GOBiz walks participants through Business Ready Sites sign-up, checklist and dashboard

During scheduled office hours, Jolia Jackson, regional engagement development manager with the Office of Regional Economic Development Initiatives at the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GOBiz), led a walk-through of the California Jobs First Business Ready Sites program and how local partners can register and submit candidate properties.

Jackson said the regional data tool currently lists 23 posted sites and that 28 users have registered with the program. She urged regional partners to coordinate and identify their top two to four priority sites for submission so site selectors can more easily find business-ready options.

Jackson demonstrated how to request an account via the sign-up link and QR code in the regional data tool. She said required fields include a primary phone number, company name and web page; applicants must accept program terms and then GOBiz staff will verify eligibility and activate accounts to allow dashboard access.

Once activated, users can navigate to the dashboard’s "manage properties" area to add properties, upload photos and documents, and include virtual tools or videos. Jackson emphasized that submissions should be as complete as possible and that drafts can be saved and edited later; the dashboard indicates how many properties a user has and whether they are active or unapproved.

A core part of the demonstration reviewed the site submission checklist used to judge whether a property is "business ready." Jackson listed key checklist items: utilities availability, zoning compliance and permits, environmental compliance and other infrastructure readiness fields. She said sites should be zoned and fully entitled for intended uses such as headquarters, research and development, or industrial manufacturing to align with California Jobs First goals.

Jackson highlighted resources available to applicants, including video tutorials, a quick-start guide, a program guide, the account registration guide, the site submission checklist and FAQs. She said one-on-one assistance is available, webinars on preparing sites launched in August and continue through February, and that recordings will be posted on the agency's YouTube channel. Contact channels mentioned were calbiz@gobiz.ca.gov and the Go-Biz Zendesk accessed via QR code.

Jackson opened the floor for questions but, with no questions raised, closed the session and thanked participants. The office hours series will continue to be offered for partners needing assistance with site submissions.