The Ventura County Economic Development Collaborative has launched Business Forward, a website it hopes will serve as a one-stop virtual information hub for local business owners. The collaborative is a private, county-funded nonprofit that provides business consulting, funding and other initiatives to support the region’s economy. It designed Business Forward as a central repository listing the collaborative’s resources and services alongside those offered by Ventura County and its 10 cities, the county’s Workforce Development Board, local chambers of commerce, business associations and incubators. That includes specific resources for women and minority-owned businesses, tax and permit assistance and subsidized employee training. The site also serves as a collaborative tool, helping these institutions work together to deploy resources to best help businesses. Business Forward went live Tuesday. According to the collaborative’s Chief Executive Bruce Stenslie, Business Forward originated as a way to support the Ventura County Economic Vitality Strategic Plan, or EVSP. “Spearheaded by Ventura County (Executive Officer) Mike Powers, the EVSP was engineered to create targeted, sustainable business opportunities that support and improve the quality of life for Ventura County residents while remaining responsive to the evolving needs and opportunities of the local economy,” Stenslie said in a statement. Stenslie said he hopes the Business Forward site will become the “go-to virtual resource” for Ventura County’s small businesses.
