Lakewood and Pierce County offer many opportunities for entrepreneurs or small businesses interested in starting or expanding operations. This page provides a comprehensive list of business resources in the South Sound area.
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Lakewood Economic Development
We are always happy to help you accomplish your business goals. Please reach out with any questions you may have about business in Lakewood.
Economic Development Manager – Becky Newton
(253) 983-7738
Email: [email protected]
Permit Center
[email protected] or call 253-512-2261. Pre-application and customer meetings are available. Permit Counter walk-ins welcome Tuesday-Thursday, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Lakewood City Hall, 6000 Main St SW.
Business Licensing
[email protected] or 253-512-2261
- Access Washington is the main online portal for the State of Washington. Find information, apply for a business license, file your taxes and more!
- Business Impact NW provides assistance to new small business start-ups with microloan financing, training, and coaching.
- Choose Washington is a resource within the Washington State DoC that provides information and incentives for bringing business to Washington State.
- Rain Incubator is run by a local nonprofit organization which supports biotech companies in Pierce County.
- Startup253 is a startup resource and networking hub which brings together entrepreneurial leaders, venture capital, and more to advance local startups and place the South Sound at the forefront of innovation and creativity.
- Tacoma Maritime Incubator supports up to 7 startup businesses with mentorship and free rent.
- Washington Businesshub is a resource for operating a business in Washington State. It includes resources for planning, starting, running, and growing your business.
- The William Factory Small Business Incubator assists with access to capital, mentoring, workshops, strategy, and connections. This program is limited to one-on-one assistance, but workshops are free and open to the public.
- Impact Washington supports Washington manufacturers to identify their unique challenges and opportunities to improve efficiency, working conditions, and profits.
- Lakewood Chamber of Commerce connects the diverse population of Lakewood through positive, active leadership. They build relationships for member businesses with government agencies, schools, citizens, and valued military partners.
- National Development Council (NDC) is a national nonprofit that serves to increase the flow of capital for investment in low-income communities. NDC directs capital to support the development and preservation of affordable housing, the creation of jobs through training and small business lending and the advancement of livable communities through investment in social infrastructure.
- ScaleUp Business Training program is brought to you by the Washington State Department of Commerce. This powerful, grant funded program will give you the tools necessary to take your business past the profit plateau, breakthrough market stagnation, and free up your time to work on your business rather than in your business!
- U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) offers programs that specifically support the needs of small business, such as loan assistance, equity financing, surety bonding, and financing to assist with acquisition, operation or expansion.
- Washington APEX Accelerator works to help companies succeed. We guide companies through the entire process of applying for and fulfilling government contracts, from helping you determine what kind of products and services government needs, to registration, bidding and more. APEX services include: Interpretations of solicitations, registrations and certifications, training and seminars, specifications & drawings, marketing assistance, post award assistance, and a computerized bid match service.
- Washington Small Business Development Center (SBDC) advisors provide one-on-one, confidential, no-cost advising on all phases of small business development and are often co-located with economic development specialists in community colleges, economic development agencies or government agencies. Other services of the Washington SBDC include no-cost or low-cost workshops on a variety of business topics and customized market research services.
- Pierce County WSBDC Business Advisor: Ann Zimmerman
950 Pacific Ave, Ste #452, Tacoma, WA, 98402
Phone: 253-268-3339
Email: [email protected]
- Pierce County WSBDC Business Advisor: Ann Zimmerman
- Washington State Department of Commerce Small Business Services provides a range of services designed to meet the diverse needs of small businesses in Washington, from education and training to business loans, export assistance, and crisis planning.
- Washington State Department of Commerce’s Small Business Resiliency Network helps small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic find and apply for resources, access translation services, navigate local, state and federal funding and plan for economic recovery.
- Federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) is a federal tax credit available to employers who invest in American job seekers who have consistently faced barriers to employment. Employers may meet their business needs and claim a tax credit if they hire an individual who is in a WOTC targeted group.
- Employers must apply for and receive a certification verifying the new hire is a member of a targeted group before they can claim the tax credit. After the required certification is secured, taxable employers claim the WOTC as a general business credit against their income taxes, and tax-exempt employers claim the WOTC against their payroll taxes.
- Washington State Job Skills Program (JSP) awards grants to licensed educational institutions in Washington. JSP funds half of the training cost; partner employers provide a cash or in-kind match to fund the other half.
- Funds are awarded on a first-approved, rolling basis throughout the fiscal year. Applications are reviewed by a standing sub-committee of the Workforce Training Customer Advisory Committee.
- Workforce Central stewards the Pierce County Workforce Development System. They bridge the gap between job seekers, employers, and community organizations to build a robust workforce pipeline and ensure economic vitality across the region.
- Workforce Central Business Solutions Manager: Samuel A. Bradshaw
3640 South Cedar Street, Suite E, Tacoma, WA 98409
Phone: 253-345-9037
- Workforce Central Business Solutions Manager: Samuel A. Bradshaw
- WorkSource is a statewide partnership of state, local and nonprofit agencies that provides an array of employment and training services to job seekers and employers in Washington.
- Clover Park Technical College offers several four-year degrees.
- CPTC Corporate Education offers tailor-made workforce services to Pierce County organizations. Services are delivered by industry experts versed in organizational complexities; certified providers of industry-recognized assessments, tools and evaluations; and professionals who know that adult learning is a process – not an event.
- Contact Information:
[email protected]
253-583-8865
- Contact Information:
- Maritime 253 is a skills center focused on developing professional maritime skills serving the South Puget Sound Region.
- Pierce College offers several four-year degrees in high-demand fields with local placement opportunities.
Programs
- Minority Business Development Agency Business Center is operated by the City of Tacoma. The center is part of a national network of funded centers located in major cities throughout the United States. The program’s objective is to provide ongoing, quality assistance to minority businesses with rapid
growth potential so that they can achieve greater participation in the development of the nation’s commerce. - Pierce County Business Accelerator will serve entrepreneurs and business owners throughout Pierce County with a focus on BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) veteran, and women-owned businesses to help foster innovation and create wealth-building opportunities.
- Washington State Office of Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises (OMWBE) develops programs designed to improve the contributions of minority- and women-owned small businesses to the Washington state economy.
Partners
- Asia Pacific Cultural Center (APCC) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that was formed in November 1996. APCC represents 47 countries and cultures, offering programs and services honoring their distinct artistry, business protocols, history, and social practices.
- Korean Women’s Association (KWA) is a registered 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization, providing multicultural, multi-lingual human services, regardless of race or ethnic background, to diverse communities through education, socialization, advocacy, and support.
- Mi Centro is a community-based nonprofit that works with Latino and Indigenous Native families. Explore their website and learn more about our educational programs, crisis intervention, family outreach services, Arts & Culture programming, or join our advocacy efforts that address the concerns and opportunities for our families and community.
- Tacoma-Pierce County Black Collective is a community of Black people dedicated to civic engagement through volunteer service.
- Service Member for Life Transition Assistance Program (SFL-TAP) offers job fairs, quarterly networking gatherings, employer spotlight events, weekly brown bag information sessions, job posting services and more.
- Veterans Incubator for Better Entrepreneurship (VIBE), run by the University of Washington Tacoma provides an applied training environment that supports military veterans and their entrepreneurial aspirations.
- Business Impact Northwest works with small business owners by providing the business coaching, training, and access to funding they need to successfully launch and grow their businesses.
- Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy and Resiliency (C-PACER) program is an innovative financing mechanism to help commercial, industrial, agricultural, and multi-family buildings become more efficient and resilient. The C-PACER program allows owners and developers of eligible properties in Pierce County to obtain long-term financing, at a lower interest rate, for qualifying energy generation, energy efficiency, water conservation or resiliency projects
- Craft3 provides loans that launch startups, help businesses and nonprofits expand, and let homeowners invest in their property.
- Evergreen Business Capital is the Northwest’s leading Small Business Administration Certified Development Company Loan Program expert. Since 1980, they have partnered with lenders in Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and Northern Idaho to provide loans for small businesses in the Northwest.
- Mercy Corps Northwest offers loans ranging from $500 to $10,000 to small business owners who are looking to start or grow their enterprise. These loans support businesses at all stages including owners with less than a year in operation and established entrepreneurs looking to expand operations. Mercy Corp Northwest focuses on making capital available to entrepreneurs who cannot receive traditional funding from banks or credit unions.
- Small Business Flex Fund 2 helps small businesses and nonprofits access affordable loans they need to thrive.
- Small businesses and nonprofits can borrow up to $250,000 and the money can be spent flexibly, including on payroll, utilities & rent, supplies, marketing & advertising, building improvements or repairs, and other business expenses.
- With competitive interest rates and flexible repayment options, the new Washington Small Business Flex Fund 2 is designed to help small businesses and nonprofits access funds to grow and thrive.
- Tacoma-Pierce County Economic Development Board
- U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) continues to help small business owners and entrepreneurs pursue the American dream. SBA is the only cabinet-level federal agency fully dedicated to small business and provides counseling, capital, and contracting expertise as the nation’s only go-to resource and voice for small businesses.
- The SBA helps small businesses get funding by setting guidelines for loans and reducing lender risk. These SBA-backed loans make it easier for small businesses to get the funding they need.
- Up to $50,000 through designated intermediary lenders which are nonprofit community-based organizations with experience in lending as well as management and technical assistance
- 7(a) loans
- Up to $5,000,000 for businesses that meet small business size regulations
- 504 loans
- Up to $5,500,000 for businesses with a tangible net worth less than $15M
- Microloans
- 7(a) loans
- Find Broker by Port (Tacoma, Seattle)
- Northwest Seaport Alliance Import and Export Guide: find the basics of importing and exporting through The Northwest Seaport Alliance and links to resources that can help you move your cargo.
- Trade Passport website is a resource aimed at providing on-demand training, local resources, and rapid expert assistance to USA-based small-medium-sized businesses that are focused on international trade as a pathway to business growth.
- Tourism Authority – Pierce County
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) strongly recommends that you familiarize yourself with CBP policies and procedures prior to actually importing/exporting your goods. You should also be aware of any entry requirements specific to the particular commodity you are importing/exporting, including those of other federal agencies.