Digital Roots
Strengthening the digital foundation of local business in Thousand Oaks, California
The heart of a city lives in its local businesses.
The frame shops, the bakeries, the hair salons, the chefs, the experts, the places where we meet our neighbors and feel at home. In Thousand Oaks, that heart is beating strong. But too many of these beloved businesses are digitally invisible to the very people who want to find and support them.
Thousand Oaks is pouring $123+ million into building a walkable, vibrant downtown. New housing is breaking ground. A new generation of families is arriving with high incomes, high expectations, and one non-negotiable habit: they search before they visit. If a business doesn't show up, it doesn't exist to them.
Digital Roots is a community investment initiative by SweSoul to modernize the digital presence of 100+ local businesses and nonprofits in Thousand Oaks through hands-on, done-for-you service: website builds, brand refreshes, Google optimization, social media foundations, and marketing education.
Businesses and nonprofits served over three years
One community one program one shared future
The leave-behind for your first meeting.
Print this section or copy it into a single-page document to hand to Economic Development staff or City Council members.
Digital Roots: Strengthening the Digital Foundation of Local Business in Thousand Oaks
Proposed by SweSoul | swesoul.com | March 2026
The Challenge: Thousand Oaks is investing $123M+ in downtown revitalization and new housing to attract younger families. But many of the independent businesses that define our community are digitally invisible. No modern website, outdated Google listings, zero social media. New residents search before they visit. If a business doesn't show up, they never walk through the door.
The Solution: Digital Roots is a three-year program to modernize the digital presence of 100+ local businesses and nonprofits. Each participant receives a complete, done-for-you package: website build/redesign, brand refresh, Google Business optimization, social media foundation, marketing essentials session, and two follow-up check-ins. Owners approve deliverables. SweSoul does the work.
The Numbers:
$5,000 per business | 100+ businesses over 3 years | $500K total program cost | ~$167K/year
For context: TO's capital improvement budget is $159.6M. The city has $40M in cash for downtown. Portland spent $12,500 per business on a similar program (cash grants, self-managed) and served only 6 businesses. Digital Roots delivers more businesses, with more consistency, at less than half the per-unit cost.
Strategic Alignment: Digital Roots directly supports the City's documented goals: creating a vibrant downtown, attracting younger demographics, supporting local businesses with marketing and training, and preserving community character. It formalizes and scales what the Economic Development division already offers informally.
The Ask: A pilot program for 10 businesses (~$50K) with documented before-and-after impact metrics. If successful, scale to 30 businesses/year for two additional years. Funding can come from the General Fund, CDBG, state grants, corporate partnerships, or a hybrid model.
About SweSoul: Creative strategy, design, and technology studio based in Thousand Oaks. Clients include Fortune 100 companies, professional athletes, nonprofits, and startups. Founder Tina Hobbs serves on the board of Healthcare for Homeless Animals and has deep roots in the Conejo Valley business community.
Next step: A 30-minute conversation with the Economic Development team to explore alignment and funding pathways.
Contact: Tina Hobbs | SweSoul | swesoul.com
A city in transformation needs its businesses to keep up.
The Downtown Project
In 2024, the City Council unanimously approved a master plan to create a walkable downtown around the Civic Arts Plaza. Ground-floor retail, a public market, a boutique hotel, an outdoor amphitheater, and a new city hall. Phase one begins summer 2026. The city has $40 million in cash set aside.
But new storefronts only work if the businesses filling them can be found. The infrastructure investment needs a digital counterpart.
Who Is Moving to Thousand Oaks
These are people with money to spend, high digital literacy, and zero patience for businesses they can't find online. They research before they visit. They check reviews, browse menus, verify hours, look at photos. If a business doesn't show up in that process, it doesn't exist to this demographic.
How Digital Roots investment compares to city spending
This is the city's own goals, delivered.
| City Goal (Documented) | How Digital Roots Delivers |
|---|---|
| Create a vibrant downtown with diverse shopping and dining | Ensures existing businesses are discoverable and professionally presented to capture new foot traffic |
| Attract younger demographics | Modernizes the digital interface for the 25–44 age group that searches before they visit |
| Catalyze reinvestment by property owners | Stronger businesses generate higher lease rates, lower vacancy, more reinvestment incentive |
| Connect businesses with marketing and training | Formalizes and scales the ED division's existing business concierge resources |
| Preserve community identity and character | Protects the charm of independent businesses so they don't fall behind in a more competitive market |
A clear package. No guesswork. No busywork for the owner.
Every participant receives the same foundational package, delivered entirely by SweSoul. Owners do not manage the project. We do the work. They approve it. Their business grows.
Website Build or Redesign
Modern, mobile-responsive, SEO-optimized. Includes copywriting, photography direction, and integration of booking, ordering, or contact systems. Built on a platform the owner can maintain.
Brand Refresh
Logo evaluation and cleanup, color palette, typography, and a simple brand guide. Delivered as print-ready and digital files: business cards, menus, signage, or promo materials.
Google Business Optimization
Complete setup or overhaul of Google Business Profile: photos, categories, hours, description, review strategy, and local SEO so the business appears when people search.
Social Media Foundation
Platform selection, profile setup and visual branding, 30-day content calendar with first batch of posts created, and a simple guide to maintaining it.
Marketing Essentials Session
Focused 90-minute session: what to post, how to read basic analytics, how to respond to reviews, seasonal marketing tips. Practical, not theoretical.
Follow-Up Check-Ins
Two post-launch check-ins at 60 and 180 days. Review what's working, troubleshoot, adjust strategy. Ensures the investment sticks.
What This Is Not
Digital Roots is not ongoing management. It is a foundation-building engagement. Once the package is delivered, the business has everything it needs to grow independently. If a business wants ongoing managed services afterward, they may engage SweSoul or any provider as a private client, fully separate from the city-funded program. Clear boundary, no conflict of interest.
How this compares to what other cities spend.
Portland's Digital Transformation Grant
Portland launched a grant at $12,500 per business, but it's a cash reimbursement. The business gets the money and figures out how to spend it: hardware, software, cybersecurity, and up to $8,000 toward a contractor. The owner manages everything. Result: 6 businesses served. $75,000 total. Portland later invested ~$465K more in digital equity, bringing total spend near $540,000.
| Dimension | Portland ($12.5K/biz) | Digital Roots ($5K/biz) |
|---|---|---|
| Model | Cash reimbursement | Done-for-you service |
| Owner effort | High: find vendors, manage, track, report | Minimal: approve deliverables |
| Businesses served | 6 | 100+ |
| Total cost | ~$540,000 (all rounds) | $500,000 over 3 years |
| Quality control | None | SweSoul delivers all work |
| Follow-up | Expense reporting | 60-day and 180-day check-ins |
The investment case.
SweSoul's standard rate for this scope is $4,000–$5,000. At the depth Digital Roots delivers, $5,000 per business is the right price for city-scale standardized delivery with community impact as the primary metric.
Funding Pathways
City General Fund / Economic Development — Most direct. Aligns with the ED division's existing mandate.
CDBG Funds — Annual HUD block grants. The 2025–2029 Consolidated Plan is being drafted now.
State Grants — CalOSBA's Accelerate California and the California Dream Fund.
Corporate Sponsorship — Amgen, Skyworks, and other major TO employers.
Hybrid — City seeds the program. Businesses contribute a co-pay ($250–500).
Who qualifies and how they get in.
Businesses apply. SweSoul vets and recommends. The City reviews and approves each participant before any work begins. The process ensures a fair, diverse spread across types, neighborhoods, and ownership demographics.
Requirements
Business Categories
Each cohort includes a balanced mix. No single category exceeds 25%. 10–15 spots are reserved for local nonprofits.
Selection Criteria
| Criterion | Weight | What We Look For |
|---|---|---|
| Digital need | 30% | How outdated or absent is the current presence? Bigger gap = bigger impact. |
| Community role | 25% | A gathering spot, trusted service, cultural contributor? A place the community values. |
| Diversity of ownership | 20% | Women, minority, immigrant, veteran, LGBTQ+, disabled ownership. We actively reflect the full community. |
| Viability & commitment | 15% | Stable enough to sustain improvements. Willing to engage. |
| Category balance | 10% | Healthy mix across categories and neighborhoods. |
On diversity and inclusivity: Digital Roots is built on the belief that a richer community comes from diverse ideas, backgrounds, and creativity. We don't just welcome diversity. We actively seek it. The businesses we support should reflect the full spectrum of people who make Thousand Oaks home. This is a core value of the program and of SweSoul.
Start with proof. Scale with confidence.
Realistic Approval Timeline
City programs typically take 6–12 months from first conversation to funded approval.
Spring 2026 — Introductions
Meet Economic Development. Leave the one-page summary. Gather informal interest from business owners.
Summer 2026 — Formal Proposal
Submit for FY 2027–28 budget cycle. Present to Council study session. Deliver 20+ support letters.
Fall 2026 — Budget Inclusion
If approved, included in FY 2027–28 budget or funded through CDBG/ED allocation.
Early 2027 — Pilot Launch
First cohort of 10 businesses begins. If fast-tracked, pilot could start late 2026.
Phase 1: Pilot — 10 Businesses
10 businesses across at least 4 categories. Full package. Before-and-after metrics. ~6 months.
If it goes well: Results presented to Council with impact data. Scale to Phase 2. Success = traffic increases, Google impressions, social engagement, owner satisfaction above 90%.
If it needs refinement: 90-day assessment identifies adjustments to scope, delivery, or selection before Phase 2.
Phase 2: Scale — 30/Year
Cohorts of 10 every 4 months. Alumni workshops. Chamber partnership for referrals.
Phase 3: Legacy — Year 3+
Final cohorts. Alumni Network. Three-year impact report. Model presented to other Ventura County cities.
A clear path forward, step by step.
Request a meeting with Economic Development.
Email Akbar Alikhan (Deputy City Manager, downtown project lead) at [email protected]. Frame it as: "I'd love to discuss a program that supports the Economic Development division's mission to connect local businesses with marketing and branding resources, especially as the downtown project moves forward." Ask for a 30-minute exploratory conversation. Bring the one-page executive summary above as a printed leave-behind. Do not bring the full proposal yet. Listen first.
Research the TO Community Grant program.
The City has an existing Community Grant program. Contact the Community Development Department at (805) 449-2500 or [email protected] and ask: What are the current grant categories? Is there a business development or economic vitality category? What is the application timeline? Could a program like Digital Roots qualify? This may provide a faster funding pathway than the full budget cycle.
Identify 5–10 pilot business candidates.
Start with businesses you already know through HHA and SweSoul contacts. Look for: businesses with clearly outdated or missing digital presence, owners who are well-liked in the community (their testimonials will carry weight), a mix of categories (a restaurant, a salon, a service provider, a nonprofit), and ideally some along the Thousand Oaks Boulevard corridor where the downtown development will have the most impact.
Gather 20+ community support letters.
These are short letters (one page or even one paragraph) from local business owners addressed to the City Council or Economic Development division. They should say: who they are and what their business is, that they believe a program like Digital Roots would help their business and others like it, that they would be interested in participating, and why they think this matters for Thousand Oaks. They do not need to be formal. A sincere email from a real business owner saying "I would benefit from this and I support it" is powerful. Aim for diversity across business types and ownership. Collect them as PDFs or emails you can compile into a single packet to present alongside the proposal.
Meet with the Chamber of Commerce.
Contact Danielle Borja (President/CEO, Greater Conejo Valley Chamber) at [email protected] or (805) 370-0035. The Chamber represents 800+ businesses and is a natural referral and co-promotion partner. Frame it as: "I'm developing a program to help local businesses modernize their digital presence, and I'd love the Chamber's input and potential partnership." The Chamber's government affairs director (Josh Gray) also has direct relationships with City officials.
Connect with Mayor Mikey Taylor's office.
Taylor is the current Mayor (2026) and has publicly championed the downtown project as a way to attract younger demographics and energize the local economy. Digital Roots is a direct extension of that vision. Reach him through the City Council contact page at toaks.gov/citycouncil. A short email expressing your idea and asking if he'd be open to a brief conversation could open the most important door.
Explore SBDC and CLU partnerships.
The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) serving this region already runs digital marketing programs with $1K–$2.5K grants. They could co-fund or refer businesses. California Lutheran University's business and marketing students could serve as project assistants. Both add credibility and reduce delivery costs. For the SBDC, search "Ventura County SBDC" and contact their director. For CLU, reach out to the School of Management.
Build the formal presentation deck.
After the initial ED meeting, take their feedback and build a polished deck for City Council. This should be 12–15 slides: problem, solution, alignment with city goals, program details, financials, Portland comparison, pilot plan, and the support letters. We will build this together as the next phase of this project.
Everyone you need to reach.
City of Thousand Oaks
Akbar Alikhan
Mayor Mikey Taylor
Bob Engler
Al Adam
David Newman
Connie "Tie" Gutierrez
Economic Development Division
Community Development / CDBG
Greater Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce
Danielle Borja
Josh Gray
Other Key Contacts
Alexandra South
Drew Powers
Jaime Boscarino
The name matters.
Roots = oaks, heritage, foundation. Digital = the modern layer. Campaign: Digital Roots: The TO 100
Exclusivity and a measurable goal. "100 businesses, 3 years, one community."
Simple, action-oriented. Works as #GrowLocalTO.
Campaign tagline as name. Two words: the before and the after.
Open for business, open doors, open to the future.
What this is really about.
This isn't just about websites and social media. It's about making sure the places we love, the people who pour their hearts into their businesses, can be seen and found and supported by the community around them. It's about a city building something extraordinary for its future while making sure the people who already make it special aren't left behind. It's about encouraging creativity, welcoming new ideas, making sure every business owner feels loved and cared for by the place they call home. It's about opening doors for new customers to discover, see, and support them. And it's about giving new families who move here every reason to fall in love with Thousand Oaks the way