Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Small Business topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Miami Lakes EDC approves marketing and seminar spending for Small Business Boot Camp
Summary
The Economic Development Committee approved $3,538 from its marketing line and $2,000 from its seminar line to support the Small Business Boot Camp, including $2,000 in paid ads, swag bags and a $1,000 contribution for a post-event happy hour; committee also approved a $750 total payment to the social media consultant.
The Town of Miami Lakes Economic Development Committee on an apparent voice vote approved targeted spending to support its Small Business Boot Camp, allocating money from both its marketing and seminar line items to cover advertising, giveaways and on-site promotion.
The committee approved using $3,538 from the marketing budget — $2,000 for paid advertising and $1,425 for attendee swag bags — and approved $2,000 from the seminar budget, including a $1,000 contribution to Chela’s for a post-event happy hour and an increase in the social media consultant’s fee to $750 (an additional $250 on top of a previously approved $500). Committee members indicated the purchases would cover on-site promotion, collateral, and limited last-minute incidentals.
The allocations follow a subcommittee recommendation to use remaining fiscal-year funds to support the event and to boost outreach. “We already have 39 RSVPs,” said Carlos Vallejo, committee member, during the meeting’s budget discussion, stressing the need to confirm venue capacity and registration limits. Committee members and staff discussed venue capacity for the planned venue (council chambers) and noted the previous year saw roughly 166 registrations with about 60 attendees, a pattern the group cited when debating how many open registrations to allow.
Organizers told the committee they plan to cap online registrations to prevent overbooking; the Eventbrite listing was being managed and set at 200 for now. Committee conversation covered room layout changes to increase usable seating — turning seating toward the AV wall and leaving space for food and registration — and the need to confirm whether catering and disposable supplies would be provided by the chosen vendor.
The seminar-budget motion also included an authorization for $500 left in the seminar budget to be used for gift cards or last-minute needs; the mover also proposed an additional $250 for the consultant Vanessa for day-of coverage and content creation, bringing her total compensation to $750. Committee members said the communications office would provide some live posting support and that Vanessa had already prepared collateral.
The committee asked staff to circulate final collateral, the Eventbrite link, and a detailed room layout; several members volunteered to help with check-in, AV, and setup the day of the event. Staff and committee members also discussed continuing the event in future fiscal years and whether to charge a registration fee at a later date as attendance grows.
Votes at the meeting were recorded by voice; committee members responded “Aye” when asked for approval of the motions on the marketing and seminar budgets.
The committee did not set any policy changes within these approvals; the spending decisions were presented as one-time allocations from remaining fiscal-year funds to support outreach and execution of the Boot Camp.
Ending: Committee members directed staff to finalize registration caps, confirm venue logistics and catering inclusions, and to circulate final promotional materials by email so members could begin direct outreach and coordination.
