City of Dayton’s ‘PEP Passport for Success’ educates minority business owners

Dayton, Ohio (WDTN) — The City of Dayton is committed to educating and partnering with more minority-owned businesses.

The PEP Passport to Success program started today. Its goal is to give business owners the tools they need to not only survive, but thrive.

Executives in attendance said they were very appreciative of the opportunity to work with the city, but most appreciated the opportunity to learn.

“If you didn’t come today, you wouldn’t know. So knowledge is power, especially when you put it into action,” says James Johnson, owner of Urban Economy Heating and Air.

Johnson is PEP certified and has been in business for 12 years, but he still attended Tuesday’s session to learn about opportunities to work with the City of Dayton.

However, Tuesday’s session was primarily designed for newly PEP-certified business owners like Charles Hosh.

Hosh says he appreciates the program because it can present its own challenges when you’re just starting out.

“As a business owner, it’s tough.

And the organizers say that’s the goal.

Whether your company is old or new, you can get PEP certification. This program teaches key skills for winning bids with government agencies.

Through the Procurement Enhancement Plan (PEP), the City certifies women and minority-focused small businesses, identifies opportunities for inclusion, and sets procurement goals.

“The next step is to actually bid and win. My goal is to increase city spending for minority businesses,” said Dayton HRC Contract Compliance Officer Bernard Jones Jr. We want cities and government spending to increase so that businesses are encouraged to say they can do business with the city and they can do business with the government.” we.

And James Johnson said he believes programs like this can help revitalize the community as a whole.

“It strengthens our community. You know, the more opportunities we have, the more money we can make, the more we can use our resources and our community, and the more we can really help our community grow and thrive. We can help,” Johnson added.

In the first session “Certified. Now, what shall we do?” will be held on Tuesday, July 11, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the West Branch of the Dayton Underground Library on the following dates:

August 8 – Access to Capital: Accounting, Grants, Credit, Loans

September 12 – Building a Dream Team: Strategies for Employee Recruitment and Retention

October 10th The Benefits of AI: A Statement and Marketing Strategy for Improving Capabilities

November 14 – Mergers for Success: A Comprehensive Workshop on Joint Venture Mergers, Acquisitions and Regulatory Compliance

December 12 – Guarantee/estimate/bid assistance Insurance/workmen’s accident compensation