More and more public works projects are being set into motion as Columbia looks to grow.

And, from a new water supply system to the Finlay Park renovations, local contractors want a piece of the pie.

Ayesha Driggers, director of the Columbia’s Office of Business Opportunities, said the city is looking to build strong and sustainable connections with small business owners.

That plan includes the Small Business Outreach Forum, a seminar and networking event held at the Bubsy Street Community Center on Oct. 29. Driggers said offering information through a live presentation as opposed to simply online is valuable.

“It’s so important to have that in-person connection,” Driggers said. “It gives the contractors opportunities to network with each other and meet the decision makers of the procurement process in the city of Columbia.”

A wide variety of city officials made appearances, with Mayor Daniel Rickenmann giving brief opening remarks. Rickenmann said the city is working to steadily but surely elevate Columbia economically, and that a strong community of small businesses is a key aspect of that.

“You’re competing with other cities across the country,” Rickenmann said. “That’s what we want to see, tell those success stories. Let’s take the tax dollars, let’s take all the money we generate here, let’s keep it here.”

Six departments were highlighted: the offices of economic development, parks and recreation, code enforcement, engineering and utilities and procurement and contracting.

Joseph Nelson, who works in business development at local firm MSI construction, found the seminar on the procurement process particularly valuable. Nelson said MSI was motivated to attend the event both to learn from officials and other contractors.

“We wanted to find more local contractors, and people that actually had people in the state working, and that kind of sounded like us,” Nelson said. “We were interested in in what was coming up, how the city was developing.”

Several attendees made time to speak with Stuart Epting, who runs FedTrails Consulting, a company dedicated to helping businesses understand and become involved in the government procurement cycle.

Epting said his goal is to be a useful resource, helping other businesses jump into an often-complex procurement process with confidence and commitment. Building relationships is critical, he said.

“You don’t get it right away, but you start to muscle memory it – it gets there,” Epting said. “Like what they said, you come once, you come again. You start to keep talking to different people. The more you water it, the more you feed it, the better it’ll get.”

Epting said Columbia’s smaller size offers a more personable city government, where contracts aren’t doled out solely due to connections. Kimberly Locklear, who owns and operates True Point Phlebotomy Solutions, a mobile healthcare provider, said she’d been impressed by Columbia’s potential since she moved here.

“I’ve lived here for five years,” Locklear said. “I can say being here, I’ve had a lot more opportunities than I did on the West Coast. It’s been really exciting.”

Fellow transplant and The Lawn Guys owner Jermaine Brown also said he was impressed by Columbia’s development.

“It’s a growing city,” Brown said. “I’m from Chicago, which is a huge city. I moved here about 20 years ago,” Brown said. “To see where it is now compared to then, there’s major growth. And I can see the continued growth that’s going on.”

Driggers said the city plans to host similar events, such as an extended procurement workshop, and that the city’s plans and goals will be driven by feedback.

“The best thing we’re doing is listening to our small businesses, seeing what barriers still exist and challenges they face,” Driggers said. “We’re still working on how to make sure that they’re all aware of the opportunities that exist and how to really work on their business.”

Brown said that while Columbia hasn’t quite yet become a business hub like some of its neighbors, success is there for those who know how to pursue it.

“It’s still kind of small as far as compared to some of the bigger cities, the Charlottes and the Atlantas, but there’s opportunity,” Brown said. “You just got to be willing to go out there and look for it.”