Farmingdale, NY - March 20, 2017 - Sustainable Long Island recently completed a series of one-on-one style small business mentoring sessions designed to provide personalized assistance to small businesses and/or aspiring entrepreneurs. Mentoring session themes covered business growth strategies, resources for accessing capital, achieving financial success, how to utilize digital marketing tools, and other topics to assist in the success of a small business. Partners included the City of Long Beach, the Long Beach Martin Luther King Community Center, the Concerned Citizens of North Park, the Christian Light Missionary Baptist Church and the Long Beach Latino Civic Association. The program included four small business mentoring workshops with financial professionals targeted to the community. Participating mentors included Capital One, SCORE Long Island, the Farmingdale Small Business Development Center, Long Beach Chamber of Commerce, Bridgeworks and Cybernet.
Having stemmed from Hurricane Sandy revitalization efforts in Long Beach and made possible by funding provided from Citi and Capital One, this innovative project has done more than offer business resources, and local knowledge – it has:
- Provided critical job training and employment opportunities in the community
- Promoted personalized education for residents and entrepreneurs
- Contributed to a sense of place for residents and business owners
- Supported the regional economy and business infrastructure
“The Small Business Mentoring Sessions enabled us to equip entrepreneurs and community members with the knowledge, resources, and skills needed to become successful business owners,” said L. Von Kuhen Ph.D., Executive Director of Sustainable Long Island. “The main objective is to not only provide these local residents with practical business skills, but to help them learn more about growth strategies in an effort to improve financial health.”
Sustainable Long Island aims to foster a new generation of small business owners who can continue to advance the development of business in Long Beach. “In a community with so many small businesses, the partnership between the City of Long Beach, Sustainable Long Island and each of the local organizations involved has provided our residents with a unique opportunity to enhance the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed as a small business owner,” said Long Beach City Councilwoman Chumi Diamond. “This has and will continue to be a win-win for the entire community.” For more information on holding a business mentoring session in your community, please contact Sustainable Long Island.
About Sustainable Long Island
Sustainable Long Island is a nonprofit organization advancing economic development, environmental health and social equity. As a catalyst and facilitator of community planning, Sustainable Long Island works across the region with leaders and residents of Nassau and Suffolk County for the betterment of all Long Islanders. Sustainable Long Island is located at 399 Conklin Street, Suite 202, Farmingdale, NY 11735. For further information, call (516)-873-0230, visit www.sustainableli.org or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.