Business Resources
Local small businesses and business owners are encouraged to take advantage of these free resources to start or grow their business.
Destination Uplift (link) is a free digital marketing platform for businesses provided by Westopolis.
Destination Uplift helps businesses learn about the latest marketing tips and tools to grow, attract more customers, and bring in visitors. View more resources below.
Golden Valley is proud to partner with Hennepin County’s Elevate Hennepin™ initiative to bring expert advising and other business resources to businesses at no cost.
Elevate Hennepin, an initiative from Hennepin County, is designed to support businesses of all sizes in their efforts to grow, create jobs, and evolve.
Through this program, businesses located in or operating in Hennepin County can access no-cost advising, find business events, and identify local, state, and federal business-support resources.
Businesses can get up to 25 hours of insight or consulting from each advisor. The more than 40 business advisors have expertise in all manner of topics, including:
- access to capital
- business certification
- financial management
- marketing consulting
- legal questions
- human resources
- strategic planning
- business technology
- starting a business
To get started, visit Elevate Hennepin to connect with a business navigator to help navigate this incredible resource.
About Elevate Hennepin
The program was designed to support Hennepin County businesses through the COVID-19 pandemic and civil unrest. Since then, it has evolved into an innovative model to encourage growth and an integral part of the county’s economic development engine.
So far, more than 2,400 businesses in Hennepin County have utilized Elevate Hennepin for no-cost consulting provided by Hennepin County and to identify other business resources and events to enhance their business.
Hennepin County residents, small business owners, or entrepreneurs can get free, one-on-one business consultation services and other assistance from Open to Business, a joint program between Golden Valley and the Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers (MCCD).
We Can Help
Are you an entrepreneur who has a great idea for a business but needs the advice of a savvy, experienced business expert to help you work through the countless details of getting it off the ground? Or, are you a small business owner who needs some marketing or strategic planning guidance to take your business to the next level?
If you're a Golden Valley resident, business owner, or wanna-be business owner, Open to Business will work with you to:
- determine feasibility
- explore marketing strategies
- develop financial documents
- get access to capital
How It Works
With the help of a matching grant from Hennepin County, the City of Golden Valley has contracted with the Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers (MCCD) to provide free one-on-one business consultation to entrepreneurs who live or own a business in their communities.
Open to Business participants will be able to meet with advisors virtually, at Golden Valley City Hall, at the MCCD Office or at an agreed upon location between advisor and client.
Help is available in several areas:
- Business Plan Assistance: Do I need a business plan? If so, what do I include in it?
- Financial Management: What are cash flow projections and why are they important?
- Bookkeeping Set-up and Training: How do I keep track of sales and expenses?
- Loan Packaging: What documents do I need to get a loan? What are my options for obtaining capital? Help is provided for any size loan, start up, or expansion project.
- Real Estate Analysis: Should I rent or own my business space?
- Business Regulations: What licenses or permits do I need? How do I get them?
- Marketing Assistance: Who are my customers and how do I reach them?
- Strategic Planning: How do I evaluate and manage growth?
- Professional Referrals: How do I improve my credit score?
Schedule An Appointment
Business Advisor Zamzam Mohammed is available to answer brief questions, offer referrals, and provide short consultations about your business.
Contact Zamzam Mohammed at zmohammed@mccdmn.org or call 612-712-7072 to discuss your business in more detail.
About Open to Business
Open to Business is a joint program between Golden Valley and the Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers (MCCD).
About MCCD
The MCCD is an association of nonprofit community development organizations serving the Twin Cities. MCCD also lends to businesses that do not have access to traditional lending. For more information or to get started, contact Vicky Gonzalez.
Ribbon Cuttings And Groundbreakings
The City of Golden Valley is always eager to celebrate its business community. A ribbon cutting and/or groundbreaking event is a time to showcase what your business has to offer. Ribbon cuttings are conducted at no cost by the City, but businesses must have one of the following:
- newly opened within the last 12 months
- in a new location or expanding their location
- significantly renovated (either interior or exterior)
- under new ownership (rebranded or name change)
All businesses requesting City attendance at a grounbreaking or ribbon cutting event must complete the online request form (form link). Keep in mind a minimum of three to four weeks in advance of your proposed date is needed to plan, schedule, and ensure City availability.
The City's Role
- After receiving the completed online request form, the City's Housing and Economic Development Manager will contact you to discuss date/time of the event and additional details.
- City staff will also:
- coordinate attendance of the Golden Valley Mayor and City Council Members, Westopolis, and local media, such as the SunPost.
- announce the event on City social media
- provide ribbon and ceremonial scissors
- conduct the event
- post an event photo on City social media
Event Schedule
- Mayor or City Council representative will be introduced and make remarks
- Business representative will be introduced and make remarks
- Attendees pose for photograph and ribbon will be cut
- Attendees enjoy networking
Open Up...
Give guests a brief tour of your business and explain its function. You never know what this can do for business connections in the future!
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Christine Costello
Housing and Economic Development ManagerPhone: 763-593-3983
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Community Development Department
Physical Address
7800 Golden Valley Road
Golden Valley, MN 55427
Phone: 763-593-8030