Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino invites you to a free seminar entitled "A Bridge to Success: How to Become a Successful & Profitable Minority or Woman Business Enterprise" on Tuesday, May 20 at 6 p.m. at Mount Olivet Baptist Church, 11 Rev G Franklin Wiggins Plaza, Peekskill. The event is geared toward minority and women entrepreneurs who are looking to contract with government, gain access to low-cost financing or cut their employee training costs in half.
The keynote speaker will be Sunny Cover, owner of Peekskill Coffee House. Cover will share the strategies and techniques that she has employed to help grow sales by 30 percent, since she took over the business in 2009. The daughter of retired small business owners, Cover will focus on how to delegate responsibility to employees, set clear expectations and systems of accountability, keep financials sound and look for expansion opportunities. In addition, she will talk about how to balance the demands of managing a small business with raising a family.
Other speakers include:
- Jim Coleman, liaison for the county's Minority and Women Business Enterprise Department (MWBE), will speak on how to become a certified MWBE and how to do business with the county.
- Lin Simeti, procurement counselor for the Procurement Technical Center, will explain how to do business with the state and federal government.
- Kim Jacobs, executive director of Community Capital New York, will talk about securing capital to launch or expand a small business.
- Donnovan Beckford, director of the Westchester One-Stop Employment Center, will review how the county will pay up to half of an employer's training costs (up to $20,000), when they hire a new employee, as well as the process of hiring minority and women employees or contractors.
The seminar is sponsored by the Office of Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino, the Office of City of Peekskill Mayor Frank Catalina, G&K Sweet Foods, Westchester County Board of Legislators Minority Leader John Testa, Mt. Olivet Baptist Church, Urban Tusk Community Strategies and the Law Office of Richard St. Paul, Esq., PLLC.
Admission is free, and refreshments will be provided. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. For more information or to R.S.V.P. call (914) 384-1895 or e-mail .
Photo: Sunny Cover, Peekskill Coffee House owner and keynote speaker May 20, 6 p.m. at Mt. Olivet Baptist Church.
Credit: Peekskill-Cortlandt Patch