Happy New Year, everyone! As we begin a new year, seeing the DoCL team back in action is exciting. They recently hosted a Town Hall meeting filled with updates and exciting announcements about the community initiative that DoCL will launch in 2024. This article will break down several details shared at the meeting so you can stay on top of the business scene. Let’s dive in!
On Saturday, the sixth of January the DoCL team came together to host a Town Hall Meeting. To kick off the meeting, Wyatt McKenzie spoke about a series of new infographics DoCL has created to help the business community. In the last year, many updates and changes have happened to the existing documentation that is available and depended on by the business community and those curious about how the Department of Commerce and Labor operates. Mr McKenzie acknowledged this himself. He hopes these new infographics will start a new series of helpful visuals to inform the business community better. To kick things off, DoCL has created an infographic for the Guide to Getting Licensed and the business transfer process. Representatives from the Department had these documents on hand for those at the Town Hall meeting, bringing fifty copies with them. Additional copies can be viewed by reaching out to a member of DoCL at the time of this article being printed.
Also, for 2024, DoCL has updated business license applications. In addition to the request for your proposed business ledger, description and summary, DoCL will now be asking for a business summary, expected expenses, and what plans the business owner has for ensuring the longevity and growth of the proposed business. Wyatt stated that there is no word count requirement, but the Department seeks well-thought-out concepts and ideas. Their goal is to get to know your business and what services you intend to provide to residents of the State. They also hope that with more targeted questions, the application process will prove more manageable for those wishing to follow their dreams and open a business.
That brings us to the exciting news that at the time of writing this article, business applications are once again open. While DoCL has said that they have continued to see many restaurant concepts included in recent applications, they hope to see unique business concepts of other varieties created by residents of the State. The Department has also said that they will be setting up interviews for any prospective business owner that piques their interest but generates additional questions for which the application needs to provide feedback. I hope you have your business professional and business casual attire picked out; I wish you all the best of luck in selling your vision for your dream!
Next was a discussion about a proposed business mentorship program coming in 2024. The Department will be looking for interested business owners to be a part of a pool of talent and information that will work as mentors with new business owners. Diving into the business ownership pool can be daunting, to say the least; the author knows first-hand how many tertiary systems a business owner has to learn to navigate to be successful. DoCL will contact interested business owners to step in and serve in these mentor roles either through a simple call for interested parties to make themselves known or a form the prospective mentors can fill out.
Attendees could also hear from the Department Commissioner as she re-capped the end-of-year survey results. One topic she touched on was requests that the Department be more transparent, explicitly concerning complaints and how they are handled and processed. Going into 2024, the Department has stated that it will be more transparent. The Department will communicate better with those who lodge complaints, letting them know when complaints have been received and that investigations have been started. Those at the meeting were reminded that investigations will take time. However, complaints are taken seriously by the Department, whether they be complaints about businesses not being open or crimes as complex as those committed while business owners or employees are on the clock. While the Department may only be able to respond to some matters within 24 hours, the Commissioner assured those listening that they would follow up with those who make a complaint and the businesses involved.
This announcement led to a reminder that all business owners are responsible for communicating with their staff. As a business owner myself, I cannot stress this enough. We are ultimately responsible for those in our employ, and it is our responsibility to make them aware of what is and will not be tolerated by ourselves and the State.
Do crime on your own time. Don’t get caught; if you do, ensure you’re not clocked in!
In conclusion, I will add a bit to this last point that the Department made. You are within your right to leave your premises, sell door-to-door or network, and support your business in other ways. To that end, do not feel leashed to your premises. Communication is key. Ensure that you or your employees communicate where your business can be found when you’re mobile. The key here is that you should be golden as long as you work for the company while you are clocked in.
So avoid those street races, doing all the crimes, pushing your fishing buddies off a boat, or finding sick ways to do a backflip on your Chopper while being clocked in.
Or don’t. I’m not your mom.
Until next time, this is Helen Hywater; take care of yourselves.
Don’t die.
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