The Business Retention and Expansion (BRE) Program

Our community's economic prosperity takes careful tending. So the Greater Naples Chamber and Collier County formalized The Partnership for Collier's Future Economy to promote healthy business growth and job creation. As nearly roughly 80% of new jobs and capital investment comes from companies that already exist in the community, the Chamber supports these companies through the Business Retention and Expansion (BRE) program. Lead by Melanie Schmees, Director of Business and Economic Research, the Chamber identifies the needs of existing businesses. It also maintains partnerships with state and local economic development partners such as Enterprise Florida and the Florida Economic Develop Council. 
The BRE program recognizes that business leaders are busy running their operations and may not have time to connect to or find these resources for themselves. Through the BRE program, businesses learn about available resources and may connect with business support and development organizations. Examples of resulting connections are: 

• Access to training grants for companies expanding their hiring,
• Assistance with site selection for companies looking to move into a new space,
• Options for incentives or funds for expanding operations. 

The program has already identified dozens of companies that are in expansion mode. BRE also creates an open line of communication with county officials to understand the current business environment and address concerns or changes needed to support the business community.
The Chamber also supports economic prosperity by assisting decision-makers with data, for example, providing benchmark wage data to help in employee retention or providing detailed demographic and industry data to companies looking to move to the area.
To schedule a BRE visit or learn more about economic development in the community, please contact Melanie Schmees at (239) 402-2914 or via email at melanie@napleschamber.org