Courtesy: Angelique Molina-Mangaroo
Participants of the Business Resource Sharing Event in front of the Tech Incubator building at Queens College.
By: Angelique Molina-Mangaroo
The Queens Chamber of Commerce held a business resource-sharing event at Queens College Tech Hub Incubator on Monday, October 10, which yielded business owners across Congressional District 6. The event, geared towards small business owners, met with service providers and support organizations to receive free assistance for their businesses.
“We have people that want to sustain and grow their business, but unfortunately, they can’t, because they don’t know the ins and outs. They don’t know they need human resources, and we can be there,” said Suzan King, Assistant Vice President of Business Resources at Queens Chamber of Commerce.
“I want to be able to give them the right guidance, the right foot in the door, and they can continue to pass down that business to generations.”
The Queens Chamber of Commerce is Queens largest and oldest business association that represents more than 1,400 businesses and over 150,000 employees. The Small Business Legal Desk Program within the Queens Chamber of Commerce holds business resource-sharing events across the district to conduct outreach to small business owners. It is funded through the U.S. Small Business Administration, which Representative Grace Meng secured.
Some of the challenges business owners face within the district are language barriers, not knowing the resources available to them, and fear of reaching out for help due to immigration status. The business resource-sharing event aims to tackle these challenges by connecting them to free resources, such as legal, accounting and human resource services.
“The legal desk program really helped me get protection for trademarks to set up my company and not to have to pay thousands of dollars” said Marie Hoffman, a three-time business owner in Queens.
Attendees of the business resource-sharing event were able to connect with lawyers, accountants and other professionals that will help guide them through the process of starting and sustaining a successful small business.
“I want them to grow,” said King.
“I want every block that used to have a business to have a business. And I want to hear that a mom-and-pop passed down their business for generations that their kids can take on.”
