Oakland. It establishes a taskforce of small business owners from across the city to study challenges and opportunities. The taskforce recommends establishing a permanent Small Business Commission, launching a marketing campaign to support small businesses, collecting better data on the business landscape, and retooling the Business Assistance Center. The recommendations aim to improve advocacy, access to information and reduce barriers for small businesses in Oakland.

1. Oakland
Small
Business
Taskforce
Summary and Recommendation
January 30th, 2017

2. O a k l a n d S m a l l B u s i n e s s Ta s k F o r c e
CHARTER
To explore the points of intersection between the City of Oakland and Oakland Small Business
in order to make a recommendation that will:
• Enable a sustainable relationship and dialogue between the Oakland City Government
and Oakland Small Business
• Influence policy making to promote a sustainable Oakland Small Business
• Be a model for partnership between City Government and Small Business
MEMBERS
District Nominees
D1 – John ‘Sal’ Bednarz / Actual Restaurants
Group
D2 – Abdu Abdulalim / Three Amigos Market
D3 – Craig Jones / Uncle Willie’s BBQ
D4 – René Quinonez - Movement Ink
D5 – Mark Legaspi / Lucky 37 Restaurant
D6 – Nanette Hunter / D-Unique Tools
D7 – Wondwossen “Woody” Tadesse / Skyline Pizza
At-Large – Ebon Glenn – Green Beans Coffee
Company
Mayor’s Nominees
Mayor 1 – Barbara Leslie /
Oakland Chamber of
Commerce
Mayor 2 – Rachel Konte / Red
Bay Coffee and Owl & Wood
Mayor 3 – Denis Ring / OCHO
Technical Assistance/Support
Erin Kilmer Neel / Beneficial State
Bank Foundation
Susana Morales Konishi / Sustainable
Business Alliance
Daniel Swafford / Oaktoberfest,
Laurel District Association, Montclair
Village Association, Dimond
Improvement Association
Facilitator
Amy Hillyard / Hillyard Consulting

3. Auxiliary
Mee,ngs
O u r P r o c e s s
MEETING
4
January
30th
MEETING
3
January
9th
MEETING
2
December
12th
MEETING
1
November
21st
• Get
to
know
each
other
• Align
on
objec,ve
and
outcomes
• Discuss
what
is
working
and
not
working
for
Small
Business
in
Oakland
• Agree
on
data
gathering
• Review
Chamber
data
&
other
reports/studies
• Share
learnings
from
survey
• Share
learnings
from
interviews
• Iden,fy
themes
and
priori,ze
• Begin
to
brainstorm
recommenda,ons
• Discuss
recommenda,on
theme
areas
• Review
Detailed
Report
• Align
on
top
recommenda,ons
• Agree
to
extend
taskforce
• Prepare
to
present
recommenda,on
• Present
recommenda,ons
to
Mayor
• Agree
on
next
steps
• Conduct
online
survey
• Interview
other
small
business
owners
• Review
available
data
• Create
detailed
report
• Synthesize
recommenda,ons
• Prepare
recommenda,ons
• Socialize
recommenda,ons
with
City
Staff
IN
MEETINGS
BETWEEN
MEETINGS
• Follow
up
mee,ngs
in
March
and
June,
hosted
by
Jose
Corona
• Maintain
momentum
• Refine
recommenda,on
• Define
rela,onship
with
staff
• Request
reasources

4. S m a l l B u s i n e s s i n O a k l a n d
b y t h e N u m b e r s
$29M+
Tax
revenue
generated
by
Oakland
Small
Business
in
20161
5.7%
Increase
in
sales
tax
revenue
as
compared
20151
84-­‐95%
Percentage
of
businesses
in
Oakland
that
have
less
than
50
employees1
83%
Percentage
of
respondents
of
the
Chamber
phone
survey
in
favor
of
providing
City
funding
to
help
small
businesses
stay
in
Oakland2
4x
Amount
a
local
business
spends
in
the
local
economy
compared
to
chain
businesses3
60
Number
of
restaurants
that
have
closed
in
the
Bay
Area
since
September4
Data requested but not available: Business license data, retail leakage
1 From Chamber of Commerce Small Business report , 2 Chamber of Commerce Small Business phone survey , 3 Oakland Grown reference, 4 East Bay Times article “What is
behind the spade of restaurant closures?” 1/24/17

5. P o s i t i v e A s p e c t s o f D o i n g B u s i n e s s i n
O a k l a n d
SB Supportive
Customer Base
People
of
Oakland
desire
the
crea,vity
and
uniqueness
offered
by
small
business
Emotional Ties
We
are
emo,onally
,ed
to
our
business
and
to
the
“American
Dream”
of
small
business
ownership.
Community
We
are
are
Oakland.
We
live
here,
we
bring
our
passion
and
energy
to
Oakland
as
the
place
we
love
and
call
home.
Employing Locals
We
value
the
opportunity
to
create
jobs
for
local
residents.
Diversity
We
all
cherish
the
vibrancy
of
Oakland’s
diverse
community
Creativity
We
are
crea,ve
and
enjoy
expressing
our
crea,vity
through
our
business.

6. C h a l l e n g i n g A s p e c t s o f D o i n g B u s i n e s s i n
O a k l a n d
Lack of Advocacy
We
don’t
feel
the
city
understands
us
or
is
looking
our
for
out
best
interest
Public Safety & Blight
The
city-­‐wide
safety
challenges
and
increasing
blight
are
encroaching
on
our
ability
to
a`ract
and
retain
business
Cost of
Doing Business
From
wages
to
insurance
to
fees
to
taxes
to
goods,
the
costs
of
doing
business
are
outpacing
our
ability
to
raise
prices.
Workforce Challenges
It’s
difficult
to
a`ract
qualified
workers
and
when
we
do,
many
of
them
leave
because
they
can
no
longer
afford
to
live
in
Oakland.
Complexity of City
Bureaucracy
We
find
it
difficult
and
frustra,ng
to
deal
with
City
process
and
procedures
-­‐
it
costs
us
,me
and
money.
Rising Rents
Many
of
us
helped
to
lead
Oakland’s
revival,
now
we
are
being
priced
out
of
the
city
we
brought
back
to
life.
Lack of Data & Insights
Lack
of
data
about
the
SB
landscape,
trends
and
the
network
of
of
connec,ons
dedicated
to
serving
SB.

7. S h o r t Te r m R e c o m m e n d a t i o n s
Establish Small
Business Commission
Charter
a
permanent
Small
Business
Commission
to
advise,
vet
and
review
policies
and
process
that
impact
Small
Business
in
Oakland.
Leverage
exis,ng
marke,ng
budget
in
the
OED
to
launch
a
marke,ng
campaign
focused
on
suppor,ng
Small
Business
in
Oakland.
Leverage
exis,ng
resources
in
the
OED
to
collect
data
and
develop
a
holis,c
view
of
the
Oakland
business
landscape
across
sectors.
This
data
can
be
used
for
decision
making
and
building
connec,ons
across
all
sectors
of
the
local
economy.
SB Data Collection,
Analysis and Insight
SB Marketing
Campaign
Recharter,
Revamp & Retool
Business Assistance Center
Work
with
OED
leadership
to
recharter,
revamp
and
retool
the
Business
Assistance
Center
to
be`er
meet
the
needs
of
Small
Business.

8. A d d i t i o n a l R e c o m m e n d a t i o n s f o r
C o n s i d e r a t i o n
Craft Public Safety Strategy for SB
Public
Safety
and
blight
were
important
topics
to
the
task
force.
As
the
new
police
chief
enters
her
new
role,
ensure
that
she
includes
small
business
as
a
key
stakeholder
in
the
design
of
her
strategy.
Subsidies and Financial Support
Small
business
are
bearing
a
large
burden
as
a
result
of
the
social
and
economic
changes
taking
place
in
the
Bay
Area.
There
are
few
financial
incen,ves
or
programs
aimed
at
suppor,ng
and
sustaining
small
business.
Workforce Development Programs
Ensure
that
SB
is
at
the
at
the
Workforce
Development
table
so
these
programs
can
support
Small
Business
needs
in
addi,on
to
needs
of
large
businesses
Improve Permitting Process for SB
Naviga,ng
the
permicng
process
is
,me
consuming
and
costly
for
SB.
The
permanent
SB
commission
could
collaborate
with
the
Planning
Commission
to
design
new
ways
for
SB
to
move
through
this
process
with
more
support
and
more
speed.
Commercial Rent Planning & Stabilizaiton
Explore
programs
that
help
small
business
plan
for
lease
nego,a,on
extensions
so
they
are
business
are
not
disrupted
by
sudden
and
unplanned
increases.
Consider
crea,ng
“Good
Landlord”
incen,ves
and
crea,ve
use
of
development
funding
and
other
approaches.
Address District Inequalites
BIDS
have
proven
to
have
an
important
connec,on
point
between
SB
and
the
City
and
to
have
posi,ves
impact
on
neighborhood
vibrancy.
However,
there
is
inequitable
access
across
districts.
City
should
research
and
plan
for
building
equity
into
our
City’s
BID
Strategy

9. I n C l o s i n g …
The
Oakland
Small
Business
Task
Force
is
honored
to
represent
our
City’s
dynamic,
passionate
and
hard
working
community
of
entrepreneurs.
Thank
you
for
the
opportunity
to
serve.
We
look
forward
to
working
with
our
Mayor,
Councilmembers,
and
City
Staff
as
resource
partners
and
to
claim,
with
pride,
that:
OAKLAND
IS
A
SMALL
BUSINESS
CITY!