Hillsborough County News
March 30, 2012
Media Contact: Carol Michel, Communications Department, 813-307-8380, mobile 813-426-2494
Hillsborough County And UCF Partner To Create New Jobs
Hillsborough County has partnered with the Florida Economic Gardening Institute at the University of Central Florida to offer an Economic Gardening program to help local qualified businesses achieve financial success. Economic Gardening is a concept developed to address the needs of growth-oriented small businesses to promote job creation and increase their sustainability.
The initiative, offered through the Institute’s GrowFL program, will provide specialized services and support for CEOs of second-stage businesses. Second-stage businesses are for-profit businesses that employ seven to 100 people. To be eligible for this program, businesses must be headquartered in Hillsborough County, and provide services or products locally, as well as for regional, national or international markets.
The program will assist qualified businesses with market research, business strategy, competitive analysis, Web and social media strategies, and search engine optimization. These services are designed to help companies increase sales rapidly, with the goal of creating new jobs within the company and bringing positive economic benefits to the local community.
“I fully support the efforts for economic development by our County staff in conjunction with the Tampa Bay Partnership to promote jobs and growth for our small businesses in the Tampa Bay area,” said District 1 Commissioner Sandra L. Murman, who is a strong small business advocate. “I am proud of the fact that we are giving every citizen a chance to realize their dream of owning a successful business.”
Since its inception in 2009, GrowFL has helped create more than 3,200 direct and indirect local jobs, and contributed more than $510.4 million to Florida’s economy.
Business can apply for the program at www.growfl.com.
