Aspiring businesses in Syracuse’s Westside Community will get a jump-start, thanks to a new program to help entrepreneurs.
“We’re projecting the creation of five new businesses and 10 new jobs here in the first two years,” said Michael Short, deputy director of the new program. It’s called the Entrepreneurial and Small Business Development Program and it’s a part of the Near Westside Initiative.
The Near Westside Initiative is an effort to revitalize the Westside community by focusing on business and neighborhood development.
The Business Development Program will connect aspiring entrepreneurs to resources that they otherwise cannot access or aren’t aware of, said Short. “What we do,” he said, “is serve as a case manager for them — get them the resources that they need and assist them in their efforts.”
The program offers small loans to aspiring entrepreneurs, and counseling on how to succeed in their business, he said.
The program’s counseling is provided through several community foundations, such as the Small Business Development Center at Onondaga Community College and Syracuse University’s Southside Innovation Center.
Small declined to identify businesses that stand to benefit from the program, citing a confidentiality agreement.
In addition to the counseling, entrepreneurs can apply for small loans to start up their business. Those loans will range from $2,000 to $20,000, said Short. The average loan, he predicted, would be around $10,000. As loans are repaid, the program can lend more to others, he said. It will be, Short said, a “revolving micro-lending program.”
The loans are partly funded by a $25,000 grant from the Central New York Community Foundation. Using that grant, Short created a pool of $100,000 that the program can lend from through the Syracuse Cooperative Federal Credit Union.
To take advantage of the program, entrepreneurs must develop a business plan and present it to the Westside initiative. “As long as their business objectives fit within the scope of our mission statement, then we recommend them to the credit union to withdraw from our loan pool,” said Short.
Over the next couple of years, Short said, he would like to see the program create and expand existing businesses, encourage entrepreneurial development and provide job opportunities for residents in the neighborhood. His aim is to “create a business community,” he said, “where businesses can draw from each other’s skills and experiences and use them to their advantage.”
(Shawn Arrajj is a graduate student in magazine, newspaper and online journalism.)
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