Resources

Jump to section:

1. Training programs
2. Related departments
3. Business support organizations
4. Industry-specific associations
5. Other resources

Training programs

• Business Impact Northwest: Business Impact Northwest provides coaching, classes, and the capital you need to successfully launch and grow your business.
• Communities Rise: Communities Rise works with organizations, small businesses, and communities located in Washington state that have been impacted by systemic oppression to increase capacity and build power. Communities Rise offers support through peer learning, coaching, legal services, and training.
• Ethiopian Community in Seattle: The Ethiopian Community in Seattle is dedicated to serving and empowering Seattle’s diverse community through a variety of essential programs. They provide senior services and health support to enhance well-being, educational resources to foster academic success and cultural heritages, housing assistance for stability, and small business support and resource sharing to encourage entrepreneurship. Additionally, their social services address broader needs, helping individuals and families navigate challenges and thrive.
• Food Innovation Network: The Food Innovation Network's mission is to enhance the local food system, increase access to healthy food, create pathways for success, and support resource- and idea-sharing that engages the diverse communities of SeaTac/Tukwila and South King County. Through business coaching and a peer network, entrepreneurs are supported in obtaining permits, offered subsidized kitchen rent, and provided connections to market channels such as catering opportunities.
• Greater Seattle SCORE: Whether you’re just starting out, in business, or ready to sell or retire, you can get free, confidential business advice from expert advisors committed to helping you succeed from SCORE. All small business training is free, including hundreds of interactive workshops and webinars led by industry experts.
• Resource Amplification Management Program (RAMP-Up): Seattle University's Albers School of Business and Economics Resource Amplification Management Program (RAMP-Up) combines business acumen, campus resources, and community engagement. It pairs students and consultants with underserved local businesses in Seattle's Central Area, offering long-term support to help them thrive amidst urban changes. RAMP-Up provides coaching, planning, and technical assistance, to support local businesses while preserving the area's diverse character.
• Small Business Development Center: The Washington Small Business Development Center is a network of more than 30 expert business advisors working in communities across the state to help entrepreneurs or small business owners start, grow, buy, or sell a business.
• Tabor 100: Tabor 100 is an association of entrepreneurs and business advocates who are committed to economic power, educational excellence, and social equity for African Americans and the community at large.
• University of Washington Consulting and Business Development Center: The UW Consulting and Business Development Center fosters growth in business revenues and job creation through student consulting teams and faculty-led business education courses. With a focus on businesses owned by people of color, women, the LGBTQ+ community, veterans, and those in underserved communities, the Center offers consulting programs that range from one week to seven months. During these programs, students and professional mentors collaborate closely with business owners on projects that enhance the bottom line and drive new growth.
• Urban Impact: Urban Impact provides networking, coaching, and investment opportunities to local entrepreneurs by offering an intensive program aimed at bringing ideas to launch through business plan training and access to micro-loan opportunities. Urban Impact’s services also provide mentorship, technical assistance, referrals, and access to capital for existing businesses. In partnership with Seattle Pacific University, they provide an opportunity for entrepreneurs to develop and present their ideas for startup capital through a social venture pitch event.
• Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle Entrepreneurship Community and Cultural Office: The Entrepreneurship Community and Cultural Office provides business and business finance coaching, as well as free space and technology for small business owners. Additionally, they host networking nights, workshops, and small business round tables.
• Ventures: Ventures provides access to business training, capital, coaching, and hands-on learning opportunities for entrepreneurs with limited resources and unlimited potential.

Related departments

• Customer Service Bureau:
  • "Find It, Fix It" is a smartphone app offering mobile users one more way to report selected issues to the City of Seattle. With Find It, Fix It, reporting an issue is as easy as snapping a photo with your smartphone, adding detailed information, and hitting submit. The map's "drag and drop" feature or the phone's own technology can be used to pinpoint the location.
  • The Customer Information Guide provides general information and contact information for a wide range of services provided throughout the city, including information for elected officials, 24-hour services, child and youth information, business resources, animal information, employment information, permitting, police precincts, property taxes and assessments, and more.
  • The Seattle Newcomer’s Guide provides general information on moving resources, utilities, public transportation, education resources, employment resources, how to register to vote in Washington, how to get a Washington state driver license, how to become a Washington resident, community information, and more.
• Department of Education and Early Learning:
  • Resources for parents or caretakers to find preschool, childcare, and other enriching opportunities for their children.
  • Find different funding opportunities for schools ranging from preschool and early learning to K-12 school.
• Department of Neighborhoods:
  • The Neighborhood Matching Fund provides matching dollars for neighborhood improvement, organizing, or projects developed and implemented by community members. Neighborhood groups, community organizations, informal groups, and business groups who want to do a project to build stronger community connections are encouraged to apply. There are two types of funds: Small Sparks Funds (up to $5,000) and Community Partnership Funds (up to $25,000).
• Film Program: All the information you need for a successful film in Seattle can be found in the Film Manual. This includes information about insurance coverage, parking reservations, parks use, police hires, drone use, and much more.
• Office of Arts and Culture:
  • Job opportunities for artists: Find or post a job in the arts, see what jobs are currently open for emerging, midcareer, and established artists, as well as organizations.
  • Creative Youth Programs: The office invests in teaching artists, educators, and organizations that are working toward a more vibrant creative youth culture. They do this through funding Creative Youth Programs, professional development, cultural partnerships, public education initiatives, and other opportunities. They also support arts and cultural learning and events for the city’s young people.
  • Cultural Space Program: The Cultural Space Program exists to preserve, create and activate cultural square footage in the city of Seattle; to work with artists and arts organizations to strengthen their role in charting the future of their creative spaces; and to work with developers and builders to incorporate arts and culture into new projects.
  • Grants: ARTS investments in cultural organizations and individual artists make Seattle’s community more vibrant. The grant programs include funding opportunities, initiatives and training for organizations, individual artists, youth arts programs, and neighborhood and community groups.
• Office of Civil Rights:
  • Outreach and engagement:
    • Anti-discrimination trainings for small businesses
    • Contract equity
    • Fair Employment Technical Assistance
    • Providing equitable services to customers (public accommodations laws, ADA, all gender restroom ordinance, etc.)
  • Office of Labor Standards: The Office of Labor Standards offers a range of resources to help employers to comply with Seattle’s labor laws, including free technical assistance, trainings, translations, and more. To obtain compliance assistance and/or receive training, employers can call (206) 256-5297, email laborstandards@seattle.gov, or send a message through their online form.
    • Training and education
      • Technical assistance
      • On-site or remote training and presentations
      • Live and recorded labor standards webinars
    • Resources to assist with compliance
      • Labor Standards fact sheets, current workplace poster, frequently asked questions, and other resources
      • Employer compliance templates
      • Employer guide and checklist to Labor Standards Investigation
      • Employer guide to record keeping requirements
      • Interactive mapping tool used to display Seattle city limits
      • Paid Sick and Safe Time checklist
      • Worker classification document (Employee or independent contractor)
    • Seattle City Light:
      • Small and medium-sized business energy solutions: Seattle City Light has specialists who can answer questions about your account and suggest energy options that work well for your business. Seattle City Light services use affordable, clean electricity with net-zero impact on the environment.
      • Construction questions and electrical engineering services: When construction or rewiring projects require new or expanded electrical service, Seattle City Light is here to help. Their experts are dedicated to helping you deliver your project on time and on budget.
    • Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections: SDCI staff can answer your general or specialized questions and advise you on your specific project needs through online one-on-one coaching.
    • Seattle Public Utilities:
      • Fats, oils, and grease clog team: Restaurants and commercial kitchens found in schools, hotels, and hospitals create a lot of fats, oils, and grease waste (FOG) from cooking and cleaning. Smaller businesses like coffee shops, delis, and pizza places can also produce FOG.
        • Business FOG resources include: FOG pretreatment device maintenance logs, best management practices, FOG service providers, restaurant grease guidelines, and grease FAQs.
      • Recycling and composting program: Resources are available to your business to help you reduce waste and save on collection fees. Contact SPU’s Green Business Program to request free posters, decals, and indoor collection containers.
      • Development Services Office: The Development Services Office assists and coaches developers and homeowners who are looking to obtain new water utility services within the Seattle Public Utilities service area. They make sure new projects in public spaces meet required codes. They also partner with Seattle Department of Transportation to review and approve street use permits associated with drainage, wastewater, and water main extensions.
      • Stormwater programs: You may qualify for a lower drainage fee if your private system reduces stormwater runoff or helps clean the water before it enters the city’s stormwater system, creeks, lakes, or Puget Sound. If your business is in a targeted sewer overflow basin, you may be eligible for rebates to hire a trained RainWise contractor to install a rain garden or cistern. See if your property is eligible, find a contractor, and apply online.
      • Water conservation program: Saving water is good for business and the environment. Your business may easily reduce water use and lower utility costs by 20 – 30% by replacing inefficient equipment and changing operations. Saving water is not only good for your bottom line, it also has environmental benefits as fresh water is a limited resource.
        • Saving Water Partnership: Access rebates and assistance through this group of local utilities that work together to provide water conservation programs in Seattle and King County.
      • EnviroStars green business program: The EnviroStars program is a one-stop resource for Washington businesses that want to protect the environment and public health. It brings together green business programs from 16 agencies and supports efforts like saving energy and water, preventing pollution, and lowering waste, toxic chemicals, and greenhouse gas emissions. The program is supported by Seattle Public Utilities, Seattle City Light, and the Seattle Office of Economic Development.
    • Special Events Office: The Special Events website provides detailed information about what is considered a special event and when a Special Event Permit is required. The website also outlines the special event permitting process and application instructions and includes information on other related permits that may be required for certain event activities.

Business support organizations

• Seattle business districts: Seattle business districts offer a variety of ways to explore the diversity that makes up Seattle. Each neighborhood is unique and rich with culture and a wide variety of businesses. Getting to know the different small business districts throughout the city provides an opportunity to better understand the environment, people, and culture where you may be deciding to do business.
• Business Improvement Areas: The Business Improvement Areas are funding mechanisms for business district revitalization and management. Local stakeholders oversee and fund the maintenance, improvement, and promotion of their commercial district. BIAs are conceived, designed, and managed locally by those who are paying the assessments. Everyone in the district is required to pay their fair share. Each BIA is governed by a rate payer’s advisory board. The City collects the assessments on behalf of the BIA and reimburses monthly expenses.
  • Currently, there are eleven established BIAs in the City of Seattle: 15th Ave in Capitol Hill, Ballard, Broadway, Chinatown-International District, Columbia City, Downtown Metropolitan Improvement District, Pioneer Square, Seattle Tourism Improvement Area, SODO, University District, and West Seattle Junction.
• Visit Seattle: Visit Seattle is a private nonprofit serving as Seattle and King County’s official destination marketing organization, enhancing the employment opportunities and economic prosperity of the region. Visit Seattle is membership-based, connecting more than 750 local businesses and their products and services with the lucrative visitor market. Visit Seattle also offers professional development events, orientations, and a variety of networking tools throughout the year.

Industry-specific associations

• Good Business Network of Washington: Good Business Network of Washington is a coalition of residents, local businesses, non-profits, and municipal organizations. Seattle Good Business Network connects and inspires people to buy, produce, and invest locally, so that everyone has a meaningful stake in the local economy. The organization has various programs for all things local including Seattle Made and Good Food Economy.
• Life Science Washington: Life Science Washington is a membership-based organization that connects and supports their members and partners to life science innovation, job creation, and ecosystem vibrancy across Washington state through engagement, collaboration, promotion, and advocacy.
• Manufacturing Industrial Council: Manufacturing Industrial Council is a membership-based organization that includes large and small businesses in all industrial sectors. MIC provides an influential voice on behalf of the thriving industrial economy for protection of industrial lands and the maritime and manufacturing businesses operating there.
• Washington Brewers Guild: The Washington Brewers Guild is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and promoting the interests of craft brewers, as well as strengthening the Washington craft brewing community. They unite brewers from all over the state to advocate for laws and policies that will keep the craft beer industry thriving and ensure quality and choice for Washington beer lovers.
• Washington Global Health Alliance: The Washington Global Health Alliance is a membership-based organization that connects and informs Washington’s global health community. They are a source for global health news, events, and jobs in Washington.
• Washington Hospitality Association: The Washington Hospitality Association is the state’s leading hospitality trade group, representing more than 6,000 members of the hotel, restaurant, and hospitality industry. The Seattle Restaurant Alliance is their local chapter, focusing on Seattle’s restaurant industry. Monthly meetings are held for Seattle restaurateurs.
• Washington Retail Association: The Washington Retail Association is the state’s primary association exclusively dedicated to advocating the unique interests of retailers on legislative and regulatory issues. WRA represents more than 3,500 storefronts statewide that range from large national chains to the smallest independent retailers and maintains numerous partnerships with like-minded associations and chambers of commerce across the state and nation.
• Washington State Food Truck Association: The Washington State Food Truck Association is a member services organization that advocates on behalf of their mobile food members to help them succeed. The association serves as a central hub of resources to start and successfully run a food truck business. This includes resources for vending, an event and catering referral source, and providing local and state-level regulatory updates as well as proactive lobbying and advocacy.
• Washington Technology Industry Association: Washington Technology Industry Association is an influential coalition of 1,100 tech companies, both large and small. They consolidate the power of member companies to help employers build robust workforce systems, help businesses grow and scale, advocate, and address systemic challenges and ensure equitable access to investment capital, training, and careers in tech.

Other resources

• Food business handbook
• Nightlife establishment handbook