Every New Yorker knows that neighborhood in the city changes quickly. Therefore it is very hard to keep up the small businesses especially those which are iconic to those communities. But things are now going to change as the Department of Small Business Services of New York has decided to not only help all the mom-and-pop shops in the city but also made measures to ensure that such small businesses also survive changes like rising rental fees and competition from other business holders.
The SBS has launched a one-on-one expert counseling as well as funding for such business holders in the New York. While giving an interview, the deputy commissioner of SBS Rachel Van Tosh said that the economy of a state is heavily dependent on the small businesses and they are considered as the backbone of the economy. The deputy further said that they are trying their best to help small businesses flourish and tackle the changes.
NYC to award $1.8M in grants to help small businesses adapt to neighborhood changes https://t.co/HoAWudSp35 pic.twitter.com/Y4hDwIp6op
— Metro New York (@metronewyork) June 21, 2018
She further said that the part of this initiative includes providing intensive services to the owners of such businesses to make that shift. And this way, the city can better understand the ways which can help solve issues of small businesses, she added.
After the announcement, now the small business owners can apply for a one-on-one expert advice and a $90,000 grant to make that advice practical. However, for a business to be eligible for these services, it should be in function from 3 years at least and should be non-franchise business covering five towns.
The interested business owners can submit their application at nyc.gov/loveyourlocal starting on July 17 and in the first phase, 20 grants will be provided. The payment will be made in September. Business owners will have to fill out an application form where they will be asked to provide information about the company/business, the location of the company and what issues they are facing.
This is the second phase of the “NYC Love Your Local“. This program is a campaign of small business services which is meant to celebrate small businesses and the city’s independence. Another purpose of the campaign was to motivate more people to shop from the local business.
In the first phase of “NYC Love Your Local” campaign, the people of New York, with the help of an online map, highlighted almost 2,000 small businesses that they like in their communities. In a statement, the Commissioner of SBS said that the people of New York love their mom and pop shops and the overwhelming support the small businesses got in the first phase of NYC Love Your Local campaign is the proof of it.
The award of these grants is the next step they are taking to make sure that these moms and pops shops remain active in the center of the New York, the commissioner further added.
NYC Love Your Local phase II is a 3-step process. In the first step, the small business owners will fill out a form or in other words, they will apply for a grant. After that, the selected businesses will get the expert advice.
Finally, after getting the expert advice, the owners will get funds up to $90,000 to apply the advice. Here is the list of eligible business improvements that can be made with the grant:
- Improve Finance management
- Improve operations
- Enhance location of the business
- Update technology
- Recruiting more employees
While commenting on the grant, the public advocate of the city, Letitia James said that small businesses are the important prospect of a city and they bring stability in the economy as well as unique character to the city’s neighborhood.
With the help of NYC Love Your Local campaign, these businesses will be able to thrive and compete in the market. She further said that the efforts of NYC Small Business Services are really worth appreciating as they continue making life easier for moms and pops shops. The president of Staten Island Borough, James Oddo said that he hopes to see many small businesses apply for this grant.