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This coming fall will be key for Long Island minorities seeking to start a business or find a job, experts say.
The Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce will host its third annual business conference starting Oct. 9, at Hempstead Town Hall, during what is called national Minority Enterprise Development Week. The Hempstead session is to be followed by two other business conclaves.
“Last year, we had 75 people attending,” Phil Andrews, president of the Chamber, told the Press. “This year, we feel we’re going to pack the place.”
The event at Hempstead Town Hall, slated for 6-9 p.m., will feature owners of small businesses who will talk about their experiences in starting companies. A second event, scheduled for later in October, will highlight executives from two large Long Island companies, and the heads of two smaller companies, who will explain the ins and outs of big and small businesses.
There will be a third session, also scheduled for later in October, to be held at Nassau Community College in Garden City. Chamber of College officials will talk about what NCC has to offer minority businesses.
“We’re doing all of this to raise awareness to minorities to make them aware of the resources out there and how they can develop relationships with these government or private resources,” said Andrews, who owned barber shops in Nassau County and Queens before seeing them and taking the post at the Chamber.
The LIAACOC was established in 2010 and is the largest such chamber in the state, with about 400 members. But, said Andrews, the organization is still striving to gain wider recognition.
“We believe the Chamber is not as well-known as it should be inside and outside of the minority community,” Andrews said. “But we are a grass-roots organization and we feel people need to know more about us.”
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Recent studies have shown the difficulty minorities have in Long Island’s largely white business world. An Oakland, Calif. research group, Mason Tillman Associates, found that between 2015 and 2019 the largest share of Suffolk County vendor contracts were awarded to companies owned by white men. The researchers studied $1.2 billion in Suffolk County spending in construction, professional services, goods and personal services.
Then-Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone created a committee to increase the participation of businesses owned by minorities. Its work is to be continued under current Suffolk County Executive Edward Romaine.
A survey earlier this year by LIU-Post’s Steven S. Hornstein Center for Policy, Polling and Analysis, found that minority business owners on Long Island said they needed greater assistance in accessing financing and applying for government programs.
There is likely to be lots of publicity in the media about Minority Enterprise Development Week, which was first recognized in 1983 by President Ronald Reagan, who issued a presidential proclamation. Events, such as the ones on Long Island, are held in New York City and across the country.
Along with the Chamber’s business sessions, there will also be a Job Fair on Sept. 19 at the Holiday Inn in Westbury. Companies from accounting to web development are expected to be on hand.
Rose Ward, a business consultant in Uniondale and a vice president of the Long Island Chamber, told the Press that it will be essential, during what is known as MEDWeek, to educate minorities who want to start a business to eventually become certified as a small minority business owner by New York State. Once certified, Ward said, they will be informed about requests-for-proposals and business opportunities across the state.
“We will have presenters” at the conference, Ward said. “They will explain how the state bureaucracy works. It can all be overwhelming, but the presents will show people that there is nothing to be afraid of when filling out state papers.”
Lots of people, Ward said, have hobbies they think can be turned into small businesses. But she shares a warning:
“I always tell people if it’s a hobby that you like, can you turn that into a profitable business? If you can’t do that, I can’t either,” Ward said. “People have got to think, why should I or anyone else buy your product or your services,?” she said.
Past business conferences have been successful, Ward said. “People came out with more information. They would say, ‘Tell me the next step’” Ward said.
Jordan Isaac, also a business consultant, in Yaphank, told the Press that many who want to start small companies lack familiarity with research sources. He hopes attendees will learn about research at the October conference.
“All in all,” Isaac said, “the conference is going to be one-stop shopping for minorities.”
Those interested in learning more about the Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce event should visit liaacc.org.
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