Working for the city of Southlake since 2008, Daniel Cortez is all business. As the deputy director of economic development, Daniel works with a wide range of employers to help them succeed. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which dramatically affected local businesses, Daniel's job is more important now than ever.
I STARTED WITH… the city of Southlake as a city planner in October of 2008, then worked shortly in the city manager’s office in 2015 and 2016. I worked in economic development starting in January 2017. In what was supposed to be a short-term job until I found a larger city to work at, it’s now been almost 12 incredible years in a community I didn’t realize I would come to love so much.
ON A NORMAL DAY... my primary role is to work directly with businesses as their local government resource. Businesses, as you can imagine, are busy doing what they do best and often don’t have the staff or the time to explore what resources are out there for them. My job is to find ways for us as a city to help businesses succeed and to connect them with other businesses in the community that can help them.
I LIKE CONNECTING WITH PEOPLE… not only in a business capacity but also personally. This job allows me to work with all 2,000+ businesses we have in Southlake and get to know them for more than just the service and product they offer.
ALL THE BUSINESSES IN SOUTHLAKE… are owned or operated by someone who is involved in some capacity in the community. Connecting those dots and working with these people to help them succeed is rewarding. It’s extremely rewarding to learn a new business owner decides to locate in Southlake, help them find where to best locate and who to get connected with, and six months later see how well they’re doing.
A BIG PART OF THE JOB… is to make sure the city’s strategy with the business community moves forward. The city council has prioritized that supporting our existing business community should be at the forefront of our economic development efforts. The business visits we make and our annual business climate survey are a couple of ways we make sure we know what our businesses are experiencing and how we get ideas on how to improve our business environment.
WITH COVID-19, EACH DAY… has been different and as federal legislation and financial assistance change from day-to-day, I need to get educated and get the information out to our local businesses. We’re working on a new website currently and one of the tools we’ll help launch with it is our new Facebook account, Select Southlake. This new website will really allow us to better help our business community and really spotlight our great businesses and partners we have.
MANY BUSINESSES I’VE SPOKEN WITH… weren’t initially ready or set to conduct business through social distancing. I’m happy to say as time has gone on, most have adapted and are finding new and innovative ways to get their services and products out to their customers. Many businesses have needed financial assistance so they can continue operating in some capacity. We’ve outlined financial resources businesses can take advantage of to help them out.
THE MOST DIFFICULT PART OF MY JOB… is having to speak with a business owner who has laid off or furloughed his [or her] employees and may not stay in business through the crisis. It pains me personally because as I’ve gotten to know these business owners, and I’ve also met their employees and staff. Many of our businesses are like small families within Southlake.
I’D ADVISE OUR RESIDENTS… to not forget about some of our less-known dining locations. We have a full listing that shows all of our food establishments. Our retail locations need a lot of help too. Consider buying a gift card now knowing that you’ll be going into the store later this summer.