by EGBI Tech Team | Mar 26, 2024 | Partnerships
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SMBR Announces Partnership with EBGI to Empower Small, Minority and Women-Owned Businesses
Austin, TX – The City of Austin’s Small and Minority Business Resources Department (SMBR) is thrilled to
announce a new partnership with the Economic Growth Business Incubator (EGBI). The collaboration is
set to significantly enhance the support services available for the City’s small, minority and women-
owned business enterprises (MBE/WBE) by focusing on crucial aspects of business growth and city
procurement processes.
A New Era of Business Support and Growth
“Through this partnership, we are reinforcing our commitment to the growth and success of small,
minority and women-owned businesses in Austin,” said Director of SMBR Edward Campos.
“Collaborating with EGBI allows us to offer a more comprehensive range of services tailored to the
unique challenges our small, minority-and -women-owned businesses face.”
For more than 20 years, EGBI has provided training, coaching and support to aspiring and existing
business owners who face barriers to growing a successful business.
“EGBI has always been where the community needs it, and we’re excited to partner with SMBR in this
endeavor. We provide three times the average coaching hours than most business incubators – and
SMBR comes with their impact. Our goal is to provide sustainable growth and success for the businesses
that provide traction to our economy,” said Executive Director of EGBI Larissa Davila. “We believe that
through this collaboration, we can make a significant difference in the Austin business community.”
Commitment to Continuous Improvement
The partnership will encompass a variety of services aimed at strengthening the business capabilities of
firms:
Orientation and Training: Firms will receive comprehensive guidance on navigating the City of
Austin Finance Online website, enhancing their ability to submit bids and secure city contracts.
Business Coaching: Expert coaching will cover an array of topics including business strategy,
financial management, preparation for financing applications, and navigating city payment
processes.
Financial Operations Support: Assistance in adopting more reliable systems for tracking financial
operations, including setting up and training on QuickBooks Online.
Hands-On Assistance: Firms will learn how to effectively utilize financial reports for business
management and gain insight into finding and responding to contracting opportunities.
A Step Forward in Economic Development and Social Mobility
The partnership represents a significant step in fostering business development and economic mobility
in Austin. By empowering small, minority and women-owned businesses, the City of Austin reaffirms its
commitment to creating an inclusive and thriving business environment.
How to Get Involved
To receive training, coaching, and/or support from EGBI, small and minority-owned businesses will need
to complete a short intake form that is available on the City’s website. Firms will then need to submit
the form to SMBR’S Program Manager I Catherine Sak at Catherine.Sak@austintexas.gov or
smbr@austintexas.gov.
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About SMBR
The Small and Minority Business Resources Department (SMBR) administers Minority-Owned, Women-
Owned, and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Procurement Programs for the City of Austin. Our
mission is to promote access and equity on City of Austin contracts, providing economic opportunity to
small, minority-owned, women-owned, and disadvantaged businesses.
About EBGI
Economic Growth Business Incubator (EGBI) is a small business incubator or business accelerator
established in 2003 in collaboration with several community entities including the Greater Austin
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Housing Authority of the City of Austin. In 2023, EGBI was
recognized as the No. 1 incubator in Central Texas by the Austin Business Journal and in 2024 the
incubator received the CAN Butler Award for Spirit of Collaboration and the Candid Platinum Seal for
Transparency, and Best Places to Work for Working Parents.
EGBI provides business coaching to entrepreneurs in Central Texas wanting to start and/or grow a
business. Up until 2024, our organization has provided over 4,200 hours of business coaching in
bookkeeping, sales, marketing, business planning, online presence, government contracts and similar
topics to provide traction to small business owners.
by Monica Peña | Jul 20, 2021 | Business Tips
By: Aditya Patwardhan
Your website is the foundation of the online presence for your business. Is it working correctly? Answering that question isn’t that simple. To achieve your marketing goals, businesses should monitor specific indicators of performance. There are some indicators that almost all businesses will want to measure when reviewing their website’s analytics. Below is an explanation of 5 indicators that you should look at as you analyze your business’s online presence.
- Bounce Rate
Bounce rate is the percentage of sessions on your website where the user exits without any interactions. The extent to which bounce rate matters depends on the type of website your business has. For example, if your website is only one webpage, a high bounce rate is more acceptable than when your website has multiple pages which should all be visited during one session. For example, according to Hotjar, the average e-commerce website’s bounce rate is between 20 and 45 percent, with a bounce rate under 20% being “exceptional.” On the other hand, the average bounce rate for a small business landing page is between 60 and 90 percent. Still, if the bounce rate is above the average range, it shows that users aren’t engaged by the webpage and is something you definitely would want to look into. Google Analytics provides multiple reports which contain bounce rate as a metric. This can help you isolate problematic areas of your website that need to be looked at and fixed.
The number of pages users look at during a session is an indicator of how engaged they were when they were on your website. The more pages viewers look at in a session, the more likely they are to use your services or buy your product. An issue with only looking at the bounce rate is that it shows whether users engaged with your website, but not how much their engagement level was. Of course, the number of pages on your website affects how important this should be to your business.
As a business, it is important to know what the demographic of people viewing your website. That can help you better communicate to them and turn make a sell. Knowing this group will allow your business to have the information needed to do a better job of targeting your ideal customer. For example, if your ideal clients are men 50 and above, and you are not attracting this demographic then changes must be made. You may need more relatable images and content on your web site for this group.
- Sources, Mediums and Campaigns
A good way to better understand your business is to see where users came from to your website. The term source is the website where a user was before your website. This could be direct search, search engines like Google, or other sites if users clicked on links to go to your website. The medium means the type of search that happened or the way that a user came to your website. Examples include organic search (unpaid,) cost per click (paid search) and many others. Campaigns are specific marketing operations to bring people to your website. You can look in Google Analytics to see which campaigns are doing better than others. All of these help you understand where your audience is coming from and informs your business strategy. For example, if you have a lot of followers on social media but very few of them visit your site to take an action, you may need to modify your efforts.
A conversion is when someone transacts with your business, helping achieve your greater business goal. There are many ways in which one could give credit for conversions. One way is to give credit only to the page where users completed the transaction. But it can also be useful to know how people got to that page. An assisted conversion is where a user goes to the final page to complete a transaction from another page of your website. In Google Analytics, you can look at the paths that users take from first landing on your website to buying something. That way you can see what sites contribute most to users buying from your business. For example, for an e-commerce business, the final step of a conversion is the shopping cart page on their website, but a user might have visited their site twice through direct search before making the purchase. Each of these times contributed to the purchase, meaning that direct search would get credit for an assisted conversion.
Conclusion
One of the most important things you need for your business to succeed is knowledge about who your clients are and what strategies are the most successful at retaining them and attracting new clients. By looking at these indicators, you can analyze what parts of your business operations are succeeding and which need to be changed, and ultimately maximize your profits.
by EGBI Tech Team | Jan 3, 2018 | Success Stories
Gabriel Orozco Goes from Technician to
Proud Owner of S.T.A.R. Windshield Repair
Austin, TX: After working at S.T.A.R. Windshield Repair for more than 20 years, on January 2, 2018, Gabriel Orozco bought the business from the retiring owners, Eileen and Larry Smith.
Larry and Eileen are happy to see Gabriel take over the business that has been serving the Austin area since 1986. “We wish nothing but the best for Gabe,” said former owner, Larry Smith. The Smiths will be helping Orozco through a three-month transition period, to prevent any disruption in service as Orozco makes the transition from technician to owner.
For the last 6 months, Gabriel Orozco has consulted with Economic Growth Business Incubator (EGBI), an organization that provides training, coaching, and support to aspiring and existing business owners. He completed EGBI’s business workshop series and will continue to be coached by EGBI staff to sharpen his business skills through the changeover. EGBI helped Orozco qualify for a Small Business Administration (SBA) loan from PeopleFund for the purchase, and connected Orozco to the University of Texas School of Law Entrepreneurship & Community Development Clinic for legal support.
Orozco looks forward to providing the same excellent service S.T.A.R. Windshield Repair clients are accustomed to. “As a longtime customer, we are excited to hear Gabriel will be taking over the business and preserving the excellent customer service he has always provided us,” said Roy Reyes at Double R Sport Imports.
About S.T.A.R. Windshield Repair: S.T.A.R. Windshield Repair has served the Austin area as the rock damage repair specialist since 1986. Their mobile service has a lifetime money-back guarantee and provides insurance deductible waivers. For more information, contact the new owner, Gabe Orozco, at 512-576-5154.
by EGBI Tech Team | Nov 7, 2017 | News & Events
by EGBI Tech Team | Oct 24, 2017 | Success Stories
Sitotaw Degefaw, EGBI’s recent graduate of the Emerging Enterprises Training Progam, wanted to open a butcher shop similar to his family’s shop in Gonder, Ethiopia. His desire was for a place where his customers could get fresh, high quality beef and also a place of community for people from East Africa that now live in the Austin area. In October, Sitotaw made his dreams come true with the opening of Salam’s International Mart & Café at 10009 North Lamar Blvd, Austin Texas 78753 (less than a mile north of Rundberg Ln).
Salam’s offers grass fed beef perfect for people who are looking for a healthier option or who delight in a raw meat cuisine. According to the American Grass Fed Beef Organization, this meat is lower in total fat than grainfed animals, lower in calories and contains extra Omega-3s, which may reduce cancer risks.
Along with his butcher shop, Salam’s has a dine-in area where visitors can enjoy traditional Ethiopian food such as Injera, Kurt, Tibs, Kitfo and Ethiopian coffee. Visitors who can’t stay to eat can pick up their favorite Ethiopian spices to prepare their own meals at home.
Sitotaw graduated from EGBI’s program in June, which propelled him forward to meet his business goals. “Taking the classes helped open my mind. I knew having enough money wasn’t enough to open a business. Studying at EGBI gave me the info to move in the right direction.” Sitotaw described how Joni Foster, EGBI’s Program Director, helped him face his many hurdles in their one-on-one coaching sessions. “She connected me to the supplier that slaughters the specialty meat according to my countries custom.” The advice Sitotaw shares with other entrepreneurs is to save money, as financing a business can be a big challenge when starting a business.
