Partners are CNY Latino, Spanish Action League, Onondaga Small Business Development Center, Small Business Administration
The Near Westside Initiative (NWSI) Small Business Development Committee is working with CNY Latino, the Spanish Action League, the Onondaga Small Business Development Center and the Small Business Administration to present a conference and employment fair for Hispanic business owners and entrepreneurs in Central New York. The NWSI Small Business Development Committee will host the event on Friday, Oct. 22.
The conference is for small-business owners and entrepreneurs and runs 10 a.m.-4 p.m. It will be held on the first floor of The Warehouse, 350 West Fayette St., Syracuse. The NWSI Small Business Development Committee is partnering with the Spanish Action League to host an employment fair from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on the fourth floor of The Warehouse. The event is bilingual, offered in both English and Spanish. Cost for the conference is $5 per person prior to Oct. 22, and $10 per person the day of the event. Admission cost includes lunch. The employment fair is free and anyone can attend.
“This is a truly collaborative effort that we are proud to be a part of and is representative of our committee’s broader effort to assist community small business owners,” says Michael Short, NWSI deputy director and chair of the NWSI Small Business Development Committee. “Any revitalization effort of the city’s Near Westside depends on the active involvement of neighborhood small businesses and entrepreneurs—especially within the Hispanic community.”
An array of presentations and workshops for Hispanic business owners and entrepreneurs will take place. Event panelists will include representatives from the Small Business Administration, NYS Tax and Finance and the NYS Department of Labor. Conference topics include how to set up and run businesses so that paying taxes isn’t a hassle; what business owners need to know when running businesses out of their homes and what business owners need to know about federal taxes when hiring employees or contractors. The forum will offer participants an opportunity to ask questions on key issues impacting the Hispanic small-business community.
“It’s very important that we work with Hispanic business owners and entrepreneurs in the area to hold these types of events,” says Patricia Higgins, regional director of the Onondaga Small Business Development Center. “Our partnership with the Near Westside Initiative allows us to do just that. The Hispanic business community in this area represents a strong—and growing—segment of the local economy and we’re doing everything we can to assist them.”
Contact Short for more information at (315) 443-5402 or mwshort@syr.edu. Contact Hugo Acosta of CNY Latino to preregister for the conference, 415-8593 or hacosta@CNYLatino.com.
