Business Support Programs

The City of San Marcos (City) is committed to the promotion of quality development in all parts of the city limits and to the improvement of quality of life for its citizens. The City recognizes the breadth and depth of business in San Marcos of varying categories, employee count, ownership status, age of business, and more that contribute to building a strong and vibrant city. This report highlights activities and programs supporting business recruitment, retention, and expansion to build upon this foundation. 

Economic development is a team activity involving multiple departments such as Planning and Development Services, Engineering & Capital Improvements, Main Street, and the Library. Support is also provided through a number of community partners, including the Greater San Marcos Partnership (GSMP). GSMP is contracted by the City of San Marcos to complement efforts of City staff in key areas of business attraction, business retention & expansion (BRE), small business development, and workforce development. A selection of GSMP-led programs are included in this report, with more detailed information on their full services at www.greatersanmarcostx.com

Additional City programs are also in development to offer financial support to local businesses. These programs include the minority business stabilization program, small business retention incentive, and the sustainable resources grant. More information will be provided on these programs in a later update.

Questions about any of the programs listed below may be directed to the City's Economic & Business Development Manager, Kelsee Jordan Lee, at klee@sanmarocstx.gov or (512) 393-8059.

  1. Technical Assistance
  2. Grants & Incentives
  3. Workforce Development

1 Million Cups Greater SMTX

1 Million Cups Greater SMTX is a free program to educate, engage, and inspire entrepreneurs around the country. The Greater SMTX chapter is one of more than 160 communities participating in this program. San Marcos businesses less than 5 years old are invited to be featured and receive feedback and assistance from a network of community leaders. Each presenter has six minutes to tell who they are, what they are doing, and why they are doing it. After the presentation, there is a 20-minute Q&A session to answer "What can we as a community do to help you"? Join the community at  https://www.1millioncups.com/greatersmtx.

Business Retention & Expansion Visits

City of San Marcos and Greater San Marcos Partnership conducts business retention & expansion (BRE) visits. These confidential visits provide another platform for local businesses to share their future plans and current challenges. City and Partnership staff can identify ways to help and bridge connections to local or state resources. 

City Liaison

Staff serve as a liaison to businesses for city related questions. Staff help direct business and property owners to the appropriate city department. In particular, Main Street Staff actively foster positive relationships with downtown stakeholders in order to be a friendly face to the downtown business community. This includes distributing information and resources 2-3 times per month via The Scoop e-newsletter. Staff welcome new businesses to downtown and provide them with information regarding Main Street and City services, social media best practices, staff contact information, funding opportunities and business resources. 

Downtown Social Media Promotion & Education

Main Street staff utilize the Downtown SMTX digital platforms to promote downtown businesses. This includes social media (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) and paid advertisements which link to the DowntownSMTX.com tourism web page. Staff routinely educate downtown businesses on best practices for social media platforms and Google listing for their business. Staff have created guides which are distributed to new businesses during onboarding.  

Business Location Services

The City of San Marcos and Greater San Marcos Partnership each organize workshops throughout the year. These educational sessions cover a variety of topics pertinent to small businesses. Previous workshops have covered cybersecurity for business, customer service, financial literacy, bookkeeping, and more.