Applicants are invited to apply for the THRIVE Small Business Technical Assistance Program for Business Consultants (Operations).
Donor Name: Latino Economic Development Center
State: Virginia
County: Fairfax County (VA)
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 08/04/2023
Size of the Grant: Up to $10,000
Details:
Purpose
The intent of this RFP is to identify one or more qualified Offerors to contract with LEDC to provide consulting services in Business Operations to THRIVE small business Beneficiaries. Business Operations are internal systems designed to bring efficiency and increased profitability to a THRIVE small business Beneficiary. For purposes of this RFP, they may be offered in one or more of eight defined service areas:
Business Consulting Category – Business Operations:
- Set up POS (Point-of-Sale) System or Point of Sale System Setup
- Set up Payroll System
- Set up Booking/Appointment System
- Set up Bookkeeping System
- Lease Negotiation Counseling
- Human Resources (HR) Consulting Services and Tools
- Staff Talent Acquisition, Development, and Retention Services and Tools
- Other Business Operations Service (Optional)
LEDC partners with government entities and private donors to rapidly deploy financial assistance to vulnerable families and small businesses. LEDC is the Program Administrator for THRIVE and is responsible for managing the technical assistance program and grants process for the THRIVE program. LEDC will adhere to all federal requirements and guidelines associated with managing ARPA funding.
LEDC seeks to contract with Business Consultants to provide technical assistance directly to small businesses eligible for THRIVE in three Business Consulting Categories: 1) Business Operations; (2) Business Marketing; and (3) Business Financial Planning services. LEDC anticipates that multiple contracts will be established with business consultants under each THRIVE Business Consulting Category.
Business Consultants that are contracted to provide services for THRIVE are not guaranteed to serve a specific number of businesses, as utilization of their services will be determined by multiple factors. This includes 1) the total number of applicants that apply and qualify for assistance; 2) an assessment of the THRIVE small business beneficiary needs; 3) demand for services from the THRIVE small business beneficiaries; and 4) the total available funding in the THRIVE program.
Funding Information
The THRIVE program will provide an estimated 600 eligible small business entities with business consulting services in the form of non-cash technical assistance services grants up to $10,000 in value.
Tasks to be performed – Service Areas
Tasks to be performed for each of the service areas may include, but are not limited to, the following activities:
- Set up Point of Sale (POS) System: A point-of-sale system is used to refer to the cash register at a store
- Recommended consulting services on this topic include the following tasks:
- Review Beneficiaries’ needs and requirements
- Recommend at least two options and assist in vendor selection
- Provides guidance on the Beneficiary’s purchase of the POS license and needed equipment utilizing separate budget source – (THRIVE program funds cannot be used to purchase the POS system)
- Set up POS system
- Provide at least 4 hours of technical assistance to help Beneficiary enter inventory and customer data
- Provide at least 4 hours of training and technical support after setup
- Set up Payroll System: An integrated solution used to organize hours worked and compensate company employees
- Recommended consulting services on this topic include the following tasks:
- Review Beneficiary’s needs and requirements
- Recommend at least two options and assist in vendor selection
- Provides guidance on the Beneficiary’s purchase of the payroll system license and needed equipment utilizing separate budget source – (THRIVE program funds cannot be used to purchase the payroll system
- Set up payroll system and integrate it with Beneficiary’s existing bookkeeping system (when available)
- Provide at least 4 hours of technical assistance to help Beneficiary enter employee data
- Provide at least 4 hours of training and technical support after setup
- Set up Booking/Appointment System: A solution that makes it easy for service providers to manage appointments
- Recommended consulting services on this topic include the following tasks:
- Review Beneficiary’s needs and requirements
- Recommend at least two options and assist in vendor selection
- Provides guidance on the Beneficiary’s purchase of the Booking/Appointment license and needed equipment utilizing separate budget source – (THRIVE program funds cannot be used to purchase the Booking/Appointment system
- Set up booking system and insert it at Beneficiary’s online channels such as google my business, business website, social media (when available)
- Provide at least 4 hours of training to key staff
- Set up Bookkeeping System: Process of recording a company’s financial transactions into organized accounts on a daily basis
- Recommended consulting services on this topic include the following tasks:
- Review Beneficiary’s needs and requirements
- Recommend at least two options and assist in vendor selection
- Provides guidance on the Beneficiary’s purchase of the Bookkeeping license and needed equipment utilizing separate budget source – (THRIVE program funds cannot be used to purchase the Bookkeeping system)
- Provide advice to establish the chart of accounts
- Set up bookkeeping system and integrate it with Beneficiary’s existing banking services (when available).
- Provide at least 4 hours of technical assistance to help Beneficiary enter initial data.
- Provide at least 4 hours of training and technical support after setup
- Lease Negotiation Counseling: Opportunity to negotiate with the landlord or agent before entering a lease, to ensure it meets business’s needs
- Recommended consulting services on this topic include the following tasks:
- Contract review (Commercial Lease) to identify negotiation opportunities
- Provide advice to approach negotiation with landlord
- May engage directly with landlord upon consent with business owner
- Contract drafting
- Other activity, if needed to provide successful delivery of service
- Human Resources (HR) consulting services and tools: Provides guidance and information on a company’s mission, vision, values, policies and procedures, and workplace code of conduct
- Recommended consulting services on this topic include the following tasks:
- Conduct an HR assessment
- Assist Beneficiary in determining key policies and procedures to effectively manage the business staff
- Document key HR policies and procedures through a handbook
- Staff talent acquisition, development, and retention services and tools: The process of identifying, attracting, recruiting, developing and retaining top talent
- Recommended consulting services on this topic include the following tasks:
- Conduct an HR assessment to identify potential causes of employee turnover and areas of improvement
- Provide a tool to measure employee wellbeing
- Assist Beneficiary in implementing exit interviews or surveys
- Provide advice and tools to establish strategies to attract, develop and retain skilled staff and improve employee wellbeing and motivation
- Assist Beneficiaries with evaluating hiring requirements and improving entry- and midlevel job descriptions to expand access to talent pools
- Assist Beneficiaries with evaluating and establishing options for on-the job training and work-based learning opportunities that expand talent pools and contribute to talent development and retention
- Other Business Operations Service: Offeror may propose an operations service that is not included in the service areas list (1-7)
- The Offeror may propose a Business Operations service that is not included in the service areas list (1 through 7)
- Business operations services aim to help small businesses improve the management of resources to optimize business gains and output
- The Offeror should specify the business operations service and identify the key activities that will be undertaken to provide the deliverable (typically between 5-8 activities would be listed). Other proposal submission requirements apply
- The total cost of Other Business Operations Service area proposed should not exceed $10,000
- The Offeror’s response to this section will be evaluated using the same evaluation process as applied to other service areas. No benefit or decrement will be given in the evaluation for providing a response in this category.
Administrative and Other Tasks to be Performed
In addition to providing services, Offerors will be expected to complete the following tasks:
- Execute THRIVE Beneficiary/Business Consultant agreements with each small business Beneficiary to which they are assigned, prior to providing services
- Report on the completion of deliverables in the THRIVE Business Consultant portal, which will be made available to business consultants
- Participate in program orientation sessions and planning meetings with LEDC and Fairfax County program staff, as required
- Adhere to reporting requirements as determined by LEDC. This could include, but is not limited to, reporting on performance metrics such as: the number of businesses served; type of service delivered; amount of time to complete services; qualitative feedback; samples of work product and other performance metrics as determined
- Responsive and timely communication with THRIVE Beneficiaries
- Deliver services in-person or virtually. Offerors must specify whether services will be provided inperson or virtually. (THRIVE Beneficiaries will be located in Fairfax County. Travel costs or site visits will not be covered separately).
Offeror’s Qualifications and Experience Requirements
- Required Qualifications:
- Must have been operating their current organization (business or nonprofit) for at least two years
- Must have experience addressing the needs of businesses in the services areas of business consulting they propose to offer
- Preferred Qualification:
- Experience serving small business entities (49 or fewer employees) and diverse businesses
- Diverse businesses can include, but are not limited to minority-owned, women-owned, disabled-owned and veteran-owned small businesses.
For more information, visit LEDC.
