Business Help Coming To Hopkins

is on track to bring in a new service to help local businesses.

Council members on Tuesday informally gave the nod to set aside $2,500 for a business assistance program called “Open to Business.” The Hopkins Business & Civic Association also agreed to give $2,500 toward the $10,000 yearly cost, and Hennepin County will provide the remaining $5,000.

Open to Business is a program in which experts work one-on-one with business owners or potential business owners to develop a plan to help the companies succeed.

There is also a revolving loan program.

“We rarely come to you with projects like this, but I’m really convinced this is a great fit for Hopkins,” said Kersten Elverum, Hopkins’ director of economic development and planning.

Minnetonka and Brooklyn Park have been using the program for the past six months or so. Now the program is being extended to Hopkins.

The program will provide local businesses with third party assistance the city couldn’t provide or that businesses wouldn’t necessarily welcome coming from the city, Elverum said, adding that she already knows of businesses that would take advantage of it.

“There is no question in my mind that it would get used,” she said.

The program expects a backlog of people seeking services at the beginning of the year—meaning Hopkins would either have to kick off the program in November or wait until early spring.

Mayor Gene Maxwell suggested starting in the spring so the city could begin marketing the program right away and build up interest.