Business Support Services
Funded entirely by ad valorem tax dollars, the EDO not only markets the city throughout the world, it also provides business support services free of charge for every Cape Coral business and businesses who are considering moving to the city.
The EDO serves as a liaison between businesses and the various departments within the City when dealing with such issues as regulations, zoning, permitting, etc.
The Office supports the Cape Coral satellite office of the FGCU Small Business Development Center. The SBDC provides free consultation and business support services on business planning, marketing, import-export and finance.
In 2008 two additional resource offices opened in the City Centrum Business Park at 1020 Cultural Park Blvd. The first, Lee Business Industry Services, provides employee and management training courses. The second is the Career and Service Center which provides employee career counseling, resume services, job search resources and unemployment assistance. It is also a resource for employers seeking qualified employees.
In 2007, the Economic Development Office launched two on-line tools to assist in retention, growth, and attraction. The first is www.connectcapecoral.com, an online searchable database of Cape Coral businesses. The business support service tool allows existing businesses to learn more about both their competition as well as their potential customers.
The website www.bizcapecoralgis.com – accessible from the Economic Development Website www.bizcapecoral.com - is known as the Cape Coral Prospector. It provides online search for land and buildings for sale or lease and includes powerful demographic reports, business and workforce data and current zoning information.
Financial incentives can be important tools for attracting and retaining targeted businesses. The Economic Development Office maintains a portfolio of tools for assistance, and routinely designs incentives to meet special situations and coordinates state and county incentive programs.
The Economic Development office provides confidentiality for its projects through Florida statute 288.075 that authorizes exemption from public disclosure.
The following links provide more information about our business support service office.