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| Driving 2 1/2 hours to Marist College 7:30am-8:00am Networking 8:00am-8:15am Welcome Remarks and Opening Remarks 8:15am-10:00am "Financing Your Business" 10:30am-12:00pm "Selling to the Government" Group I |
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| Group II Thanks to WEDC for the collaboration and all the attendees two ladies fell at the icy parking lot |
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| Thanks to WEDC team |
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| 1:00pm after the seminars |
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| 1:20pm Gwen came after the seminars to get the materials |
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| 1:30pm Special thanks to Lea for her coordinating this event, and waiting for me outside at 7:35am |
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| 2:30pm after the meeting with Tom, Marist College |
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| The icy Hudson River |
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| The frozen river |
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Entrepreneur opportunities: Event offers resources for small business owners
Financing and government contracts are easier to obtain than some small business owners may realize.
That was the topic of a conference hosted by the Women’s Enterprise Development Center and the U.S. Small Business Administration on Wednesday at Marist College in the Town of Poughkeepsie.
Attendee Stephen Frattini, 32, a doctor of veterinary medicine, said he lives on Long Island but would like to relocate and open a small biotechnology-based company.
“I’m looking to start a small business in Dutchess County,” he said. “It was really nice to actually meet some of the people.”
Frattini said he learned a little more about financing and navigating the benefits of working with the Small Business Administration at the conference.
The Small Business Administration is a government organization. The Women’s Enterprise Development Center is a nonprofit that partners with the SBA, said Lea Bishop, director of the development center’s mid-Hudson satellite office at Marist, which organized the event. The center also hosts a business training program that starts Feb. 11, she said.
Darlene Haywood of Fishkill said she learned about opportunities for women and minorities at the event. She also attended a class on Twitter on Saturday at the center and plans to attend one this weekend on Google Plus.
Haywood, 55, said she is working to develop her second career as a certified health coach. She is retired after 32 years in civil service.
“I am investing all of my time in developing my passion and hoping to reach individuals who could benefit from my expertise,” she said.
Man-Li Kuo Lin, an economic development specialist with the SBA, spoke at the conference.
There are more opportunities for federal government contracts than some small business owners may realize, she said.
The U.S. General Services Administration, for example, contracts for cleaning services, security and more, and that at least 5 percent of federal contracts must go to businesses owned by women, she said.
She recommended that business owners visit the websites for the General Services Administration, the SBA, and www.fbo.gov, a database of federal business opportunities.
There are also federal grants available for small businesses in research and development, Lin said.
About 55 people attended the conference, organizers said.
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| The 2nd page of the article on Poughkeepsie Journal. |
