Applications must be submitted online and will be accepted from 9 a.m., Friday, December 1, 2023 to 5 p.m., Wednesday, January 31, 2024. The application period will close promptly at 5 p.m. on January 31, 2024. Applications received online after this due date and time will be considered late and will not be accepted.

All supporting documentation must be submitted through an online portal before the application deadline. Businesses that meet all criteria will be contacted to sign up for the required Level Up training program.

A link to the application will be available on this webpage at the opening of the application window. Please complete the entirety of the application and ensure all of your information is correct. If required fields are not complete you will receive an error notice that will prevent you from submitting the application. For best results, we recommend using either Chrome, Safari, Firefox. After submitting your application, you will receive an email confirmation.

In order for eligible businesses to be considered for a grant, businesses are required to submit the following documents for review and verification:

Submit to OCIE SBDC

• Completed grant application
• Current city of Temecula business license
• W-9
• Lease agreement
• 2022 tax returns

Submit to the city of Temecula

• City of Temecula agreement
• Certificate of insurance

The City of Temecula Level Up Program will take place over a course of four weeks — two hours per session — and will cover the following topics with a focus on building growth strategies: 

Week One — Planning

Every business faces a series of challenges on its path to growth. This module covers a variety of successful approaches to growth. You will find out how to grow your business as you learn about successful growth opportunities, identify failures in growth and pitfalls to avoid, and take actions setting your growth plan as aligned with your vision. Are you ready to grow? 

• What does growth mean to you? Identifying the key drivers of growth in your business. 
• Building a strategic plan that matches your vision. (What goes into your strategic plan?) 
• Conducting market research to validate your vision. 
• Establishing key performance indicators (KPIs) and key performance areas (KPAs) to ensure you achieve your vision. 

Week Two — People

During this module, you will learn about actionable steps you can take to assess and develop your human capital talent into a formidable all-star force for your company. Utilizing individual skill sets and training to personal strengths ensures all individuals are functioning within the overall team at their highest and best use, creating a competitive edge not easily duplicated. 

• Your workforce 
• Breakdown of your labor force

Week Three — Customers

There is only one boss: CUSTOMERS! Growth in your business is all about attracting new customers and/or expanding what your existing customers are buying from you. This module will take your growth plan and help you hone in your efforts on bettering the outcomes of your current marketing efforts, defining your target areas that you are trying to reach, and developing a strategy to grow your customer base. 

Customers: Marketing 

• What is your marketing strategy? 
• Breakdown of your customers — Who are they? 
• Marketing channels — where are you marketing? Where should you be marketing? 

Customers: Sales 

• Revenue analysis 
• Sales channel analysis 

Week Four — Cash and Plan

Cash is king. But the question is: Cash for growth or growth for cash? To grow, you need to maintain adequate cash flow. In this module, you will understand your numbers through your profit and loss (P&L) and build your financial projection to support your growth plan. This class will teach how to accurately project growth, model it, and stress test it to make sure capital will work effectively with your growth plan. 

Cash 

• P&L analysis 
• Financial forecasting 
• Cash flow analysis 
• Funding options 

Applicants are required to participate in Level Up, a four-week training program. Participants must attend all four classes to qualify for funding.

• A total of four (4) two-hour mandatory Zoom training sessions. In the event a business misses one of the mandatory training sessions, they can make it up by scheduling an additional 1:1 consultation meeting with their SBDC consultant. If a business misses two (2) or more mandatory training sessions, they will then be ineligible to receive the $20,000 grant.
• One (1) mandatory 1:1 consultation meeting with a SBDC consultant in between cohort meetings/sessions.

To be eligible to apply for the City of Temecula Level Up Training and Grant Program, a business must meet the following criteria that have been established by the city of Temecula.

General Terms and Conditions

The business applicant must meet the following eligibility requirements to be considered for grant funding:

• The business must be physically located in Temecula;
• The business must be a for-profit business;
• The business must be brick-and-mortar;
• The business must have an active Temecula business license
• The business must be in good standing with the city (current on bills, no liens or judgements, etc.) unless directly correlated to COVID-19 impacts;
• The business must not be suspended or debarred or otherwise excluded from receiving Federal funding;
• The business must have 5 or more employees;
• The business must have a revenue of $500,000 or more;
• The business must submit the application and all required supporting documentation.

Ineligible Businesses:

• Gambling/Cannabis/Adult Entertainment

In order for eligible businesses to be considered for a grant, businesses are required to submit the following documents for review and verification:

Submit to OCIE SBDC

• Completed grant application
• Current city of Temecula business license
• W-9
• Lease agreement
• 2022 tax returns

Submit to the city of Temecula

• City of Temecula agreement
• Certificate of insurance

For additional information regarding the Level Up Training and Funding Program, please contact the following:

City of Temecula
Mary Cervantes
43200 Business Park Drive
Temecula, CA 92590
(951) 506-5187

For assistance regarding the training program or application and to set up a one-on-one consultation (at no cost), please contact the OCIE SBDC at:

Orange County Inland Empire SBDC
Intake Team
(800) 616-7232
Schedule an appointment: ociesbdc.org/consultation